Niagara Falls International Marathon 2009

You couldn't ask for better weather to run this event, it was perfectly sunny and a bit cool. For Sam Furlong, Cindy Marcelli, and Joan Van Hilten who were running the half, a 10 am start means not having to get up at some crazy hour. For the Full marathon however, Cynthia Osborne, Tracy MacLean and myself had to load up on a bus before 7 am to be shuttled across the border to the start line in Buffalo. After clearing the border we hung out in the Al-bright Knox Art gallery until start time, 10 am, same start time as the half just in a different country.
It was an amazing course through Buffalo and over the peace bridge, Fort Erie, and down to the road to the falls. Great scenery all the way and great fan support. I also want to send Special congrats to Barrie's Ann Green who completed her first marathon, and Tracy for completing back to back weekend marathons, way to go!
This event for me was a streak of 4 marathons in 6 weeks(37 days) for Marathon Maniac Gold Status. Its been a busy year and its not over yet, right Keith!!

Another Busy Weekend

Yes this coming weekend is another busy one for races. First and for most good luck to Lisa Thurlow who is off to NY to do the big one, the New York City Marathon on Sunday.
A numer of RoadRunners are off to the Angus Glen half marathon just north of Toronto. Good luck and have fun.
And more are off to the less glamorous "Steel Town" Hamilton to do the Road 2 Hope marathon. Good luck to all, especially Bill who has hung so much on this race. Boston is calling you Bill.
It looks like the running or racing season is winding down as there are a lot less races on the list of races we are doing to the right.

The Niagara Falls (Not So) International Half Marathon

What a weekend folks - woot woot!!! I got up around 6am - relieved that the dogs let me sleep in that long. Took them for their obligatory Saturday morning walk with their doggy pals. Then got home, tidied out my car as I had travel guests joining me to go to NIAGARA FALLS!!! It was marathon weekend & I wasn't even packed. EGADS... aaaargh. So after the car was tidied. I started packing.
Jeans, sandals, couple of shirts, tooth brush, tooth paste, meds, vitamins, makeup etc.
Running kit:
Road Runners shirt, long sleeve tech, shoes, socks, sports bra, capris, vest.
Cindy Marcelli arrived, packed her in, drove to Innisfil to pick up Samantha - Tea's all around. GPS plugged in and programmed for the Skylon Parking Lot B - for the Expos.

Expos - was so so. I wasn't overly impressed. I think last years was a bit better. Perhaps it was just me, but I didn't get the same HOOPALA as I did last year. Didn't even spin the Nordica Wheel of Fortune.
They didn't hand out Tech shirts - we got for the Half and Full Marathon, a very nice Brooks sports bag. What a nice change that was. Dark Blue for the Halfers ( that was us) and Light Blue for the fullers.
The actual race kits - not bad. A package of whole wheat pasta, brown rice chips, the obligatory paper. Gator Aid water bottles ( picked those up as we left the Expos).

The hotel room at the Skyline Inn was COOL. They had bunk beds. I got the top bunk. WOOT WOOT.

Okay now for the really important stuff.

The actual Race - I'll let Rickymac talk about the Full experience as I hear it's awesome. I may do the full next year.

I love this race - I've done the half three years in a row now & we've had <<>> decent weather for each race. Decent being no snow or heavy rain. LOL.
They pick you up from the Crowne Plaza by the Starbucks ( hmmmmm) and bus you, in my case, to the Half Marathon start, which believe it or not is at exactly the half way mark of the full marathon. I KNOW - go figure. Crazy people.
And F-L-A-T. It's a net down hill course. You run on the Niagara Parkway the whole way in. Then the last kilometer is on the actual road in. Turn a couple of corners and VOILA- Finish Line.
Cindy was just going to run the run as it arrived for her. Fast if she wanted, slow if she wanted. This was her recovery run from the Nike's Women's Marathon. I've never seen so much NWM gear! Everytime you turned around she had something else emblazened with NWM. Thanks for single handedly stimulating the US economy. I think President Obama is on line 1 for you to personally thank you. LOL.
She looked fabulous & even better - ran exceedingly well.
Sam was recovering from a stress fracture in her foot and was out of commission for 8 weeks. So this was her Happy Birthday & welcome back to running run.
Me?? It was my recovery, taper run - I had no expectations other than to stick with my bestest buddy Sam.
We were all patiently waiting for the start at 10am. Folks milling around in the warming tents, which I found out the first year, is a misnomer. There are no warmers in the tents. You have to huddle together and let the body heat blossom. Yeah right... okay. Doesn't get anyone into trouble does it?
Our Barrie Road Runners shirts were a hit. Lots of Barrie folks on the course, people running by you yelling - HEY I'M FROM BARRIE TOO!!! Awesome. Lots of compliments on them. Groovy man!!!
So off we went after a wonderful rendition of the US & Canadian anthems. I treated everyone to my own special brand of singing. Anything to chase the butterflies away.

