….following in her father’s footsteps
When my husband was in his twenties to thirties he was considered an elite runner. He specialized in long distances, anywhere from 10k to marathons. As he got older he decided that in order to continue to improve it would mean making more sacrifices that would negatively affect our family. He made the decision to quit running because the sacrifice wasn’t worth it.
We never pushed our children into running but our son seemed to have a natural gift and in his early teens he pursued running until he started to suffer pain and he had to make a decision between a music career and being a runner. He chose his cello over his running shoes.
Our oldest daughter took an interest in running in her 30s. Over the years she has participated in numerous races, anywhere from 5k to half a marathon. Every year she steadily gets better. Her wife also started running with her.
Today we attended a race that holds special memories for my husband. The Spring Run-off is held every year in High Park and some 35 years ago or more Kevin ran in this race as a member of the Brooks Racing Team. The race then was known as the Brook’s Spring Run-off.
Today Andrea and Josie joined some 2600 runners to take part in this challenging 8k race. The challenge is in the hills that this race covers. Andrea was aiming to complete the race in 40 minutes and did it in 39 minutes and change. Out of 900 women participating today she placed 8th in her age category. She was delighted with her accomplishment.
As you can see the race attracts all ages. My daughter is the young lady on left in the above photo with the blue sunglasses. Here a few more of her throughout the race (one of Josie #1927)
Mama Cormier 
These bring back memories 🙂
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Were you a runner, Derrick?
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25,000 miles on roads; 18 marathons. Certainly not elite 🙂
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I’m impressed. I don’t think my husband even ran 18 marathons. He used to run 125 miles a week back in the day. I don’t know if he ever logged how many miles he’s done in total though.
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My weekly total was 50-60 miles over the decade from aged 40-50. I was also playing rugby and cricket until 45 when we moved North and I thought it too late to join other clubs. Now I have very painful knees 🙂
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My husband ran in high school and about two years after we were married he started again and did it for about 10 years. We used to take the kids with us to all his races. He tried to pick it up again a few years ago but his knee was giving him problems. Ironically the knee injury had nothing to do with running.
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I’ve never done this race – particularly because of the hills. I know that hills are character builders and make you stronger, blah, blah, blah … but I’m not that good a runner 😉
Great photos – you’ve caught that variety of expressions that one is likely to see on the runners’ faces – from deadpan, gritty determination, pain, and finally the bright smile of runner who recognizes a friendly face in the group 🙂
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The hills in this race are tough, in fact, they have a prize for the person who does one hill the fastest. My daughter usually waves when she sees us in the crowd.
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