What a great day for a race!!!!! It was a crisp cool morning and with my two escorts Steve Matusch and Ron Poirier (later to be nick named my Chippendales), I was guaranteed to reach my time goal of 1 hr 42 minutes. We started out at an aggressive pace averaging 4 min 45 seconds per kilometer. For a while we were running with the first female MARATHONER. Somewhere around the 12 K mark, I lost one of my escorts to the call of nature. Oh did I mention that aggressive pace......it hadn't slowed down any. It was just me and my one little Chippendale left, counting down the Kilometers (only 7 little Kilometers left, only 6 LITTLE Kilometers left.....) STEVE please define a LITTLE Kilometer!!!!!! When there was only about 4 LITTLE Kilometers left, Steve exclaimed...."You know, if we stay on this pace you will cross the finish line in a sub 1:40!!!!" This was no longer a training run it was a race....especially since I had just passed the second female half marathoner. Upon our approach to the finish line, I was instructed by Steve that I had to speed up and pass him. I was to exhausted by that point to verbalize my thoughts. Indeed, a sub 1:40 was achieved as predicted. Thanks Steve and Ron for a great run and congratulations to all who participated!!!!!

Stephanie Koett

from a Pace Bunny...

A great big congrats to Stephanie Koett on a fantastic half (either a new PB or very, very close) in Massey this weekend!!! I’ve never paced anybody through a whole race before, and I have to say that I think I had as much fun pacing Steph as I would have had running my own race.

She was originally targeting a 1:42 to 1:45 finish but Steph dug really, really deep (and I mean really, really deep) over the final 6 km after the turnaround, to finish at 1:39:46!!! – first female master, second female overall (and only 4 minutes behind Melanie !!!). Steph knocked down the course at a completely even pace – never more than a couple of seconds either side of 4:45/km – and with her final burst I think she may have even had a slightly negative split overall.

Hell of a job Steph!!! You absolutely earned that one, and it was a real pleasure to watch you go across with that 1:39 still on the clock!!!!

Steve Matusch

Final Thoughts - by Ken Stubbings

As always, we had a great time at the Massey Marathon. It has been and still is near the top of my list as a good marathon. Not just because of the welcoming show that the organizers put on, but mainly because of the wonderful time we have with the Rocks friends. The only real disappointing item is that Louie has still not paved the road into the camp.
Thanks to Vince and Lise for putting us up for the weekend. Thanks to Lynn for putting up with another training session.
Congratulations to Karen Ross on qualifying for Boston. It looks like Vince and Dave may be doing some travelling to get Dave a qualifier.(Niagara, then Vegas, Houston, Austin....)
Ken

by Andrea Ford

Congratulations are in order for every member of NCTT who raced in Gravenhurst this past weekend!! We had people in all distances of the triathlon as well as in the sprint duathlon! There were 12 of us in total. We won't hear the results for the Participation prize until August 1st, but we should have won for spirit!

Itsy-bitsy race report:
Saturday morning was overcast and a little on the chilly side. Richard, Jan, Jim, Robert, Liz, Laura, John, Drew and I were ferried out to the start on two steam ships for the start of the Olympic Triathlon (along with 291 other people). Confusion ruled the starts for many people as unclear instructions and incorrect information prevented MANY people from being at the buoy when the steam-whistle blew indicating the start of the race. Fortunately, we have very positive-minded team mates who didn't let this ruin their day. They plowed through the choppy waters and got out onto the bike course in admirable fashion! Thanks to all of the hills around Sudbury, the winding, hilly course (apparently picturesque, but we weren't supposed to be looking around while in the middle of a race!) was a challenge that we conquered with grace, sailing into the second transition just ahead of the torrential downpours. The run (or walk for others) turned out to be a rather wet affair, thanks to the incessant rain. Happily, everyone finished this course with style. *Thankfully with no more additions to Team Crash.*
The forecast was better for Sunday, but what do those weather-people know? It was just as cold and overcast, but with a bit more wind. That made Helen's first Give-It-A-Tri a bit of a challenge, due to the choppy waters for the swim. But she conquered her biggest challenge, made it out of the water and onto the bike where she picked up speed and went on to get her first taste of finishing a triathlon. She's hooked and looking forward to her next race already. The weather improved a bit by the time Celena and Lawrie's Sprint Distance events started. Both had strong first legs of their events and got out on the bike in good time. The hills didn't stop either of them from finishing with strong runs. Both of them finished on the podium in their age groups!
WAY TO GO TEAM!!

Results Here

July 18, 2007

Sudbury's third annual Running Room "20 Minute Challenge" was our biggest ever with over 200 participants coming out for some exercise and camaraderie and for some the start to a life altering change. It's Running Room founder John Stanton's hope that more Canadians will begin the path to fitness one step at a time and that start just may be at a "20 Minute Challenge". Running Room Manager Kristin Conroy encouraged all walkers and runners to join us every Wednesday at 6:00pm and Sunday at 8:30 am for free practice sessions. It's an excellent way to get fit and meet new like minded people as well.