Runners welcome chance to pound the pavement

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This article was published 05/09/2021 (1491 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As runners gathered at the starting line of the Manitoba Marathon, the face masks they sported prior to the race were a reminder that cautious steps forward are still part of a racing world rattled by the COVID-19 pandemic.

After over two years of standing still, the marathon made history on Sunday morning as the first race in the country to kick off since the pandemic put in-person competitions on the backburner.

“We worked really hard to be able to get to this day,” said Rachel Munday, executive director for the Manitoba Marathon.

Last year, runners competed in a virtual competion, racing from their own location and on their own time. Sunday’s race still offered a hybrid of in-person and virtual race options for participants.

For many runners, it was their first race since 2019, but the break never slowed competitors like Daniel Heschuk, the first to the cross the finish line at the University of Manitoba in this year’s half marathon.

Heschuk, a 25-year-old student earning his masters in molecular biology at the U of M, was proud to report that, after weeks of training, this race was his fastest finish out of seven half marathons he’s completed.

“I went out hard and I didn’t really look back,” he said.

Heschuk last competed at the 2019 Canadian half marathon championships where he placed fifth overall.

The marathon, still feeling the pandemic’s effects, was able to operate at a smaller capacity and socially distanced with staggered start times for runners. After missing real-life races for so long, Heschuk — who spent his training days masked on indoor tracks — urged others to get vaccinated. 

Being able to run an in-person race isn’t just a win for past runners. Michael Roes completed his very first full marathon this weekend, and it was finally the chance he needed to run one step closer to his dream of competing in the Boston Marathon.

Roes, hailing from London, Ont., trained for years, and after scouring the country for races that would help him qualify for the Boston, he knew he had to complete the Manitoba Marathon. Roes was able to secure a qualifying time on Sunday for the venerable Beantown event.

Most of all, however, Roes continues to run for the benefit of his mental and physical health.

Having Type 1 diabetes has been challenging, especially while also managing depression and anxiety, but Roes has found running to be his outlet, to take a break from his day and to manage his glucose levels.

“This was a huge milestone for me, because running has been that one thing that’s gotten me through those tough times,” he said.

This year’s full marathon winners in the men’s and women’s competition, Brian Walker and his sister-in-law Nicole Walker, showed getting active doesn’t need to be a solitary pursuit — it can be a family activity, too.

“There’s always somebody to run with, which is nice,” said Nicole, who wasn’t planning on running this weekend’s marathon, but made the decision to race after the Ironman amateur world championships were cancelled just weeks ago.

Even the kids in the family participated, Brian’s 9-year-old son Braedan ran the 5-kilometre non-competitive Super Run.

For the family, Brian said, the running competitions are not only a way to keep active, but also part of the challenge that keeps them going.

“It’s a big challenge to try to run 26 miles and to go through that training process and to do the best you can.”

gillian.brown@freepress.mb.ca