Tara Jeffrey
Tara Antle wasn’t going to let a pandemic stop her from conquering her first half-marathon.
The Corunna mom had been planning to knock it off her bucket list at the 2020 St. Clair River Run, scheduled for July. She began training in January and even joined a 1,000K club, committing to running 100 kilometres every month in 2020.
“I thought that would just be a crazy goal to reach,” said Antle, mom to Ethan, 9, and Callie, 6.
But when the pandemic was declared in March it meant there would be no St. Clair River Run; no crowd to cheer her on, no medals or celebrations.
But she kept training anyway.
“I have great support from family and friends who encouraged me to keep going,” said Antle, 35, who started running the St. Clair River Trail with Ethan riding his bike alongside her. “He wears a water backpack and plays the music.”
She set the date — July 25 — for her solo half-marathon, from Sombra to Corunna.
Meanwhile, husband Shaun was working behind the scenes to make the day a little more special.
He invited friends, family and neighbours to meet at a surprise makeshift finish line at CAP Park in Corunna to celebrate her achievement. He posted on a Corunna Community Facebook group, inviting residents to honk and cheer her on along the route. He even had a medal made that read: “First half marathon, COVID-style. Love, your biggest fans.”
“I knew that, with COVID canceling the event, it would have a big impact on her,” he said. “Running with other people and having people rooting for you, it really helps you get through it; helps your mental state while you’re running.
“I wanted to make sure Tara still had that.”
That morning, Tara and trusty sidekick Ethan set out on the big run, and by the time she reached Courtright she was blown away by what was happening.
“People were honking, waving and cheering out their windows,” Antle recalled, with a laugh. “I just smiled and waved, thinking, ‘I have no idea who that is.’”
Meanwhile, a small crowd was gathering at the finish line, when Tara called Shaun in tears, along the route.
“I was struggling,” she recalled. “I said, ‘I can’t make these last three kilometres.’”
That’s when best friend Carly stepped in and joined her on the final leg.
“If it hadn’t been for her, I don’t think I would have finished.”
When they approached the toilet-paper finish line flanked by family and friends, tears started flowing.
She’d run more than 22 kilometres in about two-and-a-half hours.
“It was really important for me to show my kids that when you set a goal, even when things don’t go the way you planned, or when things get hard,” she said, “you can adapt, you can adjust, and go on.”
