What would make so many people want to run/walk a marathon? The challenge of course….being able to say you did the training and complete a marathon is a big thing for many of us. Ok so may be we are a little bit crazy since it takes a lot of discipline and the willingness to train even in -28C.

The Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon had some 20,000 participants doing either a 5k, 1/2 marathon or the marathon and it was a sight to behold so many people on the road.

Yesterday I finally completed my first marathon and if I am crazy then I will continue to be crazy since I want to do it again After 8 months of training I completed my first marathon yesterday and I have the blisters to prove it :)

Leading up to the big day, I couldn’t decide if I wanted to run it or walk, but then I decided that since I mostly train as a power walker and also because I wanted to know what my time would be like, I would walk.

The weather people had forecast rain for most of the day but lucky for us it was just which is ideal for a marathon.

I can’t say it was easy or it was my best walk but I am very glad I did it and completed it under the time I had in mind. I figured I would do it in 6 hours and 30 minutes but if possible work towards 6:00 which is ambitious given my hip problems.

I actually finished in 6 hours 22 minutes and would have done better if I didn’t suffer from severe dehydration at about 18K. I got so dehydrated that I almost keeled over 3 times. When it first started, I noticed that my heart rate would go up, I would get dizzy and start to lose focus. I would slow to almost a crawl, just putting one foot in front of the other until the dizzy spell passed, then I would try to go speed up again. Only each time I try the same thing would happen.

So I ended up walking at a very slow pace for several Ks until I saw a paramedic. I decided to tell him my symptom and get his help. He asked me some questions about how often and how much I was drinking water and Gatorade. He then explained that even though it was an overcast day I was dehydrated and needed to drink more of each. I did as he told me and sure enough it helped quite a bit.

The one thing I learned from after is that I wasn’t drinking enough leading up to race day. I was told that I should drink lots of water and at least 1 bottle of Gatorade the week before the race. Just when I think I have a good idea of what I need to do I realize that there is still more to learn.

Most important though is the support and encouragement you get from fellow athletes. Here are some of my experiences that makes what we do so much fun:

1. When I went to pick up my race packet, I found a beautiful card inside from one of the people I trained with offering me encouragement and support.
2. About 400m away from the 38K point, I saw another of our walking group waving and cheering. Even though I was so far away and couldn’t see her face I immediately knew who she was. She had completed the 1/2 marathon earlier on and then came to meet at the 38K point to walked 4.2k just so she could walk with me back to the finishing line…another 4.2K.
3. Some of the members who did not participate in the race and those who did but finish a head were all there to cheer me on.
4. Along the way other athletes who you don’t know were also shouting encouragement to each other.
5. At 33K zone, there was a man from a veggie and fruit shop offering water melon.
6. The people that came out just to watch us go by would look at for our names on the bibs and shout out encouragement. One lady shouted at me that she brought her kids out just to cheer for us.

Those are just a few of the wonderful experiences I had yesterday and I have had many since I started this journey. Such display of great human spirit makes it worth the effort of getting up at 5:30 am, sometimes in extremely cold weather to do the training it takes to be able to say I completed a marathon.

To everyone who helped to make this event happened, from the organisers of this event, those who volunteered or just came out to cheers us on, a big thank you. 

Just a bit of info about the race:

1. Through this event they raised $1.8M which will support 99 charities.
2. Kenneth Mungara of Kenya broke the record he set last year 2:08:31.9…making it the fastest record on Canadian Soil.
3. Amane Gobena of Ethiopia set a new record of 2:28:31 which was previously held by countrywoman Mulu Seboka

Congratulations to the top finishers:

Overall Male — Top Finishers

Mungara, Kenneth, Age 36, Kenya — 2:08:31.9
Lemi, Chala, Age 22, Ethiopia — 2:08:48.4
Asfaw, Gashaw Melese, Age 31, Ethiopia — 2:09: 22.8

Overall Female — Top Finishers

Gobena, Amane, Age 23, Ethiopia — 2:28:30.4
Seboka, Mulu, Age 25, Ethiopia — 2:29:37.2
Kebebush, Haile, Age 25, Ethiopia — 2:30:47.9

Top Canadian Finishers

Men's

Jackson, David, Age 33, Victoria, British Columbia — 2:24:03.3
Loutitt, Jason, Age 35, Calgary, Alberta — 2:28:12.3
Gehl, Terry, Age 40, St-Charles, Quebec — 2:32:46.4
Enfield, Jeff, Age 31, Toronto, Ontario — 2:39:22.9
Alley, Andrew, Age 27, Toronto, Ontario — 2:42:19.3

Women's

Duchene, Krista, Age 32, Brantford, Ontario — 2:50:36.9
Goyer, Nathalie, Age 41, St-Bruno, Quebec — 2:55:29.8
Bakker, Grace, Age 27, St.Thomas, Ontario — 2:59:49.5
Purdy, Tammy, Age 43, Mississauga, Ontario — 3:03:33.0
Patten, Rebecca, Age 35, Toronto, Ontario — 3:06:07.2