The course was beautiful. The houses are amazing! HOLY SMOKES ! They have the most amazing view - over the Niagara River. Wow. The trees were a wonderful array of fiery red, burnt orange and tangy yellow. Canada Geese were swimming lazily in the river, families of them floating in harmony.
Sam's injury resurfaced - her foot was aching hotly. So rather than risk reinjuring it further at the 6 mile mark we decided to walk it in. Cindy, her Road Runners Singlet gleaming in the sunshine, headed off for a grand finish.
Sam and I were given the opportunity to enjoy the glorious fall day that we were given. Sam is a complete trouper. I made her walk no less than a 9 minute kilometer. We ran when she felt a run in her, then we'd walk again. At about the 11 mile marker the motor-cade came through to announce the first place marathon runner was coming through.
There he was - not a Kenyan by any means and the most interesting thing - he was completely alone, there was NOBODY even close by to him. The next set of runners were about a kilometer behind him at least.

The medal - well it's not as great as last year's or the year before that. Whomever they had contracted to make the medals misspelled pewter two years running ( or more but for sure two). We had genuine pure pewer medals. This year... not so much. They weren't bad. Size wise they are decent. The Ribbon was blue for the half and Gold for the Full - that would be the only hugely noticeable difference. On the back it has 5k - 10k - Half Marathon - Marathon and your event is highlighted with at small space to have your time engraved.

This is definitely a great run for folks who want to finish off the year with a flat run before Angus Glen. The organization is great, the volunteers at the expos are very helpful, they even whispered in my ear that I could get Jame's entry deferred if he wanted and pointed out who I needed to speak to. The water stations were manned by some really energetic schools. The teenagers were really giving it their all which was terrific!! Lots of school spirit. Mascots, balloons, face painting all in school colours!! Fantastic.

I didn't stay too long at the after party. But they had the food in a bag awaiting for me! I couldn't believe it!! I didn't have get in another line up for food! The usual Gatorade to chug down after finishing, water bottles or cups of water and best of all a shuttle bus back to the Crowne Plaza. I managed to trade my chewy chocolate covered granola bar for a bag of ketchup chips on the bus ride back... SAAAWEEET!!! yummy... chips for our carb!

So all in all I'd rate this one a - Hafta do at least once on my race rating scale.

JvH

Niagara Falls Marathon

The Niagara Half Marathon Results are in well done everyone:

Half Marathon results

Marathon Results

Barrie RoadRunners Merchandise Blog

Bill has started another blog to look after all your BRR merchandise needs and it can be found at http://brrmerchandise.blogspot.com/?zx=64e17c5986027c8

Nike Women's Marathon San Fransisco

It seemed as though a lot of us ran a Marathon, somewhere on the planet this past weekend!

Lots of us Roadrunners including the remaining ones from Catherine Hardings clinic in Toronto, Roger Ison in Amsterdam, and Tracy MacLean & Cindy Marcelli in San Fransisco for the Nike womens Marathon. At first glance, the course elevation map looks like a 50k trail run, but it is San fransisco ladies. Lots of hills including a 4 mile climb to mile 15, all scenic. Entry to this event is by lottery which opens in the spring, or charity group only. A couple of different things, like no real Expo, you see Nike is the sponsor so all race-clothing,gear is sold through Niketown, 7 floors of it. You also receive your tech event shirt after you cross the finish line. Oh yes, and the coveted Tiffanys necklace presented by tuxedo clad firemen is quite a deal.
I didnt forget about you Erin, you had a great time at 4:14 I believe, well done.

