Catherine Watkins knows she is, as far as conventional wisdom is concerned, a little late to the game.
“I’m old,” said Watkins. She’s 43.
Before 2015, she had run four marathons, merely as a participant. But in the past five months, she has run two with a goal: qualifying for consideration on Canada’s 2015 Pan-American Games team.
Watkins and her coach, Richard Lee, first marked Houston in January as the place she would reach the standard of 2 hours, 40 minutes. But Watkins developed stomach problems during the race and finished six minutes behind the time needed. Watkins’ next opportunity: the Eugene Marathon.
On Sunday, though, Watkins found out that each marathon poses a different challenge. This time, Watkins said, “I just didn’t have legs.”
Regardless, Watkins took a lead by the halfway mark, and in the latter stages of the event, she began hearing, “You’re first woman, you’re first woman” from onlookers.
“I thought, ‘If I’m not going to get my time, if I can break the tape, that would be pretty fun,'” Watkins said. “I’ve never got to do that before.”
Watkins did, winning a marathon for the first time in 2:42:35, the second-fastest time recorded by a woman at the Eugene Marathon. Emily Harrison, who was hoping to qualify for the 2016 U.S. Olympic Trials, finished second in 2:44:40, more than two and a half minutes slower than the trials qualifying standard.
“It turned into racing for place,” Harrison said. “I had a strong kick at the end and was able to come out in second. I’m happy with that.”
Erin Nehus-Vergara battled her way to a third-place finish in 2:45:00.
Nehus-Vergara latched on with half-marathon winner, Claudia Becque and led the race until the courses split. But by mile eight, she experienced tightness in her hamstrings and said she “had to change up my gait a little bit.”
Once Watkins passed her near the halfway point, there was no catching up for Nehus-Vergara.
“The rest of race was survival mode,” Nehus-Vergara said.
Watkins possessed a similar feeling during the last six miles. She said it became a mile-by-mile battle.
“I think the marathon is just, when you talk to people, each one you learn something else,” Watkins said. “Houston for me, was learning that I can’t eat certain things before marathon. This one, that it’s a huge mental game to get through one.”
It was just Watkins’ second competitive marathon. It was Nehus-Vergara’s third.
“I’ve only had two marathons and my first one went really well,” Nehus-Vergara said. “I was smiling at mile 14. My second one was a similar experience.”
This one was different. Rather than smiling, Nehus-Vergara was hobbling. She felt about 3 to 5 percent off both mentally and physically, and she said that can lead to a poor performance.
“A lot of people go through a lot of marathons before they get in that rhythm,” Nehus-Vergara said.
As for the collective mood from the runners, it still appeared to be content. Harrison, who qualified for the Olympic Trials in 2012, still has hopes of qualifying in 2016. She does not know when she will race again.
Watkins plans to regroup as well. She will not qualify for the PanAm games, but there were still plenty of smiles. In just her second marathon with a clear goal in mind, she broke the tape.
“That was amazing,” Watkins said. “And Hayward Field. Wow, for a runner, that is a moment.”
