Suntrust National Half Marathon & Monument Avenue 10k

 Hello all,

    Long time no see, eh!  I felt the need to write about my experiences in the past week and present as they have been memorable. Shall I start with the National Suntrust Half Marathon in Washington, D.C.? When scheduling to run this race a few months ago,  I set in my mind that a course such as this would be challenging with its many uphills,downhills, and tight turns. I felt the benefit of running in Washington was that it would make the Canadian Half Championships course feel like a pancake a few weeks later.  Last year I finished 4th and hope to improve upon that finish this year.

The field included last years champion and course record holder Mark Fruin(in 1:05low), Gurrmessa Mergessa (1:03 half), and several other Ethiopian runner from the Washington area.  Knowing this course would not produce a blistering time, I focused mainly on staying with the leaders. I was hoping that the leaders would stay in a group as long as possible, but it split up a mile into the race with 3 Ethiopian runners pushing the pace, and Fruin beside me with a few others. I decided to not play it conservatively and chase after the Ethiopian runners up ahead and risk hitting the wall a bit early. The move paid off and by 4 miles I was on my own and chasing the leader Gurmessa Mergessa. The hills seemed to unfaze me, and I felt strong. Despite closing the gap to 9 seconds I could not catch Gurmessa. I came in as the runner-up (2nd place) in a time of 1:07.25. This was right around my goal time for the race, and the placing exceeded my expectations.

This finish, and the mental toughness I had at all times during the race leads me to believe 1:05 is in grasps on a flatter faster course in Montreal on April 18th.  The course took its toll on my body though, and I have needed everyday possible to recover from the tight turns, up hills, and downhills, before racing the Monument Avenue 10k tomorrow morning.

Washington Suntrust National Half Marathon splits

first 10km: 32:01  last 10km: 31:53     Average: 31:57/10km pace   15:58/5km pace  = 1:07.25

http://www.coolrunning.com/results/11/dc/Mar26_SunTru_set5.shtml

Race Coverage: Video

http://www.wusa9.com/video/default.aspx?bctid=858350573001#/WUSA%2DNews/National+Marathon%3A+Supporters+Speak/46371336001/45927990001/858350573001

Monument avenue 10k

If you havent heard of this race, kindly remove your hands from your ears, and remove your body from the cave your living in haha…jokes…but in all seriousness (very serious face on)…there are 42,000 runners in the race and it takes place on Monument Avenue in Richmond, Virginia. It is also very competitive with the Likes of Abdi Abdirahman, Dan Browne, Alene Reta, etc etc having run the race. The winner is usually in the time frame of 28 mid and the course has hosted the USA Championships.

With such as astonishing amount of elites, I can say I was honoured and shocked when elite athlete co-ordinator and late great runner Thom Suddeth asked me to join Ethiopian runner Abiyot Endale in speaking at Echo lake Elementary school at an assembly about running. I jumped on the opportunity, and this morning we spoke to the school about running. It went well, and the experience was wonderful.

The race is at 8:30am tomorrow, and I seek to improve upon my 2010 Canadian 10k Championships personal best of 30:36. Surely, I will update my readers on the result.

National Suntrust Half Marathon

Echo Lake Elementary School

Just after speaking at Echo Lake

Casablanca Classic 8km (Preview)

November 13th (less than 2 weeks from now) the Casablanca Classic 8k will be held in Grimsby, Ontario. I would recommend this race to anyone looking for a flat course, good competition, and a well-organized event. In the past 2 years I have come to rely on race director Jerry Frieson’s Subaru Series to try to blast off some quick efforts.

This year’s race will offer a truly exciting display with one of Canada’s best “ever” distance runners Reid Coolsaet, previous Series Champion Joesphat Ongari, and current series leader Derek Nakluski. These competitors are just a  few among many elites racing at this year’s event.

Not to be over shadowed by the big names at this years event, I will also be racing and looking to disappoint the competition.  

