Race Recap: 2012 Springbank Half Marathon

44 years young!

I've stared at this blank page for long enough to know that I don't know what to write. This race took place a month ago now, and I just couldn't bring myself to writing much about it. But that's now changed. Something feels renewed, so here I am, writing a race report. Shall we?


A few months ago I had been approached by my coach in regards to helping pace one of our club athletes through their first marathon later in the fall. The idea of me pacing a distance donkey through their first marathon made me chuckle at first, but the more I thought about it, the more I realized it would be a great opportunity for everyone involved. So I smiled back at Steve (my coach), and nonchalantly said "Sure". He looked back at me in shock, and asked me if I had understood him clearly. And that's how I embarked on my mini-marathon training block with Leslie Sexton.

The Springbank Road Races Half Marathon was the first test we'd be putting ourselves through on our journey towards her 2:38 Marathon in October. The training leading up to the race had been going very well for both of us. I was slowly getting used to dialing my pace into the 3:45/km we'd need come race day, and for Leslie it took a little less adjusting as she had already done a previous block at this pace for the 2012 edition of the Around the Bay 30km. This however, would be my first attempt at 'racing' this distance.

The goal was to nail 1:19:00 as closely as possible through the twists and turns, ups and downs of the TVP along the Thames River from Springbank Park all the way to Harris Park and back. The morning was absolutely perfect for running. The temperature was just under 10C, the sun was shining and there was very little wind; I could not have asked for better.

The race unfolded quite perfectly. We had a nice pack until about 7km in, at which point Leslie and I distanced ourselves a bit. We were rolling through the course at 3:40-3:45/km, and it wasn't till we hit 20km that I started to feel the effort in my legs. It also happens that from 20km on the rest of the course is uphill. Oh joy.

In the final meters Leslie and I decided to stop just past the finish line, turn to face each other and shake hands. And that is exactly what we did. We crossed the finish line together in 1:18:44. Pretty close to our goal, and we both felt satisfied.

Leslie and I in sync as we finish up the 1/2 Marathon