Made the trek to Whitby for marathon #9. Arrived at 6:20 AM and picked up bib. Good thing for race-day pick up to avoid 100 km of driving round trip just to pick up a bib. Parking was at the sports arena and free.
The marathon, half-marathon, and 10 K all started together. The route was scenic in rural areas along Lake Ontario. For the 2nd half, the majority of the route was on park trail. The sun was kept out due to the clouds which made running more bearable, considering the starting temperature was approximately 16C. I wore a hat and sunglasses.
E-load was served at most of the fluid stations - a few only had water. I brought 4 gels (although e-load gels were given). The route was well marked as the 2nd half was lonely due to the few number of marathon runners (although I got honked when I missed a turn!). The majority of the route is flat although there were a few steep uphill (I power walked these). Good thing it did not rain the night before or during the race - as there were instances of trail paths. Volunteers were stationed at appropriate places and the K markers helped to ensure I was on the correct route. A small race but I found it organized.
Since I ran the Toronto Marathon 3 weeks ago, I opted with the goal to finish. Thus, I started slower than usual as I was averaging 6:30/K. One concern is Garmin measured route at 41.82 K (which is short - since the official route is calculated using the tangent, the Garmin should have recorded over 42.2 K). Here are the stats:
- Chip Time = 4:34:42
- Gun Time = 4:35:30
- Age Category = 15 out of 20
- Gender Category = 44 out of 56
- Overall = 64 out of 86
- Pace = 6:32 min/K
