What an incredible day we have had!!! Thank you and congratulations to all participants! The energy was so contagious and everyone did an amazing job.

All results are posted HERE.

Thank you to all volunteers for making this day special for all runners. We appreciate your time, energy, and enthusiasm. We couldn't have done it without you!

The 2024 Sudbury Rocks!!! Race had more than 1600 registered participants and more than 300 volunteers. Through participant fundraising and proceeds from the event, it is estimated that $100,000 was raised for the Northern Cancer Foundation. Final fundraising dollars will be determined in the coming weeks.

Truth be told, every one of these folks that ranged in age from the very young (especially if you include those who were pushed along in strollers) to the young at heart who constitute that 70-and-older crowd represents a unique athletic story, in and of itself.

A native of Barrie who moved to Sudbury in the early 2000s, Ashley Hayes is now a veteran of the half-marathon scene. Though she ventured down that pathway only six years ago, the registered nurse was looking to embrace a change in lifestyle that helps both her and her family. It’s a pathway she most likely could not have ventured alone. “I’m thankful that I found the Sudbury Rocks!!! running community — I’ve been hooked on running ever since then,” noted Hayes, now 40, a mother of three and fresh off finishing her latest 21-kilometre trek covered in 1:48.04 — good for fourth of 20 in her age group. “This running community has become part of my family. “They keep me going every week. We’ll push each other, support each other — and not just with running. They are the most wonderful people I have ever met.n”Though her long-term goal is to qualify for the Boston Marathon — “I might be closer to 50 years old when I accomplish this” — the four-time marathon finisher was far more big picture-oriented at the start line on Sunday. “I honestly did not have a particular goal this year,” Hayes said. “I love being supportive of others, but if I felt good, I was going to push it — and that’s what I did. The main goal for me right now is to just go out and have fun.”

There are, of course, those for whom the event is (hopefully) both fun and competitive, but even in their cases, the history of running is hardly one of linear progression with nary a dip or valley in between.

Twenty-four-year-old Grimsby resident Kayla McGowan was the first female marathoner to cross the line, her time of 3:04.26 notably better than her recent tackling of Boston for the first time. “I loved the first kilometre and, after that, it was the most painful thing I have ever done,” McGowan said with a smile, with the Sudbury Rocks!!! race increasing her resume to three successful treks of the 26-mile distance. Safe to say that Sudbury received far more of a thumbs-up than Boston did from the young woman who grew up in Jordan, just outside of St. Catharines, and who subsequently attended the University of Central Florida in Orlando on a track and cross-country scholarship. “I loved this course,” McGowan said. “There was a lot of downhills after the uphills. When you were at the top, you would think that you get to cruise to the end of the downhill — and when you got to the bottom, that was another two kilometres that was done.” Even one of the typical challenges of the Sudbury Rocks!!! Marathon actually favoured the race winner who recalled having visited once before, attending a set of OFSAA championships in the Nickel City. “It was super hot in Boston and there were so many people,” McGowan said. The field of 65 marathoners in Sudbury was also notably dwarfed by the 30,000 who tackled the grand-daddy of all marathons in Massachusetts in April. “I actually like running alone,” McGowan noted with a laugh.

Just slightly ahead of her and breaking the three-hour barrier in his first attempt at this distance was former SDSSAA track and cross-country champion Ben Lagadin. Now in his mid-20s, the graduate of Lively District Secondary School has latched on to his old sport in a highly therapeutic fashion. “I just wanted to get back into running again,” said Lagadin, the third-place finisher in the marathon with a time of 2:55.46 — behind only multi-champion Eric Leishman in 2:48.50 and silver medal-winner Lucas Jones in 2:52.02. “My dad (Jay) has been into marathons, so I thought I would give it a go.”As much as folks tried to offer some advice, there are simply lessons that need to be learned the hard way. “I started off too fast,” Lagadin acknowledged. “Starting off at a slower pace, that’s what I would have changed if I could change something.” That comes after paying the price for his over-exuberance — though thankfully not a price that denied him a coveted finish in his first attempt. “Running is 90 per cent mental,” Lagadin said. “It’s tough to keep going, especially near the end. I didn’t think the last four kilometres that I was going to finish the race. “It took so much mental power. And then you come around that last corner with all of the people cheering you on and you get this rush of adrenaline.”

