Shift in marathon venue makes sense

I heard rumours – which I had officially confirmed last week – the Valley Harvest Marathon would be shifting venues this fall from Kentville, its base for the past 15 years, to Wolfville.

My first thought was, what will the people in Kentville think? I put this question to new race coordinator Dwayne MacLeod, whose reply was he hadn’t heard a whole lot of negative feedback – or any feedback, for that matter.

It probably doesn’t matter where a marathon has its home base, as long as it has access to a 26-mile course.

I’ve gotten to cover the VHM a number of times, including the inaugural race in 1993 that was one of the first sport events I covered for The Advertiser.

It’s always exciting - especially at the finish, but I always thought it should have been a bigger event than it was, especially when it was held in conjunction with the Shiretown’s Harvest Festival.

MacLeod confirmed corporate support was never really there – other than the major sponsors, of course, nor did there ever seem to be any real effort by Kentville or its business community to make any kind of an event out of race day.

Hopefully, things will be different in Wolfville, with its student population and more eclectic demographic. MacLeod says he already has a commitment from the business community to make it more of a community event.

Even though marathons, other than the finish or maybe the start, are really interesting only to the participants and hard-core marathon fans; one can’t argue there isn’t electricity at the finish area, anticipation of the first runners to come in.

One of the major draws of the Valley Harvest Marathon for runners over the years has been the course, along Brooklyn Street amid breathtaking Valley fall scenery. It was both fast and flat, and became popular with runners seeking personal best times and also those looking to qualify for the Boston Marathon the following April.

At the same time, as MacLeod points out, as nice as Brooklyn Street is in mid-October, “the scenery doesn’t change.”

The new course - from Wolfville through Greenwich and Port Williams, then Starr’s Point and the dykeland of the old Cornwallis Township as far as Kingsport before returning to Wolfville - certainly has lots to recommend it, both from a participant and a spectator point of view.

I personally feel the drive out along the dykes, keeping to the “back roads” as the VHM course will, is one of the prettiest and most picturesque in the province - at any time of year, but especially so in the fall.

I expect the VHM will end up being even more of a draw for runners than on the former course, even though the new course is a little less flat and should be a bit more challenging – not be a bad thing either.

Change isn’t always a bad thing, especially after 15 years, breathing life into an event that never really got the chance to be the provincial-calibre showcase it could have been. It’s not been the fault of the organizers, who have done a good job building and maintaining the race and attracting a quality field. I do agree a certain amount of complacency has set in over the years (as might be expected with any event of this kind).

Hopefully, the change in venue will indeed breathe new life into the VHM, and allow it to continue as a quality sporting event and a draw for our area for many years to come.