New Year, time to pick a few races out.

Happy New Year to all.
With a new year comes a new season of races. There are plenty to choose from close and far away.
Its interesting how people choose a race, some go for close ones, some for swag, some for scenery,some try to do different countries and states. The one question that always comes up is...Elevation! I thought I would give a comparison of some of the big time racecourse elevation profiles, just incase you want to go to Chicago, or even.....Dubai.
Whatever venue you decide, local or far away enjoy the year of races to come.

Thunder Road Marathon

There was quite a group of Barrie RoadRunner that travelled to Charlotte NC to take part in the Thunder Road Marathon on Dec 11.
Charlotte is a beautiful city with lots to see like the Nascar Hall of Fame and lots of nightlife, and is very clean and friendly.The group, well there was Dave Hope,Catherine Harding,Bill Lovett, and Keith Lascelles running the half, while Jim Tuttle, Erin Wilson-Barrie,Lisa Thurlow, Tracy MacLean, Oliver Owens, Roger Ison, and myself running the Full. The course was somewhat hilly from start to finish, including a bit of an uphill finish. The course was incredibly scenic with nice homes and very friendly course support. It was a cold start but great conditions for the event, no rain and how often do you get to wear shorts in December!
The medals were great, a couple of free beers as well at the finish.Everyone had a good race including Lisa and myself who had PB's
Congrats to all, it was a fun weekend despite some travel delays due to weather getting home!

Boston Tea Party, April 17th 2011

I received this messsage from a David Hiddleston. Those of you going to Boston in April please read on;

Hi Bill, hopefully I have the correct person but I saw your name on the Boston Marathon 2011 entrants list. Just wanted to make you aware of an event that might interest you - it's a brunch the day before the race aimed at Canadian runners; www.bostonteaparty.ca.
Thanks

David
 
Here is an excerpt from the website:
To register click the tab at the top of this page where you can either enter online or by mail.  Note - this price includes online processing fees.  We are having three sittings of 9am, 10am and 11am so decide quick which suits your schedule and register before that slot fills up.  Any questions?   Please don't hesitate to contact me, David at teamcanadabrunch@gmail.com

Thunder Road Marathon NC

This Saturday a number of Barrie Roadrunners are heading to Charlotte North Carolina for the Thunder Road Marathon. It looks to be a great event with some of us doing the Full and others the Half.There is plenty of entertainment to look forward to on the course from cheer groups from schools,bands, and a juggler.
Good luck and a great race to all.

Whitby Waterfront Races Nov 21/10

The Whitby Waterfront Races were held today and a number of Barrie Roadrunners participated in one or more of these events. Yes thats right,one or more as Chris Battaglia ran the 5K, the 10K, and the 10 miler. Not a bad day at all for Chris who basically did 31K of race pace and was 2nd in his age group for the 5K. The day was one windy cold one with a head wind that made you forget all about those 32 degree summer days as we ran along the shores of Lake Ontario out and back. Oliver Owens, Tracy, and myself ran the the 10 miler and all had a good race with Oliver 1:15, Tracy getting a 1:47 and 2 minute PB, I also had a PB of 3 minutes at 1:16. It was a good event with a long sleeve tech shirt (3 for some right Chris) medal, and hot soup served out of the Ontario Shores Center which is an amazing facility.

Marshall University Marathon WV

11 hours by car is how long it takes to get to Huntington West Virginia.
Kevo, Theo, and myself headed for this Sunday marathon on the Friday before with some snow through the Ohio Valley but descent weather for most of the drive.This event was well done with a full zip fleece top(if you registered early enough) or a long sleeve tech shirt, free pasta dinner,and a nice medal. Out on the course we figured we were the only Canadians but I ran with a guy from Toronto, and then Andrea(see pic) joined in the conversation and she was from London. Andrea runs out of Runners Choice in London and as we talked about races,she was telling me this Sunday race was the 2nd of her back to back marathon. The course was fast and looped a couple times through Ritter Park and along the Ohio River as well twice. I started to get tired around mile 22 but kept going with quick stops at water stations and wanted to have a strong finish. The finish is right into Marshall Stadium were you can take a football and run the 100 yds to to the goal line finsh, it was great.
I finished in 3:54. Kevo had strong run as usual and his 2:56 got him 2nd in his age group and Theo PB'D at 3:28.
Oh and the stuffed Giraffe....thats from Tracy's car and we wanted to make sure it got around, and it did.

4 Ways to Combat Off Season Blues

Well as I was trolling through Yahoo Canada I came across this little article that caught my eye. Now it's aimed towards triathletes *shudders* but we won't hold that against them; there's no accounting for taste.

Who knows it might help stave off the winter blues for those runners that are currently injured or sidelined for other reasons.

Enjoy.

And hug a tri-guy no one else will. *tee hee hee hee*

http://www.active.com/triathlon/Articles/4-Ways-to-Combat-Offseason-Blues.htm?cmp=282&memberid=100190871&lyrisid=21104504