My First Race

[turd ferguson]

Everybody who races has a first race.

Seeing the report from Fish's first race, and seeing that runfbrun has signed up for his first race, I thought I'd start a thread where we could talk about our very first race.

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My first race was the Calgary Sun Run. It was an 8k race which no longer exists, October 10, 1999. I was 31 years old.

I had been running for about 6 months, almost entirely treadmill because I was too self-conscious to run outside. I remember that I did a bunch of practice runs to make sure I could actually run 8k.

I wore a pair of leather reebok cross trainers (I didn't know that running shoes even existed). It was a cold Sunday morning, the race started and finished at Southcentre Mall and ran through what's now my neighbourhood, though I wouldn't live there for another five years.

I finished in 49:27. My bib number was 1515 (this bib now and will always be the first bib in my scrapbook).

What do I remember? The elation at accomplishing something new. Belonging to something new. Wearing a bib. The amazing feeling of having achieved something that not long before I would have thought impossible.

[ultraslacker]

cool thread idea!

My first race was May 15, 2005. It was the Mizuno Half Marathon in Edmonton, which only ran once because it was the qualifier for the Half Marathon National Championships for that year.

Unfortunately, it was 4 laps, which I find psychologically difficult. Even more difficult, it was 30C that day and we had to run over the bridge 8 times (out and back x 4), and by the last lap I just wanted to jump into the river and cool off. Made all the rookie mistakes, starting too fast and losing steam early on, etc. My theme song at the time was Eminem's "Lose Yourself", and I had written "the beat goes on..." on the inside of my left arm with sharpie, for motivation.

The cool thing about a lapped course during a championship qualifier is that all of the fast people were lapping me. As a newbie, it was pretty fun to see the really fast guys and girls at the front, making it look easy (I still feel that way in races!).

When I finished, in 2:32:xx, I was on top of the world. I felt like such a champion, proudly sporting my medal. And my mom took me out for Denny's afterwards, lol.

I still get all excited when people are about to do their first race, because my first was such a fun experience (in spite of the heat! ;).

[QuickChick]

Great idea!! My first race was also 8K, or rather 5 miles. It was the Night Crawler in June of 2002, down by the water. Melissa (chembot) had just run her first marathon, and we had often run together (just short runs) when we were both living in Oshawa. She asked if I wanted to do the race with her, and I very quickly realized that we were no longer the same pace! Haha. I remember them saying our first mile was 8:00, and part way through the second mile I told Mel to go on without me. I was totally dying!! I finished in 44 minutes and change, but I didn't even know that until years later when Dave looked up my time. I hadn't worn a watch, and I didn't have any idea what time I should run. I think I might have run in cross trainers, but maybe not... I had signed up for the marathon clinic for that fall and I may have had proper running shoes at that point. I had no competitive ambitions whatsoever... it was just a fun way to spend an evening. What I remember most was the Krispy Kreme doughnuts we got at the end!

[CinC]

mine was the Mother's Day 5k Run here in Calgary in 2002.

We had moved to Calgary in 2001, and in that fall, had joined World Health Club. I remember starting to 'run' on the treadmill for short intervals, and there was a group that was entering this race from my work. So, Dave and I joined the group. I remember having lunch with one of the 'runners' from the group and Rick telling me that running outside was going to be different than the treadmil, but he gave me the advice to break the run into chunks.

I remember the energy we felt when we got downtown that day - there was about 10,000 people in this race and we were meeting the 'team' in front of one of the hotels. We got lined up and I remember going out too fast, but yet I felt the energy of the crowd of everyone around me. As we were heading south to the turn, I started to employ my strategy (that I came up with at that point) of running 2 blocks, walking 1 block.

Crossing that finish line was the BEST feeling in the world. I can't remember my exact time - somewhere about 35 min, and I felt like a superstar.

I joined a LTR clinic about a month later.

I ran this particular race again in 2009, to mark the year that I went from the very first to something I never thought I would ever ever do - Ironman. And the race in 2009 felt about as special as it did in 2002.

[turd ferguson]

I can't remember my exact time - somewhere about 35 min, and I felt like a superstar.

36:35

http://www.raceheadquarters.com/results ... rzani5.htm

(I ran the 10k that year, it was my third-ever race)

[deerdree]

Burlington Downtown Dash 5k, 2005. One of my co-workers had been talking about her races and it sounded like so much fun. I survived a 5k 'test' on the treadmill at the gym (I had previously been an elliptical kid) so I asked Lightning if she'd be interested in entering a 5k race with me. She had asked me to run with her years before but I never got past the sprinting and dying part. A handful of runs later (ie, we probably 'trained' for about 3 weeks? Colette, do you remember?) and we were good to go!