Congrats to all, and good thing for hill training!!

Update: Barrie RoadRunner Shirts

With the early arrival of our new shipment of tees and singlets we have already managed to distribute 64% of the orders so far.

• Wed Oct 21st - I will be at the Barrie Running Room so, after the run, I will be prepared to hand out more to those who have yet to receive theirs.
  
  NOTE: The individually marked bags also contain money from the price-break refund. It is because of this, AND due to the volume of orders placed, that I do not intend to leave orders at the Running Room. The wonderful RR staff already has a job ;-)

• WEEK OF THE 26th  (REVISED DATE) - Anyone who ordered shirt(s) is also welcome to stop by and pick up your order at the full/half Toronto Marathon runners' clinic wrap-up . This is being co-ordinated by Catherine Harding and is TBA at this time. Email cath.harding@gmail.com for more details if you are not already on her extensive clinic mailing list.

Following this wave we'll see how many folks have yet to pick up and decide how to do so.

Thanks
Bill

Toronto Good Life Marathon - A New Hope.

Oh boy was it cold this morning at the Spirit Catcher - My bed was so toasty and warm it was a shame to say good bye to it, but I gave it a fond adieu and headed out the door with ALL of my racing required accessories. Shoes, bib, chip, waterbelt, E-load, Vanilla Bean Gu, hat, shades, vest & something pink.

I arrived EARLY & low and behold Bill was there with our shirts - so I devested my vest and donned on my MOST AWESOME Barrie RoadRunner's shirt ( complete with Spirit Catcher on the back).

I shamelessly hugged Carlton the Bear for luck! Some dude taped that so watch the news .. ahaha.. I was hoping he'd bring me more luck than what's currently happening for the Leafs. ( but that's a blog for the FAN 590). Started off with our group. Tim, Lyndy, Steve, Catherine, Dave, Stephen, Kelly & Lori. Slight delay - There were No Jonas Brothers so I'm not sure what happened.

Okay what's up with Hogs Hollow? People just RUNNING up that willy nilly. I took a more conservative approach as it was my first time running Toronto and I wasn't sure what other surprises it held for me. ( I'm not one to really study a map closely - I get lost in Barrie still from time to time.)
Trish and I were working together with a hope of finishing in 4:30 - something that elluded us at Scotia. We were doing brilliantly well. We PB'd at 30 K with a 3:18 and a faint glimmer of " could be possibly get UNDER 4:30?" registering on our eager faces.

Yeah not so much.

Things started unravelling around 35 - but I managed to keep it together until my calf muscle would spasm and I'd lose my balance, yell in pain, scare the pants off Trish and then regain my composure.
Then at about 38 my left quad started doing the same thing. So I was running one block - walking ...
and at 40 it pretty near levelled me horizontal. I've never seen my leg veer off to the left on it's on. One leg in one direction, the other going straight ahead.
41 - interesting km my calf and quad would alternate spasming. I looked wickedly cool.
as Trish and I entered into the circle at Queens Park we decided one last walk ... up to the green sign --- then we heard it.
The loudest most bestest cheering section this side of anywhere. CRAP... now we can't walk. I see Sandra... Okay Trish we hafta run now.

We made it in 4:43 a PB for me. 12 minutes off my Ottawa time and Scotia -- well :)

Also a heart felt congratulations to Roger in Amsterdam !! UITSTEKEND JONGEN... Gefeliceeteerd!
And to Tracy & Cindy out in San Fran - woot woot.... You ladies rock!!!

Jvh

Weekend Race results

The first race on Sunday was across the pond in Amsterdam, where Roger Ison ran the marathon in... you guessed it 3:31 (Mr. consistant). Good one Rog.
In Toronto here are results for the all the Barrie runners with many PB's:

Marathon

Half Marathon

Orillia Runners:

Marathon

Innisfil

Half Marathon

And Finally congratulations to Cindy Marcelli and Tracey MacLean who finished the Nike Womens Marathon in San Francisco in 5:45. They may have enjoed themmselves too much. Way to go ladies.

