Monday, December 31, 2012

2013 Goal Races: 3 half marathons + 3 10ks + the Gorilla Run

In July I started run-commuting the 10k to work and biking back, or vice versa, depending on where the bike was. Not every day, but a couple or few times a week. It would be nice to build that up in 2013 up to 50k a week consistently. Before I pulled my calf in October I imagined my progress was going to grow exponentially and by the summer I'd be running ultramarathons, but I think I have to be more realistic. So I picked a handful of more modest goal races for 2013:

St. Patrick's Day 10k Road Race, March 17
Calgary Marathon half marathon May 26
Stampede Road Race half marathon July 7
Dino Dash 10k early Sept (Road Race)
Rock the House Run 10k Sept 22 (Road Race)
Gorilla Run Oct
Last Chance Half Marathon Nov 10

I point out the road races because you haven't really run a race in the city if you've never run down the middle of a closed road with hundreds of your new best friends. The police close the streets so people can run and walk on them for fun. How cool is that?

upcoming races
Dino Classic indoor track at Jack Simpson Jan 5
MEC Hot Chocolate Run 5/10k, January 19
and several local versions of Hypothermic Half: Calgary Feb 9 + Edmonton Feb 10 + Lethbridge March 2 + Red Deer March 3
Cochrane Winterfest jan 26 3k 5k 10k
Glencoe Icebreaker April 7 registration Jan 2, must bring in paper form
Calgary Police Half April 28 registration some time in January

Thursday, December 13, 2012

The Hypothermic Half Marathon still has entries available, the Frozen Ass 50 does not

Considering I've only run about 750km this year so far (starting in May), I'm going to scale back my race ambitions for next year. I was going to try and hit every half marathon in the neighborhood, but I'll focus on running 40+ km a week and see how that feels after I add 1000km.

One race I had on my calendar runs tomorrow morning at 7:30 from the downtown Y. The Amble with Angus is 5k fun run raising donations for the food bank. Entry is only $20.

On Dec 15 the 5k Santa Shuffle also starts at Eau Claire. This race is collecting donations for the Salvation Army Christmas Appeal.

At noon on Dec 15 the Calgary Roadrunners present their 4k/8k Silver Springs cross country race. The race organizers are collecting donations for the Kerby Centre and the Drop In Centre. Entry is only $10 and less if you're a CRR member.

On Dec 31 the sold out Resolution Run is a 5k run in Eau Claire.

The Airdrie Quicksilver Running group is hosting a 3k/5k/10k family fun run Jan 26 called the Cochrane WinterFest. Entry is only $20 for adults, and $5 for kids 12 and under.

On Feb 9 the Hypothermic Half Marathon is so popular there are two start times: the 10am is sold out, but there are still spaces in the 1pm race. The course starts at Fort Calgary and proceeds from the race go to the Fort Calgary National Historic Site.

February 18, the sold out Frozen Ass 50 is now an out and back route on the Nose Creek Pathway.

Results

Last Chance Half Marathon
fastest men
Bernard Onsare 1:16:23
Graham Diehl 1:17:47
Evan Bayer 1:17:52
Steven Griffith-Cochrane 1:18:29
Adam Kahtava 1:20:53

fastest women
Lisa Harvey 1:26:49
Pauline McLean 1:27:03
Jessica Kaiser 1:29:25
Kendra Laycock 1:34:28
Heather Wiebe 1:35:17


Okotoks XC Results
8k fastest men
Trev Williams 37:37
Philip Ukrainetz 37:54
Roberto Desandoli 39:06

8k fastest women
Sheila Nykwist 45:53
Kim Collier 46:57
Susanne McArthur 46:58

3k fastest men
Charmichael Scott 24:17
Ian East 24:34
Shayne McClellan 28:4

3k fastest women
Carmen Gill 28:43
Niki Doyle 28:49
Kat Hasegawa 31:23




Dino Opener Results
A full day at the indoor track yields a ton of age-category results, and rather than report the winners of each category I thought I would present the many age-group course records set December 1st at the Dino Opener in the Jack Simpson Gymnasium at the U of C.

