October 19, 2004

Track North Web Site

1. Results from: 31rst Annual Wiky 10k, Toronto Marathon & 1/2, Columbus Marathon & Hawaii Ironman Triathlon
2. Rocks!! travel to Venice Italy
3. Niagara Marathon and 1/2 will be held This Sunday
4. 5k/10k/half marathon in Parry Sound on Sunday.
5. Tthe OCAA Provincial Cross-Country Championship race on Saturday October 23.
6. Sudbury Rocks!! REVISED TRAINING SCHEDULE for Fall and Winter
7. Looking for a Fun Night Out: "RUN JOE RUN" Coming Up
8. Running Room Clinics - Register Now!
9. Track North News - by Dick Moss
10. Click on YTri News for their Oct 13 Update

#1

31rst Annual Wiky 10k Road Race

Sunday October 17 at 10:50 am

Wikwemikong, Manitoulan Island

Numerous locals attended this year's 31st Annual Wiky Roadrunner 10k on the Island. Our own Sudbury Rock!!, Robert Lopatka, took top honours posting a solid 34:23. Frank Lesk came third in 37:41 with Mike Coughlin following about 1 minute later. Our ladies did well too as Laura Thaxter posted a strong 48:39 and Leila Lavallee was right behind in 48:52.

Mike Coughlin writes,

Well, as you know the Wiky 10k went off today on beautiful Manitoulin Island. OK, 4 degrees with sleet coming down sideways is not exactly beautiful, but there were still 78 runners out to brave the course (not including the dog, but I'll get to that in a minute).

For me, the Wiky is a bit of a fall tradition as it was my first 10k race and I have now done it 4 years in a row. The wind was pretty fierce on the first half, but after the downhill sround the 6km mark we were more sheltered and it was actually great running weather. At that point I had a guy 50m ahead of me and a girl not far behind me in what was shaping up to be a fierce battle for 4th place. That's where the "79th runner" decided to join three of us. With 2 dirty looks from the guys and some choice words from the lady, the confrontation appeared to be over. Then I hear the footsteps behind be and the little jingle of the collar. Seems our friend was settling into a 6:10/mile pace. He was a good tactical runner too - sticking behind me for a while before making his move and bridging up to the leader of our little group. I responded and took the inside line, confident that the pooch would get pooched within a few minutes. This must have happened since I never saw him again.

So another year and another great Wiky 10k, including a PB for me. Always wonderful to see so many kids out there running. If only they could find a way to eliminate that hellish gravel track finish - it never gets any easier.

Mike

Click Here for the Results

#2

Sunday, October 17

The Toronto Marathon:

Five members of the Sudbury Rocks!! Running Club and three members of the Running Room Marathon Clinic, hosted by Donna Smrek and Frank Lesk, competed in and successfully completed the 42.2 event. Rocks!! members were Steve Matusch (3:13:04), Trevor Shamas (3:34:24), Paul McNeil (3:34:53) Paul Graham (3:49:53) and Doug Way (4:13:38). Running Club participants were Bernd Wittke (3:14:59), James Lung (4:33:48) and Robert Masih (4:43:45). It is noteworthy that both Steve Matusch and Bernd Wittke qualified for Boston with their very fast runs.

Steve Matusch writes:

Morning Coach Mike and Coach Vince!!!

I’m going to keep this short, because I’ve been told that success stories are far less fun to read than crash and burn stories, even if they’re more fun to write.

I ran the Toronto Marathon yesterday, and after two prior marathon “blow-ups” I finally, finally, finally had a good one!!! Yeeee-haaahh!

My only goal for this race was to qualify for Boston – which requires a 3:15 finish in my age group. So, I set out pacing 4:30/k which would bring me across the line in 3:10. The first 21k went great – except for some nasty wind, cold and rain – blech. It was little tough to keep the pace down, so I ended up crossing halfway at about 1:33 – about two minutes hot. I still felt fantastic at that point but I knew from prior very painful experience that your state at the halfway point of a marathon means absolutely nothing – THE WALL comes quickly, without mercy and without warning.

So, rather that risk getting beaten over the head with running shoes by both Vince and Mike C, I deliberately took the pace down to about 4:40 despite the slow downhill grade. I was absolutely a bundle of nerves for this section of the course; I kept waiting for the nausea and the shooting pain in my legs which would signal my arrival at “THE WALL”. At 37k, and 2:47 (just as I was starting to get excited) I felt the start of some cramping in my right calf – not bad, but enough to worry me a bit. Knowing that only a major crash could prevent me from going under 3:15 at this point, I decided to be really conservative and back off a bit further – to around 5 minutes per km.

And after three hours and 13 minutes of running in the cold, rain and wind, I crossed the line!!!!!! I made it!!!!! eventually!!!

