This was my first year running this event and I definitely picked the perfect year to run it – the weather was perfect. This was also my first time ever in High Park (yes I grew up in Toronto and don’t ask me why I’ve never been there) so the hill at the end really kicked my behind!
I arrived at the race site quite early. I did a warm up run with a friend who’s a veteran at this race and he showed me all the hills and markers. I started in the first correl 30-39 minutes expected finishing time and it worked out great. My plan was to hold back for the first 4km and then just let it go for the last 4km. Let me tell you that last 1KM where you climb most of the way was a lot harder than I expected. I hope that next year I can beat my time. I know a good place for hill repeats 🙂
Final gun time: 38:07.2
Final chip time: 37:57.8
Pace per km: 4:46
Women 25 – 29 placed 7/192
I even placed 5th for my age group because the 1st two women in my age group placed in the overall so I got bumped up.
I definitely recommend this race but you have to signup early and hope for decent weather. The giveaways were nice too – dri fit long sleeve, running hat, finishing metal, and a reusable shopping bag. I didn’t sign up for the $3 pancake breakfast (which was silly) so I didn’t get any pancakes but there were plenty of bagels and fruit for all the runners.
Esther
