Braving June snow and windy weather, four Jasperites recently came together to tackle the Calgary half marathon. Counting on diverse running backgrounds and motivations, the women all successfully completed their goal, as they transitioned from rooty trails to Calgary concrete.

Margot Simpson was the top finisher for the Jasper women, posting a time of 1:57. Aggie Johnston was next with a time of 2:17, followed by Michelle Dolhan 2:20 and Lori Rimmer 2:23.

Braving June snow and windy weather, four Jasperites recently came together to tackle the Calgary half marathon. Counting on diverse running backgrounds and motivations, the women all successfully completed their goal, as they transitioned from rooty trails to Calgary concrete.

Margot Simpson was the top finisher for the Jasper women, posting a time of 1:57. Aggie Johnston was next with a time of 2:17, followed by Michelle Dolhan 2:20 and Lori Rimmer 2:23.

Simpson, a runner for 20 years, spent much of her training regime on the Overlander and Wabasso trails, however she certainly felt the sting of pavement during the marathon. The run wasn’t as much about the time but experience, she said.

“I started on a two hour pace, but by the last few kilometres, it started to hurt,” Simpson said, noting the first 10 kilometres flew by. “But you have all of these people cheering you on, waving signs that say ‘Quitting isn’t sexy.’ ”

“It was motivating.”

For Simpson, well-being trumps results, but she’s still happy with her time.

“Running is my sanity. It clears my mind, allows me to solve my problems and enjoy life. I feel alive.” 

Johnston has also been running for 30 years. This was her fourth half marathon, and a warm-up for a full marathon she plans to enter in Victoria, B.C. later this year.

“I alternate between the trails and the road so my body is ready for the cement,” she said.

For Dolhan, the race was the culmination of two years of training. 

“I just wanted to finish,” she said.

She’s been running for a comparatively short period of time, mostly tackling the hills around Pyramid Lake, but as a shift worker with the RCMP, she has to juggle her training schedule. But living in Jasper allows her to compete, she said.

“It’s really nice having a trail system,” she said.

While both Johnston and Simpson thought of loved ones for motivation during the gruelling parts of the run, Dolhan joked she could only think about what the heck she had gotten herself into.

“I was trying to keep up to this runner with a motivational t-shirt. I thought I might need it later on,” Dolhan joked.

All of the runners noted that none of the hills on the Calgary course even came close to rivalling the elevation in Jasper.

And how did the women celebrate their mission?

“We went grocery shopping and drove the five-hour trip home,” Simpson laughed. “We had to prop ourselves up with the shopping carts.”