Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, September 23, 2001
My first marathon, fortunately in a city I'm very familiar with and on a course that I also will know well. I'm the only one of my running friends running this race today, although a good friend is running the half marathon here today. All the long weeks of training will pay off in a good result today I hope. The half marathon gets underway 15 minutes before the full marathon begins. The half runners will cover the back half of the marathon course before we arrive there. The day is clear and sunny, and overall relatively comfortable without the blazing heat and humidity that could potentially make for a long and difficult run.
The start of the marathon is pretty calm and collected. Considering that there are fewer than 600 people running this marathon, that its not a big prize money marathon and the distance involved, the start is a straightforward and easy affair. We head downhill along Jarvis Street and out onto the Lakeshore. The run will follow the Lakeshore for most of the way. This makes for a very flat course overall. There are a couple of short rises, and a few sharp turns, but for the most part the course is pretty easy so far. Just before the first turnaround at the most Eastern point of the course, we climb a gradual rise. After this its downhill and back out onto the Leslie Street Spit. This is a piece of fill in the Toronto Harbour meant to shelter the actual harbour from the waves of the Lake. I had the wrong impression of just how far this was going to be, as its 10km out and back on the spit. I think I thought it was only about 5km out and back. After this we make our way back past downtown out towards the Western turnaround of the course. About 2km before the turnaround we descend the most significant hill of the course, which we must again climb on the way home. By this time, the distance is starting to take its toll and while I'm still running, my speed is definitely dropping off.
Some friends have come out to cheer me on at the western edge of the course. Their presence is a nice bonus, and helps me through this section of the run. After this its a long 5km home to the finish line. At the 40km mark, I'm feeling emotional and the guy with the "Courage" sign doesn't help any, but I keep moving along. Finally its the turn up Jarvis, and then the turn down Front Street. While the rest of the course has been void of spectators, there are plenty of people cheering you on here. There are a number of my friends in the finish area, but I don't see them at all as I charge to the finish to cross the line. I see the front time clock reading 3:35 and I wonder whether my watch is that far off, until I read the back clock at 3:20. I cross the line in just under 3:22, what remains my personal best time for the marathon.
Overall, the course is nice and flat, and clearly flat. However, because there was a relatively small number of runners, and because Toronto isn't a great city for supporting any of the marathon's that are held there, there isn't much spectator support anywhere on the course. The organization is good overall, with lots of water, Gatorade and PowerGel on the course. However, at the finish line, most of the food and other support has already packed up with the half marathon being long done. This left me with a bit of a bad impression of the marathon unfortunately, a situation that was partly addressed in 2002 although I didn't run this race that year.
National Capital Marathon, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, May 12, 2002
The day dawns cold and rainy. Hardly ideal conditions for what I hope will be a successful run at a Boston qualifying time. Between the rain, wind and poor preparation the day before, it winds up being unsuccessful but its still another solid marathon effort in a time many people would love to achieve. I feel that I was the better prepared for this marathon than any of my first four, especially in terms of speedwork, but may have been hurt by a hard effort in a 10k the week before.
This is a much larger marathon than the marathon I ran in Toronto in the fall. There will be around 2000 people running the full marathon, and another 4000 or so running the half marathon here. Add in the 5km, 10km and rollerblading races and some 11000 people will participate in races this weekend, so its a pretty big deal for this city.
This time, the start is a bit more frantic affair with such a huge number of racers, and the prize money means it attracts a few more big name stars, at least in the Canadian running world, although the winning times don't quite measure up against the true class of the world at the marathon distance. The start is uphill, and then around a right hand corner down a hill. The course mainly follows the Rideau Canal as it winds its way through Ottawa. Again, fan support is limited, but definitely better than for the Toronto marathons. The course covers two loops of the same course, with a half marathon event starting about 2 1/2 hrs after the full marathon start. So, coming around the first loop, there are tons of people cheering you on in the start area as they prepare for the half which provides a great lift. I am aiming for a 3:10 for Boston, but the 3:10 pace bunny is running far too fast and his lap times aren't consistent so I opt to run my own race.
