Burgers for Benson

Greetings NALT Supporters and Friends,


NALT and The Mount Benson Legacy Group are holding another Beer and Burger "Spooktacular" at the Windward Pub Sunday October 29th at 6pm.

As usual, we will have a great meal from the Windward, with a choice of Beef or Chicken Burger. Wine, Beer or Pop for a beverage, and Salad or Fries as a side, All for $12!

We have some fantastic live auction items this time around, with a BMX Bike from Pacific Rim Bicycle (in time for the Holidays) a getaway trip to Vancouver to see a show at the Orpheum with a rental car included, and a 256mb MP3 Player, among other items.

We will also be doing the ever popular 50/50 draws, and a silent auction for services and merchandise from local donors.

We are hoping that you will come in costume to this event, but it is not required You will miss out on some great prizes for Best Costume, Scariest Costume, Greenest Costume, and Best Impersonation Costume if you don't.


So, if you are free on Sunday, and would like a night off cooking, and a great time out, please call NALT at 714-1990 to have your name added to the list, and ensure your seat at the last Beer and Burger hosted by NALT in 2006.

It will surely be a night to remember, so don't miss out!



Nanaimo & Area Land Trust

Trail Bits 2006 #44

Trail Bits # 44

Strathcona Park Run has been cancelled due to weather forecast….sorry.

Due to a forecast of steady rain on Saturday we have decided to cancel the run at Strathcona Park. We will reschedule again in the late spring when the alpine flowers are in bloom.

Ø Halloween Hustle – October 26^th Volunteers are still needed. Contact Bobbie btaylor@sd68.bc.ca or Leah leahjohnson01@yahoo.ca

Ø TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE – If you are planning on coming to the dance, please buy your tickets soon as possible as we need to confirm numbers. Please email Kathleen at kathleenrichardson@telus.net to arrange your tickets. Thanks

Ø Cyclo Cross Nationals – VOLUNTEERS NEEDED - November 11^th is the date of Cyclo Cross Nationals which are being held in Nanaimo. Norm Thibault will be looking for volunteers to help with course preparation and marshalling if you are interested in helping out contact Norm directly. normont@islandnet.com Norm and his crew will need a large number of volunteers in order to pull this event together. Norm has asked me extent his thanks to those of you that are volunteering instead of going to Victoria for the Thetis Relays, which is unfortunately on the same day.

Ø Women’ Pace Annual Run Wild – is November 26^th, 9:00am . Women’s Pace is in need of a number of course marshals as well as an individual to help coordinate the marshals. If you can help with this please contact Carol Roy at mcroy@telus.net

Strathcona Cancelled

This week the trail run will be a run of Linley Valley.

Start time is 7:30. Meet at the end of Burma Road as usual.

Driving Directions:

Take Rutherford Rd to Vanderneuk; The top of the hill.

Right or left on to Vanderneuk; this turns into Lost Lake Road.

Follow Lost Lake for a fair while;

Turn right on Burma Rd. We will be at the end.

If you start to drive down the really steep hill you have missed the turn.

Strathcona Park Run

Hello everyone,

I need feed back from you if you are planning on coming to Strathcona Park next Saturday (Oct 28th). Please reply back to me as soon as you can. I think we have more than enough interest to warrant us going, but I would like to confirm that. So, if you are coming, simply click on the “Reply” button and then type in Yes I will be coming, then click on the send button.

This trip is totally weather dependant. If the forecast is reasonable we will go. If the forecast calls for bad weather, we will cancel and run Dumont instead.

Here are the details for those of you that are thinking of coming.
7:00 am leave Chapters at 7:00am
8:15 am arrive Mt. Washington ski area
8:30 am start to run/kike
11:00 am arrive back at vehicles
11:30 am depart Mt. Washington
1:00 pm arrive back at Chapters – unless you stop for lunch on the way back

Group 1 will be a steady run group and will be out for about 2 & ½ hours
Group 2 will be a steady run group, but at a bit easier pace and will cover slightly less territory. This group will be out for around 2 hours.
Group 3 will be a Fast Paced hiking group, which will be out for 2 & ½ hours.

There you have it. Let me know if you are coming. The weather is going to provide an amazing view from the Westwood ridges on Saturday morning.

