Notes from Dan the Trail Guy #25

Trail Bits

It sounds like the run at Westwood was well attended on a hot Saturday morning. Three separate groups went out and had a very enjoyable time of it. Mark, Brad and Lisa C. led the groups, Thank you on behalf of the group. Ross is really starting to enjoy running with the lead fast pack. He has finally acquired a love for running down single track at break neck speed, jumping logs and hurtling over the fallen bodies that he encounters along the way. Knowing where and when to turn is still being worked on.

Robin Dutton – Bad news - for those of you that didn’t know, Robin was hit by a pick up truck on Thursday afternoon as he was riding in the Westwood Lake Rd, Jingle Pot Rd area. Robin is in Nanaimo General Hospital recovering from a broken femur, tibia, fibula, 6 broken ribs, a broken nose, 2 cracked vertebrae, a collapsed lung, and a ton of cuts and bruises. Robin is recovering well and was in good spirits when I saw him on Monday afternoon. There is obviously a long road of healing ahead for Robin, but if you know Robin, you will know how much positive spirit and inner strength Robin has and how he will be able to channel that into helping with his healing. Robin’s family has asked that visits to the hospital be kept short in duration as he does get tired very easily right now.

ROC MEMBERSHIP – your ROC Board of Directors met this evening and I can report that we have made significant progress on putting into action the direction we were given at the Membership Meeting. I am happy to report that a letter has gone out to the organizations that were identified by the membership in attendance as potential recipients of the annual $5000.00 major sponsorship we will award. We are still waiting a few more days in order to be certain that we receive all of the funding requests back before we announce this year’s recipient. In the mean time the Board has agreed to set aside $3000 for the Runners for Youth program. This is the program that funds the shoes for youth, the school Learn to Run programs, support for under privileged youth athletes, food Hampers at Christmas, etc. We also have decided to set aside $1000 for a scholarship which will be awarded at the end of the 2005/2006 school year. There will actually be two $1000 scholarships awarded each year, one male, one female, we wanted to set aside some money to get the program established. The application criteria will be established at a later date. It will not be a scholarship available to only athletes, it will be awarded more based on need. We have also set aside an initial $ 500.00 to create a “Giving Back to the Community” program. It is the hope to establish a program whereby we can annually give back to Nanaimo by helping in the community with projects such as Tree Planting along the E&N trail way or helping to maintain trails in parks , etc. We need suggestions from you on this. There is also an additional 10% or approximately $1400.00 set aside for “special projects” that may be brought to the Board for approval throughout the year. I hope that what we have decided is what you agree with. If it isn’t please contact one of the Directors and let us know your comments.

10k and Half Marathon Learn to Run Programs – Full Clinic details are now available at Frontrunners. I can now tell you that the clinics start on the evening of June 28th and will take place on Tuesday nights. Don’t delay in signing up. The clinic training is being adjusted in order to accommodate training for the Royal Victoria Half and Full Marathon as well.

Fund Raising Opportunity – July 9th is the Westwood lake GutBuster. There is an opportunity for a group, club or individual to hold a BBQ in conjunction with the race if there is anyone interested. We will be at the park through the lunch hour so this could be a good chance to make some money. Last year there were over 250 people combined in the two races. Let me know if you are interested.

Port Angeles Cometh – June 12th for those of you that are wanting to eat with the group, but procrastinated….too late…..no room at the table…sorry.

GutBuster work Party – if you feel like getting out for a nice little after dinner run this Wednesday night, please feel free to join Norm, Stefan and I as we leisurely run the 8Km GutBuster Short Course. Yes it will be leisurely. If you have a GPS, SDM, pruners or what ever else you want to bring along, please feel free to do so. We shouldn’t be out more than an hour and twenty minutes. We will be running, pruning, flagging, removing fall down etc. If it sounds like fun show up, if it sounds like work, well you know what to do…..don’t come!

