'The temperature is hard to beat': Runners finish October running of Tely 10 for 2nd year in a row

Runners took to the streets of Paradise, Mount Pearl and St. John's on Saturday for a Tely 10 road race held in October for the second year in a row.

The race was originally supposed to take place on July 24 but had to be postponed due to high temperatures.

According to race director Randy Ball, about 2,750 people signed up to run, adding that those who couldn't make the October date and cancelled were balanced out by new registrations.

"The event was just super," said Ball.

"The weather co-operated. And talking to a lot of the runners, they felt that this was probably one of the best races ever. We had absolutely no issues and I just feel wonderful about today."

With the race happening in the fall for the second time in a row, questions about a permanent move of the race date have come up. An official announcement, Ball said, will be made soon.

"It looks like we're going to be moving the Tely to the month of June," he said.

"September is hurricane season, as you all know, and October, there are some other races that have been established long before us, so we don't want to interfere."

It's the fall date that convinced this year's overall winner to even compete in the Tely 10.

Jordan Fewer of Corner Brook finished the race with a time of 53:29.

"If it was the summer, I wouldn't be here. And the temperature is hard to beat today," said Fewer.

"Ten degrees, a little bit of a headwind, but kept me cool."

While Fewer, who is the nephew of record winner Colin Fewer, had run the Tely 10 before, this was his first win.

"I knew I could put myself in the mix but I've been doing a lot of longer runs, much longer runs. So I didn't know I had the gears for today," he said.

"Maybe those hills helped me out a bit."

Kate Bazeley was the winner in the women's category Saturday. The veteran runner finished the race sixth overall, with a time of 56:10.

"It feels great," she said. "It's always a really nice feeling to win and run your best."

The Tely 10 was her first race since an Achilles injury in April, Bazeley said.

"I'm just coming back into it now, the last month or so. I might be doing the Houston Marathon in January," she said.

"This was like my marker to build off of."

It's Bazeley's sixth Tely 10 win, and her second win in a row after she also finished first in the women's category in 2021.

Randy Churchill of Conception Bay South has a few more races under his belt. While Churchill finished 1,420th, he still received a special award.

"I've been running the Tely 10 for 40 [years]," said Churchill, adding that he started running 50 years ago.

The secret, he says, is late meals, a positive attitude and lots of support from his wife and friends — and training five to six days every week.

"It's getting tougher," Churchill said, and laughed.

A special award also went to another experienced runner: Florence Barron of St. John's.

The 84-year-old started running the Tely 10 when she was 59. This year, she received the Dr. John Williams Award, which is given to racers who have inspired others to become physically active and run the race.

"This is so exciting," said Barron. "I'm overwhelmed because I didn't expect to get this."

When asked about plans of hanging up the running shoes any time soon, Barron laughed.

"Every year. I'm going to stop every year. That's my plan," she said. 

"Then when the time comes around for a race, I'm in it. I don't know, I'm addicted."

St. John's runner Mark Greene was second to cross the finish line of the 94th annual Tely 10, with a time of 53:45. He was followed by Ben Collingwood, Michael King and Alexander Pittman.

Anne Johnston finished second in the women's category, at 57:12. Jennifer Murrin, Jennifer Barron and Allyson Stuckless came in third, fourth and fifth, respectively.

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