| Location: Garson - Sudbury,ON,Canada Member Since: Apr 20, 2013 Gender: Male Goal Type: Other Running Accomplishments: I ran my first marathon in 1998: "The Friendly Marathon" in Massey, Ontario. I was 32. I had never raced in a shorter event, and I trained really poorly - ended up running it in 4:00:30. After that, I gave up running for the most part for 6 years. I got into karate a bit more seriously, until I got my knee kicked out and had ACL surgery. Then I became a 'fair weather runner' and started to run half marathons every so often. As a priest, entering weekend races always meant having to book a holiday, so it just didn't happen much. My holidays were primarily focussed on various canoe and kayak trips.
At some point, I started training more consistently, and started to think of myself as a runner. I guess doing that in your 40's is better than never doing it at all. I even started to wonder if I had it in me to qualify for Boston. Well, I did. First time didn't count, I suppose, since I didn't make the "cut". But the second time was a charm, and on my sixth Marathon, run in Chicago in 2015, I beat my BQ by almost 6 minutes. And now, running a BQ is routine for me, not that I have any desire to run Boston again.
Through it all, I've made tons of mistakes - and have had lots of injuries to show for it. Hopefully, now that I'm in my late 50's, I'm a bit wiser and can use that to my advantage to continue running for a very long time.
My PRs:
5k (12 run): Guelph, ON. October 10, 2016 (50 yrs.) 20:10
10k (10 run): Collingwood October 5, 2013 (47 yrs.) 43:37
Half Marathon (26 run): Cleveland May 18, 2014 (48 yrs) 1:33:08
Marathon (12 run): Ste-Jerome, QC October 3, 2021 (55 yrs.) 3:22:10
Ultras (8 run):
Run for the Toad 50k Trail September 30, 2017 (51 yrs.) 5:31:23
Niagara Falls 100k June 17, 2018 (52 yrs.) 12:26:30
That Dam Hill 24 hours September 15-16, 2018 Completed 100 Miles in 23:20:44
Sulphur Springs 50 mile Trail May 25, 2019 10:37:27
May 25, 2024 9:21:26
Limberlost 35 Mile Trail July 6, 2024 8:12:57
Haliburton Forest 100 mile Trail September 7-8, 2019 26:46:27
September 7-8, 2024 DNF after 65 miles/16 hours
Pacing my sister in her 1st Half Marathon. Short-Term Running Goals: I really want to take on the Haliburton 100 again, after it kicked my butt in 2024, but I'm going to wait until 2026 to take it on again, when I'm 60 years old.
For 2025, I want to try running a Backyard Ultra, just to see how far I can run.
So, a couple of fun runs: 30K Around the Bay in March, and Pick Your Poison 50K in April, followed by Coach D's Backyard in May. That one only runs for 24 hours, so I'm using it to see how I handle the format, in view of running my goal race for 2025: The Bush Bitches Backyard, here in my hometown of Sudbury, in October. Let the training begin! Long-Term Running Goals: Run until this old body of mine won't let me run any more. I was inspired in the Spring of 2016, watching the start of the Ottawa Marathon. Near the back of the pack was an 'old man', running with his walker. I loved it! I thought ... there's me in 20 years. Maybe.  Personal: I am a Roman Catholic priest of 31 years, ministering in the Diocese of Sault Ste. Marie. I spent 8 years ministering in the small town of Wawa (where I helped establish the annual Blackfly Run) and 9 years in Sault Ste. Marie. I have been in the Sudbury region now for 14 years. Currently I Pastor 2 small Parishes: St. John the Evangelist in Garson, and St. Bernardine of Siena in Skead, covering the area just Northeast of the city, surrounding the Sudbury Airport. |
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| Hoka Bondi Miles: 106.00 | Triumph 18 Miles: 24.00 | Hoka Bondi 8 Treadmill/outside Miles: 62.00 | Saucony Triumph 18 Miles: 18.00 | Ghost 13 Blue Sole Miles: 20.00 | Brooks Ghost 13 Miles: 4.00 | Salomon Speedcross 4 Miles: 16.00 |
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| | Gorgeous running morning. Hovering just around freezing, with a warm sun once it rose. A stiff North wind which I ran 3 of the miles into. 8:55 pace. It just felt good to run a bit faster. | |
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| | Bright and cool early morning run. 9:04 pace. | |
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| | Speedwork on the treadmill.
7 x 800 @ 6:58 pace with 400 recoveries.
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| | Late snow storm on Wednesday. Over a foot of very wet snow. I had to start really early this morning to get my mileage in, so ran on the treadmill. Mostly at a 9:31 pace, but I slowed it down after mile 11 because of some tightness in my psoas. I got off a few times to stretch it, and it seems to be ok. I'll find out tomorrow when I run 22 miles to complete my back to back. |
| Hoka Bondi 8 Treadmill/outside Miles: 18.00 |
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| | Second half of my 'back to back'. Full sun. Just at the freezing mark to start, and then up to 4C/40F at the finish. Heavy legs toward the end, but kept a pretty even pace throughout, which averaged 9:41/mile. No issues with the psoas today, but I stopped to stretch it out twice just in case.
