The Saskatchewan Marathon

The Scenario

Sunday, May 27th was the annual Saskatchewan Marathon. As I mentioned prior to the event, there were quite a few people in my life that were training for this event. For most of them, this was their first time entering a running event or running their specific distance.

I met Jadah Mensch in the Fall when we began indoor soccer. Her warm and genuine personality drew me to her. This winter when I started this project, Jadah was really supportive and readily agreed to join me in at least one of the twelve runs. She has the natural stature of a runner, so although the furthest she had previously run was 10 km, I had no doubt that she could do a half marathon (but remember, I think anyone can....runner's stature or not!). She put the Sask Marathon in her sights and went for it! Jadah doesn't have a treadmill, but she bundled up and she started training when it was still cold out. More recently, she's been coming out to Warman to join us for our weekly "Mom on the Run" group runs (did I mention that she has FOUR kiddos!!). It was really fun to log the miles of a couple long runs together and get to know each other better.

Heather's friend Andrea Schick also joined us for the half marathon distance. Since she had come up to Saskatoon in March and ran the 10 km at the Brainfreeze, she had been training and increasing her distance. Despite fighting a lung infection a couple weeks before the race, she was ready to tackle the 13.1 miles!

My friend Angela Yule started running a month and a half ago. In the middle of April when we started our running group, she started by alternating running 5 minutes & walking 2 minutes. It didn't take long before she could do the 5 km loop with only a couple short walking breaks. A couple weeks before the event I mentioned to Ang that our friend Nicole Tatchell was looking for a partner to run the 10 km with. Ang wasn't confident that she would be able to run that far, so the next time we went out we did her furthest distance yet of about 8km...that gave her confidence the boost it needed and she signed up!

I met MJ Smith last summer when she moved out to Warman shortly after having her first baby. This winter, she started running. First she found a couch to 5 km app and then progressed to the couch to 10 km app. MJ is the techie in our group, so when our running gadgets aren't doing what they're supposed to, she's the one we turn to.

I've known my good friend Anna Friesen for almost 5 years and we've run together off and on during that time. She has completed at least a handful of 10 km races and has done the Sask Marathon the last few years in a row. It was really fun to train together the last couple months!

Another "Mom on the Run" Kim trained and registered for the 10 km event as well. My friends Terra Dyky, Staci Heinbigner & Alicia Turner have trained together all winter. Terra & Staci ran the 5 km at the Warman Run, Walk & Wiggle last Fall. Alicia was brand new to running. This would be their first time doing a 10 km event!

The 10 km Crew

So, together we met up with the 3000 other runners Sunday morning in the Soccer Centre parking lot. As was the case for my run in April, the weather had been wet and overcast the week leading up to the event; but, the morning of the race was beautiful! The sky was clear, but it was still crisp enough that we wouldn't be hot. I was perfectly dressed in my shorts and running tank top with an (albeit a bit geeky) running mesh vest. Although the vest is not my idea of stylish, it provided me with pockets for my 'stuff' without causing me to overheat. I was able to avoid running with my jacket tied around my waist. Again, I was extremely thankful that the rain held off until later that evening.

The Event

This was the 34th annual Saskatchewan Marathon. It is a BIG event that offers 10 km, half marathon & full marathon distances. It is organized by the Saskatoon Road Runners Association and presented by Potash Corp and has many sponsors. The Saskatchewan Marathon is one of the longest running marathons in Canada.

Saturday, I took my boys and went in to the race expo to get my race package and my tickets to that evening's pasta supper. It was a nice display of what the local running community and businesses have to offer. I was excited when the President of the Saskatoon Road Runners Association, Lorrie Dobni offered to introduce me to the evening's keynote speaker Bart Yasso. He was encouraging and nice to talk to. Bart was very pleasant with my boys and he was happy to oblige when Owen asked him to autograph my race bib (he saw the lady ahead of us do the same).

That evening my mom and I met Ang at the pasta dinner. It was really nice to spend the evening with my mom because we don't often get the chance to get out together. The meal was good and listening to Bart's tales of his running adventures was inspiring. He is one of the few people to have completed races on all seven continents from the Antartica Marathon to the Mt. Kilimanjaro Marathon. The message he imparted on us was:

"Never limit where running can take you."

I like that.

This year the event was able to present their charity, the Meewasin Valley Authority, with a cheque for $100,000.00.

Despite it's large size, the Sask Marathon is really well organized. This year there were 267 people who completed the full marathon, 1311 registrants in the half marathon, 1403 runners completing the 10 km and 908 kids who participated in the Marafun!