Notes from Bastion Ross

Bastion

Its time to dust off that suit or dress in the back of your closet, put a shine on your shoes and snag those all important tickets to the Bastion/ROC Winter Dance on Saturday November 18. Now, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, Ross, sure the food is so good and there's so much that I'll gain five pounds if I don't dance, okay the drinks are so cheap that I can get more than just politely blitzed all night long, its all well and agreed the DJ hits a mean groove as the night wears on, and there's no doubt at all that the greatest folks in Nanaimo will be there. But will there be... clogging? Well you're in luck. The DJ Ron is an avid aficionado of clogging and has agreed to have a set ready. All you have to do is get those tickets. A steal at $25. And this would be a great chance to put yourself in good with your wife/husband/partner for the next year. Lets face it, you probably haven't been too attentive to them this past year and you owe them. It's all right. You're a runner. We expect it out of you. So, if you want to do the right thing, you can pick tickets up at Frontrunners, off myself or Dave DePasquale if you see us Saturdays, or you can just email me and reserve them. I'm fairly easy and I'll hold them for you at the door. Might I suggest this would be a good time to pay your dues. It is one of the few times in the year that I'm within easy reaching distance of your wallet or purse.
This past Sunday saw the Oceanside Cross Country Race at Qualicum and even though Steve Gagliano successfully did a convincing rain dance there were enough who showed up. Numbers are date of birth of runners. Jacob Basset won the Male 98 division, Laurie's son Matt Ritchie was third in the Male 92, her other son Aaron was second in the Male 89/90, and Dave Matte, Dan Frey, Mike Jorgenson, Nick Bassett and Bill Hollingshead all placed first or second in various adult divisions. Results in the Results Page, sensibly enough. Picture attached.
Tonight saw a terrible tragedy unfold as many innocent participants of Sean's ab class snuffed it while doing one too many crunches. Fortunately, this means a few spaces are opened up for next weeks new block of five sessions, Thursdays at 6:30 pm at Frontrunners. Cost $20. There is also a 6:00 am session, starting the following Tuesday. Sean also has a Friday morning wind trainer spinning class at 9:00 am at Oak Bay Bikes starting November 3. Would help if you have your own wind trainer but he has a limited amount in the store. To register for any of the above, email seanlunney@shaw.ca
The next Cross Country meet is the Bill English at Colliery Dam on November 5. I think we can try and put out a good showing. Details are in the Events page. Then we have the Thetis Lake Relay, Gunner Shaw and Stewart Mountain races for some serious mud, blood and guts to look forward to later in November and December. You can snag a technical shirt for being one of the first 50 to enter all three. You can enter all three online through the Events page.
If you don't want to do a lot of travelling November 11 but would like to help out at a great local event then you can contact Norm at nanaimo@frontrunners.ca and offer to volunteer at the Cyclocross coming up then. I think he would appreciate the help.
If you happen to have a couple of hours of free time on Thursday October 26 there is some students at Wellington and Woodlands school who could use some marshals or finish line crew for their Halloween Hustle at Westwood Lake. Contact Bobbie Taylor at btaylor@sd68.bc.ca or Leah Johnson at leahjohnson01@yahoo.ca to volunteer.

Dusting off my top hat,
Ross

Trail Bits 2006 #43

Trail Bits # 43
Lots to read this week….sorry

Advance Notice - weather permitting, October 28th will be the Strathcona Park Run…..be ready for a 7:00 am departure from Chapters. Details next week.

Most of you are probably aware that one of the areas in which we, ROC have been very active the past few years is in helping to encourage youth in our community to be active. We have done this in a couple of ways; Runners for Kids Program – this program provides funding to enable needy children to participate in a variety of school and community-based activities. Inner city school running and athletic programs and activities, leadership programs or other academic and community-based programs have received funding from this program. The program has paid for registration fees and equipment so that individual children can participate in activities such as running, soccer, baseball, and wrestling. This program has also provided funding for a summer “Rec N’ Reading” program promoting literacy in an inner city neighbourhood. In addition, we have partnered with the Boys & Girls Club of Central Vancouver Island to send a number of children to summer camp. Runners for Youth Footwear Program – RoCNC has teamed with a local sporting goods retailer (Frontrunners Footwear Limited) to provide footwear to children in need.

On behalf of the Board of Directors of ROC I am happy to inform all of you that with part of the proceeds from the 2006 Nanaimo Daily News Harbour City Half Marathon and 10km Road Race we are once again providing funding for both of the above mentioned programs. Last night at our October Board meeting we approved a funding application from Wellington High School requesting funds so that running shoes could be purchased for a couple of students needing shoes. We also provided some funding to Woodlands High School for their Learn to Run Program, which is now under way. In addition to this we approved two separate applications for funding that came forward under the Runners for Youth Program and we will be providing runners to eight children. I will continue to update all of you on the funding initiatives that we under take as we approve them. Funding Applications are available through the ROC Website at www.runnersofcompassionnanaimo.com . As we get closer to the holiday season I will also start bringing to your attention information on Hamperville and the Nanaimo Give & Go!, two Christmas season initiatives that ROC supports with volunteers.