The top female finisher in the five-kilometre event and fourth place overall, Angela Mozzon was not terribly concerned about her ability to cover the distance — a feat that she accomplished in 18:47 — though the time was better than she expected. “I was really shocked, because I didn’t think I would go under 19,” said Mozzon, a just-graduated bachelor of education major who has decided to return for one final semester at Laurentian, allowing her to complete her fifth and final year of eligibility with the Voyageurs women’s cross-country team. “Darren (Jermyn, LU head coach) told me I was going to, but I didn’t think I would.” As for the out-and-back (more or less) course which attracted more than 700 participants, Mozzon is certainly not about to complain. “The big uphill at the beginning is different, but then you have the big downhill in the second half,” she said. “Mentally, you just know that the second half is not as hard.”

Following are the male and female champions that have not already been mentioned above:

Half-marathon

– Men: Nicholas Lambert, 1:15.23

– Women: Megan Richer, 1:24.13

Lise’s 10-kilometre run/walk (Perdue Family)

– Men: Aurel Fox-Recollet, 38:58

– Women: Kerry Lamarche, 43:29

Five-kilometre run/walk

– Men: Cameron Date, 16:29

Eight-person marathon relay

– Ontario Mine Rescue, 3:31.24

For full results, visit the link at www.sudburyrocksmarathon.com.

Randy Pascal’s That Sudbury Sports Guy column runs regularly in The Sudbury Star.

After running the Boston Marathon in April, I was taking some down time doing easy runs and hadn’t planned on racing, but the coolish temperatures and sunny weather forecast for Sunday were perfect for running. I made the last-minute decision on Wednesday to participate in the 2024 Sudbury Rocks half marathon.

As a long time runner (35+years), I have a race predictor formula which is very accurate for me. The formula is “(half marathon race time X 2)+10 min = marathon race time if properly distance trained. I used the formula in reverse to approximate my Sudbury Rocks half marathon target. Had it not been for the heat in Boston affecting me in the last 5 km, I was on track for a 3:40 marathon time. According to my calculations, 1:45 should have been attainable for the half. The only caveat to that was I had backed off speed training since Boston. During the race I found myself pacing consistently at 5 min/km without excessive effort…..on target for 1:45. Then came the last 4 km and Connor. After chatting a bit, I decided to shadow him to the finish….or at least until he put on the jets in the last km. Thanks Connor!!!!

What a great event!!!!! Kudos to the race organizers and volunteers who orchestrated a fun and well-organized race. Super happy with my time of 1:43:43. Hope to see everyone there next year!!!!!

5

MARTIN PARNELL and MAL KENT

THE AGELESS ATHLETE

Age is just a number

(Martin is a SudburyRock!! from the early days)

There will be 25 blogs in total, with 2 or 3 a month and finishing in December.

BLOG 15/25
THE AGELESS ATHLETE
May 22nd 2024
BY MARTIN PARNELL AND MALC KENT

Chapter 10
Half Time
“My mother always used to say, ‘The older you get, the better you get, unless you’re a banana.”
- BETTY WHITE, Actress

Martin

I met up with Malc on Friday, August 10, just nine days before the Edmonton Half Marathon, and things were going well.

I explained to Malc that leading up to the race, I wanted to stay relaxed and just do a couple of easy runs. Malc told me to keep to that and maybe do one run that’s a bit quicker, but not too long, no longer than 40 minutes at marathon pace, or slightly quicker, but not so fast as to fatigue the body. He also said that I should aim to feel as good as possible, come race day.

We then discussed pre-race warm-up, which Malc says should be pretty much the same as I did for the 5-km and 10-km races. The warm-up wakes up the body, gets the brain talking to the muscles, but should be nothing that will fatigue you going into the race. We also talked about the importance of being well hydrated. Malc said I had every reason to feel confident going into this race, as over the past month I had stayed injury free and the training had been going well....

Full Blog Here

Save the Date!!!

Get Ready and Save the Date!
The 2024 Sudbury Rocks!!! race is coming up on Sunday, May 26th!

Registration Open Now!

We look forward to seeing you all!

Information and Registration