ROC Technical shirts – The shirts are going to be picked up this Wednesday and will be available for sale this week. Net Proceeds from the sale of the shirts is being split between Frontrunners and ROC. A big Thank You to Stefan and Norm for their continuing support of Runners of Compassion and the work we do.

AB Class – The sessions are filling up quickly so don’t procrastinate. seanlunny@shaw.ca Only a couple of spots left. Come on guys, you can’t possibly wear your Speedo to the beach with out at least a two pack or better yet a full six pack.

Membership – 130 MEMBERS and still increasing weekly.

School Learn to Run Program – The Wellington and Woodlands Learn to Run programs went off with out a hitch last Thursday. Big thanks were received from both of the schools for not only ROC’s financial assistance but also for the support from the members that showed up to help…..I would also like to Thank all of you for helping and supporting this.

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 all welcome to run at the back. The view is just a good at the back as it is at the front! If you have a gas problem, this is where I suggest that you run.
· Most importantly, if you suddenly start feeling under the weather, cramping up, or have hurt yourself, please let members of the group know immediately. We will make arrangements to get you safely out of the trail and back to your vehicle. PLEASE DO NOT SIMPLY STOP WITHOUT TELLING US. We do head counts for a reason.
ROC SPONSORED EVENTS;
July 9th is the Westwood Lake Half Marathon GutBuster – ROC provides course marshals and start/finish line volunteers and receives a per racer commission in return.
September 11th is the Nanaimo Daily News Harbour City Half Marathon & 10K Road Race….what more need I say.

Okay, this weeks run. How about we meet at the Westwood lake parking lot at 7:00am and run the saddle or simply run the lake trail and a portion of Morrell again? Rumors have it that we can get through the area behind the ridges, along one side of the stream without being interfered by the logging. This week will be an easy paced run for most of us as we are only 12 sleeps away from Port Angeles. Ah the tapering, ya have to love the tapering. For those of you that are new to the group and aren’t aware of it. We always go to Chapters for Coffee afterwards. There is nothing like walking into Chapters on a Saturday morning when we have all run in through water and the mud. I hear that we can be fairly fragrant.

Sorry for the length of the email, can’t be helped! It is kind of like the run; they keep getting longer and longer.

Note from Dan the Trail Guy #24

Trail Bits

Lots of action taking place this weekend. The Vancouver Island Relay was
staged with great success. 31 teams showed up to run from Courtenay to
Nanaimo. Lots of happy Nanaimo faces were seen at the finish line. The
rain and wind managed to stay away until all the teams were finished. It
looked like everyone had fun. Great work by Steve Middleton, Sherri
Wade, Daryl Orosz, Steve Gagliano, and all the rest of the PacificSport
staff and volunteers.

The trail group (25 + people) went out and ran Humility Abyss. Great run
as always and I am happy to report that the logging seems to have
stopped for now.

1. 10k and Half Marathon Learn to Run Programs - Full Clinic
details are now available at Frontrunners. I can now tell you that the
clinics start on the evening of June 28th and will take place on Tuesday
nights. There is still a spot open for a person who would like to take
the Half Marathon clinic and be featured every second week in the Daily
News as they follow your progress. You will be featured along with the
two 10K runners and the other person we have already arranged to be
featured. It is a great deal. In return for agreeing to be featured you
get free admission into the race along with free participation in the
clinic. Please contact Kim, Sherri or myself if you are interested.
10km Learn to Run - Registration limited to 20 - Starts Tuesday June
28th 6:30 p.m. at Frontrunners - Cost $90.00 which includes entry to the
Harbour City 10k Road Race.

Half Marathon Next Step - Registration limited to 40 - Starts Tuesday
June 28th 6:30 p.m. at Frontrunners - Cost $120.00 which includes entry
to the Harbour City Half Marathon (race shirt, etc. in race package)
Participants in Half Marathon Clinic must have a 10km base and have been
running at least 3 days per week prior to start up.

