Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Love4Gambia - OptiMYz Magazine

Love4Gambia

Two feet, one heartbeat = Change.

By Erin Poirier


On my third day in The Gambia I looked down at my key chain thermometer, yanked it from the hook on my gym bag, and threw it in the trash.

It read a blazing 38 degrees and I was realizing the hard way that temperature is irrelevant on the shores of West Africa – there was only hot or hotter.

“Hot” means you’re squirming in a small pool of wetness under your clothes and your coffee-colored hair feels hot to the touch. “Hotter” means your bra and underwear are saturated in sweat and your hair just won’t seem to dry after your shower.

I was there during a scorching summer in 2007 when I worked as a nurse with the NSGA’s Gender Equity and Youth Leadership through Health and Human Rights Education project. Big project name, big ambition: to keep kids alive through HIV and malaria education.

This July, I’ll once again brave the heat of The Gambia to lace up my sneakers in an attempt to run all the way across the country in support of the same cause. Over my 430km route, I’ll be raising money for the Nova Scotia-Gambia Association (NSGA).

In 2007, I went through a life-changing experience when I taught youth to be peer health educators. These kids returned to their schools to share HIV prevention messages with youth in their communities.

In a country that does not offer sexual health in school, the role these kids play in preventing HIV is vital. It’s not something we often think about in a country where health care is readily available and going to school is a right, not a privilege.

But when I returned to Halifax, I couldn’t get The Gambia out of my mind. I thought about how my teenage students, some as old as 19 years, would sit three to a two-person desk, often with their arms around each other in affection. I thought about how they valued education in a way that you can only understand if 50 per cent of your peers can’t afford school fees.

I thought about the answer I got when I once asked my class: “How do you help somebody with HIV stay healthy?”

“They need love and caring and understanding,” they said, “They need hope for the future, and a positive attitude.”

I joined the NSGA board of directors and this year, after 25 years of operation, NSGA began to run into financial problems.

We had endured two years of financial loss and were looking at a third. Like many other charities, our donor base was down and some board members felt that we may have reached the end of the organization.

I thought about my Gambian youth and couldn’t reconcile their thoughts. I wanted to do something.

Then I thought about running. I’ve had lots of success racing. The Gambia is a small country. It would be possible to run all the way across The Gambia.

So this is what I’m doing. I’ve called my campaign Love4Gambia. I’ll begin my mission on July 4, and over 17 days, I will run 430km (that’s a half marathon each day) from Basse, near the Senegalese border, to Banjul on the Atlantic coast.

Four support people will join me. My friend and fellow NSGA volunteer nurse, Ashley Sharpe, will be my medical support. My massage therapist, Katherine Tidman from Total Kneads, has volunteered to come. Two members of our NSGA staff in The Gambia will also accompany us.

Sure it’s going to be tough. The heat will present my biggest challenge because I know that no matter what length of time I spend in Africa, I’ll never acclimate to it.

So I am trying to prepare my body for the heat by going to hot yoga practice. Sometimes in the studio, I feel like I’ve become one with the melting air. Other times, I think: “Gentle Lord! It’s 37 degrees in here!” I look like I just got out of a swimming pool and this is average temperature I’ll be running in.

On these days, the preparation isn’t so productive.

Right now, my marathon training with coach Cliff Matthews is geared toward my third Boston Marathon. I’m running 85 km-plus per week, fitness that will carry well onto my plane to Africa.

Running is the easy part. Cliff dictates my training plan and I do exactly what he says. It’s hard work, but it’s something I love.

The really brutal part is doing the extra things I need to do to stay healthy in this long training cycle. I’m piling food into my body like I’ll never eat again. I’m forcing myself to strength training.

I have chiropractor Dr. Jason Gray working with me for free — his contribution to Love4Gambia. Weekly treatment keeps me healthy and he sets my strength-training program. I’m lucky for this.

The sidewalks have been in poor condition during this wicked winter we’ve endured on the East Coast. The wind freezes my cheeks and sometimes my contact lenses, blurring my vision.

