Stewart Mountain 10 Miler

December 11, 2010

Stewart mountain has always been my favorite of the 3 PIH Thetis events. The large climb right in the middle is tough, but it always seems to somehow energize me for the last half of the race. The course is a part loop and part out and back route and is composed of mostly double track with some single track thrown in. Stewart is generally the least well attend and the least competitive of the 3 races, but usually still attracts a few fast runners. In 2008, Jason Loutitt blasted through the course in just over 1:02, quite an impressive feat.

The snow from two weeks ago had long ago melted, but it had been replaced by a good drenching of rain just a day or two before the race. Things would be wet and muddy, but otherwise conditions were pretty decent with cool temps and only a mild drizzle (it would dump buckets later in the day).

While the race only boasts about 150 finishers, there were still a lot of Harriers in attendance which is always great to see. I had expected that Shawn Nelson would race as it would likely be another relatively easy win for him. He opted to do a workout in the morning instead, however, and must have decided that adding another 16k of hard running might be too much even for him. The main surprise happened before the race even started, when Bruce Deacon signed up at the last moment. Bruce is a bit of a local legend and an amazing runner. He was Canada's best marathoner for many years and went to the Olympics twice. To put his accomplishments into perspective compared to most local runners, his PB at 10,000 metres is 28:46, his marathon 2:13:18. If he was only in half decent shape, he would destroy the field. However, due to injury, Bruce had not raced in over 2 years, so it was unknown how he would do.

Generally, this race starts out much slower than Gunner, but this year was a bit different. Richard Knowlton took off right from the line and established an early lead. Richard is a solid runner, but unless he had suddenly gotten a lot faster, he was going beyond himself and I fully expected that he would be pulled back into the pack (and he was within 5 minutes). I didn't worry myself too much about this sort of positioning - this was a long enough race that jockeying at this point was not important - better to get a good relaxed rhythm going. I started out in perhaps 8th place, but fairly soon moved up to 3rd behind Bruce and Trever Ruck (the guy I just edged out at Gunner). I squeezed by Bruce on some single track and then proceeded to trade first place with Trevor a few times. He didn't want to concede the lead and tended to pull away from me a bit on the descents. Rather than continuing to battle so early in the race, I opted to settle in a bit. There was still plenty of racing to go and a nice tough climb to come. We made our way though a large swamp and creek both of which left me with numb legs for a bit, but luckily they were back to normal in a few minutes.

I kept Trevor within striking distance although by the time we reach the start of the big climb, he may have had 30 or 40 metres on me. I knew this was the time to assert myself and see what I could do - if I could establish a decent gap on the climb and get out of sight, I figured I had good odds at holding the competition off. I opened it up and soon passed Trevor on the first part of the climb. I continued to dig in, determined to run the entire ascent as I have done in past years. It turns up to a vicious grade in spots, so running at any speed is a challenge. There is a brief break before the final push to the summit. I was feeling pretty good on the climb and while I was working hard, it didn't feel quite and excruciating as it sometimes does. Perhaps I was not pushing myself quite as hard since I was leading at this point although I'd rather think it was because my hill climbing has improved.Unfortunately , it is probably the former.

By the time I reached the summit, I had perhaps gained 1 min on Trevor, now it was time to try and keep it. As I have mentioned many times on this blog, non-technical descending is not my strength, but I was determined to give it my all. I felt quite good and pushed hard on the flats and downhills. I didn't hear or see any signs of Trevor until crossing McKenzie Creek where I looked back and saw that he had closed the gap to within 30s or so. Not yet within striking distance though, so I wasn't yet worried. By the time we reached the 3 hills on Lower Thetis Lake, I still maintained close to 30s, but that didn't stop Trevor from keeping me moving. As I summitted each hill, he was at the bottom. There was no letting up, but I managed to come into the finish line just under 1:04:56, 27s ahead of Trevor.

