It was sunny and 2 degrees.
I recently participated in the annual BMO-Nesbitt Burns provincial marathon in Prince Edward Island. I've completed in this event a few times before and am aware this is a well-planned and publicized event. The scenery is unmatched and the contagious enthusiasm of the many volunteers keeps me excited. I'm from Newfoundland and I have always enjoyed racing here.
Less than two months ago, I experienced a major tragedy in my life. On Aug. 21 my common-law wife of 30 years died suddenly of a stomach aneurism at the age of 49. We had just completed our annual two-week vacation in our favourite place in the world - P.E.I. We arrived back in Newfoundland on the 20th and stayed in central Newfoundland overnight where we planned on travelling back home to St. John's the next day. My wife, Geraldine, collapsed at the breakfast table the next morning and passed away before noon. Geraldine was cremated and her last wishes were for her ashes to be spread in Prince Edward Island. We both passionately love P.E.I. and our fondest memories of our lives have been in this province.
This has been a major loss for me and I'm still having trouble accepting it. I dedicated this marathon to Geri and the tremendous impact she's had on my life. She has always been a huge supporter of my running and has inspired me in many ways. She made many sacrifices (e.g. household chores) while I was out training and always provided encouragement. When I finally qualified for my first Boston Marathon (I've completed two) she acted so proud. But I wanted people to know how proud I was of her because she never stopped believing in me. Anyone whose been committed to training for marathons knows the physical demands it requires. What is not often recognized is the emotional support of a dedicated spouse who doesn't lace up the sneakers. She was really the "wind beneath my wings."
So when I ran last weekend's marathon I felt an extra push. I've always run for fitness, fun and the thrill of competition. Geri, this race was dedicated to you.
Barry Ploughman,
St. John's, NL
Our deep condolences and warmest wishes Barry as you continue to run
Marathon morning at the Start Line in Brackley Beach
The "gun" they used to start the race!
Ewen Stewart, the grand master of running on Prince Edward Island with
Alex, Matt Allain & Steven Baglole at the Start Line ready to go
Alex, as usual, takes off like a shot, leading the pack
Running by the Covehead Lighthouse
Just past the Covehead lighthouse
Dalvay by the Sea
Dalvay Lake
Winter River
The Confederation Trail at the 25K mark, on the Suffolk Rd.
University Ave in front of UPEI, all the hills behind him, strong wind in his face
Just past Allen St.
You can hear the Finish Line from here even if you can't see it
Passing the Sea Treat (University Ave & Euston St)
The first half in 1:33:00 and in 11th place.
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MARATHON
The male and female victors in the 2011 BMO Nesbitt Burns Prince Edward Island Island Marathon are old hands at this winning thing.
Sunday, Mike MacKinnon of Miscouche won his fourth Island Marathon, while Kathy Wilson-Armitage of New Maryland, N.B., won her first full-marathon on P.E.I. but had nabbed first place in the Island half-marathon in 2004.
Both battled a sunny and warm but blustery fall day.
MacKinnon finished in two hours, 43 minutes 19 seconds, while Wilson-Armitage crossed the finish line in Charlottetown in 3:18:45.
Temperatures hovered around 16 C and winds were a steady 30 kilometres or more per hour.
“It was tough. I thought ‘Oh my God, this wind is stronger that I thought’ and I knew it would cost me,” said MacKinnon, 38, adding the heat wasn’t a problem thanks to the breezy day. “Not with the way the wind was. The heat wasn’t a big deal.”
Second place overall went to Steven Baglole of Charlottetown in 2:44:51, while Chuck Dixon of Sackville, N.B., finished third overall in 2:52:14.
It’s the fifth straight year an Island runner has won the hometown marathon.
The last non-Islander to win was David MacLennan of Scotsburn, N.S.
MacKinnon’s last Island Marathon win came in 2008.