The second lap turns in to a bit of a struggle as the cold and wet take their toll, but on the whole, another great run, and the finish area is nice and wide and a great looking finishing area.
Overall, its been a fun event, and one I'd gladly do a second time, hopefully in better conditions. The course isn't as flat as the organizers would have you believe, and there are a few significant climbs on the course, but its a nice race course in a wonderful city. I plan to run Ottawa again in 2004, the 30th anniversay, when the organizers will debut a new one loop course that will travel through other areas of the city.
Muskoka Long Course Triathon, Huntsville, Ontario, Canada, June 16, 2002
It starts raining at about 5am before the race. Already feeling the nerves as this race will be the longest triathlon I've done to date, the rain doesn't help matters much. By the time we arrive in transition to setup and head for the swim start, the rain has stopped, but its still cold and wet. The swim is a floating start. It feels long, so I'm sure that the Ironman swim will feel like an eternity. The course is well laid out. As the swim course re-enters the channel towards the exit point, the temperature drops by at least 2-3 degrees, but the swim remains one of my strongest elements of the race.
The bike course is relentless. For the vast majority of the bike course you are busy either climbing or descending, including more than a few exciting descents. The 55km is definitely a long hard effort, made more exciting by the dog that comes charging out of its driveway at me within the first 10km. I keep control of the bike, and the dog isn't there on my way past after reaching the first turnaround point. The aid station is at the second turnaround, and they provide either water or Gatorade in large bottles. I grab a bottle of water, drink a bit, pour some down my back and dump the bottle and rest of the water at the side of the road a few metres down the road from the aid station. The ride home is uneventful, until the entry to transition. Coming off the main roads into the arena finds a number of sharp corners combined with both a steep descent and a short climb, just to keep you on your toes.
I start the run with my legs feeling like lead. However, its nearly 10miles, or 15km to run, so there's lots of time for the legs to get into running form. The run course is somewhat rolling, and while there is a long climb out of the downtown Huntsville area, its much flatter than the bike course. Its a simple out and back, and while my legs take about 4km to get into the running action, I have a solid run and put in a time not that far off what I could do in a straight running race of the same distance. Because I haven't done any preparation to toughen the skin on my heels for running without socks, the heels of the shoes wear both heals raw by the end of the run. The first thing I do after finishing the run is to get my shoes off, and walk around barefoot, just to relieve the rubbing on my heels.
The Subaru Triathlon Series is run by Trisport out of Grimsby, Ontario, Canada. This outfit organizes the largest independent triathlon series in the world, and it shows. The races are also very well organized, and well run overall, although often a bit impersonal due to their size. This race is no exception to being well run, well organized and supported. There is good fan support in Huntsville, although the course certainly isn't lined with fans the whole distance. The aid stations are plentiful and well run. I enjoyed the race a great deal, would recommend it to anyone as a great race to participate in, and as an added bonus, received a long sleeve shirt for participating in the long course, rathern than the short course race.
Guelph Lake Olympic Triathon, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, June 23, 2002
I am surprised at how small this event is, considering that it is one of the few Olympic events that can be used to gain an elite card in Ontario. However, most people have just put out a hard effort the week before at the long course race in Muskoka and so won't be racing here this week. Having also raced the week before myself, I have wound up ill, but opted to race anyways having paid my fees already.
The swim start here is a beach start, with the usual crazy sprint into the water off the front of the beach. I make my way into the water quickly, and have a solid swim, although there are a relatively small number of waves, and I'm stuck in traffic for the entire swim, which means I don't feel as positive about my swim as I would otherwise.
The bike course is slightly longer than standard Olympic distance at 42km due to the layout of the area roads. I've biked part of this course before, and its a solid course that is rolling, without any really major climbs, but a few little hills just to make you work. Unfortunately, the local road crews have decided to work on one section of the course, and the organizers haven't re-routed the course. So, we all wind up riding on a section of gravel road with our skinny little tires. This makes things a bit more exciting than I'd like, but its only about 1km, so its manageable.
