For those of you who aren’t familiar with the Around the Bay race, it is advertised as “older than Boston”. Around the Bay is a 30K race all the way around Hamilton Bay and takes you through both Hamilton and Burlington. It is a great race for those of you who are tired of your typical ½ marathon races. It is also great for people who want to test themselves to see if they can handle a marathon. It is positioned in the year so that it is a great training run in preparing for the Mississauga or Ottawa Marathons.
I decided to run this race with my wife as an experience we could enjoy together. I had no goals of going all out or trying to set any records. Being that this was my first time doing ATB, getting a PB would be easy!
Race kits could be picked up Friday or Saturday. We decided to try to pick the kits up Friday after work. If you are travelling from the east part of Toronto, taking the 407 ETR saves you major time. Unfortunately we missed the cut-off and had the pleasure of enjoying long lengths of stop and go traffic with an emphasis on the stop part. Once we made it to Copps Coliseum, the experience was much faster. There weren’t any line-ups at the expo so we were able to get our kits and see what was offered without taking much time at all.
On Sunday we agreed to meet many of our running friends at a specified location on the upper level of Copps Coliseum. The actual 30K race started at 9:30 in the morning. We arrived for 8 am and were able to get great parking nearby the Swiss Chalet across from Copps. The fee was $20 but being so close meant we were able to leave our change of clothes and extra gear in the car. Bag check, in my wife’s previous experience, took forever after the race, but they may have improved upon that. We weren’t taking the chance.
ATB was going to be used to figure out a couple of questions for me. Can I do a marathon? Should I run without a fuel belt? Will I go crazy without my i-Pod? Could I ever be a pacer? The last question coming from the fact that my wife had decided she wanted to run slower than normal to save her knees and finish in 2 hours and 45 minutes.
When you line up for the start of the race, make sure you look for a pace bunny close to your goal time (if you have one). There are no corals for different paces. It is simply first come, first inline unless you are an elite athlete (which I am not!). Our group lined up only 10 minutes before race time, so it was quite packed. We were able to weave through the crowd to get close to the 2:45 pace bunny, but still at least 100 ft back. When the race gun actually started it only took a few minutes before crossing the line and we were off! Unlike some other large races, this year I was surprised by how everyone was actually running. I have been in some races where you cross the starting line walking and stay that way for longer than I would like.
The first water station was around the 4K mark. I wasn’t really thirsty, but we had agreed to stop at all water stations and walk through them. This was our strategy instead of doing 10 and 1’s which I am not a big fan of. For me, I like a continuous run which showed as I didn’t really walk through the first water station and lost my wife. Great…that lasted long! After stepping to the side and looking from the curb, I was able to find her. It helped that she was running with Ed, one of our taller friends. I have no idea what our pace was, it was just an easy run like doing a LSD, but we had caught up to the 2:45 pace bunny, so I wasn’t worried. The second water station came upon is quite quickly. I figured that they would be every 5 km but in this case, it was only a couple km further. This time I actually walked through the water station and kept an eye on my wife. Mission accomplished (so far).
This was my first time running without my i-Pod or a fuel belt. I must admit I was able to enjoy the sound of shoes making contact with the pavement. There was a group of 6 of us so enjoying conversation was easy and also meant I didn’t really miss my i-Pod. I did find myself a bit inconsistent with my pace as when I run with my i-Pod I have it programmed to play songs with a similar beat which seems to translate into what my tempo is. As for running without a fuel belt, I actually didn’t mind this. The water stations weren’t consistent and left it hard to plan taking gels or salt pills, but other than that, I didn’t mind it. My wife on the other hand was having a “rough day”. The inconsistent water stations left her frustrated but she still plugged on.
The actual race takes you through a bunch of different neighbour hoods. From downtown Hamilton, where locals were cheering in their PJs , to some beautiful houses on the water. Along the race you also get to enjoy other local attractions such as tin pan alley; a little person that will “rock you”; Superman to help you up the last hill; and the grim reaper who hangs out by the cemetery on the final stretch, with signs telling you “the end is near”! My favourite part is that last stretch, after kilometre 27. You can look to your left and see the bridge you ran over which seemed like forever ago. You also know that there are no more hills, which is good mentally. You can just pick up the pace and head for the finish. For Around the Bay, the finish is inside Copps Coliseum. I recommend being careful on the ramp going down into Copps especially if it is wet. Coming into Copps you yourself on the big screen above you as you run the final 100 m stretch. I was lucky enough to finish with my wife and a couple of great friends. We all held our hands together over our heads for the finish!
Even though the race was done, the enjoyment continued. Our group hung around to watch others we knew finish and we caught up with those we knew who finished before us. Everyone had a great time talking about the race and how much they enjoyed it.
In the end, I was able to conclude that I don’t mind running longer races without my own water. I also figured out that if I run with a group, I don’t need music. I think that if I was running a race for myself and going out hard that I would want my i-Pod. As far as being able to pace a race, we finished 2:45:21. This may not be acceptable as a pace bunny, but I would have actually run it differently leading a group. As for doing a marathon? I have already signed up and look forward to it. Qualifying for Boston, well that is a different story… For now I am happy with finishing a race that is “older than Boston”.