Steve Matusch

Paul Graham adds his Post Race Analysis:

Hi Vince,
I finished my first marathon this weekend in Toronto. What an experience... I
never thought it would be such a roller coaster of emotions. I think I
experienced the whole spectrum during those 26.2 long miles. There where the
lows that I had expected, but it was the brief highs that were almost
overwhelming that I didn't see coming.

The day started out cold and windy, but wasn't raining so I opted to leave my
rain jacket in the car and went out with long sleeves and tights. I was
optimistic that it would warm up and I could shed a layer, but that wasn't in
the cards. It started raining at around 10 km in, and drizzled for the better
part of the day. I was quite comfortable apart from my hands, which were
hovering between cold and numb for the whole race. The rain didn't bother me
too much, but my feed got damp, which led to some nasty blisters. I started
feeling them after the halfway point, and luckily they didn't get too painful.
I was expecting my socks to have blood on them after the race, but was
pleasantly surprised to only find 5 fresh blisters. Those are giving me some
fun times right now.

I found it difficult to pace myself in the crowds of people. Nobody seemed to
be going at a constant speed, and a lot of people were taking walking breaks.
I only stopped once to water some bushes at around the 7 km point, and if I had
stopped in the last half of the race I probably wouldn't have started again.
The first 10 km were actually quite humorous in this regard. I was reminded of
the Monty Python sketch - Incontinent's Marathon - as people peeled off to the
side of the road to have a leak, it was a pretty comical sight.

The first 30 km was pretty uneventful, and felt like it went by fairly quickly.
The last 12.2 km were a completely different story. I was physically spent,
and had nothing left but to decide that I wasn't going to stop. I wanted more
than anything to get it done, and that would happen faster if I kept running.
The aid stations were only offering water and Ultima, so I ran out of the
Gatorade I was carrying fairly quickly. I had been training with Gatorade and
Power Bars, so had carried those along with me, but was hoping to supplement
that with some sugar from aid stations. My last power bar wouldn't go down
very well, and I ended up only eating half of it. Luckily I had 2 power gels
as back up, and decided to have them near the end of the race. I choked the
first one down at 3:10 into the race and felt a bit of a boost from it. I
waited 15 minutes and had the last one, which went down a lot easier.

Coming up University toward the finish line I knew that I wasn't going to make
my goal time, but I still wanted to get there as fast as possible to make the
pain stop. I wanted to sprint to the line, but with nothing left in the tank I
think I was able to get myself up to the pace I should have been going the
whole time.

I crossed the finish line dazed and confused. I felt like I was going to cry
and puke at the same time. Whatever the case was I knew I had finished, and
needed to find the massage tables and some warm showers.

Overall I was impressed by the organization of the race. The course was great
to run, and everything went very smoothly. The arrangement they had with U of
T for the showers was fantastic, and I think I might have gotten my race fee's
worth out of hot water. My only complaint is the aid stations and post race
food. There was only water and Ultima at most aid stations. I brought my own
Gatorade, but one bottle wasn't enough to keep me going, and I really could
have used more sugar. The post race food was pretty weak, consisting of plain
bagels, oranges, bananas and drinks. Perhaps I've been spoiled by the great
food at local road races and triathlons, but I was nonetheless disappointed by
the food at this one. If my body forgives me for what I put it through and
lets me keep running I'd like to do this one again next year.

Click Here for Marathon Results

The Toronto 1/2 Marathon

Six members of the Sudbury Rocks!! Running Club took part in the 1/2 marathon this year. Paul de la Riva led the way with an excellent 1:26:05 effort. Ron Henderson, Ron Poirier, Bob Jeffery and Carol and Mike Carriere followed him accross the Queen's Park finish line a little bit later to a bit more later.

Check their Results Here

#3

Sunday, October 17

An athlete with local roots, Steve Eles, was attempting to go under 2:30 in his first marathon attempt this yaer at the Columbus Marathon. He fell a bit short but still turned a phenomenal 2:39:32 and placed 21st overall out of 4313 participants. That's just above a 6:00 minute per mile pace or about 3:45 a kilometer for anybody willing to test themselves at that pace.

Click Here for Results

Columbus Marathon Website

#4

Kerry Abols competed in his first Ironman Triathlon World Championship in Kailua-Kona Hawaii last Saturday. Kerry qualified for this prestigious event by turning a very fast 10:07:03 in Penticton's Ironman Canada. That speed was good enough to earn him a spot at the Big Show.

How did he do??

Kerry successfully completed the grueling event in 408th place in a time of 10:50:35.

Congratulations!!

Click Here for Results

A few Rocks!! members will be taking a much needed holiday and heading for Italy later this week. Some of us will take in the Venice Marathon this Sunday while the rest will cheer the runners on with wine glass in hand. Our tentative plans are then to tour central and southern Italy for a week and then maybe turn north into Austria or Switzerland for a bit. I believe The Run got us thinking of the destination initially but probably now has taken second fiddle to the prospect of touring the Italian cities and countryside. We expect to have an awesome experience. A report will follow in a couple of weeks.

