Run 4 Hope – Brampton

Originally, I had planned to race this weekend in Waterloo but an opportunity to represent MyNextRace.com presented itself along with a spot in the Run4Hope Charity Run held in Brampton. Being my first race of 2008, I entered the 5k discipline offered and left the 10k for those a little more ambitious at this juncture of the season. With my duties to watch the MyNextRace.com promotional table at the race, I felt it best to stick around the booth until the 9:00 am gun time for the 10k, allowing five minutes to warm up outside before the 5k entrants were to be sent out to chase them down. Thanks to a few years of competitive experience under my belt, I have become a much more organized and relaxed runner these days and was able to calmly fit in a decent stretch in very limited time.

Based on historical race results of this event I hoped to finish in the top five overall so I picked my spot up near the front of the two hundred participants and patiently awaited our queue to begin the second leg of the event. As the count down reached “ONE” the air horn was blown and the mass of people filtered through the narrow metal gateway that served as the start/finish line. As expected, five young athletes from the front row pulled away from the rest of the pack as we approached the first bend in the parking lot of the school, only a short hundred metres away from the line. They were out of the gate like rabbits and setting a quick pace that I wanted to test my training against.

Another fifty metres or so and the group was out of the parking lot where we hit the northwest Brampton side street and met with a strong tail wind that pushed us along the smooth asphalt. At this point, I could feel the usual sensation of fear of starting the race too fast. It’s a mental barrier I often experience at the beginning of sprint length races and a little obstacle that I must hurdle with positive reinforcement reminding myself that I have the ability to continue at this rate. This brief battle with nerves soon passed and I managed to settle into a swift, yet comfortable, pace just slightly back of the teenaged leaders.

Sitting in sixth at the first kilometer marker, I started to wonder if my training was not making the gains I anticipated. Generally, I go out fast and then have a few experienced athletes gradually move past me which I feared might drop me back from my current position and out of a top ten finish. I looked down at my watch and calculated the current pace to be much faster than expected but I still had a terrible feeling that I was not going to make it into the top five as I had predicted earlier. Another competitor moved up beside me at this time and commented on the speed of the junior pace setters. We pushed on together for the next couple hundred metres along the straightaway of the newly developed neighbourhood street.

Rounding the next corner onto Creditview Road, the course marshals directed us north towards Mayfield Road, dead into the strong current of cool air. We now had to battle the wind as well as the competition. My running partner made his move just out of the turn and was effortlessly making his way through the crowd of 10k joggers we had come up on. Knowing his new pace was a little out of my league, I set my sights on a group of three others that seemed to be dropping off their brisk starting tempos.

I reached the second km sign just seconds after the seven minute mark and was making gains, reeling in my targets in gradual fashion. Without any pressure from the back, I figured that I could maintain this stride rate and take a run at a sub 18 minute race. If I blew up in this attempt, I believed my current position of seventh would likely be my worst case scenario so I kept ploughing through the breeze up the gentle slope to the 2.5k turn-around pylon.

I carefully spun around the cone and headed back towards the chasing mob of runners. This wind aided stretch would definitely help make back some time lost on the other side of the road. Within thirty seconds of the halfway point I picked up two spots on the field and started to battle for fourth with a very young athlete that seemed to have a lot of heart and pride. His form was starting to get a little sloppy but he drove hard towards the turn onto the side street leading to the high school staging area.

We were neck and neck on the bend so I tried to go inside for the pass but he cut off my lane causing me to jump back into a sudden shuffle to avoid tripping over his pumping legs. I instantly geared back up and made my move to the outside and was past him within ten metres of this near collision. I was now running fourth and pulling away thanks to experience and strength. The direct head wind was now a negative factor against his thin, youthful frame as the sound of his thumping foot steps started to fade in the distance.

There was now just a touch more than 1k to the finish and the gusting wind was now blowing the air out of my sails as well. I made a quick shoulder check and to my relief I had opened a hundred metre gap on the two followers. Ahead of me, the top three were realistically out of reach as they continued to hammer hard to the line. I looked down at my watch and knew it was now going to be a struggle to get home in less than 18 minutes. My legs were still churning hard but I could not find the next gear to make a final kick at my ultimate 5k goal.

Approaching the school entrance I was running solo and had just eclipsed the eighteen minute mark with approximately 150 metres to the timing mats. With my mini cheering section (my Mom and Aunt) in attendance I could not finish on a weak note so I picked up the pace one final time. I zipped down the final hundred metres to the line, posting a new personal best at this distance of 18:25. The fourth place finish was my top seeding since my high school days and good enough to earn top spot in the 30-39 year age group.

The Run4Hope was a tremendous event organized by a very knowledgeable group of fellow athletes (Fletcher’s Meadow Cross Trainers (FMCT) Multi-Sport club) looking to give back to their community. Their recruiting and promotional efforts drew a very respectable field and extremely supportive sponsorship that raised over $12,000 for the Brampton Special Olympic team. The inspiring “Panthers” were in attendance and were cheering on all the finishers and assisting in making it such a rewarding day. The friendly, helpful FMCT Falcons made the day so enjoyable and an event that I would recommend for your spring tune up next year. Please take a second to visit the website (www.run4hope.com) to get all the information you need regarding this annual run.

Thank you for reading!