By Julie Middleton
It’s 9 a.m., tiny icicles are forming around the brim of my fleece tuque, my eyelashes are slowly freezing together and I think, . . . “Why am I doing this?”
Much like the other 500 people enrolled in the running clinics at the Running Room’s Ottawa stores this winter, I trudge on and finish my morning run, relishing the thought of a warm shower afterwards.
The cold months have never lured me out for a jog before this January – the biting wind and slippery paths seemed harsh and uninviting.
Since I finished the National Capital 10-kilometre run last May, I’ve been dreaming of running a marathon, or at least half of one.
This year, I decided to join one of the half-marathon clinics being offered by local Running Room stores.
In four months, when my clinic is over, I will be trotting across the 21-kilometre finish line at the National Capital Race half marathon. I won’t be in the lead, but I’ll feel like I’ve won.
Phil Marsh, 37, area manager for the three Running Room stores in Ottawa, says most people who enter the clinics don’t plan to win. “There are genetically few who are going to win. That aspect has dropped down and most people just want to run to do it. It’s running for the sake of running.”
This relaxed attitude is relatively new, says Marsh. “When people would start running 20 years ago, they trained to race. These days people race to train.”
The National Capital marathon is the perfect example. “Participation in the last 10 years has gone up, the average age has gone up 10 years and the average time is an hour slower,” says Marsh.
In each of their stores, the Running Room offers classes for a variety of abilities, from beginner to advanced. Each clinic costs roughly $75 and lasts for 10 to 17 weeks. The runners learn proper technique, and attend short seminars each week on topics like stretching, shoes and nutrition.
According to Marsh, 15 per cent of people who take the “learn to run” course will run the full 42-kilometres of a marathon in two years. “In the beginning most are terrified of running around the block, and then two years later they’re running a marathon.”
At 6:15 p.m. on a snowy Tuesday evening, people start arriving at the Slater Street Running Room for the half-marathon clinic.
Chatting and waiting for the class to start, runners in light windbreakers and black spandex with reflective stripes are scattered around the room.
Mary Reilly, 36, started running Oct. 19, 1997. “I remember, because I was going through a really rough time in my life. I decided to use running to get through it instead of other ways.”
Her boyfriend signed her up. “He knew I would never sign myself up. I’ve never done races, I’ve always been terrified. This is terrifying, but I’m still doing it,” says Reilly, getting ready for the Tuesday night group run.
Moira Johnson, 50, says she likes running because it’s a great stress reliever. “We all challenge ourselves mentally everday.”
Instructor Peter Dudley, 44, started running six years ago. “I was playing hockey four nights a week but I wanted to try something new.”
Since then he has run in four marathons and 20 half-marathons. In April he and his wife are celebrating their 22-year wedding anniversary by running a marathon together in California.
Later the same night the runners start shuffling out the door. The light snow sweeps against our faces, our shoes slide over the freshly ploughed pavement and our breath rises up in clouds. Tonight, I know why I run.