From Physiotherapist to Mizuno Territory Manager

May 16, 2013

Mizuno will be featuring a staff member as a part of our monthly e-newsletter so runners in the community can begin to know a bit about our great brand ambassadors. The next time you see Kaireen at a store or event you will know a bit more about her!

By: Karen Karnis

Kaireen Patton took an unusual route to her position as a Territory Manager with Mizuno’s Running Division for Eastern Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada. She was first introduced to Mizuno shoes while running for a team sponsored by a running store in Texas in the late 1990s; when the time came to pick out a pair of shoes under the sponsorship, the store owner told her she had to try Mizuno. The self-described shoe junkie didn’t take much convincing – and she hasn’t looked back since.

A physiotherapist by training, Patton moved from Texas to Portland, Oregon for her next job, where she became good friends with a woman who was a sales rep for Mizuno. Three years later, when she moved back to Canada, Patton couldn’t find Mizuno shoes anywhere, so she asked her friend from Portland where she could find them.

Patton got more than she’d bargained for; as it turned out they were looking to expand in Canada and needed some tech reps, and Patton’s friend had passed on her name.

“As a physiotherapist with a background in foot mechanics and orthotics, it turns out it was a really good fit,” says Patton. “Things in the running shoe industry were getting more technical; you can teach the sales side fairly easily.” It wasn’t long before Mizuno asked Patton if she wanted to make her part-time “fun job” as a tech rep into a full-time gig. She says, “In a moment of weakness I just said yes, and that was over eight years ago.”

“I get to talk about running and shoes all day and get paid for it, what could be better?” laughs Patton when asked about the best part of the job. She’s quick to add: “I have awesome accounts. All of them – from Trenton to Newfoundland – they’re all awesome. They challenge me – in a good way!”

Patton loves the running business – she can’t remember a time that she wasn’t a runner. She ran in elementary school, joined the East Ottawa Lions in grade 6, ran through high school, and ran indoor track at Queen’s. For a few years she got into triathlons, completing several races including Ironman Canada and Hawaii in 2001. Now she’s back to running for the most part, and while she’s done several marathons, including Boston, she says her favourite distance at the moment is the half marathon. “It’s short enough that I can train to the level I want without neglecting the family,” she says.

She’s humble when the topic turns to speed. “My dad was a sub-three-hour marathoner,” she says. “I was blessed with great genes and a good build for running. I also had the benefit of great coaches from a young age.”

If you’re wondering, Patton’s current go-to shoes are the Mizuno Wave Precision (for her distance runs) and Musha (for speed work and racing), but she’s very excited to get into next spring’s Rider as soon as she can.

If you’ll be at Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend, be sure to stop by the Mizuno booth at the expo and say hello to Patton – she’ll be on hand to help with all of your Mizuno questions. She’s also trying her hand at pacing for the first time – look for her in the half marathon, sporting ears and a sign that says “1:45.”

A’s, B’s, and C’s of Running

Ben Kaplan

May 16, 2013

By: Nikki Reiter
Photos by: Carter Brundage

Before a race, you may see some runners performing hops, skips or jumps (also referred to as ABC’s) to help them prepare for the event. It looks strange, and not exactly like running, so why do they do this? Great question! Runners will give you a variety of answers – these ‘drills’ help improve form, or help you limber up, or perhaps they do it just because someone along the way told them to do so! It’s now time to clarify what this is all about.

Drills, What are They Good For?

First off, running drills don’t directly contribute to learning better running form, since they don’t represent the same muscle firing patterns as running. The excessive use of the hip flexors for the purposeful knee drive in A’s, the disproportionate use of the hamstrings in B’s and the purposeful lifting of the heel in C’s do not mimic how these muscles are used in running.

However, drills are great for developing body awareness and the ability to learn to use feedback to correct oneself. For example, practicing the A-movement slowly works the hip flexors, which can contribute to improved hip stability. Also, the single-leg stance helps identify if you are dropping either of your hips in the stance phase, and practicing drills can help bring this awareness and reinforce stable hips through repetition. Practicing drills at full speed can help reinforce body position, such as a forward lean at the ankles or having the feet land under the body.

Drills are also a great part of a dynamic warm-up before speed work as they increase range of motion and get you moving more quickly. Increased range of motion in the hips allows for a longer stride. Additionally, practicing quick movement in faster drills relates to less ground contact time, a necessary component of increasing stride rate to run faster.

