Thursday, July 23, 2009

Dino Alumni, Ironman Calgary, Women's Run

The Dino Track & Field Alumni Association is having an event August 8th to raise money for an endowment/scholarship fund for the underfunded Dinos track teams. The Back on Track Bash takes place at 6pm at Glenmore Athletic Park. Your $25 ticket included a BBQ, possibly a band, and there will be some fundraising raffles. Contact backontrackbash@gmail.com for more information and tickets. Even if you can't make it, donations are being accepted to the University of Calgary Track & Field program.

Another U of C Track fundraiser is the 5K/10K Dino Dash on September 6th. This is a great road course around campus, and registration is only $30 before August 1st.

The first ever Ironman 70.3 triathlon in Calgary is coming up August 2nd. The winner of last year's Ironman Hawaii, Craig Alexander, is competing. So is 11-time Ironman Champion Lisa Bentley, along with many other professional triathletes. The race has recently sold out, but if you'd like to volunteer contact Ironman Calgary as soon as possible.

Next week the Running Room starts a FREE walking / running clinic for breast cancer survivors, and they're looking for some instructors for these clinics. The clinics are 10 weeks in duration and have a goal of completing the CIBC Run for the Cure in October. Contact your local Running Room for more information.

The 31st Annual Calgary Women's Run is a 5k/10k course taking place August 30th. The early bird price of $35 ends July 31, and there is a $200 cash prize for the 10k winner.

Friday, April 3, 2009

Earle Connor on Fan 960 Calgary

Okay, this is a little late notification, but I only heard it this morning. From 9am - 11am on Saturdays legendary Olympic skier (and former Crazy Canuck) Jungle Jim Hunter has a very inspiring radio show on the local sports radio station. On tomorrow morning's show he interviews local paralympian sprinter Earle Connor. You can listen live online also at www.fan960.com

More info on Earle Connor at Agenda Sport

More info on Jungle Jim Hunter at JungleJim.ca

Podcasts of the Jungle Jim Hunter Show :
:: March 28th edition (this is not the Earle Connor show, it is not posted yet)

Saturday, March 7, 2009

Timex Road Race Series starts March 15th in Calgary

The Timex Provincial Road Race Series kicks off in Calgary next weekend with the St. Patrick's Day 10K. How the series works is there are 12 road races from March to September throughout the province that are tagged by Athletics Alberta and Timex as qualifying for an overall age-group year-end award. Each race scores you some points based on your time and position and the more races you're in the more points you get.

Last year the top woman was Krissy Dooling of Edmonton, then Heather Price of Canmore and Lisa Harvey of Calgary. Lindsay McLaren and Nancy Alingsangan (both of Calgary) placed 6th and 8th respectively. For the men the overall winners were Brian Torrance of Edmonton, Paul McCloy of Calgary, and Matthew Norminton of Edmonton. More Calgarians: Ed Bickley was 4th, Jeremy Deere was 6th, Richard Kellet was 7th and Geoff Hopfner was 10th.

If you think road racing series championships is just for the kids, this is the age group breakdown of the top 10 in each gender. F20-29: 1, 7, 9, 10. F30-39: 3, 5, 6, 8. F40-49: 2,4. M20-29: 9, 10. M30-39: 1, 3, 6. M40-49: 2, 7, 8. M50-59: 4, 5.

So, the trick is to attend as many of the following races as possible, make sure you're in the correct distance for scoring, and rack up some good age-group times. This year there is also a Corporate Team Challenge, which is a way of uniting 5 to 20 of your co-workers to compete in 5 selected races.

The races are the Original St. Patrick's Day Road Race 10k, March 15th in Calgary. Registration is $45, which gets you a t-shirt and a chance to win your weight in beer.

Race TWO is the Lethbridge 10 Mile Road Race, April 18. Entry is $32 with a first place prize of $250.

Race THREE is the St. Albert 10 Miler, put on by the St. Albert Road Runners & Triathlon Club, which is unfortunately the day after the Lethbridge 10 Mile, April 10. Double the prize money for the winner though, while entry fee is $45 for now.