2. Port Angeles Cometh - June 12th for those of you that are
wanting to eat with the group, let me know if you are planning on coming
along. I have made a group reservation for 40 people at Michaels
Restaurante and I am getting close to that number. There are some of you
that I know are planning on eating with the group that have not
responded yet.

3. Westwood Lake Trail is now measured. - You can now start at
either the water fountain or at the Poop Bag dispenser by the map of
Westwood and find pink flagging at measured 1 kilometer intervals. It is
6 km from the bag dispenser to the water fountain or vice versa. The
trail was measured at the centre of the lake trail, so no short cuts, no
cutting corners. The city will be putting in proper posts with actual KM
markers fairly soon.

4. ROC Technical shirts - The shirts are being printed this week.
They will be available next week sometime at Frontrunners. Net Proceeds
from the sale of the shirts is being split between Frontrunners and ROC.
A big Thank You to Stefan and Norm for their continuing support of
Runners of Compassion and the work we do.

5. AB Class - The sessions are filling up quickly so don't
procrastinate. seanlunny@shaw.ca

6. Membership Dues - I am finished harassing you. Bastion is now
taking their turn to chase people down for membership dues. On behalf of
Bastion, don't forget to send in your 2005 dues to Ross Palfrey.

7. ROC SPONSORED EVENTS;
* May 26th at 9:45 am and 1:00 pm at Westwood Lake is when
Woodlands and Wellington High Schools are having their wind up runs from
their Learn to Run Programs. If you want to volunteer an hour of your
time, please show up at the lake at least half an hour prior to the
posted time. ROC helps out with the transportation costs involved with
putting on this event. It would be great to have some people show up for
this.
* May 29th is the Nanaimo Hospital Foundations Run for Life. 10:00
am at the Bowen Recreational Centre. Details available at Frontrunners
or through the Hospital Foundation. We also help to sponsor this event
as does Bastion Running Club. Make it a part of your long run for that
weekend. Start or finish with the race.
* July 9th is the Westwood Lake Half Marathon GutBuster - ROC
provides course marshals and start/finish line volunteers and receives a
per racer commission in return.
* September 11th is the Nanaimo Daily News Harbour City Half
Marathon & 10K Road Race..what more need I say.

This Weeks Run.
I am away this coming Saturday and don't know yet who is available to
lead, so lets make it easy and have Westwood lake parking lot as the
meeting place for Saturdays run. 7:00 am. 75 minute run. I know that one
of you will step forward and agree to lead.
Have a great week!

Against the Norm

New article published on Triathletemag.com with regards to experiences at the Ucluelet MOMAR.

http://www.triathletemag.com/story.cfm?story_id=9848&publicationID=92&pageID=1705

