The temperature was 90 degrees at race time with our typical Southern Ontario humidity.  No records were to be broken tonight!  I knew I would be able to park close to the start/finish, so I packed a cooler with an ice pack, a couple of popsicles and a frozen water bottle for my post-race recovery.  This proved to be an excellent plan.  I arrived about 1 hour before race time to make sure I got my chip and a seat under the tent to relax and listen to some pre-race music.  As it got close to race time I made my way through the crowd in search of some running mates and was able to find 4 or 5. After the usual trash-talking and preliminary excuse-making, Dave and I settled into the starting area as close to the front as we could get, without looking over-confident.  This was a key strategy because, although chip-timed, it is a gun start.  We were across the start in about 15 seconds.

I like running with Dave because we are as equal as you can get in terms of ability.  He has an edge on me in training however because he ran all winter, while I hid out in the hockey rink.  Tonight he told me to set the pace. With no iPhone and Runkeeper to pace me, I was worried about starting too fast.  I looked over my shoulder several times during the first few kilometers and he was right behind me.  At the midway turn, I had stretched a lead into about 100 yards and became very anxious about starting too fast.  Adding to my anxiety, I was ahead of one of my customers, a seasoned marathoner and clinic coach who always teases me about my performance.  Was tonight going to be the night that I finally beat him???

As I approached the 9km mark, the heat was getting the best of me.  I slowed to a walk for a few steps after coming up a small hill.  After only a few steps, Dave's daughter (a perennial best-in-group winner) pulled along side me and said "C'mon, you can't stop now there's only 1 km left!"  This encouragement raised my spirits enough to pick up my pace and actually have a great kick over the last 1/4 mile.  Thanks to that encouragement, I finished with a PR of 48:50 and was 7th in my age group. And I beat my customer :)

After finishing, I waited for Dave for a few moments but he was nowhere to be seen.  I went to my car to get an icepack and ended up chatting with another running mate.  After about 20 minutes he crossed the line close to the back of the pack.  Worried, I immediately went to see him.  While he was OK, a runner immediately in front of him on the course had collapsed right into his arms.  He stayed with her, gave her the last of his water before she lost consciousness and began to convulse.  He waited with her until the ambulance arrived and then finished the race.  He was quite shaken up, not knowing the condition of this poor woman.  I listened to the news all day yesterday and didn't hear anything so can only hope the outcome was not critical, or fatal.

This provided some serious reflection on my part.  Although we train hard and race hard, competing with ourselves at every race, it is important to maintain a proper perspective.  At the end of the day, we are doing this for fun.  I am not, nor will I ever be a competitive racer.  On a hot Saturday night, Dave abandoned his goal for that night without even giving it another thought. To do the right thing...to help a fellow runner in distress. 

If I am ever in that poor runner's situation, I hope there is a Dave behind me.

Still running to feel young.