Runner #4810 celebrating life with more than 10,000 runners at Yonge Street, Toronto.
It was cold, 7 above zero in the morning before the race.
Runners started arriving early for the 8 am start time.
Volunteers were busy, what with more than 10,000 participants.
Runners were assigned a corral depending on estimated finish time, mine was blue - for 1 hour or less.
I like being early to drop off my bag, take pictures and enjoy the sights and festivities.
The start line area 45 minutes before the race.
Yonge Street, Toronto shortly before the start of the race.
This lady devised a good way to find her runner, a stick with a red plastic shopping bag.
Finishing uninjured to run another day is a blessing, plus the medal of course.
With more than 10,000 runners, it was anarchy to find your friends or relatives waiting outside the finish line.
With no more than 4 hours of sleep last night (from watching and celebrating Pacman's win against Hatton), I ran the Toronto Sporting Life 10K Run with more than 10,000 other runner participants along a route that was mostly downhill starting at Yonge Street south of Eglinton Avenue, turning right to Front Street and finishing at Fort York, Toronto. The annual charity run raises money for the support of kids with cancer.
It is considered the fastest and biggest 10k race in Canada because of the relatively downhill race route and the most number of participants. This year more than 12,000 people registered for the race. I was aiming for a new PR, a time faster than 1:02:01, my previous best in the 10k distance that I did in the Oasis Zoo Run last year. My other target goal was to go below 1 hour for the first time. I gave it my all to achieve both goals and was happy and thankful to finish in 1:00:16 a new PR in the 10k. It was so close and yet so far to break the 1 hour barrier as I missed it by 16 seconds. The thing is, when I crossed the finish line, my Garmin 305 gave me 10.61 kms. total. So, if my Garmin was working good I got shortchanged by more than half a kilometer , which when converted to time is about 3 minutes and change. Oh well, you can't be too greedy. Tomorrow is another day.
This is MAY. Do you ever get to wear singlets at all, mid-August perhaps? :)
ReplyDeleteBong, congratulations on the PR. If your Garmin is correct, you did break 60 minutes.
ReplyDeleteYes, Pacman did a number on Hatton last night!
Hi Bong,
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on your new PR!
- Nette
7 above zero is cold. You would have been fine in the temps of our race. Nicely done with the new PR. Not going under 1 hour just keeps you hungry for better performances in the future. So I guess they made up for the downhill by being a little bit longer. Nice:) Those tricky Canadians. Good job Bong, recover well.
ReplyDeleteBong, you did finish sub 1 hr. for sure. Congratulations!! I am so happy for you. At our age, you're still going fast and strong. And running in a freezing environment? I really admire your dedication, Bong . . .
ReplyDeleteThank you for the nice comments you've been writing in my site. I will try my very best not to disappoint you. Hopefully this week, I can run again following your advise. I will start slow, not forcing myself but just enjoy the fun of running once again.
Thank you again Bong. Thank you for standing by through thick and thin. How I wish I can run with you when you come to the Phils. Now, THAT should inspire me to fly again!
Congrats on the new PR!! You did great.
ReplyDeletecongrats on your new pr. hey, i saw running room in the background of one of your pics. i love that store--frequented it when i was vacationing in vancouver. if you have cold weather, we have hot and humid. congrats again.
ReplyDeleteMay-August are warm enough to wear singlets Miraclecello,
ReplyDeleteThanks Wayne. I wish you're right, it'll be interesting to find out on my next 10k race.
With the downhill race route, anybody could easily achieve a PR in this race Nette. See you at the next marathon clinic.
Many local runners here run in shorts and singlets on a plus 7 C temperature. I still can't, being Pinoy, I easily get cold so I wore shorts with a long sleeved shirt and a light vest. If you're right Rick with me getting shortchanged as to the extra distance, I think breaking the 1 hour barrier is achievable on my next 10k race. Nice pictures at Miwook, you look like you just had a leisurely 5k run instead of a 100k killer of a race (you look so happy and relaxed).
That's my dream too Nora, to run side by side with you someday, hope it'll be sooner than later. Take care.
Thanks anonymous. Are you one of my clinicmates?
Hi Mayi! Thanks. I attend my running clinics at the Markham Runningroom, their products are great and the staff friendly and knowledgeable specially with shoes. Yes, I hear about rain and typhoon there this summer, weird, must be from el nino or climate change.
You did it amazingly again Bong, Congrats! And this caption is great too...
ReplyDelete"This lady devised a good way to find her runner, a stick with a red plastic shopping bag." With 10,000 runners, it's reasonable and systematic way to find a lost love ones...
God bless.
Thanks Ronnie. That lady sure used her imagination and resourcefulness to come up with a good way of being found by her loved one. I hope you've recovered well enough after the 102k ultra for you to run your next race without risking injury. Take care.
ReplyDelete