Bastion Ross Notes: Coming and Going

Dear Bastion,

It was a long weekend and a good one for Bastion. Saturday saw a large number tackle the Gutbuster in Duncan on a cold drizzly day. The most exciting part for those of us watching was a down to the wire dash to the finish by the three top women runners, including Wendy Simms who finished second by two seconds. The runners were all looking good coming in and very brave about there being no coffee or anything hot to drink.
Monday was the Boston Marathon and a good effort by 19 Nanaimo runners. John Grabher fell ill the day before but still took on the beast. Most of us would have done the same too. No sense in going all that way for nothing. A lot of good finishing times in spite of the massive amount of runners and I’m sure it was all very fun. Unfortunately, Kim Gagliano did not run negative splits, and as per our agreement, has to get down and give us all fifty and then buy us all some chocolate. And not the cheap kind you get in bulk. The good stuff.
We said goodbye to Karen Fry on Saturday and I would like to thank John Loewen and Bobbie Jensen for being such great hosts. Bobbie never let our glasses get empty even though Linda repeatedly chewed off every one of her son’s toes. A heroic grazing effort was made to get through the mountain of food brought and we made a significant dent in it by the end of the night.
Speaking of Bobbie Jensen, she is giving a talk at the Monday, May 1 “Woman’s Night” sponsored by Brooks/Frontrunners. This women’s only night will be held at the Frontrunners store with the doors open at 6:45 for wine and nibblies and the evening kicking off at 7:00 pm. Bobbie will talk about Striking A Balance and you will learn about things like proper sports bra fit. It’s all free but RSVP Frontrunners at 729-8200.
And now we split up this weekend and go in all directions. South to Sooke for the Sooke Spring Sprint Triathlon, the first in the Provincial Series. North to Mt. Washington for the Snow to Surf Relay, a monster 100 K event for those lucky enough to be doing it. And of course east to Vancouver for the Sun Run. Fifty thousand runners is a zoo.
This week the Wednesday track workouts move back to Wednesdays at 5:00 pm, as Marilyn has finished teaching her classes at Malaspina. If anyone would like a later starting time, email me.
Next week is the Times Colonist in Victoria. A great race and a touch saner than the Sun Run. If Karen is reading this, we did not just go to coffee on Thursday night. We actually did our workout.
Bastion has two teams ready for the Island Relay on May 27. We will pay the entry fees for three teams, so here’s a good opportunity to have a great time for free. Start with three or four runners and in no time you’ll attract the eight runners needed.

Thanks,
Ross