Sports
L A N G L E Y A D V A N C E | Friday, June 18, 2010 |
A41
Marathon running
Teen marathoner inspired by running group
The thought of friends and family waiting for him at the finish line was a driving force for a Brookswood teenager who completed the BMO Vancouver Marathon last month. by Troy Landreville sports@langleyadvance.com
Devin Spink didn’t want to let anybody down, as he soldiered on through the streets of downtown Vancouver May 2. He blocked his last marathon experience, one that landed him in Victoria hospital, out of his mind. During the Oct. 10 Victoria Marathon, Spink collapsed at around the 40 kilometre mark. “I didn’t drink enough water,” recalled the 17-year-old, on the cusp of graduating from Brookswood Secondary school. “They took me to the hospital to check me over, make sure nothing was failing, and it worked out. I was only there for a few hours.” “In the back of my mind, I kind of knew that happens to a lot of people,” Spink continued. “Normally they wouldn’t take people to the hospital – they would just check ’em right there, but because of my age they thought they would take me to the hospital. They figured if anything was going to happen, it would be better if it happened at the hospital.” The medical scare didn’t slow Spink down. In the months that followed, he pounded the pavement, literally, training seven days per week with a group from the Langley Running Room. Spink ran 75 to 80 kilometres each week in preparation for the BMO Vancouver Marathon. “It’s the kind of thing that you get addicted to,” Spink said, regarding long distance running. “I run with the Langley Running Room and we’re all one big group of friends. I’m the youngest at the Running Room and I run with the oldest guy [Will Gerber].” Spink completed Vancouver’s annual marathon in four hours, 57 minutes. Once he crossed the finish line in the wind
Long distance runner Devin Spink, 17, used a tree near McLeod Athletic Park as leverage as he stretched recently.
Troy Landreville/Langley Advance
and rain, 73-year-old Gerber and Langley Running Room manager Twila Horsman were there to hand him his finishing medal. The thought of seeing Gerber, Horsman and his family at the end of his trek lit a fire under Spink. “I thought about that throughout the race,” Spink said. “I thought ‘I’ve got to finish, I’ve got to get to that finish line.’” There were mornings leading up to the big day when Spink looked out his window and saw sheets of rain coming
DREAM,
down. Those moments tested his dedication. “It was absolute pouring out, and windy as hell, and I’m thinking ‘I have to do 30 K.’ Then I’d go to the Running Room and we’d all laugh about it, go do 30 K and then we’d go to Starbucks,” Spink said. “Starbucks loves it because we buy so much stuff from there.” Spink was among the 14,175 people from 28 countries who took part in the BMO Vancouver Marathon, which included the full 42.2-kilometre marathon,
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a 21.1-kilometre half-marathon, an eightkilometre run, and a Kids Marafun. “At the beginning it was like ‘Oh my God, I’m actually doing this,’” Spink said. “It felt great. Everybody was cheering everybody on. We all had names on our bibs and everybody was yelling out your name, saying ‘c’mon, c’mon you can do it, you can do it!’” About midway through the run, fatigue settled in like an unwanted house guest. Doubt also began to creep into his mind. “I started thinking, ‘Can I actually do this?’” Then, at the 35 kilometre mark, Spink decided mind must – and will – win over matter. “Your body is completely done,” Spink related. “Your body is saying you need to stop, but you just push yourself over that limit.” Pushing Spink further was knowing there were people who cared waiting for him at the finish line. “People are waiting for me, they want me to finish,” Spink said. “My parents are at the finish line waiting for me, I’ve got family and friends. It was a great feeling when I crossed the Burrard Street Bridge.” At about the 40 kilometre mark, Spink’s parents ran beside him, but were coaxed back by security. “Crossing the finish line, hearing everybody yelling my name, and seeing Twila and Will there… I don’t remember all of it, but the stuff I do remember was absolutely amazing,” Spink said. “Knowing I was probably the youngest person around here in Langley to finish… there are not a lot of people around here my age who do these kinds of races.” Spink hopes his story will motivate other teens to take up long distance running. “It’s lots of fun,” he said. “If you really want to do it, you have to go to Langley Running Room. They’re all friendly, they’re there to help. They talk about form, what kind of shoes you should be wearing, all that kind of stuff. All of their clinic instructors have done races before.” When he took up running about two years ago, Spink could only manage to go from telephone pole to telephone pole. “Here I am now, doing marathons,” he said.