It was a very good race for me (perhaps a A- or an A), my first win at Stewart and nearly 2 min faster than my last clocking in 2008. I have to thank Shawn Nelson for not showing up and allowing me to take the win and Trever for pushing me the whole time to give me a solid time. Adam O'Meara closed out the top 3 and Bruce cruised in for 5th. Sarah Baker won the woman's division, beating out race favourite Melanie McQuaid. Sonja ran to a 6th place finish in against a tough group of woman who all came in within 45s of one another.

There was a victim in the race: my right big toe nail. I have frequently hammered my toes on downhills, but I took it to another level this race. It is over a week later, and the toe is still sore. I think the combination of wet shoes and my hard pace on the downhills took their toll - that nail is gone for sure.

For a ultra-marathoner, this is nothing, but is a nice shade of blue after only 16km

Thanks again to the Harriers for hosting another great event and to the volunteers who make it go so well. The Island Race series is just around the corner now. Who needs an off season?

Gerry Etcheverry also produced another nice video of this race.

Perseverance Running is Born!

Over the last couple of years, I've been thinking about starting to do some running coaching. The idea of helping other runners improve and achieve their goals was appealing. I figured it was something that I would pick up in a couple of years, but this summer I was approached by a runner who asked me if I could coach her. I saw it as a fantastic opportunity to see how I would perform as a coach and how I would enjoy it and accepted the offer. Over that last few months I have found it quite enjoyable to work with this runner and I look forward to seeing her progress.

I would like to attract a few more runners so that I can get a nice little training group together. To further these ends, I have launched a new website outlining what I offer: Perseverance Running. I've added a link over on the right side as well.

There are a number of very good running coaching in Victoria some with impressive credintials. However, I believe I offer a few things that many others do not:

• A specialization in trail and mountain running
• Programs customized for each athlete
  
• Competitive rates
• Delivery of a workout plan via a dedicated website that allows athletes to track their workouts and analyze their progress with reporting tools
• Tips and techniques specific to trail running and running on technical terrain

For a full listing of what I have to offer check out the Coaching section of Perseverance Running.

Happy Running!

Gunner Shaw 10k (Victoria)

November 27, 2010

I've been busy on another project (which I will be announcing here soon) so I've unfortunately fallen behind in posting this, but here it is.

This popular classic fall race always boasts at least a few features designed to get the racers wet. This year would be a bit different though since in the week leading up to the race, Victoria was pounded with some severe winter weather (by west coast standards). Temperatures approached -10 degrees Celsius accompanied by two moderate snowfalls. By race day, the cold spell was over, but the puddles that the race usually goes though were still frozen and so for safety reasons they had to be bypassed. In addition, there was still snow on much of the course and while not deep it was fairly slippery.

In preparation for the conditions, I had brought a couple of options for footwear. After doing my warm-up on part of the course with Shawn Nelson and realizing that things were definitely slippery, I opted to go with my regular trail runners outfitted with YakTrax that I had borrowed. It's impossible to say exactly how much time they gained for me, but they certainly seemed to help quite a lot. They were not perfect though, as most of the snow was slushy and I still slipped around a bit, but on the downhills especially the footing felt quite secure.

Gunner is usually a very competitive race and usually boasts a strong field of road runners. This year, perhaps because of the conditions, the field wasn't quite at stacked, but my usual competition in the form of Shawn Nelson, Sean Chester, and Nick Walker were there. It was great to see Brad Cunningham (who has also recently joined by training group) out running his first race in some time. While I hoped that my footwear choice would give me a bit of an edge there would still be plenty of competition.

I settled into a comfortable rhythm once the race was underway. Shawn really put the hammer down right away and put a significant gap on everyone else, but I was running with a half dozen other guys in the chase group. Over the next km or so I pushed though and found myself running with Sean in the 2/3 position. Unfortunately, by this time Shawn was almost out of sight and that would be the last I would see of him until after the finish. Despite only wearing racing flat and sliding around, his fitness carried him though to the win.

