September 2008

Newsletter The London Pacers Running Club

www.londonpacers.on.ca

What did you do on your summer vacation?

These very happy London Pacers set a Canadian Track record, then broke another one a couple of weeks later!

Check out the photos and stories from London Pacers we have gathered over the summer months ......

Not getting older - getting better! Julia McDonald, Maeve Armstrong-Harris, Deb Obokata, Rita Melville, Canadian Woman’s 55 to 59 4x400 and 4x800 relay record holders.

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Executive

President Jim Burrows [email protected] 519-474-3497 (H)

Vice President Sonya Slaven [email protected] 519-657-0625 (H)

Treasurer Betty Timmons [email protected] 519-673-1657(Home)

Publicity Andrew Jones [email protected] 519-642-3520 (H)

Social Alita Milliken [email protected] 519-472-0312 (H)

Membership Gail Schmidt [email protected] 519-657-9936 (H)

Secretary Gerda Zonruiter [email protected] 519-471-3550

Newsletter Sherry Watts [email protected] 529-858-9880

Web site Victor Kratchovil [email protected] 519-951-0243

Next Pacer meeting is Monday, September 8, 2008 At 7:30 p.m. at Grosvenor Lodge on Wharncliffe Road

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WELCOME NEW MEMBERS Cathy Egerton and Sheri Fraser

Best wishes to member MIKE PETERSON who has moved to Nova Scotia

Warm greetings to individuals on the active membership list for 2008 who are celebrating birthdays in September:

Jim Burrows, Richard Darling, Bill Eason, Carroll Grenier, Megan Johnston, Harry Littleton, Brian Martell, Gwen McLean, Anton Radlein, Kirsten Slaven

From your editors:

Some items to note:

If you want your race results published in the Newsletter YOU are responsible for sending them to Gail Schmidt at [email protected] before the deadline for the monthly newsletter.

The deadline for the October newsletter is September 26, 2008

The October Pacer meeting will be on the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, October 14, 2008.

We love the articles that people send in—please keep them coming. They need to be in a Word format and photos need to be in jpeg format. It’s hard to keep arti- cles to 2 pages or less, but that helps the editors!

Please send articles and photos to Sherry Watts at [email protected]

Your editors, Sherry and Paula

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Pacer Discounts Members of the London Pacers are given a discount on purchases at Runners Choice at 207 Dundas St and at the New Balance store on Fanshawe Park Road W. at Hyde Park Rd

ChiRunning Clinics

September 12-Deerhurst Huntsville Sept 21 October 5 October 12 All clinics are from 11:00-4:00

ChiRunning will help you to run more efficiently and relaxed.

For information www.sherifraser.net sfraser12@hotmail 519 474 3759

Hello Pacers

We are looking for 8 volunteers to work a water stop at the Springbank road races on September 7th. The club's help with this has been much appreciated in the past years.

Location - Springbank Park lot Report time - 7:30am on Sept 7th. All supplies will be there for the volunteers. Finish time - Race starts at 8:00am and this stop services both the half marathon at both the front end and back end (returning home) and the 5K. It is the busiest water station. Done by 10:45 to 11:00am. Perks - Volunteers get a T-shirt!

Please reply to this email or write to Jim Burrows [email protected] to indicate your interest in help- ing out.

I am going to take this opportunity to ask you to mark the Turkey Trot 2K and 6K Cross-Country races in your calendars. Please plan to join us as a runner or as a volunteer on Thanksgiving Monday, October 13th. De- tails to follow in a few weeks time.

Gail Schmidt

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Faster Than Ever Before

The CMAA record book lists the ac- complishments of some of Canada’s finest mas- ters athletes. The pages document their tri- umphs – the farthest, fastest and highest that any Canadian of a certain age has ever done his or her event.

Masters track and field began in earnest in the 1970s but despite decades of competition there are still gaps in the book. As of June, there were few records listed for the 4 x 800 relay and one odd gap in the 4 x 400. Re- lays require teammates and opportunities. In July these came together in London. The series of twilight meets put on by Steve Weiler and his London Distance Runner club are open to everyone but tend to attract the well-under 30 crowd. On July 9, the London Pacers and some of their friends and competitors changed that. There were records to be had. The men’s race went first with the 40-44 and 50-54 teams lining up. Most of them had ex- perience in track races in high school and university. They looked as though they knew what they were doing. Some of the men had superb track form. Christian, John and Bill especially looked as though they belonged on the oval. The baton passes in a 4x800 are less of a precise action than in the split second 4 x 100 but any bobble can lead to problems. But that night the batons flowed around the track, lap after lap. The M40 team surprised the LDRC team by taking the race out and staying ahead until the last runner who was determined to not be beaten by the veterans. (One young meet volunteer was overheard telling a par- ent “Dad, there are old people here”. Old fast people as it turned out). The women had pulled together three teams, recruiting at races and by email. Few of them had ever run track and many were finding the experience intimidating. Some had worked on baton exchanges in hurried practices in preceding days while others were meeting teammates for the first time on race night. They lined up on the track with the slim, pony-tailed teenagers in the light weight, colourful spikes, listened to final instructions on how to cut in and where to hand off, took a few deep breaths and were off. Five masters teams were out there, stepping out of the comfort and anonymity of the road races milieu and five teams set records that night. The less obvious stars were the subs, there in case someone on one of the teams could not run. Their names won’t go in the record books but they deserve special thanks. Louise Moriarty and Dianne van Leeuwen were ready to step in at the last minute if re- quired. Up until June 22 there was no record for the W55 4 x 400 relay and the local team was ready to set that right on July 23. But at the BC Masters Championships a team of sprinters had filled that gap in the list with a 5:51.62 time. It looked unbeat- able. After all, they were sprinters, trained to run fast, their muscles used to the results of anaerobic energy production, used to dealing with the impend- ing paralysis of muscles bathed in lactic acid. The London team is made up of distance specialists who have honed their slow twitch muscles to be efficient over the long haul. Their 4 x 800 time pre- dicted a 6:08 4 x 400. Seventeen seconds is a huge gap over 1600m. But they were game to give it a try.

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Though they were nervous they did not show it outwardly. They strode onto the infield side-by- side like a scene from a western movie show-down. They got their instructions and Debbie took her place in the lane. Debbie has more sprinting talent than she realizes. Perhaps it is her father’s superb genes showing through. She blasted through the first lap and handed the baton to Julia who ran with a joy that was almost palpable, seemingly amazed that her legs were propelling her so quickly over the ground. Next up was Maeve looking as though the track was her private domain. Husbands and friends were positioned around the field and in the stands to provide impetus along the way. Maeve handed the stick to Rita, just avoiding being lapped by the first place finishers. The other teams flew past the finish line but the cheers were for the team still out there, battling, not the youngsters, but the implacable clock. As Rita passed the far end of the track, a volunteer shut off the display clock. Now she was running blind with no idea how close the record was. Supporters were shouting, trying to will her feet to the end. She was carrying the dreaded bear on her back towards the finish. Rita crossed the line. Watched clicked. Breath was held until the word spread – they had done it! A cheer went up. The women squealed and hugged and jumped up and down. The husbands stood around beaming. The other competitors were confused. Why were these little ladies in the clunky marathon shoes quite so excited about finishing last? Then the announcer explained. Setting a record is an accomplishment but beating a difficult one is especially sweet. London, with little history of masters sprinting has become the repository of six relay records. And after this . . . there are still a few gaps in the 4 x 800 and 4 x 1500 lists waiting for next year’s track season. Oh, and BC has vowed revenge.

