Worobec runs her race - aims for a 3 hour 30 minute run.

sportsgold 100x100By Pepper Parr

November 3rd, 2019

BURLINGTON, ON

 

It was the day before the race.

Ashley at airport

Ashley Worobec at the airport waiting to board a flight for New York where she will run the New York city marathon.

Route 1

Spectators can follow the race on-line or if in New York they can chase the runners by using the subway system to keep up.

Ashley Worobec and her husband Chris were at the Pearson airport waiting to board their flight to New York. Her parents had travelled to Burlington from Calgary to take care of the two children and the family dog.

Ashley was less than a day away from the starting point of the New York City marathon –a race that includes some 52,000 runners. Next to the Boston Marathon – this is the granddaddy of them all – in the United States. The Race around the Bay has taken place in Canada since 1894 – three years before the Boston Marathon – but we digress.

Ashley has been preparing for this race for the six months. The Gazette has followed her progress during that time.

Why? Ashley put it best when she said “you set a goal, chase your dream and you keep at it day after day.”

Her last marathon was 12 years ago.  With a professional practice to keep up and two children the runs were usually when the sun was rising – which was nice in the summer but as the fall weather set in those were dark mornings and often chilly.

The drive, the self discipline, and the example she was setting for her children were all part of what she was setting out to do.

But there was more than that to it. ” The satisfaction in knowing that you could do something few people my age take on was important to me.”

Where to from her?  “Don’t want to say – my objective is to run this race.”  After that I will do some yoga

While Ashley is running her husband Chris will be scooting between subway stations in New York city to get to the viewing points where he hopes to catch a glimpse of his wife as she runs the race.

The first New York City Marathon was held 49 years ago in September 1970.

That first race had 127 competitors running several loops around the Park Drive of Central Park.

Over the years, the marathon grew larger and larger.  During the 1970s, the race was run in September. In the 1990s, the race day was moved to November.  The New York City Marathon has now become the largest marathon anywhere in the world. Each year nearly two million spectators line the course.

Veranzo Bridge

Veranzo Bridge – the point on Staten Island where the race begins.

The start take place on Staten Island where they leave in waves and head out over the Veranzo Narrows Bridge and head for Manhattan where the race ends at Central Park. It is the largest marathon in the world with 52,812 finishers in 2018

Because of the popularity of the race, participation is chosen largely by a lottery system. Guaranteed entry to the marathon can be gained by satisfying the requirements of the 9+1 program or the 9+$1K program or having completed 15 or more previous NYC Marathons, or meeting time qualification standards.

Ashley met time qualification requirements.

Ashley Worobec is a chiropractor who specializes in sports medicine. A former Boston marathoner, Dr. Worobec often runs the Chilly Half marathon and Around the Bay 30K. She has lived in Burlington for ten years with her husband and their two children.

A 40 year old mother of two children. She was always a runner but when the children came into her life – things changed.

The time needed just wasn’t available.

Her professional life had its own demands.

In 2015 she was one of the Torch carriers in the lead up to the Pan Am Games, which is where we first met Ashley.

watch

Her time was where she wanted it to be – at this point she began to taper down the length of her runs. Race day was getting closer.

Ashley and Torch

Ashley Worobec – one of a select few invited to carry the Torch that opened the Pan Am Games in Burlington/Hamilton in 2015

When we learned that she had qualified for the New York Marathon we decided to follow her progress. The practice runs, the developing strength and stamina were all part of her work.  Throughout she wore a watch that recorded at all.  Her last run before tapering down was on October 23rd, when she recorded a run that went … well the results are in the image.

Ashley hope to complete the race in three hours and thirty minutes.  She is running with three other women from Burlington who will have husbands in the crowds – that will number in the millions – trying to catch a glimpse as they pass the various checkpoints.

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