The run is about 1/2km shorter to compensate for the extra 2km in the bike course and owing to the layout of the roads in the park where the race is held. The run is where I really feel my illness, and the fact that I have worn my heels raw running without socks in the previous week, and it winds up being a miserable run. The course designer for this race is particularly cruel as you actually run past the finish area for another 1km or slightly more before running back to finish the race.
On the whole, I would have enjoyed this race more and would have done better had I not raced the week previous and wound up ill due to the exertions. However, this is another well run race in the Subaru Triathlon Series. I was somewhat surprised at the smaller number of participants, but that means its a great opportunity for people who might otherwise not to win awards with many of the faster racers recovering from the previous week in Muskoka. I came within one place of taking away hardware, but will make a better effort another year.
I think that the organizers would have been well advised to change the course to not require the bikers to ride over the gravel, which was rather dangerous, but I have no major complaints about the course otherwise. The race is held in a conservation area, with the swim in their lake, and the run entirely on the roads in the conservation area. The bike ride out of the park has several speed bumps, so its necessary to be careful on the bike when crossing these.
I also witnessed a humourous event as I rode out onto the bike course. One of the participants ahead of me was trying to use the method of attaching his shoes to the pedals, riding with his feet on top of his shoes and slipping his feet into the shoes as he rode, rather than putting his shoes on in transition and then just riding his bike (my own preferred technique). Unfortunately, he evidently didn't have enough practice at this skill because as I rode past him, his pace slowed to the point where he rode off into the grass and toppled over. Better luck next year my friend.
Chicago Marathon, Chicago, Illinois, USA, October 13, 2002
Marathon number three, and the first true destination marathon. This also has the added bonus of being the 25th anniversary of the Chicago Marathon, so it attracts a special crowd. The race organizers manage to attract what is arguably the strongest men's and women's professional fields ever. In the end, Khalid demonstrates his superiority over the distance and misses his own world record by less than half a minute, probably hampered by the cold and the headwind over the last three miles. Paula Radcliffe cements her place at the top of the women's distance running world by destroying the previous world record by over a minute. While I never saw either of these people on the course, its still pretty cool to say you were there.
Of course, they did put in an appearance at the post race party, where Ms. Radcliffe received a huge ovation from the gathered athletes.
The race itself was a great run. I went to Chicago under prepared due to the fact that I traveled in the summer instead of preparing for the race. However, I knew that I had what it took to finish, even if it wasn't going to be a fast time. Well, there were hints that it could be with a sub-1:30 half marathon two weeks prior, but I hadn't done enough additional work to carry that through to a solid marathon time.
The race start was a huge affair with over 30000 runners starting. The start is organized with the professionals at the front line, then seeded runners in the next wave, and finally the rest of the field, seeded by projected pace per mile. The starting gun goes, but it takes a further 5 minutes before I cross the start line because of where I have placed myself in the starting area.
The course itself covers a a large part of the city of Chicago, and is a single loop of the course. It shows the runners many different parts of the city including Little Italy, Chinatown, Downtown, the waterfront, McCormick Place (the site of the absolutely massive marathon expo) and Comisky Park. The first half feels good, and I run a more conservative first half than I have in the past, but it is still not conservative enough, as the second half rapidly becomes a survival run to cross the finish line, albeit in a time that many marathoners would envy and may never achieve. I know I will finish, and cross the line in just over 3:30, so it remains a decent time, but certainly is not my limit in the marathon if I'm properly prepared. The final two rises that lead into Grant Park after passing Soldier Field feel like mountains by that time, but finally the finish line is in sight, and I cross it, happy to have finished my first true destination marathon.
The people I met were very friendly. I was looking for a place to eat the first evening, and met a guy getting onto one of the shuttle buses also looking for a place to eat. We had a nice visit and went to a restaurant for dinner. We also chatted with some people on the bus that evening. During the post race party, I couldn't find my friend from the previous day, but did meet a nice man from New York and his wife and two friends. We enjoyed the opportunity to chat and also watching the race coverage on the big screen.
