Sunday, October 30, 2011

Perseverance Trail Run 2011 Race Report




Photos by Dave Prothero photography


Mother nature was kind to the 230 trail racers who tackled the Perseverance Trail Run this past Sunday, October 30th. The sun was shining and the trails held freshly filled puddles from recent rains making the perfect conditions for a fall trail race! The race was a huge success with all proceeds going directly to the Cumberland Community Forest Society to assist them in working towards their goal of purchasing and protecting additional forest lands in the Cumberland area.

The competition on the new 10k course was fierce with 155 racers and many competitive runners toeing the start line. Racers came from all over Vancouver Island for this years event and there were some great battles on the challenging 10k mountain run.

Top overall results in the 10k mountain run:
Males
51:11 Andrew Howard
52:21 Neil Holm
53:03 Stephan Jacobson

Females
1:02:15 Ceri Jacobson
1:02:53 Kaley Strachan
1:06:07 Bobbie Taylor

68 racers, young and old, tackled the 3k cross-country run through the Cumberland Community Forest trails. This years race included more ups and downs than previous years but that didn't slow down the racers!

Top overall results for the 3k cross-country run were as follows:
Males
13:47 Matthew Salmon
14:10 Berend Henkel
15:03 Ross Lamon

Females
17:30 Jane Johnson
18:08 Montana Mosher
18:16 Jessica Reynolds

Extreme Runners and Equilibrium Lifestyle Management (ELM) co-organized this annual fundraising event along with fantastic support from Comox Valley volunteers and sponsors. A huge thank you goes out to nearly 60 wonderful and enthusiastic volunteers who donated their time and energy before, during and after this years race. A special thank you goes to the Comox Valley Search and Rescue and St. John Ambulance teams who spent the day watching over each and every racer on the course.

This years race, once again held on Halloween weekend, brought out great costumes including everything from the Grim 'Sweeper' to Gem and a Jailbird'. Dozens of fantastic draw prizes were awarded including fresh donuts from the Cumberland Village Bakery for the best costumes. With close to 40 draw prizes donated from local business' many racers left with big smiles at the end of the day. A very big thank you to this years prize sponsors: Valhalla Pure, Riding Fool Hostel, Seeds Market, Darkside Chocolates, Zen Zero, Mosaic Vision, Lotuswear, Comox Valley Acupuncture, Ascent Physiotherapy, Active Comox Valley, HiTech, My Tech Guys, Jim Smiley of Remax, Extreme Runners and ELM.

The following community sponsors generously supported the race and helped to make this years event a great success: Thrifty Foods, Tim Hortons, Mudsharks Coffee, Fiesta Quest, ABC Printing, Hi Tech, nrichmedia, Odlum Brown, Mosaic Vision, Comox Valley Record. Landowners including the Village of Cumberland & Recreation, CCFS, Timberwest and Hancock.

A complete list of results as well as race day photos are posted at www.perseverancetrailrun.com .


Overall the race was a huge success so mark your calendars for next year October 28th 2012!












Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Are you ready to Persevere??

Ready...Set...GO!

We are getting pumped about this Sunday's, Perseverance Trail Run and hope that you can join the fun! This Sunday at 11:00am we will kick off the 6th annual Perseverance Trail Race with the goal of raising funds for the Cumberland Community Forest Society. This event is entirely run by volunteers who are keen to promote the CCFS and local recreation events for the community.

Come on down to No. 6 Mine Park between 9 and 10:15am on Sunday, October 30th to register for one of two awesome trail running courses:

10.5k...Same route as last year only WAY better... we are running it in reverse for 2011 and we think you will have WAY bigger smiles at the finish line:) Let us know what you think! The 10.5k course is for runners only- no walkers on this epic mountain running course. Get ready for 'breathtaking' views:) 3k course- new territory! We are doing a loop in the CCFS lands for this years 3k course. Lots up short but steep ups and downs, beautiful rich forest, winding single track...fun for the whole family! Walkers are welcome on the 3k course.



Racers at the start line last year! What will be the fastest time on the new course? Will any of the speedsters break the hour mark? Time will tell!



Cows? YUP udders and all (below)! Be sure to wear your Halloween costume and get into the spirit! I hear wearing a cape makes you feel really fast... Once again we will have special prizes for the best costumes in this years race!



Run Away bride Lisa (below)... looking crisp and still very white before the race:)




Save the forest! Course sweeper, Lo (below), in her best costume yet! I heard she had to turn sideways to get through the single track however:) Think about that when choosing your race costumes!


