A good source of vitamin E and potassium , peaches are also at the peak of season. In this sweet and savoury recipe peaches take a staring role for a quick and easy nutrient-rich meal that will have you holding onto that summer feeling a little longer.
Grilled Peaches & Ricotta on Flatbread
By: Pamela Santaluce
Makes two med-large flatbreads
INGREDIENTS
2 medium or large pita or flat-breads
2 cups fresh arugula
2 peaches (sliced thick)
coconut oil and brown sugar
½ cup fresh ricotta cheese
handful of pistachios (to be crushed)
liquid honey
balsamic glaze
olive oil
sea salt and pepper
DIRECTIONS
Slice peaches (4/5 slices needed per flat-bread), brush or spray coconut oil and sprinkle brown sugar on both sides of each slice
Grill peaches for 1-2 min. on each side or until desired texture and set aside
Warm your pitas or flatbreads over your grill top
Add a generous amount of fresh arugula on each flatbread
Drizzle olive oil and sprinkle desired amount of sea salt and pepper
Using a teaspoon add 4-5 scoops of fresh ricotta cheese throughout flatbread
Place grilled peaches on top of the arugula and beside the spoonful’s of cheese
Crush a handful of pistachios and sprinkle on over top. Drizzle honey and balsamic glaze throughout to complete
Pamela Santaluce is a Toronto-based certified personal trainer, holistic nutritionist and healthy eating advocate. She offers holistic nutrition and writes more about health and wellness at EatFitLife.com.
Between now and October 21, iRun is joining forces with New Balance and elite superhero marathon runners Reid Coolsaet and Rachel Hannah to help you run the race of your life. Each week, we’ll present a new instalment from either Hannah or Coolsaet about how to improve one aspect of your running life. But wait, it gets better! Because New Balance also sponsors Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, where Coolsaet will be racing and where we’ll be making a special limited-edition race magazine immediately after the race! Want us to profile you and your run? Simply tell us what you do in response to the phenomenon our race Gods are describing. Make sense? For instance, here’s Coolsaet on how to shake Bad Race Vibes. How do you do it? Let us know, and be included—picture and all—besides our cover stars.
Towards the end, when it really matters and I’m fighting to not slow down, once the pain starts coming—whether its an upset stomach or my quads are burning or my legs feel heavy—if I let that overcome me, I’ll slow down. I have to override those negative thoughts: oh, the race doesn’t mean anything, you can slow down. I have to override that. You’ve worked hard for these last kilometres, keep yourself going and sometimes to take my mind off the pain I’ll remind myself of proper form. Drive your knee, drive your knee, drive your knee. Or: quick steps, take quick steps. My cadence sometimes drops at the end of the race so if I can think about that, maybe the thoughts of the pain might recede. Take it one K at a time, don’t panic. And if you do drop, don’t try and make up for it, but rather try and get back on pace.
I’ll get a little motto when I’m racing. Sometimes it’s like: keep it moving, keep it moving, keep it moving, and I’ll just say that again and again as a reset in my brain. One time I was racing and the pacemaker fell of and I was doing all the leading and the motto was: make them pay, make them pay, make them pay.
Bad vibes in a race are going to happen. You have to override them. Sometimes, you can.
Now share with us your thoughts. How do you keep them demons at bay?
Registration for the 45th Ottawa Marathon is now open and on this edition of iRun Radio, we share three stories from this incredible event. First a Chief Troy Thompson talks about raising money for a program that has helped 700 indigenous children stay physically, get healthy and gain leadership skills. Then, Mark speaks with a Tony Machatto who helps runners cross the finish line at the Ottawa Marathon with the Extra Mile Crew. Plus, how one woman is getting children moving in a children’s marathon and getting them out of their comfort zone.
All week, we’ve been asking readers to share their remembrances of the Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend ahead of the event’s registration opening September 1. We’ve heard from a great many racers and heard a great many inspiring stories using the hash tag #45for45, in honour of the event’s 45th birthday. Here’s a nice one we received from Rebecca Skinner.
“The Ottawa Marathon is special for me because it was my first marathon in 2016. It was SO hot, and we really hadn’t had any heat during training. Crossing that finish line was the first time I really felt like I could do ANYthing I set my mind to!”
