Acorn runners tell a story...
Latest effort from the venerable Colin Utterson, if anyone has any similar stuff... share it!
Wrinklies in the Colonies... (11-12-05)
Author : Colin Utterson (age - also veteran)
It started with a competition in Runners' World magazine:- win a free entry to the Scotiabank Toronto Marathon in September. As it had been a few months since London, and as I have a friend living in Toronto who I had not seen for nigh on 40 years, I thought this would be a great opportunity.
After a few days, I realised that the chance of winning this was pretty remote, so took the plunge and entered anyway. The usual mileage build up was unfortunately halted some 6 weeks before the event when I had a fall and cracked some ribs. I did not know of this injury until the day after I ran the Askern 10 when I returned home and found that moving was very painful. An X-ray confirmed the injury and I had to spend 3 weeks not running ( but I did some fastish walking!)
However, I got to running again, hoping that I would not be found wanting on the day.
The flight to Canada was the usual 7 hours haul during which I think I must have watched the complete series of CSI New York/Miami. Entering the country was slightly less stressful than getting into the US.
A shuttle bus from the airport took us to within a few blocks of the hotel. It took only a few minutes to remember that the Canadians also drive on the wrong side of the road.
As the race was not until nine days time, I had to look around for suitable training roads, which at first sight (being in a large city) seemed to be a daunting task. We were located close to Yonge Street which is apparently the longest street in the world. After a bit of exploration, I found 1 Yonge Street which is the location for the local Toronto Star newspaper, and directly across the road from Lake Ontario. Along the shoreline of the lake, I found a path for the use of cyclists and runners suitably divided into
lanes.
In the city area it runs alongside hotels and apartments, and then further out alongside marinas and the shoreline itself. I found out that this path eventually runs for 28 miles alongside the lake. My winding down miles were therefore west and east along this path, which I later turned out to be part of the marathon course.
The following days were spent exploring Toronto, visiting Niagara Falls and visiting my friend and his now grown up family in Oshawa some 50 miles to the east. Incidentally, for home-sick Yorkshire folk, the double decker train from Toronto to Oshawa passes through Pickering, Whitby and Scarborough (or Scarboro'). Beyond Oshawa is the village of Newcastle (the train stops at Oshawa ).
Race day dawned quite wet, but by the time of the start at 7-30 the rain had stopped and it was starting to get light! Unlike London, the Toronto marathon is not widely known and accepted in the area yet, the big event of the day was the baseball game between the Toronto Blue-Jays and the New York Yankees, hence the early start and the time restriction on closed roads.
The first part of the race was westwards below the flyovers which carry the main east-west traffic along Lakeshore Boulevard. After about six miles, the course takes a reverse turn and heads eastward (this also being the turn for the half marathon which starts at 8-00). The course then heads back towards the city on the lakeshore and then east towards the old dockland area and eventually out onto a nature reserve located on a peninsula in the lake. Just before this, some way past the half way point, I crossed paths with Darren Bilton who was running for Team GB, and at this point he seemed to be well placed in the first twenty or so.
Well, as usual, the last six miles or so were the hardest. Trying to survive, taking drinks at every drink station just in case it'd give an extra boost. Drinks were courtesy of Gatorade and came in many shades - blue, red and yellow I seem to remember - the strength varying as much as the colour.
Canada has gone metric for road distances. Markers were in kilometres only, and it proved difficult to ascertain how far from the finish we were - late on in a marathon is not a time for vigourous mental calculations!
I remember catching someone from Beverley A.C., and he was probably surprised to receive a Geordie greeting clothed in a York Acorn vest.
Unlike the last few miles of London, along the Embankment, the last few miles at Toronto were conspicious by the absence of spectators, being run under the flyovers and alongside railway lines close to the lakeshore. However, the last mile or so in the city was great on the closed main streets overlooked by skyscrapers, and a really enthusiastic crowd at the finish line.
