Race Rating: Run for the Grapes Half Marathon

The Run for the Grapes Half Marathon is run in St. Catherines, Ontario, Canada and the vineyard region on the western outskirts of town. The race is run in September. My overall view of the race is that it is well organized, scenic, fast, and an overall good experience for most any runner.


1. Bathroom facilities - 1 (As far as I could tell, there were only 6 portapoddies for 1000 runners and their families and friends - however, I may have missed something as the lineups weren't outrageous. Therefore, I'll give the benefit of the doubt with a 1 instead of a 0.)

2. Race day organization - 3 (Fantastic. This was a very smooth operation from the minute you pulled into town.)

3. Course scenery - 2 (City, vineyards, corn field. It is the Run for the Grapes...)

4. Course creativity - 2 (There was only one out and back section. The starting and finishing 4 or so km were duplicated but, not being from there, I hardly noticed...)

5. Value - 3 (Entry price was quite reasonable. The shirt and medal were good quality and some of the best I've seen. Parking was cheap, ample and close.)

6. Shirt or gift - 3 (The Merrell shirt is truly one of the best I've had in 20 years of running, as is the medal. I have a picture of both up on the race report post.)

7. Parking availability - 3 ($2 flat rate - not as good as free but pretty darn close. The municipal lots were within a very short walk of the start / finish.)

8. Website quality - 2 (The site had all the necessary information but had an awkward design due to it being part of a whole running series at the same site. The site lacked any photos or race history.)

9. Online registration - 3 (Very simple link from main website.)

10. Accessible for spectators - 3 (Very spectator friendly. Those on bikes could follow the race as the roads were only closed to traffic on one lane.)

11. Convenience of race packet pickup - 3 (There was no unnecessary picking up of race packet the day before. Because of the later, 9:00, start time, there was plenty of time to accommodate everyone before the race start. There was no race day registration, so everyone was there to simply pickup.)

12. Pre-race expo - 0 (There was none.)

13. Entertainment on course - 0 (None.)

14. Post race food - 2 (Standard. Although, this was the first time I've ever been limited to one trip through the food line - ensured with a bingo blotter stamp to my race number.)

15. Race day vendors/exhibitors - 1 (Merrell, of course, had a big set-up. Other than that, just the usual back specialist and a table with some running pamphlets.)

16. Volunteers / marshalls / police & emergency services support -3 (Awesome as usual. The Niagara Regional Police were some of the friendliest cops I've ever seen marshall a race!)


For a grand total of 34. This score makes Run for the Grapes my highest ranking race by 1 point over Toronto Pearson Runway Run 5k and Rattlesnake Point 12.7 Trail Run. I will do this run again - maybe not next year because I really do want to get to Montreal in September...

Race Report: Run For The Grapes Half Marathon

Honestly, I didn't know what to expect when I arrived in St. Catherines Sunday morning for the Run For The Grapes Half Marathon. I'd never heard of the race before and despite travelling through St. Catherines quite often, I've never really stopped to take a look around.

Overall, it was a great experience. The 500 or so entrants made it just the perfect size race, not too crowded, yet you were in contact with other human beings at all times. The weather was incredible. I would put the start line temperature at around 15 degrees Celsius and according to my internal thermometer it never rose above 20 degrees during the race. However, my internal thermometer has never been known to be incredibly accurate! Add to that, sunshine and a slight breeze and the conditions were very comfortable.

My one concern was the lack of washroom facilities at the start / finish line. By my count, there were only 6 portapoddies available for around 1000 runners (there was also a 5k event). I may have been misinformed because I did see runners entering a government building adjacent to the start area. It didn't bother me much as the parking spot I chose was in a perfect treed corner of a lot near the start...

The course was nice. For maybe the first and last 5km, we ran through the downtown and residential areas of St. Catherines. The in-between 10 or 11km were run on rural roads to the west of the city. Most of the rural route was through vineyards. I was a little misconceived by the elevation profile on the official website. It looked to me like it would be a fairly hilly course. It wasn't. I didn't actually look at the elevation intervals on the profile map beforehand and they were indeed quite small.

An interesting quirk about the race was the periodic 'cannon fire' in the vineyards. Also called 'bird-bangers', these are propane powered blasts to scare the birds away from the grapes. There were a few times when I was zoned in on my running and one of the blasts would scare the shit out of me. These periodic adrenaline boosts are probably partly responsible for me shaving 10 minutes off my last half marathon time.

