For the 37th year in a row Wiky came alive on Sunday morning when they held the annual 10k Championships. Walkers and runners used to go off together but a few years ago the Organizers separated the 2 groups by allowing the walkers to start 30 minutes sooner. This gave walkers their own event and also allowed the event to finish a little sooner making awards presentation simpler. This race has always been special as it is one of the faster 10k courses around, there's hot food served after the event and I believe everyone gets a prize. Although it's 200km. from Sudbury we always treat it and other runs from Manitoulan as local events because Island residents support and participate in Sudbury events. There are a few Rocks!! members from Manitoulan.

I hear race conditions were very good there this year with sunny conditions and little wind. Good going to all finishers and thank you to the Organizers and all volunteers for putting on a class show.

---

Brent Walker adds;

I wanted to let everyone know that the Wiki 10KM race was a great success this year. The Manitoulin Island's own Jeremy Cooper was the over all race winner. Many SudburyROCKS members were there to run the race and all did well. Some even ran personal best performances. Congratulations to SudburyROCKS member Lisa Stafford who won the woman's division and will now have her name permanently engraved on the woman's Wiki 10 trophy.

For those that don't know this race, this is an ideal course to try to hit a personal best time on. The first half of the race is a very gentle uphill grade and then the second half is a down hill grade to the finish. Runners were treated to ideal weather conditions and wonderful fall colors. This event is well supported by the community and after the race all runners are treated to a great lunch. As well, everyone get a prize at the end of the awards.

Thanks to the event organizers and community for continuing to make this a great fall race.

Results

Toronto's Good Life Marathon and events attracted well over 8000 participants on Sunday. About 2000 marathoners, 4000+ halfers and over 2000 5kers hit the cool but sunny streets for the 15th running of the event. A suprisingly robust Sudbury and area contingent was there this year as over 50 Rocks!!, locals and friends took part.

No doubt there are many tales of success from all finishers but 2 stand out in our group that I'm aware of. Trainer and pacer Steve Fessenden writes "A special congratulations to Kandis Stoughton who completed her first marathon (only 2 previous half-marathons on her resume) in a time of 4:13:54.6. Her time qualifies her for the 2010 and 2011 Boston Marathon". D. J. Hare was also attempting a Boston qualifying run and his smart even pacing pulled him through the finish line in 3:30:23 - a full 37 seconds to the good. Congratulations to you both. I know there were others who made their goals like Leslie and Trevor who add their thoughts below. You are all recognized for jobs well done.

All Results here

Toronto International Marathon Well what can I say about the Toronto International Marathon that they don't mention on the flyers, fast, downhill, scenic. How about the amount of wildlife on the course. I am not talking about catching a glimpse of Bambi or Thumper on the side of the road. We're talking wildlife that has no wild left in it. I was lined up at the start line next to a flattened black squirrel Someone suggested giving it a gel as the race was going to start. Runners can be so cruel..... There is a very high morbidity rate for squirrels on the roads in Toronto. I don't really get that because squirrels are fast little critters. Perhaps I should rephrase that because from what I saw little is not always a word synonymous with squirrels. I had to change my path at least 3 times on the course to avoid a flattened squirrel. You know the squashed banana peel thing but worse. As a result I am going to email the organizers of the race and suggest they change the name to “The Dead Squirrel Marathon” They can promote it as part of “The Roadkill Race Series” I will never forget kilometer 16. There was poor old Rocky Raccoon lying on the side of the road. Some women were running behind me and I heard them say “Wow Kilometer 16 and he bonked already” On a whole the race was good. There were some problems with getting the athletes to the race start. Not enough buses, people were hopping in taxi's to get to the start line. Some runners were pulling up in their bus as their race start went by. Yikes! Can you imagine being alone on the start line with a dead squirrel. When I travelled on the bus to the start I was sitting with a first time marathoner who was concerned over the dreaded wall. I told her to hydrate and take in her nutrition as she should and she would be fine. You know the old saying do what you say....... My race was going very well. I felt marvelous, heart rate good, pace good, watch for the squirrel good, then 2 hours and things just started slowing down. I guess because I was feeling so good I thought I was the bionic woman and didn't need to drink that much. The day was warming up and since I almost had my snowmobile suit on I was losing more H2O than I thought. I got back on track and managed to pick up my pace again. There were some not fun moments but it was great to see my training partners and the finish line. Yeah!!!!! So today as I nurse my bad hip over a wine with a few Advil chasers I say remember our furry friends who probably would have been ok if they had just done that one last hill repeat. Katharine aka Leslie

Hi, Coach... Just wanted to thank you and Lise for the visit last weekend. Was great to have you at Chez Trev for another race weekend. I'm still eating all those leftovers so thanks to Lise for that, too! And I'm sorry you only got one of those cookies, Vince, but don't worry, they're in good hands. Race day weather could have hardly been better. Lots of sun, cool but not cold, and no wind. Enjoyed the whole run even through something that felt like shin splints through the first several km. Crossing Davisville I could see a large billboard at St Clair that read "How will you survive?" Despite the ominous question whatever was bothering me subsided at about that point and it was clear sailing from there on in. I see that City Hall is telling the "duelling marathons" to sort out schedules to avoid traffic trauma happening in such close proximity or a "solution will be imposed on them". Too bad it's come to that. Was great to see Lynn and Ken race day. Glad you guys liked Rebel House for the post-race lunch and thanks, Ken, for covering me on what I was short for the tab. I've since been to the bank and am now carrying an ample store of cash. Suzanne: thanks for the additional post-race calorie contributions. I'm still feasting on all that chocolate you sent me home with. Sorry I missed Steve and Elle. Say "hi" for me! Hope to see you guys in Hamilton next week. (A few of us will be in Hamilton for the last 1/2 and marathon of the year) Trevor Shamas

 

Was the race a success? Mostly yes. The course is much more scenic than the September Scotiabank event as it rolls down Yonge St. and through Forest Hill and Rosedale Valley. It's a great tour of the city for out of towners. There's even showers available at the end - a rarity in big events. If only the more locals could embrace it. There was lots of support on the course. Unfortunately there were a few places along Yonge where blocked drivers actually booed the runners and set up horn honking sessions. The news I heard after the event on race day and Monday was mostly negative. 'Why is there 2 marathons in only 3 weeks tying up traffic needlessly?' 'Can't they find a better place to run it?' 'There are too many road closures allowed in Toronto' - (453 per year). Goodlife Toronto Marathon director Jay Glassman commented that we were here first and the Waterfront Marathon should move to May??. It went on and on. What I didn't hear was a positive celebration of an excellent event like other cities and communities do. Other places mostly embraces their runs. Toronto does not embrace this one and it's too bad. I don't have any magic solutions but I hope some compromise comes between the 2 competing events.