I finished in 214th position out of 2090 finishers in a time of 3hrs 23 minutes, which was only 58 minutes after Darren Bilton who finished in 12th position,and who had 8 Africans in front of him. Darren blamed the humidity for his slow(!?) time, so I'll go along with that. He was the fastest in the V40 category and best of Team GB. I found out when I got home that I had won the V60 category, and in due course received a solid steel trophy which had cost £12 in postage charges.
I was really put to shame by the V70 winner who did 3hrs 2 minutes at the age of 74. Even then he was disappointed as he had done 2hrs 54mins on the same course in 2004!
The punch line of all this is that, on the evening of marathon day, we went to have a meal at a Greek restaurant which we had visited a few days previously. Unfortunately, it turned out that they were not open on Sunday! Being half starved by now, we took the next best alternative which was a Canadian/Italian type of establishment on the first floor of a pub. After the meal and a couple of Canadian special lagers, I managed to mis-place my footing at the top of the stairs on the way out and, trying to stop myself from falling down the staircase, grabbed the handrail, swung around and crashed my chest into it.So the last week of the holiday was spent taking pain-killers because of cracked ribs. I didn't need an x-ray this time, I knew exactly what I had done!!
Joe Kleinerman 10km - NEW YORK (11-12-05)
Author : John McDonough (age - veteran)
My wife and two daughters thought it would be a great idea to do Christmas shopping in New York this year, so I hit the internet looking for tips for running in the city. New York
Road Runners, organizers of the marathon, had a series of races throughout the holiday period so I signed up for a 10K.
I figured that my preparations were ideal for a fast run; drive to London the evening before the flight, a poor nights sleep, an hours traffic jam on the M25 followed by 7-8 hours on a plane, could it get any better? Of course it could, a blinding migraine halfway over the Atlantic and a cabin crew that somehow managed to hide for the entire flight.
We chose American Airlines for a number of reasons but the real upside is the leg room, if your travelling cattle class as we did, it’s only a few inches more than British Airways or Virgin but it makes a big difference on a longer flight.
U.S. Immigration go out of their way to make you feel welcome right down to finger printing
and photographing you! Finally made it to our hotel, the girls hit the shops and I headed to New York Road Runners to pick up my number. Their “clubhouse” is very similar to ours at Acomb in that it has a front door. The building is located close to Madison Avenue/Central Park valued around £1,000,000. Still, no charge to go in collect your number/race chip and souvenir long sleeve T-shirt, not bad for £9
Finally got to bed around midnight after dinner with friends, of course your body clock thinks it’s 5 in the morning.
Managed to get a 30 minute run along the riverside first thing in the morning, snow and sheet ice with a biting wind off the Hudson but the views are great.
A full days sightseeing and eating before finally crashing out and getting a good 4 hours sleep, perfect preparation!
Race morning, one degree above freezing but clear blue skies. Central Park is covered in snow and looks spectacular. Big field for a 10K of 4000+ but the start is well organized with 5, 6, 7 minute pace sections. Guys stood around me at the start were friendly and put me right on my assumption that it was a flat course. The route is basically a circuit of the park, if you’ve run the marathon it would be familiar for the finish section. The organization was superb, 2 second splits at every mile marker, even drink stations. I hoped to run sub 40 but the undulating course and a pit stop dragged me back to 41.22 finishing 282 of 4000+.
Cross the finish line and numerous helpers cut the chip from your shoes, followed by having photos taken before you get drinks, apples and as many donuts as you can handle. Really good atmosphere, the guys I’d spoken to at the start came up and had a chat (thankfully they finished behind me!) and people are still cheering on those finishing half an hour later. Comprehensive results are on the internet that afternoon including adjusted times and finishing positions depending on your age (handily this moves me into 91st place!).
We filled the rest of the day and Monday with more sightseeing and just soaking up the atmosphere before the long haul back to York.
Anyone fancy the marathon in November?
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