The “nicest” place to run outdoors in the entire city has become the MacDonald Bridge sidewalk deck where plowing and salting are thorough. The Halifax Ocean Terminal at Marginal Road, with its bright lighting and quality snow removal service for transport trucks and trains, has also been kind to winter runners.

An average training week for me is 6 days and looks like this:

  • Monday – easy 6-8km + hot yoga
  • Tuesday – track workout with Cliff- often short and fast intervals, such as 10 x 800m, total 14-17km with warm-up and cool-down
  • Wednesday – recovery 12km + strength training
  • Thursday – track workout with Cliff- often long intervals close to marathon pace, such as 3 x 15 minutes, total 14-17km
  • Friday – recovery or easy 12 km
  • Saturday – long run 2-2.5 hours including quality speed segment every 2nd week.
  • Sunday – rest + strength training

So yes, it’s going to be tough. I knew that when I said I’d do this. But it’s worth it.

While volunteering in The Gambia, I saw how the NSGA’s programs directly impacted the youth. When the NSGA ran into trouble, I knew I needed to do something to help these programs continue. And that’s what I’m going to do.

To support my Love4Gambia campaign and to follow my progress as I prepare for and run across The Gambia in July, visit me at www.love4gambia.com

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Runners in the running for a Sport PEI award





A number of athletes, coaches & administrators will be recognized on April 6 at the Sport PEI annual awards banquet, to be held at the Rodd Royalty in Charlottetown.

Tickets for the banquet priced $30, are available from Sport PEI, by calling 368-4547.
Emcees for the evening will be JoAnne Holden, and Matt Rainnie, host of CBC’s Island Morning show.

Among this year's nominees are a few Island runners...

In the Paperflow Intercollegiate Female Athlete of the Year category, Susan Sobey, Track & Field athlete from Dalhousie University is a finalist.


Susan Sobey
Searletown’s Susan Sobey of Dalhousie reached her fifth straight CIS championship in 2010, concluding a varsity career which has seen the track athlete win countless AUS medals and awards.
The team captain, Susan led the Tigers to its 21st conference track title by winning four medals – gold in the 60m sprint and 4x200m relay, and silver in the 4x400m and long jump. For her efforts she was named an AUS all-star.
At the CIS championships in Windsor, Susan showed she was one of the fastest in the country, finishing in 5th place, equalling her best-ever finish while setting a new provincial indoor record of 7.61 seconds, lowering her own mark of 7.65 seconds set in 2007.
A graduate of the kinesiology program, Susan also earned her third Academic all-Canadian selection.
In the Masters Category, both Scott Clark and Paul Dalton are finalists, both being recognized for their distance running and triathlon events.


Scott Clark
Linkletter’s Scott Clark pushed himself hard in 2010, achieving outstanding results in some of North America’s toughest races.
In October, 47-year old Scott cut through the wind and rain to claim his second BMO Nesbitt Burns Island Marathon title in 2:44:42, rounding off a successful season which saw him win the OCALA marathon in Florida, finish 3rd in the Bluenose International in Nova Scotia, and finish 10th in his masters category in the prestigious Boston marathon, crossing the line 287th overall and leading the Island runners.
In addition to his impressive running, Scott turned to triathlon for an additional challenge, and his choice was the tough Ironman event in the Gulf of Mexico.
Scott finished the race – which consisted of 3.8km open swim, 180km bike ride and 42.2km run, with no break – in a time of 10 hours, 36 minutes and 4 seconds, where he was 274th overall in a field of 2700 from 48 countries.