Race Website

http://www.instride.ca/

Last years results

http://www.sportstats.ca/display-results.php?lang=eng&racecode=44488

2009 RACE VIDEO

Halloween Haunting 10km

On October 31st I raced at the Halloween haunting 10km in London, Ontario. The Halloween Haunting is one of several races that make up the London Runners Choice Honda Series. The race came at a point in my season where I really felt I needed to compete. I wanted to be 100% sure that when I enter into some bigger races in the upcoming weeks that no rust remain. Knowing that the course record was only 30:25 by Ryan Mackenzie, who to my knowledge has run 13:30 for 5k, I didn’t expect a blazing time from the running gods on a rolling Springbank course. 

What the race did offer though was some excellent competition from the Canadian 10km Champion Rob Watson, Scotiabank Half Marathon and Niagara Half Marathon Champion Dagim Yesthela, fellow Saucony teammate Cleve Thorson, and a few other Guelph based lads. Anyways; I certainly did knock off some rust with an opening km of 2:56.  3km into the race I was running with Rob Watson and Dagim Yesthela. We ran a split of 8:54. At 5km, Watson had moved well aheadof the competition and I was stuck in no mans land. This was the case from 4km to 10km, which may be a good explanation for a slower 2nd half on my part.

I went through 5km in 15:04 and finished the race in 2nd place in 30:41 just 16secs off Mckenzies course record. 30:41 was also the 3rd fastest time ran on this Springbank course. Watson smashed the course record in a disgusting final time of 29:47. I am looking forward to the Casablanca 8km where I can finally see a quick time on paper worthy of my current fitness level.

* The womans race was also very competitive and Lauren King’s course record was beat by Lanni Marchant. Congrats to Stephaney Fay on her season best time of 39:46. Looking forward to reading the new blog (on my blog roll)

Race Results: http://www.chiptimeresults.com/resultsreader.php?y=2010&r=rchalloweenL.htm

Previous Race Results: http://www.runnerschoice.on.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=35&Itemid=60

Race Pictures: http://berdan.ca/races

Stratford 10km Results

 

 Last year I entered the Stratford Festival 10km not knowing too much about it. I discovered that the course was quite hilly and challenging, the prize money was excellent, and it is an all around fun event close to home. This year was the same with all but one exception; the level of competition had increased in both the womans and mens fields (prize money seems to have that effect).

This year the top three Stratford Festival 10km finishers were as such; in 1st was Derek Snider who was coming off an impressive victory a couple of weeks back at the Vic Mathews Cross Country race in Guelph where he finished well ahead of fellow Guelph runners Kyle Boorsma and Alex Genest. In 2nd place was yours truly, just 3 seconds back,which resulted from a fast last km by Snider. In 3rd place was the 2008 Canadian Marathon Champion and World Championship Marathon Competitor Gitah Macharia.

This year’s race unfolded as such. Snider and Macharia took out the first km with confidence in 2:56, After which Snider joked ” anyone up for 29mins today?” I responded with “arg” haha. Up until 6km Snider and Macharia led the race with myself floating about 5 metres behind. At around 6km, I felt the pace settle and this allowed me catch up and briefly pass my competitors. at 7km we faced a rather large hill, which proved to be a bit much on the day for Macharia as he fell off the pace soon after.

Now, Snider and I were left together and running on cruise control expecting a fast and hilly finish. As a side note, I believe an earlier injection of pace (7-8km) would have been the wisest tactic on my part. That said though, Snider made the first move at 9km. I caught up again after this move, but at 9.5km he made his final decisive move to cross the finish line in 30:54 (3 secs off course record and $250 bonus). I crossed the line in 30:57 (6 secs off course record & 21 secs faster than last year).

I was pleased with this, my first race in 3 months, and know that this race paves the way for an impressive run in my upcoming races. My next race will be the Canadian 10km Championships/Toronto Zoo Run on October 16th. I hope to improve on last year’s 7th place finish.

2010 Stratford Festival Results will be posted here http://www.chiptimeresults.com/resultsreader.php?y=2010&r=festivalcityL.htm or http://www.festivalcityrun.ca/festival-city-10k-run/finish-line.html

NEWSPAPER ARTICLE: http://www.stratfordbeaconherald.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2785085

*Congratulations goes out to the following individuals*

 Jason Smith in the 3.5km race and Stephaney Fay in the 10km who both seem to be getting into fine form.

Derek Nakluski who won the Waterloo Open in decisive fashion. 