New Barrie RoadRunner Shirts Have Arrived

The new shirts were expected to arrive in time for the Niagara Falls International Half/Full Marathon held on Oct 25th. As fate would have it, THEY ARE HERE NOW! Out of consideration for the group of runners going to the Goodlife Toronto Half/Full Marathon I am working to have the shirts organized a full week ahead of schedule for distribution on race day Oct 18th. They too will have the opportunity to fly these new diggs if they so desire.

What you get: If you ordered a garment you will receive your ordered item(s) and an envelope containing your respective price-break refund (cash), all in a convenient bio-degradable bag that's yours to keep! ;-)

WHEN: Orders can be picked up on SUNDAY OCT 18th as follows;

• 6:00am @ Spiritcatcher parking lot (to accommodate Goodlife Toronto Half Marathon participants)
• 6:30am @ Spiritcatcher parking lot (to accommodate Goodlife Toronto Marathon participants)
  

Not into getting up THAT early? No problem! Once our favourite contingent of Goodlife Toronto athletes heads south, I am going to take off for my own little run. After that the Running Room will be open and I will bring the remainder into the store to distribute (by about 9:15/9:30am). I expect to get away with this loitering til at least 10:30am!

Now, I know it is a little short-notice but I am sure you all understand when I say that I do it out of the interest of the patient members who purchased these items. If you are so unfortunate as to be unable to work with this schedule simply send me an email at blovett1@live.com and we'll work it out.

Thanks, and shirt or no shirt have a great run this weekend!

Bill

(so how many of you got hung up on the 'no shirt' remark :)

This weekend

Another busy weekend coming up with the Toronto Goodlife Marathon on sunday and lots of RoadRunners heading down for the full and the half marathons. Good luck to all the first timers. Also this weekend Roger Ison heads over to the land of Windmills and everything orange to take on the Amsterdam Marathon, good luck Roger.

Going in the opposite direction will be Tracey MacLean and Cindy Marcelli who are travelling to San Francisco to run the Nike Women's Marathon. Good luck girls and behave.

Simcoe Shores Relay

There is a new local relay race being organized for next august starting in Barrie to Orillia, Midland, Wasaga Beach and ending in Collingwood. It seems we already have some interest. I'm sure the RoadRunners could put in a couple of teams

Saturday, August 21, 2010
Barrie, Orillia, Midland, Wasaga Beach, Collingwood
Barrie, Ontario
Start Time:

The Simcoe Shores is a 250KM running team relay that starts in Barrie and travels through Orillia, Midland, Wasaga Beach with a finish in Collingwood. Entry is for teams from 5 to 8 members. The first event description PDF is now available to download.
Simoce Shores Relay

Now for the link...

Whooops helps if the link shows up doesn't it?? Sorry folks.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/home/moslive/article-1170253/The-painful-truth-trainers-Are-expensive-running-shoes-waste-money.html

Running with NO Shoes - it just might catch on.

I lifted this from my cousin's facebook page. There are some compelling arguments for running with no shoes. Heck I remember doing that as a little girl. Didn't have any problems really.

Are we being brainwashed by the big multi billion dollar shoe industry that we REALLY need to run in shoes. Now living in the Great White North - We have an added disadvantage than say the Tarahumara tribe they reference, or even the West Coasters in here in Canada and the U.S.

Have a read and let me know what you think.

J

RoadRunner shirts update:

Well it's about that time that folks are politely asking when their shirts will arrive... Thanks for checking up;

Our order is still on schedule and is going out tomorrow Friday Oct 9. Soooo, we should receive it soon. OK, It is expected that we could see as long as two weeks on delivery but I am optomistic it will be sooner. I will work to return price break refunds and your new garments as soon as I reasonably can. I understand some priority may go to those running Niagara on the 25th who may wish to fly their new colors at the race. Hopefully this will be possible.

In the end, it would be great to hear if you have any comments or feedback on the process as a whole. ATAC Sportswear was greatful for our order and they hope to hear from us in the future for our new orders. Hmmm, Jackets anyone?

