Race Report: Kamloops Marathon

This past Sunday I ran my 4th race of the year. It wasn't my best race, that's for sure. But I enjoyed it nonetheless.

I ran the half marathon that's part of the 1st Annual Kamloops Marathon, in support of the Thompson Rivers University (TRU) Wolfpack Track & Field team. This race was an exciting race weekend that included a 5K and 10K on Saturday, followed by a community BBQ and running expo at the University. On Sunday, runners arrived at McArthur Island Park at 6am to beat the heat and run the half and full marathon on a flat and fast route showcasing some really gorgeous areas along the rivers around Kamloops. 

For an inaugural race, registration went very well, attracting about 500 runners - excellent for a new race. The weather was perfect, the expo and BBQ was fun, the shirts and medals were pretty. An overall good race weekend with the potential to become something really great in the coming years as awareness and participation grow. 

At the running expo

I was also very excited at TRU's support of The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada, allowing us to have a booth at the running expo. We got lots of interest for Team In Training and got to talk to many awesome people.

Enjoying a beautiful riverside course, in matching outfits!

 So I mentioned before that my race didn't go very well. But it was still a very fun experience in that I got to run with my friend, Sheila. Neither of us trained specifically for speed before this race. My last real focused speedwork was before the Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon that I ran in June. Since then, I've been focusing on slowing my speed down and building strength and endurance leading up to my next marathon. I could have likely still gone fast at this race, but my stomach decided to cause me problems. This is something that hasn't ever happened to me while running, and I had to detour off course, slow my pace down a lot, and take walk breaks to prevent awful from happening. Luckily Sheila was patient to stay with me through all that, as we agreed in advance that this race was about fun and running together, not about finish time. In future races where time is of the essence, I'd never dream of holding her back!

With our race bling!

So we finished the race in a not-so-quick 2:18:05 (based on a mass start, i.e, "gun time"). We're both capable of much faster, and I'm grateful to Sheila for sticking with me. Everyone has to have a bad run once in a while, right? That's how we know when we've had a good one. And this finish time is still much faster than those half marathons I ran when I was 22 years old. Remembering that makes me feel good!