David Moore - Toronto Police Service

Back in May, David shared his story on our Blog about how he was preparing for his third World Police and Fire Games. Now read about how he got on in the cycling events and 5k cross country competition.....

It’s hard to believe that one month has already passed since we returned to Canada from our trip to Belfast, Northern Ireland and the 2013 World Police and Fire Games. I've been reflecting on how well things went overall and how glad I am that we decided to go. I travelled with my wife Jen, and our teenagers - son Alex and daughter Katie.

We arrived on July 28^th and went directly to our rented cottage near Crossgar in County Down. What a beautiful place and area we found ourselves in. We spent the rest of the day exploring the immediate surroundings, recovering from jet lag and generally just settling in.

We went into Belfast on Monday the 29^th and registered for the Games at the Waterfront Registration Centre. As soon as I saw the other athletes milling about, the reality of the competition began to sink in. It’s that familiar mixture of optimism and nervous energy that strikes me before all events…....

I definitely took advantage of the amazing surroundings for cycling as each morning I went for a solo ride in the early hours, exploring Strangford Lough, Newcastle, Downpatrick and down towards the edge of the Mourne Mountains, amongst other spots. Despite the narrow roadways, without much allowance for cyclists, I found the road surfaces to be excellent and people to be generally courteous as I did my best to ride consistently on the left hand side of the road!

As a family we had decided ahead of time that we definitely wanted to see certain areas of Northern Ireland during our stay - Giant’s Causeway, Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge, the coastal route, the Mourne Mountains, Strangford Lough and to definitely take the black cab tour of Belfast. There were also the important shopping trips that kept certain members of the family in a more supportive frame of mind when it came time for me to compete!

The first race that was on tap for me was the Cycling Hill Climb taking place at Stormont Estate on July 31st. We arrived in plenty of time to warm up for the evening start. This was the first day that we really experienced a Belfast downpour! We parked the car and I went to sign in. All of the assembled cyclists were soaked and probably thinking the same thing – was this precipitation really necessary?! I found out my start time and went to prepare as best I could. We were to go off two at a time – each in one of the two lanes of Prince of Wales Avenue, up and around the roundabout at the Lord Carson statue and ending at the top of the hill in front of the stately Parliament building. The pain began immediately after the sound went to start our race. I made my way up thinking not only of the finish line ahead but also how hard I had trained for this very event. The race was over before I knew it and after several minutes of catching my breath, I rode back down the hill and met up with my family. I had no idea how I had done so we gathered at the results area and waited. The wait was well worth it as they called my name for the silver medal in my age category. What a great start to the Games!

The week went by very quickly and before we knew it the Road Race, Time Trial and Criterium were completed and on the evening of 6 August we were at Stormont Estate once again with all of our luggage packed in the car – including the bike, as this time I was to rely solely (no pun intended!) on my foot speed. 

It was the 5K Cross Country event. I went down to the playing field to watch the end of the 10K Cross Country and began my warm-up. It was exciting to see so many other competitors from all over the world and unlike most of the bike races, we would all be starting at the same time. There were well over 120 of us at the start and after hearing the gun, I fought quickly to gain a good position in the crowd. That unmistakeable feeling of pain in my lungs and legs brought home the reality of this hard event. There is no coasting in a 5K – it is pure effort from the start. The biggest challenge is to remain focussed on breathing and pacing. After the first of the two laps I knew that I could maintain the current pace but was unsure how close behind my next age group competitor was and how much of a kick they might have. Jen and Katie were able to tell me that so far I was in second place for my grouping. I did my best to ignore the pain and kept thinking of the finish line ahead. I also didn’t look back but only gauged how close the next pack behind me was by the shouts of the crowd to them several seconds after I had passed by. I crossed the finish line in second for my age and 9^th overall with a big smile on my face. A second silver medal to join the first one!

This was the first of three Games that I have attended that I have won a medal at, but was also the first Games in which I really felt that I had competed at my best, not only representing Toronto Police Service but also Canada as well. 

As a family we really enjoyed the hospitality of the country and look forward to a return visit one day. My thanks to all of the organizers and volunteers in Belfast and Northern Ireland for making this truly the best Games yet!