Running with Friends

My social 10km experience at the 2024 Calgary Marathon

The Servus Calgary Marathon is a staple event here in the city. One of the longest-running Canadian marathons, it winds through the downtown core and offers options for all distances. This year, for the 60th anniversary, they even extended the ultramarathon to a grueling 60km! While I was tempted to tackle this beast — I took on the Calgary Ultra (50km) last year — I decided to sign up for the 10km.

Training for back-to-back half-marathons the following week in Brooklyn, I needed a shorter race (a C-Race), something to keep the legs turning without pushing them too hard. The weather, however, decided it wouldn’t cooperate. Calgary’s notorious inconsistency reared its head all week. Mornings started clear, then afternoon on-off showers lingered until 5 pm before finally clearing up — at least it wasn’t snow. Race day was no different — grey, murky skies hung low, but with a cool 10°C temperature that promised a comfortable run.

This year’s race held a special significance — I wouldn’t be running solo. For the first time in over a year, I convinced not one, but two friends to join me! We hadn’t seen each other individually in at least a year, and even longer as a group…