There’s a first time for everything as Odette Gallant can attest to. The Egmont native runs her first Island Marathon on Sunday as a present to herself on the eve of a special birthday.
“I’m turning 50 this year and I’m not doing (the Marathon) again,” Gallant said with a laugh. “I figured I should do before if turn 50 (on Dec. 2).”
Gallant’ has ran the half marathon the past two years and is a regular on the P.E.I. RoadRunners 5 and 10K runs so she’s no stranger to the road.
A 42.2 jaunt, however, she admits is a daunting thought, especially those last 10 kilometres she hasn’t trained for; usually long training runs stop at 32K and as race day approaches those miles get shorter so as not to wear out a runner before the race.
“They tell you not to worry about those last 10 kilometres. I’m kind of nervous about it, but one kilometre at a time,” said Gallant.
The Marathon has the usual 10 categories in everything from kids to relays to wheelchair to events for hard-core runners. It’s also a Boston Marathon qualifier.
The action kicks off with the full Marathon starting at 8 a.m. in Brackley in the P.E.I. National Park.
Last year, P.E.I. runners went 4-for-4 as Stan Chaisson and Jen Nicholson won the male and female full marathon, and Calvin DesRoches and Erin Poirier won the male and female half-marathons.
Chaisson, a Bear River native, and Nicholson, who’s from Cornwall, crossed the finish line at Province House in Charlottetown in times of 2:41:14 and 3:04:42, respectively. Nicholson placed eighth overall.
DesRoches, who lives in Northam, and Poirier, a Charlottetown native living in Halifax, N.S., finished in 1:24:34 and 1:27:03, respectively. Poirier was fifth overall.
Chaisson and Nicholson won the Marathon in 2009 in record times (2:32:58 for Chaisson, 2:53:22 for Nicholson) and both hold the record for the half-marathon. Chaisson set his mark of 1:12:14 in 2007 and Nicholson ran in 1:23:19 in 2012.
Time and competition aren’t concerns for Gallant, though. She jokes she’s one of those ladies that finish at the end of the half marathons.
But she took her training seriously this year, getting out three times a week for 18 weeks prior to the marathon. And she does have a time limit in mind.
“I just thought in my head about six hours. But then I talked to a lady that said if we run faster than seven kilometres an hour we might do it in four to five hours so I’m feeling a bit of the pressure,” said Gallant, who started running four years ago with her husband Dennis. “If I could do it in under five hours that would be great. If I have to walk I will.”
Dennis ran in last year’s Marathon, but broke his leg at the 32K mark and isn’t running this year.
Her sons, Luc, 17, and Joel, 15, are entered in the 5K event.
As for Gallant, and all joking aside, she’s not sure she’ll attempt a second Marathon next year.
“Right now with all the training involved probably not. I’ll keep running half marathons, but you never know.”
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Running options for the 2017 P.E.I. Marathon.
Marathon - 42.2 kilometres
Half-Marathon - 21.1 kilometres
Half Walk - 21.1 kilometres
10K Run
10K Walk
5K Run
5K Walk
Relay - 42.2 kilometres
Wheelchair - 1K