The Ross Report-Island Relay 2005

Relay Wars

Strong with Bastion the force was. Truly, many, many, behinds kicked did we. A long time ago in a city far, far, away, Steve Middleton, Sherri Wade and the gang from Pacific Sports created an exciting event for runners a day in the doing and months in the making. If anyone's experience was like mine the day started at 4:00 in the morning and ended 17 1/2 hours later fixing a flat tire with a stripped lug nut. In between there were moments of drama, panic, and burlesque as everyone made there way down from Courteney to Nanaimo, some like our team learning on the fly. The excitement built up as all the teams and their cars which had started at staggered times from 4:00 to 8:30 converged at stages 9 and 10 making their way to Caledonia. There were tremendous numbers of volunteers, many from Bastion, guiding runners, halting traffic and keeping track of all the teams. Without them nothing could have been accomplished. At the stadium, Darrell had the Bastion finish frame up, Bill Jones handled the awards and congrats, Steve G. managed the money, Lisa Rispin gave us ice cream, Arlene Ward kept everyone lubricated while others I never saw did something that somehow contributed to the success of the after race festivities. The food from Jennifer Frost was great and all you could eat. Suckers. The sponsors were behind us all the way too, from Thrifty's who let us use the Courteney store's washroom to Subway, whose manager produced a tool box to help us with the aforementioned stripped lug nut.
Now our teams. Bill Hollingshead's Beauty and the Beasts (personally I think Bill is a pretty handsome guy but I wouldn't go so far as to describe him as a beauty) tore up the roads getting from Courteney to Nanaimo in under 8 1/2 hours and taking home the mighty sports bags of infinite power in the Male Masters category. Congratulations to Bill, Adam, Delbert, Malcolm, Warren, Dominique, Mike Gill, Steve Earle, Dave D and Kim (oh, that's where they get the beauty from) for a relentless effort. My team, the Bastion Trailblazers, after some last night searching for a runner came together and finished at 9 hours and 32 minutes to win the towels of eternal contentment in the Mixed Masters category. Personally, I was great but so too were Mike Mullaley, Pat Good, Joanne Hogan, Valerie Capewell, Ted Radstake, Ian Middleton, Codie Ward, Duncan Stewart and ZZ. Then there were the Enduring Endorphins who may not have had the age or experience of other teams but whose grace and poise under fire was an inspiration to the rest of us. Janice having finished running the first stage could be seen running along with a teammate later on. Congratulations to Pat and Janice Ross, Bill and Julie Benson, Jim and Laurie Ritchie, James and Denise Tierney, Terry Nimmon and Anne Middleton. There were Bastion runners on various teams such as Cam and Friends (Cameron Paugh, Janet Oxler, Doris Frank, and John Durkin), Dicks see Chicks (Eric McCormick and Shalene Carlson) and others. A great effort by all.

Obi-Ross-Kenobi

Local Film; "Balance"

The movie premier of "Balance", filmed at Snow To Surf. No idea what it will hold
but it's sure to be entertaining.

Friday, June 10, at Moose Hall in Duncan. 8:30pm. Potluck.
Pre-show cocktails at our place for anyone interested, and overnight accommodation also provided here.

Alison Keple

Mike Vine resports from X-Terra

Hey guys, have you seen the pic on extreme tri ??
http://extremetri.com/article-pic.asp?id=1455&offset=1

Noice!!
Not a bad race i had in temecula , i swam and ran as
well as i could have. although i have to say the ride
was disappointing... i was riding strong but the
execution was lacking with a crash and a sloppy T2,,,
as well as i was unaware the 2nd loop was considerably
shortened which affected my pacing.
all in all that was such a blast. the ride was a treat
with the singletrack descending the ridgeline and
there was enough climbing to make it worthy. and the
run course as well, with the extensive trudging
through the sand wash.
for me it was absolutely enervating to go out and race
after all this time,,, it reinforces all the training
and hard work that sometimes seemed neverending over
the last 2 and a half years.

thanks for supporting me and setting me up with the
high end gear, that's great stuff!! i'm looking
forward to a few more xterra assaults with team
frontrunners this year, the best is yet to come!
Mike

Hospital Foundation Run

This is the last reminder that the deadline for the early bird draw for the hospital foundation fun run on May 29th, 2005 is this Friday! If you register for the race by that date, your name will go into a draw for a weekend spa & resort package at Tigh-N-Mara worth approximately $1000! You can pick up a brochure at Frontrunners and leave it there with your entry fee for pick up. Otherwise you can call the hospital foundation directly at 755-7640. Again, the Bastion Running Club is supporting this worthwhile cause and we encourage all members to do likewise!

Thank you....Steve Gagliano.

Runners still needed for weekend.

