Hi,
The snow has long gone, so now it is time for some summer racing in Muskoka. In addition to hosting Muskoka'shoe, I also co-host The Limberlost Challenge, which is on July 16th, just five weeks away. Last year we had almost 300 participants.
The 14km course runs alongside five lakes and a wetland. The scenery is spectacular.
To make the race even better than last year we will have CHIP timing, staggered starts, the addition of a trail marathon (3 loops), and camping for both the Friday and Saturday nights. There will be a 400 participant cap so if you plan on joining us this year, book your spot soon at https://www.onlineregistrations.ca/limberlost/
Check out the website at www.thelimberlostchallenge.com . There is an FAQ section that will answer many of your questions. Email me if you have any others. Take a look at the video and photos from last years race.
There will be two training runs using the 14km loop that you will see on race day. They are at 10:00am on Saturday 25 June and 10:00am on Sunday 26 June. To accommodate all runners we will go at an easy pace, stopping at key intersections so that we can re-group. HEED or eLoad, plus plain water will be available at the south end of Buck Lake(about the 6.5km mark). Email me at neil@thelimberlostchallenge.com if you will be joining us.
All the best to you.
Neil Jefferson
I managed to snaffle Cindy M's bib for the 3rd Annual Toronto Women's Only Half Marathon, I figured I should try and get some race legs back get my mileage up a little be & gain some confidence back.
I ran the inaugral Women's only. I'm not a huge fan of races in Parks mainly because they are not closed off to the public and you have to dodge folks walking their dogs, with strollers, walking hand in hand enjoying each other's company on a fine Sunday morning. Not condusive to a focused run, not in my opinion.
The start was done in three waves - each bib was colour coded based on your stated finish time. I snuck into the last wave to start the run with Sandra. We started almost 6 minutes after the gun went off.
The race is run through Sunnybrook Park & starts near Eglinton/Leslie follows the path down towards Pottery road, but due to contruction we had to turn just after the 6k mark and then nip down this little side area and then back on to the main path way to make up the distance.
I was running with Sandra Lalonde who in the last day was able to acquire a fellow RoadRunners bib, having bumped into Sandra at the movies the night before, I was informed that we would be running together. Well so much for my slow recovery run to ease myself into the distance. LOL. Sandra is always good company & great motivation.
So we were moving.
Finally we stopped just after the turn around at the 6k mark. We were on pace according to Sandra. I'm not sure what the pace was other than fast. LOL.
The water station with the firemen... non event for me, but a big hit with the ladies. I haven't figured it out yet, but there you go. Different strokes for different folks. Maybe it's my years being married to a Police Officer that has tarnished the luster of this. Who knows. At any rate, they should be thanked for coming out to support this run and POGO (Pediatric Oncology Group of Ontario) Thanks fellas for taking your shirts off for charity. 
By the 10 K mark I was starting to breath a little heavier, the humidity was coming out to play & it wasn't playing nicely. Bad bad BAD humidity. Grrrr.
By the 14 K mark I told Sandra to run her own race, that I wasn't going to be able to keep up our pace. My calf muscle was doing okay, but my breathing was getting more laboured & my ITB was starting to ache.
I didn't want to hold Sandra up as that would just be more anxiety for me. This run was suppose to be about getting back into the swing of things.
Coming up to the 17 k mark, I had slowed down considerably but that was okay as my breathing became much more relaxed. I could get air finally. I was relaxing so the constriction in my chest loosened & breathing became easier.
At the 18 K mark I increased my walking as my ITB really wasn't happy at all. I could feel it just winding up for a big "BOING" ( yea folks that's a technical term) Yeeeshh everyone's a critic.
I neared the 19K mark and along with that the chocolate station. No time to eat / enjoy the choccie so I put it in my water belt pocket. Saving it for later.
Then over past the 20 K mark still doing my longer walks. I believe that I was about about the 20. 5 K mark and running rather reasonably when we hit the parking lot & some Einstein said " this is the last kilometer" ... " only one more to go" I just about did my nut. I think I was a bit grumpy. I was running to finish this race I had picked up the pace calculating everything to make sure I didn't injure myself but ran the last 1.1k & this gal threw that all off. I got so peeved I started to walk across the parking lot.
Then I realized she was completely wrong and started to run again.
I figured I would be crossing at around 2:40 and almost felt dispondent. Okay I did feel dispondent.
As I came out from under the over pass (ahahah that's funny) I could almost make out the timing clock. As I motored down the path I saw Jim T & Brendan K cheering in the runners. They almost looked out of place in their civvies.
The timing clock looming closer I read 2:25:xx. I didn't suck as badly as I thought. Sandra & I must have made some good time the first 14k. Yahhoo.
