Running away with the fastest female crown at the St. Albert 10-miler was the cherry on top of the cake for Alexandra Gordichuk.
“It means a lot. I had no idea this was going to happen,” a beaming Gordichuk said after crossing the finish line in one hour, two minutes and 47 seconds Sunday. “I just wanted to beat my time from last year and I did that.”
Last year Gordichuk made her St. Albert road race debut and finished fourth among females and 39th overall at 1:05:05.
“I paced myself this year. I didn’t go out crazy like I always do. I stayed steady and comfortable and relaxed, just like a nice Sunday run, and I felt strong in the end, which is different. Sometimes I feel really bad at the end and it’s just a struggle to finish but not this time,” said Gordichuk.
The 24-year-old Edmonton runner beat out 164 females for 25th place overall out of 385 finishers in the 28th edition of the most popular 10-miler in the province.
“It was amazing actually what I did,” she said. “I’ve been training pretty hard with triathlon and other stuff so it means a lot to me. It’s a good start for my season.”
The Edmonton Triathlon Academy athlete used Tara Struyk, the 2009 and 2010 female winner, as her pace setter through the streets of St. Albert.
“Tara is a very good pace setter and I probably would’ve killed myself on the run if I wasn’t with her,” Gordichuk said.
Struyk was the runner-up for the second straight year at 1:03:06 as the top 30 to 39 age group female after going 1:03:30 in 2012.
“Tara is a super good runner. She helped me a lot today,” Gordichuk said.
About 40 minutes into the race, Gordichuk reached St. Albert Place in a cluster of runners pushing their way up St. Anne Street towards the mile seven marker leading to the challenging hilly stretch on Sir Winston Churchill Avenue.
“At the end with the last few kilometres left, I felt strong up the last hill and I just gave her to the finish line,” Gordichuk said.
A nice spring-like day was also ideal for Gordichuk to conquer the course in a faster time than last year.
“It was perfect. I love these weather conditions,” she said. “It was fun. I loved it. I just wanted to feel good in my race today and I did.”
Her 10-miler result last year was a confidence booster for the rest of the season.
“It made me realize that I’ve still got the ability to run,” said the No. 2 female in the 20 to 29 age group in 2012. “It was good for the ITU Edmonton Triathlon actually. I think that was one of my best races (to finish third overall out of eight females in the 20 to 24 age group in 2:20:50.7).”
In the fall, Gordichuk was the bronze medallist at the Canadian Collegiate Athletic Association cross-country championships for the Grant MacEwan Griffins with a time of 18:49 in the five-km final.
This summer the bachelor of biological sciences student will compete in the half-ironman races in Vancouver and Calgary and the ITU Edmonton Triathlon as an age grouper.
“Hopefully I will do well in it because it’s a scholarship race. If you do well you win some money for school, which I really need.”
Her goal in every race is personal improvement.
“I’m just learning, so I’m always hoping to get better,” said the Harry Ainlay High School graduate.
FAST TIMES: Shannon Maisano, the first St. Albert female winner of the 10-miler in 2012, had a change of heart after initially deciding not to run Sunday and snuck her entry form in Saturday afternoon with only a few hours left until the registration deadline.
Maisano, 36, placed third among females, and 43rd overall out of the 385 total finishers in the race, at 1:05:30.
Rounding out the top 10 St. Albert females Sunday were Candice Jahns at No. 7 in 1:08:44 for 56th place, Melonie MacDonald at No. 8 in 1:09:32 for 61st place and Kristen Hansen at No. 10 at 1:10:54 in 70th place.
Visit www.resultscanada.com for the overall and age group race results.