Dear Bastion

I am looking for one more runner to join a team at the Vancouver Island Relay. I would prefer a female runner to maintain a balance of 5 women to 5 men, but it is not written in stone. It is going to be a lot of fun and would not be described as a race per se but more of an excuse to party during the weekend. The Relay is this Saturday so if you've been sitting on the fence waiting for an opportunity, this is it. I need to know as fast as possible so the team can decide who's going to run which leg,

Thanks,
Ross

Notes from Dan the Trail Guy #23

Trail Bits

(Really Long report this week, sorry)
Run Report by Ross - A great day for a run of Lantzville, with the weather comfortably cool. Derek led a small group off on a two hour jaunt to Duomont via the left hand road while the main group went right and headed up some very nice single track trail. Mark had some new shoes but there wasn't much mud to break them in. The only complaint I had going up some pretty steep territory is that the leader was going out way too fast. But we kept going up the hills, hills, hills!!! Who knew the Lantzville foothills would be full of hills? Finally we, I kid you not, broke through the cloud base, and into more open logged ground and after even more climbing we began a very rapid descent. Fifty minutes up but it only took us half the time to get down the logging roads, coming out on the left hand trail. I'm sure there will be some sore quads on Sunday…..Great Report Ross, Thanks

The Membership Forum – was a great success with close to 30 people showing up for the breakfast meeting. Lots of good discussion took place concerning where our funding should be directed. The end result was that the ROC Board of Directors was given the task of finding a ‘big’ project that 40% of the funding can be targeted towards. A further 40% will be earmarked for local charitable work and organizations (Runners for Youth, Kids Learn to Run Programs, Nanaimo Literacy, etc) in Nanaimo, 10% towards a scholarship and 10% for what may come up throughout the year. There was also discussion surrounding ROC getting involved with a community project such as planting trees along the E & N Trail Way or something like that. Basically, the meeting endorsed the direction in which the Board has been taking in regards to disbursing our funds. There will be a far more detailed plan of where the monies will go and the process involved once the Board has chance to meet. On behalf of the Board of Directors and ROC I would like to Thank all of you that took time to either attend the meeting or to pass your comments forward via email. It is nice to know we were on the right track.

10k and Half Marathon Learn to Run Programs – As you may or may not know The Nanaimo Daily News Harbour City Half Marathon & 10K Road Race, which is our event, takes place on September 11th. This year there will not only be a Half Marathon Training Clinic but also a Learn to Run 10k Training Clinic. The Half Marathon clinic will again be coached by the dynamic duo of Kim Gagliano and Sherri Wade, while the 10k Learn to Run clinic will be coached by Frontrunners newest staff member, Gillian Goerzen. The Daily News will again be running a weekly column in the paper which will offer a general training schedule, training tips, etc and will again report on the progress of a local male and female as they proceed through the clinics. We have the two featured runners for the 10K Learn to Run Clinic arranged, but are in need of a male and female we can feature as they train for their first half marathon. If you haven’t run a half marathon before and would like to be the “featured” male or female please let either me, Kim or Sherri know. It is a heck of a deal. You get a free entry into the Half Marathon. Full Clinic details will not be available until some time next week….Stay Tuned. The clinics start in the latter part of June. A good opportunity to get a friend or spouse started running or an even better opportunity to take yourself to the next level.

Port Angeles – June 12th is quickly approaching. It is time to start thinking about car pooling, who is traveling down on which date, with who, etc. I am not even going to start to try and organize the travel arrangements for everyone. What I can tell you is that I am traveling down on Friday afternoon with Scott – who is driving - and that we have a few spots left in the van if you want to come down with us. We are driving to Victoria and walking on as foot passengers………….Also, for those of you that want to eat with the group, I have made a group reservation made at Michaels Restaurante, the same cool Italian place we ate at last year. I have booked for 40 people. That is the most they would take. So if you want to be part of the group email me ASAP. I will hold space for the first 39 people to email me. The place has amazing food.

ROC Technical shirts – the short sleeve shirts are going to the printers this week (I think) and should be available for you to purchase well in advance of Port Angeles.

AB Class – If you are interested in taking a further session of either the Monday or Thursday morning ABS Class with Sean please drop him a note at seanlunny@shaw.ca

Membership Dues – Last time I will bug any of you with this. There are only four people that I haven’t heard from. All the rest of you have either renewed or have told me the cheque is in the mail…thanks. Membership now stands at 128 members.

