Hi Vince:

There is life after a running injury. I wanted to pass on my experience in achieving one of my running goals - to run The Around the Bay, Hamilton 30 km road race.

My story really begins in January of 2001 when I first started running with the Sudbury Rocks running group. Before that time I had ran a little bit, but never any real distance at a consistent pace. When I started running with the Sudbury Rocks, my noon runs consisted of trying to keep up with Monique, Sheila and Karen. They routinely kicked my butt on the track! Getting your butt kicked routinely causes you to try harder. In my case, too hard. I broke the most important and time-proven principle in running. Never increase your weekly mileage by more than 10 percent over the previous week. I had great early successes in training and plans of potential events to compete in. I registered for the 2001 Around the Bay road race only to be injured during a speed workout on the very same day I registered.

My early successes were now overshadowed with a serious ankle injury. Running the 2001 Around the Bay became impossible. Because I paid the registered fee, I received the race registration kit that included the 2001 Around the Bay T-shirt. Because I didn’t run the race, I didn’t earn the right to wear the T-shirt. It was folded neatly and tucked away in the bottom corner of a drawer, never to be worn.

Healing from that injury has been a long slow recovery with multiple re-injuries. The recovery has taken years and to explain would take much to long.

My running goals for 2003 were simple: Train without re-injuring, run a couple of half marathons without re-injuring. For 2004: train without re-injuring, run the Around the Bay without re-injuring.

The day of the race, I honestly didn't have a set time in mind before running the race. My goal was to complete the race and see what I was capable of. Starting a race with 5000 other runners was an exciting experience. Establishing a consistent sustainable pace became the challenge. Luckily I simply latched on to the 2:20 pace bunny and stayed focused on consistent splits. The real challenge began at about the 24 km mark. Up to this point I had never ran a race beyond a half marathon. I was beginning to fatigue and needed power jell and fluids.That really helped because at 26.2 km is the big monster hill. The pace bunny was now significantly ahead of me. As I descended the valley before the last big hill I asked another runner if this was the big one? She said it was the big hill but it wasn’t that bad. She seemed to be running a consistent pace so all I had to do was stay focused and follow her pace up! As I reached the top of the hill, I began to realize that the end was within my capabilities. I was beginning to feel strong again. I came into the finish ahead of the 2:20 pace bunny with a strong pace for the final 3 km but I was very tired. I felt very satisfied with my time.

I received one huge blister, some nasty chafing and some tired muscles but it was all worth the endorphin release when you cross the finish line. After showering, I wore my 2001 Around the Bay T-shirt for the first time.

Copied from the Sudbury Star:

 

Mention Boston to some people and it's, oh, yeah, nice city. Go Bruins Go!
Mention it to Monique Fournier and she will laugh about "that dark day; that really dark day: "
Of course, three years ago, the Boston Marathon was no laughing matter for the Sudbury born runner.
In two weeks, she'll be free of those memories when she will finish what she started in 2001.
Fournier, a physiotherapist and mother of two, is in the final stages of training for the prestigious Boston Marathon.
Also racing are her Sudbury Rocks!! teammates Stephanie Koett, Ann Henderson, Karen Beaulieu, John Tibaldi and Martin Parnell.
Never athletic as a youngster, Fournier started running five years ago to lose weight. She had been walking, but found it hard to fit in the long walks required to actually lose the weight. With running, she lost 45 pounds.
Even now with running, 45 minutes "isn't enough. It's the speed workouts that have enabled me to keep the weight off and eat what I want."
Sometimes before speed workouts, the anticipation of the pain to come makes her nervous.
"No matter how anxious I get it's that adrenaline rush. It's that wow that felt good. You know it's going to be hard, it's tough. Once you're going into it, it's this is good."
But the Boston Marathon of 2001 was fairly early in her athletic career and she was still adjusting to her newfound athletic status and lifestyle. She was part of a group that had qualified for Boston's famed 26-mile race. Fournier's training had been progressing nicely when, on the Monday before the race, she felt the first twinge. She went for an"easy" five- mile training run only to feel sharp pain in her right ankle. As a physiotherapist, she well knew what it was. As an athlete, she was in denial. It turned out to be a stress fracture. Fournier rested and practiced acupuncture, trying to fix the foot. "But nothing worked." By the time of the marathon, she could barely run. She pushed herself for 13 miles before "I couldn't walk. It was a very dark 12 miles." She tried running as much as she did, telling Koett "I had two kids. I can bear this pain." Her mom had died just two months earlier and she had been so proud of her daughter. But just past Wellesley College, Fournier dropped out. --- "It's a hard thing with something that big. It's hard to come back (home)."