4 x 800 relay July 9, 2008

London Pacers and Friends W45 12:10.48 1) Gerda Zonruiter 2) Teresa Novick 3) Donna Kraft 4) Mary Nash

London Pacers and Friends W55 13:28.82 1) Debbie Obokata 2) Julia McDonald 3) Maeve Armstrong Harris 4) Rita Melville

London Pacers W50 14:52.62 1) Mary Anne McCoy 2) Paula Muxlow 3) Gwyn Hayman 4) Wendy Fraser

London Pacers and Friends M40 9:06.52 1) John Loney 2) Andrew Jones 3) Christian Gundlack 4) Harold Walker

London Pacers and Friends M50 9:39.39 1) Bill Wheeler 2) Steve Beasley 3) Fred Chapman 4) James Madden

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London Pacers and Friend W55 4x400 relay time 5:46.95

1) Maeve Armstrong Harris 2) Julia McDonald 3) Rita Melville 4) Debbie Obokata

4 x 400 relay July 23, 2008

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4x800 Relay July 8, 2008 Canadian Record Holders—ALL!

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A Fairy Tale

Once upon a time there were four Fairies In Training (“FITS”), Paulina, Nancino, Gwynderella and Donnilla, who decided to go on a magical adventure. They would take a long voyage to the distant land of “Torontella” to join their FIT sisters and brothers for the fabled “Midsummer Night’s Run”. Like good and hard-working FITS, all four signed up for the longer run, the 30K distance. However, since they were just FITs and not FOFFFs (“First Order Full-Fledged Faires”), they were unable to rely on their wing power to fly the course. Their growing rudders were still somewhat unpredict- able and more likely to take them in unforeseen directions such as unfortunate contact with the sole wind turbine on the fabled shores of Lake Ontario. So, the 4 FITS resigned themselves to putting fairy slipper to asphalt, and began to train their run- ning muscles for the midsummer run. At first, things went very well for all 4 FITS! They enjoyed the cool dewy mornings of early summer and started running farther and faster, getting more and more ready for the magical night. However, as these things sometimes go, all training did not end up happily for the 4 FITS. Their fairy slippers started showing wear, and their lithesome limbs began to tire from the long, hot, summer miles. One by one the fairies drooped with aching muscles and tendons (even a stress fracture). As quickly as their bodies tired, however, their fairy brains started working. “What, oh what, can we do”, the 4 FITS asked themselves, “to keep training despite our wicked, wicked limbs?” They thought and they thought and they finally dropped their 5 runs a week plus strength training, and introduced pool and lake running and cycling into their weekly routines. Although they dragged themselves out of the pool after hours of cycling, running and pool running with their fairy wings quite sodden and their fairy crowns quite tattered, they persevered. Healed enough to run, although not the original 30K, 3 of the 4 FITS dropped to the 15K distance shortly before the race. Ready or not, race day was upon them! The 4 FITS, taking enough delicious fairy snacks to feed the entire field of 1,500, made their mean- dering way to the distant land of Torontella. They were very excited! They arrived at their “Grand” fairy bower on Jarvis Street, put on their running costumes and special fairy makeup, and tenderly wove colourful sprigs of flowers into their headresses. They assembled their special glowing wands and selected their sparkling jewelry. Thus adorned, they traveled to the race start in a special coach, ordered by the foot-man, which was yellowy-orange just like a pumpkin. The race course itself was lovely. The sun glowed from the west across Lake Ontario, and the sky- line of the glistening city of Torontella stood tall and proud as the 4 FITS (in 3 separate groups by this time) magically tripped along the Leslie Street Spit. They all had their own special goals – Gwynderella to catch up to the other 2 FITS she had to leave at the start, which she did; Donnilla, to catch up to the fairy in the hoola skirt at the 12 K water station, which she did; Nancino, just to get the silly, silly race over with, with her fairy foot intact, which she did; and Paulina, to rejoin her fairy friends in the final fairy resting place, which she did. They all (or mostly all) crossed the finish line – happy and twittering! After they had all found each other, and carefully polished their wings and knit together the tears in their special racing costumes, they whistled down another pumpkin-coloured coach to return them to their Grand bower, where they delighted in the flat-screened crystal ball which beamed enthralling images of the end of the women’s Olympic marathon - all the way from Bejing! continued on page 10 . . . .

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Continued from Page 9 . . . .

The 4 FITS then enjoyed the very, very best part of the whole, entire event – a deli- cious post-race soak in the bubbling root-top magic fairy hot pool, under the sparkling night sky, sipping sweet nectar and champagne. On their way home the next morning, as the 4 FITS limped with unfairy-like grace from their chariot for their 2nd fairy feast of the day, they made a pact to return for the 15K Midsummer race next year, for an even more magical time.

World Triathlon Championships by Bill Wheeler

I had my second opportunity to compete in a World Championship event when I partici- pated in the World Triathlon Sprint Championship in Vancouver on June 06. The first time was at the World Duathlon Championships in Cornerbrook Nfld, and I found the experience incredible. Vancouver was even better. While the organization and the weather both left a little bit to be de- sired, the chance to be around people from so many countries and to compete with a truly inter- national contingent of athletes was a whole lot of fun. A week of very cold and very wet weather along with a lot of questions re the race route and a swim course that looked very much longer than the 750m it was suppose to be culminated on the Friday morning as my swim wave stood on the starting platform waiting for the gun. Me and 50 other old guys standing in drizzly 13 de- gree conditions, staring at the 12 degree ocean and our 750 metre swim that some had measured at over 1100 metres (just to highlight the concern with that was the fact that they had already an- nounced that the 1500m swim for the Olympic Triathlon the next day would be shortened to 900m because of the conditions). But, you know, it's kind of funny. When the gun goes, none of that stuff seems to matter. Into the water you go and when you get to the end you get out and head for the bike. Onto the bike and off go. The cold wet conditions made your fingers and toes freeze, but when you're racing it's just another thing you deal with. As were the marshalls who kept telling you to slow down on the hilly, curvy, wet Stanley Park bike course. Slow down? Are you kidding? Must have been talking to the guys behind me...I'd better speed it up. Off the bike and off with the helmet which was set up so that I wouldn't have to undo the clip....kind of against the rules but I had seen the Junior race the day before where some of the racers' fingers were so cold they couldn't get the helmets undone and ran with them on. Then off on the run hoping that the toes would thaw out a little bit. I love races like that. A number of people were quite annoyed and upset with some organizational problems and the weather. Me? I'd go back and do that race again under those conditions in a heart beat. And I look forward to the next time I'm lucky enough to qualify for a World event and get the chance to attend. My overall result was very good. I sneaked into second place by 3 seconds to take the silver, about 40 seconds behind the gold medal winner from Great Britain. The cold, very long swim had me in 19th place. Swimming is a