Ø Halloween Hustle – October 26th is the date of the Halloween Hustle at Westwood Lake. This is the final run of the Learn to Run programs offered for the students at Wellington & Woodlands. If you are able to volunteer a couple of hours of your time on October 26th, the Woodlands and Wellington High School students would love to have your assistance with marshalling and or helping out with the finish line. Contact Bobbie btaylor@sd68.bc.ca or Leah leahjohnson01@yahoo.ca

Ø Trail Leaders – for those of you that are experienced and knowledgeable of the trails in Strathcona that can help with leading a group please let me know. I need leaders for Group 1 Run Group - (parking lot to Helen Mackenzie, (right turn) to Kwai Lake, Battleship Lake, Paradise Meadows, back to the parking lot) Group 2 Run Group – (parking lot to Helen Mackenzie, Battleship Lake, Paradise Meadows, back to parking lot) Group 3 Hiking Group – (parking lot to Battle Ship Lake, Paradise Meadows, back to parking lot) http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/bcparks/explore/parkpgs/strathcn/strath_forbidden_fee_area.pdf

Ø 3rd Annual Winter (Christmas) Dance November 18th, $25.00 per person- TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE – Tickets are going fast so don’t delay. Get your tickets after the run from Kathleen or Darla during coffee at Chapters Starbucks. Tickets are also available at Frontrunners now. This year let’s keep it simple. Bring cash or cheque and pick up your tickets

Ø Cyclo Cross Nationals – November 11th is the date of Cyclo Cross Nationals which are being held in Nanaimo. Norm Thibault will be looking for volunteers to help with course preparation and marshalling if you are interested in helping out contact Norm directly. normont@islandnet.com

Ø Women’ Pace Annual Run Wild – is November 26th, 9:00am . Proceeds go to The Haven Society. Sorry guys, but this is a “Just for Women” event. Check out www.womens-pace.ca for details. Registration forms available at Frontrunners. Limit is 400 people, so don’t delay.

Ø Adventure Racing Clinic - there is definitely enough interest, so we will start to get things organizes. Start date is probably in April.

Ø Spinning Class – Due to the fact that the first spin class is full and wait listed Sean and Corey are going to be adding a second spin class this fall. This one will take place at their store however, so you will need your own bike and wind-trainer. The class is starting Friday November 3rd, 9AM at Oak Bay Bikes Nanaimo. The clinic will run for 8 weeks and cost $40. Classes will be much like a Frontrunners Tuesday night clinic in that you will have a structured workout to do each week. They will have a very limited supply of trainers for people to be able to borrow if you do not own one. If you are planning on really going for it next year, or you’re just curious, Sean is doing blood lactate testing now. This test will allow you to learn your lactate balance point, and really allow you to fine tune your training so that you aren't wasting time! For more information, or to register please contact Sean or Corey at 760-0211 or at oakbaybikesnanaimo@shaw.ca.

Ø Thetis Lake Relays – November 11th - Go to http://pih.bc.ca/Calendar.php for more details. A great warm up for the Gunner Shaw. We will arrange car pooling for this. Start thinking about getting a team together. Only $ 20.00 per team of you register early….$60.00 on day of….do it now and use the extra money for lunch afterwards.

Ø Gunner Shaw –November 25th – Details also available at http://pih.bc.ca/Calendar.php Car pooling will also be arranged for this event. $ 10.00 if you register early, $30.00 on day of.


This week the trail run is a classic……the original 11.5km GutBuster route. Start time 7:30 at Westwood – please bring water with you.
For those of you that are new; This route follows the main lake trail to just before the 2km mark where it sharply turns to the right and heads off on to the single track. The route will cross over the both the outflow and inflow streams of the lake (hopefully the water isn’t more than an inch or two deep, ya right!!!) before heading up the Binx Connector, past the old cabin and then up to the top of the ridges where an amzing view may await you. From here the route takes you down the most amazing down hill section of single track in all of Nanaimo; yes this piece is rooty, yes it may be wet and yes it may even be a bit muddy. It is a trail run after all. Once you get back out on to the power lines, the undulating trails of Morell will await you. A great pre-run to Strathcona Park the following weekend

