Notes from Dan the Trail Guy #12
Trail Bits and News Bits
NOTE: New 7:00 AM Start time
Last weekends run of Humility/Abyss saw another large turnout of runners who finished the run with lots of rave reviews of the route. We broke up into three groups with the two main groups heading off in different directions of the circle route in order to meet each other along the way. It worked! The conditions on Saturday were amazing; dry trails, amazing sunshine and cold crisp air. The only thing we didn’t need was the ice at the start/end as a couple of people took a nasty fall on it. Both are recovering well at last report.
1. Your Annual Runners of Compassion Membership Fees Are Now Due. For most members, your annual Runners of Compassion membership fee is now due. The cost again is $10 for an individual or $25 for a family membership. There are two preferred methods of payment. First, you can mail a cheque payable to Runners of Compassion to PO Box 456, Lantzville BC V0R 2H0. Alternatively, if you are a Saturday morning trail runner you can bring a cheque (preferably) or cash and either Dan Brady or Owen Carr will collect it in an envelope each week. We will have a supply of registration forms for new members or existing members with new addresses, email addresses, telephone numbers etc. We look forward to getting the renewal process done as quickly as possible, and thank you for your cooperation.
2. Message from Ross Palfrey, the ROC Newsletter Editor ……Dear ROC- I have not received any items for the buy and sell. That no one has anything lying around the house that they may not need anymore but someone else would love to have is not possible. The average house and property is teeming with them. Ken had hoped to take this to a wider scale (all of Nanaimo) but we have to be able to show it will work inside ROC first. There would be no effort required of the seller, just post your items with me for the newsletter and hopefully, I was thinking a very small transaction fee would go to ROC as a fundraising venture. So, I would like everyone to take the time to hunt up some hidden treasures and send the description to me at rosspalfery@shaw.ca before the March 1 deadline. Thanks, Ross
3. Trail Etiquette, it is extremely important that people remember a few important rules when running the trails.
· Always be friendly and courteous. Smile at others; introduce your self to the new runners. A simple hand shake and a “Hi, my name is ___”, goes a long ways towards making the new comers feel welcome. We were all newcomers at one time.
· Anticipate other trail users around every corner and blind spots. Yell to others that single file running is needed when coming up to other trail users. Running two and three across when coming up to others is extremely bad running manners. Make room for others.
· Whenever possible, run on the right, pass on the left and always tell others you are passing. ONLY pass when safe to do so. If there isn’t room, don’t pass. Clowning around will get you and others hurt.
· Stay on the trail. Creating your own trail or cutting switch backs creates erosion, damages habitat and causes new trails. Especially important in Morell as we start up Rocky Knoll.
· Bicyclists should yield to runners (and most will). But don’t assume they will. Be prepared to pull over in the name of safety.
· If we come up to horses, the horse always gets the right of way, they are bigger and can demand it.
· Downhill traffic should yield to up hill traffic.
· If coming up to other trail users, always advise them about the number of runners in the group, so they know what to expect.
· Don’t think of using headphones if you run with us. Too dangerous, you can’t hear warnings
· Always try to warn others of dangers. I.e. Ice, deep water, slippery rock, etc.
· Run in the appropriate group. Running with the wrong group can affect the run of a large number of people. You will either be responsible for slowing down the faster runners or responsible for pulling along the slower paced runners at a pace that will over tax them. If you are not sure which group you should be with, please ask one of the leaders.
· Leave no trace. Pack out your garbage.
· Please Remember to volunteer to sweep at the back of the group every once in a while. The back off the pack is not sacred ground; you are welcome to run at the back. The view is just a good at the back as it is at the front!
Last weekends run of Humility/Abyss saw another large turnout of runners who finished the run with lots of rave reviews of the route. We broke up into three groups with the two main groups heading off in different directions of the circle route in order to meet each other along the way. It worked! The conditions on Saturday were amazing; dry trails, amazing sunshine and cold crisp air. The only thing we didn’t need was the ice at the start/end as a couple of people took a nasty fall on it. Both are recovering well at last report.
1. Your Annual Runners of Compassion Membership Fees Are Now Due. For most members, your annual Runners of Compassion membership fee is now due. The cost again is $10 for an individual or $25 for a family membership. There are two preferred methods of payment. First, you can mail a cheque payable to Runners of Compassion to PO Box 456, Lantzville BC V0R 2H0. Alternatively, if you are a Saturday morning trail runner you can bring a cheque (preferably) or cash and either Dan Brady or Owen Carr will collect it in an envelope each week. We will have a supply of registration forms for new members or existing members with new addresses, email addresses, telephone numbers etc. We look forward to getting the renewal process done as quickly as possible, and thank you for your cooperation.
2. Message from Ross Palfrey, the ROC Newsletter Editor ……Dear ROC- I have not received any items for the buy and sell. That no one has anything lying around the house that they may not need anymore but someone else would love to have is not possible. The average house and property is teeming with them. Ken had hoped to take this to a wider scale (all of Nanaimo) but we have to be able to show it will work inside ROC first. There would be no effort required of the seller, just post your items with me for the newsletter and hopefully, I was thinking a very small transaction fee would go to ROC as a fundraising venture. So, I would like everyone to take the time to hunt up some hidden treasures and send the description to me at rosspalfery@shaw.ca before the March 1 deadline. Thanks, Ross
3. Trail Etiquette, it is extremely important that people remember a few important rules when running the trails.
· Always be friendly and courteous. Smile at others; introduce your self to the new runners. A simple hand shake and a “Hi, my name is ___”, goes a long ways towards making the new comers feel welcome. We were all newcomers at one time.
