It’s a half dozen for Harvey
Former Olympian wins her sixth Tely 10 title, finishing just two seconds ahead of Mcilroy
The legs were tired, and the lungs were heaving, yet former Olympian Lisa Harvey managed to scramble across the finish line ahead of Caroline Mcilroy in one of the most exciting Tely 10 finishes in recent memory.
Only two seconds separated the pair as Harvey celebrated Tely 10 win No. 6 Sunday morning, but her first crown in the road race since 2009.
“It’s definitely a sweet victory because I haven’t won for the last couple of years,” said Harvey, wife of five-time Tely champ and course record-holder Paul Mccloy, but perhaps better known as a 1992 Barcelona Olympian.
“So you’re kind of thinking, ‘I’m second, and that’s way it’s going to be. I’m getting older, and I’m not going to win anymore.’ “So this is really, really special.” Harvey, a 42-year-old schoolteacher in Calgary, covered the 10 miles in 58:58, the 12th-fastest female time ever (she owns four of the 10 quickest Tely 10 clockings) and 24th overall Sunday.
McIlroy was just behind in 59 minutes flat.
As the runners turned left off Military Road and down the Bannerman Road homestretch, Harvey appeared to be labouring quite a bit.
McIlroy recognized this, and with a second Tely 10 title (she had won in 2005) in her sights, stepped on the gas.
Harvey, just 20 or so yards from the finish line, managed to find the strength to dash across the finish line.
“I thought she might be catching me, but I had that extra little kick at the end,” Harvey said. “Not much, but I knew that I could get to the finish line. The legs were getting heavy, the glutes were getting tight, the hamstrings were tight from the long race.
“But you just keep driving, keep lifting the legs. It worked out well.”
McIlroy jokingly blamed the race announcer, Andy Newman, for her loss.
“I thought I was going to catch her, to be honest,” she said. “Unfortunately, the announcer called out that we were both there and she looked back and picked it up.
“We can blame him,” McIlroy said with a grin.
Harvey’s last win in ’ 09 was her fourth straight in the Tely 10, but the streak was interrupted by Kate (Vaughan) Bazeley’s back-to-back victories in 2010 and 2011.
Bazeley has been the dominant runner on the local scene for a couple of years, but a nasty virus sidelined her for May and June of this season following an outstanding start to 2012, one that saw her win the Canadian half-marathon and finish third in the Vancouver Sun Run.
Nonetheless, Bazeley elected to give Sunday’s race a shot, but lasted only five miles before she bowed out.
“I was hoping I would have it today, but with only two workouts under my belt, I just couldn’t do it,” Bazeley said.
“It’s very disappointing. But I knew what kind of shape I was in and the circumstances. It was too much to try and race 10 miles after 10 weeks off.”
Harvey has enjoyed a successful 2012 season so far, winning a big Mother’s Day race in Calgary and the Harry’s 8K in Vancouver, placing second in the Calgary halfmarathon and finishing third in the Victoria Times Colonist 10K in Vic- toria, B.C. and the Scotiabank halfmarathon in Vancouver.
“I love to race,” she said. “It keeps me sharp, keeps me going. Keeps my confidence going.
“If I don’t race that much, I don’t feel confident.”
Harvey started quick, passing Bazeley in the first mile and keeping an aggressive pace through Paradise and into Mount Pearl.
“I just kept going and I thought she (Bazeley) would come after me, but she didn’t. I basically just ran alone and just tried to run as fast as I could because I knew these guys would be coming after me.”
Alison Walsh, in 1:01.37, finished third, while fourth-place went to Lisa Collins-Sheppard, who stopped the clock in 1:01.21. Wendy Turner was fifth in 1:03.22.
Harvey ran in the Olympics when she was 22, and clocked her best times at 38.
Now, she says, it’s getting harder and harder each year.
“I guess I peaked when I was 22 and peaked again when I was 38,” she smiled. “Really, though, as long as you’re training hard and doing a good program. That’s what counts.”
McIlroy, at 40, might also be considered on the back nine of her career, though her results aren’t showing it, either.
McIlroy ran varsity cross-country for Memorial University this year, and finished second at the Atlantic University Sport championship.
“I usually go out a bit fast whereas today I stuck to a good pace,” said the native of Shrewsbury, England. “And then, at about Mile 6, Lisa was not that far ahead. I tried to keep her in my sights.
“About Mile 7, I thought could catch her. People were telling me she’s struggling, that I can catch her.
“By Mile 8, I had lost a little mentally. I was gaining on her from Mile 7, but I think I needed a bit more mental toughness.”