Run for Canada

On July 1, along with 800 other runners and walkers, I celebrated Canada Day by running the HBC 10K 'Run for Canada'.

The race started beside the Parliament Buildings facing Victoria's inner harbour, wound around Beacon Hill Park and the Dallas Road waterfront until picturesque Ross Bay cemetery, then turned back around James Bay, and back past the green lawns of the Parliament Buildings.

It was a nice morning for the run - sunny yet not too warm; the course was spectacular; the volunteers and spectators were kind; the shirts were beautiful; the post-race medals were bestowed by genuine Olympians - and the whole experience was altogether pleasant in a very Victoria kind of way.

I had a good run - maintaining a good relaxed pace and finishing strong in 45:36, which I thought was a personal best so far, until I realized the next morning that I had actually finished my first 10K last March in Maryland in 44:01. I was wiped out after that race, though, while I felt fine this week.

The best moment on the race for me, though, was seeing my friends Karin and Doug along the way. I was on the return stretch at the 7K mark, starting to pick up speed, when I saw Karin walking on the other side of the road. 'Go Karin!', I yelled; she waved back and pointed behind her. To my total delight, there was Doug, dauntlessly marching along, wearing the race shirt, a sun hat, and a broad smile.

Doug is 64, weighs more than he should, and has recently been put on blood thinners for an irregular heartbeat. At my urging, Karin (who is a serious runner) and he had signed up for the 10K before he found out about his heart issue. Around the same time, Karin hurt her calf and ankle; so it looked unlikely they would take part.

Yet there they were, walking along, and I was (and am) so proud of them for taking on the challenge and going the distance.

We met up later for breakfast and then sauntered down Government Street. We moved a table into the sunshine outside Starbucks and I fetched their mochas. Doug happily basked in the sun, sipping his creamy drink, looking good, if incongruous, in his fancy technical running shirt, modeled after the signature line Canada's Olympic athletes will wear next month in Beijing. Victoria (and nearby parts of Vancouver Island) is where 50 of Canada's Olympians live or train. There is a big send-off for them downtown this afternoon. I'm sure they will look good and do us proud. Yet I can't imagine being more proud than I was of Doug, walking along, indomitable, that Canada Day morning.