Agnew passes RunWild test

Colette Agnew almost ran out of gas after putting the pedal to the metal as the fastest female in the Priority Printing half-marathon.

“The first three quarters of it was great but the last quarter was a little bit tough,” said the sixth-place finisher at one hour, 33 minutes and 15 seconds. “I just went a little bit too fast at the beginning.

“You just try and get into the momentum of the race and then just keep going from there and all of a sudden you’re a little burnt out.”

Agnew, 33, was the top runner out of 110 female finishers, and 204 overall, in her first crack at the Leading Edge Physiotherapy RunWild race.

“One of my friends was entering the five (kilometres) so I decided I would do the half,” said the Edmonton runner. “Basically I approached it like any other race; you just kind of go and pace yourself and do the best you can.

“It’s a great course.”

Agnew’s personal-best half-marathon is 1:28 but the Archbishop MacDonald High School alumna wasn’t discouraged by her time Sunday morning.

“It’s great. It’s wonderful,” said the Riverbend School teacher who was greeted by a vocal cheering section in the Victory Lane finish area.

The next fastest female was Christina Lynn of St. Albert at 1:36:57 for 10th place.

“I wanted to do a sub 1:30 but halfway through I was like this is not happening so my number one goal was just to finish strong and not give up and I accomplished that,” said Lynn, who was passed by Agnew around nine kilometres.

Lynn, 34, was making tracks in her first RunWild half-marathon after doing the 10-km race previously.

“On the back there was a headwind but other than that it was a pretty flat course. It was doable.”

Lynn was inspired to give the RunWild a go after placing second in the female division at the 2014 Fall Challenge half-marathon on the Red Willow Trail system at 1:34:33 for fifth overall.

“It felt like I gave up half way so this is kind of like my redemption to finish strong and even though I didn’t do the time I wanted I finished strong,” she said. “It was good. My kids came to support me and it was nice to see them at the end and wave to them.”

Erica Paal of Edmonton was the third-best female in the race at 1:37:44 for 11th place.

Karyn Russell of St. Albert was the runner-up behind Paal in their 20 to 29 age division at 1:45:57 as the fourth female finisher for 18th place.

The biggest celebrity in the half-marathon was Alberta Premier Rachel Notley as the 84th overall finisher at 2:04:16 for fourth place in her 50 to 59 age division.

“It’s a great community race that supports a great charity,” Notley said of the RunWild’s fundraiser for the Zebra Child Protection Centre, as well as the St. Albert Seniors Association.

Notley trained for the race while in China last month, despite the smog, on her first overseas trade mission as premier.

Was Notley happy with her time?

“Not at all,” she said. “But I really enjoyed the race.”

Running is “a stress relief” for Notley, who tries to squeeze in runs when time permits in her busy schedule.

“I’ve run in St. Albert before. It’s a very nice place to run.”

Meanwhile, the first RunWild finisher Sunday was a female, Glynis Milne in the Leading Edge five-km race at 19:27.

“I just wanted to come out and get a good workout in. It wasn’t a PB but a nice hard effort on a beautiful court,” said the Edmonton runner. “It’s a great event.”

Milne, 32, grabbed the pole position at the start of the race and never gave up the lead.

“It’s always tough when you’re alone but it was a lot of fun,” said the high school track product of the legendary Strathcona Lords.