Paul Dalton
St. Edward’s Paul Dalton loves the endurance events, and there is no greater sporting test on the planet than the Ultraman, a three-day, 320 mile challenge which consists of a 6.2 mile swim, 261.4 mile bike ride, and a 52.4 mile ultra-marathon run.
52-year old Paul competed in two of these events in 2010. At the Canadian event in BC in July, which is by invitation only, he recorded a time 33 hours, 17 minutes and 15 seconds, for 29th in the 39 person field.
Three weeks later Paul competed in the Canadian Ironman Triathlon, approximately half an Ultraman, which he finished in 12 hours 54 minutes, before embarking on his greatest challenge, the World Ultraman in Hawaii.
Again he finished the test in just over 33 hours, in the process becoming one of only 495 athletes to complete the race in its 26-year history, and one of only a handful to do the Canadian, and world Ultraman, in the same year.
As an aside, Paul also ran the Boston Marathon in a time good enough to qualify for the 2011 race, showing that he really is the King of Endurance.
In the Male Varsity Athlete Category, Anthony Bernard, a runner and jumper.

Anthony Bernard
The co-captain of the Dalhousie track and field team, Alberton’s Bernard has had a stellar varsity career, one which concluded in 2010 with a five medal haul at the AUS championships.
An outstanding jumper, Anthony set a new Atlantic indoor record at the championships with a leap of 7.07m in the long jump, giving him his 4th consecutive conference title, and he also won gold in the triple jump, 4x200m and 4x400m relays, and was second in the 300m.
Anthony’s performance gave the Tigers the AUS title and himself conference all-star honours, and he enjoyed a fine competition at the CIS championships in Windsor, Ontario, finishing the long-jump in 5th place.
Graduating from kinesiology and currently enrolled in the masters of science physiotherapy program, Anthony was also honoured with his fourth Academic all-Canadian award.


In the Senior Male Athlete category, Jared Connaughton is recognized for his 100m & 200m placings on the International stage.


Jared Connaughton
New Haven’s Jared Connaughton continues to run fast, and he enjoyed another fine season in 2010, one which saw him win another national title and reach the 200m final at the Commonwealth Games.
The first half of Jared’s year saw him compete at some prestigious international meets, highlights being a 2nd place at the Osaka Grand Prix, and two wins, and five top-five finishes, in the European Diamond League.
At the nationals in Toronto, Jared re-claimed his 200m title and finished 2nd in the 100m, confirming his selection for the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
In India, Jared again had a fine championship, even though there was disappointment in his 4th place in the 200m final, not helped by a poor lane placing despite running fast heat and semi-final times.
All told it was still a fine year for Connaughton, who ran Canada’s fastest 200m in 2010 in 20.60s, and is setting himself up nicely for a huge year as the London Olympics approach.

2011-04-05

Awards banquet set this Wednesday, April 6th

The province’s outstanding performers will be recognized this Wednesday evening as Sport PEI hosts its annual awards banquet, honouring those athletes, coaches, officials and administrators who enjoyed success in 2010.

In addition to the 11 awards categories that have been highlighted in the local media over the past month, Sport PEI will also be presenting the Premier’s Award for Sports Organization of the Year, the President’s Award for Long-time Contribution to Island Sport, the Lieutenent Governor’s Award for Island Athlete of the Year, and for only the 10th time in 37 years, the Bill Halpenny Award for Outstanding International Performance will be presented.
The banquet will begin at 6:45pm at the Rodd Royalty in Charlottetown, and tickets for the evening have now sold out. Emcees for the event are Jo-anne Holden and Matt Rainnie.
The full list of finalists is as follows:
ADL Administrator of the Year – Nancy Connolly (Tennis), Shirley Lank (Curling), Mary Ellen McInnis (Figure Skating)
SCORE Team of the Year – Churchill Arm’s Men’s Soccer, Kathy O’Rourke Curling Rink, Robert Campbell Curling Rink
Masters Award – Scott Clark (Distance Running/Triathlon), Paul Dalton (Triathlon/Ultraman), Tom Nicholls (Powerlifting)
Coach of the Year – John Diamond (Soccer), Al Ledgerwood (Curling), Mike Redmond (Soccer)
Paperflow Intercollegiate Male Athlete – Anthony Bernard (Athletics), Kurt McCormack (Athletics), Colby Pridham (Hockey)
Paperflow Intercollegiate Female Athlete – Sarah MacAulay (Field Hockey), Tessa Roche (Soccer), Susan Sobey (Athletics)
PEI Mutual Official of the Year – Gardiner MacNeill (Swimming), Roy Main (Tennis), Cliff Poirier (Curling)
Junior Male Athlete of the Year – Kevin Cudmore (Powerlifting), Matthieu D’Amour (Gymnastics), Brandon Gormley (Hockey)
Rodd Hotels and Resorts Junior Female Athlete of the Year – Paige Crowell (Swimming), Ryan Drum (Kickboxing), Lorena Ellis (Judo/Wrestling)
Senior Female Athlete of the Year – Katie Begley Baker (Field Hockey), Erin Carmody (Curling), Heather Moyse (Bobsleigh/Rugby)
Bell Aliant Senior Male Athlete of the Year – Mark Arendz (Paranordic Skiing), Scott Chandler (Gymnastics), Jared Connaughton (Athletics)

