Gunner Shaw – Vancouver

December 5, 2009 - Gunner Shaw – Vancouver

As I mentioned in my last report, I headed over to Vancouver last weekend to race in the Gunner Shaw cross-country race in Vancouver.  The Lion’s Gate Road Runners host this race every year, and there is an inter-club challenge between my club (the Prairie Inn Harriers) and the LGRRs. Each year the LGRR send a contingent of runners to the Gunner Shaw Race in Victoria, and PIH sends runners to the race in Vancouver.

As the race starts at 11:00am, it’s an early start from Victoria.  This year a group of about 20 PIHers met at 6:00am, to catch the 7am ferry to Vancouver.  This means waking up much earlier than I would like to, but as it’s a once-a-year event, I can’t complain too much!  We headed over in two vans, the ‘Harrier-carrier’ and a rented van that was able to accommodate all of us.

This is the only ‘pure’ cross-country race that I have ever done, and it’s a fun race, as it takes you over various terrain.  There are two small hills, some grass, sand, mud, pathways and lots of twists and turns.  It is two loops and is 9-10 km in total distance. 

We arrived at Jericho Beach, where the race is held, 1.5 hours before the start of the race.  This gave ample time for all pre-race preparations, as well as lots of milling about.  It was a beautiful sunny, yet cool day.  The temperature was close to 5 degrees, but with the sun shining, it felt much warmer.  The race usually goes through a shallow puddle that is a couple of hundred meters long, but it was completely frozen over this year.  For safety reasons, we would be diverted around the puddle, as the ice sheet produced skating-like conditions, and going over it would produce many falls. 

About 30 minutes before the start of the race, I got changed into my race attire (it was warm enough for a t-shirt, and many others even donned singlets), and went for a short warm-up run.  Then, it was a quick group photo, and the race began. 

The beginning of the race is always a gong-show.  It’s very crowded at the start, as everyone jumps to get ahead.  I tried to get into a comfortable rhythm, and enjoy the race, as much as I could.  The race starts on the grass, and loops around a treed area before it makes its way towards the beach and the first few sand patches.  The sand is always a pain to run over, as it sucks you right in – slowing down your movements.  There’s a rise over a small hill, and then onto the main sand section, which this year was extended to about 300-400 meters.  This might not sound like much, but when you are running on soft sand, it definitely feels long.  When I finally emerged from the sand, my legs felt like jello, and it was a struggle to get them moving again.  Then it was on to more grass, through a small ravine, and over, up and around, as we ran on grass, over bridges and on various trails. 

There are two steep-ish short hills, and on both loops, these hills totally took it out of me.  I would reach the top of the hill and just be totally out of breath and wheezing. It really caused me to slow down, which was frustrating.  I felt like the hills shouldn’t affect me that much.  However, there are also some really nice downhill and flat sections that are on trail, where I was able to get my legs going well, and I enjoyed striding out and feeling strong.

On the first loop of the course, I passed a few people, was passed by a few others and tucked in behind a woman from the LGRRs.  I tried to stay on her tail, but the hills hurt me, and she was able to pull away enough to get a sizeable gap on me.  After the first loop, I came past the finishing line, and my legs felt heavy- I wondered how the next loop would go.

The second loop was slower than the first loop by about 80 seconds or so.  This time, I ran on the lower part of the sand, near the water, and it was much easier, as the sand was more hard-packed, than in the higher section.  The terrain was more forgiving this year than last year, as the cold weather had frozen the ground.  This made the grassy sections easier to run on, as they weren’t muddy, wet or slippery.  There were still a few sections that were a bit dicey – as there were icy patches.   There’s a small, yet steep down hill, that almost led me to fall, as I slipped on some ice.  But I was able to keep my feet moving fast, and I was able to avoid a slip and fall.  Near the end of the loop, there’s also a section that winds through blackberry bushes, and it had some small puddles that had frozen over, and caused some swift footwork to avoid a slip or cold feet. Other than these few sections, it was a faster and easier race than the previous year.

Overall, the second loop went fine, although I felt that I had more in me to push, and was held back by my wheeziness.  It felt easier to take deeper breaths during this race, but I was still wheezing a lot, especially after any climbs.   My favourite sections were where I could stride out.  In these parts, I felt strong and as though I actually had some speed in me.  As I neared the finish line after the second loop, many of my fellow PIHers had already finished and were standing near the finish line cheering the rest of us on.  It was great to hear so many people cheering for me, and gave me some extra energy to push to the line.  My legs allowed me to push a bit more than during the first lap, as I headed towards the trail that led to the finish line.  Ahh – my body sighed in relief, as I finished another hard race.  My finishing time was 45:40.

