Race Report: Sporting Life 10km run, May 3rd 2009

Race Report for the Sporting Life 10km run, Toronto ON May 3rd, 2009

Race Facts (race website http://www.canadarunningseries.com/sportinglife/)
In registration I stated that I could run 10km in under 40min, so I was placed in the Green corral; which is at the front right behind the pros
12,500 people ran in the race, which was a new participation record
The 10km race was run down Yonge Street from just south of the Sporting Life store to Ft York.
The race conditions were ideal for the time of year; low winds, clear skies, dry and cool (8 Celsius).

The Race start time was 8 am, so I set my alarm for 6:15 and got out of the house by 6:45. I drove down to the finish area to park and then started looking for a cab, which was a recommended approach on the race website. There were many other runners waiting for cabs as well. All corners had groups of 3-4 people looking for cabs. I quickly connected with 2 other runners and we marked out a corner. Unfortunately there was a serious lack of cabs. The three of us started to head north towards Front Street in hopes of increased traffic, we had already made calls to cab companies. Our approach paid off as we became to North most cab seekers and were able to hail the 1st cab headed south. In the cab ride to the start I had a pleasant conversation with the 2 other runners, that was until the cabbie spoke up, out of the blue saying that was fighting with his ego, in extremely broken English. Our conversation screeched to a halt as none of us knew how to respond. I broke the silence by asking him who was winning, to which he responded his Ego.

We arrived near the start line with 15 minutes to start time. My 2 taxi mates still had to meet a friend to get their numbers. I hope that they made the connection and were not delayed. I found my corral (green) which was right at the front; however it was empty, unlike all the corrals behind. The runners in the green corral were all out on side streets and in front of the start line warming up. I started warming up by looking for a bathroom. 2 blocks up I found a Tim Horton’s that had a bathroom queue out the front door. Off to the side streets I continued my warm-up. I got back to by corral, by this time it was fairly full. I noticed right away that there were practically no women and most of the runners were wearing shorts and a runner’s tank top. It was 8 degrees Celsius outside. I was dressed in a wool base layer long sleeve top with the event T-shirt on top, shorts with tights over top and a toque. I also brought a hoodie that I left on a side barrier at the start line as planned. There was now a minute to go and the group were beginning to push towards the start line. There was a section at in front of the green corral reserved for no more than 2-dozen super elites. I turned around and peered out at the crowd behind me, which sprawled out a long way back down Yonge Street, a truly impressive site. This was the largest event that I had event participated in.

The race started, I started my watch (Garmin 405), and began to weave my way through the slower runners in front of me. During the initial 500 meters of the race I felt no pain; I was solely focused on of getting out from behind people who were holding me up. If I were only able to maintain that sense of purpose & focus throughout the race, then I would cut big chunks off my time. Maybe that focus on something other than the pain you are feeling in the moment is was helped to drive that Greek man to complete the 1st marathon.