That title seems pretty big, but it all relates to one thing, the BMO Vancouver Marathon.  It is so nice when it all comes together like that!

So, let’s break it down.  The World Class Event is pretty obvious, especially since it was already voted Top 10 by Forbes.  And, the event is now the largest Canadian Marathon event.  The organizers, the City of Vancouver and all the sponsors, supporters and volunteers outdid themselves to make 15,000 runners welcome to the full (5,000) and half (10,000) marathon events.  And, seemingly in a spirit of support befitting such a major undertaking (including two brand spanking new courses) the weatherman contributed near perfect conditions with sunshine, moderate temperatures and virtually no wind. 

As anyone who has been following this blog will know, I ran the Half Marathon.  I can therefore attest to the amazing beauty of that route.  Because I am from the Vancouver area and know most of the Marathon route pretty well, I can say with certainty that it would have been twice as beautiful – well, more like it had twice as much beauty because it was twice as long as the Half.  As for the organizers’ promortional statement: “A marathon so beautiful you’ll wish it was longer.”, I think that may have been written by a non-runner.  I do get what they mean, though.  And, I think on this past Sunday, some 5,000 others did too.

I was privileged to be a member of Team Run for Change.  Some of us were supporting members to the five participant runners who took on the half marathon as what may have been a true life (and life-changing) challenge.  Run for Change is a free program of which I have written previously, whereby individuals from shelters, recovery programs and low-income circumstances are encouraged to use running to improve health and fitness and create positive personal challenges.  Heartiest congratulations to all those who have made use of the program including the 31 who trained for and took on the Sun Run 10K in April, and particularly the FIVE who tackled the BMO Vancouver Half Marathon.  Much credit should also go to the volunteers who, under the leadership of the group founder, Benji Chu, have been helping to make this possible.

I had my own personal challenge going as well.  I was facing a comeback from a terrible injury filled 2011, so was a little tentative about what I might really do out there on this enticing new course.  Not only that but worse than usual Spring allergies were making things more challenging than usual.  Of course, I tried not to let on about any of this to my two fellow competitors in the Reggae Runners Half Marathon Challenge.  What a fabulous and fun thing the RRHMC turned out to be.  Although it might be difficult to perceive this through the haze of smoking trash talk that went on almost daily for the last few months, the three of us (who have actually only met once in Negril, Jamaica, at the Reggae Marathon, Half Marathon and 10K) have become real friends.  That includes supporters from the Reggae Marathon team and a few others who have supported us on our Facebook page and commentary.  The whole thing came out of the total coincidence that Larry Savitch, Chris Morales and I were running three different half marathons in New Jersey, Toronto and Vancouver, respectively and on the same day.  Age Grading was the key to three guys 46, 54 and 67 even thinking they could somehow race.  A yeoman effort was put in by all three, because friendly as it was, and fun-loving as we apparently all are, we ALL wanted to win!  In the end, the young guy – Larry, came out the winner.  He needed a PB to do it, but that is what he got.  He wins the PUMA FAAS 500 shoes put up courtesy of PUMA and the Reggae Marathon and the unique First Place medal offered by Red Line Laser Engraving (2nd and 3rd medals to me and Chris for three amazing podium finishes).  Larry also wins two 6-packs of Red Stripe once Chris and I figure out how we are going to deliver.  Best way will be in Jamaica, at the Reggae Marathon, Half Marathon and 10K on December 1, 2012.

So that takes care of the first two items in the title.  It is the third item that has most moved me.  I have long known that the running community is special.  I have met very few runners who are not supportive of other runners regardless of ability.  We love our sport so universally that I guess we want others to feel the same.  Over the years, I have been personally supported and encouraged by people who rank with the best in the world – because I have had the good fortune to have come to know them one way or another. In saying this I am not talking about me, but rather how the top athletes are ready to respect and help lesser lights to achieve their best.

That is not to say that while racing runners aren’t single minded and competitive, but outside of that the generosity of spirit is unrivaled.  Furthermore, in serious situations you will see runners give up their race to assist an injured comrade. Just ask the aforementioned Benji Chu about what happened on the top of Mount Frosty when he gashed his leg on a jagged rock, more than 10K from any form of official assistance.

This past weekend I saw so many great efforts by people from one end of the spectrum of running to the other and then through various communication mechanisms including face to face as well as FaceBOOK, the congratulations flowing from the lowliest of us to the best and back knocked my socks off.  It wasn’t that I didn’t already know this, just that it was so profoundly obvious.  Sunday afternoon and evening, I could hardly keep up with the Facebook traffic of people recognizing the results of so many others, as well as expressing thanks to the event organizers and volunteers for giving us this fabulous event.

I write this blog to share thoughts and insights and sometimes get into discussions via social media re specific posts.  However, this is one posting upon which I would love to have some commentary right here, just to be sure that everyone, not just those directly connected to me are involved in the conversation.  I would particularly like to hear feedback on the nature of the running community and how YOU see it.

Ready to Race

The event Expo has already begun and the race is tomorrow.  Races, actually, since there is both a full and half marathon.  I waited until now to post this, as there have been a lot of things developing as race day draws near.

‘Vancouver’ has worked hard for most of the last two years, putting together what is really a whole new event, notwithstanding that this is the 41st running of the Vancouver Marathon.  The two biggest things are the massive route changes for both the full and half marathons, and the fact that unprecedented numbers are running: 5,000 in the full marathon and 10,000 in the half.  These are both capped, sell-out registrations. 

The new routes will be different, with only start and finish sections in common and some 63km of Vancouver streets in play.  The organizers have done a wonderful job of consulting the various communities involved and by that I mean all stake-holders, not just runners.  A big goal is to get more spectator involvement and make the events something to celebrate.  If New York can close down major arteries including a large chunk of Manhattan for race day, while some 2,000,000 people come out to cheer, then Vancouver can surely follow that kind of lead.  That is really what makes the world marathons what they are and what organizers hope to see on Sunday.

