Come on and take a free ride

I had a busy weekend, lots happened. I’ll recap with a series of photos, that should save me some typing…

On Friday morning we had a press conference for the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon.  Coincidently, and lucky for me, the presser took place less than 50 meters from the start of the Olympic Heroes Parade.

After the presser I headed to the Track and Field float which started at Nathan Phillips Square.  The Parade was a blast, lots of fun and lots of cheering.  Here’s a couple of pics on the float before the parade began.

Huge crowds at Maple Leaf Square.

Later in the day we came back to the ACC for the Hall of Fame Gala diner.  All the athletes were bused from the Hotel.  I had to leave the dinner early (I left at 10pm) because I was racing the next morning so I drove myself.  The police were going to escort the buses across the city so Dylan asked if I could follow the buses in the escort.  The cop said it was better if I followed first, in front of the buses. The cops would stop traffic at intersections and I would be the one following through.  People on the streets would be staring, hoping to catch a glimpse of someone important, sorry folks just three skinny marathoners, haha.  Oh, and I almost hit one of the cops on the motorcycle, thanks to Dylan for warning me in the nick of time.

If you want more time on the red carpet to hand your phone to a photographer and get your own pic then you just slot yourself in right before important people (two medallists/flag bearers Adam Van Koeverdan and Simon Whitfield will do).  It takes the celebs much longer to get through the media throng as everyone wants their picture.

At the Hall of Fame dinner the Olympians were presented on stage and then sat at tables with sponsors/supporters.  I had a nice group to sit with, we heard speeches and awards were presented. I had to skip out early and get to the Delta East Hotel to get a good rest in order to defend my Canadian 10km title at the Zoo Run.

Saturday morning. Start of the race. Greasy roads.

Dancan Kasia from Kenya (funny thing, I’ve run with him in Iten) took it out hard while the Canadian contingent cruised together in a pack.  At 5km (15:07) there was a pack of six of us (Rob Watson, Rejean Chiasson, Kyle Boorsma, Matt Brunsting, Sam Pawluk) trailing Dancan by 12 seconds (14:55).

I wasn’t sure how my legs would feel in a race because I still feel a little fatigued from the marathon (43 days ago) but I ended up feeling pretty good. When I started to push the pace at 6km in order to reel in Dancan the pack broke up.  I caught Dancan around one mile to go and kept it honest for the win in 30:24.  I think the course was a little slower than last year because there were quite a few hills towards the end and with the paths being wet the corners were slow.

Later that night a bunch of us celebrated Cleve’s impending marriage with a bus tour of Wellington County’s finest drinking establishments.  Many many months ago when we were out Gerson and I were both trying to top up a bar tab with a $20 bill each.  He took them both, threw one into onto the pot and ripped the other in half.  We both had half of a $20 bill in our wallets since then that we finally spent.

A nice bike ride on Sunday afternoon to top off the weekend.