That feeling that Rebecca describes—the confidence infused by setting a goal and accomplishing it—is behind why so many of us love our sport. Here’s a great note that we received from Colleen Berry: “[I’ve run it every year] Since 2006. Each one very memorable. None taken for granted. My only personal (selfish) tradition. I LOVE this race.”
I think it’s good for people, not just runners, to have selfish traditions. You have to do things for yourself in order to be happy, and if that “selfish thing” is running, you’re certainly not hurting anyone and helping both your physical and mental health.
Mental health, especially, can be tenuous and runners from the elite level on down to us normal everyday folks run to keep themselves in check. Few have experienced the pain of well-known Ottawa racer and volunteer Julie Drury, who is a familiar face at many running events. She wrote: “I ran the Boston Marathon and Ottawa Marathon back to back in 2016, five months after my daughter died. Running was an anchor I held onto. Running partners counselled me. The pain of running connected me. They were the hardest runs of my life and probably the most meaningful.”
In the end, whether it’s the Ottawa Marathon or the marathon closest to where you live, running is about so much more than just sneakers and bagels. So many of us have a deeply personal connection to the Ottawa Marathon and we appreciate all your stories. Mei Ling wrote: “In 2016, heat got to me. I bonked at 26K, walked the rest, but the crowd support got me through. Thought the race broke me, but it made me stronger. It helped me believe in myself and not give up. Made me the runner I am today.”
Keep the stories coming. Keep showing up for races. Keep enjoying the end of summer and the onset of fall. The photo featured up top is from Chris Hale. As this is the 45th birthday of the Ottawa Marathon, there’s great archival shots. Chris wrote: My mother ran the Ottawa Marathon twice in the 80s (1981 & 1982). She’s with her brother in the above photograph.”
To register for the Tamarack Ottawa Marathon on September 1, and after that, please click here.
For any woman who’s ever struggled with having to wear two sportbras to get enough support, has found themselves distracted by discomfort and tugging at a bra during a workout, or experienced chafing thanks to an ill-fitting sport bra, there are new options with innovative designs from Nike (which were unveiled in Toronto at the Nike Brahaus recently), and today Reebok launches in Canada its three-years-in-the-making PureMove Bra.
The bra is designed with Reebok’s proprietary Motion Sense Technology; this technology incorporates Sheer Thickening Fluid (STF), a gel-like solution that is liquid when you are still or moving slowly, but stiffens and solidifies when you’re moving more quickly. It reacts to your body’s shape, the movement of your breasts, and the speed and type of movement of your workout, such that it can be used for both light- and high-impact workouts.
Other features include perforations in the fabric for breathability, a molded front panel and free-cut edges so that the seamless bra (composed of only seven pieces) comfortably molds to your body. Available in 10 unique sizes ranging from XS to XL/XXL helps to ensure you find the exact right fit.
We tried it out at the Reebok Canada event held at Move Fitness in Toronto last week, and found the bra to feature a flattering silhouette and to be comfortable while providing plenty of support in the tabata workout. Note that the fabric feels less elastic compared to most sport bras on the market, which for us made pulling on and off the sport bra proves more of a challenge compared to other bras.
Learn more and shop the new PureMove Bra at www.reebok.ca.
Karen Kwan is a regular iRun fashion and travel contributor, and you’ll find her running fashion posts every Friday on Instagram. She contributes to a number of publications and you can also follow her travel and running adventures at Health & Swellness.
A few weeks ago we ask runners from far and wide to share their opinions about racing and the environment. When it comes to how you choose your next race, the medals, T-shirts and the overall importance of the races environmental impact are important factors, and we appreciate your participation, always.
How do runners determine our next race? While we might think there’s a statistical science to it or that medals, T-shirts and bagels matter the most, these really aren’t deciding factors for runners—at least the ones we spoke with. For those surveyed: race date (95 percent), location (86 percent), and the length of the race (89 percent) topped the list. Furthermore, more than 50 percent of racers surveyed said their decision to run was also affected by the environmental and sustainability practices of the event. Races need to get lots of things right to attract our crowd.