“They’re all challenging. I’ve had to battle it out,” said MacKinnon, a automotive teacher at Three Oaks High School in Summerside. “If I can outpace them (the field) I have a chance. If it gets to a kick I don’t have a chance and they know that.”
MacKinnon said he plans a quiet family celebration with wife Janice and children Hailey, 10, and Ryan, 7.
For Wilson-Armitage, her first 42-kilometre run in over a decade had similar challenges, notwithstanding her long break from the pavement.
“It was brutal. Strong headwinds and a battle (with the hills) on the finish. It was my first (Island) Marathon in 11 years. It was like my first, but it will be my last,” said Wilson-Armitage, 46, smiling and wrapped in a silver, wind-resistant heat blanket after the race. “In this weather I was really pleased. I’m just pleased to be finished.”
Former Olympian Kara Grant of Mermaid finished second among the women in 3:24:22; third place went to Brenda Benson of Summerside in 3:26:03.
Despite the win, Wilson-Armitage doesn’t think she's prone to winning. It's just a matter of numbers, she said.
“In the smaller marathons (and half-marathons), the field of women is so small,” she said.
Wilson-Armitage also credits her husband Michael Armitage for support, and her friend Allison MacDonald, who ran the half-marathon as a warmup to next month’s New York Marathon.
“She’s my inspiration,” said Wilson-Armitage.
So with the race behind her, what will Wilson-Armitage do to celebrate her second overall marathon victory (she won a marathon in Fredericton, N.B., years ago)?
“I think I’ll drink white wine, if I can walk,” she said. “Right now I’m starting to seize up. I’ve got to keep moving.”
In the men’s half-marathon, Jonathan Gendron of Shearwater, N.S., finished first in 1:16:49, followed by Stanley Chaisson of Stratford, who won the full marathon in 2009, in 1:17:35.
Ian James Doyle of Sydney, N.S., was third (1:19:19).
Stacy Juckett of Dartmouth, N.S., was top female half-marathoner, finishing in 1:29:52.
Gabrielle Gallagher of Halifax, N.S., crossed in 1:33:17, while Jennifer Pizio-Perr of Tignish was third (1:34:19).
Runners of the P.E.I. Marathon crossing the finish line. Tourism CharlottetownP.E.I.'s annual marathon this weekend drew in an estimated 2,500 runners from across Canada and the United States.
Myrtle Jenkins-Smith, one of the organizers, said it's become an international event.
"We are a Boston [marathon] qualifier so we have people that come here to qualify for Boston," Jenkins-Smith told CBC News.
"We had the largest percentage of marathoners in eastern Canada qualify [for the Boston marathon] last year, so that's pretty exciting for P.E.I."
Laurie Ann Brown and Bridget Roy of Liverpool training for the P.E.I. race in part to set an example for their children. (Ryan Hicks/CBC) For two mothers, best friends from Nova Scotia, Sunday's P.E.I. Marathon was an opportunity to set an example.
Bridget Roy and Laurie Ann Brown of Liverpool spent a year training for the event, both losing more than 60 lbs.
"It really does mean a lot," said Roy.
"We both have young children and we're role models for our children now, to have a healthy lifestyle."
Roy and Brown, who ran the half marathon, were amongst more than 2,500 people who took part in marathon events Sunday.
Phys Ed teacher Stan Chaisson sees the event as part of the growing popularity of running growing on the Island.
Just last week I was at Eliot River School with my St Jean Consolidated cross-country runners. Oh my goodness, there must have been about 800 runners there between grade three and six, just in our zone," he said.
Mike MacKinnon of Miscouche, P.E.I. had the best time in the marathon. He did it in 2 hours and 45 minutes, more than a minute ahead of the second place finisher.
Runners who finished the P.E.I. marathon can use it to qualify for the Boston marathon.
(Note- Bridget Roy was the winner of the draw of the gift box of Great Canadian Soap Co. "Post-Run Relief" at the PEI RoadRunner's Booth at the PEI Marathon Expo. Congrats all round Bridget, well done!!)
