The BMO Vancouver Marathon hit its 45th year on May 1. About 25 Sunshine Coast residents went into the big city to take part – including Roberts Creek’s Celia Clare, who finished with the top 10 women in the 8 km category.
Clare started running close to five years ago and said running has become her passion, and that it has helped her find solace during difficult times.
“Running gives me a chance to challenge myself, to really push myself to my personal extremes and discover what I am capable of,” she said. “It doesn’t matter if a runner is slow, or just starting out – the challenges and the rewards are just as important as any other athlete. I find a great satisfaction in this, and consistently surprise myself with my race performance.”
Amy Lang of Halfmoon Bay was also in the race. She started running last January in preparation for the April Fool’s Run.
“I had never run more than 10 km in the past but my co-workers put out the challenge and I accepted,” Lang said. “After completing that 21 km race, I wanted to take running more seriously and work on speed.”
The BMO race had close to 17,000 entries between the different length divisions – marathon, half marathon, relay and 8 km.
“You could feel the nerves and excitement as soon as you arrived downtown,” Lang said.
Clare has begun training for her first full-length marathon in Victoria this October.
“Should all go well, I’d like to really push the pace and I’m aiming for a Boston [Marathon] qualifying time of sub-3:35, goal time 3:30,” Clare said. “It’s a lofty goal, I know it will be brutal and I’m probably crazy for thinking I can do it. But one thing I have learned from running is to aim high, expect your best, train as well as possible and then leave it up to the gods. If nothing else it will be a learning experience, and who knows, I might surprise myself.”
