Bairu wins final test before Houston

Regina’s Simon Bairu battled hot and humid conditions on Sunday, winning the Miami Beach half-marathon in 1:05:38.

Bairu, who is attempting to qualify for Canada’s Olympic team at the Houston Marathon on Jan. 15, chose the Southern Florida race as his final tune-up so he could experience the heat. It could be similar to the weather he’ll be racing in when he chases the Olympic standard of 2:11:29 in Houston.

Leading from start to finish, Bairu said he was pleased with the effort, which averaged about 5:01 per mile — about equivalent to his goal marathon pace. Prior to the race, he said he was hoping to run about 4:57 per mile, but the course, the heat, and tired legs likely played a role in slowing it down slightly.

“I may have under estimated the course, but today was a pace that I’ll probably want to run at Houston,” Bairu said in an article on Competitor.com. “Leading from the gun and to be able to do that on my own in this condition gives me confidence for Houston.”

The record high for Houston in mid-January is in the upper 20s, which is what the temperatures were like in Miami. “We consciously came here to get experience in hot, humid conditions and it was great preparation.”

Bairu trains with the Nike-sponsored Oregon Track Club in Portland under Jerry Schumacher. Their entire training training group, including Shalane Flanagan and Kara Goucher made the trip to Miami Beach. Flanagan ran 1:09:58 and Goucher clocked 1:12:59, as they finished 1-2 in the women’s half-marathon.

Schumacher’s group was training through the Miami Beach half-marathon, maintaining high mileage going into the race. There was never any thought of chasing personal bests at the event, and it was meant to be run at around marathon pace. In case you’re wondering, Bairu’s half-marathon best of 1:02:08 is more than three minutes faster than his time from Sunday.