The CCFS will be hosting a post-race BBQ by donation so you can feast on burgers after you cross the finish line! Be sure to bring a set of dry clothes to change into after the race and stick around for entertainment, draw prizes from our awesome sponsors, and awards - NEW: the top 3 in each category will receive chocolate medals this year! Woah!




This is going to be so fun...looking forward to seeing you soon!

Cheers!

Sarah.

Friday, October 14, 2011

Awesome Stuff

Not sure what I like more: the long weekend or the short week:) Thanksgiving weekend brought sunshine, good food, belly laughs and great visits with my family. It was an awesome weekend...here is some of that awesomeness...

Learning to Long board.
Woah! Check out these awesome new long boards from from brother in law, Derek Frechette, of Peregrine Precision Works in Kelowna! Derek suprised us with a custom set of handcrafted longboards complete with ELM anniversary logos and...the twist...land paddles! Derek has created a dry land version of 'Stand up Paddle Boarding' -meets long boarding with these 'land paddles' and they are going to blow your mind!

I am so stoked about the awesomeness of my new long board...now I just need to learn how to ride it! Watch for Brad and I paddling around town and stay tuned for details on how you can have one of your own made especially for you...





Apple Awesomeness
Since winning a ribbon at the 'Cumberland Pie of the Year Contest' I am officially in charge of apple pie for Thankgiving dinner. And thanks to my bud Kathy C, I had a massive pile of juicy local apples to work with on Thanksgiving weekend so I got busy making pies and more pies! I turned out about 10 pies this weekend but I couldn't have done it without 2 key ingredients:
1. My sister in law Catherine!
2. This awesome apple peeler corer slicer gadget from Lee Valley tools! WOW! After borrowing this and realizing how much faster (3 times) it is than peeling by hand, I got online and ordered one of my own. Awesome invention!


Awesome 80's Tunes
Thanks to my sisters for turning me onto this awesome 80's remix album! I can't get enough of these ridiculous toe-tapping tunes from The Lost Fingers. SO good and so funny:)

Awesome Blogs
I subscribe to tonnes of blogs via 'Google Reader' that I check each morning when I boot up the computer. Here are some of my faves from this week:

This Chick Cooks: Can you wash off pesticides?

Health Mad: Benefits of eating Sprouted Food

Wold Fitness Notebook: What muscle does that work?

The Adventure Blog: Mountain Biker vs African Antelope





What blogs do you follow? Would love to hear your faves!


Get out there and enjoy that sunshine!!

SS

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

MOMAR Post Volunteer Report

MOMAR has come and gone and the quiet village of Cumberland is settling into fall once again. Sad but true I have missed my hometown MOMAR two years in a row now! Last year for fantastic reasons- a trip of a lifetime to Peru with 12 amazing women. This year for not so fantastic reasons- a mystery ankle injury that has sidelined me from running for more than 2 months now. Fracture? Cartilage tear? Xray, CT scan, specialists and soon an MRI and an orthopod surgeon - but the scans seem to have provided more questions than answers up to this point. Of course, time will tell and I will heal. So I must move from focusing on a diagnosis to putting my energy into healing and moving forward. When I can finally run again, it will be the most beautiful gift in the world:)

I have had so many awesome bonus experiences thrown my way as a result of my inability to run - interesting how that works. More time connecting with loved ones, more biking, kayaking and relaxing, actually. I even went golfing for the 2nd time in my life last Sunday. Well...I wouldn't call that an 'awesome' experience but it was a great way to spend time with my Dad:)

When I had to pull out of MOMAR I had the bonus opportunity to join the volunteer team to help out as an assistant course co-ordinator. It was a great chance to give back to this fantastic race that has given me SO much over the past many many years. It was also a great peek behind the scenes to see this well-oiled MOMAR machine in action!


The best part about volunteering was getting to see the race course maps before the racers LOL! I felt so sneaky knowing the course and knowing what the racers were in for on race day. Very fun to be on the 'other side' for once!

The other amazing part was being on course to see every single racer come by. I had the chance to cheer on, cheer up, and push on the racers who needed it. And I got to see my ELM friends in action on the course! I am usually selfishly racing and in my own world so this was an awesome opportunity to support my clients and friends when they needed it most- on the way UP to CP 11!