Bill
blovett1@live.com

Doing something for someone else - STWM Sept 27th 2009

WOO HOOO.. finally the STWM - I had only planned running this race for the last year. It fell on my birthday and it was my birthday present to me.
It was going to be a great day. It was going to be the best day of the week and truly a fantastic running day, slightly over cast 18 degrees. A far out day!

I had only planned to run the race as a training run, and as Keith L said in one of our clinic classes "No you won't" . Ahhhh what does he know. I can just ' run ' a race. I needed to get my distance in, my last two long runs S-U-X-D. Big time. In fact I don't think I finished them. What a palvar.

Then I was emailed and requested to run with another club member who was a first timer. Sure no problem. I've got so much experience under my belt with the first Marathon in Ottawa in May. I'm completely qualified to be someone's run partner. Never mind that I hit the wall at 37K. GREAT CHOICE CATHERINE. *sighs* but since I had no goal time & I figured it's time to pay it forward. I have been supported through races.

So the Scotiabank runners met at the Spirit Catcher at 0500 on Sunday morning. Got into our perspective car pooling cars and headed off. Our first stop on route was, yep, Timmies on the 400 in King. I ran into my running buddy who wanted to do the Marathon in 4:30. I winced a tad - I hadn't done a 4:30, I just wanted to have a LSR, but a promise was a promise so I pulled my shoulders back and took a sip of my tea. Okay 4:30 it was.

Found parking and Nathan Philips Square and The Running Room Tent. The Barrie Runners had assembled - we gave a big WWWHHHOOOAAA BARRIE and headed for the starting line. Jenny & I got into our corral. Trish and Natalie as well. It was going to be the four musketeers. I was oddly relaxed - by the 2nd kilometre I knew I was going to have a great run. 4:30 was on the books. It was doable.
So off we trotted. We were on pace.
Trish and Natalie fell back by about 10 K because Natalie wasn't feeling well. She had been feeling unwell for a few days.
Jenny and I hit the turn around point at Windermere - I saw my 5 yr old neice there waiting for me ( her Daddy already had gone by - these "elite" runners... argh) so after giving her a big kiss and a raspberry on her cheek we were off again.
We took our turn off at the 18 K mark. We were running near the 4:45 Bunny. YIKES... 4:45 that's NEVER going to do. Note to self - pass the Pace Bunny.
As we ran by the Westin I looked around as I hear my name. Who the ??? It was Barrie's own Scott Whynott!!! Oh that was just the boost I needed. Come on Jenny & as we headed under the motor way - we edged by the bunny. Ohhh I could feel the air under my brand new Saucony Hurricanes.

By the half way mark we were making up time and a couple of k's later Trish caught up to us. Natalie perked up at 14 and was able to finish the half in a great time. As the three of us continued, Jenny was slowing down considerably. She had convinced herself that couldn't do this. The 4:45 pace bunny had long deserted us. And thusly I shelved any desire to finish in any other time than what Jenny was able to do.

I was constantly talking to her. I'd run in front of her and run backwards telling her that she was really doing well. That she WOULD complete this marathon RUNNING. She needed to stop listening to her brain and focus on me. I was going to drive her nuts, she'd hate me, but she'd thank me later.

The desire to walk was written all over her face. I saw a lot of me in Ottawa. The tears forming in your eyes when you have to start running again. The urge just to stop. I was so proud of Jenny. She didn't hit me once, even when I told her she had to run to the next Kilometre marker. We had a 2 minute walk break. Then we would run to the next Km marker, then a walk break. We did this from the 36K marker all the way to the finish. I'd run ahead and yell ' JENNY LOOK LOOK --- THERE IS THE NEXT MARKER - CAN YOU SEE IT???' Focus on that Jenny. Then we get a WALK BREAK!!!.. The volunteers at the 39 K marker thought I was loopy. I was jumping up and down that it was a walk break. I was singing and dancing to the entertainment - just to try and inspire my partner. I really think she'd rather have choked me with the microphone wire... but restrained herself.

