September 30, 2004

Track North Web Site

1. The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation's CIBC Run for the Cure - THIS SUNDAY
2. Fitfriends 5k Trail Walk/Run and CHALLENGING 8k Trail Run Results
3. Rocks!! do the Du at Niagara on the Lake
4. Rocks!! attend the Toronto Waterfront 1/2
5. Kerry Abols at Ironman World Championship
6. Running Room Clinics - Register Now!
7. Track North News - by Dick Moss

FiTFRiENDS

5Km Trail Walk/Run and Challenging 8 Km Trail Run

for Team Diabetes

Race Date/Time: September 26, 2004 @ 10:00 am

Fitfriend's first ever foray into the off road stuff took place this past Sunday when they hosted the 5k Trail Walk/Run and the Challenging 8k Trail Run at Laurentian University. Race Co Director, Lise Edwards was pleasantly surprised when 40 eager individuals lined up for the 5k and 15 very hardy souls stood at the ready to tackle the "Challenging" 8k.

At 10:00 am the starting siren sounded sending both groups scurrying for the bush....(that's where the trails are).
Numerous marshals kept off trail excursions to a minimum but 3 or 4 enthusiastic participants did their best to add extra distance to the race course. About 1 hr and a few scratches later all comers had successfully challenged both courses.

The weather was excellent, the trails were at their best and Everyone said they had an awesome experience. Sounds like we may have a yearly event in the making.

Thank you to all the volunteers and sponsors. Your time and efforts were much appreciated.

Who won, you ask??

EVERYBODY!!

Then who came first, second and third??

In the 5k:

Rocks!! do the Du at Niagara on the Lake

The Naughton branch of the Sudbury Rocks!! sent the twosome of Leslie McLosky and David West to this year's duathlon in Niagara on the Lake. We expected a brave challenge from Dave but really believed his wife Leslie, having just completed the Ironman Lake Placid, would take honours on the day. As it turned out, David did make a late charge on the last run section but Leslie had already forged leads in the first run section and also on the bike. When the finish line tape was broken, Leslie was was two and a quarter minutes up on Dave (although the wave start allowed him to cross the finish line first).

Congratulations to both of you.

Leslie McLosky reports:

Niagara on the Lake Duathlon September 25th, 2004

NOTL is a wonderful venue for a race. Aside from the beautiful scenery there are many festivals and wine tours for your enjoyment. If you happen to be staying in Niagara Falls because you didn’t book your accommodations in time there is of course the falls and the Casino.

Dave and I left for NOTL on the Friday during a smog advisory which went from Parrysound to Windsor. Whewie they weren’t kidding, pea soup thick and difficult to breath even in the air-conditioned mighty van. My first thought was how was this going to affect my race time? Actually I was worried that it would affect the winery tour and tasting later on Saturday after the race. You see the race was simply a guise to get to the wine tour. Gee maybe I should send this to the wine bulletin board rather than Vince…

Race morning was amazingly warm and humid. I was prepared for any weather of course and still arrived in long pants and sleeves. It was good though because they kept the mosquitoes from landing. (West Nile, and all that.) I eventually acknowledged that if Russ was there he would be shirtless so I disrobed.

The race went off in 7 waves. The waves went off exactly on time so if you were farting around taking your clothes off at the last minute you could potentially miss your wave. I didn’t miss my wave but was doing the duh, which wave is this, how old are you?

Both the first and last run portions were 4 kms along the old fort and the Niagara Parkway. There was slight grade just before the turn around and a beautiful view of the river. Not that I was doing much sightseeing because the run seemed very short and fast. As usual I was happy to get into transition and see my bike. After battling the grass hoppers out of my biking shoes I was out on the very flat bike course. They did advertise it as flat and they weren’t lying. I thought my bike would be an hour but it was 45 minutes. I felt really good and was passing a lot of people. ( If you didn’t know it I like to pass people on my bike and I deserve it because I always get passed on my bike on longer races) Boo Hoo….. Whoa always me….. While enroute there are many interesting smells, you ride through vineyards (yum) and farms (phew). There was very little traffic and the roads were fairly smooth.
Back into transition, running shoes clear of grasshoppers, good to go. The second run despite being exactly the same course felt longer. The humidity was steaming up my glasses and I got to the point where I was wondering why I was doing this again. I think I saw Dave pass by in the other direction or was that a pink elephant? My heart rate was 2 beats lower than the maximum I had ever seen it. I thought I was going to blow up but deep down I knew this was a good thing because I was actually working hard. I made a tactical error and slowed to get some water in the water station. ( I really didn’t need the water, my brain wanted me to slow down) Two women in my age group passed me and although I kept them in pace I could not gain on them before the finish. I finished in 1:23:42 and was happy to see Dave waiting for me. We both had a fun time and would recommend this race to anyone looking for a late season venue. The wine tour was awesome!

Click Here for Results

Rocks!! attend the Toronto Waterfront 1/2

Two world records
73-year old Ed Whitlock breaks his own 2003 marathon world record for age 70+ by nearly 5 minutes, clocking an amazing 2:54:48. Fauja Singh, 93, clocks 2:30:02 for the half marathon to set another world record for 90+.