Congratulations to these and all the finalists!

Friday, March 25, 2011

2011 PEI Marathon - Registration for all events is now open


Registration for all events is now open!
All participants registered by May 31st, 2011 will be automatically entered to win our early bird prize which includes: Hotel Accommodations for 2 nights and a Confederation Bridge Pass.

Take advantage of early bird registration rates by registering by July 14th, 2011.

To register now click here.

~ Your Race...Your Pace! ~

Monday, March 21, 2011

Erin Poirier Tells BT about her upcoming Love4Gambia Run


A Note from Allan - 3rd Annual Wear Red Road Races


(Click on the Poster to Enlarge & Read)

3RD ANNUAL WEAR RED ROAD RACES

www.WR3.callard.ca

The 2011 Wear Red Road Races are on Sat 2 Apr at the Queen Charlotte Armoury, Charlottetown, PEI. WR3 features half-marathon, 10K, and 5K distances, all with Atlantic Chip timing, plus a 200m kids’ fun run. Following the races, there will be a (free) pasta dinner or BBQ hot dogs for all runners, volunteers, and families. Runners: online registration closes at 6PM on Thu 31 Mar. We have T-shirts (red, of course) with WR3 logo – request your size when you register online. Chip timing and T-shirts are sponsored by Mark’s Work Wearhouse.

The half-marathon follows a scenic route along the south shore from Pownal into Charlottetown. Trius Tours transports runners out to the start line at the Pownal Sports Centre (washrooms available), and we’ll take kit bags back to the finish line in Charlottetown. There are lots of water/Gatorade stations (gel at the 13K &15K points).

The Queen Charlotte Armoury is home to the Prince Edward Island Regiment, a unit that has sent 22 of its members to Afghanistan (two are serving there right now). There is a fantastic Military Museum onsite that will be open for viewing during race kit pickup on April 1st, and on April 2nd until the close of festivities.

WR3 has the following three objectives:

  • to demonstrate support for our servicemen, servicewomen, and their families (all participants – runners, volunteers, spectators – are asked to wear RED: “Remember Everyone Deployed”);
  • to raise discretionary funding for the PEI Military Family Services Centre (motto: “Serving those who serve”); and
  • to help promote physical fitness in PEI.

WR3 is for the whole family. Participate by running, volunteering, and entering your child in the “everybody wins” kids’ fun run. Kids of all ages will be intrigued by the Military Museum.

Complete information and an online registration link are available on our WR3 website at www.WR3.callard.ca. Got questions? Got suggestions? eMail me!

Allan Callard – Allan@callard.ca

Race Director 2011 WR3

www.WR3.callard.ca


Thursday, March 17, 2011

Running all the way - The Guardian's St. Patrick's Day Run coverage



A Running Desire - Erin Poirier's Love4Gambia Run

Nova Scotia nurse Erin Poirier, who is the daughter of Edwin and Theresa Callaghan of Charlottetown, is in full training mode
for her 17-day run across Gambia in Africa to raise funds for the Nova Scotia Gambia Association.



