The Canada Army Run – a truly unique event

I had the opportunity to be at the Canada Army Run this past weekend, and it was quite the experience. Never have I been surrounded by so many true Canadian heroes, nor have I seen a swell of patriotism like that in person – and it was awesome.

Naturally, the Canadian Forces are a rather disciplined bunch, but they are certainly not without a sense of humour.  While hanging out at the iRun booth at the expo, a fellow in fatigues came up to us and said, “you look rather stressed – here!”  Of course we weren’t stressed at all, but we had a good laugh at what he handed us – stress tanks.  That’s right, stress balls shaped like tanks.

While I was at the expo, I was chatting with runners – like always, but not really.  One fellow told me he’d be walking the 5K because he can’t run anymore; I asked why, and only remember part of the answer.  You see, after he said, “Well, I got blown up while on tour…” my brain kind of malfunctioned – I know he said something about his spine and hips but I can’t remember exactly what. When my brain rebooted I was standing there thinking to myself, what do you say to that?  “Bummer” doesn’t quite cut it.

Race morning dawned sunny and crisp, and I was thrilled to be able to meet with iRun contest winner Kathleen Hay and Cpl. Tammy Cleary, who were running the half together. It was amazing to sing the national anthem and cheer on the Ill and Injured Soldiers start.

I welcomed Dana, aka the Shuffler, to unofficially co-bunny the 5K with me, and before I knew what was happening, she stuffed a camera in my face that apparently has video capability. If she happens to post said-video on her blog, let the record show that I had absolutely no advanced warning or prep time. I am pretty sure I didn’t answer her impromptu-interview questions very intelligently given that my modus operandi in those situations is to blurt out one-word answers and hope they give up.

Anyway, I learned that pacing a 5K is much harder than pacing a half marathon.  The crowd is very clumped up at the start, of course, meaning 2 things.  First, you don’t have a lot of time to get to know the folks you’re running with.  By the time the crowd thins out enough that you can chat a bit, you’re nearly done, and everyone is breathing rather hard.  Second, in a half marathon you have approximately 19K to correct any mistakes made in the first 2K, but in the 5K, you don’t have a whole lot of time!  I was slow on my first two splits, bang-on for number 3 and only a few seconds off number 4 – so how I came in 45 seconds early I am not really sure.  Sorry if anyone got freaked out that they lost track of the 35-minute bunny – in the future I will probably stick to longer-distance pacing gigs!

We didn’t see the start of the half-marathon, but we didn’t miss it either – you could tell the CF members from the civilians based on who jumped when they fired the Howitzer.  I felt it as much as heard it, and it had a great echo off the buildings; I am sure it set off every car alarm within 3 blocks.

Yes, the Canada Army Run is truly a unique event and I am sure we will be back next year. Special shout-out to my husband, Steve, who ran his first 5K – it took me 7 years to wear him down, but he finally gave in and gave running a try.  I am very proud of you, honey; now give me back my stress-tank.