| 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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| Zoom Vomero 10 Miles: 10.00 | Saucony ISO Triumph Miles: 5.00 | Brooks Ghost 6 Gold Miles: 9.00 | Skechers GoRun4 Miles: 14.00 |
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| | Easy run; 8:40 pace.
A little stiff from the race, but not bad. Mostly the hamstrings are tight, but that has been an ongoing issue for some time anyway. Gearing up for a half back in Toronto this coming Saturday.
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| Zoom Vomero 10 Miles: 5.00 |
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| | 5 easy miles; 8:33 pace.
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| Saucony ISO Triumph Miles: 5.00 |
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| | Easy run; 8:33 pace.
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| Brooks Ghost 6 Gold Miles: 6.00 |
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| | Easy run; 8:27 pace.
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| Zoom Vomero 10 Miles: 5.00 |
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| | Well, today is the day. My Boston Marathon registration window opens in just under 2 hours. I have the form on my screening, waiting.
Leaving later today for Toronto - running a Half tomorrow morning. Because of the ups and downs of my training, and the lack of focus, I really don't know what to expect. However, since I DO need a goal, I've decided to aim for a pace of 7:10. It won't quite give me a PR, but I think it's realistic for me at this point, while remaining challenging. We'll see. It's supposed to be hot and wet tomorrow.
So, just ran an easy 3 at a pace of 8:42.
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| Brooks Ghost 6 Gold Miles: 3.00 |
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| | Race: |
Toronto 10 Miler/Half Marathon (13.1 Miles) 01:38:53, Place overall: 21, Place in age division: 3 | | Well, that was interesting. Certainly not what I had in mind, but I guess I'm okay with it, all in all.
Bad accident on Friday, driving down, in the opposite lanes of the expressway. Closed the highway for those going North and really backed things up. I arrived in Toronto around dinner time, picked up my number, and check into my hotel.
Dinner at an English pub across the street. Fish and chips. Only one beer this time, compared to four last week. Hmm, maybe should have gone for four!
Hot and humid in the morning. 22C/72F, with 89% humidity making it feel like 30C/85F. The sweat was prolific.
I was very conscious of the time, as I had to run my race, get back to my hotel to shower and check out, and then drive back to Sudbury in time for my 5pm Mass. So, needless to say, I was antsy when the race started 9 minutes late.
Cool site. For all the years Toronto has been around, they have dumped fill in this part of Lake Ontario, and it extends out a few miles into the lake. They have turned it all into parkland/marina, with walking/biking/running trails. It was nice to discover this place, and the race was to raise funds for it's conservatory.
My anxiety pushed me to the front of the starting line, quite by accident. I've never started on the mat before, and I knew I didn't belong there. It kinda just happened! Oh well. There were several events going on, with the Half Marathon starting off with a 10 miler event.
So, we're off (9 minutes late!), and I'm running way too fast. I'm too experienced to make these mistakes. First mile in 6:54, but with a top speed of 5:25. Right away I knew that was going to cause me trouble, especially with this humidity/heat. I was supposed to run 7:10 splits, but my next three were all around 7:02. Too fast, and it did catch up with me, I'm afraid.
So, it kinda went downhill from there, and I ended up running as hard as I could just to keep my splits below 8:00. And a few still came close to that.
I came in 21st overall, and 3rd in my division. But it wasn't a great run for me. Averaged out at 7:31/mile.
So, the route is pretty flat, and mostly paved. The gravel sections were a bit messy, and you did have to dodge the big puddes. It was out and around the lighthouse on the point, then back almost to the start line, and then the same thing repeated. The 10 milers, of course, had shorter loops, which meant that I was catching up with them and passing the slower ones. Nice, from a head perspective, even though they were racing a different event.
Anyway, my legs were toast. I found it hard to even pick it up at the end. And almost 2 minutes slower than my Ottawa Half in May. Ah well. It was still good to be there.
The ride home was a challenge. Monsoon rain for the 1st half, and a major detour due to an accident. I ended up driving the 4 1/2 hours non-stop, and just made it back in time for Mass. Sore! Major blood blister on my big toe too.
I think I'll run the 10k, rather than the Half, next week in Sault Ste. Marie.
Decent enough finish line photo, so I coughed up the $9.00 and bought it so that my blog photo is up to date. The smile is fake - I wasn't actually that happy.
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| Skechers GoRun4 Miles: 14.00 |
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| Zoom Vomero 10 Miles: 10.00 | Saucony ISO Triumph Miles: 5.00 | Brooks Ghost 6 Gold Miles: 9.00 | Skechers GoRun4 Miles: 14.00 |
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