For many people, running the Boston Marathon would be a major life accomplishment.

But for accomplished runner Erin Poirier, this year’s upcoming marathon and the Blue Nose Marathon in Nova Scotia are just part of the training schedule for her really big run that starts on July 4. That’s when this Charlottetown native, who is a nurse in Nova Scotia, will take her first stride on a 17-day run that will span the whole of the West African country of Gambia.

“I’m running towards the ocean,” Poirier says of her 430-kilometre Love4Gambia fundraising campaign for the Nova Scotia Gambia Association (NSGA), which has been providing education and health promotion initiatives to help youth and communities in Gambia for more than 25 years.

Poirier, who is the daughter of Edwin and Theresa Callaghan of Charlottetown, started running when she was a student at Colonel Gray Senior High.

“I played basketball for my three years at Colonel Gray and our coach was really serious about us starting the season in shape, so we always ran during the off season to maintain our fitness. Looking back I excelled at running more than I did at basketball. . . ,” she laughs.

Poirier continued to run through her nursing school years at UPEI and in Boston, Mass., where she first worked.

“I watched the Boston Marathon a couple of times and I thought ‘those people are crazy. I don’t know why they’re doing this,’” she laughs.

But the joke was on her when she moved back to Halifax, discovered the Blue Nose Marathon and was immediately hooked on long distance running.

“I absolutely loved it and here I am six years later, still running,” she says.

When Poirier was still a first-year nursing student, she volunteered in Zimbabwe with the World University Service of Canada.

In 2007, she discovered the Nova Scotia Gambia Association (NSGA) and volunteered to work as a nurse on a NSGA project in Gambia for six weeks.

“I love the work they do in the field. They’ve been working in the Gambia for (to this date) 26 years and I think they’ve done a lot of things right in terms of development in a developing nation . . . ,” says Poirier, who is now an NSGA board member.

This dedicated runner came up with the Love4Gambia fundraising campaign as a way to support the association and its longstanding work in Gambia.

Starting on July 4, she and a support team of two from Canada — her massage therapist and a friend who is an emergency room nurse — as well as two NSGA staff in Gambia will make their way from Basse on the eastern border of the Gambia and west to Banjul, which is a distance of 430 kilometres.

“(Gambia is) the smallest country in the continent of Africa. It’s about 100 kilometres longer than P.E.I. but whenever I’m talking about it to people I always say it’s quite similar to P.E.I. It’s long and skinny,” Poirier says.

In addition to running the Boston Marathon on April 18, she is part of a Love4Gambia fundraising team in the Blue Nose Marathon in Nova Scotia on May 22.

She trains six days a week and runs about 90 kilometres, the majority of it outside in the Maritime weather elements. This doesn’t do much to prepare her for the heat, super high humidity, disease carrying bugs and large wild animals to come.

“(Here) there are cars that hate runners, but no wild animals,” she says with a wry laugh.

It helps that Poirier has some experience running in Gambia from her time there in 2007.

“I didn’t run 25 kilometres a day. I ran more like half an hour a day,” she says.

“Where a white girl from Canada runs, other people usually follow, so I imagine I’ll have some kids running along with me and I’ve already heard from some Gambian runners about them being interested in running portions of it with me. So I will be relying in some parts on the support of others.”

Government representatives in Gambia are preparing for her arrival by spreading the word about her Love4Gambia campaign. They have also arranged for media coverage and a kick-off concert in Basse when she starts her run.

Poirier has already solidly set her sights on the end of the running line.

“I think that after 17 hot days that the sight of the Atlantic Ocean is going to be pretty amazing at the other end of it,” she says.

“And, yes, I plan on jumping in.”

Are you running the Bluenose Marathon in Halifax this year?

If so, click on the poster below and consider joining the Love4Gambia Charity Team

It was a pleasure to meet Erin at the Freeze Your Gizzard in Montague last month. Erin's shoes caught many eyes.