Race FOUR is the half marathon at Woody's RV World Marathon Weekend in Red Deer, May 17. Entry is $60 until March 17 and $70 or $80 afterwards.

Race FIVE is the 10k at the HSBC Calgary Marathon Weekend, May 31. Entry is $40 and includes a sleeveless technical shirt. There is a stunning $1000 award for fastest male and female, with prizes for 2nd through fifth as well. There's also $300 for the fastest master (40+) male and female, plus $500 for the top Canadian.

Race SIX is the Little Big Run 10k in Edmonton, also on May 31.

Race SEVEN is the 10k at the Footstock Race Weekend, June 13 in Cochrane. Entry is $40 until March 13, then $50 or $60 afterwards. This year the 10k does NOT start with a big hill climb, instead it is an out and back along the shale pathway by the river.

Race EIGHT is the 15k Canada Day Road Race in Edmonton, July 1. Entry is $45, and the course starts and finishes at the Legislature Grounds.

Race NINE is the 10k at the ING Edmonton River Valley Family Festival, August 15. I think it gets such a long name because they split the marathon and half onto a different day from the 10k. Entry is $30.

Race TEN is the 10k distance at the Dino Dash in Calgary, September 6. Registration is not up for this year, but last year the entry fee was $25 for early bird and $35 for regular.

Race ELEVEN is the 10k distance at the Stony Plain Rotary Run for Life, September 13. Registration and entry fee information is not on their website yet, but last year there were $300 prizes for first place male and female.

Race TWELVE is the 10k distance at Melissa's Road Race in Banff, September 26, which is of course sold out. There is no waiting list, but if you hover around some online forums in September people will start dropping out of the race and wanting to sell their bibs.

The series concludes with a 10k in Edmonton that isn't scored, but after the race the Timex Series awards will be given out. More information can be found at the Timex Series Alberta website.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Melissa's Road Race, registration Feb 25

Registration for the 30th Annual Melissa's Road Race starts tomorrow, Feb 25, and is only available online. There is a 10k and 22k distance, both cost $45. The race is September 26, 2009, in Banff, and is capped at 1500 runners. If you don't register early tomorrow morning, online only, you will have to wait for people to start bailing out in September.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Calgary Women's Run, Free Garmin stuff, Frozen Ass 50

The Calgary Women's Run has a new group of co-race directors to ensure there is a 31st annual women's only 10k race in Calgary this summer. They have moved the race away from the end of May towards the end of August, with an exact date not confirmed until the permit gets approved.

The Arbour Lake Triathlon had a solid 9 years of operation in the city's northwest, but is now relocating. Check out the multisportcanada website for a new date and location.

The HBC Run for Canada 10k is cancelled this year. According to the website they are "looking to focus [their] efforts and resources" to some "new Olympic-specific" programs and fundraising.

The movement of the Calgary Marathon to the end of May has had a small ripple effect. The Try This Triathlon moved up a week to May 24th.

If you live near Calgary and can get to Cochrane once a week, Dynastream (a subsidiary of Garmin) is looking for some heart rate monitor and GPS testers. You need to be able to run comfortable for 30 minutes, commit to 12 hours over 6 weeks and you get some free Garmin merchandise.

The first ultramarathon of the year in Calgary is the Frozen Ass 50, which runs on Monday Feb 16. Entry is available at Gord's Running Store. The distance is a mere 50k, but there is also a 25k version for those of you who missed out on the Hypothermic Half.

The first race of the Timex Series Alberta is the Original St. Patrick's Day 10k on March 15th. This year the Timex Series has a corporate team challenge, which is something like the Corporate Challenge but spread out over the year. And only running. No bathtub racing.

If you're thinking about running the Calgary Marathon, the full distance is 80% sold out already!

There are two remaining winter cross country races left in the Calgary Roadrunners XC Grand Prix. You don't need to be a member to enter, the fee is $10 or less, and you get to romp around some fields and hills for around an hour and join the optional potluck lunch afterwards.

For a full 2009 season of running dates check out the Calgary Roadrunners Race Schedule.