The race is on a Thursday night and I was concerned about what to eat for lunch. My running co-worker told me I should be carb-loading so I went to the pizza place and got a slice of potato pizza (essentially pizza with potato on top). When she came by my desk later and saw me eating that, she was . It was a super, super hot day, and although we'd decided not to carry water for 'just' a 5k, by the 1.5km mark we were almost ready to tackle the bottle-carrying folks in front of us! I remember playing "Lose Yourself" on repeat for the last few kilometres and discovering the rush of a finishing kick for the first time. I also remember how neat it was to see our families and friends cheering at the finish line. Well, everyone, actually. I'd never been to a running race before and hadn't imagined how awesome it would be to run down a street with people cheering for you. Best feeling ever.

Right then we decided to do the Goodlife half and the rest is history!

[DonnaRigs]

My first was a seven kilometre, and it was hard for a few reasons:


1) my dad was supposed to run it with me, but decided last minute to do it in Saskatoon

2) I hadn't really run seven kilometers and did not think I could complete it

3) as it turned out, I was going to run right past the scene of a car accident I had been in at 19, that killed a good friend of mine.

I remember the first twenty minutes or so were very hard. I kept reminding myself I wanted to make it at least twenty minutes.

At thirty minutes I knew that not only was I going to finish, but I was going to be able to run the whole thing!

My time was 45 minutes-ish. As it was a resolution run, there were no official times. It proved to me that ANY distance is possible, with training and, most importantly, heart.

[CinC]

I can't remember my exact time - somewhere about 35 min, and I felt like a superstar.

36:35

http://www.raceheadquarters.com/results ... rzani5.htm

(I ran the 10k that year, it was my third-ever race)

well, now with that time, I take back feeling like a superstar! ha!

(having said that, I ran it in 2009 in 27:50, so hey, not bad improvement! )

[Habs4ever]

My very first race was May 2, 1987 (no, not a typo), Bib # 144. It was the Royal LePage Run for Women in Thunder Bay Ontario. There was a 5k or 10k event, I entered the 5k. I had been running since 1984, but didn't realize that an ordinary person like me could actually go in races (I just thought it was for elite's). A friend told me about it, and I was really nervous but decided to do it.
Here's my mini race report (hand written in my scrap book):
May 2, 1987
Over 1300 women in the race. Some walked, some ran and some ran fast. I started off slow, but I kept going and felt really good. My time was under 30 minutes, but the official time is not available today. Will find out for sure in the paper on Monday. Official time: 25:25, 84th overall!

The cool thing about this is that the winner of the 10k was Irongirl's aunt-Jill Francis. I just found out about 6 months ago that it was her aunt-over 20 years later-small world.

[Marg]

I never entered a race back home in Winnipeg and only toe'd the line in 1994 in Ottawa. Ran the OAC Corporate relay with a team from work.
5x5km relay. Was fun, no clue what my time was but I'd guess in the the 25-26 min range.
Did this race a couple times.

I also remember doing a race in the east end of Ottawa in 1996 (Gloucester). Think that was my first "solo"race. No clue on the time there either. I still have the shirt.

[ian]

Not counting the obligatory track meets from grade school, my first race was the 1997 Calgary Marathon. Emboldened by a one-off three hour "hangover jog" the previous summer, I signed up for this 42K two days beforehand when I stumbled across the race expo and was surprised to find out that a place like Calgary had a marathon. It didn't matter that I hadn't actually done any running yet that year; I was young, stupid, in decent shape, and not too proud to walk if needed. I jogged the first 25K, walked much of the rest, and sprinted/cramped the last couple blocks to squeak under 5 hours. Good times...

[Darth Tater]

December 1, 2007, Winnipeg - 5km Santa Shuffle. Ran it with my sister, our cousin, and two of her sons. Before the first kilometer was done I left them behind. My cousin's boys (both very fit, in their early 20's) were hung over and decided to stay with their mom. They literally ran circles around her, and helped them out by pushing them up the ramp near the end of the run at The Forks. I have no idea what my time was, but I had fun.

[canalrunner]

Nice idea.

My first race was the Montreal Marathon in 1979 (that must be a typo!!!). I was 21 years old. Inspired by the first running boom of Bill Rodgers and Frank Shorter and motivated by the promise of free Molson beer at the finish, I started running about 12 weeks before the race. No real ideas of training. No Gatorade. Measured mileage using the odometer on the car. Ran with my best friend from high school. Finished in 4:13. Enjoyed some really great beer in the park on Olympic Island. Don't really remember much else. Good times.

