Perhaps a moment in life I will never get over. I had been playing cat and mouse with Peter ever since i caught up to him around the 15k mark. we went back and forth til the 30k mark, when it appeared he had slowed down. so I was estatic, I felt strong and felt that if I could maintain my current pace, I'd have this race run. All of a sudden, at the 32k point, the 3rd-place-ranked Mack overtook both of us, looking strong and fresh as a daisy. I picked up the pace but eventually had to slow down due to complete exhaustion and lack of energy stores. Peter ended up slowing down to walk in the final 2k due to a major injury he sustained. I sauntered across the finish line just 4 minutes after Mack. Mack is an amazing runner, a great guy, and has a lovely sense of humour. I was very happy for him. He not only beat his personal best time on this very tough course, but he shattered it. He ran a 3.17 and used this as his Boston Qualifier. I crossed at 3.22, which was technically my 3rd best time, although i consider this my best run ever, given the added course difficulty with all the hills.
I had always entered races with a plan to race against the clock. But this one was different. I knew I had a chance to win a race, and approached this very differently. I was well tuned into to what others were doing on the course - something i never used to care about.
What made this race even more imporant for me, 4 weeks earlier, by Boston dreams got shattered by leg cramps at the 39k mark of the Mississauga Marathon, forcing me to cross the finish line just mere minutes off my required time. Even worse, my appearance at the 2007 Eastern marathon ended tragically as I dropped out of the race after 30K due to apparent sun stroke, making this the only marathon start I had never finished.
The race was discontinued due to its lack of interest (mostly because the course was too hilly and the scheduling of it conflicted with other runners' plans to run the Ottawa Marathon the week before). So, in the end, I never got a chance at redemption.
Me with NL Running Legend, Ray Will
Peter tries to catch me!
I try to catch Peter
Mack after he passed me and Peter to take the lead
Oh well, it was a happy ending, as later that summer, i ran qualification runs that got me into Boston 2009 and again in Boston 2010. I also claimed my very first championship when i won Gold at the World Outgames in Copenhagen Denmark in both Marathon run event and 1500M Freestyle swim event.
But I still really really really wanted this one! and this will sting forever!
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