I ran with Sean for the next km or so until we hit the first steep climb of the course. It isn't long, but it does have quite a grade. At this point, I was able to make up a bit of ground as Sean's shoes slowed his progress (he was also wearing racing flats). I still heard someone behind me as I continued on and assumed it was Sean, but I didn't look back and didn't find out until a little later that it was another racer named Trevor Ruck would had moved into 3rd just behind me. I have a suspicion that Trever had not done a race of this type before because 20 min into the race, he asked one of the volunteers how much further it was (they didn't know, but I told him were were just passed halfway). For me, it was a bit of a tell and didn't seem to be the best race strategy, as you wouldn't be likely to ask that question unless you were hurting.

To his credit though, he tenaciously hung on despite the fact that he was obviously working quite hard. I'm sure he also benefited from the fact that we wore cross country spikes which seemed to give him pretty good traction. Once we popped back out onto the main Thetis trail, Trevor decided it was time to make his move and passed me. I was feeling reasonable and didn't let him get far ahead though. There were still a few hills left on the last km of the course and I hoped to be able to reel him in at that point. On the first little hill, I gained ground, on the second I was able to pull close to even. On the 3rd and final hill, I knew it was likely my last chance to make a convincing move. With the encouragement of the spectators on the top of the hill, I powered up there and passed convincingly. I didn't look back once I hit the top and did my best to move with speed on the last few hundred meters. I finished in 34:57, just 9 seconds ahead of Trevor and good for 2nd place overall. I talked to Trevor afterwords and he told me that he thought we were racing for the win. He hadn't seen Shawn out it front since he vanished out in front so quickly. This likely explains while he held on so long - nothing like the motivation of a possible win to spur you on!

The final hill. Photo Credit: Todd Nowack

It was by far my best ever Gunner Shaw race (by next best showing was 7th back in 2008). It terms of how I felt, I would probably rate it as a B+. I felt that I could push well, but didn't have the extra gear you get when you have one of those exceptional days. Shawn won with over a minute on me and Brad cruised into a strong 4th place finish. Melanie McQuaid won the woman's division with a 39:08 clocking while Sonja raced to a well deserved 5th place finish. Thanks to PIH and all the volunteers who make it another successful race!

Results

Gerry Etcheverry also produced a couple of neat video clips:





And one from Carlos Castillo:

Bear Mountain 10k

November 20, 2010

This race's billing as "Canada's Hardest 10k" has been an effective promotion. The race has been gradually gaining in popularity to the point that it now sells out it's 500 spots weeks before race day. There is no doubt that it is a tough course; one which I underestimated my first time running it in 2008. That day, I went out too hard and suffered for the last half of the course losing a lot of positions. This year, I wanted to run a smarter race and hopefully also better my time of 36:57.

In the days leading up to the race the weather forecast was calling for snow and winds for the night before and morning of the race. And on race race day, we were treated to their correct predictions. On Bear Mountain, there were significant accumulations and it was still snowing and the wind gusting. Sonja (who was also racing) and I were informed by the race organizers Nick Walker and Mark Nelson, that due to the snow, the course would be cut to about 6k. So much for seeing if I could better my time, but that could wait for another year.

Anticipating snow, I had brought a variety of footwear including my trail shoes affixed with screws. I figured they would be effective in providing traction, but I was also concerned about them beating my feet and legs up on the paved paths since they were old and worn out and never meant for too much road anyway. After checking out some of the trails and noting that they didn't seem too slippery, I decided to opt for my light trainers instead. They ended up working reasonably well and I never bailed on the course, but I did lose time having to be cautious on the descents and probably should have gone for the trail shoes.

It was a bit unpleasant standing around in the cold wind at the start, but I knew I would be warm enough once we got started. The first km was had some uphill on the road followed by some downhill on the paved trail that we would use for most of the rest of the race. I found myself at the back of the lead group of 7. Race favorite David Jackson was out in front with Shawn Nelson, Sean Chester, Carlos Lesser, Jason Loutitt, Roberto Mandje, and myself not far behind. Soon enough we were on the "Papa Bear" climb which due to the course adjustment, was the only significant hill of the day. I was feeling a bit lethargic and not entirely dialed into the race right off the start so I hoped that the hill would kick start my body as it sometimes does. As we hit the steep pitches, I really felt as though my additional focus and hills in the last few months is starting to pay off. I was able power up them pretty effectively and quickly made ground up on Roberto, Jason, and Carlos. I passed Roberto early in the climb, Jason mid way up and Carlos near the top. Now the pressure would be on to keep my position on the decent.

