Royal Victoria Marathon

Not fishing related at all, but figured I would share in case anybody out there runs or has ever thought about doing a Marathon...

I am NOT a runner, but my wife inspired me with her multiple Marathons (6 or 7) with Team in Training (TNT) raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society to fund research to help find a cure for blood related (and ALL!!) cancers...

My first attempt at a Half Marathon ended with a stress fracture in my heel halfway through my training...got myself better, ran the Santa Cruz Half (13.1 miles) to prove that I could I do it, then figured I would try and do a Full (26.2) with TNT...

Trained hard and did several 18+ mile runs to get ready, and then flew out to Victoria BC on Saturday for the Royal Victoria Marathon on Sunday...I am not the fastest person, so I signed up for the early start for folks who estimate a finish time of over 4 hours and 45 minutes...if everything went well I estimated I would be between 4:45 and 5 hours...

Race Day came and it was AWESOME!!!

Saw the sunrise over snow-capped peaks behind the glassy waters of the bay (looked pretty fishy out there!!)...went out nice and slow on a pace to finish at 4:45...everything went perfect and I hit the Half-Way point and the 20 mile marker right on schedule...the last 6 miles were BRUTAL, but I just kept talking in my head to my buddy Jimmy Campbell who passed away last year....I knew he was up there looking down on me and cheerin' me on, and that kept me going!!!

The last half-mile I gave it my all and came in at 4:44 and 57 seconds!!!! Good news is I came in under my goal, bad news is that they disqualify you if you do the early start and finish under 4:45 so my time and name are NOT posted on their results webpage!!!!

That kinda bummed me out, but I got my medal, made my goal and raised over 4k along the way for a great cause so I am gonna focus on that....I guess it is kinda cool that they disqualified me b/c that means I did better than I thought I would??!!??

Anyway, I posted a ton of pics to my FaceBook page (yeah I am one of those guys...) and if you are interested you should be able to click on the link below and see them, even if you are not on FB...

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=332674&id=677140191&l=e6a5225e34

Victoria is a SUPER cool town and me and my buddy Miguel spent Sunday afternoon and all day Monday exploring the city and sampling the local beers and bars....very fun stuff!!!

Here are a few of the best pics as well...

If anybody is ever interested in trying to do an event with Team in Training, let me know and I would be happy to give you more info!!!

Sincerely,

Jim

Nice job Jim and mad props for finishing! That must have been a great feeling!


-Eliot

right on man! i was on my cross country team in high school, don't run anymore though..... maybe i should get back at it.

I was waiting for this report - WTG, Jim.  You are one hell of a guy, IMO.  I love your positive attitude and generosity.

Sincerely, Bro.   

Eric

My wife ran the Honolulu Marathon as part of TNT.  They raised a ton of money.  Pretty cool to be a part of and see the impact that TNT has. 

Hey!!  With a smile that big at the finish, you didnt put out hard enough!    

J/K Jim.  Big kudos to you my man.  That is a major accomplishment which I hope to mirror in 2010.  Would love to pick your brain about training, preparation, and race selection, as I've never done one.  Curious why you selected an event so far from home?  Looked like a great time.

i think this sums it up well

When I ride my bike and pass 26.2 miles I always imagine having run that far.  I then thank god for my wheels.  Truly amazing!  Sucks they dont list you on the site.

Either your friends are all really short or I see where the BIG in BigJim comes from!  Even more impressive to run a full marathon

Most I ever did was hs also, once a week I would do a 10 I keep thinking about starting up again but the knee pain keeps me down . really great to meet your goals and be able to give back at the same time . Kudos and good karma, stay healthy and keep working hard .

Hey, great job! I can only admire that kind of commitment.

Victoria is a SUPER cool town

God, I love that place. So much so we spent our wedding night/weekend at the Empress Hotel before heading off to Jamaica.

Thanks guys...I really appreciate the kudos and support!!

TNT is a great organization and I am proud I was able to complete this event with them...

Yakuza, each season TNT will train for different events...I picked the RVM over the Nike Women's (next weekend) just because I figured it would be cool to go up there and check out the city!! I was also hoping to have the time/$$ to get in a day of fishing, but that didn't quite work out...next time!!

FishFarmer, nice pick on the Empress!!! We had a great view of that beautiful hotel from our hotel window (we were right behind it in the Marriott), and went over and had drinks in their lobby bar, The Bengal.

Here are a few more pics of me actually running/finishing.

Thanks again!!

Sincerely,

Jim

wait, what was your finishing time again?  Clock shows 2:44, not 4:44.  There couldn't have been a wave that started 2 hours after the  gun? 

OK, I'll think about it . . .

Yakuza, I did the early start 2 hours before the main start...so 2:44 is really 4:44...

Sincerely,

Jim

That's awesome, Jim!

Man, I'm dead after an hour on the treadmill or ellipticle...I can't even imagine real running for almost five hours!