It was sunny and 15 degrees.
The life of a professional sprinter is a gilded one. Just ask Jared Connaughton.
There is glory, such as his gold medal in 200 metres and silver in 100 metres men’s sprint at the recent 2010 Canadian track and field championships in Toronto (he's won the 200-metre national title twice in three years).
And then there’s money. He’s earned cash at meets for running well in the thousands of dollars.
There are not so glorious times, however
“There were some meets where I made $150 bucks,” Connaughton told The Guardian in Charlottetown.
But more glory awaits for the Beijing Olympian, perhaps.
The New Haven native was selected for Canada’s squad at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India in October, where he’s slated to run the 200 metres and the 4x100-metre men’s relay.
He’s on the Island for several days resting and relaxing before his job starts again.
Connaughton joins national 200-metre runner-up Brian Barnett and other members of the Canadian 4x100 metre men’s relay team in Germany for a training camp.
The team will race in an IAAF Diamond League meet in Zurich, Switzerland, on Aug. 19.
Connaughton owns the fastest 200-metre time in Canada this year (20:61) and came near equaling that in Toronto, finishing in 20:66 and beating Barnett (21:02), who won the 200 metres last year, by just over 3/10ths of a second.
And although Connaughton (10:28) came second in the 100-metre final to Sam Effah (10:21), he’s pleased with the medal haul and his performance, which included setting a new event mark in the 200 metres.
Barnett held the old record of 20:71.
“I set the (Varsity) Stadium record in the 200. To come out on top in the 200 was absolutely my objective going in,” said Connaughton. “Obviously, silver isn’t something to be ashamed about. I feel good about this one.”
So far this season, Connaughton, 25, has picked up three wins in 200 metres and pair of wins in 100 metres, three second-place finishes in 200 metres and a third in the 200 — many of those results in a recent swing through Finland, Ireland, Crete and Belgium.
His was one of two podium performances for P.E.I. in Toronto.
Souris triple jumper Kurt McCormack won a silver medal with a jump of 14.72 metres.
Jacob Zorzella of Toronto won the triple jump gold (15.47 metres), his second straight national title, while David St. Bernard of Scarborough, Ont., took bronze (14.71 metres).
In Europe, often autograph seekers and statistics junkies wait outside hotel rooms for their favourite runners.
It’s much different in North America, where most track athletes go unnoticed.
creid@theguardian.pe.ca
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Connaughton to put on clinic
Olympic sprinter Jared Connaughton will be part of a clinic on P.E.I. next week.
He’s the attraction at a speed clinic at the Stratford indoor soccer complex.
The clinic is being hosted by Connaughton and and Spero Mantzavrakos, owner of Next Level Training and a former NHL strength and conditioning coach.
It’s a way, Connaughton said, to teach an athlete how to adapt techniques from one sport to another.
“Sprinters are really aware of movement,” he said. “If you can learn the finer elements of track, you can carry it over into your sport.”
The sessions will be held on Wednesday, Aug.11, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. for 10 to 13 years olds, and 7:30 to 9 p.m. for 14 years old and up.
Cost is $40 (tax included).
Contact Mantzavrakos at 316-1888 to register. Space is limited.
Participants will receive a speed program and a dry-fit T-shirt.
Paul Dalton from St. Edward helped re-write the history pages, crossing the finish line in Penticton, B.C., with an overall time of 33 hours 17 minutes and 15 seconds.
Dalton finished 29th over all. Of the 39 athletes who started the three-day endurance event, 32 completed the course.
The event started Friday with a 10-kilometre swim followed by a 144.8-km bike race. On Saturday participants were tested on a 273.5-km bike race and they finished off Sunday with a double marathon run, 84.4 km.
Before leaving for B.C., Dalton said he found the swimming to be the most challenging of the three race disciplines. Swimmers needed to complete the course in under six hours or they would be pulled from the race. Dalton had hoped to cover the distance in four and a half hours. It took him just nine seconds longer than his target.
He had also said Day Two is considered the most demanding part of the race. He covered the 273.5 km in 11 hours, 13 minutes and 10 seconds. Dalton’s prerequisite that enabled him to qualify for his first-ever Ultraman were two Ironman races in Penticton. An Ironman goes non-stop and is roughly one-half the distance of an Ultraman.
This year’s field included nine Canadians, and two of them finished at the top of the pack.
