The April Fools' Run 21-kilometres half Marathon from Gibsons to Sechelt was no joke.
Local athletic celebrity, now in her seventies, "Marathon Mae" Palm said she was sick before the race, and was recovering from hip surgery, but was happy to cross the finish line.
"I'm paying a little more for it," Palm said.
Nine Squamish residents participated in the event, and Palm said she was proud of all the strong contenders representing her hometown.
"It was neat to see them achieve better goals. They all did well," said Palm who completed the race in just under two hours.
The race started at the Gibsons Park Plaza, went along Lower Road, to the Sunshine Cost Highway and ended in Davis Bay in Sechelt. "It was an amazing race," said Anne French who finished second in the age 55 to 59 category. "I started out too fast but I maintained the pace."
Claudette Jonzon also ran in the race and placed third in the 50-54 category with a time of 1:5511.
"I had a personal best," said Jonzon. She added that she had lots of fun enjoying the scenery of the Sunshine Coast and visiting. Jonzon practiced for the race by running hills and jogging with her dogs. She also trained with Palm.
Palm wasn't going to run in the event since she just had a hip replacement and had a cold two weeks before the race, but then she won tickets from Mountain FM and decided to go for it.
She trained first by running for four minutes and then walking for one. She deciding she felt good and went for longer runs."I guess you can call me an April Fool," Palm said who hopes to be well enough to run in the Vancouver Marathon in May and do the Ironman in August.
"I think as we get older we get stupid."
There was a pre-race meal on Saturday (March 31) at the Pack Ratt Louise Grill where Sarah Loverock, a Canadian Idol finalist, performed.
The April Fools' race was started on a dare when English teacher George Matthews told Fran Berger, a fitness columnist, it would be no problem for him to run from Gibsons to Sechelt without any training.
Berge accepted this challenge and with Matthews they ran 20 kilometres.
In 2003 the George Matthews Memorial Trophy was created and awarded to the first male and female across the finish line. Matthews passed away in 2001.
This year the trophy was awarded to Graeme Wilson and Katrina Driver, both from Vancouver. Driver got a new women's record at 1:18:31.