How to Implement Running Drills

A basic Internet search for ‘running drills’ will result in lots of variations of A’s, B’s, C’s. Start slowly to mimic their motion for a strength workout, or to reinforce motor pathways, then speed up to develop coordination. A quick tip if you’re struggling – try the motion with your ‘legs only’ and place your hands on your head. This adjustment will also help develop your oblique muscles, as you will have to activate them to resist trunk rotation.

Other cues to remember:

Walk in the ‘hips tall’ position, which teaches proper alignment (proper alignment leads to better economy of running)
Head, shoulders and feet should be centered over/under hips
Eyes should be straight ahead with chest forward
Lean forward at the ankles, not the hips
Arm motion happens at the shoulder, not at the elbow, and hands shouldn’t cross the midline of the body

***

Nikki Reiter is a Mizuno Running Brand Ambassador from Kelowna, BC. She holds a master’s degree in biomechanics, coaches Cross Country at UBC Okanagan and is the founder of Run Right Gait Analysis Service (run-right.ca).

Hitting the Wall at the Sporting Life 10K

May 13, 2013

Over the past couple of years, I’ve run several half-marathons and 10Ks without ever hitting the wall; this Sunday, however, I ran the Sporting Life 10K with just under 22,000 finishers and I hit the wall at the 9.9K mark. Let’s rewind to the beginning to reveal what happened.

A Messy Start

My wife and I had signed up to do this race together for several months now – my job was simple: be the pace rabbit that lovingly guides, encourages, and supports his wife to a sub 1 hour finish. As such, we were assigned to the green corral which is in the front half of this massive running pack. It was a sea of watermelon red as many chose to dawn the great Nike dri-fit race shirts given for the run.

We had to make our way back to the bag check trucks and we were a little panicked at the hundreds of people in the lineup with just 20 minutes to race start. Another truck suddenly opened its doors and a mob of runners made a rush to literally thrown in their gear bags as a quickly as volunteers could handle. We said a quick prayer to hope to see our bags at the end and made haste towards our corral.

We stood in our corral and waited for race instructions, but we didn’t hear any. It was a wave start so we would shuffle up and wait, shuffle up and wait. As we got near the start, we started into a jog and we were suddenly off – an anticlimactic start to a race.

Still a Great Course

One of the best parts of this race is the downhill course along Yonge Street. This course is meant to be fast – that is, until you’re running it with 22,000 other people. The start corrals were too crowded and we had to do a lot of dodging and weaving for the first couple of kilometers until we wised up to running on the clearer sidewalks instead.

Although my wife’s goal of sub 1 hour required a 6:00 min/km or less pace, I was going to test the waters with a 5:30 pace to see if I could help her beat her personal record from last year. When our pace dipped, I encouraged my wife that “we need to pick up the pace” to which I received a bug-eyed “Why?” Wanting to remain happily married, I focused more on pointing out streetcar tracks and reminding her how strong she looked.

One improvement over last year was that there was an increased number of bands on the course to spur us on. The water stations, however, seemed to be short of volunteers to distribute cups. In any case, we were still keeping at our desired pace, that is, until the finish.

The Wall at the Finish

As we made the final turn, we were pushing hard for a strong finish. We were headed towards a 57 minute finish and at about 20 feet from the finish line, we hit the wall. This wasn’t that wall that you experience at a marathon where your body just wants to shut down – this was a wall of runners clogged at the finish line. We were stopped dead in our tracks for 30 seconds waiting to cross the finish mat for our chip time. Just awesome.

In a race, not being able to finish when you want to, is unacceptable. Although we finished well within our goal time, what if weren’t? How do you explain to your friends that you met your goal of running under an hour when your official time says otherwise? There simply weren’t enough informed volunteers to move finishers onwards to clear the finish chute. This race was simply undermanned and it showed in the post-race area as well.

The Post-Run Wasn’t so Fun Either

After we finally crossed-over the finish, we just followed in the direction that all the runners were going. There weren’t any signs and it wasn’t clear which way to go to collect our medals. We eventually found our way to the medals, and subsequently the food area which consisted of bagels and bananas. The water and Gatorade area was a farce – just a few volunteers pouring out cups one by one as hundreds of thirsty runners waited. Not good.

I then headed over to the bag check area and thankfully it was well organized and I was able to quickly retrieve my bag, albeit on my own without anyone checking me. We had a number of other friends who ran the race and meeting with them was a challenge – there were no designated meetup areas and a map of the post-race area was never shared. Frustrating.