The Sask Marathon route is a challenging one. The course starts up near the Soccer Centre on Pinehouse Drive and proceeds down to the river. After following the many ridges and gradual inclines along the river trails, the last kilometer of the course is straight back up hill to the finish line. One aspect of the course that I was sad to see return, is a second turnaround loop just beyond the base of the hill. This means that right around the 18 km point you run past the bottom of THE HILL and run a 2 km loop further and back (I'm sure that this makes no sense, but if you ran it or look at the map, you'll know what I mean). For some reason, this plays a giant mental trick on me. I much preferred the course last year when you just got to the base of THE HILL and then faced it head on! Either way, even though you know it's coming, it's a killer hill.

The drink stations were great and well-spaced, there was lots of entertainment along the route and because there are so many people running, there are tonnes of encouraging spectators along the way.

I thought the fact that the bibs were customized with the runner's name was pretty cool. The shirt is a nice fit and although it's colour is bright, I'm sad to say it's actually not the brightest event shirt I've received. I am more cheap than I am stylish, so I will no doubt make good use of it despite the colour. The Saskatchewan Marathon medal is nice. I REALLY like getting a medal. It's like the cherry on top of the sundae for me.

The Excuses

NONE!! This run and everything that led up to it, went perfectly!

After mom and I got home from the pasta dinner and I snuggled my boys into bed, I laid out all of my gear for the race and went through my checklist (running seems like such a natural sport, but man, it requires a lot of 'stuff'!). I had one last drink of gatorade and then hit the hay.

When my alarm went off at 5:30 I was ready and feeling good. I ate my oatmeal, made last minute wardrobe changes and pinned my number on. As I drove to the city with my music cranked, I couldn't help but smile. I could just feel it, things had fallen into place and this was going to be a great run!

The Best Part

I LOVED seeing my friends meet their goals! Each of the girls who trained for this event put in the time necessary to be ready for it. Most of them are moms, most have multiple children. Beyond the demands that their children and families place on their time, most of these girls have jobs and some of them even work full-time. So, for them to have committed to running and spending the time on themselves and their physical well-being was not necessarily easy; BUT, I think when something is important enough we always manage to make time for it. It felt great to see them succeed and feel good about their accomplishment!

As I was waiting in line at the porta-potty before the race began, I was excited to bump into most of the '10 km crew'. They were excited and nervous and I was happy to be able to wish them good luck! Then I found the 2:00 pace bunny (whom I know and was looking forward to trying to keep up with) and met up with Andrea & Jadah as we had planned. Before we knew it, they were singing the national anthem and the gunshot rang out and we were off!

I won't go through this run in extreme detail, but this was a really great day!

The three of us ran really well together. We weren't always side by side, but rather allowed each other to ebb and flow as our energy fluctuated and we just always seemed to be within eyesight. Between the 13 km and 15 km points Jadah and I encouraged and pushed each other as we seemed to take turns being tuckered. Once we were past the "Hudson's" drink station at the 15 km point we knew the end was within sight and we were able to push through without stopping.

After the draining second turnaround (which I've already expressed my distaste for), we tackled THE HILL. Andrea was a bit ahead of us and finished in 2:06:13. Jadah and I put our heads down and dug deep for that last kilometer. We finished in 2:06:39!! And let me tell you it felt great to cross that line together! 

My husband's annual golfing weekend always falls on the same weekend as the Sask Marathon. We're lucky though, because same as they did last year, my parents were able to come up to help us out with the boys. I was SO happy to have them right there waiting at the finish line holding a little poster they had made for us. I've said it before, but I draw my strength from them and to be able to have them there means so much to me.

I was also thrilled to have Ang & MJ there at the finish line! Their support and friendship over the last couple months has meant a lot to me and to be able to have them there to share in each other's accomplishments was fun! I can't wait to run a half marathon with them in November!!

Everyone was successful in their 10 km runs. It's safe to say that Nicki is hooked on running and she will join us in the half marathon in November as well! Terra, Staci & Alicia are going to run the half at the mogathon in a couple weeks. 

The next day, I stopped at the gas station to grab a copy of the paper so I could look at the results (I know they're online, but I find them hard to look at....call me an old fuddy duddy if you want to). I could not believe my eyes when I opened it only to find a seemingly giant picture of Jadah and I hugging after crossing the finish line!! Really, it was just the back of my head. The main focus of the picture was Jadah's face (and the happiness she was feeling). 

An hour later I received an email from a friend with a photo attached that she found on the StarPhoenix website....after forwarding the additional photos to Jadah, we decided that instead of feeling embarrassed about the picture that was published we should be extremely thankful that they chose the one they did! We look ridiculous....but I'm going to share them with you anyway. 

While the photos we took ourselves just less than five minutes after crossing the line are much 'prettier', I think the StarPhoenix pics capture the sense of relief, accomplishment and the smidge of delirium we felt as we crested THE HILL and finished our run together.

I am excited that this half has put my 2012 total distance to date over the 400 mile point! Now, I've got a little less than 3 weeks to get ready for the very fun Mogathon on June 23rd.