60M Dash, Girls 10 & under: 9.73 by Jasmine Szucs of the Airdrie Aces
60M Dash, Girls 11: 8:96 by Mercedes Fowler of Leduc Track
60M Dash, Girls 12: 9:01 by Mya Hastie of Calgary Olympic
60M Dash, Girls 13: 8:61 by Alisa Ratudradra of Passtrak
60M Dash, Girls 15: 8:14 by Meghan Lim of Caltaf
60M Dash, Girls 16-17: 7:94 by Tegan Wilson of Calgary International
150M Dash, Girls 10 & under: 24:28 by Jasmine Szucs of the Airdrie Aces
150M Dash, Girls 11: 21.99 by Mercedes Fowler of Leduc Track
150M Dash, Girls 13: 21.03 by Alisi Ratudradra of Passtrak
200M Dash, Girls 14: 27.88 by Shae Pedersen of U of C Athletics
200M Dash, Girls 15: 26.35 by Tegan Wilson of Calgary International
800M Run, Girls 10 & under: 2:47.55 by Sadie Sigfstead of Edmonton Harriers
800M Run, Girls 11: 2:53.35 by Candace Wonago of Edmonton Col
800M Run, Girls 13: 2:29.14 by Kamila Olguin of Caltaf
4x200 Relay, Girls 11 & under: 2:22.30 by the Airdrie Aces
4x200 Relay, Girls 14-15: 1:55.45 by Caltaf
4x200 Relay, Girls 16-17: 1:49.96 by Calgary International
800M Run, Women 16+: 2:13.66 by Jenna Westaway of the U of C Dinos
3000M Run, Women 16+: 11:02.66 by Sophie Sigfstead of the Edmonton Harriers
60M Dash, Boys 12: 8.17 by Tyler Wilkes unattached
60M Dash, Boys 13: 7.94 by Scott Chalupiak of the Airdrie Aces
60M Dash, Boys 14: 7.87 by Stephen Wihak of the Spartans
60M Dash, Boys 15: 7.52 by Josh Quarles of the Spartans
150M Dash, Boys 11: 22.55 by Jalen Greenidge of the Airdrie Aces
150M Dash, Boys 13: 19.41 by Scott Chalupiak of the Airdrie Aces
200M Dash Boys 14: Stephen Wihak of the Spartans
200M Dash Boys 15: Josh Quarles of the Spartans
800M Run, Boys 11: 2:47.54 by James Vanderwal of the Airdrie Aces
800M Run, Boys 13: 2:17.74 by Scott Chalupiak of the Airdrie Aces
800M Run, Boys 14: 2:12.80 by Ryan Smeeton of the Warriors
4x200 Relay, Boys 11 & under: 2:34.34 by Dino Youth D
4x200 Relay, Boys 12-13: 1:51.40 by Caltaf A
4x200 Relay, Boys 16-17: 1:38.00 by U of C Athletics Club
200M Dash, Men 35+: 25.99 by Darren Posyluzny of the Red Deer Titans
3000M Run, Men 35+: 10:46.61 by Erwann Lemenager of the Warriors
3000M Run, Men 16+: 9:21.05 by Mitchell Basher of the Edmonton Harriers
60M Hurdles, Men 16-17: 9.29 by Karl Wagner
60M Dash, Men T42 Open: 8.51 by Earle Connor unattached

The next race is the Dino Classic Jan 5, all ages welcome. Distances scheduled include: 60m, 150m, 300m, 600m, 1200m, 1500m.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

New York Marathon, Last Chance Half, Catch the Elves, more

I'll bet there were a lot of Calgarians heading to New York this past weekend for the legendary New York Marathon. Boston and New York are probably 1 and 2 in most people's race ambitions. Definitely in mine. So the cancellation with so little notice probably left a lot of people in the lurch, but when compared to the inconvenience of having your home slide into the ocean, or your business washed away, it has to be better than getting pelted with garbage while you're trying to complete 42 km. At some point the people of New York, who embrace this race with so much enthusiasm annually, felt they needed to focus on more urgent matters, like getting the power back on, having running water, and getting the city running again. It's hard to enjoy a party when you're climbing 30 stories to get water and you're basically living like a refugee in your home town.

Would the threats to block the course or the runners have actually been carried out? Or would some gratitude that these visitors came with their wallets open have been more expected? But why take the chance when you have so many people on the streets who rely so much on the goodwill of everyone in the crowd?

And how far do you postpone it? One week might not be enough, despite the promise that everyone will have power by last Saturday. Two or three weeks means runners will have time to go home and recharge and come back, or have time to sell their entries. If they come back in 2 weeks and the city is grateful then that delayed race will be magical for everyone. But if the city is still distressed... running a marathon through the five boroughs is a huge burden at the best of times.

So, what's coming up?

