I invited the guys to give their feedback on the race. Maybe next year it will make my race calendar.
Let’s start with Cory …
I went into this not knowing what to expect at all but hoping for the best.
The race course was beautiful – all paved paths starting at city hall with three different out and back loops which is the only complaint I have – Who wants to pass the finish three times without actually finishing? 
We decided to take a walk to stretch our legs after the two-hour drive to get there – something I needed to avoid the sciatic flareup I experienced at Melissas in Banff a month ago. As other runners arrived we noticed a lot who looked pretty serious and fast. Neing late in the season I guess that’s to be expected. Get one last long race in!!
The race started pretty much right on time and surprisingly no one really surged ahead or fell back. It wasn’t until about 4-5 k in that I noticed a spreading of the field. The course itself was surprising. I was expecting and looking forward to a trail race but the full course was on paved trail and sidewalk, as well as the most out and back turnarounds I’d ever seen in a race. But all the out and backs were down different paths and the scenery on the route was fantastic.
I kept fairly steady averaging a 5:20 pace per kilometre right through to 16-17k. At all the turnarounds and bridge crossings I had noticed Cory was no more than a couple hundred yards back. I was feeling pretty good considering my lack of training this year which had been sporadic at best. But at about 17 k I felt the now familiar sciatic flare again. At that point, I heard Cory call me from not far behind from 17-19 k I slowed my pace and Cory ran with me a bit then went ahead as my pace continued to slow.
I ended up finishing with gritted teeth and limping noticeably but having planned a two-hour finish and finding my time was 2:00:02, I called that about right.