ROC SPONSORED EVENTS;
May 26th at 9:45 am and 1:00 pm at Westwood Lake is when Woodlands and Wellington High Schools are having their wind up runs from their Learn to Run Programs. If you want to volunteer an hour of your time, please show up at the lake at least half an hour prior to the posted time. ROC helps out with the transportation costs involved with putting on this event. It would be great to have some people show up for this.
May 29th is the Nanaimo Hospital Foundations Run for Life. 10:00 am at the Bowen Recreational Centre. Details available at Frontrunners or through the Hospital Foundation. We also help to sponsor this event as does Bastion Running Club. Make it a part of your long run for that weekend. Start or finish with the race. This is the last reminder that the deadline for the early bird draw for the hospital foundation fun run on May 29th, 2005 is this Friday! If you register for the race by that date, your name will go into a draw for a weekend spa & resort package at Tigh-N-Mara worth approximately $1000! You can pick up a brochure at Frontrunners and leave it there with your entry fee for pick up.
July 9th is the Westwood Lake Half Marathon GutBuster – ROC provides course marshals and start/finish line volunteers and receives a per racer commission in return.
September 11th is the Nanaimo Daily News Harbour City Half Marathon & 10K Road Race….what more need I say.

Okay, the run, its all about the run isn’t it. Where are we going? This week it is Humility Abyss – 7:00 am starting on the side of Harewood Mines Road under the power lines. 85 minute run. If you haven’t run here before you are in for a treat. Take the 5th street exit off of the Parkway. Turn right on Wakesiah rd. Turn Right on Nanaimo Lakes Road….follow it for 5 or 6 minutes. Turn LEFT of Harewood Mines road; we will be meeting under the power lines.

Runners Needed for Island Relay May 21st

We currently have 6 relay teams that need a runner due to injuries and shortages. If you are interested in participating in the 2005 Subway Vancouver Island relay on May 21st, please contact the race director Steve Middleton at saam@nisa.net and he will connect you with a team.

Thanks....Steve Gagliano.

Notes from Dan the Trail Buy #22

Hello All
A great run was had in the Linley Valley. We had 4 new faces join us for what was a good, hard, hilly 2 hour run. Man, are there a lot of hills in there and Yes we did see a beaver. Congratulations to those of you that ran the GutBuster on Saturday. Good results!

I will be away from my lap top for the next 6 days so just a short note, early this week.

1. The run this coming Saturday is a run of the Lantzville Foothills. Start time is 7:00 Am. Take Ware Rd off of the Island Highway and head up the hill until you come to Harwood Rd. Turn Left. We will be about 100 yds down the road. The run is about 80 minutes in length.

2. Membership meeting is at 9:45 am. On the 14th of May. Please try and attend. We really need your feedback and direction about where you would like the funds that we raise directed to.

3. PacificSport Vancouver Island, in partnership with Dairyland and Frontrunners is very pleased to present "The Dairyland Dash". PacificSport believes that sport should be fun and accessible to all, so the event will be in three different locations, throughout the city of Nanaimo during the month of May………………. May 17th: McGirr Sports Field, North Nanaimo, Kindergarten to Grade 3 in the mornings from 9:30 am - 11:30am - Grade 4 to Grade 7 in the afternoons from 12:30pm - 2:30pm………………..May 18th: Harewood Centennial Park, Harewood. Kindergarten to Grade 3 in the mornings from 9:30 am - 11:30am. Grade 4 to Grade 7 in the afternoons from 12:30pm - 2:30pm………………..May 19th: WheatSheaf sport fields, Cedar. Kindergarten to Grade 3 in the mornings from 9:30 am - 11:30am. Grade 4 to Grade 7 in the afternoons from 12:30pm - 2:30pm…………….PacificSport is looking for energetic volunteers for three hour shifts: 8:00 am- 11:30am / 12:00pm- 3:00pm, on the days of the event……………If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to call Sherri Wade at 753-3245-1-2649.