Then there was 800 metres left. Then 500, 400... LOOK JENNY --- there are the Barrie Runners cheering us! 300 metres and a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday to you for me. 200 metres. 100 metres. LOOK JENNY !! THE FINISH LINE...

YOU DID IT JENNY !!!!!!! WE DID IT!!!!!!!!! Gun Time 5:11 Chip time 5:03.
I got my LSR in & Jenny got her first and hopefully not her only Marathon in.

I'm so grateful for the lesson I learned. It's always better to give. I thank Jenny for the opportunity presented to me & I want to thank her for being my STWM running partner. With out her I wouldn't have learned that lesson.

Now on to the Toronto Goodlife Marathon and I'm looking forward to a 4:30 finish time.

JvH

Run for the Cure - Oct 4th 2009

Well it was a wonderfully brisk morning on Sunday as I got up and ready to head to Yorkdale Subway station to head down to Nathan Phillips Square for my 2nd year of participating in the CIBC - Run for the Cure in support of the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation.

Every year the company I work for, DAC Group, fields a team of enthausists to take on the 1k walk or the 5K walk / run.
I've become the resident fundraising benchmark for the office and thanks to the generousity of family & friends ( including some of my running family) I exceeded my goal of $500.00 this year. Armed with my daughter, a cup of Timmie's Mint Tea, my Canon Digital SLR & a high spirit, I boarded the 9am train from Yorkdale to Osgoode Station.

I arrived at Nathan Philips Square with time to spare and glanced around where I had only the week before, celebrated my 44th birthday by running in the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. What a wonderful day that was, but I'll blog on that experience later. ( if I remember - yikes) I located my colleagues, gave Chelsea the camera and started pumping up the team. "WOOT WOOT... YAHHHOOO!! 5 K this is EXCITING... no no no I'm not going to run quickly. What?? Oh heavens no beat last years time? Gosh folks this is for charity - it's all about coming up with a cure to this disease, plus I'm still recovering from the 42.2k I did last weekend."
Then my boss nudged me and said " It's time to line up!" Whaaat? Damn... arrggh... she's a runner too - runs about 3 miles every other day. Small, weighs all of a toothpick and has different flavoured tic tacs for her meals. Argghh... Trying to be non-chalant about it all. Last year I lost her in the crowd and beat her by about a minute. This year I was determined to keep pace with her.
I mean who wants to have this charity run reflect poorly on their yearly performance review? Not me...

So we lined up, patiently waiting for 10am. 10:05. 10:07. 10:10. What the .... We were a bit further back than we had cared to be so we couldn't see what the delay was. I found out yesterday on the news. The Jonas Brothers were in town and decide to run the 5K - so I'm thinking they let them go first. Cheaters.

Well about 2 minutes into the run - I couldn't find my boss. *heavy sigh* I did it again. Oh what the heck - in for a penny in for a pound I say. I took one last look around - no boss & off I went.

I must say, I think they tax the air in Toronto because there was very little of it as I ran the course. At points it felt like my lungs were bursting. I thought perhaps because I was an out of towner I wasn't allowed the same amount of air as locals, no one else seemed to be looking like they couldn't breathe. So I carried on. Past the entertainment. Past the kilometre marker sign holders. Past the Police Officers. Past the water station --- whhooaa... hang on; crap I forgot my water belt. Yeah get your fingers out of the water cup & just hand it to me. Oh gloves, okay not so worried. I drank my cup of water, tossed it in the bin and carried on.

And what to my wondering eyes should appear? A blond gal in the same pink Ottawa Marathon 2009 shirt. " Hey NOOOICE shirt!!" " Gee thanks, sadly I haven't run since." " Really, how sad" I said as I ran past her as well. " Take that" I thought to myself. Air was still at a premium & I thought to myself, why the HECK am I running like this. There's no bling. So I slowed my pace ( I had no Garmin because of course this was for fun. I only had my sports watch's timer on). Then suddenly that familar pink marathon shirt was next to me, then in front of me. DAMN!!! Argh...

Off I went again.

Over the finish line in 24:13 - a personal best in the 5K for me, I managed to sneak by the pink marathon copy cat shirt wearer - I have the picture to prove it.