The Last Chance Half runs November 11, the last long race of the Calgary season. It's of course sold out, but you can try your luck posting online: http://www.runningroom.com/discussion/viewforum.php?f=14 or http://www.calgaryroadrunners.com/classifieds

Flaman Fitness has donated a treadmill as a $10 raffle prize for participants in the Calgary Sight Night Fun Run 8K, November 17th at 5:30pm. Entry in the race is $40, and online registration ends Nov 14 at 11:59pm. All proceed from the race go to the Alberta Sports and Recreation Association for the Blind.

On November 22 there are a couple of Thanksgiving themed racings in Montana that should be fun. Huffing for Stuffing in Bozeman drew 2500 people last year for their 5k and 10k races. The Turkey Day 8K in Missoula had about 500 people last year.

Catch the Elves is a 5k/8k race in the Bow River Valley, starting in Eau Claire November 24 at 10am. Entry in the race is $40 and proceeds from this race will benefit Muscular Dystrophy Canada.

Also on November 24 you could run a 5k/10k race in Airdrie. The Genetic Jungle Run starts at 10am and runs in the East Lake Pathways. Registration is $45, and proceeds from this race will benefit the Alberta Children's Hospital Genetics Clinic.

And if you've been waiting for track season to start, on December  1 the Dino Opener indoor track competition has 60m sprints, 800m races, 3000m, 60m hurdles, and 4x200m relays. All ages are welcome. Entry is $10 per event, or $15 if you're not an Athletics Alberta member. Entry deadline is November 27. 

Results

Banff Winterstart, Nov 3 , 5 miles, attendance 1751
Fastest Men:
Oliver Hatheway 27:43
Travis Cummings 27:48
Jordan Bryden 28:22
Jonathan Roth 28:33
Scott Jensen 28:36
Fastest Women:
Rosemarie Gerspacher 31:41
Kathryn Waslen 33:03
Jessica Kaiser 33:14
Rebecca Roth 33:20
Dana Hansen 33:25

Edworthy XC, Nov 3, 7.5k
Fastest Men:
Trev Williams 28:59
Roberto Desandoli 29:56
Shaun Dowling 30:12
Lachlan Simpson 31:24
Bruce Dalton 31:33
Fastest Women:
Cat Young 34:27
Sheila Nykwist 35:53
Tomo Tsuchida 36:54
Adela Salt 38:15
Sarah Hughes 38:16

Edworthy XC, Nov 3, 4.9k
Fastest Men:
Jeremie Venne 24:21
Ian East 27:04
James Szorko 27:13
Fastest Women:
Maryse L'Heureux 23:35
Stephana CHerak 25:07
Kate Ukrainetz 30:23

Alberta Cross Country Championships, Oct 27
Mens 19 and under 8k
Adam Strueby 26:43
Davis Guenther 27:09
Roman Justinen 28:21

Womens 19 and under 5k
Avery Westberg 20:31
Gabrielle Edwards 20:56
Emma Cook-Clarke 21:05

Womens Open 5k
Jessica O'Connell 19:47
Grace Kary 19:53
Karisa LePage 20:07
Lisa Harvey 20:23
Jodi Sanguin 20:33

Mens Open 10k
Kelly Wiebe 30:49
Iain Fyfe 32:19
Matt Johnson 32:51
Brad Bickley 32:52
Matt Cloutier 32:56

Several Calgarians went to the Hamilton Road2Hope Marathon, November 3rd.
The race was won by Jesse Gibs in 2:31:38, followed by Dan Way in 2:36:27, and John Trojansek in 2:37:57. Calgarian Don King was fourth overall in 2:38:08.
Other Calgarians:
Jason Reed 2:51:28
Mark Marten 2:55:48
Jeff Kay 3:07:59
Morley Lee 3:20:55
Mark Duncan 3:23:55
Michael MacKay 3:24:06
Rustom Anklesaria 3:26:37
Carolyn Leonard 3:29:25
Wade McGowan 3:35:46
Emily Mills 3:36:31
John Sasso 3:47:18
Heidi Jones 3:47:19
Lara Pearce 4:12:48
Tiana Dawon 4:54:26

Monday, October 22, 2012

Back9 Ultra, Alberta Cross Country Championships, Bow River Run

Thanks to my calf injury I opted to volunteer for the races I was signed up to run. I haven't volunteered in a long time, and I forgot how much fun it is. Well, standing around for almost 2 hours (half of that in a snow storm) is more fun when you get to clap and yell at people, which is how I spent Saturday morning. And Sunday I handed out race bibs and checked off names and saw a lot of familiar faces.

