Race Schedule Change

Because of money, time and family, getting to the Montreal half-marathon in September has fallen off my list and I'm in the process of changing my race schedule for 2009 slightly. Instead, I'm opting for a race a little smaller, a little cheaper and much closer to home.

I'm 90% decided on The Run For The Grapes 1/2 Marathon in St. Catherines, Ontario on Sunday, September 20, 2009. The race is an hour and a half from home, meaning I won't have to pay for a hotel room. The distance is desirable and is the headliner for this race, not playing second-fiddle to a full marathon. The course is scenic, running through the city of St.Catherines and out of town into the region's wine country before returning back to town. The entrance fee is close to half of what the Montreal race is. The field is much smaller with only 400 finishers in 2008 compared with thousands in Montreal. And - the profile of the course is very flat. Not that I don't like hills and actually do quite well with them, but I'd like to push it and see what kind of time I can put up, possibly competing with my PR of 1:45:00 I put in at the Toronto half a few years ago.

I will still be trying to complete my personal challenge of running the 615km from Orangeville, Ontario to Montreal, Quebec by the date of the Montreal race. I really need to start putting up some mileage if I want to achieve that goal. One of the personal challenges for August that I will be announcing shortly will push me to achieve that although, realistically, I'm running out of time...

For those not from Ontario or Upstate New York, St. Catherines is a city along the shores of Lake Ontario, between Niagara Falls and Hamilton. It is part of the Golden Horseshoe region that is home to a very large portion of the Canadian population.