Richmond 10k race

The 24th year of the running of the Richmond ON (a few miles west of the main city of Ottawa) 10k race went today, on what was the coldest day yet for this venerable kick-off to the running season. Some -18 Celsius and a wind chill of -28 Celsius welcomed the several hundred hardy souls who faithfully turned out for this well-organized event. The opening and closing thirds of the race were a tad chilly, as we were running into the wind (A big rectangle around the town, more or less) while the middle third, in full sun and with the wind, was actually warm, in a Canadian winter sort of way.

I completed it in 49:22, which was good enough for second place in my age group. A good friend of mine, from the Ottawa Hash House Harriers, Louise Hamelin, came second overall in the women's side, with a 44-something run. Not bad for a 40-something runner. Men's overall winner did it in 34-something.

At the award ceremony, the organizers had a stand-up comic for entertainment. He had some great lines about runners and the cold. You can imagine the fun he had with "fartlek".