The above speedsters plus two Rocks!! and approximately 9000 other competitors took part in this year's Scotiabank 1/2 and Marathon and 5k. The event has really grown since its 2000 birth when about 2500 runners participated in both events. Overall, the event went from 5,866 runners last year to 9,007 this year—or +54%. The half marathon went from 3200 to 5005! And overall, 3,000 + folks entered in the last 10 days. The numbers were so unexpected the Organizers ran out of finishing medals for the 1/2 marathoners. "All finishers will receive medals by mail when they can be ordered" stated the Run Director.

Click Here for the Results

Our Rocks!! provide their race impressions:

Suzanne Dionne writes:

Just wanted to write about the run today. It is a big Hoopla. First the drive down to the start was great because Trevor drove. He had no problem finding parking. It seems there was lots when we got there at 0700 one hour before the race. The starts were right on and then it was our turn. It seems very narrow for such a big crowd but I think that was my perception maybe because I have been on the plane for the past four days and I do feel crowded sometimes. After about 26min into the race I could not believe I was not in the groove yet. I was thinking to myself that it would be one of the ones that it would feel like the two hours that it would be. Lots of steel bands and quite a few music boxes were along the way and the water stations were great. There was even a power gel station, I was impressed. The course is flat as they let everyone know but the grades hurt just a bit. This course is straight as far as you can see. A bit bla. After one hour and ten minutes I knew it would end in about one hour more and I think that made me feel better. It was a hot sun and very clear so we really felt the burn. I could not push it too much as my heel is still sore because of a spur and on my same leg my Achilles was very tight. I did feel my lungs filling and burning a bit so I knew I was pushing as close to my limit as I could. The chute at the end is narrow and then they had this cheesy tent set up where only cattle would understand the concept. Trevor saw me almost right away and he did very well I think but of course he had a goal and he felt that he should have done better. I'm sure he'll drop you a note. Thanks Trevor. Having someone waiting is always helpful. By for now. Kisses everyone. Suzanne

Trevor Shamas Rants:

Hey, Coach...

A few words on the Scotiabank 1/2, and I'll warn you in advance that this is going to be more of a rant...

First, the mileage markers were a pain. Took me a few km to even find the markers for the 1/2. Turns out they were 1/2 the size of the markers for the full. Good color scheme and nice to have them hung very high as opposed to sitting on the ground obstructed from view until you were passing them, but with 3 sets marking all of the different races it was a little distracting at first.

Ok, so #1 is no big deal. On to #2: The course is flat, as advertised, but boring, boring, boring. Long stretches and two turnaround areas were a little deflating at times, as well. Lakeshore Dr. is a bore to drive let alone race on.

Now I'm building up steam... #3: The finishing area was probably the worst I've ever seen in a major event. Tiny exit to the chip return made it kind of funny watching the masses trying to get through. All food/water/gator (and there wasn't anything too enticing) was on the right side. Overall width was 2 traffic lanes wide. No one was there to keep out spectators so I had to push my way through them to not only get out, but also to get at the drinks. The road they selected behind Metro Hall for the finish was so small and narrow it was no wonder. The Expo - massage, powerbar guys, etc - was around the front of Metro Hall. There was one sidewalk to take you there that some moron tried to gate-off leaving you to walk a block around the building. Something about "the city not wanting us to walk there". I noticed later this was open and the woman who told me to get out earlier was gone - hopefully carried off by dissident runners.

#4 - race package pickup was at the CNE grounds. Options were to take a long streetcar ride down Bathurst (well to the west of the core), pay $7 for parking down there, or pay $20 for the parking ticket if you opted to challenge the $7 fee. I won't add any more to this one.

A few good points: It was quite a nice day to be out on a race course, actually. I also appreciated the 8am start time - that's usually perfect for me. I also felt fortunate to start the race close to work which allowed Suzanne and I to avoid the portacan lines - unfortunately, that's the best thing I have to say about this event!

In the end it's a little demoralizing that one of our flagship Canadian cities cannot put on an event at the same level as other major North American cities. Maybe the race organizers from all 3 (yes, 3) events that we have here could get together and put something on we could be proud of. In the meantime, I'll be avoiding this one in the future.

Trev.

I told you he was going to rant
Vince

Kerry Abols at Ironman World Championship

By Kerry Abols

Kerry Abols will be competing in the Hawaii Ironman Triathlon World Championship on Oct. 16, 2004. Kerry qualified for the event by being the second placed Canadian in the amateur under 30 category at Ironman Canada, which took place in Penticton B.C. on Aug. 29th. The ironman consists of a 4km swim, a 180km bike and a 42km run.

Before he leaves for Hawaii, Kerry will be hosting a dinner banquet in order to inform friends about his Ironman Canada accomplishment and to raise funds for the Hawaii Ironman triathlon world championship (since the event is entirely self funded). The evening will feature h'ors doeuvres at 5:30pm, homemade lasagna dinner and video presentation at 6:00, followed by a slide show presentation and dessert at 6:45. There will be plenty of great food and non alcoholic beverages as well as great people. The entire evening should conclude by 7:30pm. Tickets are $30/person or $50/couple and can be reserved by contacting abolsk@rainbow.edu.on.ca. Only 50 tickets will be sold, so reserve early.

The ironman dinner banquet takes place Monday October 4th at 184 ninth avenue in Lively. If you can not attend but would like to send well whishes and/or a donation, Kerry Abols's address is 41 Nepahwin Ave Sudbury Ontario, P3E 2H5.

Please feel free to pass the information on to anyone who may be interested in attending.