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very weak event for me, so actually 19th probably wasn't all that bad. Maybe the cold water froze my body into a better swimming position. I moved up to 8th after the bike. Too many other guys must have actually been listening to the marshalls. And I caught everyone on the run except for one guy. The run was actually pretty encouraging because my conditioning was very much in doubt for this race. I ran pretty strongly and was able to push the last kilometer of the 5k run and track down the 2nd place guy, beating him in a sprint to the finish....something I haven't been able to do in quite a while. It was a good race. Just some take aways I have of the week… . . . 1. the guy from Tahiti at the swim practice. He stood in his wetsuit looking at the 12 degree water for half an hour trying to find the nerve to stick his toes in. Ian Hayes, a friend and com- petitor from Port Stanley, had to finally go over and talk and nudge him into the water. 2. a woman from England during the same swim practice. She was treading water and told me she couldn't swim more than 4 strokes before her frozen brain made her stop. Talk about be- ing psyched out!! Ian told me that before I came out of the water, they had to drag some lady out. I'm betting she was from England. 3. the marshalls on the bike course. Already mentioned them, but I've never heard so many "slow downs" in my life. They've never heard so many, "it's the WORLD's!!! Are you kidding?"! 4.The course - it was a point to point swim instead of a big loop. Made it easy for those with their GPS devices to measure it and figure out it was much too long. Only served to get them anxious and even upset. Which carried over to a multi loop bike course...not many issues there, but also to the multi loop run course which started at the transition zone but ended up back at the swim start. Maybe I'm too laid back, but you've got to have some confidence that once the race gets going things will be pretty clear. Get comfortable with the flow through the transition areas and the number of laps and get going. There ended up being a lot of athletes that did make some wrong turns, or not enough of them. I think most talked themselves into them. You can waste a lot of energy and create your own confusion with the way you approach the competition. 5. All the countries.....walked around just taking pictures of all the team jackets. Pretty cool. Had to look up PYF - any guesses? And the Cook Islands...is that even a country. 6. How a city like Vancouver can shut down a major corner of their city for this 4 day event. You never saw bad press. You never heard complaints. You just saw a lot of people having a good time. You gotta love that city!! 7. The sea of red. There were Canadian competitors wearing their uniforms everywhere. It was impressive. If you ever get the chance to go to an event like this, go for it. Especially when it's in Canada. You'll have a great time.

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Iroquoia Trail Test – Kilbride, ON Saturday 16-Aug-08 By Denny Radlein

Over the last 10 years, I have heard fellow pacers speak in glowing terms about the beauty and difficulty of the 32 Km. race on the Bruce Trail, near Kilbride. In recent years the name has been changed to the Iroquoia Trail Test, and the course has changed from the original, but apparently the beauty and difficulty remains unchanged. Gone is the brass buckle for finishers and instead you get a painted rock with your finishing time....but I’m getting ahead of myself.

After many years of planning to go the race, but chickening out at the last minute, I decided that this was the year to do it. I started inquiring among fellow pacers as to who may be doing it. Larry Gooder (the trail dog) was going to be away on holidays, or so he said. But Nancy Russell somehow knew that Tomas Dobransky was doing it, and I was able to contact him. Tomas and his buddy Brain were happy to allow myself and my buddy Mike Blencowe (from my Geezer Guys relay team at the Shore-to-Shore Relay) to travel with them. (Thanks for the ride guys!)

The Friday night before the race was very rainy and I was concerned that it would rain on race day. However, it cleared up in time. Race day Saturday was clear and about 12 degrees when they picked us up at 5:45 a.m. and we headed out, following the insistent directions of Tomas’ GPS. We arrived at about 7:15, in good time for the 8 a.m. start. Along the way, Tomas shared his prior experiences of the race with us and psychologically prepared us for what lay ahead, e.g. stream crossings and hand climbing etc.

For some reason, this gem of a race seems to have dwindled in popularity because less than a hundred people had signed up. They have a limit of 175, which they had easily attained in previous years. However, the enthusiasm of the participants was not diminished by the smaller numbers, and we started on time at 8 a.m. I quickly fell back to dead last, these trail runners start as if it’s a 100m race!

The course consists of two out and back loops, first heading south and back for the first 1/3 of the race, then heading north and back for the next 2/3. The trail is very beautiful in all areas. The first notable feature was running down a long, long hill, through the forest into a valley. As I ran down enjoying the scenery, I started to get worried as we kept going down and I realized we would have to come all the way back up! At the bottom there was a long boardwalk through a marsh, with reeds towering over and often obscuring the boardwalk. The boardwalk was slippery and it was a bit scary when meeting the runners coming in the opposite direction.

Then we were in the clear and running on a well compacted trail all the way to the first river crossing. There was a perfectly functional bridge available, but the route was through the water (bastards), which was quite cold. However, once you got your feet wet, the mud encountered later was no big deal, so there was a method to their madness. After that there was a loop around and running back through the same river and up the long hill. I won’t bother to tell you how much of it I walked and how I used my hands on my knees to help my quads get me up the trail. But I sur- vived that quite well and completed the first loop feeling fairly fresh.

The second loop is a lot more complicated, and care has to be taken to understand, and look out for the directional indicators at branches in the trail. I did not heed that advice, and ran a few Kms extra as a result. There were no more river crossings, but there are road crossings, and adequate water stations are on the course. They had melon and various fruits and treats as well as Heed and water at each water stop. Definitely Kudos for that.

I won’t relate the sequence of the features, but there are several interesting sections on the second loop that I will review, in no particular order. There are several long sections where you are running on rocks, just rocks and boul- ders, very rough with no turf underfoot. These areas are often riddled with fissures and moss covered. The rain the day before made them very slippery. I tried running over them at first, but eventually gave up and just walked when- ever I encountered them, and there were some long stretches like that. Then there were the ladders. There were two separate hills that included climbing with your hands. There are ade- quate hand holds, but again quite slippery, and are easily be traversed, if you’re the type of person good at climbing a

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ladder with 2 of every three rungs missing. These climbs were each encountered twice, once in each direction. The fun part was trying to get by the person coming in the opposite direction.

For several kilometers on the second loop, the trail is fairly close to the edge of the escarpment, which is similar in height to Niagara Falls. However, because I was paying so close attention to the trail footing, I did not realize this on the way out. I dis- covered this on the way back, only because I made a wrong turn and suddenly was presented with an option to do a swan dive off the cliff. I decided against it, but did admire the view. I was aware of how close we were to the edge, and it was beautiful. My advice is to stop and look around if you really want to appreciate the view, just don’t run and gaze around too much.

There is a section where for a couple kilometers the trail follows a flat crushed stone path. You can really make good time here, and I was running fairly quickly trying to catch some runners ahead. They went off course and I followed right along! We all eventually realized we had missed the turn, and doubling back to the branch turn we had missed seemed to take forever.

It was nice to encounter all the other members of the London crew at various points in the race and everyone was able to cope with the conditions quite well. Tomas had not trained particularly hard for this year’s event but having done it 6 or 7 times, he knew what the deal was and did well anyway. After completion, you are awarded a painted rock, with your time painted on, in lieu of medals etc. I got a rock with a check mark, indicated I passed the test! This is a real gem of I race and I highly recom- mend it.