Many Prairie Inn Harriers had fantastic races, and our club was on the podium for almost every age group, with our men and women topping the podium in many age groups.  Members of PIH also had 5 of the top 6 spots overall.  I ended up being 4th in my age group, just out of the ribbons.  I was 97th overall, which coincidentally is exactly the same placing that I was last year.  However, my time was about 2.5 minutes faster this year.  Shane ended up 6th overall, and first in his age category, as all those ahead of him were young guys in their 20s. Here are the final results.

After the race, there was a nice spread of pizza, bagels, soup, mandarin oranges, bananas, and tasty juice.  I also enjoyed a lovely warm shower, to wash off all of the dirt from the race.  Then, shortly after the awards, we headed off to catch the 3pm ferry back to Victoria, after a satisfying morning in Vancouver.

Gunner Shaw - Thetis Lake

November 28, 2009

This will be a relatively short write-up, as I'm heading over to Vancouver to run the 'other' Gunner Shaw race tomorrow morning. Bruce 'Gunner' Shaw was one of the founding members of the Prairie Inn Harriers running club, and was an inspirational runner and individual.  He also lived and raced in Vancouver, and for that reason has races named after him in both locations.

The Victoria Gunner Shaw race takes place around Thetis Lake, which was one of 'Gunner's' favorite places to run in Victoria.  Bob Reid established the run to honour his friend, and it has become one of the most popular cross-country races in Canada.  This year it attracted around 430 runners, all ready to get wet and muddy - an unavoidable part of the race.

The race course was tons of fun this year.  The race started under a cloudy sky, with light rain falling.  We started off the race up a road, and then soon headed on to the trails.  It had been extremely wet and rainy the past few weeks leading up to the race, so I knew there would be lots of puddles and streams everywhere- and there certainly was.  While, I had fun tromping through the water, not even trying to keep my feet dry - my lungs certainly did not.

I had a difficult time getting enough air into my lungs, and I was wheezing the entire race.  I generally work hard in a race, but this felt different than simply pushing yourself.  I felt that I was breathing harder than I should have been based on my effort, and I was not able to take a deep breath -- all of my breaths felt shallow.  So, I think I may have EIA - exercise induced asthma.  Either that, or something is going on - because this definitely did not feel 'normal'.  I will be getting this checked soon, so hopefully I'll have a definite answer for the cause of the wheezing, and maybe even get a solution that would allow me to push even harder.

Other than my breathing difficulties, I enjoyed the race.  The course was a mixture of wider, easy trails, single-track more technical trails, a few hills, lots of water, two puddles and a finish in the lake.  Bob had added a second puddle to the race this year, since the previous puddle had been partially filled in.  In order to get us wetter - Bob went looking for a larger puddle, that would ensure we would get wet.  This puddle was about thigh height and even had a log in the middle that required you to climb over.  The puddles weren't too bad to tromp through, except for their smell and the feet that burned with cold for some moments after you got through.

There was also a new single-track section, which was TONS of fun.  Many of the runners who participate in this race don't run trails much, so some are more tentative on the more technical sections.  For myself, this was the most fun part of the course and I was able to pick up the speed on the windy trail, as I bounded over roots, logs and rocks.

Then end of the race featured the three ' bugger' hills again.  Although short, they are steep and definitely a challenge at the end of a race.  But, I was happy to see them in a way, as it meant the finish line was nearby.  After the three hills were over, there was a short downhill section, and I let my legs fly - allowing me to pass a few people.  I love the downhill sections in a race, as I usually tend to pass people on these parts.  It was great to have it at the end of the race, as it allowed me to pick up a few placings. :-)  The race ended in Thetis Lake, as we ran through the lake near the shoreline.  The water was frigid, but by that point I really wanted to finish the race, so I ran as much as I could through the water.  My finishing time was 47.05, and I was 6th woman out of 49 in my category of 30-39.

While the race wasn't a disaster, it was somewhat frustrating and disappointing, as I felt I could have performed better.  Either way, it was a really fun course and extremely well organized with great volunteers.  Thanks to everyone who helped make it happen!  Hopefully I'll have better luck with my lungs at tomorrow's race!

