On May 3rd I took on the BMO Vancouver Marathon. I’ve done many long trail races (50 km to 120 miles), but this would be my first road marathon. I started running ultras to see if I could do them, and once I knew that I could, I’ve wanted to get faster. I’ve signed up for Fat Dog 120 5 times, and the last 3 years I’ve fallen short of my time goal of sub-36 hours. Two years ago at Fat Dog, I was sitting at the start line with two successful trail runners, Charles Perin and Alexa Johnston. I was asking them about their running journeys, and both of them had trained for multiple marathons and achieved fast times. I was nervous about taking on a marathon. Trails are great, you get to walk and the aid stations are like buffets in scenic locations. The marathon to me is intimidating. There is pressure to do well, and I felt there would be a direct correlation between how disciplined I was in my training and my race day results.
The week before the marathon my running nemesis, Jed Grieve, had run the Eugene marathon in a blistering time of 2:52! I had to get some last minute advice from him, and I was glad I did. He said “start easy, 5% below your race pace. Don’t try and crush Camosun Hill. It will win. Once you are heading out to loop UBC, open it up. You will be by the ocean which will help (heat). Crank Spanish Banks, your mountain legs will be fine. Watch the slight grade toward Kits. Once to the Seawall, it is b***s to the wall.” I took that advice to heart and mostly followed those instructions. I went out easy and found myself comfortably climbing Camosun Hill. I probably should have pushed it a bit harder through UBC, but I did fly down Spanish Banks. At this point in the race, I did start passing quite a few people.
At the halfway point, I was right at 1:45. My goal was 3:30. I did increase the effort level throughout the second half. My Strava data says that I hit my fastest half-marathon from the turnaround segment on Blanca Street to somewhere on the Seawall (1:42:45!). I was very happy with that! For most of the day I had been running behind a guy wearing a Coca-Cola outfit, but in the last 5k I caught him. That felt like another victory, not being beaten by a Coke can. Ha ha…
The course was stunning. It was one of the first “hot” days of the season and I was a bit worried about the heat, but I ran in the shade when it was available and every aid station I drank electrolyte mix, and poured water over my head. When there was a breeze, being wet really helped to cool me down. I also felt that I fueled really well. I had tried training with the Xact Bars, and they worked well for me. I ate a gel or a bar every 15-20 minutes, which put me around 90g of carbs per hour. This was great to avoid any kind of “bonk”. In the end, I crossed the finish line in 3:30:27. Sub-3:30 would have been nice, but all in all, I had a great experience. I had started “officially” training the second week of January, and it was a nice emotional cap to that journey.
The energy of the crowd was fantastic and the scenery was stunning. It was a great spring time endurance effort to get me ready for big summer running! The highlight for me was probably running across the Burrard St. Bridge.
Thoughts from Emily Mann, STARR member and first-time marathoner:
The BMO Vancouver Marathon offers a beautifully scenic route. Beginning at Queen Elizabeth Park, it heads out on a decent decline before hitting the Camosun street hill on the way to UBC. Pacific Spirit Regional Park and the Endowment Lands offered some much-needed shade.
The vibes were high in Kitsilano, lots of music, spectators cheering with signs, and misting stations along the route. Stopping for a quick hello with my friends and family around km 27 was the morale boost I needed at that point in the race.
Next came the Burrard Bridge, English Bay and then what felt like the never-ending sea wall around Stanley Park. With an uphill finish I finally crossed the finish line with a time of 4:35. I knew, with how warm the day was, that my original goal was not going to happen, so I focused on taking it all in and enjoying the day
And lastly, from Maggie Curtis, who did the half marathon distance:
The half was very crowded but started with a nice long downhill to get loosened up. We headed from Queen Elizabeth park straight to downtown and then weaved our way around to arrive at Stanley Park and do a lovely scenic loop there. Starting early at 7:00 meant that we beat most of the heat. Some highlights along the way were one man doing very bad karaoke and another man singing Elvis Presley extraordinarily well. It was also pretty inspiring to see the early marathon finishers afterwards.
It was the largest race I have ever been a part of - almost 14 000 registrants took part in the half (the full marathon had just over 7000 finishers). I knew I was not going to beat my earlier half marathon time this year but my chip time was 2:24:19 and it was quite a blast to be a part of something so large.