We were treated to a face full of wind that nearly ground me to a halt and snow drifts just before descending, but luckily it was short lived. The winding downhills were not too icy, but I slipped around a bit here and there. I tried my best to maintain a good solid pace and took advantage of the downhills as much as possible since it still non technical descents remain one of my weaknesses. Nelson and Chester were now running together and had about 30 seconds on me so they were never too far away, but were also not getting any closer. As we neared the bottom of the descent, Jason was pushing hard and caught and passed me. I know that he is an aggressive downhill runner so wasn't all the surprised, but I was determined to keep close to him. I stayed on this tail and he only had a couple of strides on me by the time we popped back onto the road for a final few hundred metres to the finish. With about 300 metres to go, I decided to give it a go and pushed ahead, he responded, and I pushed a little harder and managed to stay just ahead. It wasn't until I had 50 metres to go did I figure I would be able to keep the position.

I finished in 4th place in 22:33, 21 seconds behind Shawn, and 26 seconds behind Sean. Jason came in just 4 seconds behind me. I was happy with my placing since it was my first time beating accomplished runners such as Jason and Roberto. How I felt during the race itself has to be categorized as average or just slightly above. David comfortably won the race although he inadvertently cut the course since the marking was unclear. He had a large lead and would almost certainly have taken it anyways. Care Wakely won the woman's division in 24:45, narrowly beating out Laura Schwertfeger. Sonja was just outside of the top five with her 29:01 clocking. Thanks to Mark and Nick for pulling this one off despite the best efforts of Mother Nature.

Results.

Thetis 20K Relay

November 11, 2010

This is my 6th time out for this fun low key event. This year sold out all 600 spots yet again and saw a record 152 teams and solos finish. This is a Prairie Inn Harrier hosted event which attracts a large contingent of members so it is always a great opportunity to socialize and cheer others on.

Last year I raced solo with a respectable 6th place overall finish. This year my fellow Aspire athletes put together a strong team consisting of Sean Chester, Shawn Nelson, Nick Walker, and myself. I could be considered to be the weakest link on the team since all 3 of other have personal bests faster than mine for most distances. Because of this, I had put some pressure on myself to pull out a decent race. There was some discussion about weather or not we would have a chance of bettering the course record of 59:30 set back in 2004, but I dismissed it as unlikely because the course has been altered slightly as is now longer than it used to be.

We still would face some good competition however, in the form of a strong UVic team and a team from the Westwood Lake Running Club. Shawn went first facing a fast field and ran exceptionally well cruising in at 15:31 in 1st place. Now it would be up to the rest of us to keep it that way. Sean went 2nd, running well to attain a 16:17 time and extending out lead to over a minute. Nick, only recently back from a trip to Hawaii, came in at 16:40 and passed off to me. I didn't know exactly what the gap to the next team was, but knew that I had to run hard to make sure I didn't get caught.

I took off at a pretty brisk pace and felt the strain pretty much right away. There really is no time where things are "comfortable" when running a 5k - it is painful from the start to the finish. To perform at you best, you need to be right near the lactate threshold for the duration. I was able to move well although I was feeling a bit of fatigue in my legs. I weaved in and out of other racers on the 2rd and 3rd laps as I made my way around Upper Thetis Lake. Soon I was on the final section on Lower Thetis which includes a couple of little hills which I powered up as best I could. At this point, there was no one in close pursuit so I figured we were probably safe, but continued to hammer away. I had decent legs for a surge at the finish, pulling in at 16:29 which turned out to be enough for the win with a cumulative time of 1:04:57. It wasn't my best ever performance, but I felt that I held it together pretty well and was able to finish strong.

