National Running Day: Where did they all come from?

Apparently, tomorrow is a day where we all run. Cool. Question is, where did all those runners come from? And why are they running only on one day?

Here I am, getting back on the road after a little holiday from running. What's that? A near traffic jam of cyclists, runners, walkers. Yes, it's my annual, what happened to my trail post where I talk about the fact that I run on that waterfront trail 12 months a year, just about every day.

Even as I was running tonight, I spotted a freaking road race across the street. Hundreds of runners. I didn't even know there was a race. What the heck?

Of the massively exploding running population, my favourite moment came while rounding a corner near kilometre 1, when this muscle bound guy grappling a water bottle came blazing past me. I was already going at a good clip. Something about how he passed made me almost want to gave chase. I just watched him go, and less than 600 metres, he stops and walks.. ah ha.. so I step it up again so that I'm 15 metres behind him when he looks back, picks it up... for another 300 metres.

He stops, I blaze past him, and never look back. As I was rounding a few more corners, I stepped it up while noting the year-long rollerblader going back and forth and the few other winter runners. I wonder if they recognize me.

Nothing much in that story other than the fact that it's actually kinda nice to see so many people take up running. I never remember it being like this even two years ago let alone seven years ago. Running gone mainstream?

On the training schedule, I'll quickly looking at the beginning of the fall training season. Ugh, which means I gotta get it back to the 35 mile week schedule pronto. I've got 11 miles on the week, got to get a 10 miler in very soon. Back to the packed trails.

Um, hello running...

Nice to meet you, running. It's Kenny, that marathoner. Want to get together tomorrow? I dunno, morning, afternoon, can you fit me in? Maybe a 5K run, just for old time's sake.

Sorry, running, kinda had a busy week, one of the craziest and fruitful weeks of my career. Think I had to turn my attention elsewhere.

Haven't seen you much, maybe twice since the marathon 12 days ago? That 2 mile run on Wednesday morning. That was bliss. Tell ya what, I got a few marathons in October. How bout a few miles, reform that habit. We can go long later.

Transitions

I went for a run yesterday, four days after running a what I'll now call my miracle marathon. That calf issue has not been treated. I feel tremendous soreness that made it near impossible to do fluid running at pace. So I just enjoyed the sun, the trails and took it easy. How did I ever make it through an entire marathon with the beginnings of this tight-calf injury.

Wish I had some athletic tape.

Of a marathon of another kind, this week marked the finished line of a great job at my home course. I'm destined for an interesting adventure. As I was clearing my inbox, I found another use for tape to clear two years worth of my 'cloud email'.

So I'm in a period of transition in my work and running life. The end of a training season marks a pause point. I remember my first run of the year on the beach in the Dominican Republic. Seven hundred and sixty seven miles later, after training through dark, snow, winter and early spring, I've had a remarkable spring season. Two marathons, including Boston. A pace bunny assignment. Oh, and did I mention the second marathon.

I'm headed to DC for the weekend, and running and work are really not on the schedule. Running, I've got to nurse the leg back with recovery and ice. Work, I have to clear my head, reset the brain, come up with some ideas, and get ready to tackle that race. It'll be a sprint at first, no marathon there. For running, it'll be a jog before I can run.

Let the marathon debate begin: Mississauga v. Toronto

When it was announced that Toronto and Mississauga would have marathons on the same day, drivers took a collective sigh about what streets to avoid in two neighbouring cities. Meanwhile, runners thought, which one should I choose?

So the big headline out of this mega marathon weekend in the Toronto area?

Positive
50% more runners ran in race this past weekend than in last spring. Hooray for fitness! Running boom is here!

Negative
Mississauga and Toronto suffer drops in attendance. Can we ever build a big-city marathon ever?

The numbers are interesting to look at. For the marathon, 2390 people ran this year in the combined races while last spring, 1711 did Mississauga in 2010. Toronto attracted more racers for the full, half and 5K. I didn't count relays.

In total, year over year, Toronto saw the number of finishers drop 24.3 per cent in 2011, compared with 27.1-per-cent fall for Mississauga. Mississauga is interesting because they offered a deep discount early in the registration window.

Anyways, I take it as an interesting study that's not complete until Ottawa is finished and we see the number of finishers across all distances. But interesting numbers nonetheless.

See my fun (and kinda poorly organized, sorry) Google table below.

The real story will probably emerge when we see the number of finishers for Scotiabank Toronto in October. If that can't get more than a 40% rise (as the marathon distance did get this spring, then we may have run out of steam.. Marathon bust in Toronto?



https://spreadsheets.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?hl=en&hl=en&key=0AuaFqb5xrYiQdFZfd1phbVJmUTFfcHlvT0doR0V3MEE&output=html

How Sammy Wanjiru changed the marathon

Much will be written in the hours and days to come about the death of Sammy Wanjiru and his legacy, but I recall while watching the 2008 Olympic Marathon as one of those defining events that make the marathon so unique. That race had me in absolute awe.

I blogged about it back in August, 2008 when he was known as Kamau. He boldly stepped on to the world stage and changed marathoning.

As I wrote back then:

Watched it from start to finish. Great thing about having access to Canadian TV, U.S. TV and internet is that I was able to catch the whole thing, even with commercial breaks thrown in.

At first I thought that maybe the lead pack would get reeled in but wow, what a performance by Kenya's Kamau Wansiru with an Olympic record -- amazing given the weather -- of 2:06:32. Maracco's Jaouad Gharib took silver and Tsegay Kebede overtakes his compatriot from Ethiopia Deriba Merga in the final lap around the stadium. Merga showed the world what it's like to hit the wall yet showed so much courage. Felt so bad for him.

Did he change the sport? I think from the moment he made the gutsy move in Beijing, when everyone was hanging back in the heat, when Haile decided to not do the Olympics, something was changed. It led to so many 'gutsy' performances, so audacious that you see runners now go for broke over 26.2. See the Boston records smashed in the last two years? It's not Haile, I've decided. It all started with Sammy.

Anyways, I'm no pro when it comes to rating pro marathoning, but wow, he left a massive legacy. Died too early, like other running icons. He won't be forgotten.