Sunday, October 11, 2015
Time: 4:33:20
Overall Place: 773/1202
Thanksgiving
in Victoria BC, this would be the backdrop for my 12th marathon this
year. I was really looking forward to
running this marathon, as if you haven’t heard me say that before, because it
was also the first international reunion for the Marathon Maniacs. In case I haven’t mentioned it before, the
Maniacs is a club of about 24,000 members throughout the world of likeminded
runners. The headquarters as they like
to call it, is in Tacoma Washington.
They are made up of really two disciplines, those who run marathons and
those who run half marathons, also known as Half Fanatics. You can also belong to both clubs and be
called a Double Agent. This is a group
of people who are all passionate about running and yes bordering on nuts, they
all belonging to a very well organized and fun club, and yes I am a member. What great way to spend thanksgiving if I can’t
spend it with my family. Actually the
best part of the weekend is that I got to spend it with Wendy and her husband
Paul, and for those of you who don’t know, Wendy is my middle daughter.
They came in from Calgary to spend the
weekend with me. Wendy did run the half
marathon because that is what we do, we run.
I need to
mention here that it was a very interesting week to say the least highlighted
by a radiothon hosted by Siloam Mission and put on by 95.1 CHVN. They had invited me down to Siloam to be interviewed
live from noon till 1:00. It was my
opportunity to share with the listeners what I am doing, why I am doing it, and
why they should want to support Siloam Mission.
It was quite overwhelming for me and of course hindsight is always
2020. After I left the interview I
thought of all the things I wanted to say.
Now I have an opportunity to express one of those thoughts. I remembered my race from the Twin Cities the
week before the support of the crowd along the whole marathon route. There were absolutely thousands of people
lining the entire course and it was incredible the amount of energy all of
these supporters were giving throughout the race. They didn’t have to be there, but it meant a
great deal to the runners. It was a little thing that meant a lot. It is just like supporting Siloam Mission, it
can be a very small thing that someone can do, but it means so much to the less
fortunate of Winnipeg. By running I feel
like I am making a small contribution but I am doing what I can.
The weekend
started out for me on Friday flying out to Victoria via Vancouver. I put in a half day of work starting at 6:00
in the morning and leaving at noon to catch the plane at around 2:20 and
arriving in Victoria at the hotel around 8:00.
Wendy was already there so it was nice to see her on my arrival. Paul
didn’t come till after midnight so I didn’t see him till the morning. We had a harbor view from the 11th
floor of our hotel and what beautiful view. 
Victoria is a very beautiful city especially around the harbor. Lots of boat traffic coming and going with
tourists coming from both Seattle and Vancouver. Victoria also has a lot of ocean views as you
move out of the downtown and this was where a lot of the marathon course was
run.
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| On our walk to the Convention Center I found this leaf. I've never seen anything quite so big. |
On Saturday
we had a day all planned out. In the
morning I wanted to go to the Expo and pick up the race number and find whatever
other freebies we could get and then in the afternoon I wanted to hear some of
the speakers that this race was putting on.
The evening was the official reunion dinner for the maniacs and half
fanatics. The Expo gives off a certain
kind of energy because there is a lot of excitement from people doing their
first marathon to those doing their 500th. Runners are generally very positive people and
this atmosphere is electric and contagious.
The speakers were quite good this year.
The first speaker was a lady in her fifties who spoke on running into
your 50’s, 60’s and beyond, very interesting and informative. The second session was a group of runners
known as ultra-marathoners.
These are
people who go way beyond running the traditional marathon and go to test the limits
of their endurance. These runners will
run distances of 50 miles, 100 miles and beyond as well as 24 hour races mostly
through trails. They are amazing
athletes and prove the human body can do amazing things. The third speaker was Darrel Fox who is the
brother to Terry Fox.
He told of the
journey he and Terry took to raise money for cancer as he attempted to run across
Canada. His trek was cut short in
Thunder Bay as he succumbed to the very disease he was raising money for. What an amazing story and legacy he left in
order to fulfill his dream to end cancer.
It is still going now stronger than ever. Here is one individual who had a dream and he
took what he had which was his love for running and turned it into something great. The dream lives on.
In the evening
as I mention I met a whole room full of Maniacs and Half Fanatics and we shared
a meal together. What a lot of fun talking
to people as crazy as I am, each one of them having great stories about all of
the marathons they have run in their lifetime.
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| Pre race shot of some of the Maniacs |
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| Angie and Patti They did a great job of pacing. |
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| Prez Steven Yee The Maniacs also have a great sense of humor. Photo Bomb |
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| Pre race stretching |
The next morning
was race day and I felt pretty good. Wendy’s race went off first at 7:30 and mine
would follow at 8:45. It was probably
the latest start for a marathon I had ever done so it gave me a chance to sleep
a little longer. After Wendy went off I
was able to hang out with Paul for a bit and then we headed over to the start
line for a group photo with all of the other Maniacs that were running.
My plan was simple for this race. There was a runner that I have been following
who was also involved in the club and organizing part of the reunion. Her name was Angie and it just happened that
she was also the 4:30 pacer. I felt that
this was a realistic goal for me as I had just run a hard race the week before
and I had no interest in going out that hard again. They called this course a “rolly polly”
course with small hills throughout.
Well, it was hillier than I expected and the course began to wear on me. I did however have a great time with Angie
and her pacing partner Patti and the group of other runners that had
joined. What a beautiful course and what
a beautiful day to run a race on. Well I
stayed with the group until mile 23 and then slowed the pace down to take a few
more walk breaks. Now I said that the
hills began to wear on me and I believe they did. I also checked the elevation gain and it was
only about 480 feet of vertical gain which is really not all that much, so I
can only say that I must have just been too tired from the effort the week
before. 
Back to the
hotel we went and I took my traditional ice bath, rolled out my muscles and
stretched. After this I was ready for a
good meal and we headed down to the Old Spaghetti Factory. They have one in Victoria as well.
The evening
was nice because we could just relax and rest from a long tiring day and watch
the Blue Jays and Canadians on TV. This
is a must do with Paul as these are his two favorite sports teams.
The next
morning I woke up at 4:30 and caught a shuttle to the airport in time for my
6:50 flight to Vancouver and then home to Winnipeg. What a great weekend it was being able to
spend time with family doing something I really enjoy and I didn’t have to
drive a mile to get there. I love travel
by plane. It is so much more
enjoyable. Now to do some power resting,
because I only have six days to rest up before the next race in Kansas
City. We leave on Thursday and come home
Sunday and yes we are driving. That’s
okay I have two drivers with me.
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