From Solo Runner to Pacer in Royal Victoria Marathon

Every year on Thanksgiving weekend, thousands of runners gather at the Legislature in downtown Victoria for the Royal Victoria Marathon. The race was first run in 1980, and this Sunday, October 11, 2026, it starts for the 46th time.

Last year, Leo Nguyen ran it for himself. This year he will run it for other people, as the 4:10 pace leader for the full marathon. Between those two races sits a simple idea that he keeps coming back to, on the road and at work: know your summit, then train for it, one run at a time.

Last year: running his own race

On October 12, 2025, at the 45th Royal Victoria Marathon, Leo ran through a wet, grey Thanksgiving Sunday and crossed the finish line in 3 hours and 16 minutes.

What stayed with him was not the clock. It was the quiet truth every marathoner learns: the finish line is decided long before race day. It is decided on dark weekday mornings, on long Sunday runs and on the evenings you go to bed early instead of staying up.

This year: running for the group

This year Leo will run almost an hour slower than his own finish last year, and that is the point. He is one of the Super Pacers, the race’s pace team. A pace leader does not run their own race. A pace leader runs the plan: about 5 minutes and 55 seconds for every kilometre, on the flat stretches, on the hills and into the wind along the water.

Runners don’t sign up for a pace group. On race day they look for the star-shaped sign with their goal time and simply join in. Some will stay with Leo the whole way. Some will drop back. Some will feel strong and leave the group in the last 10 kilometres, which is exactly what should happen. His job is to stay steady and keep reminding them that they trained for this.

Every runner has a Zenith Goal

At WIZAD, the first thing we ask anyone is: what is your Zenith Goal? It is the summit you are aiming for. Runners understand this better than most.

For the most passionate runners, the summit is the World Marathon Majors, the biggest marathons in the world. The road to Boston runs through a qualifying time. Meeting the Boston standard is not even enough on its own: in 2026, runners needed to be about four and a half minutes faster than their standard to earn a place. So they chase seconds, race after race.

For most of us, the summit is closer, and just as real. A first 5 km without stopping. A 10 km. A half marathon. One day, perhaps, the full 42.2 km. Each of us chooses the distance that fits our body, our pace and our life right now.

The distance matters less than you think. What matters is having a goal, and a reason to train for it. A goal turns “I should run more” into a plan you can follow on a Tuesday morning when it is raining.

Working back from the summit

Nobody runs a marathon on race day alone. They run it in the months before. Once the goal is clear, you work back from it: how many runs a week, which routes, which sessions. Easy runs to build a base. A long run every week to build endurance. A few faster sessions to teach the legs a new pace.

None of it is dramatic. Most training runs are quiet, unremarkable and easy to skip. But each one adds a little to the base, and the base is what carries you up the summit. That is the whole philosophy: a clear Z at the top, and small, steady steps that lead to it.

Running as a way of living

For Leo, running stopped being only about race day a long time ago. It gives him three things he needs every week:

• Health. The energy to get through long days and heavy weeks.
• Discipline. Training is a promise you keep to yourself, several times a week, with no audience.
• A creative mind. With no screen and no meetings, the mind has room to wander. A problem that felt stuck at a desk often looks different at kilometre 12.

Running brings people together

Running looks like a lonely sport. It rarely is. Strangers in a pace group become teammates for four hours. People you have never met cheer your name from the side of the road. Someone shares a gel at kilometre 30, and someone else waits for you at the finish.

That positive energy is contagious. You leave a group run lighter than you arrived, and you carry some of it into the rest of your day.

Victoria has a warm running community, and these are good places to find your people:

• Victoria BC Runners. A Facebook group where local runners share group runs, races, routes and advice.
• Frontrunners. A Victoria running store, founded in 1988, that runs training clinics and supports many local races.
• Super Pacers. The volunteer pace team that has led groups at the Royal Victoria Marathon since 2014. Look for their star-shaped signs at the start.

Victoria is a wonderful place to run

Few cities make it this easy. The winters are mild, so you can run all year. You can follow the ocean along Dallas Road, loop through Beacon Hill Park, head out on the Galloping Goose or Lochside trails, or circle Elk Lake on a Sunday morning. Every route comes with a view.

So here is the invitation. Pick your Zenith Goal, whether it is 5 km, 10 km, 21 km or 42 km. Find a group, lace up and start with one easy run this week. If you are on the start line this Sunday and aiming for 4:10, look for the star with Leo underneath it. And if you are not running this year, come out and cheer. You might find your goal for next year.

Your Zenith Goal, one sprint at a time

Here is the whole idea on one page. Start at the summit, know where you stand today, then train in short blocks that each build on the one before.

TopicsLeadershipPlanningWellbeingZenith Goal