Volunteers make the world go around and these races are no exception. Without the time, energy and passion of volunteers these events could not happen. Volunteers put in long hours, and there is no glory and no bragging rights to go along with them. Volunteers at the MOMAR are rewarded greatly for their time however- with swag, food and the post event dinner and dancing:). If you aren't up for racing in your next community event you should consider volunteering- it is a great way to spend the day! And a little good Kharma never hurts:)

ELM Fearless Run Leaders hydrating at pre-race registration at the Riding Fool Hostel in Cumby.



First place overall and winner of many many many overall titles, Todd Nowak, riding up to CP 11 on the Endurance course...up to Bear Buns for a fun ride back down:)




Mr MOMAR? Superhero spotted on the bike course!




ELM Fearless Leaders Too (right) with a fantastic 3rd place finish in their first adventure race! These two gals had the fastest OVERALL trek time of all the teams in the Sport Course! Woohoo!



Valley girl and ELM Fearless Leader, Genevieve (centre), easily snags 1st solo female with an amazing 4th place overall finish time!



Congrats to all of this years MOMAR racers! Complete results and hundreds of race photos can be found on the MOMAR website.

See you next year MOMAR!!

Monday, October 3, 2011

ELM Urban Attack 'Non'- Race!







URBAN ATTACK!

On Saturday, ELM hosted a special community event that included a fun, 5km Urban Attack adventure race to raise funds for the local Boys and Girls Club and celebrate 10 years of providing fun fitness adventures in the Comox Valley.

Teams of 2 with names like '4 kids later' and 'Who's on 5th?' worked to find a series of check points in the downtown Courtenay area on foot. Along the way, teams had to complete many 'mystery challenges' including some set up at local sponsoring businesses.



“The weather turned out great and scavenger hunt was fun; nice way to see the community.” says one of the participants who completed the Urban Attack event.

After the event, participants enjoyed a BBQ lunch and a big raffle with prizes from local sponsors. Sponsors include: Mountain City Cycle, Valhalla, Extreme Runners, Bayview Chiropractic, Zen Zero, Extreme Runners, CV Acupuncture, Island Pilates & Fitness, Oh Spa, Lotuswear, Active Comox Valley and Ascent Physiotherapy. Special thank you to Fiestaquest for providing the music, Mudsharks for the coffee and CV Road Runners for the 'race central' equipment.


Check out photo's from the event including some awesome action shots taken during the 'mystery challenges' on the ELM facebook page. More photos will be uploaded later this week so be sure to check back and join the ELM facebook fan page to get updates.


A few racers commented that they had so much fun they would like to do it every week! Well maybe once a year...you never know!


Cheers to all the volunteers and community sponsors for making this day such a success! I couldn't do it without you...just like the last 10 years.


BIG thank you to all the racers for coming out, giving urban adventure racing a try and supporting this event. You ROCK!

Saturday, October 1, 2011

Happy Birthday ELM:)

Today we are celebrating 10 Years of Fun Fitness Adventures in the Comox Valley! Come on down and party ELM Style!


The 5k 'Urban Attack' course is set, the food is ready for the BBQ and the prizes have been collected from our awesome ELM Sponsors. Come on down around 9:30am to Simms Park today if you can join the fun!

Here are all the details once again:

$20 event tickets include:

ELM Urban Attack!! In this fun, 5km urban adventure 'non-race' teams of 2 will aim to find a series of check points in the downtown Courtenay area. This race will take place on foot along with a few fun, mystery events along the way! Walk, run, bring your stoller or do cartwheels and summersaults on the route - as long as you are on foot!


Post Race BBQ! Veggie or beef burgers hot off the grill along with yummy snacks and drinks!


Special ELM 10 Year Anniversary T-Shirt!


Music!


Awesome Draw Prizes from our Sponsors!


All proceeds go directly to the Comox Valley Boys and Girls Club!

This is a fun, non-competitive community event for all abilities! Instead of giving out prizes for first place, all participants will be entered into a BIG draw for a chance to win one of many awesome prizes! We hope you can join the fun!

Want to come out but not ready for the 5km Urban Attack? Come down to Simms Park to enjoy the festivities! Enter the 'Mystery Challenge' or purchase a BBQ burger for a minimum $5 donation and support the Boys and Girls Club!

Details:

Saturday, October 1st, 2011 10:00am-1:00pm

Simms Park, Courtenay

Pre Registration encouraged- follow link below

Day of Registration and Check in 9:30-9:50am

Teams of 2 - Solo participants will be partnered up day of event

Kids 14 and under are invited to play if accompanied by an adult

$20 Per Person Minimum Fee but additional donations are always appreciated!


See you sooon!

Sarah