I would also like to apologize to the female runner that was ahead of me at around the 14km mark. I looked up and saw her move from one side of the road to the other as if in search of something. I then forgot about it and zoned out. Soon after, I heard rustling in the bush at the side of the road. For some reason, despite not hearing any barking, my active imagination assured me that a farm dog was loose and about to rush through the bushes at me at any time. I, of course, craned my neck to see where this 'dog' might be. When I realized, too late, that it was the unfortunate female runner having what seemed to be a very urgent and possibly painful pit stop, I was rather embarrassed. At least, I didn't yell out to those behind me, "Watch out for the dog!"

If the goodies are one of the reasons you enter races, I have to say that the shirt and medal were the best I've ever seen. If parking and convenience are on your list, this was also one of the best. Despite the fact that St. Catherines doesn't have free parking on Sundays like a lot of municipalities, the parking was a very reasonable flat rate of $2 and was steps away from the start / finish.

As for my personal race, I started strong and remained strong. I concentrated on turnover rate and not getting lazy and moving to a longer, slower stride. My time was 1 hour 51 minutes and although not my personal best, it was 10 minutes better than the Mississauga Half earlier this year and not far behind my best ever at the Toronto International a few years ago. My goals for the race were to complete the race injury-free - which I did; To beat 2 hours - which I did; To enjoy my experience from start to finish - which I did; To partake in the wine festival that the race was a part of - which I did not...

My race rating for this run will follow shortly.

Run For The Grapes - Race Strategy

The Run For The Grapes Half Marathon in St. Catherines, Ontario is upon me. Tomorrow morning at 9:15am, I will join approximately 500 others to run 21.1km through the city of St. Catherines and the wine country on the outskirts of town.
The forecast is looking great with a morning temperature of 13 degrees celcius, going up to a high of 23 with nothing but sunshine. Can you ask for anything better in the latter part of September in Southern Ontario? Unlike this morning, I shouldn't have a layer of ice on my windshield when I get up...
Judging by the profile on the official website, there will be a few more hills than I've had in most of my race events this year. This is not a bad thing as my training runs in and around Orangeville are never, ever flat.
My goals for this run are:

• To complete the race injury free.
• To beat 2 hours.
• To enjoy my experience from start to finish.
• To partake in the wine festival that the race is a part of.

Pretty simple. The conditions are good. The course is good. The number of entrants is neither too many or too few. My health is excellent. This should be a good time! Plus, the gift is a tech shirt from Merrell - a nice change from NB...

End Of August Update

I thought all was fine after the Midsummer Night's Run 30km, until I tried to play Ultimate Frisbee on Wednesday. My right calf muscle twinged a bit during the last 10km of the race on Saturday but after taking Sunday, Monday and Tuesday off, thought nothing of it - until I played the first minute of the Frisbee game. The calf muscle didn't want to co-operate and I even missed hockey that night. It's now the next Monday, 8 days after, and I'm pondering my first run since the 30k.

Needless to say, my goal of doing 180km for the month of August was blown all to hell by the injury. However, I did achieve my weight goal of 169, touching as low as 168 at one point. I'm pretty satisfied with my weight level right now and just plan on maintaining for the foreseeable future.

I've committed to the St. Catherines Run For The Grapes Half Marathon on Sunday, September 28. The price was right at $45 and the course, despite being relatively close to home, should be rather interesting. The half runs through St. Catherines and the nearby wine country and coincides with a wine tasting festival (yah!). I just hope to beat the time I put in at the Mississauga Half earlier this year.

I have yet to find nutritional data for radish seed pods. I received an e-mail back from Health Canada - they were intrigued but had no information for me.

I have started another blog at picoday.wordpress.com - it's basically just a different picture from my archives posted each day with a description attached. Nothing too crazy, just building a nice photo collection on-line to browse.

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.

Virtual Run to Montreal

I'm a little disappointed with the mileage I've put in this year, so far. I've decided to challenge myself with a goal of 614.84km before September 13, 2009. This is the distance from my front door to the starting line of the Oasis de Montreal half-marathon which, of course, takes place on September 13.

I've used RunningAHEAD's online software to arrive at the route. I've used RunningAHEAD for over a year now, and I find it to be a great on-line exercise log and route planner. The site now uses GPS so that all I needed to do was click on the map at my house in Orangeville, then move on over to Montreal and click on the start line on the Jacques Cartier Bridge. Eastern Ontario and Western Quebec aren't very exciting when it comes to route options, unfortunately. You can either take highway 7 or highway 401 - that's it. The software basically chooses the hwy. 7 route with some minor tweaks. It's the shorter distance compared to the 401 and, in reality, pedestrians aren't allowed on the 401 'super highway' anyway.



I'm starting my challenge as of June 1, 2009. I've already put in 10.8km, which puts me a whole 10.8km outside of Orangeville, somewhere on highway 9...

With hockey down to 1 night per week for the summer and the weather continuing to be unseasonable cool, I should be able to achieve this with no problems. I will update my progress at the end of each post.