What pulled her through was the support of her Rocks teammates and family "and knowing that it was out of my control." It had helped that she had trained, qualified and then trained some more.

Another stress fracture
She rested for six weeks, resumed training and then a year later another stress fracture showed up in her left foot. This time, she figured the way she ran on the track at Cambrian Fitness Centre was not helping her stay injury-free. She would always run speed workouts on one night, always in the
same direction: her ankle wasn't strong enough to sustain that pressure and pounding.

For two years now, Fournier has been fine. She runs on a treadmill and has dropped her training schedule to four days instead of six. She still has to keep an eye out for her children Brodie and Hayley; Her partner David Chisholm is working out of town. "1 fit it in," she says. "I don't do the six days like I used to. Six days is really too hard. You have to give and take."

She qualified for Boston again at last year's Toronto Marathon, running three hours and 38 minutes, a
minute faster than she had run to qualify the first time. Her only goal this season is to finish the Boston Marathon.

Next year, she hopes to win the draw to enter the New York Marathon. Her goal is to run marathons in a different place every year. When an athlete starts planning travel around competitions, the sport has become serious. For Fournier, running is some' thing beyond work and family'
"I think it's great. It gives me the drive, the motivation, something for me. It challenges me."

Read Laura Young every
Monday in The Sudbury Star.

Karen has once again regained her winning form coming 5th female overall and first in her age group in the Greenways 5k. Congratulations Karen! You are definitely ready for the BIG SHOW in Boston.

Sunday, April 4 marked the first set of races in TRYSPORT"S "Achieve the Impossible" Series. There were 3 Sudbury runners in the 10k but nobody could touch Bart Nichols of Parry Sound (34:50). Brent Poulsen of Sudbury gave it a shot but fell short at 37:26.

5 KM Results

Place        Name        Age    S      Town                     5k      Pace
===== =================== === = =============== == ========== ======= =====
1       Colin Jenkins      21     M      Hamilton ON    17:39     5:41
2       Micky Henry      14     M     Otter Lake ON  19:50    6:24
3      Mathew Biscaro 17      M     Dunchurch ON   20:04    6:28

10 Km Results

Place        Name             Age  S        Town                   10k Pace
===== =================== === = =============== == ========== ======= =====
1          Bart Nichol          30   M    Parry Sound ON    34:50  5:37
2          Brent Poulsen      21    M    Sudbury ON          37:26  6:02
3           Don Gallagher    43    M    Everett ON            39:07  6:18
4         Steve Roach        29    M    Sudbury ON          43:26  7:00

11      Shannon Mahaffy  28     F    Sudbury ON           54:36  8:48

Click Here for All the Results

Vince,
Can you please let our Y-tri friends and Sudbury Rocks friends, that are interested in joining the Sudbury Cycling Club this year this information. We are still training at 6:00pm on Tuesday and Thursday, Sunday morning rides are now covered by our OCA insurance plan (for members).

Just to note for all new and potential club members, that we welcome you to the club and the Delki Dozzi track, please seek out someone at the track to share some of the riding rules with you. Our insurance guidelines require that membership is paid in order to train with the club at the track, please come prepared for this, Doug and Sadie have forms at track side.

Our coaches are Battista Muredda, Douglas Marr and Frank Battaion, please follow their direction for the training sessions. All of our other experienced riders have a lot of great tips to share as well.

Many thanks, Sandra

For more information, visit their web site here.

The Proposal:

from Dr. Kirsty Duncan

Over the past few years, I have dreamed of fundraising for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Toronto (MAW), as I care very deeply about children, and wanted to make a difference to children who need our help.

In the past month, I put together a proposal for MAW--to have two runners run from Sudbury to Toronto over 6 days (August 7th-12th), to have a kick-off 5-km race in Sudbury and a 5-km finale race in Toronto. It is hoped that this event will serve as a pilot project for a national campaign next year. John Stanton, President of Running Room is giving the event strong support.

I am hoping that you and your club might like to be involved, particularly in running the 5-km race in Sudbury, as this would be difficult for me to organize (as I live in Toronto). Refton (Running Room Director)explained that you have a good working relationship.

Vince adds:

I have been in touch with Kirsty on a few occasions now and, in all likelihood, the event will be a go. Sudbury Rocks!!, with Fitfriends and the Running Room's assistance, will organize the Sudbury portion of the event. The initial plan is to have a non competitive 5k run on Saturday am August 7 to kick off the event. The location hasn't been finalized yet. ( I may be looking for assistance. Is anyone interested in the front end work?)

I've attached further details below on the initial organizational efforts. The Sudbury to Toronto route is now finalized.