 Running through Thetis Lake at the end of the race. 

Photo: Tony Austin

PIH - Thetis Lake Relay

November 11, 2009

This is the third year that I have participated in the Thetis Lake Relay.  It's a fun event that transforms an individual sport into a team event - with teams of up to 4 people completing 4 laps around upper and lower Thetis Lakes.  The total distance is approximately 20 km (each lap is just under 5 km).  This year I entered with a team of 3 other fast PIH women: Julie Van Veelan, Camie Bentham and Claire Morgan. I was looking forward to the event, knowing that we had a chance of placing.  It's amazing how popular this race is - there were 149 teams with 600 people participating.  It's great to see such a low-key event (where everyone is responsible for timing themselves) see so much interest.

About a week before the event, I went for a run at Thetis Lake in the pouring rain.  It was an incredibly soggy run, and there were puddles everywhere. If the day of the Relay was anything like this one, I thought, it would be one wet run.

Luckily, the day of the Relay was beautiful. I woke up and was amazed to see the sun shining outside.  Shane and I got to the race just barely in time for the start.  I wasn't running until the second leg, so I wasn't pressed for time, but as Shane was running solo, he barely had enough time to register, get into his running attire and down some liquid before the start.  5-4-3-2-1- and they were off.  I jogged over to see the start, and then I headed out for a warm-up run.  I'm not always consistent in doing a warm-up before a race, but I usually do them before either a short race or a hilly one.  As I'd been battling some tiredness in the past few days, I was curious to see how my body would feel.  I did a 15 minute warm-up and didn't feel too tired.  I had just enough time to make it to the start line to see Julie bounding along the beach to the transfer point.  Then, I was off.

I knew that out of my team, I was the slowest runner, but I hoped to be able to push hard and have times not too far off of theirs.  Immediately, my breathing became laboured, as I pushed to get into a rhythm.  One young boy passed me during the first few hundred meters of the lap, but shortly thereafter I passed him back, as he had slowed down quite a bit.

I enjoyed the first half of the course.  The trail winded around, with a few small undulations up and down- it  wasn't too mucky, although there were definitely a few muddy sections.  I kept pretty consistent with the other racers around me as I rounded the lakes.  I passed a few people, but wasn't passed by anyone else during this first section.  I knew these trails fairly well, but I was still surprised to see the half-way mark sign.  At that point I thought that for sure I was further than half-way.  I already felt tired, and think I went out too fast, as I didn't feel that I would be able to sustain that pace for the rest of the loop.  It's a short loop, but it still provides the possibility of a start that is too fast to maintain- especially since the last part of the course is the hardest.

As I rounded my way past Upper Thetis Lake towards Lower Thetis Lake, I knew that the three bugger hills still lay ahead.  While these aren't particularly large hills, they are steep and definitely take something out of you at the end of your race.  During this loop, I had managed to pass a few people, slowly decreasing the gap between myself and them.  It was fun to spot someone up ahead that I thought I could pass, and try to narrow the gap and finally pass them.  Near the end of the race, I had been running near one other woman, although I hadn't been able to pass her.  As we crossed the last bridge, I gave a little push and made my way past her.  However, next came the first of the three hills.  The first one nearly took it out of me and I felt like I might vomit.  The woman who I'd just passed ran past me up the hill.  On each of the subsequent hills, I would catch up to her on the downhill and she would make up some distance on the up hills.  After the last hill, there was a nice amount of sustained downhill.  I was able to let my legs go as I descended, and made my way past her just at the end of the loop.  I ran onto the sand and knew that my loop was almost over.  I passed onto Camie, and made my way to the side to catch my breath.

I was pretty happy with how I'd run - finishing in 21.22 - and I was especially elated that I hadn't felt too tired during my lap.  After finishing, I headed out for a second lap, at a more controlled pace.  It was interesting to watch the other racers from a non-racer perspective.  I was surprised that during my cool-down lap I still managed to pass a few people.  It was interesting to observe my competitive spirit - even though I wasn't racing, if I observed someone up ahead who I thought I could pass, I would pick up the pace to get by.   Even going at a slower pace, the three hills at the end still took it out of me.  I was happy to see the beach up ahead, as I finished my run.

