A hometown girl was the fastest female in the fifth annual Leading Edge RunWild half-marathon.
"It definitely feels extra special," said a beaming Shannon Maisano after finishing sixth overall out of 308 runners and walkers in one hour, 26 minutes and 32 seconds on a sunny Sunday morning.
"I love running in St. Albert because this is my home turf. I know every corner of this city so it means a little bit extra," added Maisano (nee Toope), a Paul Kane High School alumna. "This is where I was born and raised and it's where I do all of my running and training so it's a special place to me."
Maisano's goal was to finish around 1:25 and enjoy the day.
"There was a bit of a glitch in the beginning of the race when we took a little bit of a wrong turn, but once things settled in I just tried to maintain an even pace and I was able to do that so I was really happy."
In mid-February, Maisano completed the Pacific Road Runners half-marathon in Vancouver in 1:23:13 for 76th overall as the 13th best female out of 1,135 for fifth place in her 35 to 39 age division.
Her personal best of 1:22:56 was set in Victoria in 2013.
The RunWild marked the third consecutive race weekend for the 38-year-old mother of two boys. In the St. Albert 10-miler on April 19, she was the second-fastest female and 15th overall finisher (a timing glitch listed her third among females and 16th overall) at 1:03:12.
"I was very happy. I was about seven seconds off my PB (personal best) on the St. Albert 10-mile course," said the first female winner from St. Albert in race history in 2012 at 1:03:03 for 24th overall.
Was winning the RunWild female half-marathon crown sweeter than the St. Albert 10-miler for Maisano?
"They're different. The St. Albert 10-miler is a historic course. It's been around for a long time so it means a lot because of that and I've been doing it for years," she explained. "But this is an up and coming race and it's getting bigger every year so it means a lot in that way to be able to do it on this course."
The next race was the TC 10K on April 26 in Victoria and Maisano was clocked at 37:38 for 62nd overall as the 12th fastest female and third finisher in her 35 to 39 age division.
"I did it to sort of gauge where I was at and my time was about five seconds off my PB so I'm right kind of where I was with my fitness a few years ago," said Maisano, who was stung by the injury bug after her 2012 breakout performance in the St. Albert 10-miler.
On tap for the St. Albert Minor Hockey Association's ice allocator is the 10 km during the Calgary Marathon weekend at the end of the month.
Second for Brcic
The female runner-up in the RunWild half-marathon was Janelle Brcic of St. Albert at 1:28:57 for 10th place.
"I am very surprised by my time. I didn't train as much as I wanted but I think knowing the course really helps," said the RunWild female marathon champion last year at 3:12:24 for fifth overall and 2012 at 3:21:01 for seventh overall. "It was a perfect day for running and I just kept my pace. I caught up to another runner and he outpaced me for a good part of it."
The difference between the half-marathon and last year's marathon for Brcic was "the uncertainty of my pacing."
The Father Jan School kindergarten teacher lost sight of Maisano in the Sturgeon County portion of the course.
"I just saw her go by and get further away as we went. She is a great runner," said Brcic, 30.