· Anticipate other trail users around every corner and blind spots. Yell to others that single file running is needed when coming up to other trail users. Running two and three across when coming up to others is extremely bad running manners. Make room for others.
· Whenever possible, run on the right, pass on the left and always tell others you are passing. ONLY pass when safe to do so. If there isn’t room, don’t pass. Clowning around will get you and others hurt.
· Stay on the trail. Creating your own trail or cutting switch backs creates erosion, damages habitat and causes new trails. Especially important in Morell as we start up Rocky Knoll.
· Bicyclists should yield to runners (and most will). But don’t assume they will. Be prepared to pull over in the name of safety.
· If we come up to horses, the horse always gets the right of way, they are bigger and can demand it.
· Downhill traffic should yield to up hill traffic.
· If coming up to other trail users, always advise them about the number of runners in the group, so they know what to expect.
· Don’t think of using headphones if you run with us. Too dangerous, you can’t hear warnings
· Always try to warn others of dangers. I.e. Ice, deep water, slippery rock, etc.
· Run in the appropriate group. Running with the wrong group can affect the run of a large number of people. You will either be responsible for slowing down the faster runners or responsible for pulling along the slower paced runners at a pace that will over tax them. If you are not sure which group you should be with, please ask one of the leaders.
· Leave no trace. Pack out your garbage.
· Please Remember to volunteer to sweep at the back of the group every once in a while. The back off the pack is not sacred ground; you are welcome to run at the back. The view is just a good at the back as it is at the front!
4. New things to do – The Tuesday afternoon trail runs are now back. Tuesday afternoon, 4:00pm, Westwood Lake. One Hour Maximum, A steady, easier pace run, with few stops, but there definitely could be some hill work involved, depending on where we go each week.
5. Saturday Morning Bike Rides. A group will be meeting at Chapters Starbucks: 7:30 am to bike since they are injured and can not run. The ride will be 1 to 11/2 hour and probably follow the Parkway and E&N trails. The bike group will meet back for coffee at Starbucks with the rest of the group.
6. First GutBuster of 2005 is coming up soon, only 3 more Saturdays. The Stewart Mountain 15k & 8k is Saturday, March 12th 10:00 am. For those of you that are coming down, which I hope is lots of you, we will be leaving from Tim Horton’s, Southgate Centre at 7:45 am. This will get us to Thetis Lake by 9:00 am. Is that okay with all of you?
7. Hornby Island I am going to go Saturday March 5th. Here are the details: Meet at Chapters for a 6:30 am departure, Arrive at Buckley Bay in time to catch the 7:40 am ferry, then ferry from Denman to Hornby to arrive on Hornby by about 8:30 am. The idea is to run the either the bluffs at Halliwell Park, which will include an amazing run along the bluffs and cliffs in the park and will include a run of Tribune Bay (sorry, no nudies on the beach at this time of the year) and Whaling Station Bay. OR we can run the cliffs that you see above the ferry dock on Hornby. The Cliff run is exactly that, you run along the tops of the ridge starting from near the Bakery and ending up in Fords Cove. Really high cliffs, very safe, great trail. We can talk about it on the ferry ride over. Coffee and snacks on the Island and then home. We should be back in Nanaimo by 2:00ish. Email me if you want to come. A couple of people are coming to mountain bike while we run.
THIS WEEKS RUN. Dumont Trails – Yellow Gate – 7:00am……that’s right 7:00am. It will be the usual hour and twenty minute run. Email me if you need directions on how to get there.
6. First GutBuster of 2005 is coming up soon, only 3 more Saturdays. The Stewart Mountain 15k & 8k is Saturday, March 12th 10:00 am. For those of you that are coming down, which I hope is lots of you, we will be leaving from Tim Horton’s, Southgate Centre at 7:45 am. This will get us to Thetis Lake by 9:00 am. Is that okay with all of you?
7. Hornby Island I am going to go Saturday March 5th. Here are the details: Meet at Chapters for a 6:30 am departure, Arrive at Buckley Bay in time to catch the 7:40 am ferry, then ferry from Denman to Hornby to arrive on Hornby by about 8:30 am. The idea is to run the either the bluffs at Halliwell Park, which will include an amazing run along the bluffs and cliffs in the park and will include a run of Tribune Bay (sorry, no nudies on the beach at this time of the year) and Whaling Station Bay. OR we can run the cliffs that you see above the ferry dock on Hornby. The Cliff run is exactly that, you run along the tops of the ridge starting from near the Bakery and ending up in Fords Cove. Really high cliffs, very safe, great trail. We can talk about it on the ferry ride over. Coffee and snacks on the Island and then home. We should be back in Nanaimo by 2:00ish. Email me if you want to come. A couple of people are coming to mountain bike while we run.
THIS WEEKS RUN. Dumont Trails – Yellow Gate – 7:00am……that’s right 7:00am. It will be the usual hour and twenty minute run. Email me if you need directions on how to get there.
posted by Frontrunners Nanaimo at 10:21 PM
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