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 "It’s been 24 years since I first tried to complete a marathon. My three previous attempts have all ended short. But now, I get to scratch this one off my list" |
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Tonja Leach Price Edward County Marathon, October 1, 2006
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Looking through all the races on this site, I noticed Prince Edward County (aka PEC) wasn’t on the list and I thought it deserved to be. The weekend started off wonderfully staying at a local B&B with a friend and many friends at other close by B&B’s. On the Saturday we relaxed by touring around 5 different wineries – not your usual pre-race day but I decided that a taste of wine wouldn’t influence my race too much. The day was followed by dinner for about 20 of us in a local restaurant and yes another glass of wine. I had a wonderful relaxed sleep that night, good way to start a race I have now decided. I arose early only to discover it was pouring with rain but it was race day and I had trained in worse so I hopped in my race clothes and went downstairs where our hosts were ready and waiting with my bagel and peanut butter. I sat down to breakfast with another runner who was also staying at my B&B, Mississauga race winner Nathalie Goyer! I was thrilled to have an opportunity to have a chat with an elite runner and on race day no less. She said a few things that have stuck with me through every marathon I have ever run. “The race starts 10K from the finish” and “At 21K assess your body and make a decision if you are going for it or not”. I have used these on every race since! After breakfast, I met up with a few friends who I was planning on running with, we decided the wait in the rain for the bus to the start was too long and managed to kill some time indoors and hop on one of the last buses to the finish – luckily this is a small race 500 runners so we were sure we would get a seat. On the bus, I started chatting to the 3:45 pace bunny, having been a 3:57 runner on my best race, I dreamed of being able to run with him. While waiting for the race to start, I again saw Nathalie Goyer warming up and started chatting to my friends about the race. They convinced me to run with the pace bunny. I was strong, very well prepared for the race and faster than I had ever been, so I let them convince me and I lined up with the bunny. The gun went off as the rain dwindled and there I was keeping pace with the bunny. The nice part about a small race is that there is no shuffling for position, you start running at your pace right away. Rolling hills, views of large farms and little neighborhoods were scattered along the route. Water stations every 2 kilometers filled with friendly smiles and encouraging people. Our pace bunnies family was on the side of the road and he ran over to give his children a big hug and kiss, we kept pace and he caught up. The half way mark was approaching and I started assessing whether or not I had the energy, physical strength and most importantly courage to pick up the pace, leave the bunny and aim for the elusive Boston marathon qualifying time of 3:40. I passed the 21K balloons and committed to doing my best to see what I could do. Off I went, picking up the base just a little, I said good bye to my pace bunny and other runners and surged ahead hoping not to be caught by them further up the road. Entering the Sandbanks provincial park, I started to realize all the different things I had seen that you don’t see in the big races, farms, fields, cottages, homes, estates, parks, the St. Lawrence river and so much more. What amazed me the most was the support of the community, the population was low but everyone was out to encourage us runners – in their house coats with their morning coffee, with cow bells and other noise makers. As I was exciting the park, I started to catch up to the tail end of the half marathoners that had started an hour and a half after we did. I encouraged them as I ran past as did they me. I loved hearing them once I had passed saying to each other – I just don’t know how they run that fast for that long! It gave me strength as I surged ahead in hopes of catching up to the next half marathoner runner to say hello. At the 36K mark, I glanced down at my watch and did a little math and realized that I might just be able to qualify for Boston! Gulp! Out of fear, I decided I should do something I had never done before in a marathon, find a porta potty. I didn’t need to go but the thought of running fast enough to qualify scared me and I decided I should stop. A moment later I was back on the road again, back at pace and off in search of the finish line. Then came the hills – not the nice little rolling one like the rest of the race, big ones all up hill, no downs in between. And the best part (read in some sarcasm here) you can see them coming for miles! As I approached the first big hill, I remembered a conversation with a friend the night before who was running the half marathon, we joked that if I were running well, I should pass him somewhere close to the finish. My mission changed for a moment. Where is Jeff, he has to be here somewhere… Pushing on, I suddenly heard my name being called from behind me, was I hallucinating or was someone actually calling my name? I turned and looked back only to discover in search of Jeff, I had run right by him. I hesitated to stop and say hi and he said – you caught me, you can do this, go girl go. So off I went, a few more hills and we were on the main street another corner and I should see the finish. At this point, I realized that 3:40 was out of question. I couldn’t cover the distance left in the two minutes I had to get there. Another girl I had met earlier in the race that was also in search of Boston qualifying was just ahead of me, a friend of hers called her name and jumped out on to the course to help her to the finish and all I could think was I need someone to shout my name, where is my friend Donna who came to Picton with me. As I ran past our B&B, the owners cheered for me and then I heard it. Go Tonja Go! Followed by Holy *#%! It was Donna’s voice! It carried me to the finish. I was exhausted, missed Boston qualifying my 2 minutes but was ecstatic! I knocked 15 minutes off my personal best! Wrapped in a blanket and physically exhausted, I thanked as many race volunteers for all their hard work. It was the most organized race I had ever run, it had the most water stations and it was only their third year! I tried to call my parents from my cell phone to tell them of my accomplishment but the batteries died before I could track them down. A short walk back to my B&B, a shower and I was refreshed enough to visit another winery on the way home. When I got home, I hopped in my car and drove to my parents to deliver my good news. When I got there they already knew what I had done, how was this possible I thought? They then told me the story of their day - they had driven from Ottawa to Picton to meet me at the finish, a surprise, I didn’t know they were coming. But I ran too fast and they missed me. They arrived at 3 hours and 45 minutes after the race started… I finished in 3:42… I hugged and kissed them in awe at what length they had gone to support me and surprise me. What is amazing about running marathons is the support you get from your friends you run with while slogging through the training, the friends and family that understand why you can’t go out on the night before the long run of the week, the friends that track you online and send emails and make phone calls congratulating you before you even make it home from the race and the support that you receive from your family and how proud they are of your accomplishment (now matter how crazy they think you are). And last but not least, the sense of accomplishment and belief that you can do absolutely anything you put your mind too. Tonja Leach, Ottawa, Ontario December 2007 |
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