London, Ont. runner sets Canadian age-group record at Around the Bay 30K
Teresa Novick smashed the previous Canadian W60+ record by nearly seven minutes on her way to 48th-place finish
On Sunday, Hamilton hosted the 129th Around the Bay 30K Road Race, which marks the start of spring road racing season in Ontario. The race draws in many Boston Marathon hopefuls who will be testing themselves on April 17. One of the standout performances from Sunday’s race came from Teresa Novick of London, Ont., who won the women’s 60 to 64 age category by 17 minutes in a new W60+ 30K Canadian record time of 2:17:26.
Novick, 63, broke the previous W60+ Canadian masters record of 2:23:22 held by Elizabeth Waywell of Guelph, Ont., from last year’s Around the Bay. Even though Novick set a Canadian masters record, she wasn’t completely satisfied with her time. “My goal was to run a personal best to beat my time of 2:16:02 from 2018,” says Novick. “I missed it by over a minute […] I found it too warm, since I’m a cold-weather runner.”
Sunday’s weather for Around the Bay was around 8 C and sunny, with 30 km/h winds from the west. Novick finished 48th out of 1,350 female finishers.
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Novick says Around the Bay was a trial run for her upcoming marathon in Toledo, Ohio on April 23. She currently lives and trains in London, Ont., under the supervision of her online coach and Team Canada athlete Leslie Sexton, who finished 13th overall in the women’s marathon at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, Ore.
Novick accredits a lot of her success to her relationship with Sexton. “It’s helpful when you find the right coach,” she says. “I have a program specifically designed for my schedule.”
Another thing that has helped her as a successful masters runner is her ability to stay consistent and get her runs and workouts in. “I try to run every day of the week, and add weight training when I can,” says Novick. “It doesn’t just stop there; I ensure my iron intake is sufficient and limit alcohol during training.”
Novick has ambitions to continue to get faster and chase her personal bests well into her 60s.
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