[IronColl]

First race was a small 5km in Ft. Saskatechewan circa 2000. There was one hill in it and I remember being proud that I ran it without stopping, and I think I did the whole race without walking. Ran with a friend and we crossed the line holding hands in 30:31. This is the same friend who I went to Melissa's with that year, for the first time, and now this will be my 11th year in a row being there, with 9 finishes.

[Hammie]

Great idea, Mike.

My first race was the Vancouver Sun Run in 1997. I was 23 and I had never run as an adult - not even a jog around the block. I was in Vancouver for an elective for school, and my supervisor had taken up running earlier that year. He had been training for this run for months, and everyone working with him was getting no-so-subtle pressure to sign up. Another friend of mine was doing it, so I said what the heck.

I toed the line wearing an old pair of crosstrainers, which I had purchased on the basis of their colour, along with a cotton tshirt, cotton "athletic" socks, and a pair of unmemorable shorts. My friend, who ran regularly, was off like a shot, and I was so intimidated by the crowds that I was determined not to lose sight of her.

We finished in just under an hour - I can't recall what my actual time was. Most importantly, I beat my supervisor by almost 10 minutes . He (half) jokingly said it would count against me on my evaluation. I hurt like %$^^% the next day, and it was a week before I could walk up stairs comfortably. And I threw out the socks - there was no way to get the blood stains out.

In hindsight, my only regret is that I didn't run again (except for sporadic, self-conscious trips on the gym treadmill if the ellipticals were all full) until 2005.

[Jwolf]

Great idea-- it's fun to read everyone else's.

I won't count fun runs from university days, because I never thought of these as races.

So my first real race was the Vancouver Sun Run 10K in 2002. I had wanted to enter this race since we moved here in 1995, but every year it seemed I was either pregnant, nursing, injured, or otherwise out of shape... so 2002 it was (when I was 35 and my younger son was two-and-a-half). I was running in order to help lose some post-baby weight; I knew that regular running was the only exercise that actually helped me burn enough calories to lose weight. "Training" for an upcoming race helped keep me motivated, and training consisted of running 2-3 times per week for about 4-5K. By the time the race came I had only done one run longer about 7K (I didn't have much feel for how fast I was running, but 10:00/mile was a FAST pace back then). I ran the race with a friend with no real goal other than to keep it steady and finish; we did it in exactly 62 minutes, or 10:00/mile, a time with which I was thrilled. Having never run that fast for that long before, I was VERY sore for the next few days but very happy that I did it.

I struggled off and on with shin splints and a back injury in the year after that which prevented me from keeping up regular running, although I really wanted to. It wasn't until a year and a half later that I started running regularly with a friend, and we signed up for a half-marathon clinic in the spring of 2004. And the rest is history.

[Joe Dwarf]

My first and only race so far was the 10 k as part of the Saskatchewan Marathon in 2005, at 44 years old. I had been running 3 times/week or so pretty consistently and for the last month or so leading up to the race I had run at least 10 k for my long run so I was probably better prepared than some. What I hadn't been doing was following any sort of plan, or pacing or anything like that. I had hand-timed a few of my 10 k runs at 50 minutes so I felt I could at least beat that.

The things I remember most about the event was the friendliness and general vibe, everyone happy to be there, everyone happy to see someone else out for the event. Also the sheer numbers of fit people gathered in one place, very cool.

I went out at a pace that felt pretty good and felt pretty strong most of the way through it. There was a really steep downhill section leading to the river that I let myself fly down with big floaty steps and I paid for that big time - I hurt my knee although I didn't feel it at the time. The last stretch is a long uphill, not too steep but I was flagging pretty badly there. I remember slowing down but somebody came running up beside me and started encouraging me to get it in gear, so I hauled butt as best I could and crossed the finish line at 48:36.

Thinking back on it now, I don't understand why it's taken me so long to get back to racing. Part of it was the injury - I had to take a couple months off and never really got back into regular training. This year I finally decided to take it seriously. I have my second race ever coming up this Sunday and I'm looking forward to it so much.

