Around the Bay Road Race - A Great Addition to Anyone's Race Schedule.

2016 Around the Bay 30km Road Race Start

The Around the Bay is an iconic race. This year there were 6000 runners in the 30km. It's an odd distance, too long to run it like a half marathon and too short to pace it as a full marathon (or so I've read).  It's biggest claim to fame is that it is the oldest road race in North America, even older than the Boston Marathon.  This year was the event's 122nd anniversary.  Listening to others speak about the race, who have done it many times, I would have to say there are a few other things that give this race it's charm.

1.  The Weather:  You never know what you will get.  It could be warm and sunny or freezing cold and damp.   You may be running in your long johns or your tank top.  Actually, who am I kidding, from what I've witnessed the last two years, it could be -10 degrees Celsius and there will  still be a number of people running in shorts and a tank top.

2.  The Hills:  The first 20km are deceiving; there are a few hills while running over the overpasses on Burlington Street, but nothing too crazy until the last 10km.  At this point it feels like the hills never end!  They are rolling hills, but far from easy.

3.  The People:  The many volunteers are well organized and friendly keeping the race moving and the runners safe. All along the 30km course their are numerous supporters of the race and the runners participating in it.  They are out with pots and pans, music, and additional aide stations for the athletes.  Then there is the Grim Reaper, waiting with 3 km to go to the finish, telling you how awful you look and there's no need for you to keep going. What race is complete without the Grim Reaper, right?

 So how did I fair at the race? Here's the recap:

This is the second time I've run the Bay, last year being the first.   My coach, Lee Hart, put out an aggressive goal for me to target.  However, knowing my personality, he also provided me with a time range that he'd consider really good.  The range was under 2 hrs - 2 hrs 8 min.  Last year my chip time was 2:16.36. 

Me and my teammates
running the first 9 km
together.

The first 9km down Burlington street was deceptively warm.  I ran this section with three of my team mates.  We watched people throwing off their mittens, hats, and extra shirts along the side of the road.  I only took off my first layer of mittens, but held them close to my chest.  With having Raynaud's Syndrome, keeping my mittens can feel like a life saver.
At the 9.5km mark I said good-bye to my running partners and scooted around the exit ramp off Burlington Street and right into the freezing cold wind. I was betting that for the next 20km there were a lot of people wishing they could get their clothing back!

Running up the first long hill on North Shore

My team mates told me at this point they could see I had 5 men on my tail and I was pulling them through the wind.  The next group of runners was about 30m in front of me and I desperately wanted to get to them so I could tuck in and take a bit of a breather from the wind and the chill.  It seemed to take forever.  While running along the lake shore I was amazed and inspired by all the spectators and cheerleaders on the side of the road.  They really are so supportive and keep the runners morale on the positive side of things, even 15km into the race. I'm one of the runners that waved, gave thumbs up, and thanked them for their support.  It really was nice.

Thank you for helping me up those hills! Your encouragement
was truly appreciated!

 I also want to give a shout out to the two guys that provided me with positive reinforcement while struggling up those North Shore hills.  Thank you!  And at 21km, I was surprised to hear a GO SHEILA! It was from my friend Mark Miller who had come out to watch the Bay.  There is nothing better than a shout of encouragement when your legs want to quit.

GOLD!!!

Finally the last 5km.  It's flat, thank goodness, however the damage had been done.  I was concentrating on form as best I could to will myself to the First Ontario Centre, which by the way, you can see from a couple kilometres out of the finish line, and it never seems to get any closer!  

Somehow it did arrive, and one of the great parts of this event is you get to finish inside the Coliseum.  The announcer is there calling out your name, where you are from and the volunteers are there making sure you are okay and handing you your Gold, Silver or Bronze finisher medal.  

Team Tri-Hart, Around the Bay 2016
Kevin, Bernard, Thomas, Me, Mark, Natalie
 (missing, Coach Lee, and Diana)

My final Chip time was 2:03.25, and I finished 10th woman overall;  a big improvement from last years 80th.  I also made it in the top end of my coaches range and earned a Gold Medal time at the Bay!  This looks positive for the upcoming Triathlon season. My teammates finished not far behind and we all went up to watch the rest of our crew and the 6000 other inspiring runners out there completing The Around the Bay race on a very cold and windy, yet sunny Sunday morning.
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As an addition to this post, a week after the race I recieved a surprise cheque in the mail for $100!  I won 3rd place Masters athlete 40+ and I didn't realize there was a prize for that.  This was an awesome event and I definitely recommend it for your list of races to do. 

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