To a practiced eye, the routes promise to be fast.  Friends, good runner friends, have ‘test-driven’ these routes and confirm even without race-day traffic control, that they are indeed quick.  They are not without challenge and there is the odd tricky section that could make a person pay if they don’t show proper respect, but all considered, they are fast.  With the quality of elite participants on hand to run, it will not surprise me to see a new event record in the half marathon.  The full marathon is a little less obvious as it has one major testing section, but that is found in the early going, just near 10K.

My own race is the half and will be enhanced by the added fun of the Reggae Runners Half Marathon Challenge which includes three guys from three different places, running three different half marathons, but all on May 6.  Chris Morales is in Toronto where he will tackle the Goodlife Fitness Toronto (Half) Marathon.  Larry Savitch is from New York but running the Longbranch New Jersey (Half) Marathon.  And, I am in Vancouver.   This is all just good fun and something that began as a complete coincidence when we learned that all three of us, related only via the Reggae Marathon, are running a half marathon on the very same day.  The on-line tweets and trash talk have been furious and plentiful but all in fun.  Personally, I’m not sure what I’m giong to do after Monday, once our big event is over!

On Sunday, loving to multi-task, I will also be running as a member of Team Run for Change.  Over several years the Run for Change program has encouraged people from shelters, recovery programs and low-income backgrounds to participate in run/walk programs as a part of complete life-style changes.  In August the 3rd Annual Run for Change 5K Fun Run will happen.  On Sunday, five courageous group members will graduate from the low key training programs, through the Sun Run 10K program (some 31 people did the 2012 Sun Run), to run the half marathon.  There is an official Run for Change cheer team positioned just around the 10K mark.  There are at least 12 people running either the full or half marathon, as members of  Team Run for Change.  Thanks to the generosity of the BMO Vancouver Marathon, the entries of the five program members have been provided free of cost.

Presiding over all of our efforts as we make that last (downhill, I am pleased to say) dash for the finish will be the oh so recognizable voice of Steve King, recently a subject of a post on this blog and co-editor of Running in the Zone: A Handbook for Seasoned Athletes.  I am pretty sure Steve is going to be congratulating a lot of first time finishers and personal best achievements on the day.

Here is my wish for a great race on May 6, to each and every one of the 15,000 runners in Vancouver, and to my fellow competitors in the Reggae Runners Half Marathon Challenge, and especially Team Run for Change!

Steve King - Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon 2011

Steve King is many things, including co-editor of Running in the Zone: A Handbook for Seasoned Athletes.  Athletes in BC tend to know Steve best by his distinctive voice as he announces and provides colour at events such as runs, triathlons, ski races and relays.  More than once I’ve been with Steve (at a race expo, for example) and had someone passing, hear his voice, and come over to ask, “Are you Steve King?” Because he is often announcing for big events, many people never actually see him, but they sure hear that voice.

One of the big things about Steve’s race announcing is that he seems to know so much about each finisher, and has a way of making everything sound so personal.  Of course, he has ‘cheat sheets’ with info provided by the runner at registration, but he also has an amazing ability to remember people once he has seen them and will carry that through to other events.  Although I’ve known Steve since about 1985 when we both lived and ran in the Okanagan (he still does, though I don’t), I still don’t know just how he does it!  And, while I know a fair bit about him, including those things beyond running and his public persona, I learned a lot more when John Atkinson interviewed Steve on his Inside The Runner’s Mind podcast series.

With permission, I am creating this link to Steve King – Inside the Runner’s Mind  Part I and Part II.  This is a two-part series, and I have just added the second part to complete the interview.  While you are there, I strongly recommend that you check out Inside the Runner’s Mind, and John Atkinson.  There are some other great interviews there too, but I will warn you now: John shares a belief with Running in the Zone, that there is a place for detailed reporting and discussion on important topics, and he takes the time to explore things with all his guests.  Hint: You might want to pour yourself a cup of coffee.

Steve has a rich personal history, including a number of major athletic achievements of his own.  So, sit back (as I did a few days ago) and enjoy the story of Steve King, told in his own voice.

Oh, and if you insist, the Full Marathon, which by the way, has sold out.   However, I have restricted myself to the half for this time around.  This will be my seventh appearance.   I have done the full marathon on two distinctly different courses (1988, then 2004, 2006 and 2008).  As for the Half, this new 2012 route will at least be two courses, but maybe three.

Little Mountain Little League 1955

I am very excited to be giving the new Half Marathon route a try in its very first year, at least partly because I grew up in the neighbourhood near the start.  I played Little League Baseball and watched a good many Vancouver Mounties (Triple A) baseball games, right beside the start line! My home was near 21st and Cambie Street (somewhere approaching Mile 1) and we will run pretty much right past my Elementary School, Edith Cavell, not to mention the site of the grocery store where I had my first paying job (stocking shelves).  All of this before we are much more than nicely warmed up!

Cambie Bridge and BC Place 1984

I am particularly looking forward to seeing Downtown Vancouver spread out in front of us as we enjoy the downward pitch of the first 5km or so.  This route covers some of the oldest, most historic areas of Vancouver, although I must say they may have changed just a little since I was a kid!  And, for the most part, changed for the better.  The photo to the left is of the old swing-span bridge and well before False Creek development of recent years!  The current bridge is under construction, just to the left of the photo and everything along False Creek is industrial.  The photo below was taken today from the same location, but from street level, with the ‘new’ bridge at the left of the picture.  Hard to find those old landmarks like the old Vancouver Sun Building (at the right of BC Place). And, there is a new roof on BC Place, and all those condo’s and….. well, you had just better come see for yourself.

Cambie Street - March 2012

Once we make our way from the East side of downtown to the West side, and along English Bay I will be running territory well known from my recent running days, living just beside Granville Island and using the various Seawall paths around False Creek, English Bay and Stanley Park as my regular running/training route.

Spring Running in Vancouver

If the event organizers can arrange the kind of day that May 6^th can be, this is going to be an amazing and frankly, breath-taking route.

