Marathon-by-the-Sea 2002, St John, New Brunswick

David Smith had traveled to St John, New Brunswick, Canada to run in the MBTS in past years, so when he told me how much fun he had, I had to go.  We both were intending to use the race as a training run in the months leading up to the Ocean State Marathon in October.

David and I, and his 2 kids, Savannah and James, loaded into the Jeep on Friday night and headed off to my relative’s home near Bangor, ME in Brewer.  After stopping for pizza (yes, we were carbo-loading two days before the race) in Wells, we arrived in Brewer, ME.  After a nice breakfast, we were off to Canada on Saturday morning.  Having waited at the border for over 1 hour, we finally strolled into the Delta hotel around 2:30PM, or so I thought.  I looked at my watch and then at the clock on the table and it appeared that my watch had lost an hour.  Was David driving so fast that we went through a time warp?  It was the first time that I can remember where I driove through two time zones.

We went next to the packet pickup and were thinking about grabbing a mid-afternoon snack, but when we heard that the pasta dinner had already begun, we strolled over to the hockey arena where the St John team plays.  The food was your basic pasta with meat or meatless sauce (or as James prefers, no sauce), rolls, water, soda, and fudge or ice cream popsicles for dessert.  While listening to live music, the four of us talked to a husband and wife from the area.  The wife was running in the 5M race, and their 2 kids were working handing out dessert.

James and I then went on a stroll around the city and saw the areas that we were to run along during the first 5 miles of the course on Sunday.  The city had a bit of industry in the past, but in recent years, modernization has driven some business out of the city.  During our walk, we saw two churches that were converted, one to a boxing gym and the other to a gymnastics studio.  We passed through the old burial grounds that contained a number of the original loyalist settlers.

Race day came on Sunday and the race started at 8AM in the center of town.  The 5M and ˝ and full marathon races all started with the same gun.  The marathon runners wore orange ribbon on their backs to signify the race that we were running.  This would have been really nice the first time I ran the Baystate Marathon.  Up through mile 5 we were in the city which had rolling hills and a bit of a light fog kept us cool.  Miles 6-12 were run through a very upscale residential community and the weather began to brighten.  A few people came out to cheer, and this was the first time the race had followed this route. 

We then turned off from the ˝ marathoners who went back to the finish, and we ran another 6 miles out into a commercial part of town.  I equated these next 12 miles with running through the lava fields in Hawaii.  Running into a headwind in the sun, my 1/4 mile lead over the guy behind me at halfway began to shrink.  Why was I beginning to tire?  Might it be that I went out a bit fast for a “training” run?  A 66 minute 10M split and a 1:27:30 first half made for a certain disaster to come.

The welcome turn for home finally came at mile 16.2, but about the 13.5 mile mark I was humbled when the leader passed me going the other way.  He appeared to be drafting behind the police car with over 1 mile between him and the 2^nd place runner.  The leader, and eventually the winner, as it turned out is an avid ultra-marathoner who was using the marathon as speed-work for an upcoming 100K race.

I found the rolling hills of the course to be quite challenging.  It was about mile 15 when my wheels started to rattle, and then by mile 18, I was running an 8 min mile and wondering why I was running.  Then I remembered. Ahh!, it was a training run.  That made it easier for me to slow down.  The last 8 miles were not as enjoyable as the first 8, but coming back into the city, the light fog kept things cool for the finish.

Following the race, all runners and there families were able to use the Canada Games Aquatic Center adjacent to the finish line.  The facility had a water slide, diving boards, an olympic-size pool, and a rope swing.  The poolside massage and the pool were so refreshing after the race.  The four of us all enjoyed ourselves in Canada, and the favorable exchange rate made for a reasonably-priced long weekend.  The course had water and gatorade every 2 miles, and the volunteers were very helpful.  I’d recommend this race to anyone who wants to run in a smaller marathon and see a beautiful part of North America.

-Craig Stephan