 

 

more  fantastic race pics by Mark Dewan:  http://picasaweb.google.com/warrior.nordic/20101003FestivalCityRoadRun#

Canadian Half Marathon Championships

This weekend (April 18th) was the Canadian Half Marathon Championships in Montreal, Quebec. The host race was the Banque Scotia 21k organized through the Canada Running Series.

I arrived in Montreal by train on Friday the 16th and stayed at the Delta hotel in Downtown Montreal. It had been 4 degrees and freezing rain when I had arrived.  I figured that at least the weather in Montreal was being upfront in telling the competitors that they were in for a tough one this weekend. My roommate was Rejean Chiasson. I had never met him before. When he strolled into our hotel room later that night I was watching the music video SheWolf by Shakira. He pretended not to notice, so I knew he was a good guy right away for not judging me haha.

The race started at 10am and by that time it had started raining. The rain got progressively harder as the km’s passed by. The course had mud patches from the rain, and it made the many sharp turns rather tricky. The course was flat and along the water(windy). Yet, I would say if it wasn’t  for the rain and it’s effect on the course, one could run decently fast.

Matt Loiselle went out like a man on a mission leaving his competitors as a distant memory. Ongari and Baghdad followed, but a few seconds behind. Perhaps lacking the necessary half marathon experience, I felt more comfortable tucking behind the womans champion Mary Davies for the first km haha. As I started to gain confidence and comfort I found myself in a pack with 3 other runners; two I recognized as Chiasson and Osaduik. I went to the front for several km’s trying to push our group closer to Baghdad. As I started to make a move our group was instructed to run in the wrong direction by a course volunteer.  Because I had just made a bit of a move before our wrong turn I found myself a good distance behind the group as we veered back on course.

Taking a wrong turn and falling behind the pack was a big mental and physical test. It had occurred around 8km in. Although there was lots of time to catch back up, I didn’t want to expend too much energy getting back with the group. I was pretty pissed off to. I forced myself to calm down and focus on slowly and methodically making my way back to the group. By 10km I had made my way back into the pack, but wasn’t sure how much energy I had expended to do so.

With  5 km’s left in the race the pace had once again quickened and the rain had really started to come down. This is when I noticed the toll of the earlier km’s. My last 5k  was ugly. None the less I ended up finishing as the 4th Canadian and 7th overall in a personal best time of 1:06.34.

The race and weekend was a lot of fun and an experience I would recommend to everyone. The Canadian Running Series certainly knows how to run a good race.  Although I was somewhat happy with my performance (considering the gauntlet of a race as my uncle put it) I think I am in shape to run much faster than the day had shown.

Not sure whats next, need some time to train (def more mileage) and recover, than perhaps the Ontario 10km Championships in London where I am hoping for a solid field.

Canadian Half Marathon Results

http://www.athletics.ca/montreal2010/

Banque Scotia 21k Website

http://www.canadarunningseries.com/monthalf/

Men Half Marathon:
1. Matt Loiselle, 1:05:07
2. Steve Osaduik, 1:06:05
3. Rejean Chiasson, 1:06:13
4. Adam Hortian, 1:06:34
5. Matt Clout, 1:08:29

Women Half Marathon:
1. EmilyTallen, 1:15:41
2. Krista DuChene, 1:15:55
3. Marilyn Arsenault, 1:16:37
4. Kristina Rody, 1:17:12

5. Chantelle Wilder, 1:18:41

London Downtown 5k & Harry’s Spring Runoff

2 weeks ago I tried to pull off a weekend double of 5k & 8k. The attempt started in London at the Downtown 5k, and ended with an 8k at the Harry’s Spring Run Off in Toronto. The goal was to try to cruise the 5k on Friday and run quicker on Saturday.

Friday’s race went well in that I won the race in an effort that coincided with the plan. I ran 15:11, which was around the same time as last years winner. Next came the Harry’s Spring Run Off. When rising from bed that morning I felt wobbly and dizzy. I sat back down immediately and for a second thought “what the hell was with that!” It later occurred to me that it had been in the 20’s and sunny the day of the first race and I had spent a bit too much time in the sun. 20’s was amplified by the fact that it had snowed and been cold just days before.