Have a great week everyone. I will see you on Saturday.

Dan

J-Mag 3 at Wildflower

Here’s my write-up from my triathlon this past weekend… It wasn’t the best of days, but fun nonetheless!

http://www.magthree.com/Reports/rep_Wildflower_04_29_05.html

and here are some pics…

http://www.magthree.com/photos/index.php?folder=/Wildflower_04_29_05/


Cheers,
-Mag3-

Bastion Bits

Here are some news, reminders and events coming up:

ISLAND RACE SERIES...congratulations to all the members who ran the Oceanside 10k race last Sunday and helped our club maintain 3rd place overall on the island! I presented the plaque to Stefan Jakobsen & Norm Thibault of Frontrunners at last night's running clinic as they have been big supporters of the Bastion Running club...thanks guys!

RUN FOR LIFE 5K FUN RUN...takes place May 29th,2005 at Bowen Park. You can pick up a brochure at Frontrunners or call the hospital foundation office at 755-7640 to register. If you register by May 20th, your name will go into a draw for a Tigh-N-Mara Resort & Spa package worth approximately $1000!!! Medals awarded to 1st, 2nd & 3rd in each age category and every finisher receives a ribbon. There will be plenty of food, beverage, door prizes and lots more! Our club is supporting this event so please come out and participate!

DAIRYLAND DASH.....Sherri Wade, program coordinator for PacificSport is looking for volunteers for this event. Please check at Frontrunners in Nanaimo for more information

MEMBERSHIP DUES...a reminder was sent out recently from our club treasurer Ross Palfery as to who has or has not paid their club dues. I know this subject is not on the top of everyone's mind(including my own!)but it is essentially that all dues are paid annually. The reason is that our club donations will be based on how much we collect in dues each year and added to the net profit from our Cedar 12k race...the more we collect, the more we can donate! To make it easier for you to pay your dues, you can drop it off at Frontrunners and they have membership renewal forms in the store. Also you can give it to one of the executive members or mail it to the club at PO Box 2004 Nanaimo BC V9R 6X5.

Steve Gagliano-President

Gutbuster Duncan, May 7th

IT’S TIME TO BUST-A-GUT!

The third race in the Frontrunners GutBuster Trail Running Series is taking place this Saturday, May 7th, in Duncan. Set on the spectacular trails of Mt. Tzouhalem, the GutBuster features a 12km course as well as a short 6km course.

The long course will run up the edge of the mountain offering amazing views of the Cowichan Valley. The downhill single-track running is the best around and is a great reward for the 450m of total elevation gain that racers must endure.

The short 6km course is ideal for all levels. You can walk, jog, or run it. You will love running through the trails of Providence Farm. Everyone will get to experience “The Wall” this year.


To register, go to www.gutbustertrailrun.com and sign up online.

You can also register on the day of the race or you can drop off your registration at Frontrunners in Nanaimo and Victoria.

Notes from Dan the Trail Guy #21

Trail Bits

Boy oh boy did I ever step into a pile of poop last week. Changing the run time to 6:30 am in order to accommodate some members of the group created a lot of email traffic. Then when I messed up on my emails, it was mass confusion….sorry! I can tell you from the number of email responses that I received -and there were lots of them – the preference on start time is pretty evenly split.

Anyways, the Tour of Morrell Nature Sanctuary was a hit, people showed up at 6:30 as planned and we managed to run the proper time with out running the same trail twice. There are still a lot of trails in there that we didn’t run.

7:00 AM Start time this weekend

****** Membership meeting ****** – Please do not forget that May 14th is the ROC MEMBERSHIP MEETING at the ABC Country Restaurant, 9:45ish AM . Right after the run or soon after. We really need a good turnout of members at the breakfast meeting, so please attend. It is a NO HOST BREAKFAST – which means bring money.