I went and stood in the lake for five minutes, as I waited for Shane to finish his race.  He came by in just over 1:10, good enough for first place in the solo category.  Then, we waited to see Claire finish it off for our team.  Overall our total time was 1:21:08.  Good enough for second in our category of Senior Women.  It was a fabulous day - no rain, fairly mild, and not too muddy on the trails.  Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves, and I was happy to have raced a solid race with such other speedy women.

Now I have a couple of weeks off of racing, and then three in a row to finish off my racing season for the year: PIH Gunner Shaw, Gunner Shaw in Vancouver and PIH Stewart Mountain.

Training - and the importance of sleep

This fall I decided to get more structured about my training.  For the past few years, I have been active most days: running, biking or using those horrible machines in the gym. However, I did not have any kind of training schedule - my workouts just fell into place, without much thought.  I increased my running from 1-2 days a week to 3-4 days a week, but again this was done haphazardly.  I had a speed session that I completed on Tuesdays, runs on the weekends (usually about 1 hour in length), and maybe one other run thrown into the mix [in the winter this was often a shorter run on the treadmill, in the summer I was more consistent about doing another run on the trails].

Last year, I saw some good improvements in my running, and achieved personal bests in almost all of my races.  But, in the last 8 months or so, my training has not been regimented and my speed has not changed.  My desire to build my speed motivated me to get more serious about my training, mix things up a bit and develop more of a program to guide my training.

Now, I'm no expert in developing training plans, but I did some searching on the Internet for examples of plans, thought about the goals I want to achieve, and based on this, started putting something together.  The essential elements of the plan are: to run more often, to specifically include recovery days of easier running, and to include 3 good efforts each week: one speed session, one tempo run (of at least 1 hour in length), and one long run (at a consistent effort, not too easy).

Taking this step has re-ignited my passion for running and gives me hope that if I can stay consistent in my training, I can become a faster runner.

In the past, the one element that has hampered my training is tiredness.  This is something that we all struggle with at some point (unless you are one of those amazing individuals who only needs 4-5 hours of sleep). Myself, for optimum performance and strenght I need about 9 hours of sleep each night.  However, this is sometimes difficult to get.  When I was younger, I used to be very structured in my sleep regimen, and my frirends knew not to call me after 9pm, as I would be in bed.  However, in recent years, my sleep schedule has lost its structure, my body has lost its ability to always sleep well - thus resulting in less than optimum sleep.  After weeks of sleep depletion, my body begins to break down, and I am no longer able to push hard on my efforts and my runs feel like a waste of time.  Although I am going through the motions, I don't feel like it's having any benefit.  Running becomes a struggle. 

I've been going through one of these bouts lately, and it's always frustrating.  I want to put in a hard effort, and nothing comes.  I'm hoping that I can get over it soon, and get back to my rested state.  I'm running the Thetis Relays this afternoon - so we'll see how I feel.  Hopefully I'll be able to push hard throughout.

We all know that as athletes sleep is essential.  We need to feed our bodies well through good nutrition and proper rest.  However, while we usually are better at feeding our bodies, sleep and rest often don't get the full attention they should.  Life often gets in the way and sleep gets pushed off - or because of stress, our bodies can't fully relax.  It's a lesson that I'm still trying to learn.  While life will continue to get in the way and push on my sleep needs, being cognizant of what my body needs to perform well (in terms of sleep) and trying to stick to that as much as possible will help.

Here's to a good night's rest for everyone!

Knee and Salt Spring Island

I wanted to post a quick update on my knee and some recent runs.

After the finish of the half-marathon, my knee was super sore.  I was worried that I might have pushed it too hard and might be out from running for awhile.  I went for a walk that afternoon with a friend and was limping around, as it was too painful to bend my knee.  However, luckily, it didn't take too long to recover.  Sunday and Monday my knee was still sore, but by Tuesday, I was able to join my regular running group, the Prairie Inn Harriers, for their weekly workout and did not feel my knee much.  I was extremely happy.  I have also been trying to focus on the exercises that I have been given to do to strengthen my body, which are supposed to help with my knee.  The exercises are mainly glute strengthening exercises - various types of squats, deadlifts and leg lifts on the floor.  I also do hamstring stretches, as my knee pain seems to be connected to a tight hamstring in the opposite leg.  When I do the exercises consistently, I definitely feel stronger and I don't tend to have my injury issues creep up.  It's a good reminder to keep at them!

