We are only days away from a very big weekend in Ottawa.  Starting Thursday evening with Expo – and I must say the best race Expo I have ever been to –  Race Weekend will take over this city.  Close to 50 000 people take part in one of the many distances, all running on a very scenic course.  Depending on your distance, you can pass the Rideau Canal, The National Gallery, The Parliament Buildings, Dow’s Lake and even cross over to the province of Quebec. This is a big race and a big deal in this city.  Ottawa is without a doubt a running town.

Being completely honest, I will always love small races.  I like the vibe of small races, the uncrowded streets and the easy parking.  But a couple of times a year I like to be part of the big race experience, and Ottawa Race Weekend fits the bill perfectly.  I just did a quick check and this is actually my 9th year participating in this event, and a few of those years I did two distances.

As I have mentioned in past posts, this year will be different in that I will be for the first time ever acting as a marathon pace bunny.  Because, you know, if you are going to try something new you might as well do it in a big way, right?  Training at a new pace and using the 10 and 1 method was not easy at first, but I have learned to love it.  I have logged so many kms without (knock on wood!) any injuries, and I haven’t felt exhausted or overwhelmed.  The fact is I have had a great time training in 2016.  I started in January preparing for Around the Bay and haven’t really looked back since.  Just to keep the momentum going, I may have done something a little crazy…

My goal this year is to complete a 50k race.  Note that I am not saying race it – just complete it.  So a while back I signed up for October’s Run for the Toad 50k trail race.  But a few weeks ago I had such a great 32k run through downtown Ottawa it got me thinking.  I loved exploring the city and taking in everything around me and thought, wouldn’t it be nice to do that somewhere new?  One thing led to another and suddenly I was signed up for the Niagara 50k Ultra, three weeks after the Ottawa Marathon.  There probably should be a rule that you should never sign up for a race while in the middle of a taper!  This now means that the marathon will also be a training run for me, my last long run before my first 50k!

As for this weekend, I am very excited and of course a little nervous.  I always run alone.  Other than my kids, I have never had anyone count on me to pace them to a finish line.  But I know I can do it, my training has told me I can.  If I can even get one person to the line in the time they wanted, I will be happy.

To all who are taking part this weekend – best of luck!  And if you are at Expo on Friday, come say hi – I’ll be at the pace bunny booth from 3:00 – 5:00.  I’ll also be at the Friendship Run on Saturday morning, hoping to meet some people who will join me on race day.

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