Whitby International North Half Marathon
Sunday May23,2010
There’s nothing like a free race entry to make a runner feel good!Well maybe there are a few other things but regardless,here I was with a gratis entry courtesy of the New Years Day Hair of the Dog 9k.
This was the inauural race put on by my personal good luck charm Ian Barron.I had won my first race as an adult a couple of years back at Ian’s Whitby 10 miler and I was hoping for a little luck to go with the hard spring training I had put in after a less than satisfying day at ATB back in March.
The Whitby course was a combination of country roads,residential neighbourhood,bike path and even a small section of trail.The start line at Iroqouis Sports Complex and afforded plenty of parking and ammenities and lots of volunteers to assist the runners.The weather was very co-operative early on,overcast and 10-12 degrees.The field didn’t look as deep as most races,no sign of Mike Bosch,so I was glad I had a training buddy along with me to keep me from getting lazy in my attempt to break 1hr 20mins.
Within the first 5k my decision to bring along my cyclist was proven to be a good one.I jumped out to an early lead which increased with each kilometre.Having someone to talk to and remind me of my goal was keeping me on pace and as we reached the 10k mark in the country roads and headed for the residential section it was Garmin watching time as I now couldn’t see the 2nd place runner.I had never trained specifically for a half marathon and therefore didn’t have a great PB at the distance so Whitby with its flat course and of course my good luck charm Ian seemed the perfect place to go sub 1:20 and join most of my training mates in that club.
As I approached the 17k mark and heading toward the scenic bike paths along the Whitby waterfront the sun decided to make an appearance and I instantly thought of the marathoners and how the increase in temperatures would affect them in the later stages of their race.At 18k Ipassed the finish area with only a 3k loop on the trails and my day was done.My pace was spot on as I broke the tape in 1:19:41.
The aforementioned Mr Barron was there to greet me and to my surprise a short interview with the local paper followed! Man,I love racing in Whitby!The post race sandwichs were a pleasant surprise and the ice cream was welcomed by all of us on what was turning into a very warm May day.The gift card prize at Running Free was just the icing on the cake and a great way to end a great day in Whitby!
Kudo’s to Ian Barron and his committee and all the volunteers,see ya next year folks!
Cheers