Erin, we wish you all the very best on your Gambian Run.
We hope you can conjure up some memories of freezing your gizzard to help cool you down when you're out there under the 37 degree Zambian sun. Have a happy, healthy & safe adventure.

We'll be following Erin and you can too....


Please consider donating to Erin's Love4Gambia Run
and support the Nova Scotia-Gambia Association's excellent work
through CanadaHelps HERE

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

Runners in the spotlight

(click on article to enlarge & read)

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Running Season


Coffee cans hanging off the trees in our backyard woods can only mean one thing...


Spring is coming and Alex isn't the only one around here running these days....

The sap is running too!

Is anything more wonderful than maple syrup?!

Alex at Work - Grinding Oats

Here's Alex with one of his newest machines at work, the industrial grinder. The Great Canadian Soap Company uses oatmeal in a number of its soaps as it provides the right combination of exfoliation, cleansing, moisturizing, soothing and protection for the skin (Corey can tell you all about it here in this video). Alex is the guy who grinds up all the oats.



Pizio-Perry, Baglole top runners in road race ch'ship series

Pizio-Perry, Baglole top runners

in road race ch'ship series


ADL/Sport P.E.I. achievement winners received their awards at the  P.E.I. RoadRunners Club annual general meeting and awards dinner in  Charlottetown recently. From left: Jennifer Pizio-Perry of Tignish, top  senior female runner; Thomas Lewis of Marshfield, junior male winner;  Barrie MacWilliams, representing ADL, and Steven Baglole of Cornwall),  top senior male runner.
Submitted photo

ADL/Sport P.E.I. achievement winners received their awards at the P.E.I. RoadRunners Club annual general meeting and awards dinner in Charlottetown recently. From left: Jennifer Pizio-Perry of Tignish, top senior female runner; Thomas Lewis of Marshfield, junior male winner; Barrie MacWilliams, representing ADL, and Steven Baglole of Cornwall), top senior male runner.

Published on March 15, 2011
Staff ~ The Journal Pioneer

CHARLOTTETOWN - The P.E.I. RoadRunners Club recently celebrated another successful year during its 34th annual general meeting and awards dinner at the Charlottetown Legion.

Steven Baglole of Cornwall and Jennifer Pizio-Perry of Tignish won the Hashems Variety Senior Male and Female Road Race Championship Series, and ADL/Sport P.E.I. senior achievement awards. These awards are presented to runners who collect the most points based on their placing in various club races.

In the junior male category, 16-year-old Thomas Lewis of Marshfield won the ADL/Sport P.E.I. achievement award while Ellen Burnett of Charlottetown and Arielle Schleichkorn of Summerside tied for the ADL/Sport P.E.I. junior female achievement award.

Top rookies

Arnie Johnston of Summerside was announced as the Cox & Palmer Law rookie of the year. Johnston competed in 16 races, including the tough Harvest Festival 25-kilomoetre event and the Prince Edward Island half marathon.

Manny Costain of Summerside was awarded the Proude's Shoes most improved runner.

Over past three racing seasons, Costain improved his average pace from just under eight minutes per mile to a fast 6:30 pace per mile, setting new personal bests at all race distances.

Inspirational award

The Ewen Stewart Inspirational Runner Award went to Lynn Anne Hogan of Kensington and Ronda Bellefontaine of Prince Town Road. The award, sponsored by the Prince Edward Island Marathon, is named in honour of a founding member of the club.

Hogan and Bellefontaine started by offering a learn-to-run five-kilometre program, which quickly grew into the "Island Girls Running Club" that encourages and supports more than a dozen women - and now some of their spouses - from the Kensington area. This took them from "the couch" to the finish line of the half marathon in two years.

Hogan actually completed her first marathon this past fall at the Prince Edward Island Marathon.

RoadRunners of year

John Van Ekris of Charlottetown was named the 2010 Sporting Intentions male RoadRunner of the year, recognizing his efforts to organize a Tri-Province Terry Fox 50-kilometre Bridge Run, raising $4,000 for Terry Fox, as well as his own ultra-runs, including a 100-mile run on his birthday.

