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Sudbury Rocks 2025 — A Marathon of Highs, Lows, and One Very Welcome Comeback
- Coach Chris
- 2 days ago
- 6 min read
(20th-Anniversary Race Recap by Chris Gilbert)
I’ve got a soft spot for hometown races.
They’re where you learn to suffer quietly, celebrate loudly, and bump into half your running buddies at the grocery store the next day.
Sudbury Rocks is the crown jewel of those races— our city’s Marathon, now two full decades old. This year marked my second crack at the full marathon and what was supposed to be Marisa’s first… until a stress-fracture detour sent her to the sidelines.
Four full weeks of forced rest later, she pinned on a 5 km bib just to see if the leg would hold.
What unfolded was everything a local race should be: soggy and cold start lines, bump'n community noise, dark mental caves, finish-line bells, and proof that sometimes “good enough” beats perfect plans every time.
Here’s the play-by-play from both sides of the timing mat.
The Build-Up: Two Training Cycles, One Detour
My side: Sixteen weeks of textbook consistency—75 km peak weeks, Sunday long runs brushing 30+ km, strength and physio on repeat. The only wobble showed up two weeks out when a new-shoe highway long run lit up my right plantar fascia forcing me to park the running shoes, hop on the bike, and pray the flare-up would calm before race day.... It did!
Marisa’s side: Same plan—until shin splints morphed into a confirmed tibial stress fracture. Her marathon pivoted to cross-training, physio, and the long view: a grueling Near-Death Marathon in the Rockies this August. The compromise?
Walk the Rocks 5 km if the leg allowed. Spoiler: it did a lot more than walk.
Expo Energy & Pre-Race Jitters
Sudbury Rocks does expos right: a gym full of local vendors, booths, and a few freebies
(last-year’s race shirts? yes please).
Bib pickup took two minutes flat. The only headache is parking—the high school lot backs onto busy Notre Dame, and traffic bottlenecks if you arrive late. We grabbed bibs at 11 a.m, soaked up the vibes, then gtfo after having some great conversations with racers and vedors alike. We also got reminded several times that tomorrow’s forecast called for overcast, cool, and possibly some early morning rain — daydream weather for marathoners.
Race-Morning Weather: A Wet Gift
Last year the course baked under 30 °C sun.
This time we woke to 9 °C and a steady drizzle—perfect if you hate heat stroke.
By the gun it was 10 °C, and in that weird mix of "should I run in a rain jacket, or risk it - for the biscuit?"
I ditched the poncho at the start line and never looked back.
Loop One: Smooth Sailing—Until It Wasn’t
Sudbury Rocks is two identical loops: downtown launch, up Notre Dame, past the New Sudbury Centre, a highway stretch on Falconbridge, then back toward Lake Ramsey and downtown. Asphalt all the way, a few honest rollers, but nothing monstrous.
The first lap went perfectly. Settled into my pace, and cruised without issue back through the arch downtown with a 1:55 Half Marathon Split, on track for the sub 4 plan.
For 24 km I lived inside the plan: 60 g carbs per hour (gel then chew), 500 ml water plus aid-station Gatorade, 5:35/km cruise.
The volunteers were a human espresso shot—water, cheers, high-fives. I started thinking about that sub-4 dream.
The Wall Arrives, Bubble-Gut in Tow
Somewhere between km 27 and 30 the wheels wobbled—hard.
My stomach staged a mutiny; every sip threatened a reversal. Energy tanked, pace slipped north of 6:00/km. It was looking pretty bleak, Im not going to lie...
So I phoned Marisa — who was already long finished and cheering back down town — for a reality check.
“Sub - 4’s gone,” I told her.
“But you’re not,” she shot back. “Run what you can, walk when you must, and keep repeating until you hit 42.2.”
Pep talk delivered. Assignment understood. Off I went.
Through the Pain Cave, A Run-Walk Redemption
I switched to a simple rule: run until the legs flirted with collapse, then give myself 60 seconds to walk, repeat.
