Like many in the field of 4,682 who braved to very humid conditions Sunday to run the 10 miles from Paradise to Bannerman Park, Jennifer Murrin needed some medical assistance after crossing the finish line.
“The humidity was awful,” she said of the weather which greeted runners and walkers at the start line for the 91st Telegram 10-Mile Road Race (it was already 20 degrees by 8 a.m.) Sunday morning.
“I always said I’d never push myself to the point where I’d have to go to the (St. John Ambulance) tent. But it was hot … toughest race I’ve ever run, hands down.”
It might have been a tough slog, but it didn’t reflect in Murrin’s time as the lanky 27-year-old from St. John’s won her second straight Tely 10 crown Sunday, outpacing a pair of former winners in Anne Johnston and Kate Bazeley in a hotly-contested women’s dash.
And yet despite the Heat — one runner said it was like trying to breathe through a wet towel — Murrin still clocked the sixth-fastest time ever recorded on the course with a 56:58 showing, good for ninth place overall.
“I always said I’d never push myself to the point where I’d have to go to the (St. John Ambulance) tent. But it was hot … toughest race I’ve ever run, hands down.”
Two-time Tely 10 women’s champion Jennifer Murrin
She ran a 57:14 last year.
The win is no doubt the highlight of her season, one that had been nearly wiped out by a hip injury.
Murrin was sidelined for much of the winter and spring, and this season had only appeared in two races prior to the Tely, the provincial 5K and the Mews Centre 8K race.
In both events, Murrin finished second to Johnston, by seven seconds in the 5K and 24 seconds in the Mews dash.
“Confidence is a big part of it and I went in there to those first two races back from the injury thinking, ‘OK, I’m just going to run and see what happens.’
“Today was different. I felt more prepared and ready for this.”
Johnston finished second in 57:34, while Bazeley rounded out the top three, stopping the clock in 58:41.
The three were in the same group for much of the early going, with Johnston taking the lead. It was a lead she’d cling to for most of the race.
“Jenn was right there on me,” Johnston said. “I could feel her on my shoulder.
“Usually I struggle at Mile 7, but I felt good there. Jenn kind of made a surge at the Shoppers Drug Mart on LeMarchant Rd. and I just didn’t have that extra gear. My legs just couldn’t go.
“But I said to myself, ‘You know what, I’m having a good race, I’m feeling good, let’s finish strong.’”
“I felt,” Murrin said, “it was at that point where I had to pick it up.”
Sunday’s race was a highly-anticipated battle of the three best female road runners in the province, and it didn’t disappoint.
In addition to three road race championships this season, Johnston registered a second-place finish at the Toronto Marathon, while Bazeley — who had her own injury woes this season — came in as a four-time Tely 10 champ and current course record-holder.
“I think it’s phenomenal to go to a race and not know who’s coming out on top,” Johnston said. “That’s amazing for this sport, amazing for female runners in general. It just adds that little competition element to the race.
“Look at us women: we’re all in our 30s, working full-time jobs, with young families and still laying it out there on the course.
“It was anyone’s race today. I think everyone ran strong under these conditions. Jenn had that extra edge today.”
Rounding out the top five for the women were Jennifer Barron, who came in fourth in 1:02.08, and Lisa Collins-Sheppard, who was fifth in 1:02.29.
Despite the muggy conditions, times registered by Murrin, Johnston and Bazeley were among the fastest ever recorded.
Johnston’s time is now officially the 10th quickest time in race history, and Bazeley’s time was the 14th fastest showing recorded.
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