There was free McDonald’s coffee so we decided to wait in line – big mistake as that single small cup of coffee took about 30 minutes of waiting time in a cold brisk wind. We quickly assessed that there really wasn’t much else to do in the finish area and opted to head towards the shuttle to take us back to the race start area where we parked. The shuttle area had multiple lineups and it was unclear as to which lineups would be serviced in which sequence. We waited, shivering in the cold as mobs of runners would try to jostle into unorganized lineups for the next bus. Painstaking.

The Final Word

The Sporting Life 10K has the potential to be a great race for the city of Toronto. The funds it raises for Camp Ooch for kids with cancer is an incredible contribution towards a great cause. This run does a fantastic job at drawing many new first-time runners to complete a 10K – it did this for myself two years ago and got me hooked. The management of this race, however, has not kept up with its growth in size and it is my sincere hope that the race sponsors and organizers would listen carefully to the feedback from the running community to make this the great race it deserves to be.

Hopefully yours,

Andrew

Medals for Boston

RunningForAReason

May 6, 2013

The following is a guest post from Carolyn Pleasance, coordinator for Medals4Mettle. Medals4Mettle is a marathon running charity dedicated to encouraging children and adults dealing with debilitating illnesses.

When I became the Coordinator for Medals4Mettle in Hamilton ON, I imagined visiting children in hospital and sharing the joy of presenting them with a special medal to acknowledge them in their struggles and triumphs.

I sent a message to my friends, asking if they’d be willing to donate medals to the cause, and one in particular, Rick Hellard, showered me with a box of medals so heavy I was taken aback by his generosity. In the box, which contained almost 100 medals, were 2 Ironman Hawaii medals and one from the 2010 Boston Marathon.

For a moment I was speechless. I’ve never seen those medals in person before, certainly never held them in my hands. Having completed 2 marathons myself, I know the effort it takes to excel to the point to gain entry to these events, let alone complete them.

Then, a few weeks later, the unthinkable happened. Bombs exploded in Boston, and the world of running, and many people’s lives, were forever changed.

The medal Rick sent me took on an even greater meaning, as the team in Boston working with Medals4Mettle sent out a special request. They were looking for donations of Boston medals to present to people affected by the events of that awful day. From first responders who rushed to help, to nurses and doctors in the hospitals, to the injured, to ordinary civilians who went above and beyond.

I knew then that the medal needed to return home, to Boston. I wrote to Rick and asked him if that was okay, and if he wanted to include a note to the recipient. He replied that it was more than okay, and that the note should read:

“With your actions, you earned this more than I did”

I sent the medal home this week, to the team at Medals4Mettle Boston, along with a card, Ricks’ words, and a copy of the Toronto Runs for Boston bib I wore at the Toronto Yonge Street 10K race.

Sometimes on long runs I feel like I’m all alone, but at times like this I’m reminded that there are people, all over the world, running with me in spirit. I can’t thank Rick enough for his generosity, and I’m honoured to partner with such an amazing organization.

When you think there’s nothing one person can do to make a difference, you’re reminded that there is.

Summer Running at the Toronto Marathon: Half Marathon Report

Andrew Chak

May 5, 2013

Today, I ran the Toronto Marathon and completed the half marathon. I was originally scheduled to the full, but a nagging back injury and my lack of winter training caused me to scale back to the half instead. Spring had finally sprung in a beautiful way in Toronto and temperatures were fast forwarding us towards summer-like temperatures for what ended up being a warm race.

Boston, We Run With You

A couple of weeks in advance of the race, I saw a twitter feed promoting a Boston-themed tech shirt that was being produced to raise funds for the Boston Children’s Hospital in memory of the Boston Marathon tragedy. I was happy to participate in this grass-roots campaign and was glad to have my race day shirt chosen for me.

The pre-race expo was efficient and simple – perhaps a bit too simple as you were handed your bib and t-shirt without a bag to carry them. This year’s race shirt is a nice red and white colour and will look great on Canada Day – a vast improvement over the turquoise colour faux pas from last year (apologies for those who actually liked it). The fit of the shirt, however, is a bit tight at the collar – I’m already well aware that I have a big head, but this shirt really reminds me of that fact.

The Pre-Race Preamble

Getting to the race was not a problem; I was able to park on a side street and make my way towards the start at North York Centre. The centre provided a nice warm environment to stretch and use the washrooms (tip: the lower levels have shorter line ups). The baggage drop off was just outside the centre and it was one big pile of bags inside a truck which wasn’t the most reassuring feeling. I did notice that some runners weren’t aware of the bag dropoff cutoff as I saw them running with their gear (note for future reference: cutoff for half marathon bag dropoff is 7:45am).