And since we were in the last wave I could subract almost 6 minutes from my time. My offical time was 2:20:44 which all things considering - was acceptable. I wasn't about to push it since my longest run had been 15.5 k the week before. I have no desire to reinjure myself and have to deal with another year of recovery.
Althugh I like the idea of a Women's Only race, I think that the venue isn't the greatest. Not only is there the fact the course isn't closed (however; most of the people in the park try to be respectful of the fact a race is in progress) but the trail is pretty much a single path and when there are runnings going both ways because the race is an out and back (and several turn arounds) space is at a premium, plus due to the rain the day before huge swampy patches that the ladies are picking through, holding up the run. I find it very frustrating. 
I did manage to forget how many hills there are in the run too. Same thing I do with the Harry Rosen in High Park. ( but the trail in the park there is much wider)
The shirts this year seemed to fit rather "snuggly" I tried on the large that was in the race kit & it fit like a tailored medium. So the organizers may wish too look into this for next year.
The medal which is actually a necklace is very beautiful. Well thought out and a piece of jewelry that I haven't removed yet. The inaugral year they had the medals/necklaces hand made by Splash Pile jewelry. The last two years by Foxy Originals. I love it & a fantastic idea for a Women's Only race. Nothing better than jewelry and chocolate!!!
All in all I'd give this a 5 out of 10. Great atmosphere, just not a big fan of the course.
A group of our Barrie Road Runners recently travelled to California to take part in the Big Sur Marathon. This marathon is one of the most scenic and desireable races to do, especially as a destination California. Some took part in the 21 miler,the marathon, and 1, Steen Klint did the Boston 2 Big Sur challenge, meaning he ran the Boston Marathon 2011 and then Big Sur 2011. He was rewarded with 2 medals for this challenge.Everyone had a great and memorable race and I have heard nothing but rave reviews since they returned. Congtrats and it sounds like some will be going back again.
Congratulations to all who ran the 2nd annual Whitby Marathon today. Barrie RoadRunners in this event had a bueatiful day(no rain,no crazy heat) and participated in the 5K, Susan Robinson and Becky Ash, in the Half Marathon, Tracy MacLean, and in the full, Rick MacLean, Chris Battaglia, and running her first Marathon, Dawn Walton.The course was very well organized and had a bit of everything from pavement, trail, mud,wooden bridges, metal bridges, gentle rolling hills, inclines, lots of EMS on bikes, and smiling fans.Its a smaller event that will only get bigger.
T-Shirt Etiquette (courtesy of www.ultrunr.com)
Humerous look at the wearing of Race T-shirts -Particularly from an Ultra perspective.
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In the ultra running community the wearing of race T-Shirts has become a sign of accomplishment and fashion. Choosing just the right T-Shirt for that special occasion can be a daunting and difficult task. The following guidelines have been compiled (in fun) to help the responsible T-shirt wearer avoid potential embarrassment and/or elevate their status.
1. A shirt cannot be worn unless the wearer has participated in the event. (crew, significant others and volunteers are exempt)
2. Any race, less than a marathon distance, shouldn't be worn to an ultra event. It simply doesn't represent a high cool factor and sends a red flag regarding your rookiness. If you set a PR at Pikes Peak Marathon, definitely wear that shirt whenever possible.
3. When returning to a race in which you previously finished, then wear the shirt from the first year you completed the race. Don't short change yourself by wearing the shirt from the year before. It doesn't adequately display the feat of accomplishment or the consummate veteran status that you are due.
4. Never wear a race shirt from the race you are about to run. It displays a lack of running integrity and might put the mojo on you.
5. Wearing a T-shirt of the race, while currently running said race, is discouraged. It's like being at work and constantly announcing "I'm at work". Besides, you wont have the correct post race shirt then.
6. Never wear a shirt from a run that you did not finish. To wear it is to say I finished it.
7. A DNF'er may wear a race shirt if... the letters DNF are boldly written on the shirt in question.
8. During a race the wearing of shirt from a previously completed year is acceptable. Wear the oldest T-shirt you have (see guideline #3). This is probably a good practice because you now have no excuse to drop out since you've done it before.
9. Runners should buy all crew members and, as appropriate, significant others (they let you run the race in the first place) T-shirts which can be worn without regard to running the race. (see guide #1)
10. Volunteers have full T-shirt rights and all privileges pertaining thereto.
11. No souvenir shirts therefore friends or anyone else not associated with the race may not wear a race shirt. If mom thinks that the Leadville shirt is lovely, tell he to send in her application early for next year so she can earn her own.
12. Wear the race shirt of your last race at the current race pre race briefing. The more recent the race the better. This is a good conversation starter. However avoid the tendency to explain how that it was a training run for this, and this is just a training run for the next, etc. It just sounds like your rationalizing mediocre performances. Sometimes it's best to live in the here and now. ("I've never been more prepared for a race! this is the big one!)