As reported earlier, I have found myself involved in a challenge race with two other fellows who won’t even be in Vancouver.  Both will be three time-zones East!  We met through the Reggae Marathon, Half Marathon and 10K and without repeating things written just a short while back, we are doing the Reggae Runners Half Marathon Challenge.  We will do three different half marathons in three different cities but all on the same day.  Because Larry Savitch (LSFitness) is a mere stripling of 46 and Chris Morales (That Runnin’ Guy) is just 54, while I am now 67, all results will be age graded and the best graded time will win.  If I do it right in this day of on-line results reporting, I may just have the advantage of knowing what the other two did before I even start!  That may or may not be a good thing and technology notwithstanding, I may not avail myself of the information until I’m done.  Whatever, it is all for fun and so very far from serious, not that you could tell from the trash talking going on at the Reggae Runners Half Marathon Challenge page on Facebook.  Well, it WAS for fun until PUMA put up a shiny new pair of Faas 500′s to the winner.  We are super pleased that one of the Reggae Marathon’s main sponsors has seen fit to support our little adventure this way.

A big reason for mentioning the Challenge is that it is one of those things that you can do to make running fun and has the nice little wrinkle of being possible in an on-line universe in which we can do it, as if we were right in the same place doing the same event.  What are these three half marathons?  Well, obviously, I am doing the BMO Vancouver (Half) Marathon.  Chris is doing the Goodlife Fitness Toronto (Half) Marathon and Larry is doing the New Jersey (Half) Marathon.  As Larry recently said, “I expect to finish in the Top 3”.  Me too!

For my part, I will be multi-tasking, not that it takes much extra energy on my part.  Vancouver has a Team Challenge and I am a duly registered member of Run for Change.  I have talked about this project/organization before and will certainly do so again.  Under the guidance of Benji Chu and his dedicated group of volunteers, Run for Change is a small, but growing group of budding runners from shelters and recovery programs who have committed to a personal challenge of life-style change.  Some have graduated through the annual 5K fun run (3^rd Annual Run for Change 5K Fun Run – Aug 18, 2012), the Vancouver Sun Run, and will now be tackling the half marathon. Among the BMO Vancouver Marathon Team will be some of the volunteers and supporters who are running the half or even full marathon.

The BMO Vancouver Half Marathon is shaping up to be a great personal adventure.  I guess it would be good if I got out there right now and did some training!  If anyone has suddenly been motivated to register for the Half, better get moving.  I understand that as of today the event is 90% sold out.

Doing what?  Publishing an overview of their training plan/secrets for the Reggae Runners Half Marathon Challenge (RRHMC), of course.  It is actually Chris Morales’ (That Runnin’ Guy) fault.  He started it.  But now, Larry Savitch (LSFitness) has shared his secret plan, so I guess I had better be fair and reveal mine.  Of course this could be my plan, or it might not.

OK, it is.

Larry is the young’un in the group at 46, almost 47 on May 6, our day of race.  Chris Morales is 54 and I am 67.  Hardly sounds fair, does it?  It wouldn’t be if we weren’t using age-grading to even things out. Chris seems to have come out first with the scariest plan.  I counted up a routine involving 6 days a week!  Larry and I seem to work on a bit lighter schedule of 3-4 days a week, trying as much as possible not to run back to back days.  Now that doesn’t mean you can’t throw in some gym time, of course.

Some while ago I learned that I can run four days a week, varying from long slow runs to some, and I do mean some, speed work.  Where I live, hill workouts are infinitely possible, but I almost can’t go for a run without having a hill workout and since my half marathon route (BMO Vancouver (Half) Marathon) is mostly down or flat, I will concentrate more effort on speed if I do anything more intense than endurance runs.

There is a school of thought that as a person gets older, more endurance and less intensity is the key to healthy long-term running.  I spent the last year beating back what was really a minor injury.  I definitely have no intention of returning to that situation even if it means being third out of three in our RRHMC. That must be a sign of maturity, don’t you think?  I guess that is the first element of my plan.

1.  Train smart and safe.

I have superimposed another training priority on the RRHMC which is that it is actually a step along the way to a marathon I intend to run on June 10 (Winthrop Marathon).  So, there not being enough time between May 6 and June 10 to ramp up from half marathon ready to marathon ready, my training plan will have a double focus and my LSD runs will be much longer than the other boys!  Just had to say that so nobody thinks I’m showing off or something.  Therefore, because I am actually training toward a marathon:

2. LSD’s will be much longer and much slower than you might imagine (current LSD is already well over the half marathon distance and there is still almost 7 weeks to go).

3. Non-LSD’s will tend to be 10-15km and run at marathon race pace

4. Once per week, there will be some form of speedier workout of the sort 5-8km at 10K race pace or even 3km at 5K race pace.

 That is three days per week right there.  As the races get closer, I may add one more day of moderate distance and very easy pace.  The whole emphasis will be time on the feet and/or distance, with endurance as the primary factor.

Race specific training is important, so I will be seeking out long steady downhill terrain because the first almost 5km of my half marathon is down and virtually ALL of the Winthrop Marathon is down sloping.  Everyone thinks that a downhill race must be ideal, but steady downhill running puts unique stresses on the legs and can turn out NOT to be near as much fun as you might think!

So that is it!  My secret plan is no longer secret.  Come follow us on Facebook at the Reggae Runners Half Marathon Challenge and give encouragement.  Witty comments are welcome, especially if they involve poking Chris or Larry!

As Larry said: “Game ON!”

Reggae 10K - Dec 2011

Hang around a running blog long enough and somebody is going to challenge somebody to something! 

Huh?

Chris "That Runnin Guy" Morales

Well, a few days ago That Runnin’ Guy (Chris Morales) posted that he had just come back from an LSD training session in preparation for the Goodlife Fitness Toronto Half Marathon on May 6.  On the very first bounce, Larry Savitch (LSFitness) came back with his reveal that he was running a half on the very same day in New Jersey, the Long Branch Half Marathon.  Not to be outdone, I was on there in a thrice to say I would be running my very own half marathon at the BMO Vancouver (Half) Marathon.  Nothing unusual about three runners doing a half marathon, but we will all be doing them on MAY 6, 2012.  The other interesting thing is that the three of us only know one another through the Reggae Marathon, Half Marathon & 10K where Chris is the chief blogger and where Larry and I have both been contributors.  All three of us ran something at the last Reggae Marathon in December of 2011, and made personal contact with each other, me for the first time.  Chris introduced our “event” today on his blog: The Reggae Runners Half Marathon Challenge.

