The Running Whys – Marcie Holland
Editor’s note: Just a year ago, Marcie Holland’s Marathon By The Sea experience ignited her passion for endurance sport. Funny thing is, she wasn’t running last year – but watching her sister Shelley Doucet.
Yet the emotions associated with MBTS, the sight of her sibling crossing the finish line and witnessing tears of joy and celebrations of so many others made an impact on Marcie that lasted well after the event wrapped up.
It fueled a motivation to get active, deal with nagging fatigue and sparked a desire even she could not have imagined. Through it all, she credits her sister Shelley for opening her eyes and in some ways, saving her life. It also solidified their sibling bond stronger than ever.
This year, Marcie is enjoying amazing results on the provincial racing scene and last week, she finished in the top-10 overall in the women’s event at the River Valley Rave in Grand Bay-Westfield.
Her exceptional story of fighting through some early struggles to her current success follows.
Enjoy
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My sister decided to run the half marathon at Marathon by the Sea in Saint John six days before the race with her husband in August of 2013. I watched at several locations along the route as we drove from place to place.
I will never forget watching all of the runners at the start coming down the bridge towards Crown Street. You could see the depth of runners because of the hill and it was incredible. About a week later, I went hiking with my brother at Cape Chignecto on the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia. We did a 50km hike in two days. I had always been athletic and an avid hiker (I hiked 750 miles of the Appalachian Trail by myself in 2003 and hiked from St. Martins to Riverview by myself in 1999), but I seriously underestimated just how out of shape I was after five years of work and educating myself to get my professional accounting designation.
I hurt so much after that and blamed it on getting old. I was 33 at the time. Later in August, my sister wanted to do the marathon called the KV Challenge. Then she said we should do a triathlon together. I kind of grumbled but then started to really think about it.
I started getting interested in triathlon and running and began doing some fast walks in Rockwood Park. I’ve always walked all the trails there weekly, but I picked up the pace a bit. Then in the middle of September I started to run. I was extremely unhealthy before that and was not living a positive lifestyle. I remember lasting 11 minutes on my first 1 mile run and feeling my heart hurting. It was very hard. I did this 1 mile loop in the dark in my neighbourhood a few nights per week. I also started biking short distances and then signed up for a membership at the Aquatic Centre. I started swimming before work. That was a struggle, especially the breathing.
I always swam at beaches in the summer, but I never wore goggles or a cap and because of that, doing the front crawl was too difficult with my hair in my face and not being able to see. I started to enjoy the feeling of the water rushing past me. I went to the track to run at UNB a few times last fall. I would go in the dark, in the rain, with soccer players practicing even though I know I looked ridiculous. We have a video of me running around the track with my sister. It looks like she is speed walking but I was trying my hardest. I signed up for a couple 5k races to see what it was like to race even though I knew I wasn’t ready yet with only 4-6 weeks of running under my belt.
I did the Island View Eagles 5K and the Creepy Crawl 5K and loved it. My times were about 27:30 and 26:45 I think. I remember both races at the 3-4km marks feeling like I was so exhausted and fatigued and my legs were going to die. I watched my sister win the KV Challenge and qualify for Boston in October. It was very inspiring and I really liked watching all of the runners. It looked like so much fun and I was so proud of her. I couldn’t imagine how anyone could run so far and at such a pace and smile all the way without gasping for air.
Through the winter, I ran in -30 degrees, blizzards, it didn’t matter. I gradually kept increasing my longer distances and running became easier. Occasionally I would run with my sister on the weekends and we would have nice conversations. We swam together every weekend – she really pushed me and we got closer than ever before.
By February, I ran my first half marathon in 1hr 52mins. My goal had been under 2hrs 30mins then I kept decreasing it. I was really pleased with my result and I enjoyed running the longer distance as it was less of a painful sprint and more strategic. Shelley seemed to think all along that I could do well.
We recently ran several races in April and May. My 5K time at YSJ dropped all the way to 21:52 and my half marathon time in Fredericton dropped to 1:42:38. Running makes me feel good and has been a wonderful way for my sister and me to bond together. I now realized my lifestyle and health were to blame last summer, not my age. I feel younger and stronger and better now than at any other point in my life.
My main training routes include Rockwood Park, Douglas Avenue, and the Marathon By The Sea half marathon route. I use the half marathon route to build up my longer distance runs as I live pretty much on part of the course. I would adjust the loop between 8km and 20kms depending on the distance I had planned. I can’t wait to run my home course and hope to come under 1hr and 40 minutes in the half marathon. I think my sister and I excel on the hills, so we will be taking full advantage of that feature. I can’t wait to watch her finish the marathon, she is a superb runner.
I truly believe watching the 2013 Marathon by the Sea race and the gentle nudge by my sister to get my act together have saved my life.
Marcie Holland smiles before the start of last weekend’s River Valley 5k Rave in Grand Bay-Westfield.
Marcie 2: Marcie Holland, left, and her sister Shelley Doucet pose for a photo prior to the River Valley 5k Rave in Grand Bay-Westfield last weekend,
Marcie 3: Marcie Holland races in the Hypothermic Half Marathon earlier this year.
