Boxing Day Run 2010 - A race to

Race: Boxing Day Run
Where : Hamilton
When: December 26th 2010 - ( Boxing Day)
Distance in reality: 10 Miles
Distance in my mind: 50 Miles
Companions: Theo Bosch & Oliver Owens

Okay so there is nothing better than a run the morning after Christmas. Seriously... well that's how Theo sold it to me at any rate.
Being plagued by a chronic injury for the last year, I had scaled back my races significantly. I figured hey why not, you've managed a few good runs, give it a whirl and Theo has a way with words... " You racing? Day of sign up" Who could say no to an invite like that?

With my daughter gone for the Holiday Season, I thought why the heck not, gets me out and about. Fine... so in the Bosch-mobile I clammered. Around the bend and down the lane to Olivers house & then our little trio was complete & off we trekked.
Destination: the YMCA on James St Hamilton.
We got there with time to spare - registration didn't open until 10am. So we sat in the Y's little "cafe" and had a nice cuppa.
And guess who we run into none other than Chris Battaglia.
Now there's a surprise. LOL.

At 10am on the dot I was lead to the Gymnasium and duly handed over my $60.00 / registration form and in return I got a my bib and nifty Snowman gloves. It was the 90th running of the Boxing Day Run & what celebrations there were. Okay it was rather low key, but the clothing that you could buy was pretty darn great. However; since I have more closet space dedicated to running gear than civvies I thought it best to resist the temptation adding to my running gear.
The Expos was ... erhm... one table.. no wait... two. One with running stuff the other with running information.
I'm thinking they may want to expand on the expos just a tad.
At any rate - around 11:30 we headed off to the starting line on John Street where we were greeted by a very blustery wind. bbbrrrrr... so Oliver and I huddled up by the only source of heat - a running car. LOL. We got our picture taken for the Hamilton Spectator. Poor Theo ... bio break means missing out on celebraty.
The horn went and so did we all 1096 of us.
And once again I went like ... sno.. erhmm to fast. First km in 5:03, okay seriously, it's nice to know that my body can do it, but I have 9.4 miles left. Second km 5:15 and by the third km I figured it was time to walk since I hadn't run into an aid station yet. This, thought I, would slow me down for sure...
And as we turned into the marina's THERE was the aid station.. bugger... oh well. Keep going, as we exited the marina we hit the waterfront trail where I had done the Slainte Grey Cup 8k the year before & placed 3rd in my age group. I LOVE this part of the race & I was burning up the trail. I hit the 5 mile split at 47:52. PB LOOK OUT HERE I COME. My best time in a 10 miler was 2009 Acura 10 miler with a 1:39 time. I was on my way ... yahhoo.
Then as I started mile 6 ... I could feel the incline start & with that my leg pain increase - see I can ignore it very well on a flat course, but once the hills start, not so much.
We were running the edge of Chedoke Golf Course. Ack... this was not good.
Mile 7 - was the beginning of a mile climb up to the Club House & it was the begining of the end for me. My leg was not about to co-operate with me at all & let me know that there was NO WAY I was going to make a PB in fact, I was hard pressed to come close to my Angus Glen 10 miler time.
I was heartbroken.
I walked up the hill.
Then we hit a gravel rail trail - it was flat - but even that wouldn't help.
I walked some more.
Mile 9 started with a lovely down hill, so I trotted down hill... for about 500 meters. I was beside myself - Theo & Oliver were hopefully in the Y, changed and keeping warm. I tried as hard as I could not to look at my Garmin.
As I turned on to Jackson Street and headed towards the finish I figured I better run as best as I can in case Theo & Oliver were out, plus the finishing picture needs to be done running. I heard Theo .. then saw him.. It egged me on to at least keep running. Theo joined me for a hundred meters or so dangling the bling in front of me, as if that would help. I just didn't want to cry in front of the guys. I have an image to up hold. Sorta... okay not really but one must keep a modicum of ones pride intact.

So I crossed the finish line in 1:51:00
Chris Battaglia
Theo Bosch 1:31:13
Oliver Owens 1:11:52

All injuries aside - I think this is something I would do again. I did enjoy it. Hamilton is a great race town.