Rocks!!, friends of Rocks!! and a marathon training group from the Running Room will be in Niagara this weekend for its 1/2 and Marathon. Good luck All!

Copied from the web site:

Marathon
The Casino Niagara International Marathon starts by the Albright Knox Art Gallery in Buffalo N.Y. The first four miles of the race travels the beautiful majestic parkways of Buffalo before crossing the Peace Bridge into the historic old town of Fort Erie, Ontario.The route then follows the beautiful Niagara River Parkway and finishes at the magnificent Niagara Falls.
We are the only marathon in the world that starts in one country and finishes in another.The course is considered flat and fast and has hosted two USA men's Olympic marathon trials in 1980 and again in 1984, along with the World Veteran's Games marathon in 1995. The Marathon course is a Boston Qualifier.

Half Marathon
The Half Marathon starts at the 13.1 mile point of the full marathon, the runners follow the beautiful Niagara River Parkway and finish at the same finish line of the Marathon above the magnificent Niagara Falls.

The half marathon course is flat for the first 11 miles and has a 55 foot drop over the remaining 2.1 miles and is considered one of the fastest half marathon courses in the country.

October 24 - 5k, 10k & Half Marathon

Parry Sound On.

Click here for All the Info

The OCAA Provincial
Cross-Country Championship

Saturday, October 23 at Laurentian University

By Daniel L Landry
Coach Cross Country
Manager Student Life College Boreal

Here's a little note from College Boreal's Cross Country Team

College Boreal and Cambrian College are co-hosting the OCAA Provincial
Cross-Country Championship race on Saturday October 23. Over 150 athletes
from Ontario Community Colleges will travel to Sudbury to compete in the
Women's 5 km race and the Men's 8 km race at Laurentian University's
wilderness trails.

College Boreal's team lead by Annie Robitaille last year's Silver Medalist
and Athlete of the year has been training hard and is likely to lead the
pack at this years race. Her hard work and determination should pay off in
the challenging trails the North has to offer.

College Boreal and Cambrian College athletes should do very well at this
event and we invite you to come and encourage our northern talent.

Women's 5km race start 11:00 am

Men's 8km race start 12:00 noon

College Boreal's team

Men

Jonathan Oakes Cartier
Francois Vachon Chelmsford
Justin Racine Noelville

Women

Annie Robitaille Elliot Lake
Megan St-Onge Chelmsford

We would like to thank the Running Room Sudbury for their support of this
years OCAA event.

Sudbury Rocks!! Training Schedule

(Please note the Saturday start time change from 8:00 am to 9:00 am)

Here's our weekly training schedule if anybody wants to tag along. All runs start at the Cambrian Fitness Centre at 22 Pacific Avenue in Sudbury. Participants meet in the facility lobby on Saturday mornings. During winter months most weekday runs take place on Cambrian's indoor track. The Saturday run is always outdoors.

Monday to Thursday at 12:00 pm
Monday at 5:30 pm
Saturday at 9:00 am

Monday and Thursdays at 12:00 pm are usually devoted to speed workouts. The rest of the week are easy runs.

Monday evening incorporates speed and casual running. Member start times vary for this session so new runners should call or e-mail me to ensure a partner is available.

The Saturday run is our long slow one with distances varying from about one hour and up.

Looking for a Fun Night Out: "RUN JOE RUN" Coming Up

By Amanda Luoma

Looking for a fun night out? Then this event is for you!

On Friday, October 22 Joe Luoma will be holding RUN JOE RUN a fundraiser to
support his goal of raising $7500 to take part in the 2005 Reykjavik
Marathon with Team Diabetes Canada!

Joe has signed on to run Iceland's 42.2 km marathon and raise $7500 to
support diabetes research, education, service and advocacy!

RUN JOE RUN is taking place on Friday, October 22 at 8 pm at the
Steelworker's Hall on Frood Road.

Tickets for this event are only $15 each or $25 per couple! You can get
your tickets by calling Amanda at 670-1993 ext. 2 or Joe at 522-0942 - he
does deliver!! - or by simply responding to this email.

Absolute Entertainment will be the awesome DJ and there will be a light
lunch served around 11:00 p.m.

There will be great silent auction and raffle items that have been
generously donated by area businesses - which include golf items, artwork,
dinners, car maintenance, clothing, hand made items and much, much more!!

Come out and have a great time while supporting the over 11,000 people in
the Sudbury District living with diabetes!

Please share this message with anyone you feel may be interested in taking
part.

Thank you for your support and I look forward to seeing you at RUN JOE RUN.

________________________

Diabetes affects millions of Canadians every day.
Help Someone You Know.

Amanda Luoma
Development Coordinator
Northeastern Ontario Regional Leadership Centre
Canadian Diabetes Association
2141 Lasalle Blvd., Unit F, Sudbury ON P3A 2A3
Tel:(705)670-1993 Fax:(705)670-1995
amanda.luoma@diabetes.ca