Results (Only 5 Londoners): Mike Blencowe 3:41:14 Brian Martell 3:52:10 Denny Radlein 4:09:04 Tomas Dobransky 4:20:39 Peter Rodrigues 5:39:22

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ONE HILLUVA MARATHON (No I didn’t make that one up. It was part of the welcome announcement at the start of the race.)

What would be a dandy warm-up for my return to Pikes Peak to compensate for last year’s fiasco?

Another mountain race of course!

Actually, the idea had grown from some banter at the beginning of this year’s Waterloo Marathon. Rick Rayman had an- nounced that his very favorite marathon was Grandfather Mountain.

O.K. then!

Later research revealed that it also had a special place in the heart of the late running guru, Dr. George Sheehan and that, along with Big Sur and The Peak, it is rated among America’s toughest marathons.

Apparently it is touted as being on every serious marathoner’s lifetime “to do” list.

It has a limited field (400) so, by the time I got around to entering in late May, I was worried that I had left it too long.

But, the running gods were with me (?) as my application went smoothly into its 41st repetition (July 12, 2008).

Because Grandfather Mountain Marathon is headquartered in Boone, North Carolina, I booked a flight into Knoxville for- getting that as-the-crow-flies distances hardly translate well in the “can’t get there from here” geography of mountain coun- try. After 4-and-a-half hours of rental car travel, I finally stumbled on Boone. It’s a town that Daniel had spent some brief time in during his life and currently more noteworthy as the home of Appalachian State University whose football team dis- patched mammoth Michigan early last season.

The marathon began on the university track contained in the football stadium which is undergoing massive expansion be- cause of the team’s tremendous recent success. This was necessitating blasting chunks out of the mountain face behind it, blasting which was briefly suspended for the start of the race.

The course is track-to-track.

The second one is in Linville to the south. The profile map looks like a rising series of enormous saw teeth with a net gain close to 1000 feet from Boone’s 3333 feet above sea level to the base of Grandfather Mountain in Linville.

There seemed to be as much down-as-up initially as the 389 starters set off. In fact the first 2-and-a-half miles led to the course’s lowest point of 3160 feet. In spite of the daunting appearance of the map, most of the upgrades were only a few degrees but they had to be very long. Conversely, some of the downhills were so steep as to demand braking to prevent falls rather than to allow taking full advantage.

After the town, the course led along a country road for 10 miles before getting onto the Blue Ridge Parkway with its azalea walls for a fairly long way before diverging onto a gravel road for a couple of miles until it found asphalt once more.

The narrow roads wound relentlessly and there was NO TRAFFIC CONTROL after Boone so we were dodging more and more and more cars, pickups, campers and motorcycles as the morning wore on.

We were advised to proceed in single file (at the risk of a “ticket” from the rangers for violators on the Parkway) facing the traffic except for the instruction that we were supposed to switch to the opposite side of the road briefly for blind corners of which there were dozens. The course was more shaded than not but the flatter sections always seemed to be the ones in the open and the sun quickly cooked any zeal to accelerate there.

It was particularly warm this year: starting at 65 degrees, pushing 90 by the end with only faint wisps of wind.

Nevertheless, the course had some breath-taking look-offs over the Blue Mountain Range, several waterfalls and we crossed the Eastern Continental Divide (clearly marked) at 3997 feet (mile 18).

Continued on page 15 ......

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Continued from page 14 ......

There were no chips, just tear-off strips. PortaJohns were trees except at the beginning and end and water stops were rather sparse (every 3 miles) especially for such a hot day.

Linville hosts the world’s second-largest highland games the same weekend as the race. This was another point that had attracted me given my Scottish heritage and the promise of both bagpipes and 15,000 rabid “fans” to greet us at the finish. These bonuses were slightly tarnished by the consequent crescendo of vehicular traffic, including shuttle buses.

One of the truly dreadful aspects of the Grandfather Mountain Marathon had haunted me from my first serious contemplation of going. Although it has a “reasonable” 6-hour time-limit, you have to finish it in 5 to

get a medal and

be allowed to complete it on the track because the Scotts have to start their own proper games promptly at noon. This means that if you arrive late, not only do you not get a medal, you also get short-coursed by about 500 yards meaning that it’s not a complete marathon.

With my left leg still in rehab, and having run pathetically slow flat marathons all year, the prospect of putting all the effort into getting to Boone and competing for “nothing” had given me considerable daytime angst and more than one nightmare.

Nevertheless, rather than buckle down and enhance my chances for success, I decided to add another handicap. I showed up, race morning, in a coonskin hat complete with tail. Not real fur, you understand, a Disney Adventureland fake one but pretty warm-and-cozy all the same. Playing to my childhood fantasies and the misrepresentation by Fess Parker (Daniel Boone never wore coonskin caps, historically. Only Davie Crockett did.) and surprisingly most of the people of Boone who either didn’t know or didn’t care about historical accuracy.

I just had to put on a show.

Not that I was the weirdest looking contestant!

That honor fell to a local odd-ball who had worn different costumes every year. This year he was “COAT MAN” or so the bold lettering on the back of his tail-coat stipulated. He had luminescent orange ribbons 2-feet long dangling from every seam and joint. In his left hand he carried a platter with a champagne bottle on it. The whole way! Imagine my chagrin when COAT MAN passed me at about mile 22 and carried on out of sight.

By the time I finally reached Linville I felt like I had been out for days, not hours.

I had not worn a watch to avoid beating myself up if my pace was too slow. I was going as fast as I could!

I had learned that I could CHOOSE to walk a few hills (like a particularly steep one on the gravel around mile 17) BEFORE I HAD TO with reasonable recovery of both my pace and my dignity at the top. I had not gone out too fast (no kidding!) and had some good bits especially on a particularly endless downhill on the Parkway but I was hardly optimistic as I neared the end. After navigating a traffic jam at the gate, I was directed through a hole in the fences, down a rough embankment, through another fence along by the marathon tent (below the track).

Medal-wearing runners were there in abundance.

“I MUST BE TOO LATE”, I thought.

“Is this the finish then?” I asked.

“No, GO ON!” they yelled.

My heart leapt!

Up another embankment, thru another gap in the fence and a brief parting of a sea of Scotsmen (and women) and I was on the track.

Continued on page 28 ......

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Vote on the future of the Really Chilly Road Races

Although we continue to enjoy the Really Chilly Road Races in February of each year, registration has declined steeply for the past two years, and the race has run at a loss both of these years. A detailed report with supporting financial data was provided to the Pacer Executive following the 2008 race.

The following are the relevant financial particulars for the past 4 years of Chilly Races: Registrants: 2005: 254 (53 Pacers) 2006: 270 (44 Pacers) 2007: 180 (16 Pacers) 2008: 175 (11 Pacers)

As a result of the declining registration in 2007, the introduction of the hot chili meal, and food expenses for over 250 ex- pected registrants who did not all materialize, the 2007 race lost approximately $2,000. We were able to cover that loss be- cause we had started with a cushion of $2,955.00 from the previous year.