Janet Norman-Bain (Oyster Bed Bridge) was recognized as the 2010 Good Guys Auto Glass female RoadRunner of the year for her many contributions to the club, including promotion of running on the Runman blog.

Volunteer of year

Les MacKay of Charlottetown was presented with the Gemini Screen Printing & Embroidery volunteer-of-the-year award. A teacher at Charlottetown Rural, MacKay acted as race director for four 2010 runs. MacKay's motivation was to help his students maintain an active and healthy lifestyle, and to help them raise funds for charity organizations that the students support.

Lifetime membership

An honorary lifetime membership was presented to Parker Lund, a former resident of Charlottetown. Lund was instrumental in the formation of the P.E.I. RoadRunners Club back in 1977, when road racing was in its infancy on Prince Edward Island.

Congratulations Jen Nicholson !! Elite Boston Marathon Runner

Congratulations Jen Nicholson !!

Running her Dream Race in Boston

Tens of thousands of people will be running the Boston Marathon in April. But only a handful were invited as elite participants. One of them... is mother of three Jen Nicholson from Cornwall, P.E.I.

pei-jen-nicholson.jpg

Jen Nicholson of Cornwall was the top female runner in the P.E.I. Marathon, finishing in 2:53:22. (CBC)

Jen's interview on Island Morning

(thank you Island Morning!)




We are absolutely thrilled for you Jen. (I'm still rather speechless from the other night and this doesn't help!) We very much hope you get the PB you'd like and, whatever your experience, hope you find enjoyment in it
and that it leaves you smiling when you look back on it. All the best Jen!

Sunday, March 13, 2011

St. Patrick's Day 5K Run

It was sun and 2 degrees.

The St. Patrick's Day 5km Run at Sport PEI on Enman Cres. The loop course by Charlottetown Rural, North River Rd, Skyview, Seaview, Belvedere Ave and University Ave.

Kris Taylor won the race and Natalie Dallaire for the top female.

I finished in 21:41 and came in 8th out of 40 runners.

Official Result: 8th out of 40
5K in 21 minutes, 41 seconds


St. Patrick's Day 5Km Run Facebook Page




The old St. Patty's Day Run for Easter Seals at UPEI:
St. Patty's Day 2009
St. Patty's Day 2008

St. Patty's Day 2007
St. Patty's Day 2006

Photos for all the St. Patrick's Day Runs

Running For Autism
Not Against It
acceptance, inclusion, awareness

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Congratulations 2010 Award Winners

Last night, Friday March 11th, the PEI RoadRunners Club held their annual banquet & awards ceremony. This is always a well attended event, a really nice social gathering, and a great chance to see these folks out of their running clothes and without numbers pinned onto their shirts.

Alex and I have enjoyed putting the slide show together the last few years (it's at the bottom of this post) and since I'm at every race I got recruited onto the Awards Committee a couple of years ago and get to help decide who gets these annual awards.

What went down last night totally stunned me. Almost 24 hours later I still am at a loss for words so I'm going to go ahead and post my photos, the links to the winner's write-ups (click on their names) and the video slide show and hope that before the weekend is out I can find the words to add to my heartfelt "Thank You" in a follow up post.

Congratulations to all of last night's award winners.

ADL/SportPEI
Achievement Award Winners
&
Hashems Variety
Points Champions


Proude's Shoes
Most Improved RoadRunner



Cox and Palmer
Rookie of the Year
Arnie Johnston


Gemini Screen Printing and Embroidery
Volunteer of the Year

Les MacKay


Prince Edward Island Marathon / Ewen Stewart
Inspirational Runner Award

Ronda Bellefontaine
and
Lynn Anne Hogan



Honourary Lifetime Membership Award

Parker Lund


Sporting Intentions
Male RoadRunner of the Year

John Van Ekris


Good Guys Auto Glass
Female RoadRunner of the Year

Surprise!!