Runners lined up at the start line shortly after 8 a.m., and were met with a slight drizzle. However, the slight mist was welcoming to most runners, and even as competitors crossed the finish line, the rain wasn’t enough to send them scurrying to their cars.
Most of the runners stayed behind to cheer on those left on the course, including Gambo’s Erica Pritchett, who was the first female to complete the five-km course.
She waited for her boyfriend to finish, 10-km winner Casey.
“I really enjoyed the course. It was an equal amount of uphill and downhill running, so it was nice like that,” said Pritchett. “I thought it was well planned out, there were no obstacles in the way, and the traffic was really courteous to runners, which is always nice to see. There’s a nice stretch at the end, too, so you can see all of the people in front of you (laughs).”
The final straightaway was indeed a long one. Runners ran down Memorial Drive near the turnoff to the Trans Canada Highway.
Pritchett, one of the fastest runners on Memorial University’s cross-country team, was gassed at the end. She wanted to finish below 19 minutes, but was seven seconds shy of achieving it.
She thought about competing in the 10-km portion of the annual Commander Gander Road Race, but said she needed to set a five-km time to train off of.
“It wouldn’t have hurt me to run the 10-km, I’m sure it would be a good aerobic base for the fall, but I really wanted to get a baseline of where I was. I didn’t get a chance to run any of the five-km races in St. John’s this year because I was pretty busy with academics, and I really wanted to get a five-km time just to gauge where I am before the fall comes,” she said. “The first race is in September, so I have about six weeks before I start training for the first AUS (Atlantic University Sport) race of the season.”
Gander’s Paul Collett crossed the finish line 1:14 after Pritchett, and he, too, stayed behind to chat with other runners and organizers.
More importantly, Collett, the athletics coach at St. Paul’s Intermediate, was scouting some of the younger runners in the event.
“There’s a nice stretch at the end, too, so you can see all of the people in front of you.” - Erica Pritchett
He was impressed with the amount of younger runners who competed in the early morning run, and looks forward to seeing them on the St. Paul’s team in the very near future.
“It was a great race. I didn’t do too well (laughs), but it was a great, flat course, and a lot of people came out,” said Collett. “We got a lot of support from the crowd, and it’s always nice to see the people out cheering you on along the way. It wasn’t too hot, so I guess Central decided to give us a little break.”
Collett doesn’t necessarily consider himself a runner, but he will be competing in the Aug. 24 Subway Gander Triathlon.
He used the Commander Gander event to prepare for the final portion of the triathlon, one that will take him through Rowsell Boulevard, Russell Street, and Penwell Avenue before heading back to Cobb’s Pond.
“The Gander Triathlon is just over two weeks away, so I have to learn to run the five-km for that,” said Collett. “I did the triathlon last year, and I thought it was really well organized, and thought it was a great course.”
While Collett is preparing for the triathlon, Pritchett will work towards beating 19 minutes in her next five-km event.
Road races will always call her name, but her true passion is cross-country running. The Gambo runner hopes to compete for MUN again this year, but under slightly different circumstances.
“I’m going to be away from Newfoundland and Labrador for eight weeks, and then I’ll be back for a week, and conveniently enough, we have a week off the week of the AUS Championships,” she said. “My plan is to do all of my rotations for school in Atlantic Canada, except for one, so I’m hoping to travel to the races myself in my car, and hopefully represent MUN. I’m hoping to run in the AUS Championships with the team, and have a nice, relaxing week off before that event.”
mmolloy@ganderbeacon.ca
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