Sarah, Carla and I before the race. Carla is from Shawnigan Lake and finished in 4:19!!! Island pride.
By Maggie Grant
The BMO Vancouver Marathon was an amazing race. There were 5877 participants in the full marathon, 9986 participants in the half marathon and 2568 people in the 8km. There were a LOT of sweaty runners in Vancouver on Sunday May 1.
Pre-race with Kayla, my biggest fan.
The start line (from a ways back)
This was my first marathon. The other STARR runner, Sarah McWhirter, has had some more experience with longer distances and it was awesome to connect with her as we headed to the start line. Sarah is preparing for the long trail run on the island in September with her sister Carla. The marathon course started at Queen Elizabeth park, and it was quite behind schedule getting started. It was great to make some friends at the start line, and I got to tell one past Around The Bay participant from Toronto all about our STARR simulation event. I was in the last wave to leave and it was quite exciting to hear the countdown!
It was pretty awesome to see and hear the cheerers on the side of the roads. I hit every high five (I decided to pretend the pandemic was completely over) and even petted a few dogs as I ambled along. One memorable guy turned up three times along the way, and he called out to the runners in a very loud voice: “You are an inspiration. You are amazing. I could never do something so hard.” Yeah, he was intense but there was a lot of energy out there. BMO gave out round signs to supporters and someone was holding a sign for Maggie at the top of a hill–but it was a different Maggie. I was pretty excited about that one. There were also some great bands playing high energy music throughout the route. There were also lots of aid/water/nutrition stations and volunteers on bikes to keep everyone safe too.
27KM Kitsilano
The run went out to UBC and then down through Kits and then over the Burrard street bridge, along the water to the seawall and finished on Pender. It was very downhill, with only a few uphills on the whole route.
From Sooke, we had Toby Brown M30-34 at 04:07:58. Sarah McWhirter F35-39 04:33:05. Sarah is a STARR member and reports she had a blast, felt strong the whole time and even took some pictures. Britt Wiseman F25-29 4:52. Maggie Curtis F50-54 at 5:11 and Care Mamone. The first male overall was Alex Gladley at 2:25 and the first female overall was Dayna Pidhoresky at 2:34. I cannot fathom running that long that fast.
From a personal perspective–it was an amazing experience. I am from Vancouver and I love every single neighbourhood that we ran through. I also had my whole family–including my elderly parents and their spouses–cheering me on at the finish line. Kayla, my daughter, popped up several times along the route. It was really hard to run that last 10 kms, but I never doubted I was going to finish. I learned a few things–pavement is harder than the galloping goose (where I did most of my training). It is probably a good idea to have new-ish shoes with lots of cushioning. Focus on form as you tire because shuffling along makes muscle cramps worse. And lastly (and most importantly) enjoy the experience–dance to the music, take the high fives and pet a dog or two along the way.
I finished! 50th anniversary of the marathon!