Larry and Karen in Negril

Well, wouldn’t you know it, before you could say “Runners to your marks”, somebody had thrown out a challenge.  I think it might have been me.  Umm.  It was me.  BUT, only if we used age-graded results ‘cause that Larry, well he’s 21 years younger than me.  Chris is kind of in the middle, but still closer to Larry than me.  Still, after a little research (which I really should have done BEFORE I threw out the challenge) it turns out that our times, upon age-grading, would make for a fair fight.

It turned out that while Larry and Chris were right on it, neither had really much heard of the magic of age-grading.  I provided a quick lesson and all agreed it would be a great and fun way for us boys to be boys. 

“I can run faster than you!” 

“No you can’t” 

Yes I can!!!!” 

WELL, I can run faster than BOTH of you!

See, I can pretty much tell you that Larry will have the fastest time, Chris will be next and I will be last. BUT……………………. once you apply the age-grading calculator things even out a bit.  It appears that doing something resembling our recent personal bests potentially makes us pretty close.  Each of us will have to train and race hard in order to be the winner.  Everything going well, it actually could be ME! (It WILL be me, but please don’t tell the other guys.  They think they’ve got me beat from the word ‘Go’.)

We have agreed that we will all blog about it individually and that we will take it over to the Reggae Marathon Blog from time to time, just for fun!  (And, because that is the thing that brings us together, other than running itself.)  We will also be found yapping and snapping about it on Facebook. 

The rules are pretty simple. 

We will all run a half marathon (21.1km for the purpose of the calculator).

Our input time will be our chip time.

Because the age-grading calculator works from an equation, we will each use our age to two decimal places, so we can properly recognize that Larry will be almost a year older than his day of race age in simple years.  (I don’t want any whining after the fact that he was almost a year older than his nominal age and therefore not treated fairly!)

When the smoke clears, the guy with the fastest age adjusted time is the winner.

As I already noted, it could actually be any one of us that hits the best age-graded time.  I have written about this subject before, this being a blog for “seasoned athletes”.  All three of us are old enough to qualify, too.  Larry is the youngest but he is currently the same age as the two youngest contributors to Running in the Zone, at time of writing.  I promised as my part of this challenge, to provide a quick overview of age-grading for any followers who want to better understand what we are going to do, and maybe explore how age-grading could fit into his/her own running.  So, here goes.

People run.

When people are young, they tend to run fast(er).

People age.

When people get older, they tend to run slower.

Some time ago this little truth was examined in detail and it was found that if you sampled enough runners and their performances at various distances, you could create a set of equations that reasonably related times done at one age with times at another.  There are a bunch of assumptions behind the math that none of us needs to really worry about.  I have used the system for years and am satisfied that it works pretty well.  So are a lot of sport bodies and races, because a good many events now have an age-graded result table.  The particular AGE GRADING system I like (and the one we will use) is the one found at the World Masters Association web site and developed by Howard Grubb.

You input the event (distance), your age (as noted, it can be decimalized) and your time.  You hit “Age Grade” and as if by magic, you will find a whole range of information, including an adjusted time and a percent performance value against the standard for your age.  You can actually use this particular calculator as a predictor for other distances, by simply changing ONLY the event distance and then hitting “Result”.  The assumption is that your % Performance will be constant, and out pops an adjusted (projected) time for the new event.  There is another rather important assumption, too – that you have actually trained for the projected event.  For example, you can enter a 5K result and then project to a marathon finish, but if you don’t train for a marathon, well I think most people will know what is going to happen!

The purists still aren’t 100% sure about this, but it works well enough to give recognition to the performances of outstanding older runners who just can’t record raw times like they might have when they were 32-35 years of age.   Curious age to pick, eh?  Well not really, because the age-grading sort of takes us all back to a mythical athlete of about that age.  You can put your info in at any age, but only after around 35 does the ‘needle’ start to move.  The older you get, the more it moves.

I have found that over a good many years, even though my raw times have slowly eroded, my adjusted times compare very well (when not injured, when properly trained and not in some weird situation involving extreme heat or mountains).  I seem to be holding my own.  This is where I like the % Performance value.  When running well, I tend always to be in the low to middle 60% range.  I was when I could run a 3:25 marathon and was in 2010 when I notched one just over an hour slower.  But, I was 43 the first time and 65 the second.  And right there friends, is why our little challenge should work so nicely.  Larry is 46 and I am 67, so we are just adding a couple of years to each end of my well-tested range.

Let the training (and blogging) BEGIN!

Harry Jerome Statue - Stanley Park, Vancouver

Recently a movie was produced and released (2010) under the title “Mighty Jerome”.  As this is a running blog and we assume most of the readers are ‘seasoned’, it should come as no surprise that Jerome is Harry Jerome, one of Canada’s greatest sprint athletes.  On Monday, February 27 I was finally able to have my first viewing, although I had seen some clips from the film some time ago.  Firstly, I want to thank those responsible for making this wonderful film.  It tells the story of a real man, not a myth.

Percy Williams - Olympic Champion

I have held Harry Jerome as a personal hero for most of my life.  I was just a kid (maybe 15 or 16) when I met Harry, but we both belonged to the same track club, the Vancouver Optimist Striders, and as strange as it might sound, shared the same coach – John Minichiello. I was there as Harry began to blossom from local phenom to international athlete (first indications coming at the then huge Vancouver High School Track Meet where he broke one of the famed Percy Williams records and but for the slip of a foot [cinder track in those days] at the start of the 100 yard dash, would probably have bettered both).  I was there to see the work ethic.  There to know the Harry that the media never knew or understood. There to see the difference between Harry Jerome and Harry Jerome the sprinter.  Nobody does what Harry did without focus and intensity.  When not wearing his ‘game face’ he was a quiet personable guy.  When the starter’s orders were imminent Harry became a tiger, a fairly fierce and nasty tiger.  Even in minor events, Harry was a serious competitor.