Last weekend I headed over to Salt Spring Island with Shane for a weekend of relaxing and some running.  I did two runs while over there - up Mt Maxwell and on the trails around Ruckle Park.  Both were fun, and it was nice to run in some different locations.

The run up Mt Maxwell started on a small, narrow goat trail, which really was not made for running.  Luckily, pretty soon it opened up a bit, which made the running more enjoyable, but then started to head straight up the mountain.  There were not a lot of breaks, mostly sustained climbs, but mostly the grade wasn't too steep, and the entire ascent was runnable.  Although there were a few sections that definitely got the heart rate elevated.  About 2/3 to the top, there was a small lookout, which had a nice view below.  The climb up to the top took about 24 minutes. At the top of the mountain, we had a beautiful view of the ocean, and the village below.  It was super windy though and the wind was whipping the clouds around - it was cool to watch them move so quickly, opening up new views every few seconds.  The run down the mountain was mostly pretty enjoyable.  However, we had to be pretty careful, as there were lots of roots and rocks that were pretty slick from the rainfall that morning.  The only unfortunate part was that right at the end of the trail; there were tons of stinging nettles and we both got stung quite nicely - I tried to avoid them, but didn't quite make it.

The next day, we headed over to Ruckle Park to run some of the trails over there.  Being a Provincial Park, I expected the trails to be relatively easy - but boy was I wrong.  The trails ended up actually being quite technical, with lots of roots, rocks and logs to jump over- the trail also zigzagged around and up and down.  Although there was only one sustained climb, there were lots of little ups and downs.  The run started off right beside the ocean, and it was beautiful and comforting to be so close to the water.  On the way back, the trail headed through the interior of the forest, and up and over a hilltop.  My hip flexors were sore from the run up Mt Maxwell, and they were definitely feeling it on all the climbs.  On the way back, we ran about 500 meters on the road back to the parking lot, past an open farming lot that was open for visitor viewing (there were also a few old buildings on site).  We stopped to check out the turkeys and chickens that were walking around.  I hadn't seen turkeys that close-up before - they are definitely interesting looking critters, with all the lumps on and around their heads.  Overall, it was a pretty good run - the technical aspect of the run definitely slowed things down, but it was still enjoyable.  The loop took about 1hr10min.

Now back to more regular training.  I'm going to try to fit in some regular longer runs, with more elevation, as I feel that I haven't been doing enough hills in my training lately.

RVM Half Marathon

October 11, 2009

I decided to start a blog about my races to share them with others and also as a way to track and record my racing experiences.

This was my first road race since the TC 10km in April 2009.  Throughout the summer I ran several trail races, but didn't venture into any road races.  I prefer running and racing on the trails, although I still enjoy road races, as they are a better indicator of your progress.  You can definitely determine whether you are slower or faster and analyze all of your splits.

My decision to enter the RVM Half-Marathon was based on my previous performance at the Comox Valley Half-Marathon in March 2009.  I had a pretty good race there and took off over 5 minutes from my previous road half-marathon two years earlier.  It made me excited to try and do better and get closer to what my potential should be (based on my best time in a road race).  I thought that if I could train well, then I could take off a few more minutes.  However, my training over the summer wasn't as dedicated as it should have been.  While I ran throughout the summer, I don't think I did enough hard or long efforts to make much improvement. 

The entire Royal Victoria Marathon weekend was very popular this year and had the largest number of entrants ever.  The Half-Marathon was capped at 5,400 and sold out relatively early.  It would be a packed race.  While most of the races that I do are smaller - it's fun to participate in these larger races occasionally, as the crowds cheering you on combined with all of the racers really gives you a boost.

The RVM Half-Marathon starts very early in the morning: at 7:30am.  I woke up in the dark and arrived downtown before the sun was even rising.  I got there even earlier than I otherwise would have, as I arrived with Shane Ruljancich , who was running the 8km race, which started at 7:15am.  I ended up having time for a short warm-up, and then headed off to line up for the start of the race.

We had the 5 second countdown and we were off.  The first kilometer was like running through a maze, as I weaved through people left and right. This is pretty common for me in a race -- as I'm never one of the fastest runners, I situate myself somewhat back from the start line. While I try not to go too far back -- the start does get crowded, and I usually end up passing people in the first kilometer.