The best thing of all was that I was part of a bigger picture. 4.1 million dollars was raised in Toronto alone for Breast Cancer research. I was saddened to see so many pink survivors t-shirts in the crowds of runner/walkers Chelsea & I cheered in after. Then I stopped for a moment and reflected. That many pink shirts was actually A GOOD thing. That means our money is working to finding a cure. All these pink shirts mean SURVIVOR... they are here still. WOW... that actually brings tears to my eyes and a huge lump in my throat. I can understand that feeling of being a survivor. I'm SO HAPPY for them.

And thanks to everyone that sponsored monetarily and those that sponsored me with confidence. You all are special.

I can't wait for next year's run!!
Woot woot.

Joan vH

p.s. for those of you wonder - I beat my boss by about 2 minutes.

Run for the Toad

Saturday October 3rd was 8th Annual Run for the Toad at Pinehurst Lake Conservation area. Another large contingent of RoadRunners were on hand to tackle the different distances. Some enjoying there first Ultras:

All the results are listed here http://www.runforthetoad.com/results-2009.html

Barrie RoadRunners are taking it to California...

Look out California, HERE WE COME!!

With 14 entrants thus far, the Barrie RoadRunners are now on the run club listing for the SurfCity Marathon in Huntington Beach California, Feb 7th, 2010! Not only is this the only Canadian club thus far, we have outnumbered many of the clubs in the region of what will be a fantastic surf-themed event! (click here to see the description listed for our group http://www.runsurfcity.com/Running_Clubs.cfm)

Very soon the Barrie RoadRunners will be a selectable club listed in the drop-down menu for this venue's online race registration. This applies to all race distances at the event so if you are signing up be sure to specify your club as Barrie RoadRunners! Further, with another eleven runners in any of the events at this venue we would qualify for club perks such as:

• Registration discount!


• Exclusive sponsor giveaways!!


• Dedicated meeting space at the venue!!!


• and so on,

Back To Back Marathon Weekend - A three person perspective

Well it was a few months ago now that Kevin said to me do you feel like doing a back to back in new England in October. After thinking about it for all of maybe 1 second I said yeah, Ok. So this past weekend we travelled with Oliver to Bristol, New Hampshire and Portland Maine to do the New Hampshire and Maine Marathons.

Keith was with me two Octobers ago when I first completed a back-to-back marathon weekend, in Hartford, CT and Atlantic City, NJ. The high level of agony, pain and suffering must have enticed him as he was all too quick to accept for this year. So off we went to New England, leaving on Thursday Oct. 1 with a stopover in Cornwall. On the way to New Hampshire on Friday we stopped in Burlington, VT. Weather was awesome as we had lunch on an outdoor patio at an Irish pub downtown. Of course since we were preparing for a weekend of running we had nothing to drink (nudge, nudge, wink, wink). Lunch done it was onto New Hampshire.

Although the trip to the east coast 2 years ago was "inpsirational" this one was completely different. The pasta dinner reminded me of my New Mexico experience, home made pasta dinner with all local volunteers in a a small Mason Hall. Very cozy. Off to the liquor store for cheap booze and then back to the hotel for an early night.
We woke up to pouring rain. A stop at Starbucks for coffee anf off to the start line.

The goal: start slow. There was a lot of running ahead of Keith and I. So what do I do? Start fast!! I've been battling a sore knee and bronchitis the last 6 weeks, so as I started I felt pretty good, so off I go! Plus it was cold and wet, the perfect incentive to get it over with ASAP. Of course there was just one small problem...HILLS! Which are not conducive to running quickly. Add in the fact that Keith has mentioned that due to the small field there was a good chance of maybe winning an age-group award caused me to go out a wee bit too fast.

Regardless of what Kevin says, we tried to pace ourslves well, but as usual failed miserably. As hilly as he couse was I went through the half at 1:41, still way behind Kevin, but not far ahead of Oliver. I thought the hills were supposed stop at halfway, they only got worse. With 6k to go (for me) the heavens opened up.Boy did it rain hard, just to add insult to injury. I finished about 8 minutes behind Kevin (as usual) in 3:23 and about 20 minutes ahead of Oliver. Overall a good day considering the conditions and the course but then again we sill another one to do.