13. It must be clean (dried blood stains are okay)
14. If you've finished Hardrock 100 then wear it as often as possible, since the race is so damn hard.
15. Never wear a T-shirt that vastly out classes the event you're running (exception: see guideline #14) Example: Never wear a Western States 100 T-shirt at, say, Cool Canyon. Too many roadies will feel put down. It's okay to wear a WS100 or Leadville or Wasatch T-shirt at ultrarunner cult events such as Gibson Ranch or Jim Skophammer 24. It's probably not okay to wear your Trans-America footrace T-Shirt to your local around-the-lake Fat Ass 50k unless you want to psyche out the competition.
A corollary: never wear a blatantly prestigious T-shirt downtown. People will just think you have a big head, which you do.
If you don't know what things like DNF, WS100 or Crew are then you shouldn't wear any race shirt until you know what they mean.
T-shirts must be used sensitively. Worn responsibly, they can help expand one's consciousness and immerse you in a great conversation with your ultra brethren. Worn stupidly, they can cause blisters, vacant stares, sprained ankles, and cause social anxiety.
NOTE: Publicly these guidelines will be denied and possibly ridiculed by ultra runners, but privately and when discussed confidentially, they sing a different tune.
Marathon great Grete Waitz dies at 57
OSLO - Grete Waitz, the Norwegian runner who won nine New York City Marathons and the silver medal at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, died Tuesday after a six-year battle with cancer. She was 57.
Helle Aanesen, the manager of the Active Against Cancer Foundation in Norway, said Waitz died early Tuesday at the Ulleval University Hospital in Oslo.
A former Oslo schoolteacher, Waitz won her first New York City Marathon in 1978, setting a world best in 2 hours, 32 minutes, 30 seconds in her first attempt at running the distance. She went on to win eight more times, with her last victory coming in 1988.
She won the London Marathon twice, in 1983 and '86, the Stockholm Marathon in 1988 and earned five titles at the world cross-country championships from 1978-81 and 1983.
Waitz also won the gold medal in the marathon at the 1983 world championships in Helsinki, Finland. A year later, she took second behind Joan Benoit in the first women's Olympic marathon.
Waitz competed at the 1972 and 1976 Olympics in the 1,500 metres, but missed the 1980 Moscow Games because of the American-led boycott.
"Grete is in my eyes one of the greatest Norwegian athletes of all time," Norwegian Athletics Federation president Svein Arne Hansen said. "Not only through her performances in the sport, but also as a role model for women in sports."
In a Twitter posting, marathon world record-holder Paula Radcliffe remembered Waitz as "an amazing champion and more amazing person."
Retired cyclist Lance Armstrong, who overcame testicular cancer to win the Tour de France seven times, called Waitz "a good friend and an incredible athlete" on his Twitter feed.
Aanesen said a private funeral ceremony is planned for next week, according to Waitz's wishes.
Waitz is survived by her husband Jack Waitz and her two brothers, Jan and Arild.
Waitz had never run a marathon when she started the New York City race in October 1978. Her husband had talked her into trying, but after about 18 miles she regretted it.
"I was hurting. I was mad. I was angry. I told Jack: 'Never again," Waitz recalled in 2008.
She broke the world record three more times: In New York in 1979 and '80 and in London in '83.
Waitz started undergoing cancer treatment in 2005 but rarely discussed her condition in public.
"That's not my personality," she said in November 2005. "I've always been a private person. … I'll do that when I cross the finish line and win this race."
At the time she was optimistic she could conquer the disease.
"I'm crossing my fingers," she said. "I will beat it."
Like Waitz, Aanesen declined to specify which type of cancer she had.
"She didn't wish to put too much focus on herself and her disease, but hoped she could contribute in some way to help others," said Aanesen, who got to know Waitz through her work with the foundation.
"She was a fantastic and immensely successful sports practitioner and also a role model and pioneer in women's sports," Aanesen said. "She showed that women too can run longer distances than 1,000 metres."
Born in Oslo as Grete Andersen on Oct. 1, 1953, she trained and raced in her youth at Oslo's Bislett stadium, which raised a bronze statue in her honour in 1984.
Waitz received numerous other awards and honours for her achievements on and off the track.
In 2008, Norway's king bestowed upon her the prestigious Order of St. Olav for being a role model for female athletes. Last year, she received the International Olympic Committee's Women and Sport Award for Europe.
Waitz still holds the Norwegian records in the 1,500 and 3,000 metres.
April 19, 2011 http://ca.sports.yahoo.com/top/news;_ylt=ApOPlHwimjb8bxpTZ_96sfJShgM6?slug=capress-ath_obit_waitz-6607610