As it turns out, runners are sincerely concerned with the impact of a race and how people who live in the host city feel after the race is over. From how much litter is left behind after a race to how people feel about runners, the impression you leave after a race matters. As one runner commented: “I appreciate it when races remind runners to be conscious of the communities we are running in and to be mindful of not throwing waste on the streets.” In fact, 89 percent of runners who took the survey would have a better impression of races if they were actually more environmentally friendly and sustainable. We know events do what they can to be inclusive and sustainable, yet survey data reveals that if races made that a primary event feature, runners would be more apt to participate.
That said, when it comes to making good with Mother Nature, runners believe that opting out of T-shirts, medals and swag is the way to go. “Honestly, I think getting rid of the subjective promotional material in kits and handing people their bib, shirt and pins would save more for the environment than getting rid of cups,” says one runner. So what about those water stations with the disposable cups? While some runners (22 percent) do carry their own, 46 percent are relying on water stations to stay hydrated. As on environmentally-aware runner explained: “I try to limit my environmental impact daily so I have to admit that I don’t mind using a disposable cup during a race if it means not carrying hydration. However, I would welcome efforts by race organizers to use biodegradable or other types of cups with a smaller environmental footprint.”
We appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts and opinions with us. We will share our data with Canada’s largest races and report back to you on the progress being made in Canada. Our community is inclusive and our race directors are environmentally conscious, technologically apt, open minded and working hard to bring Canada to the forefront of sustainability. It’s important to say that sponsors of these events—the companies by and large footing the bill—are also eager to help events lessen their ecological footprint. It’s your sport. These are your races. Read about our thoughts on how racing impacts our environment.
Let’s make running and racing something that we can all be proud of. (In addition, two runners who completed their survey will receive prize packages: either a six month supply of Nuun or a pair of New Balance Beacon sneakers. Check out our Facebook page to find out if you’ve won).
Sutcliffe, seen at his first Ottawa Marathon in 2004.
I can still remember the roar of the crowd at the finish line. On May 30, 2004, I was running along the Rideau Canal in Ottawa, striving to complete my first marathon.
I heard the voice of the finish line announcer exhorting the crowd to cheer on the runners in the final metres of the race. “Here they come,” he shouted. “Let’s make some noise!”
So close, and yet so far. Unfortunately, I wasn’t one of the runners being celebrated by the boisterous finish-line welcome committee. I was on the other side of the canal, heading away from the finish, not toward it. While some people were in the final strides of their journey, I was barely halfway there, with more than 20 kilometres left in my race.
A couple of hours later, I finally arrived, not just at the finish line but at the threshold of a career in marathon running. I had run the Ottawa half-marathon the year before, but this was new territory. You never forget the moment you answer the question you’ve been asking yourself through months of training: Can I actually do it?
Since then, Ottawa Race Weekend has become an annual crescendo on my calendar, inextricably intertwined with the cycles of my training and my life. In every year but one, I’ve participated as a runner, pace bunny, broadcaster or volunteer. The only exception was in May 2009, when my wife was eight months, three weeks and six days pregnant. I figured it wouldn’t be wise if I spent the morning unreachable on the marathon course, so I brought my cell phone to the finish line and watched for hours as other runners completed their passages. Less than 24 hours later, we were on our way to the delivery room.
For thousands of runners like me, Ottawa has become an annual pilgrimage, challenge, destination, fundraiser, inspiration. The Ottawa Marathon has as rich and deep a history as almost any other long-distance event in Canada. From roughly 12 dozen participants in 1975, it has grown into one of the biggest annual running festivals in North America, renowned for its picturesque and historic course that crosses a provincial border, its warm hospitality and its meticulous organization and attention to detail.
In 2013, to mark the 40th edition of the race, I wrote a book called Canada’s Magnificent Marathon, in which some of the great moments of both elite and ordinary runners are profiled. The race has always achieved a special blend of competitive racing and amateur achievement.
Now, the 45th Ottawa Marathon is approaching and the running community is only growing and getting stronger. I’m hopeful and confident that the best is yet to come, for me, for the event and for the thousands of participants who look forward to it every year. Unlike that morning in 2004, I relish the thought that there are still many miles to travel before the finish line.
