I set a goal to complete my 10,000 run streak days, along with 1000 races, and one hundred marathons before settling into a recliner one day – in the distant future. I am confident about making the 10,000 days (currently at 7970) and the 1000 races (currently at 708). The one hundred marathons will be a stretch; I stood at 70 in January of this year. I did the math and decided that four marathons per year for eight(!) more years could get me there. Or perhaps I need to run a few more at my current (relatively) young age? Then I came across an advertisement for the Niagara Falls Marathon in Niagara Falls Canada1.
I had previously run Toronto and Quebec City (with Mike) and loved our visits north. The timing was right (late October), the course looked good (flat) and the race was of reasonable size. On my birthday in June, I signed up and put a training plan of sorts in motion. Fourteen weeks with races every Saturday, increasing mileage up to 60/week and long runs up to 18 plus miles. I hit all the weekly goals excepting a few long runs that fell short, and I stayed healthy, worked out at the YMCA, and dropped a few pounds. Picked out a flight and a hotel and hoped for good weather.
I was traveling on my own and fine with that. I made my way north, leaving 90-degree late October weather, up to Toronto where the cold air caught me like a fresh breeze through an open window. Just past the peak of fall color, fall was hanging on in western Ontario, though thinking hard about winter.
A drive down along Lake Ontario, no reason to hurry, enjoy the scenery; a dinner time check-in at the Marriott Falls View, upon entering my room I was met with this view from my window.
I went to sleep on Friday evening to the soft rumble of the falls. And then woke up to this:
After Saturday a morning sleep in, I ran down Portage Road to the stately Oak Hall government offices, and then back up a gentle hill to the hotel. The packet pickup was a low-key affair; you give them your bib number and they hand you a bib, a race shirt, and an optional drop bag. No ID required; I could have picked up anyone’s entry! I scouted out the parking and start line area and asked them about race day parking, and then drove up a back road to the falls proper. Tons of pictures and toured a very well-appointed gift shop / dining / information center. It was busy with people though not overwhelming. I can only imagine this place in high summer.
Food is always important. I brought along a backpack full and found a small grocery store to supplement my supplies. For dinner I ordered takeout pasta (of course) from a restaurant two blocks away. I laid out my kit and prepared for a somewhat restless night. At midnight when I was greeted by a screaming hotel fire alarm and a persistent hotel manager telling us to please stand by for further instructions. Over and over for 35 minutes until cleared by the local fire department. I went back to sleep.
Up again at 5:00 AM for breakfast and to dress out, the plan was to drive the 1.2 miles to the race site and arrive an hour early. Just in case. That was compromised when I found the car covered in frost, cleared it off with the AVIS provided ice scraper, turned up the defrost and headed over. Traffic was starting to build. I slid into the site from a stoplight on the main road and got out to stretch. Vehicles were already backed up a quarter mile behind me coming in, whew! Pit stop, checked my gear and ready to go. The course was interesting. It ran north about 3K right along the falls, and then turned back south, past the start line area and continued 11 miles south along a two-lane river road. Approximately 700 were stated off in the marathon at 7:20 AM, followed 20 minutes later by another 1600 in the half, and 750 in the 10K. It was cold (34 degrees with a light wind) at the start; with a long sleeve shirt, gloves, and hat I felt perfectly comfortable. Eventually the half marathon and 10K leaders caught and passed us, and then they each reached the turnaround back north to the start. I felt good at a steady pace, alongside of the five-hour pace group and ran well to the halfway point before my pace started to drop off. Though clearly, I was carrying more fitness than my past few marathons, nice. Small but vocal groups of spectators supported us, and I felt in my marathon element, my painful though happy place. It became a little warm at mile 16 and then cooled back down as a fresh wind came up under partly cloudy skies.
Somewhere on the back half a woman runner came up running beside me, and we swapped places for a few miles. We were both laboring a bit. She stopped for extra water from a spectator and a man on a bike came up beside her twice, offering support. She started to cramp up a bit and I came up beside and offered her salt tabs. She said thanks but “I have been taking them all along, I don’t know what has gone wrong”. I wished her well and we separated again. Eventually she caught up and passed me on a restroom break. Her and the bike rider were both waiting for me at the finish, we chatted, and he took our picture. Angela from Barrie Ontario. That was nice because I did not know anyone there. Good luck to you Angela, run far and fast and happy.
