By Josh Healey
Special to The Telegram
It’s been five years since Joey Smallwood — the great-grandson of the province’s first premier —ran his first Tely 10-Mile Road Race.
He says his running career can all be traced back to the many health benefits of eggs.
His eggs, to be precise.
Smallwood manages an egg business, and was partnered with a local radio station in 2014 for a nutritional and training program leading up to the race.
He was coaxed into running that first Tely 10, and has run in each race since, placing 15th during the 92nd edition of the event last weekend.
“Once I started running, I got the bug and got hooked on it,” he said. “The camaraderie amongst runners is very cool.”
When asked if he could attribute some of his running prowess to his great-grandfather, Smallwood could only laugh.
“I don’t know if he was a runner, but I know he used to walk a lot,” he said.
But it’s certain that this Smallwood has the running bug, having set and achieved his goal of finishing the race in under 60 minutes.
Smallwood said he came close to his goal in 2017, but was thrilled to complete this year’s race in 57:34.
“This year, things all seemed to line up,” he said. “I was looking at my watch for the time as I was progressing through and realized, ‘Yeah, I think I can do this.’”
But there’s another family connection: Alex Smallwood, his cousin and running partner, beat him to the sub-60 minute mark a few years back.
“We’re somewhat competitive,” said Smallwood, adding that they may start counting how many sub-60 finishes they can accumulate at the Tely 10 to keep score.
When asked what’s next, Smallwood said he and his cousin are slated to compete in the Chicago Marathon this fall.
Smallwood has previously run the Boston and New York City Marathons and said he hopes to one day run all six major world marathons — a shift from time-oriented running goals.
The other major marathons take place in Tokyo, Berlin and London.
“For me, I don’t really have any more defined time goals for any event,” he said.
And pressure — either from his family history or past athletic achievements — isn’t something he’s too concerned about.
Many runners, said Smallwood, have been competing in events since high school, but he didn’t run his first race until he was 37.
“I was kind of late to the game, but I’ve made good progress,” he said.
And he’s excited to fly to Chicago in October for the next step of his running journey.
“I shouldn’t count my chicks before they hatch, though,” he said.
@joshrjhealey / [email protected]
HIGHLIGHT
Name: Joey Smallwood
From: Roaches Line
Age: 42
Final Tely 10 time: 57:34
Previous races: Boston Marathon, New York City Marathon
Next race: Chicago Marathon