On September 1, registration begins for the Ottawa Marathon, the largest race in Canada and an event celebrating its 45th birthday. As tribute, we’re collecting stories—forty-five of them—of your recollections from race weekend. Qualify for Boston? Hit a PB? Meet your partner? Make your triumphant return to running, catch a glorious rainbow, meet Krista DuChene? Let us know, we’re going to be publishing our favourites between now and the end of September. It’s an exciting time as race weekend beckons. . .
I remember my first race in Ottawa, it was my first time visiting the nation’s capital and first time meeting Mark Sutcliffe and my Sportstats employers. I started at iRun in November, 2013, and worked remotely from Toronto until race weekend, 2014. Mark picked me up from the airport and I saw Carleton University for the first time and began meeting our community at the race expo. I was taken aback by the heights of passion for our shared culture—not just racing, just running, but the inclusiveness of the group. Runners wanted to talk to one another. People had ideas. Everyone had a story. Few of us get into running to lose weight or get some fresh air. We have our reasons, and many of the stories were moving. Inspiring. I felt swept up into something bigger than me, and took seriously my responsibility to channel these emotions into a singular product—something that could convey what running means to this disparate group.
The marathon was Sunday morning and I’d been a relatively experienced racer. I ran Boston in 2012 and had written a running book, so I knew my way around a water station. However, Ottawa, through the new lens of iRun, where Sportstats and Mark are both based, felt important. I went to high school in Washington D.C., and obviously there are parallels. The grandeur (for most people) seems to inspire our better angels. The weather was warm. The course was beautiful. The crowd was thunderous. And, racing around the capital in an oversized iRun t-shirt, I was a stranger in town and already accepted—because of Mark’s legacy—like a native son. Racers felt connected to the brand. And I felt connected to the city. To the race. I would stay in Toronto, but I haven’t missed an Ottawa Marathon Race Weekend since my first one, and I’ll be there again this spring. It’s not really my times that are important (although I will say, #humblebrag, that it was last year’s Ottawa that I qualified for Boston).
The Ottawa Marathon is singular in Canada. Singular in the world. And not just for me, but for the 40,000 racers who participate every year and bring their differing backgrounds to the starting line. But one thing is for certain: in Ottawa, on race weekend, none of us, ever, are alone.
So share your story and make your voice heard. Why do you run Ottawa? What have you done there, what have you felt? Use the hashtag #45for45 and be part of the celebration. This is your race. Be heard.
Halifax is hilly. I’ve been told this is a key challenge of running in the Nova Scotia capital.
Since 2014, Naval Officer and Halifax resident Michael Bergeron has added the challenge of juggling to his training and racing throughout the Maritimes and across Canada.
Now a 10K record holder in the discipline of “joggling,” Michael admits he’s always a bit jealous when he sees friendly rivals post fast times on flat courses.
In October, Michael will have his chance when he takes on the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Half Marathon, where he and Graydon Snyder will face off in attempt to best Michal Kapral’s current half marathon joggling record of 1:20:40. Bergeron was only ten seconds off that record this past May in Fredericton.
Michael says he hopes that Toronto’s flat terrain and healthy amount of pacers and crowd support will give him the momentum he needs to further assert his joggling supremacy. Racing a friendly rival also often brings out one’s best. Snyder and Bergeron faced off in the 5K at the 2016 Blue Nose Marathon Weekend. Bergeron says, “That was my first race with another joggler and unfortunately I blew up. He [Snyder] did 17:30 and I did 18:50.”
Photo Credit: Jennie Orr
Running became part of Michael’s life at the age of 13 when he competed in track and cross country. Juggling came around the same time when he attended circus camp, gradually working his way up from bean bags to bowling pins, swords, and torches.
The idea of combining the two didn’t occur to Michael until 2014, when a friend sent him a photo via Facebook of another “joggler” and challenged him to combine his excellent pedigree in both disciplines.
“The first race I joggled was the Navy 5K in Halifax, but up until that morning I hadn’t decided if I was going to just run it or juggle as well.” Michael came away from that race with a 19:47 and only one drop. The time was also good enough for fourth overall.
Bergeron describes 2018 as the year speed came together. “I work from a regular plan and do all my speed work without the balls, which I only use on my easy run days,” Michael says. He adds, “I used to use them a lot more, but found that once I left them behind I was making more breakthroughs in pacing.”
The plan was to take that work into the Navy 10K and get as close to the record as possible.
