The last time I ran 10 kilometres, it was April and I set out with my colleague Naoibh O’Connor on the annual Sun Run. We plodded along under cherry blossoms and dodged walkers who lined up too close to the start line at the front of the race.
We lost each other on the Burrard Bridge because Naoibh balks at all hills while I trudged up and down the incline looking for her. Personally, I love a hill and usually speed up with the energy they give me, kind of like magnets that pull harder the closer they get to one another. I broke 60 minutes anyway and loved the immersion feeling amid the 40,000 of us taking over the city’s streets.
The sky wasn’t clear (if memory serves), but the weather was considerably warmer than the cold rain that fell at UBC yesterday for the Fall Classic, the last of the RunVan hat-trick series that includes the BMO Vancouver Marathon and Granville Island Turkey Trot. Half-marathon, 10k and 5k races are featured at each along with the marquee distance in what remains the city's only marathon.
With a time of 55 minutes and 31 seconds, I finished 34th overall for women aged 30 to 39. There were 198 of us in the category and I can still say I lean towards the “early” stage of the decade. I was 330th overall out of 1,210 racers. This is laughable in its un-impressiveness, but I do like to know how I measure up against both the average seawall jogger more like myself as well as the focused elite who use these events as part of their training regime.
The fastest women in my age category was also the winner of the Fall Classic. Sabrina Wilkie finished the 10k in 35:36 and has a personal best of 34:04, according to All-Athletics. She raced internationally for Canada on the national cross-country team and won the B.C. marathon championship earlier this year at the GoodLife Fitness Victoria Marathon in what Running Magazine reported was her debut in the 42.2-km distance.
Thank you @MizunoRunCanada @VictoriaMarathn pic.twitter.com/BMc24ynie6
— Sabrina Wilkie (@SabrinaWilkie) October 13, 2016
Sharing the road with professional, international competitors fuels my competitive spirit and sense of pride. In what other sport do you get such a mix? The vast majority of us will not compete for our nation, qualify for the Olympic Games or even the Boston Marathon, which is a goal and high-point for many recreational runners the world over, but we can run alongside them — or at least behind them.