Nevertheless, the first km went by relatively quickly - as we rounded the backside of the Legislative Buildings.  The second km would be harder, as we had a slight uphill up Johnson to Cook street. But, then we had a nice downhill for the next km, down Cook street to Beacon Hill Park.  As we hit about the 5km marker, and entered Beacon Hill Park, I felt my knee start to twinge a bit.  This unnerved me, as I've had issues with my knee, which have caused me to drop out of a half-marathon before (I barely hobbled back to the start line in 2003), and had led me to take 4 months off from running completely, just two years ago.  I tried to stay positive, visualize finishing the race and telling myself that I am strong and could do it. 

As we ran through Beacon Hill Park, my knee started to really ache, and I began to get a bit worried.  I tried to run on any bit of grass I could, and by the time we were exiting Beacon Hill Park and heading back onto Cook Street, my knee was feeling better.  It was nice to head out of the Park and almost be at the 9km marker. I hit the 10km marker at 45:19, which was ahead of schedule (to run a 1:38), but I was feeling good.  I had actually decided not to look at any of my splits while running, and just run by feel.  It might not have been the best strategy, but I just wanted to enjoy the run, and see what I could do without thinking about it too much. 

Around the 11km marker, I saw the leaders, as they headed back from the turnaround.  It's always impressive and inspiring to see the lead runners - they looked so strong and so fast. It's a great motivator to train and try and reach whatever your true potential is.

As I headed towards the turnaround, I was amazed at how strong I still felt.  The kms were going by relatively quickly, and I was enjoying the race.  As I ran back towards the Ross Bay cemetery, it was surreal to see the streams of racers behind me still heading towards the turnaround.  That's one fantastic side of participating in larger races, to see how many other people are also taking part in the event and know that you're not alone in your pursuits (and pain).

The hill up to Clover Point is a bugger in any race - in the half-marathon it's just at the 16 km mark, when you are already sufficiently tired out, and running up that hill took all of my energy to keep up my pace.  But at least I knew that it was the last substantial climb. There would be a few more blips, and a lengthy, gradual climb up to Mile Zero, but that was it.  I was happy to see the 16km marker, as I knew I just had 5 km to go.  My legs were definitely starting to feel it, and I wasn't able to push as much as I wanted.  I could feel my splits getting slower, but had a hard time pushing my legs to go faster.  It was a bit frustrating, but I just kept going.

We had a nice downhill section from about 17.5 - 19 km, and it was great to allow my body to roll down the hill.  Usually at about the 18km marker in a half-marathon I tend to really feel it.  I have had a hard time, and have struggled at this point in the race in the past.  This time, while my legs were feeling tired, I wasn't as exhausted as I had been in previous races.  The last few kilometers were hard, especially the little climb up to the Coast Guard station, but overall I felt pretty good.  As I headed into the last kilometer, I tried to give it all I had.  I always find the last kilometer of this race difficult, as it zigzags back and forth to the finish.  You think that you are almost there, but then you have yet another corner to turn. 

Finally, the finish was in my sights.  I ran hard, hoping to see the clock read close to 1:35 -- but I looked up and saw 1:38.  This was a bit disappointing, as I had felt like I could have beat my previous personal best time at this distance, but at the same time, I met my ultimate goal, which was to be under 1:40.  I hit the finish line at 1:38:39, fifteen seconds slower than what I'd done at Comox.

Although I didn't get a PB, it was a pretty good race, as I felt pretty good throughout the race.  I was able to deal with my knee pain, and was ecstatic that it didn't overcome me, and allowed me to finish the race in good form.  Plus, as I had felt relatively strong, I knew that I had it within me to do better. This race gave me the motivation to work harder and really achieve the best that I could.  My overall placing was 11th in my category (out of 424), and 72nd woman overall (out of 2965).

There were lots of great performances in all of the three races at the RVM -- 8km, half-marathon and marathon.  It was fabulous to see so many other Harriers, and other familiar faces.  Lots of top 5 placings in various divisions and races.  Shane had a respectable race, and finished 3rd in his category (for the 8km).  Jon Brown won the half-marathon in 1:04:57, and the female winner was Marilyn Arsenault, who ran a blazing time of 1:15:39 - breaking the female course record. It was an absolutely beautiful day for racing -- Congratulations to everyone who ran!  The full results for the half-marathon are here.