In 2008, despite the addition of mass promotional e-mailings, the creation of our own Chilly Race website, and new online registration, registration numbers continued to fall. At the same time corporate sponsors donated less so we had to pur- chase additional gift certificates to make up the prize shortfall. We managed to reduce expenses by reducing brochure print- ing and food purchasing costs, obtaining Chili Meal sponsors and avoiding the purchase of additional medals. Even with that cost cutting, we lost approximately $700.00 in 2008. We were able to cover that loss with our opening bank balance of $907.72.

Bottom-line, if the Really Chilly Races are to continue, the Really Chilly Executive felt strongly that the Pacers must commit to providing potentially non-refundable seed money of $1,000 to the Really Chilly Races.

Of course a financial commitment of this nature requires a supportive vote by the membership.

After consultation with the Pacer Executive, it was decided that we should address this issue at the meeting in September 2008. At that meeting, the Chilly Executive will provide the details of the last few years of Chilly races, and the Pacer Execu- tive will put a vote to the membership on:

Whether the race should be continued?

If so, whether it should be moved to another time of year?

If so, when?

Also, if the race is to be continued, there will be open positions on the new Really Chilly Executive and nominations will be taken.

Please come out and participate in the discussion and decision-making on this important topic.

Thank you, The 2008 Really Chilly Road Races Executive

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Cross Country

There are lots of opportunities to race cross country this fall. And lots of variety. There is a Can/Am challenge, two relays, team events, a team series and several championships. So dig out the spikes and give it a try. A cross country training group will begin in October to prepare for the Canadian X-C Championships.

September 21, 2008 | Ontario Masters vs USATF Niagara / Don Farquharson Challenge Mendon Ponds Park - Rochester, NY All runners scored towards a total team score. Web Site: http://www.peteglavin.com/

September 26, 2008 | Ontario Masters Team Cross Country Series Club Teams scored by place in five cross country races For the Jim Breslin Cup http://www3.sympatico.ca/douglasj.smith/Jim%20Breslin%20Cup.jpg Information: http://www3.sympatico.ca/douglasj.smith/The%20Jim%20Breslin%20Cup%202008.pdf

September 27, 2008 | Ontario Masters Twosome Cross Country Relay Two person relay Scanlon Creek - Newmarket First event in the OMTFA Team Cross Country Series Information: www.newmarkethuskiestrack.ca

October 5, 2008 | Ontario Masters Taylor Creek 5K Cross Country Stan Wadlow Park - Woodbine & Cosburn For more information contact Doug Smith at [email protected]

October 19, 2008 | Don Farquharson Harriers Relay Sunnybrook Park, Toronto 3-person X 4km relay Teams scored by age-graded percentage. Contact Brian Keaveney at [email protected]

November 2, 2008 | Ontario Masters Sunnybrook 8K Cross Country Sunnybrook Park - Two times around the Don Farquharson Loop For more information contact Doug Smith at [email protected]

November 16, 2008 | Ontario Cross Country Championships Sunnybrook Park - Separate Ontario Masters race - Membership Required Hosted by the Toronto Olympic Club For more information contact Doug Smith at [email protected]

November 29, 2008 | Canadian Cross Country Championships Guelph, ON - Ontario Masters Membership Required Separate Masters race - U of Guelph Web Site: www.canadianmastersathletics.com

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AMERICA’S ULTIMATE EXCUSE FOR PERFORMING REALLY, REALLY BADLY

Yogi Berra’s assessment that the game is 90% psychological, the other half is physical probably only applies to baseball.

It certainly doesn’t apply to the Pikes Peak Marathon.

With the (bad) experience of 2007 etched in my mind: heat and humiliation, I had determined to prepare so much better. I researched and found a pair of trail shoes that simply wouldn’t slip on gravel or on rock, I did a preparatory moun- tain marathon, I did a full week of hills in the heat on gravel the week before the week before the race and I got used to elec- trolyte capsules. To take care of the psychological aspect, I followed Dylan’s lyrical direction: “I grew my hair down to my feet so strange that I looked like a walking mountain range!” I WAS psyched and I WAS prepared. Nothing prepared me for Pikes Peak 2008! To think back, I had actually been gratified and relieved as the internet forecast high had dropped from 83 to 75 to 71 to 69 on consecutive days. Incredible …. cool weather! My travel plans were solid and eventuated right on schedule! The Peak, which normally dominates the western skyline, was missing in the clouds when we landed however. Heavy rains and flash floods were in the local forecast. I picked up my race packet, then went to my hotel with increasing trepidation. The Weather Channel wouldn’t stop predicting continued precipitation throughout the weekend … AND IT WAS SNOWING ABOVE 10,000 FEET. Saturday, my day to ramble the main street of Manitou Springs, is also the day that about 2000 runners do Pikes Peak Ascent (13.3 miles) in two waves 30 minutes apart. (They are bussed down from the top.) This year I suddenly noticed a bibbed runner, bedraggled and muddy, running the wrong way down Manitou Avenue toward City Hall. Then I saw another. Then, small groups. Then, a virtual stream. “What’s going on?” I finally found one stationary guy wearing a finisher’s medal standing on the corner opposite the Mountain Man outfitters store. I wanted not only to know what was happening but also to pick his brain about conditions on the top which was still totally obscured by clouds. “Bad!” He had been one of the “lucky” ones that had made it through ice and snow and lightning cracks. 40% of the first wave and 90% of the second wave had been turned back from the A-frame as all of the volunteers had been yanked off the mountain above the treeline. (In fact only 761 of 1927 entrants officially reached the summit!) To add insult to insult, those turned back were obliged to “jog” back down the trail to the Springs, making their total distance around 18 miles even though they never actually completed the 13.3 mile ascent. The website later informed that “those who were turned around by the weather cut off can request a shirt and a medal”. (A cynic might add: “after all what are the organizers going to do with 1200 date-stamped leftovers”!) Amongst the finishers, many ended up in over-flowing medical tents being resuscitated from hypothermia. Further- more, evacuation had been delayed by the need to deploy a snowplow to allow the buses to get to the summit. As much as I empathized for the ascenders who had traveled in from all 50 states for such a woeful experience, I dreaded the implications for the marathon the next day. The prospect of snow was going to make in difficult, the possibility of lightning might prevent it altogether. The weather forecasts mutated through the course of the day to “continued showers with risk of thunderstorms later in the day on Sunday”. It was a restless night. A glimpse out the window at 12 revealed pouring rain and Manitou Avenue half-filled with

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rushing water. Super! Nevertheless, dawn revealed the full majesty of the mountain, not in purple but cloaked in white. It was the only time all week- end that the peak was visible from the street. The pre-race announcements were saturated with pessimism: the bad news was “plenty of snow up there with icy sections on the trail”; the worse news, that a storm was imminent with sev- eral more inches of snow expected. It was 27 degrees (F) at the summit. A consensus it-is-what-it-is attitude, long since adopted by the runners, blocked any tendency to whine and complain. After an exceptionally beautiful acapella duet rendition of “America the Beautiful”, the race began with the report of starting pistol followed by what sounded like a small cannon. I had deliberately overdressed not because I can’t run in snow in a singlet and shorts but because I had gleaned from other runners that, because of the risk of hypothermia, “improperly equipped” participants would not be allowed to go beyond the treeline. The long-sleeved wind shirt quickly proved oppressive even though the base tem- perature was only around 50. The ascent to the treeline was largely uneventful albeit unduly stressful as there was a tacit understanding that we needed to “beat the weather”. At the A-frame, I overheard radio communications amongst the rangers that the storm was only 23 minutes away. I redoubled my efforts to get out of reach of any possible recall. These efforts were soon compromised by the fact that my shoes, which had proven themselves highly effective even on wet rocks, simply wouldn’t grab in the snow, the slush and the ice which became the new surface of the trail. (A few of the smarter runners had carried up wire slip- ons which they installed before going any further.) Beyond that, the altitude sickness was going beyond its usual headache, nausea and loss of balance sense to involve ataxia and I could barely coordinate my legs. As I reeled and slid my way along, most of the runners I had just recently passed below the treeline were anxiously pressing their ways past me. This, combined with the runners already careening their way down, slipping perceptibly with almost even stride, made things all-the-more treacherous.

