Massey Marathon 2018 - A Marathoner's Experience
by Ryan Marsaw

On July 15th I ran the Friendly Massey Marathon for the first time. In fact,
it was my first ever Massey race. I was supposed to have run the same marathon
four years earlier, but a series of events did not allow me to toe the line for
the 2014 edition. I cannot believe that it took me since that time to decide
to race in Massey in 2018. Had I known how enjoyable this race really is I'd
have added it to my list of yearly events long before even 2014.

I wasn't quite sure how I was going to perform in this race. First off, I had
run the SudburyROCKS!!! marathon about 8 weeks earlier, on Mother's Day.
Running two marathons in a two-month span is not something I tend to do. Heck,
only once before have I ever run multiple marathons in a year, and the two were
separated by over five months. However, my recovery from ROCKS!!! went
exceptionally well. After less than two weeks I was already doing long runs,
which got me thinking that I actually could race the Massey marathon instead of
the half (which I had initially chosen to run). I gave myself one more week
and one more long run to determine if my legs could withstand another 42.2 km
journey. I promised myself that I wouldn't register for the Massey marathon
unless I knew that I could run a time similar to the one at ROCKS!!!

Another reason for the uncertainty in my race performance was the weather. A
heat warning one day out from race day is not something runners want to see!
Running in hot and humid weather is something that I'd actually been practising
during our torturous July, including the almost unbearable Firecracker Road
Race on Canada Day. Hot weather training did help me focus on proper pacing
and hydration, though, and I like to think that this knowledge carried over to
race day.

I wasn't going to put any pressure on myself that morning. I figured that just
crossing the finish line was going to be the real victory.

Because the marathon started at 6:00 AM the only real threat at that point was
the humidity and not the sun. My race plan was to start slow and then work my
way up gradually. At about 2 km my plan went out the window, at least for a
little while. Let me say that it's very difficult to slow your pace when
there's a cheering area! I don't know why, but I think all runners can agree
that when we're being cheered on in a race, we tend to pick up the pace. It's
at about that same 2-3 km point at the River Rd. turnaround where the
marathoners see runners in the half marathon coming from the opposite
direction. Seeing all these people together gave me an additional boost in my
stride. I ran the first 5 km of the race quicker than I would have liked, and
the side stitches I was developing that early into the run caused me great
consternation. By 8 km I was already drenched, and I think the only thing
keeping me upright was concentrating on keeping in contact with the then-3rd
and 4th place marathoners. And I knew that Jordan Nurmi was lurking and
plotting somewhere behind me...

At halfway I was still in 5th position, but chasing fast. I think I caught the
two (probably Attila Kovacs and Sheldon Cook) at about the 22 or 23 km point,
and suddenly found myself in 3rd spot. A few glances behind reminded me that
Jordan was still there, just lurking, plotting...

I forget exactly at what point I moved into 2nd, but it had to be near 32 or 33
km. Julio Ramirez was running his first marathon and told me that he was
hoping to finish in 3 hours, 10 minutes. A quick look at my watch confirmed
that we were pretty much dead on 3:10 marathon pace. Julio and I ran together
for a little while before I eased ahead, a little surprised that he stayed
back. I believe at this point Jordan also passed Julio to move into 3rd. The
next few kilometres saw me and Jordan running essentially side by side (Jordan
slightly behind, not wanting to take the lead). He was probably hatching some
sort of plan and waiting for the right time to pounce.

Near the 40 km point Jordan did make a couple of surges, but I wasn't having
any of it! I tried hard to keep up with him as our pace increased closer to my
half marathon pace. We ran stride for stride until we reached the top of
Reserve Rd. and at the left turn onto the bridge I made a sprint for the finish
line with a few hundred metres left to run. I didn't look behind me to see how
far back Jordan was; I was just hoping I had enough speed left to get me to the
finish line. Jordan crossed the finish line only about 10 seconds after I did
to shed an incredible 30 minutes off his personal best time.

The FRIENDLY Massey Marathon truly lives up to its name. The volunteers and
organizers were extremely nice and helpful. The aid stations, along with the
cheering sections, made my marathon experience that much easier to bear
considering the weather that morning. And of course the awards. Probably the
one thing that comes to mind when thinking of the Massey races is the
much-coveted milking stool, which I was lucky enough to earn later that morning
at the awards ceremony. This special prize will forever remind me of the
wonderful time I had at Massey this year.

Ryan

Chichi Salmaso did great at the Friendly Massey Marathon Weekend! She was the youngest competitor in the 10k, first in 19 and under, and 3rd overall female. So many familiar faces, great morning! Thanks to all the volunteers who make these races run so smoothly! She is loving the maple syrup and wooden stool prizes!!

Faith Salmaso

What a fun and wild day; that started at 3:30am! Early morning runs TOTALLY deserve participation medals.
Thank you Henry Wong for the ride over and company, thank you Vince Perdue for the advice and encouragement, and thank you Tricia Yoga and Brandon Birdsong-Johnson for the kind words and cheers. Oh, and congrats to all that ran! It was a great test! And I am always inspired by the strength that I see.

Akasha Beharriell