Monday, October 25, 2010

Niagara Falls 10K and a bloggy meet-up!

Yesterday hubs and I were up early and on the road at 5AM for the 2-hour drive to Niagara Falls where he was running a 10K as part of International Marathon Weekend. Lucky for me, hubs drove and let me snooze most of the way there. :)

We arrived nice and early, found some free parking in a suspicious-looking grass field and made our way to race kit pick-up. Unfortunately they were all out of goodie bags, but hubs was able to pick up his bib, chip and shirt without issue. He had planned to run an extra 10K before the race, so I loaded my backpack with his extra stuff (my turn to play sherpa), sent him on his way and made the 10-15 minute walk toward the host hotel.






After texting back and forth with Anne along the way, we found each other easily outside the hotel where she and her hubby were waiting for shuttles to the half and full marathon starts. It was soooo nice to meet Anne (and her hubby) - she is just as sweet in person as I expected! Unfortunately we had limited time, but we chatted away for as long as we could. I'm so glad we had the opportunity to meet!


Before long, I knew I had to get back to the 10K start line, so we said goodbye (for now!) and I wished Anne good luck. I asked her to text me after her race and I was so excited to find out later that it went great! Make sure you stop by Anne's blog for more pics and her race report!

I made my way back and found hubs just as he was finishing his warm-up. We quickly got him ready with his bib and chip and I saw him off at the start line.



(that's hubs in red near the middle, but his face is chopped off - oops!)


The route was a straight out-and-back so I wasn't able to go out on the course. I grabbed a spot at the finish line and waited. Of course, I didn't have to wait long!






Hubs decided to forgo a PR attempt and treated the race as a "glorified tempo run". He ended up finishing in 7th place overall (445 finishers) with a time of 42:13. Definite success! He said it was quite a different experience running so close to the front of the pack.

The course is a straight out-and-back along the Niagara River with the big finish at the horseshoe falls (same finish line as the half/full marathon). Hubs enjoyed it overall and plans to return next year.


Taking the scenic route back to the car:


43 comments:

Unknown said...

Cool that you got to meet up with Ann. Congrats to hubby on his race!

lish said...

Congrats to the Hubby! Yay for bloggy friends! Sounds like a great time!

Nicole said...

Great job to the hubby!!!

So cool you got to meet Anne!

Quinton J said...

7th place...that's gotta feel nice! Congrats hubby! (Can I call'em that?)

Jenn said...

Congrats to your hubby! Sounds like you were quite the spectator! Great pics!

Anonymous said...

congrats to ur husband! really good timing! yay

Steel Springs said...

Congratulations to your husband! That sounds like quite a scenic route. I'd love to run one of the races there!

Anabela (Bela) Neves said...

Congrats to your hubby for a great time! I ran the half and the course was breathtaking. Defiantely a great race!

Unknown said...

Congrats to your hubby. Sounds like he had a great race!

I'm jealous of you Ontarioans and Americans that get to have so many bloggy meet ups!

Marky Mark said...

Excellent! After the reference to the "suspicious" looking parking area I was afraid the end of the post would describe some problem retrieving the car, so glad it didn't. You were lucky to have a warm day.

ShutUpandRun said...

Man he is stinking fast. I LOVE that picture of him walking with the space blanket.

Denise said...

WHOA!!! go hubs!!! huge congrats, speedy!

Laura said...

Wow! wish I could have an 'easy' run like that.
Awesome that you got to meet Anne as well.

Jill said...

Congrats to your husband, that's an excellent time and a great finish!!! I've never been to Niagara Falls, would love to go one day and how perfect for a race. So cool you meet up with Anne, she seems like a sweatheart!! :)

Enjoy your week!! I am out of town for a few days so may not be able to comment for a bit!

J said...

I love Niagara Falls! It really is better from the Canadian side though! Congrats to your husband on a great race!

Indi said...

Congrats to the hubby! Looks like a great place to run for sure.

funderson said...

nice!!

Johann said...

Wow, hubs is fast! That is super, well done! Looks like a great weekend at a great venue.

Jamie said...

Congrats to your hubs! He did great! Very fun you got to meet Anne too :)

TNTcoach Ken said...

Where the hell did you guys park????? Was the car still there?? That's a long way for a 10K..... You guys are animals(crazy)............ha

Runners Fuel said...

Congrats tothe hubs!! Looks like a great place to race!

misszippy said...

Your husband rocked it! Nice. I love 10ks but find they are an endangered species around here any more.

So cool you got to meet Ann!

James said...

Sounds like a nice race. Congrats!

Unknown said...

Congrats to your hubby! I love Niagara Falls, and it looks beautiful this time of year! How fun!

Mel-2nd Chances said...

So awesome that you got to meet Anne! Niagara is always one race that I've wanted to do.... sigh, one day. Kudos to hubs on another great race!

Emz said...

Completely awesome!

YAY for meeting Anne - she's one of my favs!!

Congrats to your hubby!!!

Lindsay said...

Dang! He wouldve won had he tried ;) Congrats to Maurk!

RunToTheFinish said...

that's so great!! first beautiful, but how awesome his training is really paying off big

Heidi said...

Congrats to your hubs. Pretty respectable time for a training run. Looks like a beautiful location.

Shellyrm ~ just a country runner said...

Congrats to your hubby! Amazing run after a 10k warmup. You guys amazing me all the time!

Nicole @ Haute Runner said...

Big congrats to your hubby on a strong race!!

TMB @ RACING WITH BABES said...

Congrats to your hubby on a stellar race! So fun that you got to meet up with Anne!

Anonymous said...

Cool pic at the end! Gah that Hubs is fast, congrats to him! :) Glad you two had a fun weekend!

Meg said...

Go Mark Go! Snazzy calf warmers!

Looks cold and rainy. Glad I didn't go :rofl:

Anne said...

How lucky are we that we got to meet up :) ...and thanks for reassuring me. Hopefully, next time, we'll get to chat a little longer and maybe meet up with our running other halves :)

Speaking of which, Congrats to him, he did amazing! Wow!!!

Katie A. said...

Congrats to the hubby! Whoo hoo!
And very cool for a bloggy meet-up!
Have a great week!

ajh said...

Your husband is fast! As are you of course! What fun to meet up with Anne!

Heather said...

Congrats to your hubby! What a fun weekend.

Unknown said...

I've never been to Niagra Falls but it looks gorgeous and I'm envious that you met Anne, she seems so nice and smart!
It sounds like your husband rocked it, congrats to hiim!

Char said...

Your hubby's super-fast. Congrats to him on such a great 'tempo' run.

yumke said...

Mark rocked that course! congrats

kizzy said...

Love your post! Keep it up...

--kizzy oakley

Teamarcia said...

Congrats to your hubs! So glad you met Anne!