Cornfields, wide open prairies & the CFL Rough Riders. Friday nite travel to Regina – Saskatchewan’s provincial capital. Geographically above North Dakota; skies that stretch forever. Great Plains SMILE 🙂
Nothing direct to Regina. Nada. Calgary on the way out, Vancouver on my return. Little dot on the prairie. Clean, tidy landscape. Neat yards, one large university, provincial dome mile from my hotel digs. Expo Saturday at the Conexus Arts Centre, early sleeps, chilly 39 degrees marathon morn. YES!
Redemption search. Huge mental fail last Saturday in Ohio. Air thick/humid/oven hot & an evening race (excuses come easy) – it’s the mental collapse, that’s always hardest to bounce back/recover from.
Hitched a ride with another runner to Sunday’s Start. Our far North cousins – super friendly. Lake along Lakeshore Drive completely masked in fog. [Wascana Lake] Near perfect run conditions.
Queued back-of-the-pack. Cap off, soaked up the country’s anthem. Almost 8000 of us. Held back first mile, steady even pace. 10K thick with Halfers. No tunes/earbuds quiet ‘til after the split. Easy, flat, forgiving course. Just enjoying the day. Museum, capitol dome. Lotta bike path, lotta parks.
Shed a layer, carried my gloves. Douglas Park, Rambler Park, Wilson Park.
Folks should give ‘the Queen City’ a little more love (Pile-of-Bones renamed in 1897, after Queen Victoria). Beautiful day, happy town. And my finish? Back on track. Completion 161, Canada medal #8.
Newfoundland to BC, Toronto to the Yukon. 2020: every Province, every Territory 🍁
Montréal in 2 short weeks. Parlez-vous français, eh?
GMS Queen City Marathon
2019-09-08 • GMS 42.2K Run
BIB 101 K R Haga 04:34:31.0
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- crop circles & prairie
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- Expo Saturday
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- Royal Canadian Mounted Police
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- lotta bike path, lotta parks
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- layered up & ready
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- O’ Canada ♫ ♬ ♭
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- SASKATCHEWAN
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- Canada #8 🍁
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- weird yet satisfying 🍕
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- every Province, every Territory
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- Colorado HOME ❤️
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- Sunday, September 8
Queen City Marathon, SK
On the road again. Ohio!
Labour Day weekend. 3 days from work. Holiday plan – hiking! And…a last-minute marathon sign-up. Hamilton, Ohio. American out-there, United back; $110 total. Rental car ‘nother $25. An hour less from Cincinnati. Night run, Colorado home for Sunday church. East Coast marathoning on the cheap 😊
Touchdown. Kentucky/Indiana/Ohio highway. Presbyterian parking, 2 hours ‘til showtime.
Whole lotta history in former Fort Hamilton. Monuments, statues, an old log cabin. Night running on the Great Miami River Trail. Disco-lighted, bike path aglow. Small town. Well-organized event.
Four laps & Ohio humid. Hurricane churning in the Atlantic – no rain tonite, just swells of oven air.
Arrived high spirited & well-travelled; left a bit deflated. Not my night. Actually, never my night. Morning runner – guess I’m gonna stay that way. Finished but dialed-a-friend to do so. Last 6 miles, March-of-Dimes lap. No shame in walking, but after my past 2 results…thought I was closer to sub-4 again. Ho hum.
Hike day tomorrow. Ro doesn’t care Papa finished back-of-the-pack. Only thinkin’ squirrels 🐿️
Sorry Ohio, I did ya wrong. Will come back & fight another day.
HAMILTON NIGHTGLOW MARATHON
Ohio’s ultimate nighttime running experience
Hamilton, Ohio August 31, 2019
28 Keenan Haga Louisville CO Marathon 5:29:33
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- hour from Cincinnati
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- monuments & markers
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- Fort Hamilton past
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- Great Miami River Trail
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- four laps & humid
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- Welcome to Butler County
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- disco-lighted, bike path aglow
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- Ohio night-running
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- Hurricane Dorian
road-trippin’ Ohio
Last sleeps at the Hotel Borg. Last morn of sweet pastries & Skyr.
Bags packed, clothes readied – it’s marathon day. Time flies when you’re hiking volcanos, mineral springs soaking, riding Icelandic ponies. Lamb dinner. B-I-G life 🙂
City Hall welcomed. Passed my bags to Michaela. Thousands of upbeat accents, stretching, ready to run Iceland’s capital city. Paparazzi camera blitz – M snapped lotta quality shots. Very much appreciated! Generally, I solo-travel with an iPhone lens. Thanks kiddo.
Runners queued, bunched closely together. Walked over the start line (literally). Soon after, a jog. More space/less congestion, on-pace a half-mile in. Cool temps, sunshiny skies. Beautiful North Atlantic day. City sights with the Halfers. Perfect run weather.
Easy flat course; windy ocean breeze. Race second-half: bike path, city park, suburbia roads. Downtown looped last 10k. Mile 20 burst of MUSIC, renewed energy/spirit. Two quick miles, then steady to the end. Push, PUSH, PUSH (I’ve got a plane a catch – HA!).
Moscow, Dublin, Milan, Reykjavík. sub-4:30 time, my 4th European FINISH. Not bad for a kid from the sticks.
Shower, bus transfer, clock-race to the airport. Life of a weekend marathoner. So many spots on the Globe – but I’ll be back.
Goodbye M. Miss your smile, your love of LIFE. See ya December, Christmas in Connecticut – no scary YULE CAT, please ❤️
Reykjavíkur Maraþon Íslandsbanka 2019
1430 Keenan Haga USA
00:27:48 (5 km) 00:55:09 (10 km) 01:31:55 (16,4 km) 02:02:50 (21,1 km)
02:58:46 (29,4 km) 04:00:27 (38 km) 04:29:02 +01:41:46 04:27:56
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- Hotel Borg ✔️
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- Iceland’s finest
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- queued & READY
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- Start Line walk (literally)
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- 4th European FINISH
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- Ísland Maraþon 🇮🇸
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- North Atlantic goodbye
Reykjavík Marathon