Kevin Cutjar from Penticton was the first-place finisher in a time of 21 hours, 49.45, chopping an hour, 10 minutes and 50 seconds off the event. He finished an hour and seven minutes ahead of the second-place finisher who also eclipsed the old standard.
Tracey McQuar, 34, also from Penticton, was the first female to complete the course. Her time of 26:08.24 makes her the second fastest female in the 10-year history of the event.
P.E.I. sprinter Jared Connaughton will be competing in three events at the Commonwealth Games this fall in India.
Connaughton will run in the 100 and 200 metre events, as well as the 4 x 100 relay.
Last weekend, Connaughton won gold in the 200 metre sprint at the Canadian Track and Field Championships in Toronto.
The Commonwealth Games begin Oct. 6.
Charlottetown Mayor Clifford Lee is asking Charlottetown residents to support the captain and crew of the HMCS Queen Charlotte as they launched their eighth-annual Run 4 Wishes fundraiser today. Over the next three days, 25 fit and determined men and women from our Navy will run the Island tip-to-tip. They hope, with the generosity of Islanders, to raise funds to help grant the wish of critically ill Island children. In 2009, HMCS Charlottetown was able to generate over $40,000 to grant the wishes of Island Children. For a schedule and to learn more check out the http://peirun4wishes.net (<--that URL is no longer good) or call the Children's Wish Foundation - Prince Edward Island chapter at 566-5526 or 1-800-267-9474.
Guardian photo HMCS Charlottetown run for wishes
Details of the 2010 Run 4 Wishes were unveiled at a news conference in Charlottetown by Sub-Lt. J.D. Forbes.
Forbes told reporters the team hopes to raise in the vicinity of $40,000 for the foundation, which grants wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses.
Since the run's inception, members of the ship's run team have raised $170,000, he indicated.
Forbes said achieving the team's goal will only be possible with the support of the team's sponsors and the general public.
Those sponsors include Sobeys, which hosts a series of fundraising barbecues, and the Royal Canadian Legion, which raises funds in a number of ways under the direction of Tona Halliwell, special events chair for Legion Branch No. 1 in Charlottetown.
The run begins this morning in North Cape and will continue for 100 kilometres, stopping for the day in Summerside.
Leg 2 of the relay begins Wednesday in East Point and will take the team 69 kilometres to Montague.
Wood Islands will be the starting point for the third leg of the run on Thursday.
Team members will cover a distance of 68 kilometres before stopping for the day in West Royalty.
Runners will start the fourth leg of the run in Georgetown Friday morning and will cover 56 kilometres of highway before stopping in Stratford.
The final leg of the run will begin in Summerside Saturday morning and conclude in Charlottetown, some 76 kilometres away.
Each day the race will conclude at one of P.E.I.'s five Sobeys grocery stores.
Sobeys has been a sponsor of the run for a number of years and will host a barbecue each day of the five-day run.
Sobeys donates 100 per cent of the proceeds from the barbecues to the foundation.
Members of the run team have been training for the event since February, running for an hour a day three to four times a week.
A spokesman for the ship told reporters the Run 4 Wishes event is near and dear to the crew.
Speaking at Monday's news conference, Charlottetown Mayor Clifford Lee applauded the crew of the city's namesake ship for their ongoing support of the Children's Wish Foundation and for the work they do throughout the year at home in Canada and on deployment around the world.
Lee said the city was proud to be associated with the men and women who serve on the ship and described them as good ambassadors for Charlottetown.
Children's Wish Foundation spokeswoman Beth Gauthier said the foundation was honoured to be the charity of choice for HMCS Charlottetown.
She expressed the foundation's appreciation for the ship's continuing support, noting the money raised through the run has helped the foundation make the wishes of a number of Island children come true.
The foundations is currently working on eight wishes and within the last number of weeks has received three others.
Gauthier noted that in addition to the run, members of HMCS Charlottetown's crew have travelled to Charlottetown to assist the foundation on several other projects.
"We have a very special relationship with HMCS Charlottetown ... they are very open and caring for our kids," Gauthier said.