The first time I went to a race was as a volunteer. I was curious to see what kind of people were running up and down the hills of Edworthy Park in the winter, and whether I was fit enough to join their ranks. So after watching all sorts of people run by I decided to run the next race in the series.

I did the same thing when I was thinking of running a half marathon. I marshaled a corner about halfway through a race and cheered and pointed. And where I thought I might be able to keep pace I looked closely at the people running by and decided I was probably being too ambitious. By my first half marathon the following spring I was ready.

So if you're injured, curious, or bored, there are always races looking for volunteers to help out.

If you're in running shape this coming weekend there are a few fine races coming up.

Saturday Oct 27, the Back9 Run and Ultra is an interesting concept: get out to Airdrie and run as many 10k loops as you can, up to 50k. The race is free (and now full), but donations to the Alberta Children's Hospital are appreciated. The 40 and 50k runners start at 6:30am, with the 5 and 10k starts at 10:30. According to the website you can still run the course, but there is no room in the hall for lunch afterwards.

Saturday Oct 27, the Stewart Cup is also the 2012 Alberta Athletics Cross Country Championships, which is a high school, college, and open cross country race, the last college race of the Alberta season, from noon-4pm with courses from 2k to 10k depending on age. Entry is $15 but you must be an Athletics Alberta member (some clubs are). And the last day to register is today. There are age group races from Pee Wee to Masters, so expect everyone to show up.

Saturday Oct 27, MEC Calgary Bow River Run 5/10k is only $15 to register for a course that tours Edworthy Park, starting at 10am.

and the next week

Saturday, November 3 The next Calgary Roadrunners Cross Country race is in Edworthy Park, the first race I marshalled for. Run the 8k and you do the hill twice. Bring something (optional) for the potluck lunch afterwards and bring your own bowl and spoon for the great soups brought by other racers.

Saturday, November 3 Another always-sold-out race is the Banff Winterstart, a 5 mile night race in Banff. You can probably find people dropping out at http://www.calgaryroadrunners.com/classifieds or www.runningroom.com/discussion/viewforum.php?f=6480&


Deadlines and early birds

Calgary Marathon early bird ends Oct 31
Santa Shuffle $25 until Nov 7
Hypothermic Half $65 until Dec 1


and some results

Robert Hamilton Memorial Road Race
10 mile fastest men
Don King 56:07
David Guss 56:48
Evan Bayer 57:45

10 mile fastest women
Melissa Kendrick 1:00:31
Sheila Nykwist 1:04:57
Kathryn Waslen 1:06:51

5 mile fastest men
Mark Dwyer 33:05
Paul Bourgeault 34:14
David Strand 35:10

5 mile fastest women
Jessica O'Connell 32:07
Faye Stenning 35:36
Jane Yetter 43:21


Ambulance Chasers 5k
10k fastest men:
Derek Campbell 36:16
Drew Hogan 38:31
Stuart Hay 39:30

10k fastest women:
Nancy Alinsangan 44:19
Stephanie Graham 44:50
Jenn Bhatla 48:05

5k fastest men
John Roth 16:44
Derek Yip 20:05
Gordon Laqua 20:38

5k fastest women
Beki Roth 19:36
Rhonda Jewett 19:39
Adrienne Watson 21:26

Victoria Marathon attendance: 1724 in the marathon
Marathon fastest men
Thomas Omwenga 2:20:41
Gilbert Kiptoo 2:27:01
Graeme Wilson 2:29:17

Marathon fastest women
Hailie Janssen 2:47:03
Nadyia Fry 2:47:36
Catrin Jones 2:49:02

and the Boston Qualifying Calgarians
Morgan Titus 2:45:32
Patrick Cote 2:52:28
Graham Diehl 2:56:18
Jordan Van Besouw 3:04:36
Geoffrey Dyment 3:06:00
Greg Medwid 3:06:48
Paddy Brogan 3:08:07
Dana Hansen 3:12:23
Joylin Nodwell 3:12:24
Steve Saunders 3:12:33
Waldemar Kalinowski 3:13:05
Ken Shea 3:13:45
Bob Dawson 3:23:53
Zita Mulligan 3:25:22
Karen Thomas 3:25:28
Amy Anderson 3:27:14
Kristie McMecgan 3:29:11
Adriana Wild 3:29:13
Sandi Seto 3:37:51
Laura Brescia 3:39:04
Simon Reeve 3:40:45
Reg Hoover 3:41:10
Janice Ritter 3:53:19
Linda Mah Ford 3:57:42
Evelyn Vandenhengel 4:08:02
via http://runvictoriamarathon.com/aftertherace/results.php