The clouds rolled in and with them some gusty winds and a modicum of snow. My soaked wind shirt became a reverse liability as it was now chilling me to the bone. My fingertips were getting numb. Then, a series of thunderclaps began. Fear kindled ambivalence between the horror that they might pull the plug on the whole thing and a fervent desire that they would. A line of rangers and volunteers were doing the wave as we passed them at the cirque, indicative that the show would go on. O God! The ascent continued with up-runners and down-runners offering hands to one another in order to reduce fal- ling at the worst corners and over the larger rocks. The clouds cleared for a bit, allowing the sun to shine. It felt like I was in one of those fast-motion movie bits with the four seasons flashing by as I lumbered on. Remarks were aired about how this would be a day to remember. No kidding! By the time I reached the sixteen Golden Stairs (the final, twisting, virtually vertical stretch) I was down to a crawl; literally on my belly pulling myself up-and-over with my hands at times. Finally …. The summit! …. In under 5 hours! (Forget that my goal had been 4 in order to do my predictatime of 7:15 and make up for last year’s embarrassment.) All bets were clearly off. I just wanted to finish … and survive. As you can imagine, with no brakes, the descent proved more perilous than the climb. My acrophobia was eclipsed by a genuine fear of falling at every turn, every drop and along each exposed ledge. It was hard work: my legs were no longer just uncoordinated, the muscles were pouched – no cramps, just pro-

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found weakness. After passing the wave again, I found I was overheating. I stopped and stripped my wind shirt off tying it around my waist. At the next turn, a group of emer- gency responders confirmed that my foggy vision was not an illusion. The clouds had clamped back hard on the peak. I have no precise idea how long I was above the tree line but six-and-a-half hours had elapsed according to another runner just past the A-frame. “Lots of time left!” (to get under the 10 hour limit). I was sort of glad I wasn’t wearing a watch myself because I knew I was going as fast as I could and I didn’t need any added pressure. Mostly I was doing an ungainly forced walk with a few “running” strides where the path was smooth. I only had a single calf cramp but my legs would buckle if I had to step down more than 6 inches at a time. I speculated to myself that they might extend the limit to 11 or 12 hours due to the conditions. (Ultimately they did not.) Gradually the rubber was coming out of my legs but the miles-to-go signs were few and very, very far between. The 50% psy- chological department was getting more and more morbid: “Going downhill fast is a double entendre. And they’re both my problem”, I began to muse. “I am in the worse sense … and I’m unable to in the better sense.” Almost everyone who hadn’t yet passed me, did so. Even one of the 75 year olds wobbled by. A short while later he reappeared, being helped up by a much younger runner from a bloody fall. He started off again but, at Barr Camp, he stepped aside to sit down. Soon after that, my “speed” walking mutated into a continuous sort of senescent glide: like a constipated turtle version of my traditional marathon shuffle. I got a time check from a race official just before the 2-miles-to-go mark that 8:53 had elapsed. I struggled on. Fewer and fewer people were passing me now. “Who is back there anyway?” Miraculously, I even passed a few of the walking wounded myself. The perennial man was blasting “Chariots of Fire” from his series of speakers near the end of the trail. I thanked him although I thought to myself that “Chariots of Lead” might’ve been more appropriate. He heartily thanked me “for com- ing”. What a long day it must’ve been for him! Asphalt finally reappeared and I resumed a semblance of my normal shuffle all the way to the finish. 9:27! Wow! Matt Carpenter, as usual, doubled as race director and phenomenal winner by a large margin at 3:36:54. Another Coloradan, Keri Nelson headed the women’s field at 4:39:00. And, to prove the old adage: them’s that can, do; them’s that can’t fiddle with statistics, here it goes:

There were only 626 official finishers, the lowest total since 1993 (when there was probably volcanic action). The 10 year average (1998-2007) was 736.4 finishers. (The 0.4 was an under-aged Chinese Olympic gymnast.) There were only 3 Canadian finishers this year and I actually beat one of them! I also creamed both of the 75 year old finishers! There was a time when I measured my marathon successes as being within 30 minutes of the winner. That had changed to an hour and, in recent years, to being less than twice the winning time. This puppy was almost three times! But at least I finished reinforced with the knowledge that you never know quite what to expect at Pikes Peak but, whatever it is, it will prove itself to be a major physical challenge that you simply cannot psyche yourself through.

Jamie Harris

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Turkey Trot 2K and 6K Cross Country Races

Monday, October 13th , 2008 Main Picnic Pavilion, Springbank Park, London ON (Just west of Storybook Lane) RACE STARTING TIMES: The 2K race goes at 10:05 am and the 6K race at approximately 10:25 am

NEW FOR 2008: ONLINE REGISTRATION & RACE DAY KIT PICK UP

Provide your registration information online up until October 8th, 2008. Payment is not required at the time of regis- tration. Pay in person when you pick up your bib at the main Pavilion at Springbank Park (just west of the Story- book Gardens entrance) from 8:00 am to 9:45 am.

HIGHLIGHTS Awards 3 deep to age category winners

Prizes for the individual members of the 1st place co-ed elementary & secondary school teams

New school challenge!

Cash prize to the elementary and secondary school with the greatest overall percentage of student participation

Lots of draw prizes!

Certificate of participation for everyone who provides an email address

COURSE INFORMATION AND AMENITIES 2K and 6K single loops around Springbank Park. Well-marked course. Terrain varies with sections of wide, chip trail; rugged single-track sections; some grass and a few short paved sections. Parking available at start/finish area. Water station near the halfway point in the 6K race. Post-race refreshments for all runners. Please be ad- vised that washroom facilities are limited at this time of year.

AWARD CATEGORIES 2K: Male and female 9 and under, 10-11, 12-13, 14-15; Prizes for the individual members of the winning co-ed elementary school team. 6K: Male and female 15 and under, 16-17, 18-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50+; Male and female overall and masters (no duplication of awards); Prizes for the individual members of the winning co-ed secondary school team.

ENTRY FEES $2 for the 2K race and $6 for the 6K race Please note that parents who wish to run the 2K race with their children are encouraged to do so as registered par- ticipants.

