A new female champion will be crowned at the 28th annual St. Albert 10-Mile Road Race.
Shannon Maisano, the first St. Albert runner to win the female title, will not race April 14 because of a tender left ankle and an unseasonably low fitness level.
"I was actually training pretty hard over the winter and then because of the conditions I had a couple of bad ankle sprains. I actually have one right now and I'm not able to run. I've also had some illnesses so I just really haven't had an opportunity recently to kind of get where I want to be with my fitness," Maisano told the Gazette Wednesday.
The former St. Albert Flyer has never recovered from an old soccer injury that left her ankle bent out of shape.
"Ever since I had a bad roll playing soccer as a kid it's always come back to haunt me so I'm careful with it," Maisano said.
Last year, six months after giving birth to her second child, Maisano finished the 10-miler in one hour, three minutes and three seconds for 24th place overall.
Her time was 27 seconds faster than two-time champion Tara Struyk of Edmonton, the 27th runner to complete the race. Struyk will run the 10-miler again this year.
Two years ago Maisano was the runner-up behind Struyk at 63:44 for 26th overall as the female 30 to 39 age group winner.
"I'm very disappointed I'm not racing," Maisano said. "This has always been my favourite race. I've done it seven times and it's just a great way to start the running season and of course as the defending champion it makes me want to do it even more but I also need to take care of my body."
Maisano, 36, wants to be firing on all cylinders May 5 for the third annual Leading Edge RunWild Marathon in St. Albert.
"I will hopefully be doing the 10 K or half marathon as I ramp up my training again," she said. "My goal right now is the Calgary Marathon weekend, either the 10 K or half marathon at the end of May. I did the 10 K last year and came in second (among females at 38:14.69 for 22nd place overall) so I'm looking to possibly return to that race."
Maisano's bucket list for 2013 includes the Edmonton Marathon on Aug. 25.
"If all goes well with my training that's going to be my goal for racing this season," she said. "I've been training a little bit with Ailsa (MacDonald of St. Albert, the seventh fastest female at the 2013 Los Angeles Marathon). She is doing it too so to have a training buddy that can do the long runs with you and kind of push you along, it's so much more motivating and so much more fun."
Maisano and MacDonald have also acquired sponsorships from Fast Trax and will represent the Edmonton run and ski shop at various races this year.
The only marathons Maisano has competed in was 2008 at Victoria (3:17:35; 24th female and 184th overall finisher) and 2010 at Calgary (3:11:38; eighth female and 34th overall finisher).
"I'm definitely much more of a speed runner than a distance runner but I'm slowly trying to work my way up to the marathon distance," said the ice allocator for the St. Albert Minor Hockey Association.
Maisano is anxious to run in more events than she did in 2012.
"Last year I took the fall off because of an injury and the fall is the best time for cross-country so I'm hoping this year that I can extend my season throughout the summer and into the fall," said the Paul Kane High School alumna.
Last year's historic 10-mile result put Maisano at the head of the pack in Athletics Alberta Timex points race series. She finished as the female winner and pocketed $1,000 in prize money.
"It was definitely a big accomplishment because I've wanted to do the Timex series for a number of years and it was the first year I actually focused on running those points races," she said. "My goal would've been top three so to come in first I definitely couldn't have asked for anything better."
In addition to the Timex race circuit, Maisano was the top female in the Edmonton police half marathon in April at 1:33:55 for 16th place overall and placed second behind MacDonald in the female division at the Red Deer half marathon at 1:26:51 for 11th place overall. MacDonald's winning time was 1:25:09.
"Although I didn't finish first it was a personal best time for me in the half marathon distance," Maisano said. "It was also the first time that I actually felt strong throughout the whole race because typically when I get beyond 10 miles I start to sort of deteriorate so it was a good sign that I was able to get my endurance up to that level."
10-miler update
As of Thursday, 414 registrations were processed online for the 10-miler and the six-kilometre fun run.
The entry fee is $65 for individuals and $60 for school teams of three runners apiece.
The deadline to register is April 13. Visit www.starrt.com for details.
There will be no walk-up registrations on the morning of the race.
Start time is 9:30 a.m. on Grandin Road across from Grandin Park Plaza. The fun run begins approximately 10 minutes after the start of the main race or once all of the 10-mile competitors have gone through the starting gate.
Last year 554 runners signed up for the 10-miler and the inaugural fun run.
The all-time registration mark of 976 for the 10-miler was set in 1998.
The 10-miler is hosted by the St. Albert Road Runners and Triathlon Club.