The latter statement reminds me of the only time I ever raced him (in a manner of speaking).  It was a Highland Games meet in Nanaimo.  There were so few athletes there that they put all the 100 yard sprinters into one race, so even though I was maybe four years his junior I found myself by the luck of the lane draw pounding my starting blocks into the cinders in the lane just to Harry’s left.  I had always been a big kid, so although skinny as a rake, I probably wasn’t much shorter, but I felt like I was about six years old.  I like to tell people that Harry and I were dead even at that race.  Dead even, right until the starter fired his gun.  After that, all I saw was flashing spikes and the arse of his shorts disappearing down the track.  OK.  No big deal that almost world class sprinter dusts skinny teen, but Harry never lined up on a start line just for the fun of it.  For him it was always serious.  The truth is that we were dead even twice on that sunny afternoon in Nanaimo, because JUST as the gun fired a pipe band (it was a Highland Games) began marching across the track at about 60 yards.  This is the part where the intensity comes in.  I thought as I stood up and stopped, a stride or two out of my blocks, on the second ‘false start’ gun, that I was about to witness the cruel murder of a set of pipes.  Harry, already several strides out when the second report from the starter’s gun was heard, kept running at almost full speed until he was within a few yards of the pipe section of this band.  I thought I was about to see those high flashing steel spikes slash through the tartan ‘bag’ of at least one of those skirling instruments.  But no, as I suppose he knew he would, Harry pulled up just short.  I am sure he just wanted them to know there was other business on the field that day. 

King Edward Track (1962) - Intrepid Author at the Centre Rear.

We formed up again.  I’m sure the starter took a couple of extra looks to be sure there were no more bands in the immediate vicinity.  Once again, Harry and I were dead even.  I determined that maybe we could stay dead even for at least one stride this time.  But not even that was possible, for one of the things that makes great sprinters great is the start.  By the time I reacted to the sharp crack of the gun, Harry was already out of the blocks and again my personal view from low down over the track, was his spikes flashing in the sun and the back of his shorts disappearing down the track.  It was a crazy circumstance that I ever got to be in that position but I cherish it as a fantastic experience to this day. 

At the film showing one of his closest friends, Paul Winn, was present to talk to the audience.  Paul was a fixture at the training sessions and track meets and although he didn’t remember me (I had no expectation that he would) he certainly recalled and related to my stories.  When I mentioned this Nanaimo Highland Games his face lit up and he commented (he was a serious and pretty darn good long and triple jumper) that he had to start in the tall grass to get his run-up to the jumping pit.  Sorry Nanaimo, that was a long time ago on a small track facility where we all went just for the joy of the competition.  We will just say it was a rustic setting.

The Mighty Jerome also reminded me of another track on which we both competed, or maybe I should say venue.  That would be Hayward Field in Eugene.  Many of Harry’s best early achievements including world record times were done there.  Both in 2010 and 2011 I was able to savour the finish of the Eugene Marathon down the 100m straight, “Running in the Footsteps of Legends”.  Yes, yes, my turn on Hayward Field was a few years behind Harry Jerome, but he was

Finish of Eugene Marathon

definitely one of the legends in whose footsteps I was running.  Hayward Field today is a modern composition track, but the scenes from the movie show that most of the tracks on which Harry Jerome ran, including Hayward Field were cinder tracks, subject to environmental conditions and all the more difficult when it came to top performance.

I knew a lot about Harry Jerome because I followed his career after those early days, but the movie told things I never knew.  It also reminded me of things that people have no concept of these days.  Top athletes tend to do reasonably well with sponsorship deals and the really top ones get endorsement deals, appearance fees and prize money well worth winning.  Not in those days of track and field.  To compete on the world stage you had to maintain amateur status.  BOY did they mean that.  Money in almost any form other than as a scholarship, could not cross your hand.  The AAU was brutal about it.  By my reckoning it was most of a decade after Harry did his best running that the stringent rules were challenged and began to break down.  Today, I know a man who was an Olympic race walker in his day.  He tells of being challenged for accepting expenses for travelling to a particular location to speak/coach a little on the subject of race walking.  No profit in it for him – just expenses.  It was so funny to hear some of the questions regarding ‘why didn’t Harry do this or that’ when times got hard.  The questions were sincere but the questioners had no idea of how it was in Harry’s time.  I never had a problem myself.  Nobody ever wanted to pay me to do anything or go anywhere!  I still had my AAU card though.  Until last night I had totally forgotten about it.

The movie is so worth seeing that I have no intention of trying to review or summarize it.  Rather, I am just using it to open my own subjects of discussion.  For me, as much as it had a great nostalgia value, it was at times a celebration of glory and greatness but also sad, frustrating and even made me angry at times.  I suppose you would think that is grounds for high praise.  I think so.

It was both sad and angering to see how Harry was treated as a black man.  At least some of the mistreatment he received at the hands of the media was partially based in racism.  In Canada???  Yes, in Canada.  One of the main reasons we didn’t see much of it when the lid was coming off in the US is that Canada just didn’t have that many people of colour in those days.  Around 1970-71 I got a personal taste of it.  I was studying for my Masters at the University of Guelph and had met a black Jamaican student, also doing his Masters, who became a good friend (who I last spoke with while in Jamaica in December 2011).  Between degrees I had worked in the R&D department of General Foods in Cobourg, ON, just east of Toronto.  I can’t even remember why, but because of something in my friend’s thesis work I arranged to take him to visit the GF Research Lab.  When we were done, I decided to fill up the gas tank before hitting the highway.  We pulled into a gas station and I waited for the attendant (no self-serve in those days).  Nothing.  I looked around to be sure the station was open.  As far as I could see, it was.  Because of where the gas cap was, I had pulled in with my friend sitting closest to the building.  By this time I had opened my door and stood up looking toward the building.  It was then that I saw the attendant staring out.  I looked straight at him for several seconds, and then he just turned away and went back to where I couldn’t see him.  Suddenly, I was 100% certain of what had just happened.  I was sick at my stomach and angry as hell.  Not in my Canada!  Sadly, my friend was not near as surprised as I had been.

