Laurelly Dale’s World Marathon Majors Adventure

My coach is Kate Gustafson.

Every tough moment I’ve had in workouts or on the course I remind myself to “go for the Gusto”, thinking of how tough Kate is. She’s the strongest person I know. She became my coach after my first disaster of a marathon in Vancouver 2013. I called her two hours after leaving the medical tent, which I was wheeled to by the medics after crawling on my hands and knees across the finish line. Despite my valiant crawling efforts – I missed qualifying for Boston in that race by a mere 3 seconds. I called Kate later that same day. She agreed to train three of us: me, her boyfriend Michael Cosentino, and Lara, and through her training all of us qualified for Boston.

I never intended to go for the Six Star Medal.

#1 Boston Marathon

My first Boston (3:32) was in the top three of most difficult races of my life. In 2015 the weather was brutal. Strong gusty winds, nonstop rain. As a Canadian I’ve never been colder in my life. It didn’t help that I had a stress fracture in my leg causing immense pain. After my first Boston I joined the Angels – an all women’s elite and semi elite running group in Toronto.

I’ve never met a group like the Angles. The most talented, over achieving, inspiring, resilient group of women. Through them I learned about the six stars and earned all of my stars running alongside members of the Angels.

#2 Chicago Marathon

My second star was Chicago (3:26) – normally a fast flat course, but for me, this one was tough.  Running my highest mileage, I overdid it – making it my second roughest of the six stars. Lack of sleep and poor nutrition led me to the start line feeling “off” but I managed to push through and came home with a second star under my belt.

#3 London Marathon

Next on the docket was London (3:19). I was inspired all training cycle by my carrot Sarah Elliott – famously winning every race in 2018 and impressively becoming the first Canadian across the finish line in London at the hottest marathon on record. While I recall deliriously running through the gates of Buckingham palace, my favorite memory will always be of Queen Elizabeth starting the race by slamming a big red button wishing us “good luck runners”.

#4 Tokyo Marathon

My fourth star was earned in Tokyo in 2019 (3:10) – the most challenging of all my training cycles.  While the race itself helped me achieve a major PB, it took a lot to overcome an unexpected incident. On August 21, 2018, while attending an outdoor boot camp in Toronto, me and four other women were robbed at gunpoint and held on a lawn for over ten minutes. Later that day the gunman fatally shot someone else.  We were lucky a woman walking her dog saw us and came over, causing him and his accomplices to run away. It was an extremely traumatic experience and one I carried with me in my lead-up to earning my fourth star in Tokyo.

#5 Berlin Marathon

Fast forward a few years through the pandemic, and I’ve finally approached my fifth star in Berlin (3:09). Inspired by the then fastest man on earth Kipchoge – I channeled his mantra that “impossible is nothing”, earning another PB and my fifth star.

#6 NYC Marathon

On the precipice of earning my sixth star – I reflected on my process and growth. It’s difficult to describe what it feels like to earn my sixth star in New York (3:15:46).

What’s next?

Overall, the six star adventure has taught me to be tough but smart about training. I’ve learned how to listen to my body, eat properly, listen to my coach, be cautious, and celebrate my victories – but to also move on to the next goal. As I crossed that finish line Sunday in New York I allowed myself to be proud of this tremendous achievement. Marathons are beasts. I’ll always be grateful to run. I recognize how lucky I am to have crossed those six iconic finish lines.

Onto the next goal: Boston 10 times? ;)