30km Around the Bay

Congratulations Rebecca and Isabelle!



This past weekend two of our CanHEAR Uganda Run participants Rebecca Vanderelst, and Isabelle Carriere braved the wind and battled their way through the 30km Around the Bay run in Hamilton, Ontario.  Congratulations on this huge accomplishment.

Rebecca has provided us with a great summary of the day in the following race report:

Around the Bay

As a born and raised Hamiltonian and an audiologist at St Joseph’s Hospital, it is needless to say that I felt more than a little pressure, albeit self-inflicted to compete in the 117^th annual Around the Bay 30km road race. 

To give those of you who haven’t heard of this race, here is a little background: The Around The Bay race is the oldest long distance road race in North America.  It is held in Hamilton and supports the St. Joseph’s Healthcare Foundation.  The first race was held in 1894, three years before the Boston Marathon, therefore the race shirts boast the slogan “Older than Boston”.  The starting point is on

York Boulevard

one block west of Copps Coliseum and continues along the Hamilton harbour until its completion inside Copps to a cheering crowd. 

While I have competed in half-marathon races before, I had never been past the 21.1km distance.  Training for this race was intimidating because of both the increased distance and the brutal weather running conditions this winter.  Even four days before the race Hamilton received 20cm of snow, causing school closures and hazardous road conditions.  But runners, like mailmen, never let the conditions bring them down, and luckily temperatures had raised significantly by Sunday’s race so I lined up with 11, 000 other competitors for what I hoped would be a great race.  The Around the Bay road race is a community tradition with thousands of spectators lining the street cheering, ringing bells, or waving signs promising post race beers to fatigued runners.

All in all it was a great race, the sun was shining, and the temperatures while cool, were refreshing as the race wore on.  The last half of the course is comprised of multiple hills including a steep climb at the 25K mark fittingly dubbed Heartbreak Hill. On the last downhill stretch once you pass two people dressed as grim reapers, heckling runners en route into the stadium, you know you’ve made it!  This years race was won by a Canadian for the first time in 15 years. 

I had a wonderful time running this race and would recommend it to anyone looking for a fun challenge in 2012. 

With the generous support of my friends and family I was able to raise over $500.00 for the St Joseph’s Foundation that will use the funds for a new surgical unit, and the redevelopment of a mental healthcare facility. 

Best wishes to all those who are training and hope to see you all at next years race!

Rebecca Vanderelst Au.D

St. Joseph’s Hospital, Hamilton.