ROC Trail Bits 2006 #23

Trail Bits # 23



25 soles ventured North to Parksville for the run in what turned out to be beautiful weather. We had a bit of everything; an oceanside run, river estuary run, board walk run, trail run, road run, uphill single track, river run. The run was just over 1:35 in length. All was followed up by coffee. Next road trip is a run of the trails in Strathcona Park. This trail run is an annual event and shouldn’t be missed. Keep your mileage up as we will be out for close to two hours. Not much longer than we usually do, but it is at elevation. This run won’t happen until the snow is all gone and the wild flowers are in bloom.



Ø Newport Marathon – The group went down to Newport for the weekend and came back with great results. Completing their first marathons were De Orell and Dana Brown. Strong performances were also turned in by Lou Barnum, Ken Jones and “the other guy” from Nanaimo who placed second overall, Stefan. It was also Stefan’s first marathon. In some warped sort of way, it was nice to actually hear Stefan complain of having sore legs the day after an event. Now he knows how most of us feel after every long race. Congrats to all of you.



Ø Golf Tournament – please, please, please do not procrastinate in emailing Kathleen if you are going to attend. The golf is a blast and the after BBQ is a howl, that I know from attending. If you are coming simply click on this link right now kathleenrichardson@telus.net , NO don’t keep reading, click and reply. Let Kathleen know. It makes it so much easier to coordinate these membership events if we get people replying sooner rather than later.



Ø Avoid Duomont Trails – Things are pretty crappy smelling up on trails in the Duomont area right now. Fresh Bio-Solids were applied last Thursday. Sadly we were not forewarned and a bunch of us had the displeasure of having to ride through this area. Pretty bad smells. We will be avoiding this area for a while.



Ø Knee Knackering North Shore Trail Run (“Knee Knacker”) is July 8th not last week as I mistakenly told you. If you are looking for a really great, epic trail run, then this is the baby for you. It is 30 miles and is on July 8th this year. The contact information is Kelsy Trigg - Knee Knacker 2006 Race Director - www.kneeknacker.com 604-787-8097. Check out the website!



Ø Speaking of GutBusters, our Westwood Lake Half Marathon & 8KM Trail Races take place on JULY 16th. There will be ample opportunities for you to help out with the race. We do a couple mid week group runs of different sections of the routes that need to have windfall removed or branches pruned back. We again go out a day before the race and we flag and sign the race route and then again we go out on race day to help with marshalling and a number of other chores. I usually need close to 40 people on race day. I will be sending out a separate email closer to the race date asking for your help. There may be something very cool happening outdoors in Nanaimo on this very same night. I wouldn’t plan on being out of town this weekend. Once details are confirmed I will pass them along to you.



Ø ***** Twilight Shuffle ****** – WEDNESDAY JUNE 14Th - This race is a 4 Mile race on the streets of Chemainus – 7:00pm If you haven’t run in this race before you should give it a go. You will be amazed at the extremely large number of people that enter this race. Over 700 people registered for last year’s race. Make sure you get there really early on race night as parking can be tight and registration does get swamped. The beauty of running in this race is that you will be able to line up alongside some of Canada’s top runners and run the same course as them.



Ø Fathers Day Hike up Mt. Benson – On June 18th, Father Days, the Nanaimo and Area Land Trust (NALT) will be having what they refer to as an Old Fashion Fathers Day Picnic. One of the activities they have planned is guided hikes up to the summit of Mt. Benson. There will be a number of hikes throughout the day apparently. If you are interested in coming along or want details on the Picnic call the NALT office at 714-1990



Biking Bits # 1

There are still a few spots available in the clinics if they interest you.



Ø Ladies Only Learn to Mountain Bike Clinic - On June 11th at 9:00am ride@arrowsmithbikesnan.com 758-6675



Ø Monday Night Rides – at 6:15 pm on Mondays ride@arrowsmithbikesnan.com



Ø Learn to Mountain Bike Clinic - June 10th from 8-10am seanlunny@shaw.ca for details or 760-0211



Ø Bicycle Maintenance Series. seanlunny@shaw.ca for details or call 760-0211



Ø Learn to Road Bike Clinic - Oak Bay Bikes for details at 760-0211



This week the run location is Westwood Lake for a run of the Saddle. 7:00 AM

There is a very good chance that this trail will be closed to the general public in the very near future. Come out and run this area while we still can. I will be biking if any one wants to join me. A tour of the lake trails, power lines, Morell, Colliery dam and other areas. The run and the bike will be about 1:20 in length.

Upcoming Stuff

* indicates trail race

· Edge to Edge Half & Full Marathon, Tofino – June 11th

· New Balance Half Iron, Victoria – June 18th

· Kusim Klimb, Sayward – June 17th

· Scotia Bank Half Marathon, Vancouver – June 25th

· Comfortably Numb 25km Trail Race – June 25th

· GutBuster # 4 – Westwood Lake Half Marathon & 8km – July 16th

· Full (50Km) & Half (25km) Monty Trail Races, Victoria – August 19th

· Log Train Trail Half & Full Marathons, Port Alberni – August 20th