This was definitely a well run and well organized race, as a race of this size and age must be. I enjoyed the race and the opportunity to visit Chicago as it was my first time there. I didn't spend nearly enough time in Chicago, and would spend more time there after the race another year. I would definitely return to Chicago to run the marathon again.
Disney World Marathon, Orlando, Florida, USA, January 12, 2003
Disney World is all about the destination. As one of the great destination marathons in the world, I wanted to run this race, especially in an anniversary year. This was the 10th Anniversary of the race. The race is limited to 16000 runners for the full marathon and 3000 for the half marathon. The full marathon covers all five of the major Disney parks while the half-marathon only travels through Epcot and Magic Kingdom.
The course begins just outside Epcot and runs through Epcot for the first four miles. From there the course heads north within the park to Magic Kingdom. After travelling through Magic Kingdom where the half-marathon runners turn off to their finish, the full marathon course continues towards Animal Kingdom. Along the way the runners get to see many areas of the park that visitors normally don't see, including, unfortunately, the sewage treatment plant at Disney World. The run travels quickly through Animal Kingdom before heading back out onto the Disney World roadways towards Wide World of Sports. The course does not actually travel into WWS, but it travels just around the outside of the park. After this the course makes its way into MGM studies, and finally from here through the boardwalk resorts and back into Epcot to finish just past the entrance.
The race starts at 6am. Disney wants everyone to be there as early as possible, recommending that you arrive at 4am. I woke up at 3am for this race, and arrived at Epcot at 4:30am. This still left 1.5hrs before the start, more time than I usually have before the start of a marathon. It was rather cold in the early hours at Disney, and the garbage bag I had wasn't quite enough. At about 5am, the Disney crew moved us from the finish area to the start area outside of Epcot. This still left nearly an hour to wait before the start, and much time to kill. I started my warmup at about 5:30am, and made it back into the corral with about 15 minutes before the start. Based on passed marathon performances, I am in the first corral of 1500 people. Mickey and Minnie showed up to call the start, and we began at 6am, on time. We began in the dark with fireworks. Most of the first hour is run in the dark, and this was the first marathon I've run that started this early and in the dark.
I was running the Disney World Marathon for fun, rather than trying to get a Boston Qualifying time or anything else. As such, I ran a very conservative first half (relative to my other marathons) and pushed myself harder over the last 2-3 miles than in any previous marathon. I struggled in the middle miles after making it through Animal Kingdom in a reasonable time. At about mile 22.5 I was forced to make a pitstop, and then decided that it was time to run hard to get home in a reasonable time. I know that I passed many people in the last few miles, including one person who I ran with through Animal Kingdom but let go when I was unable to keep their pace. The finish line was definitely a welcome sight when I arrived there.
The weather for the race was nearly perfect for a marathon. There was a light breeze, and the temperature was a bit cool, but that was just great for a race of this distance to prevent overheating and it did warm up throughout the course of the day.
Disney World is all about the destination, rather than the crowds. Having run Chicago in October, the crowd support for Disney was relatively non-existant. It is all about being able to say that you've run a marathon in Disney World. There are people out there to support you at Disney World, but they are concentrated in the parks and at the aid stations. Most of the course travels on the highways and roadways through Disney World, and here the fan support is minimal to non-existant, in large part because people are unable to get to these areas.
That said, it was a great run. I travelled to Disney World with several friends and shared a condo not far from Disney World. On the Sunday of the marathon, I even managed to meet my friends to go through Magic Kingdom, although I faded rapidly through dinner at the end of a very long day. I ran harder at the end of the marathon than I have in any of my past marathons, and the mouse-eared finishers medal makes it all worthwhile. I don't know if I'll ever run this marathon again, but it was a great opportunity an experience to have run it just once.
