Elite athletes have their eyes on the finishing line
While many of the rest of us will be happy to reach the finish line, there is another breed of Sun Runner — the athletes who have their eyes on the prize.
Justin Kent, winner of the 2019 Sun Run, is one of those high achievers.
The 2016 B.C. cross-country and 10k champion and member of the 2018 Pan Am cross-country team trains every day, often two or three times per day. Two or three times a week, the Burnaby-bornand-raised runner trains with his coach, Richard Lee.
“Right now, I'm training for the Ottawa Marathon, so I'm putting in a little more mileage than if I was just running a 10k.”
So how many kilometres does the 29-year-old run in a week? “Upwards of 180, 190,” he said.
On the day he talked to The Sun, Kent had just finished a 40k run.
“I'm very fortunate to have Rich join me on those sessions. He's on his bike carrying my water. I did that all around Stanley Park and up to the Burrard Bridge and back. It was a beautiful morning for it.”
The 40k training runs are for endurance and confidence.
“You're getting comfortable being uncomfortable at the later stage of the race,” he said.
“But you're also working on absorbing fluids and carbs while you're running and making sure your body is digesting properly. And you're practising running on tired legs. It's a balance of preparing for the run without completely burning yourself out.”
Kent started taking running seriously in his last year of high school.
“I got into it to see how far I could take it and see the world and see how far and fast I could go. It was just a moment where I thought, `Well, I am quite good at this, and this could lead to something.' Travel and wins are byproducts of working hard.”
His father was his biggest inspiration, he says.
“He was quite a good runner in his day. He still gets out and runs.
He instilled a good foundation and sparked my love for the sport and showed me what the sport can open you up to — the community, the people.”
Kent calls his dad after a session, “to talk things out. He's one of my biggest supporters.”
Leslie Sexton is another elite athlete running this year's Sun Run. Originally from Markham, Ont., Sexton moved here in 2020.
The 34-year-old has won several races, including the Canadian 10k Championships and the virtual Canadian 5k Championships.
This will be her second Sun Run. The last time she ran it was nearly a decade ago. “I was maybe sixth overall,” she said.
“I was already competing on the circuit, but hadn't done a marathon yet.”
For this year's Sun Run, her goal “is to contend for the win. I haven't seen a start list so I don't know who else is going to show up.”
Her time goal is “in the 32s. A mid-kind of thing would be a good reflection of my current fitness.”
In 2019, North Vancouver's Natasha Wodak won the women's title at 32 minutes and 38 seconds.
Training in hilly Vancouver is much different than the flatlands of Ontario.
“My weekly elevation gain probably doubled since moving to Vancouver. It's a lot more challenging, even on easy runs, than what I faced in Kingston and London. It's a lot nicer running in the trails, too.”
Sexton's training includes mental exercises.
“The next few weeks will be a few key workouts, including one where I'll run a 10k pace and try to simulate what I'll be going through in the race.
“I like to use that as an opportunity to visualize and predict what I'm about to go through and use that as a chance to practice any self-talk I'm going to use to keep myself going and run hard even when it's not feeling so great in the second half.”
Kent says he is not big on visualization or other mental exercises.
He is eyeing another win, of course.
This will likely require him to beat his 2019 time of 29 minutes, 30 seconds.
“I think this year to win it you're going to be running 28 low. It would be nice to be in that range. I don't want to go into it thinking about a time.
“I just want to stay relaxed and make a good move at the end.”