Olympic Triathlon
1 1:59:57 Kris Taylor
2 2:00:54 Mike Davis
3 2:02:09 Jody Sanderson
20 2:21:24 Sarah Westfield
26 2:28:02 Maria Profit
30 2:31:39 Kristy Newson
Sprint Triathlon
1 1:01:52 Chris Wilhelm
2 1:06:41 Sam Mason
3 1:07:32 Gord Lemon
6 1:08:48 Sarah Tennant
7 1:09:22 Kara Grant
15 1:13:41 Trish Walsh
Olympic Duathlon
1 1:47:28 Cory Jay
2 1:57:51 Gayland Goodwin
3 1:58:26 Miguel Arsenault
18 Sara Deveau
Congratulations all!
We thoroughly enjoyed watching our first *live* triathlon
Charlottetown's Jared Connaughton blazed the curve in the men’s 200 metre final and ran away with the Canadian championship on Friday night at the University of Toronto.
The veteran sprinter recorded a time of 20.66 seconds to beat defending champion Bryan Barnett in convincing fashion. The 23-year-old from Edmonton could manage only 21.02 for the silver medal.
The newly crowned champion had said earlier this week he was in his best shape ever and prepared to challenge Atlee Mahorn's long standing record of 20.17 at the distance.
It wasn’t to be. The newly laid track, he said, was not as fast as he expected.
"It’s a little bit soft," said Connaughton. "I was hoping to run fast. I am really capable of it. I was hoping to challenge the Canadian record, it wasn’t happening today but I will get it. "If it’s not this year it will be in the next couple of years."
"I got a really good start and it sets me up well but then I get a little bit anxious and back off too much," he added. "If I just dial it in on the curve and run like I know I can 20.66 can be 20.36. I had the race in control by 50 metres."
Following the championships, Connaughton will head home for a two week break in P.E.I. before joining Barnett and other members of the Canadian sprint relay team in Germany for a training camp. The team will race in the Zurich and Brussels IAAF Diamond League meets.
In the women’s triple jump, Tabia Charles came very close to matching her Canadian record with a leap of 13.94 metres, just five centimetres less than the mark she set earlier this season.
Wearing flowers in her hair and fishnet stockings, Charles dominated the competition as second place went to Neb Zachariah with a distance of 12.41.
Charles was in a cheerful mood following the medal ceremony.
"It could have been perfect conditions but they had us jump into a negative wind, which I have never seen before, but we do things differently in Canada," she said, laughing. "But it was good, I could have gone 14. I felt awesome."
Three years ago Adam Kunkel made the 400 metre hurdles final at the 2007 world championships in Osaka but pulled up with a hamstring strain. Since then he has not been healthy.
Kunkel had an easy time winning the first of two semifinals on Friday in a time of 52.54 seconds.
"It's been a good year with my new coach Anthony McCleary," Kunkel says. "He’s done a good job getting me healthy so I can handle long days of training. It’s nice just to get through a few races healthy without any hiccups like in the past few years. I am now training consistently and I am hoping to put in a few good performances before the year is out."
Kunkel said his goal on Saturday is to get as close to 50 seconds as possible.
The men’s 3,000 steeplechase came down to a duel between training partners based out of Guelph, Ont., Rob Watson and Alex Genest. Watson — who represented Canada at the 2009 world championships in Berlin — set the early pace, stringing the field out single file.
But with a kilometre remaining Genest surged and eventually caught his friend. Genest’s winning time was 8:36.11, while Watson barely hung onto second place in 8:44.43. The bronze medal went to Travis McKay of Edmonton in a time of 8:45.12.
"I was totally confident in catching him," said Genest, who calls Lac Aux Sables, Que., home. "The thing is we train together and we know each other pretty well. Today I just wanted to race. I have had a pretty bad season. I need to be healthy all year long that is my big problem now. My Achilles tendon has bothered me for the past three years. I know I can run in the 8:20’s, I just need to be healthy."
Good luck wishes going out to Islanders"Since the start of the millennium, elite racers have come to the Canadian Rockies to cheat Death in one of the world's toughest adventure races. The 125 km course begins and ends on a 4200 foot plateau, passes over three mountain summits and includes 17,000 feet of elevation change and a major river crossing at the spectacular Hell's Gate canyon at the confluence of the Smoky and Sulphur Rivers. During the August long weekend each year, extreme athletes, individually and in relays, push themselves to the limits of their endurance against the breathtaking background of the Canadian Rocky Mountains. Each year, well-trained and totally committed, they battle heat, cold, altitude and themselves. There are no big prizes for winning: finishing is hard enough. And the bragging rights are priceless…"
It won’t be skiers racing on the slopes as the P.E.I. Roadrunners host the Brookvale Ultra Trail Marathon at Brookvale Provincial Park on Sunday.