Direct all inquiries to [email protected] telephone: 519.657.9936

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PACERS ACHIEVE: The September 2008 Race Report Summarizing results to August 23, 2008 Please send results to [email protected] in advance of newsletter deadline.

May 19, 2008 2008 Subaru Triathlon Series Victoria Duathlon, Waterloo 512 finishers FINAL 4K Run 25K Bike 4K Run Pos Time Pacer 21 1:14:33 Bill WHEELER 1/36 14:29 43:08 15:54 85 1:22:05 Sheri FRASER 1/7 16:58 45:32 17:31 104 1:23:21 Robert MCNEILL 14/70 18:02 43:17 19:10

May 25, 2008 The Dairy Capital 5K Run, Woodstock, ON 235 finishers; 103M/132F Overall place Official Time Pacer Gender place Division place 3 17:49 Bill WHEELER 3 1/13 146 33:18 Beverly GRIBBONS 67 10/26

May 25, 2008 The Dairy Capital 10K Run, Woodstock, ON 157 finishers; 85M/72F Overall place Official Time Pacer Gender place Division place 28 47:30 Donna KRAFT 6 1/21 150 1:12:54 Doug KINGSTON 83 18/18

June 1, 2008 2008 Art Keay Memorial Racewalks Senior Women’s 10K Walk Championship, Hanlan’s Point, Toronto Island, Toronto ON 10 participants Overall place Time Pacer 10 1:12.05 Dianne VAN LEEUWEN

June 1, 2008 2008 Art Keay Memorial Racewalks NCCWMA Women’s Championship 5K Walk, Hanlan’s Point, Toronto Island, Toronto ON 21 participants Overall place Time Pacer Note 15 34:32 Dianne VAN LEEUWEN Bronze! 20 38:16 June-Marie PROVOST

June 5, 2008 2008 Vancouver BG Triathlon World Championships, English Bay, Vancouver BC 29 in AG FINAL 750m Swim 21K Bike 5K Run Pos Time Pacer Time Time Time 2 1:23:29 Bill WHEELER 22:37 37:38 18:22

June 8, 2008 Dave Clarke Memorial 10K Run, Dorchester 87 finishers; 54M/33F Overall place Time Pacer Gender place Division Place 39 52:16 Donna KRAFT 51 2/9

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June 18, 2008 Hog Jog 10K, Stratford ON 135 finishers; 68M/67F Overall place Time Pacer Gender place Division place 61 54:36 Robert FRASER 42 8/13 131 1:15:42 Doug KINGSTON 67 13/13 132 1:15:43 Donna KRAFT 65 17/17

June 21-22, 2008 2008 Subaru Triathlon Series Guelph Lake Sprint Triathlon, Guelph ON 506 participants FINAL 750m Swim 19K Bike 5K Run Pos Time Pacer Plc/ Total Cat Cat Time /100m Cat Time km/hr Cat Time /km 7 1:06:08 Bill WHEELER 1/28 5 14:36 1:57 1 30:42 37.1 1 19:15 3:51

June 22, 2008 Run for Sudan 1K, London ON 21 finishers; 5M/16F Overall place Time Pacer Gender place 2 06:57 Melissa EVANS 1 3 06:57 Natalie EVANS 2

June 22, 2008 Run for Sudan 5K, London ON 41 finishers; 10M/31F Overall place Time Pacer Gender place 17 30:18 Jeanette EVANS 11 18 30:19 Mike EVANS 7

June 22, 2008 Run for Sudan 10K, London ON 51 finishers; 18M/33F Overall place Time Pacer Gender place 13 52:15 Martha WILSON 3

June 29, 2008 Go the Distance 8K Run, London 263 finishers; 135M/128F Overall place Time Pacer Gender place Division place 8 28:33 Jim BURROWS 8 1/24 9 28:40 Tim WOOD 9 1/15 12 29:10 Christian GUNDLACK 12 1/10 46 33:08 Mark FAUST 38 7/24 64 35:02 David HOUSE 54 11/24 80 36:05 Raymond WILKINSON 66 3/7 86 36:23 Nick D’ASCANIO 71 1/3 113 39:13 Denny RADLEIN 87 8/12 116 39:27 Donna KRAFT 28 4/17 122 39:44 Roberta REARDON 30 1/8 123 39:48 Bruce ANDERSON 93 12/15 125 39:51 Debbie OBOKATA 31 1/3 136 40:33 Bill SPACKMAN 101 9/12 139 40:52 Gord MELVILLE 103 11/12 148 41:31 Jan SHILLINGTON 42 3/8

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150 41:35 Tammy WHITEHEAD 43 11/24 163 42:22 Sanjay MEHTA 110 21/24 165 42:28 Rita MELVILLE 55 2/3 177 45:12 Arnie SPIVEY 111 14/15 209 48:48 Carolyn PENNY 87 6/8 221 50:20 Dianne VANLEEUWEN 96 1/1 230 52:41 Manuel TEODORO 128 3/4 231 52:42 Sara MORRISON 103 14/17 252 56:43 Beverly GRIBBONS 120 16/17 253 57:28 Steven BEASLEY 133 15/15

July 1, 2008 Embro Road Race 10K 120 finishers; 68M/52F Overall place Time Pacer Gender place 119 1:10:01 Beverly GRIBBONS 51

July 1, 2008 HBC Run for Canada 10K, Windsor, ON 275 finishers; 143M/132F Overall place Official Time Pacer Gender place Division place 20 41:19 Mark FAUST 16 5/35

July 9, 2008 Runners' Choice London Distance Series Meet #5 Women Open 4x800 Meter Relay TD Waterhouse Sta- dium, London, ON Overall place Time Team Note 1 10:09.39 SAUGEEN TRACK & FIELD CL 'A' 2 10:50.56 LONDON RUNNER DISTANCE CL 'A' 3 11:01.41 SAUGEEN TRACK & FIELD CL 'B' 4 12:10.48 London Pacers and Friends ‘A’ Gerda ZONRUITER, Teresa Novick, Donna KRAFT, Mary Nash Canadian age group record! 5 13:28.82 London Pacers and Friends ‘C’ Debbie OBOKATA, Julia McDonald, Maeve ARMSTRONG-HARRIS, Rita MELVILLE Canadian age group record! 6 14:52.62 London Pacers and Friends ‘B’ Mary Anne MCCOY, Paula MUXLOW, Gwynne HAYMAN, Wendy FRA- SER Canadian age group record!

July 9, 2008 Runners' Choice London Distance Series Meet #5 Men Open 4x800 Meter Relay TD Waterhouse Stadium, London, ON Overall place Time Team Note 1 8:16.43 DURHAM DRAGONS ATHLETICS 'A' 2 8:31.35 MISSISSAUGA T.F.C. 'A' 3 8:50.84 SAUGEEN TRACK & FIELD CL 'A' 4 8:56.99 LONDON RUNNER DISTANCE CL 'A' Canadian age group record! 5 9:06.52 London Pacers and Friends 'A' John Loney, Andrew JONES, Christian GUNDLACK, Harold Walker Canadian age group record! 6 9:39.39 London Pacers and Friends 'B' Bill WHEELER, Steve BEASLEY, Fred CHAPMAN, James Madden Canadian age group record!