“We started the race a bit fast with 3:20 splits, which put us on pace for a 34:00 finish,” Michael explains. “At around 5K when we settled into a steady 3:30, I started to believe that I could do it but my pacer told me I was going too slow.”
Entering the second half of the race with a 17:37 5K split, Michael was 50 seconds ahead of the record and began to increase his speed, anticipating an slowdown at the uphill 7-8 km stretch. At 8K, “We had about a minute of breathing room.” Michael would coast to a 35:36 finish, the overall win, and a new 10K joggling record, besting the previous standard by 50 seconds.
Photo Credit: Tim Chestnutt
The reactions when Michael is spotted on one of his training runs, he says, are one of two extremes. “Either people say that it inspires them or makes them want to stop running altogether,” he says with a laugh.
Perhaps it’s not the most encouraging thing to eat the dust of a guy simultaneously performing two tasks that require rigorous training and practice, but Michael hopes that’s all outweighed by the extra entertainment and interest joggling can bring to running as a whole.
It’s a fool’s game to predict whether or not Bergeron’s achievements and the subsequent media attention indicates that joggling will catch on further. But the fact that Bergeron will continue to chase records, and do so by competing with a healthy rival at a big city race, is perhaps at least an illustration that running and the accompanying pursuit of excellence that comes with can always finds new ways to express itself. If it does so in a way that brings more attention to the sport and that entertainment factor that Bergeron describes, then we can at least we can have certainty that it’s great for running.
It’s been a wonderful summer, one of my favourites in fact, but eventually all good things must come to and end. September seemed like years ago, but is now just around the corner. Sigh. You can read more about my summer cabin life here. It was absolutely everything I hoped it would be. Our family found a good balance between life at home and life at the cabin. I completed my workouts and higher volume at home then headed to the cabin with the kids each Wednesday to Friday. I could rest and relax, logging fewer and easier kilometres, while we enjoyed our precious time with my sister and her three kids. The kids just love spending time with their cousins (also two boys and one girl) and my sister and I cherish the quality time we get in our quiet two months of the year.
Last weekend I travelled to Edmonton where I finally competed in the half marathon, a race I had planned to do a few other times but didn’t due to injury (2015, 2017). Competition was going to be strong with elite Canadians including Rachel Cliff, Dayna Pidhoresky, Rachel Hannah, Emily Tallen and Catherine Watkins. The biggest concern was the air quality due to the forest fires in British Columbia, but after a bit of rain, the rating improved and race day was a go. Like other races in a marathon build, I was not going for a personal best, rather a solid effort. Right from my first kilometre I knew it was not going to be a fast one. At all. I’m not one to overthink things and dwell on slow times but I think I’m simply a sucker, even at the slightest bit of elevation. I realize Edmonton isn’t that high and I’m not that deprived of oxygen, but yikes, a 1:18? I think I was more capable of 1:16, but reflected on my 2016 year with a 1:16 in Calgary in May after my 1:12 in Montreal in April when preparing for the Olympic Games. When I returned to Ontario, Coach Dave gave me a lower volume week to ensure I was fully recovered from the race, the travel and the solid 170K week I had completed a week before race day.
Today I was happy to give a solid 70 minutes at marathon pace effort with running friends, Mitch, Rachel, Tanis and Rob. Just last month I failed to keep Mitch and Rachel in view, but today I succeeded. Dave K. was a great support on fuel stations and a wonderful encouragement to all of us. We replenished with recovery drinks and stretched while Rachel Hannah finished her longest marathon-paced workout in her build to Berlin. It’s been encouraging to see Rachel’s build, five weeks ahead of mine; a reminder that with consistency and good health, everything will come together. I’m excited to see her run a smart and strong race in Germany on September 16. After we snapped a quick group shot we chatted and later texted about how much we’ve enjoyed training together.
Right now I’m trapped under our gazebo with the rain pouring down, happy that we weren’t drudging through it this morning, and grateful for this life of faith, family, friends and running. After achieving the summer what I had hoped for, and even with a bit of uncertainty ahead as I take on the task of coaching my daughter’s rep hockey team, I am confident that in eight weeks I will have one of my best experiences at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon.
are important (although I will say, #humblebrag, that it was last year’s Ottawa that I qualified for Boston).
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