‘It was awesome’

CBS’s first T’Railway Trek Half Marathon draws rave reviews from runners and at least one goat

Members of the Sisters in Fitness Running Club, from left, Catherine Bailey, Shirley Wadland and Anne Marie Kenny cheered on the more than 250 runners who took part in the Town of Conception Bay South’s first ever T’Railway Trek Half Marathon last Saturday. Craig Westcott photo

By Craig Westcott

The goat may have stolen the show, but many of the 300 runners who tackled the Town of Conception Bay South’s first T’Railway Trek half marathon last weekend racked up some pretty impressive showings her their own.

The first male finisher, Kurtis Walsh of Mount Pearl, ran the 21 kms of coastline and roadway in 1 hour, 27 minutes and 17 seconds. The first female finisher, Janelle Simmons, ran it in 1 hour, 32 minutes and three seconds.

There was no word as of press time on Joshua the Goat’s finish time, but he was unlikely to have a digital chip recording his performance, as he started the race late, breaking fee of his rein at Taylor’s Farm in Foxtrap to chase after the runners as they passed by his pasture.

The human runners, meanwhile, gave the trek rave reviews, especially for the scenery along the way. They departed the starting line in Seal Cove at 8 a.m. and pounded their way westwards along the former railbed and sometimes the sidewalk and road to finish at Topsail Breach where refreshments, medals and a warm welcome awaited them.

“This was my first race half marathon,” said Walsh, who was delighted with his finish time. “I had trained for a couple, but had never raced one.”

Walsh was surprised by the changes in elevation, especially along the railbed.

“It’s a sneaky incline,” said Walsh. “You don’t think when you’re running that you’ve got to put a lot into it, but then when you realize you’re steadily inclining, you’ve got to kind of lean forward and push a little bit.”

Walsh said another surprise was the steep decline down Frog Pond Road onto Topsail Road and then down to Beach Road before making a final sharp rise towards the finish line above Topsail Beach.

For Walsh, age 36, who only been running competitively for four years, the win felt, in a word, “awesome,” especially given the course was so humbling.

“I do have an athletic background,” he said. “I did some track and field and some soccer (in earlier years), so that kind of helped me transition into running.”

He is looking forward to running the T’Railway Trek again.

“Absolutely. This was a great event,” Walsh said. “To actually run along the shoreline and appreciate the great beauty we have here in this province, is unbelievable.”

For Simmons, who is originally from Grand Bank, but now lives in Paradise, this wasn’t her first half marathon, but it was certainly memorable.

“It’s my first trail (half marathon),” said Simmons, who has been running competitively for 25 years or so. “It was tough. There was a little bit of wind in your face for 18 kms, especially along the ocean, but it was fine.”

Another veteran runner with previous half marathons underfoot was Mariia Martinova from Ukraine. 

“This is my first half marathon since I came here to Canada,” said Martinova. “It was awesome, it was perfect. The downhill at the end of the route was perfect.”

Mayor Darrin Bent, who along with councillors Gerard Tilley and Joshua Barrett, and Topsail – Paradise MHA Paul Dinn, manned the finish line to welcome the runners and present medals, was as pleased as the athletes with the way it went, noting the race was a year in the making.

“We actually had planned to have this on our 50th anniversary (of incorporation in 2023), that’s why our medals say 50, but it took a lot of logistics to be worked out, to get something going from one end of town to the other,” Bent said. “We had to coordinate with the running world to make sure that the timing was right, and it was something we were determined to do because we believe we have the best backdrop, the best trail system and the best place to run a half marathon. Conception Bay South is laid out for it naturally.”
Bent noted the weather was also perfect for running; a little drizzle at the start of the race, which cleared as the runners made their way westwards towards overcast skies and cool, dry temperatures.

“And the runners were so excited – this sold out within hours,” he said. “We had to add spots, and we went as large as we possibly could to make sure that we could still control the first one, because we’ve got to work out the bugs. And we’re seeing this now and the excitement this morning was just fantastic. We’re going to assess everything we’ve done here and see if there is anything we want to change or improve or add to it, and hopefully we can get more runners in next year.”