Near the finish. Photo Credit: Sonja Yli-Kahila

UVic's Jackson 4 came in 2nd just 1:23 behind so it is good that I didn't doddle out there. Westwood RC came in 17 sec back of UVic so 2nd place was hotly contested. Other Harrier teams did very well picking up wins in solo (Keith Mills), Master men, Senior Mixed and Veteran Men categories. It was awesome to see so many people out enjoying the day (it started to rain near only after most people had finished) and supporting this Harrier race which is a great fundraiser for the club. I will be back to Thetis very soon for the Gunner Shaw on Nov 27th.

Results

Hallows Eve Half Marathon

October 24, 2010

This race (and accompanying 10k) are part of the Run the North Shore race series which host over a dozen trail and road events throughout the year. This is the second race I have done as part of this series (I ran the Iron Knee 25k back in 2007). I really enjoyed the Iron Knee and have wanted to run it again in subsequent years, but have been thwarted by scheduling issues. This year, I really wanted to try a new race on the mainland so a few weeks out Sonja and I decided to sign up for this one. I knew little about it except that it took place in Lynn Valley and therefore was bound to have at least some good single track.

The race started at Lynnmour Jaycee House right next to Capilano College. The venue was fine except for the lack of washroom facilities. One stall and two urinals for 150 guys just doesn't cut it. Lack of toilets is a common complaint for runners, but too many races still have insufficient facilities. Yes, we realize that there will often be lines since everyone wants to go at the same time, but having to wait in line 20 or more minutes really isn't acceptable. Fortunately, I got in early and didn't have to wait too long.

Being that I am competitive, I had researched previous winning times and course records for this race. Last year, James Richardson had dominated the field winning in 1:38:18, over 8 min ahead of 2nd place. Simon Driver holds the course record of 1:33:06. Looking at those times and knowing James' approximate fitness level since I have competed against him in previous years, I figured that any time under 1:40 would be a reasonable goal for me. Where this time would place me, I really had little idea since I didn't know who would show up.

As we lined up for the start, I saw Jen Segger who told that she was trying to get some speed back into her legs after several multi-day expedition adventure races recently. Funny how everything is relative, since not too many people outside of the ultra and adventure racing crowd would say a half marathon is short. I also saw Gary Robbins, who wasn't racing, but was there as part North Shore Athletics. He was sporting a crazy Norwegian Ski racing uniform from the 1980's. Many other volunteers and racers were also wearing an array of Halloween costumes that made for some interesting viewing. One day, I'll have to come up with a costume that is good, but still allows me to race at full speed.

Once we were underway, I was surprised to see a teenager in a Steed Cycle jersey, quite literally sprinting ahead. I know that I frequently comment on the crazy guys (usually young) who go out way to hard, but this guy was taking it to new levels. For a second, I thought I must have been in the wrong race as this guy was acting like we were in a 800m race rather than a half marathon! There was no way he was going to maintain that pace and sure enough within a few hundred metres, I caught up to him and passed him as he was clearly already cooked and gasping for air. Soon after though, I heard someone else close behind. As we entered some single track, one of the volunteered shouted, "Looking good, Simon!" Quickly putting thing together, I asked Simon he was indeed the Simon Driver I was thinking about. Indeed he was, I knew then that winning this race would not be easy. I asked him if he was going to try to beat his own course record, but he joked that his goal was only to keep up to me. Runners are generally humble though, so there was no way to know exactly how fit he was.

I tucked in behind Simon as we continued on some flat, windy and muddy single track for km or so before descending down to the river. The decent included quite a few stairs, and I noted this knowing that we would be climbing back up these on the way back. Simon descended well, but I had no problems matching his pace. Once we got down to the river though and started a gradual climb upstream, he really put the pressure on. I stayed right with him for awhile, but I felt that the pace was a little beyond my ability to keep for the full duration of the race. I let him go figuring that I would see what kind of a climber he was when we hit the steep stuff. Either he would be gone or I would be able to close the gap and have a chance to get ahead. He had perhaps a 100m on me before hitting a steeper climb and I honestly I figured that this would be the last I would see of him.