Membership Dues – Of the 124 members that I have on the membership list, 103 of you have paid and at least another dozen of you have contacted me telling, me that your dues are in the mail or will be dropped off….Thank you to all of you…………If you have decided that you no longer wish to be a member of ROC please drop me a note so I can remove your name from the membership list and the email address book.

The Duncan GutBuster is May 7th. This is the home of the original GutBuster race and is an amazing race route. This race route starts and finishes at a pub. Nice and close to Nanaimo.

The Westwood Half Marathon GutBuster is July 9th. This event is an ROC fund raising event. ROC receives a donation from Mind Over Mountain for each runner that races in either the short course (8km) or the half marathon trail race. According to those in the know, this is the first actual “off road half marathon” in BC. This race has been creating quite a buzz in the BC Trail Running community all winter and will attract a good crowd. Norm Thibault, Stefan Jakobsen and I are the course designers and I can assure that we have designed a great course for everyone. We are in need of 4 or 5 individuals (in addition to a lot of course marshals) that would like to work closely with Norm and I on race day preparations. Please contact either myself at this email address or contact Norm via Frontrunners. We will be starting to measure in the sections of the course starting next week and could use the assistance of a few runners that have either a GPS or SDM so we can get 3 or 4 measurements for each section. Let me know if you can help with this. This event is going to put Nanaimo on the map when it comes to trail racing.

Okay the important stuff – The Run – Please note that the next two weeks runs are listed here as I will not be able to send out an email next week.

a) May 7th. Upper Linley Valley Beaver Tour – you have two choices.
Choice # 1) Meet Derek Riley and I for an easy 2 hour trail run starting at Frontrunners at 6:45 am and we will run from the store and meet up with the rest of the group at 7:00 am which will be meeting at the top of Rutherford Road.
Choice # 2). Meet at the top of Rutherford Rd at 7:00 am just past the Quilted Duck, Dig This stores. This portion of the run will be about 90 minutes in length and will wander around the Beaver Ponds and down towards Cottle Lake.

b) May 14th. This is the day of the great ROC Membership Breakfast Meeting at the ABC Country Restaurant. Therefore we will be having a run of the Lantzville Foothills starting at 7:00 am. For those of you that are new; take the highway towards Lantzville, turn up Ware Rd and follow it until it comes to a T Junction; This is Harwood Rd; Turn Left, we will be about 200 yds (meters) down the road.

Pictures from Oceanside

We have just posted a bunch of images from the Oceanside 10k. May 1, 2005

http://www.frontrunners.ca/gallery/index.php

Against the Norm

New article posted on www.triathletemag.com

Frontrunners at Wildflower in California

The Frontrunners Van took a trip down the I5 last week for the Woodstock of Triathlon; Wildflower. Our boys did quite well. In the amatures Jason Sandquist placed 11th overall, John Lowen 20th and Justin Maguire the 3rd 28th. Stefan Jakobsen was 28th in the professional-elite category. Complete results can be found at http://www.tricalifornia.com/wildflower/2005/resultsSat.htm

The Ross Report

Dear Slugs

It looks as if we've got two teams ready to go for the Island Relay. Those golden oldies, the Enduring Endorphins and Bill H's team. That leaves one spot open for our subsidy of $365 for entry fees. If you've been thinking of giving it a try, get nine like minded people looking for a good time and enjoy the race on us.

A beautiful day today as 32 Bastion runners headed to Parksville for the final race of this years series. A lot of top ten finishes led by Eric and Dave D. The truly sad part is that even when Norm and Wendy are jogging they are faster than most of us. Bagels with cream cheese and salmon. Ohhh, yes. Mmm, Chocolate ice cream. Bastion finished third in the series. Good turnout for the races.

I could only see two Bastion runners in the Vancouver Marathon. Zlatko coming in at 3:39 and Frederique at 4:22. Sorry if I missed anyone. A warm one this year.

Happy trails,

Ross