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July 12-13, 2008 Musselman Triathlon Half-Iron, Geneva, NY 559 participants; 379M/180F FINAL Pos Time Pacer 1.2 Mile Swim 56 Mile Bike 13.1 Mile Run 33 4:59:18 Graham MCGEE 43:54 2:28:35 1:43:10

July 13, 2008 The 31st Annual Utica Boilermaker 15K Road Race, Utica, NY 9773 finishers; 5725M/4048F Overall place Official Time Chip time Pacer Gender place Division place 901 1:08:24 1:07:30 Mark FAUST 790 77/684

July 18, 2008 Summer Night 5K Run, London, ON 432 finishers; 205M/227F Overall place Gun Time Pacer Gender place Division place 9 17:31 Christian GUNDLACK 9 2/20 10 17:33 Tim WOOD 10 1/19 13 17:43 Jim BURROWS 12 1/27 47 19:42 Fred CHAPMAN 37 2/14 66 20:23 Mark FAUST 55 10/27 94 21:58 Nick D'ASCANIO 79 1/5 117 22:43 Raymond WILKINSON 94 2/9 127 23:02 Dave HOUSE 100 16/27 132 23:08 Gino CIMINO 102 9/20 134 23:19 Denny RADLIEN 104 8/14 160 23:59 Roberta REARDON 42 1/16 164 24:13 Debbie OBOKATA 45 2/5 166 24:18 Bruce ANDERSON 121 15/19 180 24:42 Bill SPACKMAN 130 11/14 181 24:43 Tammy WHITEHEAD 51 11/32 187 24:49 Cheryl SCOLLARD 54 12/32 192 25:00 Gord MELVILLE 135 1/14 244 27:13 Donna KRAFT 83 12/25 318 30:01 Beverly GRIBBONS 134 20/25 349 31:32 Rita MELVILLE 160 5/5 351 31:37 Steven BEASLEY 191 19/23 359 31:53 Dianne VAN LEEUWEN 167 1/1 382 33:07 Sara MORRISON 183 24/25 398 33:50 Manuel TEODORO 201 4/5

July 20, 2008 Ford Ironman USA Lake Placid, Lake Placid, NY 2193 participants FINAL Pos Time Pacer 2.4mi Swim 112mi Bike 26.2mi Run 78 10:10:28 Brian PEAKER 1:09:26 5:15:27 3:37:11 8:18

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July 23, 2008 Runners' Choice London Distance Series Meet #6 Women Open 4x400 Meter Relay TD Waterhouse Stadium, London, ON Overall place Time Team Note 1 4:19.34 LAUREL CREEK TRACK & FIEL 'A' 2 4:26.32 LONDON WESTERN T.F.C. 'A' 3 4:39.69 LONDON RUNNER DISTANCE CL 'A' 4 5:46.95 London Pacers 'A' Maeve ARMSTRONG-HARRIS, Julia McDonald, Rita MELVILLE, Debbie OBO- KATA Canadian age group record! July 27, 2008 Weinacker Cup 5000m Racewalk, Port Huron, MI Overall place Time Pacer 3 30:30 Sherry WATTS 7 39:05 June-Marie PROVOST Aug 15, 2008 Reach the Beach 5K, Port Stanley 149 finishers; 58M/91F Overall place Time Pacer Gender place Division place 11 20:12.3 Mark FAUST 11 5/18 24 22:45.0 Raymond WILKINSON 22 1/4 31 23:31.5 Robert PANTER 25 5/9 32 23:36.8 Calvin NEELY 26 6/9 38 24:48.5 Richard HAMM 31 3/4 46 25:38.6 Phill RIKLEY 37 7/9 91 31:25.0 Susan NEELY 40 1/2 130 40:01.3 Louis GOSSO 56 4/4 Aug 16, 2008 A Mid Summer Night’s Run 15K Run, Toronto 622 finishers; 198M/419F Overall place Official / Chip Time Pacer Gender place Division place 5 55:15 55:15 Jim BURROWS 5 1/56 7 55:42 55:42 Rod HENNING 7 3/56 239 1:30:55 1:30:35 Nancy JOHNSTON 111 8/65 240 1:30:56 1:30:35 Donna KRAFT 112 25/108 462 1:45:17 1:43:53 Susan CLIFFORD 290 36/65 463 1:45:17 1:43:53 Jacquie MCWATT 291 69/108 Aug 16, 2008 A Mid Summer Night’s Run 15K Walk, Toronto 232 finishers; 43M/189F Overall place Official / Chip Time Pacer Gender place Division place 18 1:52:21 1:51:02 Betty TIMMONS 12 2/69 Aug 17, 2008 USA 15K Racewalking Championships, Midtown Greenway Trail, Minneapolis, MN 26 finish- ers; 11M/15F Overall place Time Pacer Gender place Division place Note 17 1:35:40 Sherry WATTS 10 2/4 Canadian age group record! Aug 17, 2008 2008 Pikes Peak Marathon, Pike National Forest, CO 626 finishers; 486M/140F Overall/ Gender place Division place Pacer Ascent Descent Total 589 463 22/23 Jamie HARRIS 4:53:47 4:33:16 9:27:03 Aug 23, 2008 2008 Portland to Coast Walk Relay, Portland, OR 127 miles 400 teams; 145 open women’s teams Overall place Time Pacer Division place 9 23:55:06 Road Rivals, with Pacers Linda PIMENTEL-KNOTT and Sherry WATTS 3

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Continued from page 15 ......

I was totally exhausted but I brandished my arms as the announcer proclaimed the arrival of, you guessed it, Daniel Boone.

I was going to stop and correct him but chose to carry on to the swirl of the bagpipes, past throngs of largely disinterested Scots, past lassies doing highland flings on makeshift stages on the infield. Around I went till I could finally see the clock.

Not even close!

I snuck in just under 4:40.

Rick, whom I was expecting to pass, had finished in 4:37 (about 20 minutes faster than his most recent previous effort here!) He was in fine spirits down by the tent eagerly conspiring to fit in sufficient numbers of other races so he can run his 200th marathon in Toronto (the second one) this fall. He took an early shuttle back to Boone, probably so he could fit a training run in before dark.

After I regained much of my salt and water balance (The aid stations had been few and, even then, I had wasted a lot of water cooling my coon; plus I had donated my penultimate gel to a youngster who was bonking rather badly at this, his FIRST, marathon.), I “strode” back up to the track area and paraded along the wide avenue between the double row of clan booths that encircled the entire field.

It was grand: a zillion self-absorbed Scottish expatriates in their tartan finery and me wearing salt-stained bicycle pants, an ancient Voyageur singlet, a fuel belt, yellow-and-orange mottled Prestos and, of course, my coonskin cap.

Raccoon

For the record, the race was won by 27 year old Garick Hill of Winston Salem in 2:41:38 and 30 year old Elizabeth Patrick of Banner Elk in 3:14:19. 351 runners finished the race of which 72 neither got medals nor actually completed the course due to the 5-hour cut-off.

Jamie Harris

P.S. If you’re ever gonna wash a coonskin cap, for heaven’s sake, don’t put it in the drier. It gets all sort of matted and shrinks about 3 sizes!

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