Aid stations turned into mini goal posts. Get to them, sip water, keep moving.
It took a bit, and it took a serious look at myself and how I was going to handle the pain cave I found myself in. By km 34 however, the fog lifted.
The pain was still there, but the despair wasn’t. I wasn’t chasing a clock anymore—I was chasing the version of me who refused to stop, and this version of me was still running.
Marisa’s 5 km — From “Walk It” to “Send It”
Marisa lined up planning to stroll the course, so she could still take part in the 20th year event. She even happened to find a friend in the crowd who was doing the same race, and was going to be walking it as well so she would have some company.
Well the plan to walk it changed quickly, when two minutes in she realized the leg felt… fine.
Pace quickened, and by the halfway mark she was flirting with her pre-injury 5 km tempo.
Her friend graciously waved her on, and Marisa flew the final stretch grinning ear to ear.
Pain scale? A beautiful zero.
Finish-Line Bells & Burgers
After what felt like an eternity out on course, I turned onto Brady Street, spotted the arch, and sprinted to the finish line, leaving every last bit of energy my legs had - out on course.
Chip: 4:25:56 — twenty minutes quicker than last year.
The PR bell rang just about as loud as my calves did!
Marisa met me with the biggest “I RAN!” smile I’ve seen all year.
A perfect closing to another amazing Sudbury Rocks Race Weekend.
Recovery ritual? Stretching, the endless walk back to the car, and our post-race tradition: Dog House in Azilda.
Calories torched: ~2,200.
Calories consumed: who’s counting?
What Sudbury Rocks Does Right
Volunteer Firepower – Every corner, every aid table, high energy start to finish. There isnt much of this course where you'd be able to not hear someone cheering you on.
Seamless Logistics – Clear signage, fast bib pick-up, well-placed and stocked aid stations. I've done enough races now to see logistics break down, causing headaches that can take form the experinece. You WONT find that here. Sudbury Rocks Organizers have this shit locked down.
Small-City Soul – Enough runners for energy, few enough for first-name cheers, and even those who arnt competing and just drive by, they cheer just as loudly as those at the starting lines.
Wish-list for year 21?
Medals that pack the Sudbury Punch in them - like the 2024s edition.
Lessons We’ll Take to the Next Start Line
Plans Bend, Goals Adapt: Two-week taper flare-ups and seven-week injuries don’t erase the months you logged. Pivot, don’t panic.
Run-Walk Beats Full Stop: When the gut revolts, or cramps creep in, or you just full send into the bonk - walk purposefully, run deliberately, and watch the wall crumble.
Comeback Rule #1: Pain-Free First, Pace Second: Marisa’s 5 km reminded us that five comfortable kilometres beat 42 painful ones every day. Train smart and check the ego. She not only walks away with a pleasant surprise, but she can still crush her marathon in the rockies because she checked her ego at the door.
Local Races Are Gold for Firsts and Returns: No flights, familiar roads, built-in cheering sections — perfect for PBs and “can I still do this?” tests. A great lesson for those wanting to try a race but dont know what to do. Start local!
Should You Run Sudbury Rocks?
First-time marathoner? Do it.
Friendly course, accessible expo, and a finish-line crowd that sticks around.
Chasing a Boston qualifier? Do it.
Plenty of runners punch their ticket here—cool temps and modest elevation help.
Coming back from injury? Do it.
Opt for the shorter distances; the vibe and volunteer support will carry you.
Parting Thought
The finish arch doesn’t care how tidy your training spreadsheet looked.
It cares that you kept moving when the plan blew apart.
This year, Sudbury Rocks reminded me — and proved to Marisa — that forward motion, however messy, still gets you to the finish line.
See you on the roads.
And if you’re eyeing next year’s 21st anniversary, we’ll be out there, bibs pinned, ready to find the next lesson on these hometown streets. 👊
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