[dgrant]

In the summer of 1997 I spent 6 weeks camping in the woods outside Dawson City, Yukon. At some point in the summer there was a race in town. I think it called the Goldpoke Race or Goldpoke 5K or Goldpoke 10K or something. I did not do any running back then, but I entered because all my friends were. I remember getting a really bad side stitch and totally cutting the course to get back to the finish line. At the time I figured all races were sort of like the Terry Fox runs... you just paid your money and nobody really cared whether you finished and nobody recorded times. So when I came jogging in way ahead of the winner I was scorned as a cheater... but I honestly had no idea I was doing anything wrong.

My first race as an actual recreational runner was the Scotiabank half marathon in September of 2001. It's funny to think of how small an event it was then, compared to the juggernaut it is now.

[runJrun]

I remember my first race well. It was in Manchester, England in 2001. When I moved to England I was so excited to be out on my own and as a result I pretty much ate and drank as much as my heart desired. 45 pounds later I decided I needed to get my butt into shape. My friend told me about a 5km trail race that was taking place and I signed up right away. I trained about 2-3 times a week, running 2 to 4km each time. I was slow. It was hard. I remember on race day being so nervous. It was raining (surprise, surprise) and I wore cross training shoes, cotton shorts and a regular t-shirt. I finished the race in about 36 minutes and was elated. I felt like I had just won the Olympics. My aunt was so proud - we went to the pub to celebrate, lol.

[CinC]

In the summer of 1997 I spent 6 weeks camping in the woods outside Dawson City, Yukon. At some point in the summer there was a race in town. I think it called the Goldpoke Race or Goldpoke 5K or Goldpoke 10K or something. I did not do any running back then, but I entered because all my friends were. I remember getting a really bad side stitch and totally cutting the course to get back to the finish line. At the time I figured all races were sort of like the Terry Fox runs... you just paid your money and nobody really cared whether you finished and nobody recorded times. So when I came jogging in way ahead of the winner I was scorned as a cheater... but I honestly had no idea I was doing anything wrong.

My first race as an actual recreational runner was the Scotiabank half marathon in September of 2001. It's funny to think of how small an event it was then, compared to the juggernaut it is now.

funny.

dave was the original Jean Marine.

blah, blah, ignorance....blah blah....

[दिवंगत]

My first race was the Thanksgiving Half Marathon in Atlanta in 2006. I did that one because my best friend lives there; he had been a runner for a long time and when I started running he dared me to do it. I followed the training program on the race website and went down there with a goal to finish under 2 hours.

I'll always remember my first experience of race day magic and was hooked imediately Had I known about how hilly the course was, I might not have accepted the dare - it was virtually all uphill for the final 10k or so. I wore a cotton long sleeve t-shirt under a tech shirt and learned all about why I might need nip-guards!

I didn't really know about pacing, my longest run in training had been about 19k and I went into the race thinking I would just run my usual pace and see what happened. What happened was a great day! I ran easy all the way and finished in 1h57, extremely happy and planning to do a full marathon even before finishing the half. Being Atlanta, I got a cold coke at the finish and a mars bar - the best mars bar I've ever tasted!

Later than evening my friend and I went out to celebrate and I don't remember too much about that evening except I got completely smashed on rye and ginger.

Great topic!

[kab]

My first race was the Manitoba Marathon in 1981. I was running quite a bit but not really training with a goal in mind. I didn't know what to expect so just ran it like I was out for a regular run. I managed to finish in 4:04 (I never did break the 4 hour mark) and what I remember most is just crying and crying afterwords because I felt soooooo emotional. Most people just drank water back then, I guess Gatorade was around but wasn't commonly used so I went out for a large order of fries with lots of salt after the race. Luckily I didn't chuck my cookies. I recall being pretty sore the next day but I was hooked on racing.

[Tori]

My first race was the 2000 Ottawa Cookie Run. This was the race we trained for as part of my LTR group. I wore my blue RR jacket that I thought was the coolest thing ever and my North Face trail shoes that I bought because the colour looked good when I wore my jeans with them. It was a really chilly day with snow starting to fall. I was supposed to run with my husband but we both got caught up in racing. He flew past me and finished in 25:xx and I finished 27:19. I actually was the 4th fastest woman in the 5k so that tells you how small the race was that day. I was so proud and had a great time but I was so sad that I only got a cookie as a finishing prize and not a medal!

[HCcD]

I was so proud and had a great time but I was so sad that I only got a cookie as a finishing prize and not a medal!

Did you eat the cookie? Or, is it still hanging on your medal cabinet at home ???

[Tori]

I was so proud and had a great time but I was so sad that I only got a cookie as a finishing prize and not a medal!

Did you eat the cookie? Or, is it still hanging on your medal cabinet at home ???

I ate it!!! It was a girl guide cookie - so you can't resist!