Perfect conditions greeted 1,500 eager runners at this year’s successful Woody’s RV World Marathon, half marathon and 10-km run on Sunday morning.
The 14th annual event saw record attendance with 350 10-km runners and 1,200 runners between the full and half marathon.
Temperatures around 10 degrees made the 7:45 a.m. 10-km start and 8 a.m. half marathon start much to the runner’s liking. By mid morning conditions had warmed to 18 degrees with not even a slight breeze as some pushed themselves to qualify for the Boston Marathon in April 2013.
Woody’s race director and Red Deer Marathon Society co-chair Jason Hazlett said the course, which is scattered over 40-km of roads and picturesque park trails, was in perfect shape. He said that organizers were a slightly concerned when the marathon runners were coming through the finish line near Lindsay Thurber Comprehensive High School and Ecole Camille J. Lerouge School around noon, as temperatures neared 20 degrees.
“We were a little worried about the heat,” he said.
“But parts of our course is in some decent shade. The River Bend turn cools marathoners through that area, which is very good around the 32-km mark.”
There was some congestion at the 67th Street bridge as some of the half marathon runners reached the heels of the 10-km runners.
“A couple marathoners did an extra loop at Kerry Wood Nature Centre so we are looking at that and will evaluate what went wrong,” Hazlett said.
But for the most part the Woody’s, which takes 10 months to set up, was a well-oiled machine with 300 volunteers and scores of sponsors. At around 11 a.m. committee members noticed that water bottles were becoming scare at the finish line. They managed to restore the dwindling supply before the full marathon runners came trickling in.
Hazlett says he was relieved that 10-km runners didn’t collapse and need the services of Red Deer paramedics on standby.
Steve Spiegelmann, a paramedic who happily conversed with finished runners, said they treated some people with heat exhaustion but nothing serious.
“Every year we see people with cardiac-related problems because when you’re dehydrated you have things that happen to the heart and internal systems that we have to correct,” he said.
Paramedics were put to the test at last year’s Woody’s when a 41-year-old man collapsed at the bottom of Michener Centre hill at the intersection of 58th Street.
The marathon, half marathon and 10-km race attracted many of all ages and skill levels. Approximately 300 people were first time runners.
Tired but proud Michelle McClintock, 26, who hails from Clive completed her first marathon. The single mom would wake up at 4 a.m. in order to train for the event. She reached her goal of completing the race under four hours.
“I am thrilled,” she said while giving passersby high fives. “This has been a dream for quite some time. It is more of an emotional thing than it is staying fit.
“It was a great course and they did a great job putting it together.”
Tara Jaffray, 35, of Red Deer was a first time runner of the 10-km race. She started running in January and took a 10-km clinic at the Running Room to prepare.
“I have been running twice a week, just trying to keep up so I could finish,” she said.
Jaffray surpassed her goal by completing the race in one hour and 10 minutes.
“I was very nervous at the start line and I thought I was going to throw up but it was good, it felt good to finish my first 10-km.
I am proud of myself,” she said. “I am not an athlete, so if I can do it, anyone can.”
Les Trevor, 56, of Red Deer ran his third half marathon, two of which have been at the Woody’s. He ran a personal best, completing the race in two hours and three minutes.
“The hardest part is always when you come up the Michener hill,” he said.
“On the last 3-km you try to keep the pace. When you hit the hill it’s like hitting a wall but when you get past it, it’s all down hill from there.
“As soon as you turn that corner and see the finish line you say, ‘I can do it, I can do it.’”
Approximately 59 per cent of the event’s participants were from Central Alberta. For the second year in a row, 96 per cent were from Alberta. These runners were joined by runners from across Canada, Arizona, Texas, Ohio and one from London, England.
Hazlett says they will evaluate the things that went well and the things that they can improve upon for next year’s race. One preliminary idea for next year’s Woody’s is to have a live camera feed of the runners so spectators can watch them. The society is also looking at different medals that will commemorate the event’s 15th anniversary.
“Those are some of the things we are going to work on,” Hazlett said with a smile.
The event raised $12,181 in support of Ronald McDonald House Central Alberta.
jjones@www.reddeeradvocate.com