How I Won the Ottawa 1/2 Marathon

Alanna & Russ' Wedding (May 18, 2014)

I had run the Ottawa 1/2 Marathon twice before and it proved to be a very nice course through the streets of the nation's capital and along the Rideau canal. My first attempt was mediocre at best, with a final time of 2:02, walking most of the last few miles, and a bad mood that left me annoyed at the  cheering fans misting us with water on a hot day. My second attempt was a significant improvement, finishing in 1:46, a personal best at the time, and a much better mood! However, I still struggled in the last few miles and a desire to conquer the Ottawa 1/2 Marathon remained.

With us being in Ottawa for our friends Alanna and Russ' wedding a few weeks ago, and with Christina being in the wedding party, I found myself alone on Sunday morning. Anticipating all the eating and drinking that would occur later, I decided it was a great idea to participate once again in the Ottawa 1/2 Marathon.

I started slow, determined to finish strong, and took in the sights of the city and its thousands of tulips in full bloom for the annual tulip festival. I felt sluggish at first but kept a good pace and continued to pass my competitors. With about 5 miles to go, along the canal, something magical happened. All of a sudden I felt so light and fast. I picked up the pace and caught up to several other runners. Then, out of nowhere, a cyclist started pacing me. He stayed slightly ahead of me, making sure I continued to pick up speed, and would look back at times to make sure I was still with him. With about 2 miles to go, I had more to give so I surged passed the cyclist and waved to thank him. This is the moment I had been hoping for. The street was lined with people, I was feeling great, and all of a sudden I realized that with half a mile to go, there was no one else to catch. I had done it. I crossed the finish line, broke the ribbon, ran back to my hotel, and went on with my day!

As you can imagine, in reality, the story was a little bit different. The race weekend was actually the week after we were there. My competitors were families, strollers, dogs, and fair weather runners. My cyclist pacer was a 5 year old boy who just happened to be going the same pace I was. Finally, there was no finish line and cheering fans. However, I had a nice 7 mile run that day and I did feel light and fast. On those days when running feels effortless, it is so easy to lose yourself in your thoughts. Sometimes you think of people. Sometimes you solve work problems. Sometimes you win races!

This is why I run.