It Was the Best of Times, It Was the Worst Of Times

Why one of my slowest race times was one of my best times ever

A view of the bag check at the Montreal marathon, taken an hour before the start gun. It all looked so simple.

Running has a way of shaping time. Running up steep hills slows time down. Running in sight of a finish line speeds it up.

I ran my tenth marathon in September 2023. My race buddy had to bail on zero notice. I missed my start gun by 25 minutes even though I was early. And I didn’t have a watch.

True to running’s time-shaping effect, in spite of posting one of my slowest race times ever, it was one of the best times I ever had. Here’s what happened.

My running buddy canceled on race morning

At the Montreal Marathon, the full and half marathon routes are together for the first 13km. I was set to run at the start with a dear friend who was registered for the half. Then she was going to stay and help me at the end. I was excited to toe the line with her, and to have her support at the finish.

And then… she messaged as I was commuting to the race to say she had a brutal migraine and would not be able to join. Of course, I totally supported her decision to stay in bed. I was sorry she was in so much pain.

And I was bummed. I was looking forward to our shared…