There are more and more all female races out there, last week I ran my first: Emilie’s run. The race was established in 2007, in memory of Émilie Mondor. Emilie competed for Canada in the 2004 Olympics and died at the age of 25 in a car accident. She was the first Canadian woman to complete a 5,000 m in under 15 minutes. (14:59.68 at the world championships in Paris 2003).
Emilie Mondor
The race appealed because in addition to being a welcoming race for female runners of all levels, it’s a race that celebrates competitive female runners. The event aims to give competitive women a chance to lead a race, set the pace, and be the overall winners. (The prize money helps attract some strong runners)
Emilie’s run is a 5 km spring race in Ottawa. The route is a simple loop on the experimental farm.
A couple of useful things to know if you are thinking of running (as of 2019):
You can pick up your race kit on race day at the start or Thursday at Bushtukah
- Parking – There was free parking, but the posted race lot was full when we arrived. There were some other lots around but the signs seemed to indicate 90 minute parking. We decided to keep it simple and just paid for parking at the agriculture museum which was a nice short walk to the start, and I have no objection to supporting the agriculture museum with a few $.
- There are two hills, not very steep, but fairly long
- You get a necklace instead of a medal at the finish line
- They have bag check and there are bagels and bananas at the finish
- There is a 1 km Fun run as well
- Wheelchair friendly route
- Port-a-potties are located at the start area, and a short walk away are the heated indoor toilets.
For the casual runner looking for a fun run:
- There is a water stop around half way
- When I ran (2019), the last pair crossed the finish line at 1:25, the previous 9 runners all came in between 45 minutes and 55 minutes
If you are a tad competitive (like me)
- There is prize money (unusual for a 5 km) so this race attracts some fast women! $750 for first place, $500 for 2nd, $350 for 3rd, $200 for 4th, $100 for 5th.
- It’s interesting to compete in a race that is all women and has some serious competition for the top spots.
- The overall winner in 2019 finished in 16:52.9, fifth place 18:35.5 (that’s how fast you had to be in 2019 to take home $)
- First place in the masters finished in 18:59.2 and won $250
- There were 14 women who finished in under 20 minutes
- They have timing mats and clocks at every km, so you can keep an eye on your splits.
- It’s a fairly fast course, but it does have a long hill at km 2-3 and km 4-5 and if it’s windy you are guaranteed to have a stretch with a headwind because it’s a loop and there is not much shelter from the wind.
- The road isn’t closed before the race starts, but you can do a nice warm up running out to the 1 km flag and back.
How was my race? I am a runner who occasionally sneaks in a top 3 in her age group. I finished in 22:10 which is within a minute of my 5 km Personal Best. I finished 23rd overall, 2nd in my age group. I enjoyed racing with such a strong pack of women runners. I think I would have been at least 10 seconds slower if not for Kailey (that’s her in front of me in edge of the photo) for being just close enough and tall enough for me to draft behind on the windy sections. Thank you Kailey!
HockeyGeekGirl 