Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Trail Bits 2006 #40

Trail Bits # 40

Trail runs now start at 7:30 am

I guess I was a little premature in my talk of the fall winds and rains having returned. I actually got sunburned on Saturday. Oh well, a nice blast of summer in late September is fantastic. A big word of thanks to all of you that helped support the Mount Benson campaign by showing up at Westwood Lake on Sunday to run in the inaugural Westwood Lake 6km. Over $ 4800.00 was raised. Thanks as well to those of you that were able to support the Dover Bay Cross country meet.

Congratulations to Tom Barr and Ken Jones on the their strong runs in the Toronto Waterfront Marathon last weekend and congratulations to Brian Macdonald who won his age group in the Toronto Waterfront Half marathon…great job guys.

Night running starts in two weeks time!!!!!!

Ø Cyclo Cross Racing – the Cyclocross Nationals are coming to Nanaimo on November 11th. I will pass along further details regarding the race, volunteering opportunities, etc in the coming weeks.

Ø Message from Norm & Stefan (Owners of Frontrunners) - A quick thanks to all the ROC members that popped by to wish us a happy birthday on the weekend. It has been a great seven years and we are looking forward to working with ROC into the future. Also a note that we have a NewBalance test run scheduled for Tuesday October 3rd. Stew from NewBalance will have the 1060 and 767 on hand. Everyone who takes a pair out for a test run will be eligible to win one of several draw prizes

Ø 3rd Annual Runners of Compassion – Bastion Running Club Winter (Christmas) Dance November 18th, $25.00 per person

The fall is here and with it comes the classic fall races. Read below.

Ø Bazett Farms Cross Country Race – the 41st Annual Bazett Farms Cross Country race is this Sunday, October 1st in Duncan. Details are in the attachment. This race has been going on for longer than some of you have been alive.

Ø Thetis Lake Relays November 11th - get together with three other people and register a team of four in the Thetis Relays. The relays are run on a 5km single track loop around Thetis Lake in Victoria. Each team member runs one loop. This race will feature the young, the old, the weak and the strong. It will also feature the who’s who of runners from the Island and BC. This is an inexpensive race with a great spirit. Everyone should try to do this race once in their lifetime. Go to http://pih.bc.ca/Calendar.php for more details. A great warm up for the Gunner Shaw.

Ø Gunner Shaw – This baby is the Grand Daddy of Trail racing on the Island. November 25th – This race is not near as tough as our GutBuster, but it will leave you feeling just as tired due to the fact that the course is 100% runnable. No need to walk any of this race course, which features the requisite mud and stream crossings of any good trail race, plus it also features the infamous Gunner Puddle. This race usually gets attended by close to 400 racers of which anywhere from 10 – 20 will be Nanaimo ROC members. This race has become an annual Road trip for a number of us Saturday morning trail runners. Plan on coming down with us. Details also available at http://pih.bc.ca/Calendar.php

Ø Shawnigan Lake Half Marathonis October 29th

Ø Stewart Mountain 10 Mile Trail Race – is December 9th

This week the run will be a run from the Westwood Lake parking lot. Remember the NEW 7:30am start time, don’t forget and show up early.