The other upsetting part of the movie was that with my little personal knowledge of Harry I felt I understood why he got a bad rap as being aloof and uncooperative.  In those days, the press had virtually unlimited access to the track.  Whether they were just dumb or felt entitled, many couldn’t seem to understand how a world level athlete like Harry might need private time and space to get his head into the race he was about to run, or to come down from the one he had just finished.  Some seemed genuinely surprised that he would push them away in those critical moments.  As a result, many seemed to want to jump on his apparent failings, calling him ‘quitter’ at every opportunity.  Although he had a couple of spectacular failures in the most unfortunate times and places, they were injury related and in context it is not hard to see that it was his very competitive spirit that pushed him to where he put so much into his race that sometimes he would injure himself, once so catastrophically that most thought he would never run again, perhaps never even walk right.  The movie does bring out how it was his spirit that made him determined to come back to achieve some of his most recognized triumphs in terms of world records and medal finishes.

Finally, the sadness of knowing how young he was when he suddenly died was something of which the movie simply reminded me.  He was just 42.  At this very moment, he has been gone almost as long as he lived.

All of that said, I personally still hold Harry as one of my great heroes because he did what he did while also being very much an ordinary human being.  Most of us don’t have the enormous privilege of knowing such people, to the point of being able to see past the public image.  I think it would be wonderful if everyone did, because I believe if it were so then we might be less prone to ‘eat our own children’.  What do I mean?  Well, in Harry’s case I knew enough of him that ‘quit’ was no part of him. I also knew enough to know that he could only walk on water in winter when it was frozen.  It is even worse today because with the media tendency to create instant heroes and an apparent glee in knocking them off their pedestals as soon as possible, we have even less chance of putting things in context.  And, maybe the whole crazy “Amateur” thing, and it was crazy as practiced, wasn’t totally wrong when you see what happens to wet behind the ears kids given way too much money and way too much celebrity too fast.

I highly recommend that anyone who wants to know a true sporting icon, take a look at Harry Jerome. One of the best ways to do that is to see Mighty Jerome just as soon as you can.

How Could You Not Love Running?

As I start writing it is Valentines Day and one of the groups I follow on Facebook (Mizuno Run Club) posed the question above.  Well, not exactly that one, but the same sentiment about “why do you love running?”.  Naturally, I dashed off an answer but that got me thinking and writing.

A little while ago I wrote about Running in the Zone being in the news including a reference to a piece written by RITZ contributor, Roger Robinson, in Running Times, entitled “Keeping the Fire of Youth“.  In that article he quoted me regarding a small informal poll I took of all 26 contributors to the book, “Running in the Zone: A Handbook for Seasoned Athletes“.  My question to them was “Why do you run?”  Remember, there were 26 contributors ranging in performance and ability from Olympians and World Record holders to just average, though avid runners. The answer I got, and the gist of the quote in Running Times was simply some version of “Because I love it.”  Interestingly, while the precise words were different for the different people, they came pretty much to the same thing and none really said “because I love to win” even though for some, at some level, that would be a big part of the attraction.

Well now, smart people just leave something like that alone.  I asked a simple question and got an amazingly and beautifully simple answer.  But, those of us who must find regular and interesting topics upon which to write, just couldn’t let a fabulous thing like that go.  Some people run to run, some run to win.  Some run as fast as they can, but only for personal reasons and in many cases like my own, not faster than many.  So here are a few of the thoughts that have come to ME about why I love running.

Firstly, running is just about me, though not in the current societal sense of “It’s all about me!”.  It is mine to make what I want, assuming I am true to myself.

Sometimes Running IS About Racing

Sometimes running IS about racing and I do like that, because it gives me focus and lets me test myself.  I stress the matter of testing myself because for the last 20 years plus I have run with a modest physical disability that limits me to some extent.  Anyone who reads this blog knows I had a ruptured disk and back surgery in 1990 and while the surgery was a great success there was irreparable nerve damage prior to the surgery and my left leg just isn’t what it once was and not what its twin over on the right side currently is.  I don’t offer this as any sort of excuse, just a matter of fact.  And, the fact is that I pretty much have to compete against my own goals and standards now.  I suppose one way to look at my success is to say that most of the people I was running with 20-25 years ago aren’t running today – certainly aren’t racing, and lumps and bumps notwithstanding, I am.  I do love pushing myself to my own limits and seeing how I fare.

When I do race, I love the feel of the other racers and in big events, the pre-race hype and hoopla.  The energy in the air from the competitive and the hope and nervousness from the first timers.  It is all wonderful.  I love how you can walk up to someone you have never met and with as simple a question as “Full or Half?” you start a conversation for the next 5 or 10 minutes with your new best friend!

I love that if something does really go wrong – runners are not going to leave you in serious trouble.

When I’m not feeling all that ready for competition, I still like how it feels to be out there pounding the pavement or grass or trails.  Moving myself under my own steam and feeling the force of that through my whole body.  Well, you’ve GOTTA’ love that.

Punta Cana just after sunrise

I love that when I’m not pushing a training session, I can just let my mind run free almost in a form of meditation.  In fact, that was what I wrote about in Running in the Zone.  I even gave some rudimentary instruction for how others might do it, if they didn’t already know.  I will admit that this is less easy on a cold sleety day, but just imagine an early Spring or Summer morning with a cool (cool, not cold) breeze and a rising sun, maybe with dew on the grass and you out there running easily as the sun warms you and birds serenade.  A version of this that I really like is running the beach at sunrise, generally in a tropical or semi-tropical setting – oh, say Bali or the Gold Coast of Australia, maybe Punta Cana or Negril - all places where I have been fortunate enough to do just that.  There is NEVER a purpose to this other than the doing of it.  For me, this is the Lotto 649 Dream, but I do love doing this whenever I can.

Alone is not the only way I run and I do love being with a group that is generally well matched so everyone can run comfortably and just chatter away about whatever silly or serious thing is uppermost in minds on the day.

I love helping others to learn about running and get to the point where it isn’t work, but pleasure.  I love seeing “first time” runners prepare for and then complete a target event.  It never matters how fast they go, just that they do it.  I love to be part of their emotional high just as much as I love my own firsts and new best performances.

