Posted: April 3, 2005

Athletics: Kassap and Quinn-Smith take weather in their stride at Powerbar Spring Run Off

The tradition continued, at the 27th Annual Powerbar Spring Run [presented by New Balance Toronto--in support of Easter Seals]. with almost made-to-order, truly horrible weather.

Undeterred by the cold [1 celcius], and driving rain mixed with occasional wet snow, Danny Kassap and Tara Quinn-Smith were all business, and both had comfortable wins at the opening day for Canada Running Series 2005.

Kassap went to the front from the start, with Andrew Smith on his shoulder, and a gap soon opened up behind them--the following pack led by Montreal's Algerian gang of Dahbi Ammor, Bagdad Retchem, Nourredine Betchim and Oukid Fethi.

Kassap and Smith ran shoulder to shoulder around the challenging, windswept and occasionally waterlogged 8k course, with Kassap finishing decisively up the final, famous, Spring Road Hill to start his CRS season with a 8 second victory [24:42 to 24:50], Ammor, Retchem, Betchim and Fethi hung on well as a strong Montreal pack, taking 3rd through 6th places.

The other half of the Quinn-Smith family had a much easier time of things, with Tara leading from wire to wire, and winning in 28:13 over Ottawa's Sarah Dillabaugh [29 flat] and 1st master's female, Nancy Tinari of Coquitlam [29:31]--who must have thought she'd landed in Inuktituk, not Toronto..

Montreal men's master Recioui Tewfik had an impressive CRS debut, decisively taking out Toronto Olympic's Jerry Koomans for the win, 27:33 to 28:11.

As tradition would have it, this was "Canadian Spring" in High Park, and not a day for the faint hearted. Times were slowed considerably by the conditions [Tara Quinn was 30 seconds slower than her 2004 win]. Well-know local running promoter, Peter Donato of www.mynextrace.com, was so off his usually form jogging home, that announcer Kevin MacKinnon remarked that he must have stopped to hand out flyers around the course!

Undeterred, over 1,500 die-hards made it to the park [another 600 registrants rolled over in bed and thought better of it!]; the cadet band and the pipers played on; and the High Park Initiatives charity team miraculously served hot pancakes with maple syrup and hot chocolate. It was just one of those days that remind us we run in Canada, not South Florida. It was a day that fortified the legend of the Spring Run Off, with its weather and its hills, as a rite of passage as much as a rite of Spring for Canucks. In the end, none of the volunteers ended up with hyperthermia, and many of us went home with a smile and enough stories to last through a LOT of long training runs...some good racing, tough runners, a new season, a new Canada Running Series, and unquestionably, better days ahead!

Next stop, Montreal, 21kmtl, April 24th.

Full results: CanadaRunningSeries.com.