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Getting the knack of it
David Banks-contributing
writer
Alexandra Watson knew she'd
be knackered at the end of a 48.6-kilometre run across
the North Shore from Horseshoe Bay to Deep Cove.
The North Vancouver mom
also knew she'd be met at the finish line of the 13th
Annual Knee Knackering Trail Run on Saturday by cheers
and flowers from her family - husband James and
daughters Amanda, Mia and Lily.
What she didn't count on
was a big bear hug from co-race director Enzo Federico
and the startling news that she'd set a race record for
women - by one second.
Watson finished the
challenging race along the Baden-Powell Trail in a time
of five hours, 45 minutes and 35 seconds. She was nearly
30 minutes ahead of women's runner-up Calla Barras of
North Vancouver, and seventh overall in a field of 170
runners.
Keith Wakelin of Courtney
was the overall winner, in a time of 5:21:04.
"When I reached the finish
line it was such a big sense of relief," said Watson.
"The bonus was that I beat the record by one second.
That was the cherry on top.
"I didn't know what the
course record was. I just thought I might as well go for
it.
"Seeing my girls at the
finish line was just awesome. They were waiting for me
with flowers and they shouted: 'You did it!' That's a
motto at our house. Then they went on their merry way
and played at the park."
The race was anything but a
walk in the park for men's champion Wakelin, despite his
16-minute margin of victory over Eric Langhjelm of North
Vancouver.
"I've been trying to win
for eight years," said the 42-year-old Wakelin, who
prevailed despite pulling a calf muscle in the final
week of training. "I've been knocking on the door but
there's always been somebody else who's come along.
"The race itself I felt
really, really good the first half and I attribute that
to weight training for seven months, which I've never
done before. It's still damn tough. I had quite a lot of
trouble in the last quarter of the race with my legs
cramping up."
Wakelin led a wave of
family members across the finish line. Older brother
Neil (53 years old) was first in the over-50 division,
followed by 55-year-old brother Trevor, 51-year-old
sister Janette Murray-Wakelin and brother-in-law Alan
Murray.
"Neil introduced me to the
race," said Keith. "He wants to bring the over-50 record
down so that I won't be able to break it, but I will."
Federico said the race is
"going through another growth spurt.
"We're starting to get more
people under 20 years old. We have to manage it
carefully because we can only have so many runners on
the course, a limit of about 175."
Following are results for
the top three finishers in their respective categories:
n Women Under-40: 1.
Alexandra Watson, North Vancouver, 5:45:35; 2. Calla
Barras, North Vancouver, 6:15:00; 3. Michelle Steel,
Ladysmith, 6:35:19.
n Men Under-40: 1. Eric
Langhjelm, North Vancouver, 5:37:45; 2. Michael Wardas,
North Vancouver, 5:50:01; 3. Richard Rawling, Vancouver,
5:55:52.
n Women 40-49: 1. Arlene
Schieven, North Vancouver, 6:24:40; 2. Sally Marcellus,
Delta, 6:40:36; 3. Pushpa Chandra, Vancouver, 6:43:18.
n Men 40-49: 1. Keith
Wakelin, Courtney, 5:21:42; 2. Andy Nicol, Vancouver,
5:40:04; 3. Mark Hartinger, Shoreline, WA, 5:43:33.
n Women 50 & Over: 1.
Marcia Boulanger, Chilliwack, 6:25:08; 2. Gail Bazeley,
Port Coquitlam, 6:35:43; 3. Jan Selman, North Vancouver,
7:33:32.
n Men 50 & Over: 1.
Neil Wakelin, North Vancouver, 6:15:57; 2. John Lopes,
Kelowna, 6:25:34; 3. Ron Adams, North Vancouver,
6:28:26. | 