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| | Eclipse day. Cloudy. Of course. Slight soreness in my left iguinal ligament, but was ok for running. Pancake flat road, which helped. 9:46 easy pace. |
| Saucony Triumph 18 Miles: 12.00 |
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| | 9:32 easy pace. Everything feels great, so no soreness after last week's back to back. And that is after a long drive home today. Well, 6 hours, so not TOO bad.
Was in beautiful Dunnville, on the North shore of Lake Erie, for yesterday's total eclipse. I drove down Sunday and just returned today. This was a redemption trip, after my very long 1600km (1000 mile) motorcycle ride to Bloomsdale, MO in 2017 to watch the eclipse there. Then, it was a very hot day with very clear skies. Just a few minutes before totality, one stupid cloud floated in front of the sun and totatally blocked the view. It drifted away a few minutes after totality. The man next to me summed up everyone's feelings when he said sarcastically "Well, ain't that just sweet! Thank you Jesus!" That sentence made it all worth while for me! Especially afterwards, when I was stuck in the biggest traffic jam in American history.
This time, it was cloudy for most of the morning and the afternoon. You could catch glimpses of the partial eclipse every so often when the clouds parted. Then, for most of the 3 1/2 minutes of totality, the clouds right at that point cleared, and I had my first view of the sun's aurora. It was awesome! Made it all worth while once again. A trip well worth taking. Thank you Jesus! (and no sarcasm) :)
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| Saucony Triumph 18 Miles: 6.00 |
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| | Speedwork on the treadmill.
7 x 800 @ 6:53 pace with 400 recoveries.
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| Hoka Bondi 8 Treadmill/outside Miles: 10.00 |
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| | Nasty morning. Cold. Windy. Wet. Treadmill run. 9:31 pace.
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| Hoka Bondi 8 Treadmill/outside Miles: 10.00 |
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| | It rained 2 inches over the past 2 days. A little snow thrown in there too. And lots of wind. Today, it's just the wind. 35-55 km/h, which is 20-35 mph. Great when it's at your back, but not so nice in your face.
Anyway, other than that, it was hovering around 2C/35F, so not too bad for running. Pace was 9:15/mile, so just shy of 2 1/2 hours of running.
Next Saturday will be my longest "long" run (31 miles) before my Ultra at the end of May.
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| | Easy run in the rising sun. 9:00/mile pace. | |
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| | Ran in my Boston Marathon jacket yesterday and today in honour of the big day. I see an Ethiopian won. I stayed with an Ethiopian family in 2017. Wonderful people, but should not have eaten their food the night before my marathon. 9:33 pace today. | |
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| | Early morning run; 9:01 pace.
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| Ghost 13 Blue Sole Miles: 8.00 |
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| | Easy run in a light, cold rain. 9:05 pace.
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| Brooks Ghost 13 Miles: 4.00 |
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| | Long run today, with half on the Capreol Ski Trails. I ran 8 road, 15 trail, 8 road. 5:20:38. Average pace was 10:21. It started off around the freezing mark, and got as high as 4C/40F. There was some gusty wind, but the forest nullified that for the most part.
Was startled by a big moose in the woods just off the trail, about 30 feet away. It's amazing how big those things are. You don't appreciate that until you are up close. Of course, I startled it too. Also stirred up a partridge at one point.
There was rain/sleet at one point. Then some snow. A bit of rain. And the sun, finally, came out toward the end.
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| | Easy run at 9:13 pace. No ill effects from Saturday's 50K run. | |
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| | Speedwork on the treadmill.
7 x 800 @ 6:53 pace with 400 recoveries.
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| Hoka Bondi 8 Treadmill/outside Miles: 10.00 |
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| | Steady 8:53 pace for this early morning run. I think I'll hit the ski trails tomorrow morning.
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| Ghost 13 Blue Sole Miles: 12.00 |
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| | Back to the Capreol Cross Country Ski Trails. Three loops of the 10K trail (which is really only 8K), plus another mile. I figured I would get soaked, based on the rain forecast. However, it didn't start to rain until around mile 15, and I was finished when the heavy stuff began to fall.
Last week, there were a lot of branches and trees fallen across the trail, which made it more challenging. This week, to my delight, I see someone had gone through with a chainsaw and cleaned it all up. Nice.
4 weeks to Sulphur Springs.
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| Salomon Speedcross 4 Miles: 16.00 |
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| | Hovering just around the freezing mark, but the predicted rain held off, mostly. 9:17 pace. |
| Hoka Bondi 8 Treadmill/outside Miles: 14.00 |
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| | Easy 9:16 pace in a foggy, light rain. | |
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| Hoka Bondi Miles: 106.00 | Triumph 18 Miles: 24.00 | Hoka Bondi 8 Treadmill/outside Miles: 62.00 | Saucony Triumph 18 Miles: 18.00 | Ghost 13 Blue Sole Miles: 20.00 | Brooks Ghost 13 Miles: 4.00 | Salomon Speedcross 4 Miles: 16.00 |
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