Photo by Jim Day Sandra Gregory, right, of Charlottetown and her mother Dorothy are set to run their third straight marathon together on P.E.I. The race gets underway in Brackley Beach Sunday at 8 a.m.
Event co-ordinator Myrtle Jenkins-Smith says the annual BMO Nesbitt Burns Prince Edward Island Marathon has built strong participation in a host of running and walking categories.
Set for its eighth run this weekend, the annual event began modestly with 173 people participating in either a full or a half marathon. This weekend, more than 2,000 will take part in one or more of nine events.
Close to 300 are registered for the toughest physical and mental test of the weekend: the full marathon that starts in Brackley Beach and ends in downtown Charlottetown.
They are coming from near and far to traverse the scenic 42-kilometre course.
The marathon is attracting runners from every province in Canada, as well as from Yellowknife and the Northwest Territories.
Runners from several parts of the United States will lace up along with participants from Singapore, Japan and Germany.
A 70-year-old Nova Scotia man is believed to be the oldest runner entered in the full marathon.
Sandra Gregory, 19, of Charlottetown is thought to be the youngest.
Sunday will mark the third straight year that the teenager has entered the full marathon, each time with her mother, Dorothy.
Gregory, who likes to train with her mother along the Confederation Trails, says the marathon route offers a bit of everything.
“You get the dunes and the farmlands and then you get in the city,’’ she said.
Gregory adds that spectator support is strong along the run.
Jenkins-Smith says runners can expect to hear encouraging words from the sidelines and possibly eye supportive messages painted on bales of hay.
Marathon participants will also be racing by some entertainment that might just give them a little more bounce in their step as musicians play bagpipes, flutes, guitars and fiddles.
For Shiona Green, the run will hit close to home.
Green, 52, who lives in Winnipeg with her husband David Ramsay, was born in Scotland but grew up in Charlottetown.
She has run the Manitoba Marathon four times but is set to take her first crack at the marathon in P.E.I. She hopes nostalgia will kick in and help get her through the run.
The marathon will take her along the North Shore, where she used to run years ago. She will also pass by the Sherwood Cemetery where her father is buried.
“I will be thinking of him,’’ she said.
And her 80-year-old mother, Jean Green of Charlottetown, will be waiting at the finish line.
“Well it certainly will be special because Prince Edward Island is the best place in the world,’’ said Green, who left the province in 1979. “I’m ready for it.’’
Jenkins-Smith says runners consider the marathon here a flat, fast course.
Last year, the highest number of qualifiers for the Boston Marathon in Eastern Canada came from the P.E.I. run.
“We’re a smaller marathon and we do some personal touch things,’’ added Jenkins-Smith.
“Our (some 300-strong) volunteers are awesome along the route.’’
Sunday’s forecast will be welcome news to many of the runners. Environment Canada is calling for a mix of sun and cloud with a low of 10 and a high of 14. That is in pleasant contrast to the high winds and cold rain runners pounded through last year.
Scott Clark of Linkletter managed those tough conditions well last year finishing first in the marathon, running a personal-best 2:44:42 that served as a tune-up for an Iron Man competition that he successfully tackled in Florida three weeks later.
He told The Guardian earlier this week that he does not expect to successfully defend his title Sunday. He says some strong competitors that were not in last year’s race will be toeing the starting line tomorrow in Brackley Beach.
A top five finish, adds Clark, would make him happy.
Today, hundreds of little tykes will be subjected to a far less competitive environment when they take part in the free P.E.I. Potato Industry Kids Spud run. The children will make their way around the UPEI Canada Games Track until they have run, walked or combined the two to put tally one kilometer.
Jenkins-Smith frequently hears people comment that the marathon weekend offers something for the whole family.
No new categories were added this year to the full line-up that includes a full and a half marathon run; a 10K and a 5K run; a half marathon walk, a 10K walk and a 5K walk; a corporate/team relay drawing at least 36 teams; and the spud run expected to see 400 to 500 children on the track at UPEI.