It Was a Rainy Day

Yes it was a very rainy day and certainly not hot in Cleveland for the Green Jewel 50k on Saturday March 5th. The previous week had seen some serious flooding in the Clevelnad area and we were a little concerned about the race actually being run. But apperently things had got a little better and the flood waters had receded, unfortunately a new wave of nasty weather was threatening to make the waters rise again. Theo Bosch and myself drove down on friday morning not knowing what to expect and by the time we got to Ohio the rain had started, at least the temperature wasn't too bad (up to 9C). We settled in to our hotel room and went for dinner and drove out to see where to catch the bus in the morning. Looks like a very nice area, Brecksville (where the finish is)is a beautiful small town and is surrounded by more of the the same. I think there's a bit of money in these parts. After finding the finsih/bus stop area we drove to see "the hill" but turned around before we got there, thinking that maybe it would be better not to see it before the race.
The next morning we were up at 4:30 and out the door by shortly after 5 to be at the bus pick up area before 5:30. To our surprise a nice comfy coach showed up to pick us up. After picking up our race bibs we got on the bus and waited for everyone else before setting off for Rocky River For the start. The course runs around the outskirts of Cleveland from Rocky River in the west to the south along the Rocky River on mainly paved bike paths (except for a 8 kilometre stretch of road) to Brecksville and the Oak Grve Picnic area.
The rain never let up much and we started on time at 7 am. The early going seemed rather easy as we kept up a nice sub 5 min/km pace. There were lots of puddles to greet us and in some places we had no option but to wade through ankle deep ice cold water. Evidence of the prevu=ious weeks floods were everywhere, with mud on the path and debris in the woods. Regardless it was a very nice looking area and would have been even better under better conditions. We maintained our pace and kept to our plan of walking through the aid stations and when we neeeded a gel (about every hour). After passing the half way mark things started to seize up a little for me, as was expected, but i kept on not wanting Theo to be disappointed in his first 50K, he may need some help in the later stages. I might wnat to point ut that the course is almost entirely a gradual uphill climb, at least unitl about 35k when the "real" hills start at this point both of us were hurting and we agreed that walking the hills would be good stratgey.
We had been slowing down at this point and it was a matter of just getting it done now. We managed to get our self through the hills and got our selves to the last major road crossing at Brecksville Rd. 3k from the end. It was down hill from here, but we weren't ready for downhills, our quads were in pain. We soldiered on and thankfully finished in a time of 4:48:50, a PB for Theo :).

Overall a great small event, only 87 finishers. Tough course which would have been great on a nice day. Heavy rain and strong head winds didn't deter us though. Thanks to Joe Jurczyk, the race director.

Races, Races, Races

Looks like race season is getting under way finally, with numerous events over the next little while. This Sunday was the Peterborough and Grimsby half Marathons, while coming up next weekend there is the Chilly Half in Burlington and a couple brave souls are travelling to the Cleveland area to take part in the Green Jewel 50k.
Lastly a small contingent of RoadRunners are off to Little Rock, Arkansas in search of a huge medal at the Little Rock Marathon this weekend coming.

Good luck to all.

Peterborough Half Marathon Results

Sunday February 27th was the Peterborough Half Marathon with a number of RoadRunners taking part. Congrats to all:

Mary Mitchell - 1:36:05 1st in her age group
Jamie Nielson - 1:38:07
Rick MacLean - 1:41:32 PBJim Tuttle - 1:49:45
Tracy MacLean - 2:27:56

New Race Series in the Orillia area

The CANI Running SeriesLearn your limits and go beyond with the CANI road race series. By making a commitment to Constant and Never-Ending Improvement, runners can harness the power of setting and achieving goals, and reach new personal bests. For specific race details, including dates, maps and costs, please click on individual races below.

CANI Race 1 - Sunday June 5th, 2011
The CANI series begins with a 5km and 10km event that will get those legs moving after a long winter! Starting at the beautiful Centennial Park in Orillia, the CR1 takes runners along the shoreline of Couchiching Lake, around Wilson Wetland and returns to the park along the paved Gordon Lightfoot Recreation Trail. This course is flat, fast and a joy to run.
CANI Race 2 -Sunday August 7th, 2011Held nine weeks after the CR1, thereby giving runners the training time to improve in time and/or distance, the CR2 courses are also flat, fast and provide another opportunity to achieve a personal best. The CR2 starts at Kitchener Park in Orillia and runs along the shoreline of Lake Simcoe, winding its way through Victoria Point and along beautiful Forest Ave.
CANI Race 3 -Sunday October 16th, 2011Ten whole weeks of training later, run the CR3, The Bontita Glen ½ Marathon and 10km. Go further or faster than you've gone before! The CR3 offers a 10km as well as a half-marathon distance to provide an extra challenge to runners at the end of a great training season. It will begin at Bonita Glen on the 11th line of OroMedonte, run up the 11th line to the Ridge Road, down Lakeshore Rd E. to Eight Mile Point and return along the same route. This course takes you down beautiful tree lined roads and along the shores of Lake Simcoe offering you some of the best views of the township. It's not to be missed!

Athletes for Athletes

Barrie’s running community, spearheaded by members of the Barrie Road Runners, have shown their support for local Special Olympics programs with a gracious donation. SOO-Barrie was presented with three GPS units: one that was purchased, and two that were passed along. These tools will help the snowshoeing and nordic ski programs in their weekly training sessions, showing athletes about distance and pace and helping coaches design training plans. Accepting the units from runner Rick MacLean (left) are snowshoe athlete Brian Waring and nordic coach Hellaina Rothenburg.
Such support is important for the success of these grassroots programs. Indeed, Brian and Hellaina are proudly wearing their brand new Team Region 6 uniforms. Barrie is sending five snowshoers, six alpine skiers, and eight nordic skiers to Thunder Bay for this weekend’s Provincial Winter Games. The athletes will be accompanied by six coaches.
Thank you Barrie Road Runners!

Or maybe this is more your style

The Hardrock Endurance Run