2012 Boxing Day Run

Race: Harold Webster Boxing Day 10 Miler
Where: Hamilton
When: Boxing Day!

All eyes were on the weather forecast. The Harold Webster Memorial has been known to dish out some rather nasty weather, and it was looking like this year’s edition (the 92nd) would follow suit. A nasty storm was blowing up from the eastern seaboard. Up to 15 cm of snow was expected, it was just a matter of when it would hit.

But this is typical of the annual Boxing Day 10 miler, and also typical is the incredible quality this race perpetually attracts. Such a low key race, yet still a racer’s race where elites show up because they want to race for the sake of good competition and to test their talent against a challenging course.

The snow, for the most part, would not start until after the race was over. I was thinking I still might have a crack at a sub-60 if the paths remained clear. However, all my hopes were dashed as I pulled off the 403 onto Main Street. Hamilton had received a little taste of what was coming just before dawn. It wasn’t much, but enough to turn the paths into slick icy slides and the roads into a slushy mess.

My running pals told me I had to give this race some pepper. What we really needed was some salt. Fortunately the race organization was all over this one. All the paths had been salted hours before race start.

Over the past 5 weeks I had trained hard and deliberately for this race. I had never done so many hills in my life and this was an essential prerequisite to have any chance of scoring one of the gold snow man medals awarded for a sub-60 finish. If you think ATB under 2 hours is tough, a sub-60 at this race is just that much harder. Past race results indicate the first 5 miles of the race must be completed not much over 29 minutes to ensure success.

The back half of the race climbs with increasing slope to the foot of the escarpment at the Chedoke Golf Club parking lot. It is a tough nut to crack. Many truly good racers have attempted sub-60 at this race year after year without glory. The date means the race is usually attempted on end-of-season legs, and mother nature’s contribution usually makes it worse. Never has a cheesy medal been so coveted.

I joined John Tranter and Anthony Davey (two of the aforementioned “good racers”) on the start line and we were off. What a tale this would be, to nab one of those golden medals on my first attempt. All I had to do was stick to Anthony and whatever posse formed around him. He got off to a fast start and I quickly fell behind. Barely 200 m into the race and the turn onto Bay Street delivered a howitzer of wind front side, and it stayed in our faces all the way down to the bay front path. The first mile was booked in 6:00 minutes flat. Downhill no less. So much work to do.

Next came a tale of the good, the bad and the ugly along the waterfront paths. The good was we were finally out of that howitzer wind. The bad was it was now screaming sideways across the path and was so strong that you had to lean hard against it. Then the ugly: the wind was picking up mist from the breakers and throwing it freezing rain style onto the path. The salt laid down was patchy. What looked like nice dry path was super slick. You could not help but be cautious. As Lucy Njeri said, “You needed a bit of courage today to get a good result”.

Nonetheless I thought I was gradually making up time, getting further and further under 6 minute mile pace at each consecutive mile marker. But at 5 miles I learned my sub-60 was over, as I passed over the timing mat in 30:07. A lot of hard training just went up in smoke. I had burned too much just to get half way, and the real test was still ahead. Anthony had crossed in 29:30 and he too had the same thoughts. Anyway, still good training to be had – the type which should come in handy for Boston. Anthony stuck with his group somewhere ahead of me, and I first led and then followed Leslie Sexton (3rd place female) up to the golf course. At least I was keeping some good company!

The next section could have been lovely – a gentle downward sloping trail through the lower reaches of the escarpment forest. The freshly fallen snow, however, for the first half of the trail had been salted. So instead of compressing and gripping, the snow mushed and slipped away. More speed, time and energy bled away, yet Leslie skimmed through it as if it were nothing at all. Adios, Leslie! The second half of the trail was unsalted and perfect. So I gave it a little pepper.

I finally hit the top of Bay and Aberdeen Street and decided to finish strong. Anthony, when he passed this point, realized he still had an opportunity for sub-60 as his group had kept a great pace. So they gunned it, and missed by seconds. Such a shame. Just a little more salt along the waterfront or maybe a little less wind was all they needed to make their day.

Awards were a bust for me. Fourth for age. As foretold this race does attract a tough crowd. Yet I finished among some of the same characters that I raced with at the Road2Hope half, so all in all not so bad. According to John, “One of the toughest Boxing Days I have raced” and he has raced a few. My congratulations to Anthony who took the Grandmaster prize (fastest 50+) and also to John Tranter, yet another first for age (60+). Seeing what these cats are doing, I just can’t wait to get old!

And while on the topic of old fart road racers, a special note: John Tranter is the 2012 Top Canadian half marathoner for M60-69 age (see Marathon Canada). Training and racing with him this past year has been special and something I will always remember.

I had this race on my to do list for quite some time, and finally get to tick it off. Well, almost. That sub-60 is still there and will beckon me once more as it has done for so many others. Next time I will have to be in better shape, but I just can’t imagine how that can be possible.