Runners will compete in 10-, 25- and 50-kilometre races that wind through the park’s mountain bike trails, cross-country and alpine trails along with trails on a neighbouring wood lot.
Shawn McCardle is one of the race organizers and said they hope to have about 75 to 100 runners this year because last year, which was the first for the race, they exceeded their expectations of about 40 runners.
“When we got 63 I thought it was quite good.”
The trail race differs from typical road races because the terrain makes it harder and McCardle said most people who run it are less concerned about their finish time than they would usually be.
“For most people it’s to go out and enjoy it.”
McCardle suggests anyone who has never run a trail race before should start off easy and not run too hard so they don’t wear themselves out early.
Some of the runners who can finish a 42-kilometre marathon in about three hours will complete the 50-kilometre race in about five or six hours, which shows the increase in difficulty on the trail, he said.
“The distance is a little longer, but the time is usually about doubled from the road.”
McCardle said it’s also different because the runners can’t just follow the road in front of them like they would on a road race and they have to pay attention to the trail markers so they don’t get lost like one woman almost did last year.
“You just have to be really attentive to where you’re going and look for the trail markers.”
Runners can register online at www.atlanticchip.ca or at the race site Sunday.
Registration is $10 in advance or $15 on race day for the 10-kilometre event and $30 in advance or $40 on race day for the 25- and 50-kilometre events.
rross@theguardian.pe.ca
Yes, those are chips on the shoulders of Kurt McCormack and Jared Connaughton this week at the 2010 Canadian track and field championships in Toronto.
The reason? The Islanders are itching for redemption.
Connaughton, a New Haven native, finishing second in the 200 metres at the nationals last year and third in the 100 metres — placings that irked the Olympic sprinter.
McCormack of Souris, had a strong triple-jumping season in the United States university circuit go awry with a sixth-place non-medal finish at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics outdoor nationals earlier this year.
McCormack goes straight to the men's triple jump final Friday at 7 p.m. because meet organizers scrapped field event qualifying.
Connaughton begins 100-metre qualifying today at 1:40 p.m., then 200-metre heats at 6:45 p.m., and he’s aiming at different result than last summer.
“No, I think (the pressure) is a little bit less. That was a major faux pas last year at the championship,” said Connaughton in a cell phone interview as he boarded an airplane for Toronto. “I kind of underachieved.”
So far this season, Connaughton, 25, has picked up two wins in 200 metres and pair of wins in 100 metres, three second-place finishes in 200 metres and a third in the 200 — much of those results in a recent swing through Finland, Ireland, Crete and Belgium.
The pace has agreed with him as he has the top 200 time (20:61) and second best 100 time (10:28) in Canada and ranked first in 200 metres in Toronto.
He’s been used to indoor, which enjoys about a month between races. Outdoors, it’s a tour, a new stop every week or so. And sometimes that’s not a bad thing, he said, because too much time can play on the mind.
“It’s definitely something I haven't done enough over my career,” said Connaughton, who ran in the 200-metre semifinals at the 2008 Olympic
Games in China and finished sixth at the Games with the 4x100- metre men’s relay team.
McCormack is adjusting to a new style. Always a right-footed jumper, he switched earlier this summer to leaping off the left foot — a change prompted by his less-than stellar NAIA outdoor nationals result. McCormack, 22, finished up his junior year at Dickinson State University in North Dakota in May.
“It was definitely a disappointment to come in sixth. Indoors, I was ranked second in 2010. I had great conditioning,” he said. “I just never got it together. I was probably my most depressing time in triple jump.”
McCormack had four firsts, including a personal best 15.54 metres, and two seconds in triple jump this season at Dickinson State, plus a second in the 4x200-metre men’s relay and the 4x100-metre relay.
But the NAIA result meant something had to change.
So McCormack returned to P.E.I. and worked with James Buhlman, Athletics P.E.I. technical director, on the new approach.
Now, McCormack said, he hopes to even out his speed, have better control of the triple jumps phases and balance his leaps.