I love that something I enjoy so much is generally good for my health, not just physical, but mental as well.  The feelings of joy and accomplishment that running has brought to me are priceless.  Running is there to bust stress when it creeps into your life and there to reward you at the end of a hard day, when you can just go for an easy run and forget everything else.

In my own case, running has even been a family pursuit and I love how each of our three kids have found some aspect of running that has filled a place in their own lives.

I love running because it provides opportunities to give back by volunteering while others run, organizing special events like Terry Fox Runs  or Run for Change fun races.  I love that I have found coaching opportunities to bring brand new runners into the fold through things like the Sun Run InTraining program.  I love that I have been entrusted with being race director for several different events, including the one that was the subject of the last post on this blog – the “First Half” Half Marathon.  And sometimes that giving back, albeit as part of a huge effort by many people, still lets me be party to an achievement such as the one just realized by the First Half as the event passed Half a Million Dollars in total donations to Variety – the Children’s Charity.

I love how emotion can surprise you when you amaze yourself with some achievement.  I was emotionally floored (in a good way) when after running at least nine marathons, I found myself in tears about 400m from the end of the California International Marathon in 2008 as I realized I was running the best time I had done since my second marathon in Victoria, BC in 2000.  It came from nowhere but was soul-deep.  Nobody should ever miss at least a few moments like that!

So, while I think I could go on for some time yet, I will leave it at that.  These are the main reasons I love running.

What about you?  Why do you love running?

"First Half" Half Marathon 2012

What can I say about the “First Half” that won’t show my bias?  Nothing.  OK – full disclosure: from 2007 through 2010, I used to be the Race Director for this event.  In the Vancouver or maybe BC running community it has a well-deserved reputation as one of the best and a race to do.  The first trick is getting registered as entries are limited by course and venue restrictions, but that still allows 2,000 avid participants to do the race each year.  The event has sold out for some years, at least since the 2005 race, but of late that has taken hours.  In my own last race as RD, it was just under three and a half hours, which is not a comment on me, but rather just a statement of fact about the event.  Again, the 2012 “First Half” took hours to fill.

OK, so a sell-out, even a fast one isn’t news.  So why the headline?  And, why, apart from the obvious and fully disclosed self-interest, is this a newsworthy item for the blog?

It is hard to know where to begin, but I think I’ll start with organization and volunteers.  There are lots of club run races which are put on entirely by running clubs or community groups where everything is volunteer.  These are the heart and soul of what brings so many out to the huge and even just big events we all hear about and know so well by their reputations.  The runners who go to the mega-events start somewhere, usually close to home.  Sometimes there is a worthy cause, but sometimes the race itself is the focus.  I have certainly run my share of such events and organized a few from time to time over the years.  The “First Half” grew from one such event and is now one of the largest such races still 100% club organized with absolutely no paid staff.  In its earliest days, numbers were in the few hundred category.  The race has always been organized by the Pacific Road Runners and from the first race in 1989, backed by one very faithful sponsor – Forerunners, a running store owned by Peter and Karen Butler.  Actually, Peter started his career as one of Canada’s premier elite runners, representing Canada at the Olympics, World Championships and other international events.  Peter was just nearing the end of his most productive running years when the First Half was inaugurated and was the very first winner of the “First Half” Half Marathon (something it has always been – a half marathon).  Peter set a blistering pace that would still be the event record to this very day.  It would have been, had the course not later been determined to be something like 800m short of the half marathon distance.  Sadly, that was the fact of life everyone had to live with, but was also the last time the course was not accurately measured and certified!  But, that is the situation sometimes when dealing with the small club run events – past and present.  It is what it is and you accept it.

First Half Start - Vancouver, BC

From that first running, Pacific Road Runners continued to develop and perfect the event, standardizing how it was organized and in later years building a series of race manuals that ensure every detail is covered.  Every detail means course, volunteers, start and finish, post-race food and awards, dealing with the City of Vancouver – because the “First Half” uses some Vancouver’s busiest streets and features, including Stanley Park.  The latter point, use of the fabulous Stanley Park Seawall, is one of the things about the course that brings runners back year after year.  The accurate and fast course attracts top athletes looking for that early season half marathon challenge to start their year and while it IS February, weather is not usually a major factor.  Most years, including 2012, the elites run in singlets and shorts.  Over the years, many Canadian Olympians and world level athletes, men and women, have graced the event with their presence and all-out efforts.

All of this makes the “First Half” a wonderfully successful event, but still doesn’t justify the headline.  Here is what does.

There were some fabulous performances, but for the organizing committee and club in general, what really stirs everybody’s juices is the post-race comments on e-mail and social media like Facebook and Twitter, saying how great the race, the volunteers, post-race festivities and food have been.  It is this kind of thing coming from every level of performer that keeps the club delivering this celebration of running, one that honors effort of every level.  The elites like the race because it gives them a good early season challenge and opportunity to perform.  The less spectacular among us appreciate the attention to every detail that makes it an event where everyone has a chance to do well against their own aspirations for the day and enjoy the result, whatever the outcome.  The 2012 race had it in spades!  One is tempted to tip the hat to Race Director, Nicki Decloux, but then you would have to acknowledge the other five RD’s that preceded her.  Yes, five.  Over the 23 runnings (and one Winter Olympic year cancellation) there have only been six race directors.  I won’t name them all, but it was the commitment of these half dozen individuals and their race committees, which themselves have had great continuity over the years (at least two of whom have been with the event from the first race in 1989, in one capacity or another) that make the organization side so effective.

There is another aspect of the race that is key to success - sponsors.  Over the years, the “First Half” has become a major backer of Variety – the Children’s Charity.  Generous sponsors understand that by supporting the race, they encourage health and fitness conscious individuals, as well as some of Canada’s top athletes, but also allow the event itself to support Variety in a most significant way.  In 2012, that partnership culminated in a single cheque of just over $54,000 to be presented to Variety, bringing the total donations from the race to just over $500,000.  And THAT, is one of the major reasons for hailing the particular success of the 2012 First Half.  It is tricky to name these sponsors because over the 23 “First Halfs” that have been run, with the exception of Forerunners (there from the beginning) there have been many big players, but these have changed from time to time, so those participating now aren’t the same as those of some years back.  But, since I am not the race, just a commentator and since I will give credit where credit is due relative to anything I report and will mention some of the others at other times, I do want to say that for the last several years, Mizuno had played a major part in making the “First Half” experience what it has been for all the participants, including working with the Pacific Road Runners to recognize the approximately 250 volunteers it takes to present this race.