Notes From Bastion Ross: New and Old

nDear Bastion

Well, we have a new Race Director and we're off and running to get ready for February 11th and the Cedar 12 K. Bob Cross has stepped up and offered to be trained in the Jedi arts by Master Darrell. Ah yes, my young padowan, the first thing to remember is the way I take my coffee. Use the force, Bob, use the force. Bob will do a great job, of that I'm sure and he has a great team behind him. Registration for the series starts in November and there will be a huge price break if you register early for one or two races or the whole series. Make a plan to get ready to do this year's Cedar 12 K because the past few years has seen some tremendously fine running weather and it's definitely a nice country outing with a fair amount of challenge to it.
If you have ever sat down and wondered what's wrong with yourself, Ceri Merrett can tell you what it is for only $20. Now I know what you're thinking. You already have an unlimited amount of friends, relatives and employers who tell you what's wrong with you for nothing. But you get what you pay for. Ceri is a physiotherapist who can actually tell you something you can use. If you have weak abs, or quads or hamstrings, Ceri can tell and give you a regime to fix it. IT problems? No problem. I have met a lot of runners with sciatica problems this year. This problem could probably be fixed if caught early. If you would like to save yourself some grief down the road you can contact Ceri at ceri16@hotmail.com
Sean's ab classes start a new session, Thursday evenings at 6:30 pm on October 26. There are five sessions for $20 and don't tell Norm but they start at 15 push-ups and end with 35. Tuesday morning sessions start November 1st at 6:00 am. Sean's Wednesday morning spinning classes at 7:00 am at Northridge on November 1st are full but he is taking names for a waiting list and there will probably be another after that block is over. Finally if your are serious about your training Sean is conducting blood lactose tests at Oak Bay Bikes by appointment. Cost is $75 for first session and $50 for any follow up sessions later in the year. To register or for more info for any of the above contact Sean at seanlunney@shaw.ca
If you like to take your mountain bike out for a hard ride there's no point if you can't catch some serious air. The trick is living to tell about it. There will be a jump clinic this Sunday at noon. It will go to 5:00 pm and cost $20. To register or get more info contact Kebble at ride@arrowsmithbikesnan.com

Thanks,
Ross

Trail Bits 2006 #42

Trail Bits # 42

Trail runs now start at 7:30 am

Congratulations to all of you that headed down to Victoria to run in either the Royal Victoria Marathon, Half Marathon or 8km. Lots of personal bests were recorded. I am not going to mention any particular names as there were far too many of you running on Sunday for me to even try and mention all of you. All I will say is great job everyone. I hope you all got to sit down for a feast of turkey later in the day.

The one person I will mention by name though is Steve Osaduik (The Wizard of OZ as they called him in the Times Colonist this morning).

On Sunday, Steve, the 2006 Canadian Half Marathon Champion successfully completed his quest of breaking Tom Howard’s 25 year old Royal Victoria Marathon course record of 2:18: 49 by running a time of 2:16:47 in this years Royal Victoria Marathon. Steve’s winning time will hopefully now allow him to represent Canada at the 2008 Beijing Olympics as part of the Canadian Marathon team…..Congratulations Steve.

Adventure Racing Clinic - I would appreciate getting some feed back from you on whether or not there would be enough interest to warrant me talking to Sean Lunny about offering a 10 week long “Adventure Racing Clinic”? The clinic would be designed on getting you prepped and ready to successfully complete a Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race in the spring of 2007. The weekly workouts would focus on mountain biking skills, building a stronger trail running base, kayaking, as well as orienteering (navigation). Time would also be spent on discussing what gear you need to have, proper hydration and nutrition during a race, what to wear, etc. The cost would be some where in the $90.00 price range. If you think you would be interested in some thing like this, please let me know. If there is enough interest, which I am sure there will be, I will discuss things further with Sean. Email me back at danbrady@shaw.ca

Ø 3^rd Annual Winter (Christmas) Dance November 18^th, $25.00 per person- TICKETS NOW AVAILABLE – Tickets will now be on sale on Saturdays mornings from Kathleen after the trail runs and at coffee afterwards at Chapters Starbucks. I believe there will also be tickets available at Frontrunners as well, but I still need to confirm this. Please do not email asking for tickets be put aside for you? Last year it was a pain trying to arrange drop off and collection of funds. This year let’s keep it simple. Bring cash or cheque and pick up your tickets

Ø Women’ Pace Annual Run Wild – is November 26^th, 9:00am . Proceeds go to The Haven Society. Sorry guys, but this is a “Just for Women” event. Check out www.womens-pace.ca for details. Registration forms available at Frontrunners. Limit is 400 people, so don’t delay.

Ø Thetis Lake Relays – November 11^th - Go to http://pih.bc.ca/Calendar.php for more details. A great warm up for the Gunner Shaw. We will arrange car pooling for this. Start thinking about getting a team together. Only $ 20.00 per team of you register early….$60.00 on day of….do it now and use the extra money for lunch afterwards.

Ø Gunner Shaw –November 25^th – Details also available at http://pih.bc.ca/Calendar.php Car pooling will also be arranged for this event. $ 10.00 if you register early, $30.00 on day of.

This week the run will be a run of THE SADDLE – one hour and ten minutes. 7:30am start time,

Meet in the Westwood lake parking lot.