TRURO, N.S. — Marianne Casey-Roy had to chuckle when she spotted a sign saying, ‘It seems like an awful lot of work for a free banana.’ She was running the Boston Marathon at the time and someone was holding the sign along the route.
“It was a fabulous experience,” she said. “The spectators were incredible. There was such intensity and they were cheering everybody on like they were family. They were handing out wet paper towels, pretzels and gummies, and they had hoses to spray runners.
“Everything I’d heard about it was true - and more. It’s a great, great race. It really is a well-oiled machine”
Race day, April 15, was humid and it was raining shortly before Casey-Roy started out on the course.
“There were torrential downpours and lightning, but the rain stopped 10-15 minutes before I started running,” she said. ““We had plastic bags over our sneakers so we wouldn’t have wet feet, so we were quite a sight before the start. The rain started again during the last 5K but that wasn’t bad.”
She enjoyed the scenery, with homes along the route looking their best for the big day, and didn’t find Heartbreak Hill especially difficult.
Because she’s used to training with someone and talking, she found running without a friend to be the most difficult aspect.
“If I have someone to talk to I’m less aware of my body, and my knee hurting,” she said.
She injured her knee in February, when she fell on ice, so it was aching by the end of the marathon.
She made the trip to Boston in a van with family members and friends.
“It was a nice fun road trip,” she said. “My daughter was the transit expert, my sister was in charge of food, and a friend handled the medical side, making sure I iced my knee.”
Corina Frank felt the route was challenging but found some of her long training runs more difficult.
“Everything went exceptionally well,” she said. “It really was a dream come true.
“The was an exciting atmosphere and the whole route was lined with people cheering, playing music and high-fiving. I high-fived people almost the whole route, even little kids. In one spot there were three little boys handing out Popsicles, so I stopped. They even had root beer; my favourite.
“I ran the whole marathon with a big smile on my face.”
She took her time on the hills and focused on enjoying the experience, never looking at her watch.
“When you come up to the finish and you hear them announce, ‘Corina Frank, Nova Scotia,’ it’s just amazing,” she said. “It will always be a highlight.”
The women were so emotional they hugged the person who presented their medals.
“If I can do it there are lot of people out there that can do it,” added Casey-Roy. “Just do it one step at a time, one kilometre at a time. Running is a fabulous experience.”
Truro runner times
Kelly MacKinnon reached the 5K mark in 25:37,10K in 51:08, 15K in 1:16:16, 20K in 1:42:13, 25K in 2:09:33, 30K in 2:38:46, 35K in 3:10:10, 40K in 3:44:23, and completed the marathon in 3:57:58.
Marianne Casey-Roy crossed the 5K point in 26:57, 10K in 54:49, 15K in 1:22:49, 20K in 1:52:58, 25K in 2:25:18, 30K in 2:58:07, 35K in 3:33:11, 40K in 4:03:51, and finished in 4:16:54.
Corina Frank reached the 5K point in 27:36, 10K in 54:49, 15K in 1:22:46, 20K in 1:50:21, 25K in 2:22.00, 30K in 2:54:47, 35K in 3:27:03, 40K in 3:56:09, and had a final time of 4:08:24.
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