Lovig invited to race in elite field at Boston Marathon
Kelowna runner Christy Lovig has been invited to run the Boston Marathon as an Elite Woman.
There will be about 40 open women and 15 master women competing in the Elite Women’s Start. Accepting the invitation was not a simple choice, as Christy explains: “The first thing I felt when I read the email inviting me to compete in the Elite Women’s Start for the 2017 Boston Marathon was sheer terror. With a side of incredulity and excitement. While I was thrilled with my 2:48 finish in the London Marathon, I didn’t anticipate it would warrant me the opportunity to run alongside some of the fastest female marathon runners on the planet.
“The 55 elite female runners start 25 minutes in advance of the other 30,000 runners, which poses some challenges from a mental standpoint. Given the duration of the race, it’s all the more important to be on your mental game for the marathon, and running at the back of a pack of such speedy runners means I’ll really have to focus on running my own race. I can’t get caught up in the excitement and go out too fast, or I’ll pay for it in the end. Especially given the challenging hilly course, famous for the punishing ‘Heartbreak Hill’ amongst other legendary inclines.
“I was initially worried about missing out on the true Boston experience by accepting the elite position, plus I drew so much energy from running with the crowds in London, Berlin and Rome. In the end I decided that this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and one that I knew I’d regret passing up.
“While I’m trying not to set any time or placement expectations, my training has been going really well in the build-up, thanks to my coach, Malindi Elmore, so I’m feeling strong. My focus will be on revelling in the experience while I proudly represent Canada and Kelowna, and getting as many autographs as I can! My husband, Trent, and my mom, Linda (a three-time Ironman finisher who has run the Boston Marathon), will be supporting me along the way.
“Next up in my quest of completing the six majors is the Chicago Marathon this fall, and then onward to the NYC and Tokyo Marathons in 2018.”
Harvey wins another gold
Canadian cross-country skier Alex Harvey, fresh off his win in the 50K Freestyle race at the world championships, finished the best season of his life with a gold and silver medal at the final world cup event. How great it must have been for him to end the season so strongly, in front of a Canadian crowd on the Plains of Abraham in Quebec City! Harvey took gold in the Sprint event, silver in the 15K Skate Ski Pursuit in a photo finish, and missed the podium by less than one second, finishing fourth in the 15K Classic race. He finished the season in third place overall.
Kelowna’s Gareth Williams also competed at these races, but as a junior he was there mainly for the experience. He raced well though, finishing less than one minute behind some national ski team members in the 15K classic race. The national championships were held in Canmore just a few days later. Gareth, although he must have been tired from his previous races, still managed to win the 10K Junior Men’s Classic race.
Vernon’s Hannah Mehain was there also, and came through with flying colours. She is now Canadian junior champion in the 10K Skate, and was a solid third in the 5K Classic. Thomas Hardy, who is from Salmon Arm but skis with the Telemark Nordic team, took gold in the under-23 10K Classic.
Telemark Nordic skiers were in action at the Special Olympics World Winter Games in Austria. Justin Sigel and Tracy Melesko each placed third in the 5K Classic races, while Francis Stanley was sixth in the 10K Freestyle race.
The Okanagan Loppet series held its final race of the year at the Sovereign Lake trails on March 11. Much thanks to John Davina and his company Kal West Building Systems for sponsoring this series for the past several years. Kelowna skiers who did well were: Michelle Wolfe (1st F50-59), part-time resident Marg Fedyna (2nd F50-59), Allison Campbell Urness (4th F40-49), Dave Urness (4th M40-49), Sandy Redman (3rd F40-49), John Davina (3rd M60-69) and Eric Rayson (1st M70+).
Eric Rayson had a great ski season, winning his age class in every race he entered.
Winning is not new to Eric! He has been winning his age class in ski races and bike races for many years. He is an amazing athlete. We have been friends for a long time. I’ll never forget visiting him in the hospital almost 40 years ago when he was fighting for his life against cancer. He won that fight and has kept on winning. He turned 79 last week — Happy Birthday old friend!
Canadian Tire Running Series
The second race in the series, The Spring Run Off 10K, took place in Kamloops on March 12. Many local runners finished in the medals. First place went to Bill Faulkner (M70-74, Penticton), Cindy Kler (F55-59, Vernon), Astrid Varga (F65-69, Kelowna). Penticton’s Josh Heinrich continued his strong start to the season, finishing third overall and second in M35-39. Other local medalists include Jesse Van Oen, Lance Zablotney, Todd Benson, Chuck Abney, Janice Bradshaw, Rory Bass, Melvyn Hunt, Eric Elle, Marsha Thompson and Charlotte Heidt. Special mention to the Butcher family from Kamloops — Bruce in the M80+ and Marianne in the F50-54 each won gold.
Shanda Hill, the ultra triathlete from Vernon who won the Quintuple Anvil triathlon (19K swim, 900K cycle, 210K run) last summer, competed in the Florida Double Anvil last week. Unfortunately a lung infection she had caught a week before the race prevented her from finishing. However, she set a personal best for the 8K swim, and rode 260K on her bike before she had to drop out. Hill will be more fired up than ever for the Deca triathlon next August. Hard as it is for us normal humans to contemplate, the Deca is twice the distance of the Quintuple Anvil.
In my previous column I wished a happy birthday to Ed Whitlock, the 86-year-old marathon runner from Ontario who recently broke the world record time for his age. Just a few days ago came the sad news that he had passed away from prostate cancer.