Notes from Dan the Trail Guy #40

Trail Bits


Lots of Bits to report; Steve ran 2:24 at the Toronto Marathon, 11th overall and top Canadian; Stefan raced in the Elite Division of the Grouse Grindand came in Third with a time of 26 minutes; several other crazy fools fromNanaimo gave the Grind a go; Bobbie Jenson is back in Nanaimo after havinga strong race at the World Mountain Running Championships; the Dover Bay Cross Country meet was a great success thanks in part to the help from those of you that volunteered......the group run last Saturday was nice and dry and will probably be the last nice dry run we have for some time. The fall rains are scheduled to start tomorrow. It won't be long now and we will once again be running through puddles and wading through thigh deep creeks...you newbie's think I am kidding don't you, well stick around and you will see what fall & winter trail running with ROC is all about. There is a reason why most of us have a towel, dry clothes, dry socks and dry shoes in the car.

P.S. there sure were a lot of return emails about Serious Coffee; which is apparently building in the same lot as The Brick. The majority of the group does seem to be in favor of at least giving Serious Coffee a try. Island Owned and operated and fresh baked goodies!

1. Nanaimo Give & Go! - Thursday December 1st is the date of the 3rd Annual Nanaimo Give and Go! Runners of Compassion in partnership with The Nanaimo Daily News, Chek 6, and the Nanaimo Salvation Army stage this annual event that is put on in order to help fill the food bank and to collect warm clothing for those people in need. ROC has the fun task ofdirecting the vehicle traffic as it enters and exits the drop off area of the Give & Go! It's always lots of fun so please mark this date on yourcalendar to either help volunteer or to drive by and drop off some food orclothing.

2. VOLUNTEERS & SPONSORS Appreciation Party - it is Thursday, don'tforget!

3. CHRISTMAS PARTY - The combined Bastion/ROC Christmas Party (FallDance) is confirmed for November 19th in the Legion Hall at Townsite &Bowen. The Social Coordinators for ROC and Bastion are both away. Details will becoming shortly.

4. This weekends trail run - This coming weekend - October the 1st will be a return to the Linley Valley..7:00am This run will also be about 80 minutes or so and yes it might be a little by dark at that time, but lets give it a try before we move the time later. Here are the DrivingDirections. Take Rutherford Rd to the top of the hill; Turn on to Vanderneuk(this becomes Lost Lake after two blocks) follow Lost Lake to Burma Rd; turnright on Burma, we will be at the end of Burma Rd.

I feel a HornbyIsland road trip coming on. Anyone interested? We leave Chapters at 6:00ish, catch ferry at 7:00; on Hornby by 7:30ish, run along Tribune, Whaling Station and Halliwell for ?????; breakfast at Jan's on Hornby; back atChapters by lunch. The family won't even know you are missing.

5. Pacific Sport Training Seminars-October 15th The SportMap Primer is an annual workshop for athletes, coaches and parents that introduces the concept of athlete development models andfocuses on system-wide principles and applications. This is the fourth yearthat they have organized this one day conference for community athletes,their parents and coaches and they are working to ensure that they providethe best resources they can for Vancouver Island's athletes and coaches:* This year's seminar topics include:* Sport nutrition* Speed and agility* Tools for preparing athletic scholarship application packagesTime: 9:30 - 2:30 (registration at 9am)Location: Malaspina University CollegeFee: $5.00 for non PacificSport athletes / coaches November 5- 6 NCCP CBET Part B* Improve your teaching skills and develop a personal coaching style* Design a "Basic Sport Program" in order to promote long termdevelopment of your athletes* Basic Mental training skills "Supporting athletes in training andcompetition.Time: 9:00 am - 4:00pmLocation: Malaspina University CollegeFee: $140 adult / $110 student Contact Sherri Wade - Program Coordinator -PacificSport - Vancouver IslandTel: 250.753.3245 Ext. 1-2649Fax: 250.740.6170

6. Early Warnings:
* Frontrunners Annual Shop Party - November 12th, DJ, Lots ofFriends, Lots of Food, Lots of Fun, Scooter Racing, more details to comeeach week.
* Thetis Lake Relays - ROAD TRIP! - The Thetis Lake Relays ($20.00for a team) which takes place on Friday November 11th (Remembrance Day) is a4 X 5km Team Relay all run on single track trails.
* Frosty Foot Race - December 4th, 2005, Bowen Park, Nanaimo, 10 amstart, registration 9:15, 10km Run, 5km Run or Walk, 1km Tot Trot
* Nanaimo Track & Field Harbour Front 5Km - November 20th , Locationand time to be announced, this is a fund raiser for the Track & Field Club
* Gunner Shaw Cross Country - Saturday November 26th, Thetis LakePark Victoria, if you consider yourself a trail runner then you must come tothis race with us. It is one of the oldest x/c trail races in BC. Draws agreat crowd. Amazing course. It can be wet!!!! Put it on your calendarright now, so you don't double book yourself.

That's enough..Gotta go!Dan