Montreal 21.1k

This past weekend I was in Ottawa for my engagement party, which was a great time to see family & friends, and, of course, loved ones :) 

The only downside is I missed Sunday's Montreal half marathon and 5k. I live not far from Montreal's Jean Drapeau island (where the race is held each year) so it's been a spring staple to watch it, if not run it myself, as often as possible. The Montreal Endurance squad was out in full force, and I'll copy/paste John's recap of the team's excellent results:

5k
Olivier Babineau 15:53 (joining the group this week.)
Didier Morelli 15:55 PB by 20secs
Kazi 17:17 PB by around 2min. Kazi is a killer.
Dominique Roy 18:01 2nd place woman, another solid 5k.

21k
Dave Liu 1:18:39 PB? A little off the time he wanted, but still solid.
Meggan Franks 1:19:01 PB by 37sec, 6th woman overall
Alex St. Jalm 1:20:13 PB by 4min. Alex might win the day with that one!
Malcolm Balk 1:21:29 Sorry buddy. Once again, my pacing was not enough. Next time!
Katrina Driver 1:22:50 Out of retirement?! 10th woman overall
Gavin Taylor 1:26:39 PB by 20sec
Elizabeth Mokrusa 1:34:39 as a workout (Jog 5k, then 12k at marathon pace, 3k at tempo and 1k kick). Ready for Ottawa!
Benny Monaco 1:45:50 Not a great day, but it happens.
Jane Casson 1:48:49 PB by about 2min, and almost 6min faster than in February! Way to go Jane!  

John estimats almost 10min worth of PBs for our 13 racers

There you have it. Lifetime bests are falling fast under John's guidance. When I move to Halifax next month I'll have to watch these guys; with enough improvement you might not recognize a person. Keep it up Montreal.

Also on a grander scale I can't help but notice the Canadian presence in winning this race of late. Take a look at the growing presence of Canada's elite among a decade of male top 5 results:

2003: 1. KEN; 2. CAN; 3. KEN; 4. CAN; 5. CAN
2004: 1. KEN; 2. CAN; 3. KEN; 4. CAN; 5. USA
2005: 1. KEN; 2. KEN; 3. CAN; 4. CAN; 5. CAN
2006: 1. USA?; 2. CAN; 3. CAN; 4. CAN; 5. USA?
2007: 1. KEN; 2. CAN; 3. CAN; 4. CAN; 5. CAN
2008: 1. KEN; 2. KEN; 3. KEN; 4. CAN; 5. CAN
2009: 1. ETH; 2. CAN; 3. KEN; 4. CAN; 5. CAN
2010: 1. CAN; 2. KEN; 3. CAN; 4. CAN; 5. CAN
2011: 1. CAN; 2. CAN?; 3. CAN; 4. CAN; 5. CAN
2012: 1. CAN; 2. CAN; 3. CAN; 4. CAN; 5. CAN

In fact for the first time (2012) the 'Canadian champs top 5' and 'top 5 overall' lists were the same! (In previous years i.e. 2011 some were listed as Canadian but not eligible for Canadian prizes. I don't know how it works exactly). Point is Canadian overall competitiveness is growing. Keep it up Canada.