“This is the first year where we haven’t changed any of the categories. We’re building and improving on what we have,’’ said Jenkins-Smith.
“You love to see it grow little by little and that’s exactly what happened.’’
Traffic tie-ups
Motorists could experience some minor traffic delays across P.E.I. Sunday due to the number of marathon participants on highways.
The Gulf Shore Parkway in the P.E.I. National Park will be closed to all traffic from Brackley Beach to Bayshore Road. Only eastbound traffic will be permitted from Bayshore Road to the Dalvay Gate.
The road closure will start at 7:30 a.m. and should re-open about 10 a.m.
Full road closures will be in effect on the Sherwood Road between Brackley Point Road and Route #2 from 9:30 a.m. to 12 p.m., and on University Avenue between Kirkwood Avenue and Grafton Street from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Travelers should also note that Grafton Street, from Queen Street to Church Street, and University Avenue, from Kent Street to Grafton Street, will be closed from Saturday at 2 a.m. to Sunday at 4 p.m. to host the finish line area and to ensure the safety of all participants.
Click to enlarge & read
Alex with Elaine & Dianne after the 2008 Prince Edward Island Marathon.Before we look at these items, let’s take a quick look at some important road closures. For a more comprehensive list of the closers, please check out the P.E.I. Marathon website. Marathon weekend is Oct. 14-16.
For those planning to take their own transportation to the National Park, please note. The westbound (waterside) lane of the Gulf Shore Parkway will be closed to traffic from Dalvay to Brackley beginning at 7:30 a.m. until the last runner exits the park. The Sherwood Road is closed to all traffic from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. There are a number of parking restrictions for the streets surrounding the marathon finish line. For other important information please refer to the Island marathon website.
This is it, the week you all have been working towards, months of training are now behind you. I hope you enjoyed the journey to get to this point in your training. In these last few days you will probably do a few short runs or walks to keep your self loose. You maybe are getting a little nervous and jittery thinking about your upcoming run.
I like to think this is all normal, a good sign that you are probably ready to go. To help combat the nerves it may be a great time to catch up on some reading, a movie or two or doing something you enjoy doing that doesn’t use to much physical energy. You should try to conserve that energy for race day. Take the time to reflect on your training, what worked for you and what might not have worked so well. It would also be a great time to think about creating your race day checklist. This list should contain everything you will need for race day — such as articles of clothing, shoes you may be planning to use, food requirements for the day, equipment and gear such as fuel belts, anti chafing cream, watches, GPS, music, etc. Above all, don’t forget your timing chip. If you plan to use gels, energy bars or other packaged foods, please take along a baggie to store the wrappings to prevent littering on the course.
Race Day
Be sure to take lots of time to get yourself to your race start.
The areas around the race start and finish lines will be congested and will take a little longer to get there. Other things to consider are some warm clothing to wear, both before and to change into after the run, especially those travelling to the marathon and relay start point. Just before the race, start putting this clothing back on the bus to take it back to the finish line. Please attach the tag that will come with your bib number to your bag, so you will be able to retrieve it at marathon headquarters afterwards. The race starts are very exciting places. You will be mingling with other runners of all abilities and people running different distances. Enjoy the excitement but, as a word of caution, once the race begins be sure you stick to your pace and run your race. It is very easy to get caught up in the excitement and leave much faster than you may have planned. From my own experience, I find if I loose my breath before I get into my running rhythm, I find it very difficult to get it back.
All along the course you will see all kinds of volunteers, manning the water stops, directing traffic and runners, first aid, music, etc. There are many more you will not see who have work tirelessly in the background to help stage this event. All these folks are giving you their time freely. Please take the time to acknowledge and thank them.
Post Race
After your race, you should expect to be a little stiff and maybe sore and you could feel a little let down emotionally. This is normal for many runners. After all, this has been your focus for many weeks. To help with your recuperation, you should also be considering a post race recovery period, especially those running the longer distances. Depending on your fitness level and upcoming running goals, a post race period should include at least the following.
