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

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.