Muskoka Long Course Triathon, Huntsville, Ontario, Canada, June 15, 2003
See report for last year's race for greater details. This year I have done much more swim and bike preparation prior to the race, but far less run preparation. Wel, it does show in the result and how I feel. My swim is slightly quicker than last year, and my bike is much faster, with an impressive average speed around 36km/h.
Unfortunately, just after I start the bike ride, I discover that I am missing my gel flask that is attached to the top tube on my bike. So, I am now left without my planned nutrition for the entire race. I am not sure if someone removed it on me, or if it came out on some of the rougher road sections, but this is a disaster to the race plans.
The lack of run preparation and proper nutrition for the race wind up costing me on the run. While I still have a reasonable run, it is not up to the level of the previous year and is a bit of a struggle. The run winds up being enough slower than the previous year that my overall time is slower, even with a faster swim and bike. So, time to prepare for the run more in advance next season. However, unlike the year before, I spent some time preparing my heels to run without socks, and don't wind up ripping my ankles to shreds (unlike my buddy who is also racing there with me), so that is a positive sign for some of the preparation I have done.
Peterborough Half-Ironman Triathon, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada, July 7, 2003
This is my first Half-Ironman (HIM) distance triathlon, and my first race with a mass start of about 600 participants so its a bit intimidating. I feel that I'm relatively well prepared, and as it is my first HIM, my primary goal is to finish and whatever happens from a time perspective happens.
The race site is a small lake in Peterborough. Apparently none of the locals swim in this water, and think that we're all nuts for swimming in this water. The bottom is relatively shallow and weedy and I feel sorry for the people racing the sprint race after the HIM race. On the other hand, the people doing the sprint race will be finished before we even make it back from the bike ride.
The swim is two 1km loops with a short beach run in between. I position myself relatively to the outside of the course to avoid any major problems in the main body of the pack. The horn goes, and we are away. My first lap goes quite well, and I stay out to the outside of the course until the first bouy where I cut back into the main body of the group. By this time, the pack is well spread out so its possible to have a good swim action. The second lap starts out with a swim through all of the sand and weeds that we have stirred up on the first lap, before the water conditions improve further out into the course.
T1 goes smoothly without any major problems. I get my bike and make my way out onto the bike course. The roads for this course are a mix of different conditions requiring a good handle on your bike at all times. This year the race organizers have changed the course sending us to the West first. Normally this would put us going into the wind on the way out, but today is a bit strange with the wind coming from the East. Unfortunately, this puts us going into the wind on the way home, but I still have a solid ride. At the quarter point of the ride, there is a small village with a descent into the village. After this point, there is a long climb out of the village that seems never to end with several false flats along the way. But, the climb does come to an end, and we continue on to the turnaround point. Based on the course markers, the turnaround point comes before 45km, meaning that this isn't really a proper HIM course. After the turn around, its just directly back over the same course to transition. There is one bottle exchange on this course, and unfortunately, its poorly placed on long descent into the village. After surviving the descent and the rest of the ride, I arrive at T2 with one of the fastest rides in the race.
The lack of run preparation that caught me at the Muskoka race this year hasn't had enough time to be remedied and the fast ride will also cost me. While I didn't run into the nutrition issues that I had in Muskoka, the run is still a survival run to finish. The course is relatively flat with a few short and steep climbs and no shade to speak of under a hot summer sun. To add to the challenge, my tri suit is rubbing the wrong way on my inner thigh, leaving a hot spot that will plague me for the entire run. Along the way back, there is as amusing incident I pass where one of the police cruisers is stuck in the ditch and is being pulled out by a tow truck. Somehow it has gotten hung up on its frame in the ditch. But, as the finish line grows nearer, I grow stronger knowing the end is near, and of course pride kicks in when there is a larger audience at the finish line. In the end, despite the major struggles I faced on the run, I finish my first HIM in a little over 5hrs.
My first HIM has been a good learning experience, and I look forward to a more positive experience in my next HIM, obviously with improved run preparation. I feel confident that I should be able to break the 5hr mark in my next HIM distance race.
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