Feeling a bit under the weather and lacking of energy I decided to get a coffee before the 8k. I am not a coffee drinker haha. For the first 2k of the race I felt like I had sniffed cocaine (super human energy haha), and my heart was racing, but then came 3k where I pulled aside and puked. It was fair to say I learned a lot this weekend from what can best be described as probably the dumbest series of actions I have ever attempted.

Looking back on Harry’s Spring I still wish I had got back into the mix and completed the race. I think that a lot can be gained by struggling through a race to a pride busting finish….like humility and greater motivation for future races. It is also easier to look yourself in the mirror when you know you committed to something and followed through on it.

London Downtown 5k Results

http://www.runnerschoice.on.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=50&Itemid=40

Harry’s Spring Run Off (Live)

Looks like everyone can watch this weekends Harry’s Spring Run Off at the link below. The race is on Saturday at 10am, and will feature some of Canada’s top distance runners.

Watch my race live on Saturday at 10am. (Harry’s Spring Run Off)

http://www.crstv.ca/

* I will also be racing the 5k the day before. It’s going to be a rough, but fun weekend. The back to back hard races will help me practice running while tired and also toughen me up a wee bit mentally.

Below is also a list of Saturday’s field; you might recognize a couple of these names from…the Olympics and various World Championships! haha.

Race link: http://www.canadarunningseries.com/springrunoff/index.htm

Elite Start List

Bib #   Last Name    First Name      City (Country)
===================================================
MEN
      1 Milne        Taylor          Guelph
      2 Ongeri       Josephat        Burlington
      3 Gillis       Eric            Guelph
      4 Loiselle     Matt            Toronto
      5 Rachem       Baghdad         Montreal
      6 Watson       Rob             Guelph
      7 Thorson      Cleve           Guelph
      8 Oukid        Fethi           Montreal
      9 Recioui      Tewfik          Verdun
     10 Dehbi        Amor            Montreal
     11 Genest       Alex            Guelph
     12 Karanja      David           Hamilton
     13 Nakluski     Derek           Kitchener
     14 Davila       Marco           PERU
     15 Quispe       Jhon William    PERU
     17 Essebaa      Kamel           Montreal
     18 Hortian      Adam            Waterloo
     25 Gehl         Terry           St Charles
     26 McDonell     Scott           Mississauga
     27 Boyd         Steve           Kingston
     28 Betchim      Nourddine       Montreal

WOMEN
     30 Njeri        Lucy            KENYA
     31 Harvey       Lisa            Calgary
     32 Aboungono    Josiane         Toronto
     33 Wiltse       Paula           Brockville
     34 Rollinson    Ayesha          Toronto
     36 Tallen       Emily           Kingston

Suntrust National Half Marathon

As planned, I raced at the Suntrust National Half Marathon this weekend. When the gun went off, it was still dark out. That’s because it was only 7am! It certainly seemed unusual running in the dark, but Washington is a hard city to shut down (even at 7am). I went into this race with only a general idea of my fitness, and how I would fair at the half marathon distance. My mileage had only started to reach the low 80’s a few weeks before, and that is not what I would consider significant base to work with for a half. I say low 80’s as an estimate, because some of you may be shocked to know; I don’t keep a mileage log. Instead, I try to listen to my body and I rely on coach Terry Goodenough to give me the day by day.  As Iona College Coach Mick Byrne was often quoted as saying; ” I just try to enjoy the journey.” I found that in past, I would fixate too much on hitting the mileage, and I would base my confidence of the mileage. Coach Byrne recognized this. It was silly really, because I could hit 90 miles and feel like shit, but still be pumped that I got that sweet # on paper to look back on in the future. Now, I find the best method for me, is to “just run.” And ya know what, I still get in around the same mileage I had been running before, but with no mental stress or false belief of fitness.

Anyways, back to the race! So it was my first time racing the half and I didn’t know what to expect. There was a pack of about 10 guys together for the first 8km, but by 10km there was just 5 of us. We went through 10km in 31:12, and I felt more and more confident the longer I stayed with the Brooks guys. As we passed the 10km split we were actually running up a hill. Then after that hill, came another hill, and another hill. The field really spread out quickly after 10km. The hills really tested my strength, and the downhills were even worse because of the heavy pounding. I was really hurting just 3km’s later at about 13km into the race. The demographic of the race changed so much in just 3km. The course was flat and fast up until 10km, and a nightmare from 10km to 21.1. The magnificent historical monuments and the waves of enthusiastic supporters kept me going though. I ended up crossing the line in 4th place in a  time of 1:07.18.

