One of the advantages of taking early retirement , at least for me, is not having to wake up to an alarm clock. So on Friday morning, I rolled out of bed around 8:30 ,made some coffee, and checked my email.
Yikes, Kathleen Wilker from iRun asked me to attend a press conference for the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon downtown at 9:30 a.m.
All of a sudden, my activities ramped up.
Had a quick cup of coffee, grabbed a bite to eat, jumped on my bike and got to the Marriott hotel on Bay Street in Toronto right on time.
Said a quick hello to Alan Brookes (RD for the STWM), got introduced to Paul Gains (journalist extrodinaire who has met and spoken with Haile Gebrselassie plus he showed me a photo of them together, one day I would like that so much, but I am gettng off topic), and went to the Arcade Room to meet two of the fastest Canadian women marathoners, Lanni Marachant (2:31:51) and Krista DuChene (2:32:06).
They will be running on October 14 and trying to break two records. The Olympic standard of 2:29:55 and if all is good, Sylvia Ruegger’s record of 2:28:36 (which is still standing since 1985 !!!!)
And to make the Running Groupie’s day even more exciting, Matt Loiselle (2:16:01) and Rob Watson (2:13:37) were there too.
Later on Reid Coolsaet, Dylan Wykes and Eric Gillis came in to say hello – wow, what a morning.
Then I went over to City Hall and hung out with the Canadian Olympians.
Now I have to pack for the BMW 39th Berlin Marathon September 30, so stay tuned.
Keep on runnin’
Duff
