West Coast Runner: Nanaimo 2012 Sport Achievement Awards

So then this happened....

A few weeks ago I received word that I was nominated for Nanaimo’s Individual Female Athlete of the Year for 2012. Within a few days of hearing this news, I received word that I was selected as one of three finalists for the category and was requested to attend the Nanaimo Sport Achievement Awards Banquet on Saturday February 9^th. I was very honored to be selected as a finalist and my initial thought was that I had zero chance of winning so I actually told the organizers that I would be unable to attend due to running the Pacific Road Runners First Half Half Marathon the following morning.

The more I thought about it, I realized that I was incredibly lucky to be chosen as a finalist and that I really wanted to attend. I researched my options and was told that my award was one of the last to be awarded and that I would not make the last 9pm ferry to Vancouver. I checked out the float planes and saw that they didn’t fly out of Nanaimo until after 7:30 as they don’t fly until the sun comes up. The last resort was Air Canada and flying from Nanaimo’s airport to YVR and then catching the Canada Line downtown.

The schedule was tight, leaving little to no room for error. In the end, I booked the flight and crossed my fingers that there would be no fog or delays. So this past Saturday, I got all dressed up and attended my first Nanaimo Sport Achievement Awards.

The event was being held at the Coast Bastion Hotel and we had to be there by 6pm. We checked in and found our table and then went up to a “holding room” per say where we had food and drinks with other nominees. I kept two junior athletes company as I knew one of them (Madison) through the track club. This little speedster broke my school records I think almost 3 years ago now. I believe I had held the record for approx 16 years but I can’t remember exactly.

Closer to 7pm we were taken towards the main ballroom and were piped around the outside of the room by a guy playing the bagpipes. We found our seats and then had a delicious prime rib dinner, starting with salad and ending with Cheesecake. The awards were mixed in throughout the night.

As it came closer to my award category, I won’t lie, I got nervous. I was up against racewalker Katelynn Ramage and a talented 13 year old Sage Thomas. I have known Katelynn for more than a few years both through NDSS (who I helped coach) and the local track club. She is really skilled at her event and a top ranked athlete in the country. Sage on the other hand had many medals at various national/international events. Unfortunately neither Katelynn nor Sage could attend the event and were represented by their parents. Needless to say, I didn’t once think that I had this award in the bag.

Not to mention we had 2 other nominees at my table and they had both won already. I was either going to continue the trend or break it! When they called my name I was shocked. I went up and accepted and then had my photo taken by the talented Lance Sulllivan. Thankfully I didn’t have to make a speech as I am not a fan of public speaking. If I was required, I would have thanked my coach Matt, my boyfriend, family and friends, not to mention my sponsor since 2011 (Saucony) and of course my health professionals Abe, Joe and Yvonne.

I even ended up getting a quick interview with the local Newspaper plus a quick interview with CTV VI News (awkward!!! I am not a natural). The constant question I was asked was “what is next for you” to which I replied, well I have a half marathon tomorrow morning at 8:30am in Vancouver (at this time it was probably at least 10:30pm).

Interview with Mira (CTV News)

I still have no idea who actually nominated me; however, if you are out there, a huge thank you! When I returned to work on Wednesday (I work at a seniors facility) I found that my co-worker had made a “wall of congrats” which included all my news articles, plus each resident signed their name and wrote special messages. It was quite the surprise! Thanks Colleen!

Work Surprise