After the race I spoke with the other competitors who were also in agreement that the course had been extremely challenging the last 11.1km. We had also wondered why the last 3 miles had not been marked. Nobody knew how far they were until the finish!?! Despite this, we all agreed that it was a pretty neat race and worthy of the hard effort.

I think this race was a good experience for someone who has no experience at the half. I will go into the Canadian Half Marathon Championships expecting a hard fight, and Suntrust has done its job in preparing me to do just that. God willing, I will finish the Canadian Champs with a place fitting of a sub 1:06 half 😉

Hortian out!

Start of Race 7am & still dark

The finish…oh there it is!

Race link: http://www.nationalmarathon.com/

Results: http://coolrunning.com/results/10/dc/Mar20_Carefi_set1.shtml

Trip to Edinburgh, Scotland

 

  In January of 2010, I, as well as several other athletes were invited to compete at the Bupa Great Edinburgh IAAF XC Meet in Edinburgh, Scotland. There were several distance runners (male and female) from across Canada who were contemplating racing. In the end, I was “the only” individual to accept the invite.

I didn’t decide to go to Scotland because I was in peak physical condition, but simply because I couldn’t let such a wonderful opportunity pass me by. My thinking was that you never know if you will get injured (which is a high probability in the risky running business). Turns out, I did not regret my decision. Not only did I get to race against world record holder Kenenisa Bekele, but I also met a whole bunch of top European runners. It was a humbling experience to say the least.

Looking back on the two weeks I spent in Scotland, I thought about how wonderful it was to race, travel, and spend time with my relatives. Yet, there was also something else circulating in my mind. I recalled that during my stay at the meet hotel, Andy Caine (meet director), as well as the many european athletes I met asked me the same question; Where are the other Canadian runners?

After my answer of “drinking Canadian beer and watching hockey”, I realized it was a pretty good question! Where were the Canadian runners? Why would they not have taken advantage of this opportunity? As I had experienced personally, the meet director had been accommodating in every way. Is Canada such a distance running power that we can sit back and let an opportunity like this pass us by? I think not. I am forced to wonder if something is a rye here. Whether it surrounds the athletes or with Athletics Canada I don’t know. What I do sense is that the athletes are pissed at Athletics Canada and Athletics Canada is pissed at the athletes.  I also know that when we as a nation, or as a sport, pass up an opportunity such as this, a meet director thinks, bahhh why bother with sending Canadian runners  invites.  I think this is something we distance runners should seriously think about.

In closing, I would like to mention that in 2009 Canada was well represented at this meet by two Canadians; Marilyn Arsenault & Derek Nakluski, which paved the way for the invites received in 2010. I owe these individuals and probably several others a great thanks.

For those seeking experience racing abroad the Bupa series is certainly a great way to go. http://www.greatrun.org/

Bupa Great Edinburgh International (IAAF)

http://www.iaaf.org/CROS10/news/newsid=55256.html

Racing for Training

In April of 2009, I decided to run the Harry Spring Run-Off as my first serious race back. I actually had the chops to apply for elite status despite probably not being in the most elite shape. On race day, I was placed on the starting line next to running studs like Ryan Mackenzie and Jon Brown, Taylor Milne, etc.  It was a very cold day even for March, and so I rationalized or irrationalized depending on how you look at it, that the extra pounds I still had looming around well… “my ass mostly” would keep me warmer than my fitter and leaner competitors during the race. Upon reflection, I must have really been grasping for confidence based on my reasoning there.  I had never run the race before and didn’t know what to expect, but “pain” is usually a good guess. 

The course, as many of you know, is quite hilly.  I think it’s fair to say that if your not strong like bull this course will expose your shortcomings. Anyways, as expected Jon Browne won the race. I saw he was running really well at about 300m as he disappeared into the horizon. Truthfully though, my race went pretty well. I ran 25:49 and was somewhere around the top 10. The race had served its purpose. It got me excited about racing again, which also got me excited about training leading into the summer and this cross-country season.

Harry’s Spring run off 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDVnkNawZz4