Mission accomplished in Boston Marathon run

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/09/2020 (1774 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two intrepid Steinbach marathoners, Greg Penner and Chris Schroeder, accomplished their goal in an early morning Labour Day marathon run in Steinbach as part of the 124^th Boston Marathon, held virtually this year.

Although the run was conducted on the running track at Stony Brook Middle School and not through the hilly suburbs of Boston, nonetheless some of the dramatics of a marathon and the effort and perseverance it takes to complete one, were clearly evident to a fairly large contingent of supporters that were on hand to cheer them on in their endeavour.

The running of marathons at this time of year, during these unique times that we are living in, seems somewhat more appropriate considering the fact the country is marking the 40^th anniversary of that inspiring, historic and nation-binding Marathon of Hope by Winnipeg-native Terry Fox.

Fox, who captivated the nation with his run, previously had a leg amputated due to cancer, but embarked on a cross-Canada run with an artificial leg, beginning in Newfoundland, running a marathon every day for 143 days, until his cancer returned and he was forced stop his run near Thunder Bay.

So when you see the accomplishments of runners like Greg Penner and Chris Schroeder, who trained for the big run on Monday, but still laboured through it all, it helps put into perspective just what Terry Fox went through every day, in extreme physical circumstances 40 years ago.

Both Schroeder and Penner set personal bests on the day, and they both attributed ideal weather conditions as a major factor in them being able to do that.

Schroeder set off on his run at 6:30 a.m., 105 laps of the 400-metre track. Penner, a faster runner, started at 7:00 a.m., with the goal of both finishing at about the same time around 9:30 a.m.

They did just that. Schroeder, who was running his 10^th marathon, shaved five minutes off of his personal best time, finishing in 3 hours and 50 seconds, falling just short in his quest to break the 3-hour barrier.

Penner finished in a fast 2:32.52, beating his personal best by about four minutes.

Both of them had other runners running with them during the marathon. Schroeder had his friend Jeff English run for the first 20 miles or so, while three other runners – Gord Funk, Terry Penner and Shannon Dueck ran about 10 miles with him.

Running with Greg Penner for much of the way was Stefan Reimer, himself a past participant in the Boston Marathon.

With the temperature at about 6 degrees when they set off, and fortunately the gale force winds from the day before having died down during the night, it made for ideal running conditions.

Schroeder says having those runners with him helped immensely, “fatigue only set in at about mile 24, it is mental as much physical, but with people cheering you on every lap, it helped get through it.”

Penner said the same. At a normal marathon, you might have family members see you pass by only once, but at this track they were there every lap and he says there is no question that it helped. He also said that running on the track, although monotonous, also contributed to the faster times.

He was also excited that they were able to turn their Boston Marathon run into an event that raised $1, 165 dollars in total that went to the Steinbach Family Resource Centre school supplies drive.

And what’s next for these two, now that the latest version of the Boston Marathon is in the books? For Schroeder, still a little sore and back in the classroom as a teacher at Woodlawn School, he plans to run again in the virtual Manitoba Marathon on Oct. 11.

Penner, meanwhile, will be back at it this Saturday, as he will accompany Gord Funk from Steinbach, who will run his version of the Boston Marathon on the Mantario Trail in Whiteshell Provincial Park on Saturday. Needless to say, that terrain will be a little different than the predictable track in Monday’s run.