“I came home and learned how to run (calmer) on on the runway. It’s a challenge, but I’m a athlete and I like the challenge,” said McCormack, who recently was named Sport P.E.I.’s intercollegiate male athlete of the year.
After the nationals, Connaughton hopes to compete the Atlantic championships next month in Charlottetown, then he’s off to more racing in Europe, starting with a Diamond League event Aug. 19 in Zurich, Switzerland.
McCormack said he will return for his senior season at Dickinson State and plans to add the long jump to his repertoire.
creid@theguardian.pe.ca
It was sun and cloud and 18 degrees.
http://www.theguardian.pe.ca/News/Local/2010-07-24/article-1607960/They-are-off-and-running/1
Cox and Palmer run
Approximately 200 runners and walkers were not paying much attention to the beautiful sight of the boats at the dock behind them as they left the starting line on Great George Street Saturday morning for the fourth annual Cox and Palmer run to raise funds for the fight against prostate cancer. There was a 10 kilometer run, five kilometer run and a five kilometer walk. The race is known for its giveaways at the finish line and this year there are many prizes donated by Island businesses.
~*~
St. Edward’s resident Paul Dalton is training for Ultraman Canada competition.Photo: Eric McCarthy/Journal Pioneer
Dalton is a man on a mission. The 52-year-old school bus driver and bicycle repairman is in training for Ultraman Canada.
“I think I will be ready,” Dalton pronounced, noting he has been training hard for the three-day triathlon in Penticton, B.C., July 31 to Aug. 2. He leaves July 27.
The race starts with a 10-kilometre swim and a 145-km bike ride the first day. Sound intense? That’s just the start.
“The second day, they say, is the hardest. That’s in the back of your mind,” Dalton admitted.
Day Two consists of a 275-km bike ride from Penticton to Princeton.
The final day of the event puts runners through a double marathon – 84 kilometres.
There are time limits to meet. For instance, swimmers must be out of the water within six hours or they are not allowed to continue.
“I figure I can get it done in four and a half hours,” Dalton said.
They have 12 hours to complete both stages of Day One.
The race is so tough that in the nine-year history of the Penticton Ultraman, only 29 Canadians have crossed the finish line, none from east of Ottawa. Dalton said he hopes to change that statistic.
There are just 40 athletes from eight countries in the race, which is by invitation only.
Dalton has an experienced support team in his corner, Ellis and Susan Anderson from British Columbia. Ellis, 65, won the Hawaiian Ultraman for his age group, 60 to 69, last year. Susan is an ultra-cycling coach and has been on swim crews.
“It depends on who you sit beside on an airplane,” Dalton said in explaining how one thing led to another and now to his first Ultraman.
While flying to his first Boston Marathon in 2006 he sat next to Ellis Anderson.
“He suggested I try an Ironman.”
Check. Dalton’s done that with his daughter, Paulette, in 2008 and 2009, also in Penticton. An Ironman triathlon is less than half the distance of an Ultraman – 3.8-km swim, 180-km bike and full marathon run – but with no breaks in between and must be completed in less than 17 hours. Dalton will have nearly a month to recover before heading back to Penticton for his third Ironman on Aug. 29.
He said he appreciates all the good wishes and sponsorship support he has received during his Ultraman preparations.
(Why don't we have a 2007 mug???! - j) 
It was sun and 23 degrees and humid of 29 degrees.
From The PEI RoadRunners:Brookvale Trail Ultra Marathon, (10K, 25K and 50K) Brookvale, P.E.I.
August 1, 2010 www.peiroadrunners.ca
Prince Edward Island is a beautiful place to visit in the summer. And what better way to vacation than by hitting a trail race? The Brookvale Trail Ultra takes place in Provincial Park and Forestry land over a 25K loop. Half of the course is singletrack trail, with the rest being run over Nordic ski trails and heritage roads. Brookvale is located in the hilliest part of P.E.I., so you get some good climbs. Most participants agreed it was the most difficult race they had run. The small-town feel and laid back approach to the race is what runners seem to embrace the most. Also, with the Department of Forestry involved in the race, each participant takes home an oak tree seedling to plant, while race winners receive a handmade cutting board. As race participant Spencer Greenwood said, “The Brookvale Ultra doesn’t have the prestige of a big time race but it’s definitely a challenging course and is the ‘friendliest little ultra’ that I’ve run.”