Once we got to the main climb which included many flights of stairs I was surprised to be able to start pulling back the gap. Part of the reason I was able to do well on the stairs was because I was usually taking two steps at a time while he was only taking one. While it is not always possible to do them this way since sometimes you are just too tired, I have found it a more efficient method. While it is harder on the cardo system, it requires fewer legs contractions. After a few more flights of stairs, I was able to finish closing the gap and moved ahead. The climbing wasn't finished though as we still had a long gradual climb on a dirt road to the highest point on the course at 400m above sea level (7.5km in).

When I hit the decent, I had perhaps 200m on Simon, but as I winded my way down the technical switchback trail, he started to close the gap. I am a solid technical down hill runner, so he really had to have been hammering to catch up. By the the time I reached the bottom, he was nipping at my heels. We crossed a bridge over the river and then started up the other side of the river on a double track. I was still feeling fine, but this sort of terrain has also be mentally tougher for me as it is somewhat monotonous. Simon was good enough to tell me what was coming up on the course so that was appreciated. We would soon come up to another moderate climb followed by some rolling terrain and a decent back to the single track we came up on.

This second main climb also had some flights of stairs and luckily my legs still felt good so I was able to move up well and gained a bit of time on Simon. On the subsequent rolling and downhill, however, he did his thing and pulled back up to me. It was a fun decent though with quite a lot of technical sections with roots and rocks. Partway back down the trail intersected the 10k race course and we were soon passing a lot of runners. There was a lot of "On Your Left!" and "Thank You!" being shouted for the remainder of the course. Everyone was very accommodating with the exception of the couple of runners who sported headphones. I frequently listen to music when I am out training on the trails, but in a race you need to be able to hear what is going on around you so I don't think they should be allowed (at least not on shorter events such as this where there are lots of runners on the trail).

Simon stayed right with me on the gradual decent next to the river so it was still unsure who would grab the win. There was one 100m climb left before the final 2km of flat and downhill to the finish. I figured my best chance was to push as hard as possible up the hill. If I could gain 30s or so on him, I had a good chance of being able to hold that off the top. I gave it my all and the legs held out. The hardest part of the climb was trying to ask the 10k runnesr to let me by. My shouts became wheezes as I just didn't have any extra breath to spare.

As I crested the hill, I didn't look back and continued to push hard. The body still felt good and I was able to move well. With 1km to go, I did glace back and couldn't spot Simon. This boded well as it was unlikely that he would be able to catch me on the final 1km downhill. I stopped the clock at 1:36:05 well ahead of my prediction. Simon came in about a minutes later and 3rd place wend to Doug Giles a full 10min back. Tamsin Anstey won the woman's division with a 1:48:39 clocking good for 6th overall. Simon's wife Katrina was second and Jen came in 3rd. Sonja was the 8th woman in (out of 76) in a solid performance. Results. Video.

This was a quite a satisfying win for me as it was one with real competition. It was great to be able to run toe to toe with Simon for most of the race as this does not happen very often on these sorts of trail races. He is a great competitor and accomplished trail runner with many wins and course records to his credit (incidentally he convincingly won the Iron Knee in 2007 when I in attendance). It was morale boost to be able to run with someone of this caliber (even if he was not quite as fast as when he set the course record). Thanks to Simon for being there since there is no doubt that he pushed me harder than I would have gone otherwise. Also thanks to the race organizer who put on a great race (the lack of sufficient toilet facilities non-withstanding) . The course was well marked and marshaled and had a lot of varied and interesting terrain. While I didn't use them, there were also 3 aid stations which is more than sufficient for this length of race.

Goodlife Fitness Victoria 8k

Oct 10, 2010

The Victoria Marathon/Half Marathon and 8k (and kids race) constitute the largest running event of the year in Victoria (the Times Colonist 10k also comes close). As a runner it is really a treat to participate since I not only get to run one of the races, but also touch base with and cheer on tons of other people. This year saw yet another record field with 14,080 participants signed up for the four races as the popularity of this event continues to grow. It is great to see so many people challenging themselves. I see this as only a positive thing in terms of healthy living. People had better be getting some exercise if they are going to be eating food like the Double Down. I'm sure a vegetable has never been in contact with that monstrosity.