Nutrition: Eat a balanced diet. Your body will need carbs, proteins and nutrients to rebuild damaged muscles. Do not resume a weight loss diet you may be considering until after the first week. If you have cravings, indulge them moderately. Your body may be telling you what it is missing.
Sleep: Your body builds muscle and repairs itself while sleeping. Get lots of additional rest and sleep after your run.
Loosen up period: Combine minimal, easy running with walking and other forms of cross-training, such as easy cycling, spinning, swimming or water running that will improve blood flow to your legs.
Good luck to all participants. I hope each of you will accomplish the goals you have set out for yourself. Above all have fun and enjoy the day?
Doug MacEachern is chair of course logistics for the BMO Nesbitt Burns P.E.I. Marathon, Oct. 14 to 16. For questions about training, contact him at info@princeedwardislandmarathon.com.
Sunday's Scotiabank Toronto Waterfround Marathon will be 100-year-old Fauja Singh's eighth marathon. Staff Journal Pioneer
WOODSTOCK - Charlottetown Rural High School and Mill River Provincial Park are hosting the 2011 P.E.I. School Athletic Association (PEISAA) Source for Sports provincial cross-country championships this week.
Charlottetown Rural will host approximately 250 juvenile and senior runners on Thursday, while an estimated 950 runners will represent their elementary and intermediate schools at Mill River Park in Woodstock on Saturday.
Paul Goguen, manager of the Mill River meet and cross-country commissioner, suggests the two meets amount to one of the biggest PEISAA sporting events. And, as such, is a great way to kick off the association's 50th anniversary celebrations.
Separate competition
Rick MacKinnon, school sport director for the PEISAA, indicated a separate competition for the senior and juvenile runners was seen as a means to increase participation levels with that age group.
"They felt that many runners were not attending provincials on the weekend because of other important sport events,” he explained. “So, by running these two categories on a week day, we hope to attract more participants."
Mike Lloyd is meet manager for the juvenile and senior high competition, and suggests the strategy is working.
"We have a great course for the students to run," he said. "We've been working hard to promote and encourage high school athletes to come out and run for their schools. Numbers have increased, and we are very pleased with this."
Westisle family
MacKinnon noted that the Westisle family of schools hosts the provincial competition for pre-novice to midget categories annually, with the leadership programs from M.E. Callaghan and Hernewood Intermediate schools taking turns helping to run the championships.
Goguen said runners have to be in shape for Mill River's demanding course.
"We have open fields, wooded areas and many hills to overcome," he pointed out.
Every race, he said, is spectator-friendly.
Schedules
Schedule for PEISAA cross-country championships:
Senior and Juvenile
Thursday, Oct. 13
At Charlottetown Rural:
1:30 p.m. – Juvenile girls (3.5 kilometres).
2 p.m. – Juvenile boys (3.5 kilometres).
2:30 p.m. – Senior girls (4.0 kilometres).
3 p.m. – Senior boys (4.0 kilometres).
Pre-novice to midget
Saturday, Oct. 15
At Mill River:
10:30 a.m. – Midget boys (3.0 kilometres).
10:55 a.m. – Midget girls (3.0 kilometres).
11:20 a.m. – Bantam boys (3.0 kilometres).
11:45 a.m. – Bantam girls (3.0 kilometres).
12:45 p.m. – Novice boys (2.0 kilometres).
1:10 p.m. – Novice girls (2.0 kilometres).
1:35 p.m. – Pre-novice boys (1.5 kilometres).
2 p.m. – Pre-novice girls (1.5 kilometres).
Bedeque resident Paul Wright, 55, will strap on his roller-skis on Nov. 4 to begin a three-day, 285-kilometre trek across the Island to raise awareness and funds for Right to Play, an organization that helps underprivileged kids have better access tosports. Wright has been roller-skiing since the early '90's Stephen Brun/Journal Pioneer