Okanagan Marathon attendance: 376 marathon
the three fastest men are all from Calgary!
James Curran 2:51:10
Adam Kahtava 2:53:28
Donovan Thorkelson 2:56:45

three fastest women
Rhonda Loo 3:00:40
Stacie Carrigan 3:13:56
Becky Abrahamse 3:15:45
this Victoria Marathon flickr slideshow includes video

CRR Confederation Park XC Relay: 90 teams of 3
Fastest teams:
38:15 League of Nations: Ricardo Estrada, Donovan Thorkelson, Mark Hogan
38:33 Bow River Goose Hurdlers: Bruce Dalton, Bob Banks, Kevin Lindland
39:07 Fungus Jr.: Trevor Williams, Mark Michalski, Frank Woolstencroft
CRR photo gallery

Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Robert Hamilton Memorial, Confederation Park XC, Halloween Howl

Last week I strained/pulled my calf muscle. Some deep muscle injury that almost toppled me down this very short ditch I was running in. I've had plantar fasciitis and shin splits and the occasional sciatica, but this is the first time I've felt like I might miss some runs. Usually I can just run it out, dial it back, cut the training in half and lower the speed. This feels remarkably different. Hobbling. Walking wounded.

Anyway, I was registered for a couple of races this weekend and I just dropped out of both of them.

Oct 20: The Robert Hamilton Memorial Road Race is a 5 Mile and 10 Mile course in the river valley, starting in Edworthy Park and out and back past the zoo on the Bow River Pathways. There should be about 100-150 people on the course starting at 10:00am. This is the 39th annual Robert Hamilton Memorial and winners are engraved on a giant cup and first male and female in the 10 Miler get $200.

Oct 21: The CRR Confederation Park XC is a 3 person relay race, each doing about 4km in the wild places of a nice urban park.

The Halloween Howl 5k/10k is also on Saturday Oct 20. This is a benefit for the Alberta Diabetes Foundation. This race starts at Eau Claire and also runs the pathways at 10:00am.


Recent results:

Banff Ekiden, Oct 13
flickr photos
The winning team was the Centaur Subaru Bow Valley Harriers, with an overall time 2:34:11
2nd team The ConocoPhillips Canada Eh Team 2:56:30
3rd Tunnel Mountain Vision in 2:58
4th Adrenaline Rush Beauties and Beasts 2:59:19
5th Adrenaline Rush Marathon Men 3:01:39

leg winners
Leg 1 male Bruce Dalton of Centaur Subaru in 24:02
    female Nicola Everton of Gord's Running Store Women 27:42
Leg 2 male Keith Bradford of Adrenaline Rush Beauties and Beasts in 51:56
    female Ashlee McGuire of Tunnel Mountain Vision in 56:41
Leg 3 male Nick Haddow of Centaur Subaru 15:49
    female Jennifer Sutherland of First Calgary Financial Team in 18:59
Leg 4 male Scott Jensen of Centaur Subaru in 20:36
    female Heather Irving of ConocoPhillips in 24:43
Leg 5 male Frank Woolstencroft of Centaur Subaru in 41:20
    female Stephanie Mills of Tunnel Mountain Vision in 49:16



Gorilla Run, Oct 14
Top 3 Male
1:03:16 Evan Bayer
1:05:52 Michael Wadhuber
1:09:24 Greg Medwid

Top 3 Female
1:17:07 Darcie Tymrick-Purvis
1:17:32 Susan Kinnear
1:17:46 Shannon Winslade

60+ male winner Ian Lewis in 1:23:37
60+ female winner Bonnie Skov in 1:30:05

Toronto Waterfront Marathon, Oct 14
flickr photos
overall winner Betona Wargo ETH 2:10:35
overall female winner Mary Davies NZL 2:28:56


and some fast Calgarians:
> Emily Kroshus 2:46:40
> Don Bambury 2:48:02
> Dong Jeong 2:56:35
> Kari Elliott 3:00:16
> Erich Ossowski 3:00:49
> David McHattie 3:11:23
> Dawn Ladds-Bond 3:11:52

For a list of upcoming races, mostly in Alberta: http://www.calgaryroadrunners.com/races