This event was my first big race. It is part of the HSBC Calgary Marathon. In addition to the marathon, they have a half-marathon, and a 10K. The 10K is the most popular race, with about 2,000 people signed up. (about 1700 finishers)
We went to the package pick-up and Expo on Friday night. We arrived about 15 minutes after they opened at 4:00. There were huge lineups and mass chaos to get bibs. After we finally got the bib and chip, we walked through the Expo. As we were leaving at about 4:40, I noticed that there were no lineups for package pickup now. Lesson learned arrive for package pickup at least 30 minutes after they open.
The bibs were personalized with your first name, as long as you registered in advance. I thought that was a nice feature, although I didnt hear anyone cheer for me by name. Maybe the spectators saved their breath for marathoners and half-marathoners who might need the support more.
The marathon and half-marathon were set to start at 7:00am and the 10K start was at 7:30. We arrived downtown in time to see the 7:00am start. We found a place for John to take some pictures of the 10K start, and then wandered around a little bit until about 7:20. I warmed up a bit, and then went toward the back of the pack of starters. Since it was chip timed, I wasnt in a big rush to get to the line once we started. The horn sounded, and we were offslowly at first, and then faster as we got to the line. It was a little cramped for running room at the beginning, but not too bad as everyone sorted themselves out.
I was able to maintain the pace I wanted, but then right around the 1K mark, I had an equipment failure. The Velcro on my bra strap decided to come undone. (a problem I have never dealt with before) After assessing the situation, I decided that I was going to have to stop to fix it. I pulled over to the right, and began to reassemble myself. I had to stop for about a full minute to get things fixed and then I was off again, trying to pass again all the people I had just passed.
With my incident, I missed the first km marker, but at the second I was 0:45 off the pace I needed. I picked up the pace a bit, and managed to get myself close to required splits at 3km and 4km. The increased pace took its toll though, and my pace started to drop. I was running a consistent pace, but I wasnt able to make it as fast as it needed to be. I knew well before the end, that I wouldnt make my goal of going under 60 minutes, but I was still focussed on under 65 minutes.
The last km of the race featured two overpass hills, with a downhill into the finish chute. Once we were into the downhill, I was able to sprint to the finish, except for two guys who were jogging it in ahead of me. I did finally get around them and finished just under 1:04 on the clock.
I collected my drinks and food, and then we headed across the park to see what else was going on. By the time we were doing that, they were posting results, so I was able to check my chip time. My chip time was a PR of 1:02:03. (This was my first 10K race so, it was bound to be a PR) I finished 944/1703 overall, 452/1024 women, and 65/149 in my age group.
I was happy with my result, and am planning to run the half-marathon here next year. The race will be moving to May 31, and will have a new course for next year.
I think she still has a healthy fear of the Disney half, but feels like it's not completely out of the question that she'll get her medal- that was my goal in forcing her to do this race, so I'm happy.
) 
