25 Years Running winner: Leeanne Donovan

To celebrate25 Years Running, the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon is asking past participants to share their favourite memories and moments from STWM, Toronto’s signature running event.

Congratulations to our third winner, Leeanne Donovan, who finished her first marathon at #STWM in 2012, despite injury struggles along the way.

I started running in 2010 but really only recreational running up to 5K. I took a learn to run clinic with the Running Room and got myself up to my first 5k, then soon dropped running altogether for no particular reason.

In 2012 I picked it back up starting with 5Ks and thought I would challenge myself to my first 10K, which I wasn’t nearly as prepared for as I thought. Once I finished the 10k, I was hooked on running. The feeling of accomplishment and joy of pushing yourself to the limits was overwhelming. I wanted to see how far I could take this, so I signed up for my first half not long after and joined a half-marathon clinic to train. I had no idea just how far I needed to go to do this half once I started training.

The group I joined was more experienced than I was and trying to keep up with them landed me with injuries. I had shin splints and IT band issues in both knees. About two months into training, I decided I would not train with the group and branch out on my own. I stuck with their training schedule but trained alone at my own pace. I managed to finish my first half with only a few aches in one of my knees.

I was ready to take it further so I signed up for a marathon and a second half-marathon to keep me on track and motivated. I also joined a speed walking group to help me boost my walking between runs while I trained for the marathon.

Six months later I was doing my second half-marathon nearly ache-free. I had learned what works for my body and what doesn’t. Four weeks after that came the Waterfront marathon. I had taken three full weeks off from running and just speed walked to keep my endurance up. The week before I boosted my running to get ready.

Race day was here and I was excited, scared and ready all at once. My predicted time for myself was over five hours. At the 16K mark my knee started to ache, despite all of the prepping, taping and stretching. I pulled off to the side and massaged my knee and leg, and did some stretches. I was good to go and away I went back into the crowd. Things were going great until about 28K when my knee began to ache even more. I pulled off and tried to stretch it out but nothing seemed to work. At about 30K I was no longer able to run. I had blown my knee at this point and had to stop running. I managed to walk for a half-kilometre until even that became a challenge. In the end, I finished the marathon at just after the six-hour mark by limping to the finish line for the last 12K of the race.

I was mentally drained and emotional, almost to the point of tears, but kept on pushing. I told myself it was all in my head, that I could finish, and that I hadn’t spent a year training to fail in the last few kilometres. When I saw the hill to the finish I was exhausted, but overwhelmed with happiness and joy that, despite all that had happened that day, I had finished.

I crossed that line with my family and closest friends cheering me on and clapping for me while I limped my way up the hill to the tape. I’ve never been so physically beaten and emotionally accomplished as I was that day.