But I degrees. In terms of my race goals for the 8k, they were pretty modest. Since my Lands End 10k was such a disaster and my 5000m track in August below expectations, I didn't know what I would be able to pull off with this one. I was feeling that I was getting back into my groove over the last few weeks, but didn't think I was quite where I was earlier in the year. With that in mind, I figured that anything under 27 min would be decent. My PB at this distance is 26:35 set this January at the Pioneer 8k - I did not expect to better that.

I headed down in the dark with Garth (who was also doing the 8k) for the 7:15am race start. We were running a bit late, but still had a bit of time to warm up before the gun went. I felt a bit flat on the warm-up, but I know this isn't a good indicator to race performance so I didn't give it much thought. Once the race started, I soon realized that the depth of competitors was a little less than normal. I was in about 9th place within 500m and invariably there are always a couple of eager guys who fall back after destroying themselves 1k into the race. This year was no exception as I passed two of them before hitting the 1k marker and found myself in 7th place. The leaders were race favorites Dylan Gant, Kevin Frisen, Peter Corrigan. Shawn Nelson was not far behind and then came was his brother Mark Nelson and Blair Johnston. Within a km I noticed that Mark was falling off pace and I soon passed him. Unfortunately, it was not his day and after struggling for a couple of more kilometers, he pulled the plug.

It was early in the race, but by 2-3k I was pleased with how I was feeling since I was comfortable and controlled. I kept the pace up as much as possible as the course gradually rose to Mile 0. Part way up the climb I managed to pass Blair and I made sure I did it with some authority to dissuade him from latching on to me. The hill did eat into my pace with the my slowest splits being 3:25 for the 3rd km and the 5km (on the way back to Mile 0), but this was expected. I continued to feel strong and was able to keep the pace strong. I know that once we crested Mile 0 again, it is pretty much flat or downhill the whole way back (with one tiny hill with 1.5k to go).

Blair had not gotten far behind though and passed me back around the 6k mark. I contemplated staying with him, but decided to keep my own rhythm and let him put a few meters on me. With one kilometer to go, I felt I had a little bit left and pushed the gas pedal a bit, closing the gap and pulling ahead. I honestly felt that I had him at that point since usually people want to stay with you this close to the finish and if they don't it usually means they can't. He was far from done though and with 700m to do I could hear him coming, I pushed harder. With 500m to go, he was still coming, so I opened it up just a bit more. With 100m to go, he was just a step behind me and the race turned into a full out sprint for us. By the end, he was able to get a toe in front of me and was able to nudge into 5th spot (we had identical finishing times). It would have been nice to win, but I'm happy to be able to have given it my all. Blair was also only 19, so I think being able to almost match his youthful speed wasn't too bad.

Giving it our all at the finish. Photo Credit: Goodlife Fitness Marathon

I finished with a chip time of 26:31 (gun time was 26:33) which was good for 6th place, an age category win and most surprising of all, a 4s PB. I have to thank Blair for the PB, as I'm sure I would not have killed myself like that if there had been no one to try and beat. Peter ended up winning in 24:30, with Shawn coming in 4th in 25:43. Top woman was Kirsten Sweetland in 27:38.

I knew a number of others racing the half and full marathon. I watch some of the top finishers in the half come through and then cleaned up and got a bit of food into me and before heading out on my bike to check out the marathon participants. Sonja was running her debut marathon and I intended to park my bike with around 10k to go and run the last section of the course with her. Unfortunately, I underestimated her speed a little and just missed her. Finally realizing this, I hopped back on the bike and biked madly to catch back up finally finding her with just a couple km to go. Unsurprisingly, she was hurting at this point, but was still running faster than many of those around her. She finished it off and was only around 3 min off her ideal goal of 3:20, pretty good for a first marathon and a windy day. The wind wrecked havoc on the marathon, with times slower than normal and brutal positive splits the order of the day. Of those finishing in under 4 hours, only 6.8% ran a negative split while the average time for the second half was over 10 min longer than the first. I'm glad I wasn't trying to vie for a particular time that day.

Final Results

My splits: 3:11, 3:19, 3:25, 3:22 (13:16 4k), 3:25, 3:20, 6:34 (final 2k)