 

INFORMATION ATTACHMENT

1. SUDBURY TO TORONTO: DREAM TRAIL
Kick-Off Celebration/Race
-kick-off 5-km race in Sudbury
-speeches, outdoor party, food, good fairies, and teddy bears

-strong support from Running Room
-support includes:
-creative consulting for print material, including brochures and posters
-web design, hosting, and data warehousing
-on-line registration
-e-mail blasts to promote the event
-Running Room magazine exposure
-event material distribution
-event logistical support for kick-off and wrap ventures

-communities and their leaders could challenge other communities to raise money
-contact each community to join in the relay (by having a fun run) of 5 km in each community

-the 5-km run kick-off and finale races will be largely non-competitive
-awards will be given, however, for the top three men and women finishers
-each entrant could receive a participation certificate (e.g. donation from Kinko’s—one of the Foundation’s sponsors)/balloon/wand/button (the details of the runs would need to be worked out in collaboration with Running Room)
-Running Room will provide balloons, and Canadian tattoos for racers

N.B. Running Room will provide the same support for the finale run in Toronto

Dream-Trail Run
· dream trail run (Saturday, August 7th)
-two runners are to cover a distance of 240 miles over six days
-the run will finish in Toronto on August 12th—i.e. International Youth Day
· finale race in Toronto

Family Liaison
· families of ‘Make-a-Wish’ should be invited to be an integral part of the campaign, and should be recognized for their tremendous courage and strength, and willingness to help others (perhaps, families could be encouraged to walk/run/cycle a miles with runners)

· liaise with communities of North Bay, Huntsville, Bracebridge, Gravenhurst, Orillia, Barrie, etc.?

Corporate Donations
· solicit corporate donations in support of the ‘Dream Trail’ to brighten children’s futures—‘Imagine the Universe’
-‘galaxy level’ donation (e.g. $5000.00)
-‘red giant’ level donation ($3000.00)
-sun’ level donation (e.g. $1000.00)

-it will be necessary to establish what each sponsorship level offers companies

-Make-a-Wish (Toronto) is to provide a list of their corporate sponsors in the next week
-obtained a list of Make-a-Wish (National) corporate sponsors from the national website
-it will be necessary to provide a list of companies from whom we hope to seek sponsorship to Make-a-Wish (Toronto) before soliciting any support

-goal: $0.5 million dollars (e.g. 100 companies donating at the ‘galaxy’ level)

-companies could challenge one another to match funding

Website
· a website could be maintained in order to engage Ontarians
-the position of runners on the ‘Dream Trail’ could be tracked nightly
-photographs of recipients and their wishes could be loaded on to the site
-photographs of families running/walking/cycling could also be loaded along with commentary

· Ontarians could be encouraged to buy 26.2 miles for $26.20
-the website could keep a running total of the miles covered, and challenge Ontarians to see how many times their donations will allow them to criss-cross the Province

-this website will be part of Running Room’s gift-in-kind

-goal: 10,000 hits or $262,000.00

Media
· a detailed media plan would have to be developed (including press releases and media contacts)

· coverage should begin several weeks beforehand in order to prepare the Province for the requests for donations

Documentary Maker

Children Supporting Children
· help from the Toronto Board of Education (and possibly other Boards in the GTA)
-in order for Boards of Education to help, there must be an educational aspect (e.g. learning Ontario’s geography from the website, measuring distance, learning arithmetic from coins collected)
-each school could have its own run (e.g. once around a track for a loonie; paste a loonie/toonie on each child’s footprint on brown newsprint tacked to the wall)
-the details would need to be worked out with the Boards of Education

-alternatively, perhaps, the children could be awarded an hour of community service for participating

Mike Coughlin writes:

Spring is coming, and with it is our annual rite of Spring.... the Sun Run.
YTri once again has the opportunity to host this great event as part of the
Sudbury Fitness Challenge. Therefore, I need to know whether you are
interested in helping out in any of the following areas before and on Sunday
May 2.

Registration
Food
Course Marshalling
Water Stations
Course set-up
Awards and prizes
Timing and Finish Line

Please indicate your availability and interest to me ASAP so I can make the
various arrangements. Also, please indicate if you intend to run in this
event - some volunteer positions allow for this possibility.

To reach me, either email me back at mcoughlin@hrsrh.on.ca or call me at
564-9765

Mike

Vince adds: All you Sudbury Rocks who are not out of town or not competing in this event should consider assisting. We did the finish line last year and maybe we could help out there again. Let me and/or Mike know if you can be available asap.. Also the Sudbury Rocks!! Running Club will be looking after the running course in the "Fitfriends" 5k and 10k events the following week on May 9. I will need every available person to handle that event with quality. Please plan on being available if possible. Let me know about your availability for this event as soon as possible. vtperdue@cyberbeach.net