Notes from Dan the Trail Guy #16

What a weekend!

Friday morning was so warm that at 10:00AM we ran the power lines with our shirts off – summer like conditions, then less than 24 hours later we were back in to full winter conditions with high wind warnings and heavy rainfall warnings, ah Nanaimo at its best. There were about 12 of us that set out for what was suppose to be an hour and 20 min run of the Foothills; we actually did it in just over one hour. I guess the training is starting to pay off. We had guest runners from Vancouver, Coquitlam and San Francisco that joined us for what turned out to be a really nice run. A Good pace run with lots of water and no snow or ice. Meanwhile our less fortunate brethren were out on the E & N Trail Way slogging away at a 2 hr & 15 minute training run. All this was followed up 24 hours later with a visit from the Easter Bunny at my house…..Chocolate, Ya.

Runners of Compassion – Hey, don’t forget that your membership dues are now payable. $10.00 each or $25.00 for a family. I have attached a membership form. Please fill it out when handing in your dues, we want to double check addresses, emails, etc.

This week’s run – will be a return to the Humility Abyss - 7:00 AM, 80 minutes. The reason for returning to this area so soon is that logging will be starting in this area any day now. So, if you having been waiting to run the Abyss, don’t wait any longer, come out and run it before it is lost. Meet under the power lines on Harewood Mines Road at 7:00am. The marathon training schedule is 2hr & 30min in the am and 30 min in the pm. I will be running in from Morrell starting at 6:45 am. This will give us a 2:00 hour run and then you can do an hour later in the day. All the rest of you can be ready to go at 7:00 AM Sharp. Let me know if you want to start from Morell.
I will be trying to keep the Saturday run in the 60-80 minute range for the main group and will add on earlier pieces for those wanting to run longer.

Adventure Race Training – Sean is offering an Adventure Race Clinic for people interested in doing a Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race. The next clinic starts April 9th and will run each Saturday from 8-10am and will get people ready for the MOMAR in Ucluelet May 14th. It will cover mountain biking, kayaking, trail running, orienteering, transitions, what to eat, what to wear, basically everything people will need to know in order to be able to complete a MOMAR. The cost is $199 and includes the kayak lesson and rental and 50% of the MOMAR race of their choice. If you are interested contact Sean at seanlunny@shaw.ca . This is a hell of a deal!

Energy Bar – Alex and her crew at Carrot on the Run have developed an ‘Energy bar’ which they will be retailing for $ 2.00 each, including GST. Alex and her partner have very graciously offered to donate .50 from each bar that is sold to ROC. The bars actually feature the ROC logo on the label. The first order that Alex received was for 200 bars for the master swimming event taking place in Nanaimo. The ingredients are Corn syrup, Natural peanut butter, oats, brown sugar, non-hydrogenated margarine, Dates, peanuts, Bernard Callebaut Chocolate, Raisins, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, rice crispies, coconut, sesame seeds and vanilla. They are very yummy. Maybe if we talk real nice to Alex she will bring a sample for us to taste at the next run? HINT, HINT. So if you are looking for a great snack for your lunch, the kids lunch, or an after run snack, drop by Carrot on the Run, located by Romeos and Island natural and pick up a bar or two.

Notice of Road Trip – Running the Cowichan River Trail. Depending if we are having the ROC Car Rally or not, we might try for the 23rd of April. Does that work for those of you that want to come down? Let me know.

If you think you can win, you have won. Faith is necessary to victory.