Preface

With the African and European legs of our Five Continents challenge complete, the next stop was Canada for the BMO Vancouver Half Marathon. Unfortunately, a week before we were due to travel, disaster struck in the form of a muscle injury, which prevented Anita from training and posed a serious threat to her being on the start line in Vancouver.

An emergency visit to our good friend and qualified physio George Harrill improved the situation, but only time would tell whether or not Anita would be able to maintain the challenge of obtaining a Half Marathon medal from each of the five continents. For my part, I had been training harder than I had for many years, following a pretty demanding training schedule developed by running club chairman Bill Graham over the past couple of months.

Although it had been a tough few weeks, I figured that it would be worthwhile just to have someone to blame if race day didn't go to plan!

So, it was with some anticipation that we both set off for Vancouver. Would Anita be able to run? Would she be forced to walk the entire distance? Would anyone reading the results be able to tell the difference? If she couldn't even walk the distance, would I have to run round twice to get a second medal?

If I did, would it set a worrying precedent for the Beijing and Auckland half marathons to follow later in the year (I know Anita well enough to realise that if you give an inch, she'll take a mile - even 13.1 of them if she's allowed). I tried to put all thoughts of running two half marathons back to back out of my mind as we boarded the plane at Gatwick bound for Canada.

A few weeks earlier I had applied for an elite race entry at Vancouver, and to my surprise had been granted one (based on my advancing years, I think, rather than my improving times!).

A few days prior to the event I was sent some information offering me transport to and from the airport and to the race itself. I was also invited to a couple of sponsor's events on the Saturday. As I stood there mingling with several runners with Kenyan tracksuits on and PBs of just over the hour mark, I must confess to feeling a good deal more pressure to run well than I would normally have felt.

Race Day

We rose a couple of hours prior to the ridiculously early race start time of 7am and discovered that, despite some rather gloomy weather predictions over the past few days, it was reasonably good running (or walking, in Anita's case) conditions.

We set off for the start with neither of us knowing what lay ahead, with the plan being that Anita would attempt a light run 10 or 15 minutes before the start of the race and make a decision based on how that went. Walking to the race, it occurred to me for the first time that there was a very real chance that our challenge may be thwarted by injury.

I knew how much Anita wanted to finish, but sometimes circumstances just conspire against you and no matter how determined you are, running just isn't possible. So it was with some anticipation that I stood there watching Anita going through her warm up routine. Thankfully, things appeared to be okay, but we were both acutely aware of how many miles were in front of us, and what demands this would place on an injured leg.

Within next to no time, the Canadian national anthem had been sung and the starting gun had been fired. I was determined to stick to Bill's advice, and run the first five miles slower than I usually did in a target time of 30 minutes, which I managed within a few seconds (29:50).

The next part of the plan was to run the next 5 miles in somewhere between 29 and 29:30. All was going well until we entered the very beautiful Stanley Park, and at 8 miles started a mile long climb up to Prospect Point, rising over 200 feet.

By the time I had reached the top, the climb had seen my average pace rise from 5:58 to 6:09 (effectively losing over 90 seconds), my target 10 mile time of 59 - 59:30 had been shattered and I realised that it would now be a battle to break the 1:20 mark for the 13.1 miles (I had been aiming for sub 1:18, but my drop dead time was sub 1:20, as my goal for the overall Five Continents challenge was to break the 1:20 mark on each of the five continents - something I had managed to do to date, albeit with only seconds to spare in Paris).

A long descent gained a little time, but I knew it would be hard work to maintain a sub 1:20 pace, as by now my legs were beginning to feel the effects of the long climb, and the numerous undulating roads through Vancouver that had preceded it.

As I reached the twelve mile mark, I knew I would have to run a sub 5:30 final mile to beat the 1:20 mark, which I eventually managed to cross the line in 26th position overall, in a time of 1:19:47. My target of running a sub 1:20 on each continent was somehow still intact.

I set off immediately back down the course to meet Anita, not knowing whether or not she had backed out or whether she would be hobbling at walking pace. As I ran past the two hour pacers (a time Anita would have been aiming for under normal circumstances) I started to fear the worst - that I may have to run the entire 13.1 miles in reverse only to discover she had pulled up after a few hundred yards.

I must confess to being mightily relieved when I saw her running towards me a few hundred yards later. Although her leg had been giving her a problem from the first turn in the road 100 metres from the start, it had not been bad enough to force her to withdraw from the race, and she was determined to finish irrespective of the time.

She eventually finished half way down the field in a very respectable time of 2:08:04 and we both breathed a huge sigh of relief upon her being handed her finisher's medal.

We picked up our bags and sat in the sun waiting for the results. Although I was disappointed not to have achieved my target time of sub 1:18, I realised that the long and steady climb in Stanley Park had effectively put paid to this, and therefore on reflection was reasonably satisfied with breaking the 1:20 mark, especially after the long transatlantic flight a day or so earlier.

My disappointment was eased a little when it was announced that I had won the Masters 45 title by a margin of over 4 minutes, and was presented with a gold medal as a keep-sake. I was pleased that I had gone some way to justifying the elite place I had been given, even if the time I had run was a little outside of what I was hoping for.

Postscript

Both Anita and myself went away from the race with smiles on our faces. I had won the Masters 45 title despite running slower than I wanted to, and Anita had over-shadowed this achievement by digging in and completing the entire Half Marathon distance in pain.

The events leading up to the race made me realise that completing the challenge won't merely be a matter of turning up on the day - it will require an element of luck and an ability to remain injury free. Anita tried (unsuccessfully) to convince me that her injury had been caused by over-training - something that she was determined to avoid in the future!

The next day we went to a restaurant for lunch with our ex-Bristol friends now living in Canada. Whilst waiting for our lunch to be served, we picked up the British Columbia provincial newspaper and started browsing the sports section and could hardly believe it when we discovered our picture in amongst the back pages. All I can think is that it must have been an extremely slow day for news.

I can't finish without a couple of thank-yous. Firstly, to George Harrill, without whom Anita would certainly not have been able to run. Thanks George, you're a true friend and we both appreciate it. Secondly to Bill Graham, for invaluable training advice. It's been a hard couple of months, but well worth it. Although I didn't get the time I was looking for in Vancouver, maybe my target was a bit unrealistic given the course. I'm sure some decent times will follow in the next few months, largely off the back of your training plan and associated advice.

Next stop Beijing in October, followed two weeks later by the final leg in Auckland in November. We're well on the way to our fund-raising target of £3,000, which I guess is more important than any of the times either of us manages to achieve on the day.

Anyone interested in helping us raise money for St Peter's Hospice can do so by visiting www.justgiving.com/5continents

Phil Westlake