Fewer won’t defend Tely 10 crown
Nagging injury prevents another showdown with Loiselle
Colin Fewer declared his better judgement the winner in its battle with his heart’s desire earlier this week.
In doing so, the eight-time Telegram 10-mile Road Race champ elected not to defend his title at the 88th Tely 10, set for this Sunday.
“It’s been playing between my head and my heart ... wanting to run versus knowing I probably wouldn’t be able to finish the race with the current physical status I have,” says the 38-year-old native of Harbour Main.
“I’ve been trying to do everything I could to get myself ready to race it. I don’t think my body is quite ready to let me do that.”
Fewer is still recovering from a calf injury suffered during the Ottawa 10-kilometre race in late May. It came at time when he was starting to feel the fittest he ever has; a month earlier he came within 20 seconds of his 10K personal best at the Vancouver Sun Run, clocking a time of 30 minutes and 44 seconds to finish 11th.
Near the 4K mark in Ottawa, Fewer’s calves started to tighten. By 5K, it was affecting his stride.
“I was a bit confused about what was going on and a little bit pissed off,” he admits.
He let competitive stubbornness take over and pushed on. At 7K, his calves seized up. He stepped off the course for a brief respite, only to have his calves tighten up again once he stepped back on, forcing him to accept the first DNF (did not finish) of his racing career.
“Being as fit as I’ve ever been and to race 10K and having a DNF was a bit of a shock. It was the last thing I was expecting.”
Back home in St. John’s, the tightness began to ease off with some cross training on an elliptical machine and it was only a month ago that he resumed running, 20 minutes at a time.
Again, 10 to 15 minutes in, his calves started giving him trouble again.
“I started hauling out all the stops at that point. I was working with a chiropractor, a massage therapist, an acupuncturist... working with all means that I could to get me back on track and running again.
“I always felt that if I could start running and get past the injury, then I could turn things around in three to four weeks,” says Fewer, who self-diagnosed his issue as biomechanical.
With work from the chiropractor on an SI joint that was out of position, Fewer has seen improvement, but not enough to be able to sustain a Tely 10 pace. He can run for a solid 20 minutes, clocking five-minute miles, but any longer still brings on the calf pain.
“I never thought when I walked off the course in Ottawa that I’d be in this situation right now. It never crossed my mind that I wouldn’t be running the Tely this year. I’ve been kidding myself for the last number of weeks that I can still turn the corner, but it hasn’t worked out that and it’s incredibly frustrating.”
Adding to the frustration is that Fewer was eager to test himself against Matt Loiselle, a nationally recognized runner who is training for a spot on Canada's marathon team for the 2016 Rio de Janiero Olympics.
Loiselle, a native of Windsor, Ont., won the Tely 10 in 2012, clearing the course in 48:09, the third fastest time ever. (Only two Paul McCloy times — the race record of 47:04 set in 1986 and the 47:55 McCloy ran in 1993 — are quicker.)
Fewer finished second to Loiselle with a personal best 49:43 in 2012, but the two have missed each other on the course since. Fewer lost 2013 to hip surgery, and Loiselle missed last year’s Tely 10 due to a nagging calf injury of his own.
“That’s what eats me up, I love that competition,” says Fewer.
“There’s no sense in me show- ing up with a knife at a gun fight and not even knowing if I have a knife in my pocket. If I thought I could finish this thing, I’d be running it. “It bothers me.” But not enough that he’s willing to risk aggravating the injury and losing the rest of his season, which includes the provincial halfmarathon and Canadian crosscountry championships this fall.
“I’d only jeopardize all those potential races and really set me back from having a great spring next year and really coming out and hammering the Tely next year.
“I’ve got a lot more Tely’s left to race and I’m only going to be faster from here on in if I can stay healthy.”
“It never crossed my mind that I wouldn’t be running the Tely this year. I’ve been kidding myself for the last number of weeks that I can still turn the corner, but it hasn’t worked out that and it’s incredibly frustrating.”
Colin Fewer