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Chilly Half Marathon, Burlington, Canada - 2004

3/7/2004

One week after the Grimsby race, I decided to run the Chilly Half in Burlington. The race was a total contrast to the one in Grimsby. It was overcast and cold on race day and plenty of wind chill. It was a big event and the organization and crowd support was at it’s best. Most of the race was along the bay and affluent residential areas. I really enjoyed the run and the scenery that was offered. At the end, we were given a really nice medal in the shape of a chilly. The post race party was held in a heated tent where they offered hot chilly and soup, courtesy Tim Hortons. On the way back, I stopped over at Rohan’s place in Oakville to see his new house.

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Grimsby Half Marathon, Canada - 2004

2/29/2004

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This was the first race of 2004. Luckily it was on a nice sunny day in the middle of winter. Grimsby is a small town on the Niagara escarpment about 45 minutes south west of Toronto. I drove from Toronto on race morning and collected my race kit about 30 minutes before the race. I was all dressed up for a chilly race but the weather was pleasantly warm for February. The race got underway in bright sunshine and the route was mostly through the vineyards and old country roads. The escarpment looked beautiful with the sun shining on the snow covered hills. The scenery and the mild temperature helped me finish the race quite comfortably. Along the route I met some nice folks. So, not a bad start to the year!

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Casino Niagara Half Marathon, Canada - 2003

10/26/2003

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A week after running the Toronto Marathon, I decided to take part in the Niagara half. On race morning, I drove to Niagara and parked illegally in Travelodge beside the race head quarters. After picking up my race kit, I felt a sudden urge to hit the toilet! It turned out to be a good decision or else I would have been on my haunches 10 kms into the race. The bus took us to the starting line and we started the race in cold & windy conditions. The whole race was run along Niagara parkway. The scenery was awesome, with Niagara river on one side and beautiful estate houses on the other. The water stations were on every kilometer and the volunteer support was amazing. However, there weren’t too many locals cheering us on as most of the race was run thru parks and non residential areas….not to mention the constant drizzle and high winds. Finally, after over a two and quarter hours and totally drenched, I crossed the finish line. There was a warm blanket and a medal awaiting my arrival. I had some food and then the bus took us back to the race hotel. After changing into drier clothes, I drove back to Toronto.

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Scotiabank Half Marathon, Toronto, Canada - 2003

9/28/2003

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It was a beautiful sunny day in Toronto. Just before leaving for the race I was trying to delete some pictures from my camera of our trip to Eastern Canada. But somehow I accidentally deleted all the photos…I think Nadia was bugging me in the morning while that happened. Anyway, I left the house in a bad mood and drove downtown. The race was as usual packed with runners and was a great atmosphere there. I even saw the 92 year old Fauja Singh competing in the marathon. I ran at my own slow pace and as I was approaching the finish line, I saw Nadia with Aunty (Mother-in-law) there cheering me on…( that was a real surprise especially after what had happened in the morning ! ). After the race I went for a relaxing massage before we drove home. A few days later, I discovered that the photos I had deleted were actually still saved in the memory card. So that was a big relief!

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Conquer The Canuck 25K, Canada - 2003

8/2/2003

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This happened to be my first trail race. I took part in the 25K where as some people were doing the 2 day 92.2K ultimate canuck challenge. The fun part about trail running is that it’s on a 5km loop so you keep on crossing the runners (unlike marathons). Most of the course was shaded with a few uphills. It was a hot day so around the half way mark, my hamstring started cramping up. Luckily there were 2 older gentlemen running beside me and they offered me some salt tablets. When they discovered that I was only doing the 25K and while they being twice my age were trying to finish the 92.2k, they just laughed and called me a “pussy”!!! I finished the race in under 3 hrs (no mean achievement). At the post race party while I was getting a massage treatment, the race director announced my name….I had actually finished 2nd in my age category and received a bottle of wine!!! So for the first time in 15 races, I actually went home with more than a medal!!!! That summed up a good day for me!

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North Bay Half Marathon, Canada - 2003

6/8/2003

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North Bay is 3 ½ hours north of Toronto and I decided to drive up on race day. Nadia as usual wasn’t too keen on me driving alone so decided to accompany me to the race. We left home at 3:30am and headed north. The drive was quite interesting especially past Bracebridge. We reached North Bay about an hour before the race. The race turn out was small and they did not even have the timing chip. It was an out and back course with most of it through the national park. My ankle was slightly sore after the last race and I aggravated it around the 16th km mark after tripping off a stone. In the process my Oakley’s fell and broke. I literally walked the remainder of the race and finished in about 2 ½ hours. Nadia, who mostly slept in the car was there to take a few pics of me. The medal was quite good considering how small the race was. We did some sightseeing in North Bay and then headed back to Toronto. So, all in all, after 7 hours of driving and about 2 ½ hours of running, we were back in Toronto around 4pm. Now that’s what you call time well spent on a lazy Sunday!

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Burlington Half Marathon, Canada - 2003

5/25/2003

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A very interesting race and a good turn out. The course and weather were so nice that I hardly got winded. Along the course, I started chatting with a gentleman from the Caribbean and he encouraged me to run faster. He was doing the full marathon (2 loops of the same course). After knowing that I had never broken the 2 hr mark, he made me run faster with him and encouraged me throughout the last few miles and also told me that I have to start running full marathons now ! I did thank him for his advice and proceeded to the finish line while he continued on to the full marathon course. About 500 yards from the end, I twisted my ankle and hopped to the finish line. Thanks to that gentleman, I finished the race in a minute over 2 hrs. That was also my personal best. I drove home a happy man with another unique medal. While I was driving, I saw the full marathoners on the course and decided that it’s time to move up!

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Ottawa Half Marathon, Canada - 2003

5/11/2003

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I registered for the full marathon but on race day due to lack of sleep and training, I changed it to half. We drove early from Kingston with Yasser and his friend who were both running the 5K. The half started at 10am right after the 5K finish. The field was huge and we ran through some of the most exciting parts of Ottawa. It was a fun race with lots of crowd support. I ran the whole race without stopping once but still ended up running a little slower than my expected time. However, I finished the race just in time before the rains came. After the race we walked around the downtown area before heading home. The medal was pretty nice!

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Waterloo Half Marathon, Canada - 2003

4/27/2003

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Before heading off to Carriage Hills Resort, Nadia, Kiren and I drove to Waterloo for the race. Only about 170 odd people took part in the half and a few kms into the race I discovered why. The race route wasn’t exciting at all. We ran thru some farm lands stinking off cow feed etc. The scenery was mostly flat apart from a few rolling hills. I didn’t enjoy it a bit and half way down the course I was dying to reach the finish line. I finished the race in my usual time and got presented with a clay medallion. After some stretches we left Waterloo, dropped Kiren off in Mississauga and drove to Horseshoe Valley.

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Bob Hartwell Challenge, Canada - 2003

4/13/2003

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Nadia decided to accompany me to the race since she felt guilty of me going to the races by myself. It was also during her final exams at York but felt it was impotant for her to support her husband (How nice of her!). Before the race start, she told me to run faster so that she can go home and study. The race route was amazing, went past beautiful estates and country side. The weather was sunny but slightly chilly which was ideal for running. As per Nadia’s wishes, I did finish the race a little quicker than usual. As I was approaching the finish line, I looked around to spot Nadia so that she can take my picture. I smiled and raised my arms but to my disappointment, Nadia was no where to be seen. After about 10 mintues of finishing I finally saw Nadia running towards me. ….her excuse, she over slept in the car !!!!! Oh well ! at least she came to support me!