Wear Red Run

A couple of weeks ago I decided to run in a race that I hadn't participated in before, the Wear Red Race in Charlottetown.

The race started in 2009 and is in support of military families in need and also to help promote Wear Red Fridays to show public support for our men and women in uniform, and their families.  It then became an obvious choice to name the event the Wear Red Road Races, hence: WR3 (half, 10k, 5k).

The founding objectives of WR3 are still valid today.  They are:

• to demonstrate public support for our servicemen and servicewomen;
• to raise discretionary funding for the work of the PEI Military Family Services Centre; and
• to help promote physical fitness in PEI.

WR3 has become an annual event in the spring running calendar for PEI and, in 2012, made history as the first established road race in PEI to include those with a physical disability.

There were a total of 196 runners spread across the 5k, 10k and half marathon distances. This year I decided to do the 10k as I hadn't been doing enough longer runs to feel ready to take on the half, but next year I'll be trying it. I finished the 10k in 47:27, not my best time but in my defense there was a pretty strong head wind for about 3 of the last 4 kilometres (I know, excuses, excuses). Official website.

After the race there was a BBQ and pasta meal served, all of the food was excellent (I had to sample everything). I'd highly recommend this race, it's a great race with a variety of distances to choose from and a good way to kick off your racing season. 

Me receiving a 3rd place prize

Group photo after the race

200 Runs and Counting

This past weekend as I was checking out the running app, cardio trainer, on my phone I realized that on Saturday I logged my 200th run since I started tracking nearly 2 years ago. Based on the apps map I've run almost 2000 kms, basically from PEI to a bit past Hamilton, Ontario (or Washington DC for my friends in the US).

I never imagined when I signed up to run a half marathon almost 2 years ago that I'd even make it to race day let alone still be totally hooked on the sport nearly 2 years later, and be training for my 7th half marathon. I love the feeling I have after a good run. Whether there are 20 or 20,000 people in the races I run I'm only worried about beating one person, me. With each race I run I try to better my time at that distance. Luckily last year I was able to do so at every distance I ran.

Recently I was surprised (and honoured) to receive the "Most Improved" award for 2012 at the PEI Roadrunners banquet. We are fortunate to have such an active group on PEI with a membership 400+ strong with organized races almost every weekend from May till September each year.

I'm looking forward to another racing season starting in a couple of weeks and maybe, just maybe, I'll be able to convince myself to run a full marathon this year. Time will tell.

Receiving the "Most Improved" award from last years winner
Alex Bain (centre) and award sponsor Kevin Proud (right) from Proud's Shoes

ING Miami Marathon - January 27, 2013

It was 20 degrees at 5 am on a Sunday morning in downtown Miami as we left the comfort of our hotel and ventured out into the darkness joining a growing swarm of people heading to the start line of the ING Miami Marathon. It was eerily quiet despite there being so many people and it felt like a scene out of "The Walking Dead", well except everyone had a bit of pop in their step and a smile on their face.

So what brought us from little 'ol PEI down to Miami? Well my wife (Teresa) and I started running a couple of years ago and we enjoy travelling so we thought why not combine both and take on a half marathon and enjoy a few days in the sun at the same time. After a bit of searching, checking flights and hotels we settled on Miami, figuring it wouldn't be a bad spot to settle into for 5 or 6 days.

We arrived in Miami on Wednesday evening a few days before the race on Sunday planning to do a bit of shopping and hanging out at the beach before the run. We decided to stay downtown at the JW Marriott Marquis since it was only a few blocks from the start/finish line The marathon was running a free shuttle every 20 minutes from the starting area over to Miami Beach all day Friday and Saturday, so being right on the beach wasn't a priority.

The Florida Panthers were playing a home game against the Ottawa Senators Thursday night so we decided to rent a car for the day and drive up the coast about half an hour to Ft. Lauderdale to do a bit of shopping, spend the afternoon at the beach and go to the game that evening. On game day we were able to get 2 tickets 6 rows from the glass for $40 each, try doing that in most NHL cities.

After a couple of beach days it was time to run. Due to the potential of very warm temperatures the run starts at 6:15 am. We decided to run the race together since there were so many people and plus we thought it would be neat to run the course together. The amount of people at the start line was a bit overwhelming, it took us over 15 minutes just to get to the start line from our assigned corral and then we were off. With most races we run it is normally a bit congested at the starting point but the crowd soon thins out but not this race, we were bobbing and weaving around people throughout the whole course. It made it a bit more challenging but a really neat experience at the same time. Teresa had wanted to finish the run in under 2 hrs, we crossed the finish line in 1:57:20.

It was a great course, very flat and easy to run. There was a large water/Gatorade station roughly every couple of kilometres which was great especially coming on the end. The number of people lining the course cheering us on was phenomenal, there were thousands of supporters lining the streets shouting and encouraging the runners. The views were spectacular, we got to see cruise ships coming into port, run along Miami Beach and see some beautiful homes and buildings along the route. All of the sites made the experience that much more enjoyable.

If you are thinking about a mid winter (warm) run I highly suggest considering south Florida. It was very well organized, there were no issues on race day, the course was very well marked and there were over 1000 volunteers helping out on the course and the free shuttle to Miami Beach was a nice added bonus.

Miami Beach

Jason Spezza taking the faceoff

Just outside our hotel at 5 am on race day

Start line 30,000 getting ready to run 13.1 or 26.2 miles

It wasn't raining, the water stations were so huge that this was the typical scene after each one

Still lots of people coming to the finish as we were heading back to the hotel

Lots of international participation in this race, at least 2 Canadians, probably lots more

JW Marriott Marquis - Bedroom 

Living Room

Video of the race route, great flat course.