Ann Trason: “It hurts up to a point and then it doesn’t get any worse. [JA1] When you hit mile 23 you know that you will finish, the pain is an expected and constant companion at that point in the race. Per George Sheehan: ….la difficulté d’être… “It’s very hard in the beginning to understand that the whole idea is not to beat the other runners. Eventually you learn that the competition is against the little voice inside you that wants you to quit.”
I finished at 5:22:36. Coming off several disastrous and injury compromised races, I came in with a smile on my face. Training and fitness can make a difference; I can progress and hold off decline.
Sheehan: “If marathoners finish, they win”. Somehow, I finished 3rd in my tiny little age group. I could not find the results, so I wandered back over to the scoring table and the woman there gave me my time and place. Then I went over to the awards area and told them. They said congratulations, great race; we only give out race awards to the top finisher in each age group. Rats, I was hoping for a Tim Horton’s voucher or something like that. I did not mind. During my stay, I never made it over to Tim Horton’s in any case.
I thought about flying out late Sunday or early Monday morning, but those flight change options were not available, so I stayed with my late Monday afternoon flight. Which was nice. I slept in a bit and then took a slow run north through town and then east back to the falls. What looked like a cold rain was mist coming across the river from the east. Then I packed up and had an easy drive back to Toronto and eventually back home.
My 72nd marathon and my third race in Canada. I reflect on what it takes to get to the start (and finish line) of any marathon, to prepare to be fit to run, remain injury free, avoid sickness, travel to the race site, arrive on time to the start line, none of these are promised. I do not have a favorite race; I love all of them for different reasons. However, my trips to Canada have always sent me home happy, the climate and hospitality, the sights and sounds and excitement of an international race. Many thanks to the organizers of the Niagara Falls Marathon.
Sheehan: “No matter how old I get; the race remains one of life’s most rewarding experiences. My times become slower…, but the experience of the race is unchanged: each race a drama, each race a challenge, each race stretching me in one way or another, and each race telling me more about myself and others. I will not last forever. But I am damn well going to know I have been here.”
Let us see what the winter race season brings in Texas, and where I may travel next; wonderful unknown adventures lie ahead. Perhaps I shall return to the Great North. Perhaps Ottawa beckons. Or Hamilton next fall?
Tartan Ottawa International Marathon – Run Ottawa
Thank you to friends and family and those who support me close.
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Postscript: In Niagara Falls I had the choice to take the Sheraton (race host hotel, 2.5 miles from the start line) or the Marriott (1.3 miles from the start line). The Sheraton was advertising a continuous shuttle to the start line on race day. I preferred to be closer and chose the Marriot. On Saturday I scouted out the start area parking, there was plenty of space, but a narrow turn leading from a light on the main road to enter the park. With a couple of thousand runners spread over three race distances, I decided to arrive an hour before the start (50 minutes it turned out). As I got out of my car, I saw a quarter mile line of vehicles backed up at that light. Two runners that I met afterward they said that they barely made it to the start line for the half marathon because of backed up traffic. Then apparently the hotel shuttle from the Sheraton stopped running because of traffic, stranding several hundred runners. OMG. See the race directors’ comments below. They were lacking traffic control or volunteers out there by the entrance. Can you imagine missing the start and having the course cut short by 5.8K. After traveling from a different country? Well heck.
From the Race Director, Post Race Wrap Up
“First and foremost, thank you for choosing to race with us. Your dedication to training for this event, the time and effort you put in, and your commitment to being part of our race truly matters to us.
We are truly sorry that race day did not unfold as it should have for some of you. Due to unexpected traffic, which led to significant shuttle delays, some runners were not able to reach the starting line in time (or at all), while others experienced a shortened course. We tried to accommodate as best we could in allowing runners to start and complete the northern (5.8km section) of the course (the part that passed by the falls) until approximately 8:20 am. Given the strict timelines imposed on this section of the course, the Niagara Parks Commission extended the deadline to give as many runners as possible this experience. Our goal is to deliver a race experience that celebrates your commitment and dedication from start to finish. We apologize that not everyone got to do that on Sunday. We will be making significant improvements and adjustments to help with traffic issues and delays, so they do not happen again in the future. We hope to see you in 2025.”