This year was my first time taking part in the Victoria Goddess Run. It’s a women’s only running and walking event and in addition to the half marathon, there is also a 10k and 5k distance. Female runners of all levels are welcome and that’s FANTASTIC!
I signed up for the race because I read and liked what it represents and found out more about the charities that are benefiting from this event.
These charities do a lot of great work in our community and I’m always thrilled to be able to support them in any way that I can; even if it’s a small way, where a part of my registration fee goes towards helping them continue providing their valuable community services.
I loved the energy at the race. It was amazing to see almost 2000 women who came and took part in the event to celebrate the power of working together to reach our goals. It doesn’t matter if someone is a running veteran or a beginner, everyone is bound to have a great time.
At the start, I got a chance to talk to a few first-time half marathoners as well as other awesome people. I love to socialize before and after the race. It’s a great way to make new friends who share common interests and goals.
I thought of this as more of a “friendly competition” and a good day to enjoy running a race I’ve never done before.
Above: Getting ready to start the race. Photo by Tony Austin.
At the start, I knew that no matter what time I get, I will still have fun, enjoy the beautiful Sunday morning and take in the positive energy from all the spectators and participants. My fastest half marathon time is 1:31:34, so I thought that if the course was flat, I would be finishing in around 1:30.
When I started, I had no idea what the route would be like. Sometimes, I like to be surprised, which is why I don’t check out the course beforehand.
Above: Just me doing what I love. Running and wearing my fabulous Public Myth gear. That is all. Photo by Tony Austin.
As we were doing the first loop of the half marathon, the first steep hill was a surprise. I didn’t expect that there would be hills, gravel or trails. Then I was thinking: “I have to do this twice to complete the half marathon.”
Despite the hills and the challenges that this course presented me with, at around the 10k mark, I caught up to the girl (Lara) in first and passed her. Then, I was leading the race for the next 8 or so km. For the first time in a really long time, I was actually the overall leader, not just being first in my age group. It felt amazing!
By the time we got approximately to the 17km mark, she caught up to me and passed me. I didn’t see anyone else too close to us so I just tried to stay with her in sight for as long as I could. She was awesome! I definitely felt like having Lara with me and in front of me motivated me to keep my pace going.
When I got to the 19km mark, I knew that I wasn’t going to finish with a personal best, but I was still enjoying my run. I stopped looking at my Garmin completely and decided to just keep going.
I admit, the most challenging parts of the race were the hills and the last 2km. It was pretty warm out too.
Above: The 1st place finisher Lara and I. Photo by Tony Austin.
I ended up crossing the line in second place overall with a time of 1:35:41. When I got to the finish line, I congratulated Lara on her win. She did fantastic! Even though I didn’t know her and hadn’t talked to her until after we crossed the finish line, I believe she truly was amazing and she ran a great race.
Victoria News also did an article about the race and if you are interested, you can read it HERE.
Above: The Top 3 Finishers. Lara was 1st, I was 2nd and Raisa was 3rd. Photo by Tony Austin.
Although it wasn’t my best time, I did not feel even slightly disappointed about my performance. Not every run has to be a personal best and sometimes the best thing is to stop worrying about time and just get out there.
I also ran the Oak Bay Half Marathon a week before and they say that one day of recovery is required for every mile raced (so 13 days would be the recovery time for a half marathon).
When it comes to fitness, I love to challenge myself. This race definitely challenged me in a good way. It was well-organized and the volunteers were awesome!
The necklace that we got at the end of the race was beautiful, too. 🙂 I’m hoping to do the race again next year.