Apparently Keith awoke on Sunday morning in South Portland, ME dreading the arrival of the second half of our adventure. Oliver was merely concerned. I was looking forward to it...don't know why, but the fact I survived the absolutely dreadful conditions of New Hampshire caused me to realize that Maine would not be a problem...or would it? The day dawned overcast with a temperature of about 13 degrees C. Considering that a resounding thunderstorm woke us up the night before we were counting our blessings. We arrived at the race site no problem, and while walking to the start-line porta-potties we heard some guy in a truck yell out, "The traffic's backed up to the Interstate!" We looked over and were a little surprised to see The Joker behind the wheel. Yeah, a dude with The Joker makeup on...little did we know this would foreshadow a very eventful encounter Keith would have with him very, very soon.

Yeah, with about a mile to go I looked up and there was the Joker running in full garb about 100 yards ahead of me. So I figured I can't let him beat even after 84k. When I was about 10 yards behind him my mind convinced me to stop a for a quick break. Once I got going again I eventually caught upto him with about 1/2k to go passed him and said to him "way to go Joker, but I can't let you beat me". And so I finished as strong as possible thanks to the Joker. Once I saw Kevin as the end, who couldn't stop talking about how great he felt (barf), we waited for Oliver to arrive. Oliver didn't dissapoint coming in at 4:02.

Keith just doesn't like anyone who differs from his (old) opinion, so if he feels like crap, we all have to! Just kidding. I was surprised at how well I felt, but that's what happens when you start out nice and easy and work your way into a comfortable pace. The course was hillier than I expected, but turned out to be very scenic, as we ran through a lot of nice neighbourhoods. Meet some incredible people along the way: Kyle from Ohio, who also did the double; Mike from Illinois (another back-to-backer); two guys from Nova Scotia, Grant and Charlie; Cowboy Jeff, who Keith and I know from Atlantic City two years ago (we ate our pre-race dinner with him); and of course all the wonderful volunteers, spectators who cheered us on (especially the ones in New Hampshire holding up the signs); and my running compatriots, Keith and Oliver, who have had me in stitches all weekend.

Another thing that stood out for me was wearing my Marathon Maniacs shirt, brought lots of encouragement from not only all the manaics out there but the 50 states club. What an inspiring bunch of runners. Not to mention Kevin and Oliver. Great Weekend guys.

Run For the Toad 2009, Oct. Third.

Ibuprofen. It's out there. It works. Run for the Toad (Cambridge/Paris, On.) what a magnificent trail run. If you haven't done this race put it high on your list today. Food, setup, organization, spectator perspective, & race course score a 10 out 10. To the Directors & Organizers of this event, I tip my hat. Simply perfect.
The Barrie Roadrunners had a solid representation at the race outnumbering he semi-professional boys from North Vancouver.The winner knocked off 15 minutes !!! from the previous record in the 50k. His time, are you ready,..3 hrs 23 mins.
The fifty is four loops of 12.5K of trail of which 10% is flat. I was warned to take it easy on the first loop, & thank goodness i did. However by the fourth loop my hamstrings & quads were on fire from the descents.
Congratulations to the Barrie runners who conquered the 25 km. They were, Jennifer Thurston, Cindy Mcgarragle, Lorna Avery-Cooper, Mike Murphy, Linda Sanson, Donna Fiton, Deborah Lancia, Kelly Huang, Jennifer Bohle, Joanne Wallace, Mike Strano, Brian Lancia, Neil Phillips. A big salute to Terry MacFarlane & Sandra Lalonde for taking the 50 Km. Job well done my apologies ahead of time if i have missed anyone. And Rick and Tracey.

Keith, Oliver & Kevin

As Chancellor of Simcoe County International Foundation of Fleet Runners, may I wish you all the best in New Hampshire & Maine. If I may, remember a few things : number one, your passports, number two listen to Oliver & don't use Kevin's Radio Shack pretend garmin, and final three, make us proud!! Good luck guys.