I've written in this blog before that I've won very few foot races in my lifetime. So few in fact that I can count them on one hand. I wouldn't be in this sport if all I cared about was winning, since only one person can win on any given day, but I'd also be lying if I said I didn't enjoy the odd victory. 2013 has been good in this regard: I have beefed up the career wins category by three: the Versailles 15k, a Parkrun in Poland, and today at the Hamilton Road2Hope half-marathon.
Recap:
Off the start Fred Karanja, a Kenyan living in the area, took off in the lead in a full Santa Claus suit for what I later learned was for some sort of record attempt. After letting a bit of a gap open while I processed whether Fred was serious or not, I decided to close it up before 3k. For the next seven or so kilometres we rolled together, each of us putting in slight surges that were more about testing the waters than a serious attempt at breaking away. I noticed Fred's breathing seemed to be more laboured than mine and attempted to surge away around 10k, but he remained on the edge of my shadow and I let up soon after. I tried again around the 11k mark and was clear this time, kickstarting 10 kilometres of solo running. I was enjoying myself a fair bit until the final six kilometres when cramping concerns became a serious concern (an issue I'll need to solve if I want to do more longer stuff). I slowed to a pace that would prevent a full blown side stitch and thankfully had enough of a gap over a late charing Michael Gill that I was able to take the win in 1:13:56. The time wasn't great, but for the weather being windy and chilly, I was happy given the circumstances. A win is a win! Fred finished a respectable third in 1:15 and noted how hot the suit had been during the run. I can only imagine...hopefully he got the record he was gunning for.
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