Anybody who reads this blog knows that I do love excellence and top performance in whatever form it may come.  I did save this for later because when you have 2000 finishers in a race, you have at least 2,000 special stories and singling out the most obvious should not take away from all the PB’s achieved or challenges overcome.  Here comes my take on what was special and excellent about some of the performances.

Wykes wins in record time

First and foremost, Dylan Wykes returned after breaking the event record in 2011, to knock another 18 seconds off by recording a time of 1:04:21. There is a bigger story with Dylan though.  This is an Olympic year and Dylan is “thiiiiiiis close” to meeting the Canadian team standard for marathon, of 2:11:30.  Just a few weeks ago he clocked 1:02:39 for a half marathon in Phoenix and in three weeks will go to the Lake Biwa Marathon in Japan where he hopes to punch his ticket to London.  So, everyone who watched the “First Half” and watched his smooth finish, looking very comfortable at a record-breaking pace of 1:04:21, understood the context of that performance and during the awards he received thundering applause for his gracious comments.

That was exciting enough, but not so very far behind the overall winner came rambling one Kevin O’Connor to set a new Masters Men’s record of 1:08:47, eclipsing the record of 1:09:12, set by Bruce Deacon (2008), one of Canada’s foremost marathoners for many years and multiple outright winner of the “First Half”  (1992, 2001 and 2004).

Natasha Fraser takes women's title

On the women’s side we had to look to the more mature Betty Jean (BJ) McHugh for another amazing record performance.  How ‘mature’ or perhaps on this blog, we should say “Seasoned”, is BJ?  Just 84 years.  With her time of 2:27:01, she established a another new single age record by some 44:21 over the previous mark of 3:11:22.  It should be mentioned that the women running the “First Half” deserve plenty of credit.  It is just that back in 2004, Tina Connelly set a mark of 1:12:47 which is believed to stand as one of perhaps the Top 5 half marathon times by Canadian women.  So, all credit to Natasha Fraser who hit the line at a time of 1:16:18 to take the win.   Not so far back from her was Lisa Harvey in a time of 1:18:44 as top Masters woman, yet not up to the also very stringent standard set by Leah Pells in 2005, at 1:15:26.

So, there you have my account of what I consider a fabulously successful 2012 First Half.  It has been a real privilege to be associated with the event since 2004 and with Pacific Road Runners, the presenting club.  Even more it has been a privilege to be associated with the thousands of runners, elite and not so elite that have given this race its reputation and momentum over the years.  As one of the Co-MC’s yesterday with Anjulie Latta, it was a true thrill to watch, first the volunteers working in the early morning dark, to prepare the start, finish and post-race venue.  Then, to see those first early arriving runners, eager to get started. Athletes in every form of spandex, compression garment, warm and dry gear on the throng of runners filled the Roundhouse Community Centre by 8:00AM in anticipation of the race start just 30 minutes later.  Even more exciting was to see the faces of elite finishers – some ecstatic, some in pain as they exceeded, achieved and sometimes missed their goals.  I would have loved to see the later runners but our job was on the stage, keeping the crowd entertained with music and banter until the race was done and recognitions could begin.  And then, after a year of planning, days of preparation and a few hours of action, it was over.  Until next year.

Well, as I’ve been sitting here working up some worthy posts, the world has been going on with business and apparently, some of it relates to Running in the Zone, both the book and the Blog and well, your humble editor, too.

I’ve known for some time that Running in the Zone contributor, Roger Robinson, had an upcoming piece in Running Times relating to older runners and perspectives on running for a wide cross section of us.  When I say wide, at the front of the pack (normal spot for them) were Haile Gebrselassie and Paula Radcliffe, and as near as I can tell, at the total other end of things – me.  Roger polled a number of people (generally runners and coaches) for their thoughts on the matter and then integrated the responses into something entitled: “Keeping the Fire of Youth – New Ideas for Older Runners”.  This is very much the idea and mission of Running in the Zone – how to keep the zeal and excitement in running as the calendar pages continue to turn over. He deals with all the issues that arise from the time when PB’s (and in some cases, World Records) are not easy to come by, through to where it is more a matter of keeping freshness in what you do and structuring your running to suit the times and personal needs.  For anyone who still likes holding their reading material in their hands, this article can be found in the Feb/March print issue.

New Balance Store - Victoria

No sooner had I laid hands on a copy of Running Times, than into my in-box came a picture of the New Balance Store window display(Victoria, BC) wherein you will notice a prominently displayed copy of Running in the Zone (the book).  Photo is courtesy of Rob Reid, also a book contributor and writer of the Foreword.  Many thanks to Rob for his support in promoting Running in the Zone, in so many ways since its inception.  Rob has been a mainstay of running in Victoria through Frontrunners and if you have ever finished the Goodlife Fitness Victoria Marathon, you have met Rob, because he would have been there greeting and congratulating you as you made that final surge across the finish line where he spends the day shaking as many hands as possible while RITZ co-editor, Steve King, calls out names and statistics from overhead!

Finally, my latest post was made as a regular guest blogger on the Reggae Marathon, Half Marathon & 10K Blog.  As regular visitors to this blog will know, I got quite involved with the Reggae Marathon over the latter part of 2011 and even tried to run the full marathon, with limited success due to transportation malfunctions.  Did the 10K instead.  In any case, “Ask Dan” (the feature title) was posed the question of how one should prepare for a first marathon (or half or 10K for that matter, the key word being “First”).  In an unusual turn of writing character, I managed to do that in just over 500 words.  It has been a blast and a privilege to be a part of their blog and event and I certainly look forward to continuing through 2012, including (all things going according to plan) actually returning to Negril for a go at that marathon that didn’t happen in 2011.