An Awesome Paceband and Pacebunny

At the expo I picked up a personalized paceband from Marathon Dynamics who provide customized training plans and coaching for runners. The band had my name, my exact target race time and, wait for it, even splits that were adjusted to the course elevation – how cool is that? The band was very useful in the early parts of the race in tracking that I had the right splits at the right time (tip: use the thumb from your opposite hand to point to make it easier to read your next split as your running).

At race start, however, I also opted to follow the 1:35 pace rabbit and he was absolutely great! I usually run with music and headphones, but the pace rabbit was providing such great coaching and encouragement that I opted to listen to him throughout the race. He would talk to all the runners, coach us up the hills with shorter steps and reminded us to take advantage of the downhills. He warned us that the sun would shine on us at Rosedale valley and reassured us that we were “looking good.” If any of you know who the 1:35 pace rabbit was, please extend my thanks to him!

A Satisfying Finish

I tried hanging onto the 1:35 pace rabbit for as long as I could and I basically lost some steam at the 15K mark. My 4:30s were dropping down to 4:57s and I was just trying to hang on. I ended up with a 1:37:17 and I was happy to be under 1:40 again for a half. The post-race was what you would expect with bananas, oranges, bagels, Gatorade and Powerbars. The bag pickup was really well organized with well-marked baggage numbers and many volunteers to retrieve your bag. I took advantage of the free massage tent and was fortunate to have two therapists work on me at once (anybody who is willing to massage sweaty post-race runners deserve a medal in my books).

In Search of Shuttles

The one frustration at the end, however, was in terms of waiting for the shuttle to take us out of Ontario Place. I waited at the designated area and waited, and waited, got sunburned, and waited. Frustrated, I walked over to the TTC stop, and waited, and waited, only to have the wrong bus come by multiple times. Transportation out of the finish area was frustrating – I just wanted to head home. Aside from this quibble, it was still a beautiful spring day, and I decided that it was still a great day for a race.

Trying to keep the pace,

Andrew

Toronto Yonge Street 10K Race Recap

Andrew Chak

April 24, 2013

yonge_street2 — Post run photo with Kip Kangogo. One of us came in first place, one of us did not.

The Toronto Yonge Street 10K holds a special place in my list of races as it was the first one I had ever run two years ago. Last year I was thrilled to run this race as I was able to cross a bucket list item off by running the 10K in 40:19 which meant my time in minutes was less than my age of almost 41. However, being the obsessive runner that I am, I wanted to set a goal this year of running sub 40 as I was so tantalizingly close last year.

Winter Running Wimpery

One of the differences for me this year, however, was the winter running weather. Last year’s winter in Toronto was quite mild and made running outside much more tolerable and thus I was able to keep my running mileage up. This winter, however, sucked. It was cold, it was icy, and I turned into a winter running wimp. I resorted to running on my treadmill and watched contestants on the Biggest Loser get yelled as a means of motivating me to keep running. Given that I can only tolerate treadmill running for so long, I simply did not have the same amount of mileage and conditioning as I did last year.

The Tweak

Fast forward to just ten days before the race, I was playing volleyball and I felt a tweak in my back. I stood on the court stiff as a board as my back did not want me to make any sudden movements. I quickly sought some physiotherapy and was wisely advised to stretch and rest. I did as I was told and eased back into running to test the waters as to how my back was doing. Leading up to the day before the 10K I was feeling quite fine – I even worked up to running a 21K training run the day before the race and felt great.

But on that evening before the race, something happened. I sneezed. And when I sneezed that sneeze, I felt a tweak. Not as bad as the original tweak, but a tweak nonetheless. Oh the sweet joys of getting older. I rested, stretched, took muscle relaxants, wore heat pads and did whatever I could to help my back be stable for the next day, but I knew that a new PR wasn’t going to be in the cards.

The Best Medicine

Despite my unforgiving back, I was still excited as I awoke to race day. I enjoy the methodical process of pinning my bib on just right, to labeling my gear bag, and eating just enough breakfast to fuel me up for the run. I arrived an hour and fifteen minutes before race start and easily found some convenient (read: free) parking nearby and was psyched to get started.

Given the recent bombings at the Boston Marathon, there was a moment of silence to remember those impacted by the terror attack. There was a pre-race speech by race director, Alan Brookes, who reminded us that taking back the streets for a run really is “the best medicine.”

My Nagging Back

And then we were off! I was determined to run as hard as I could tolerate to see what my body could do. I knew that I wanted to stay at 4:00 km splits as much as possible to stay as near to a 40 minute finish time as I could. The first couple of kilometers felt fine and I was enjoying the gradual downhill. As I ran through the third kilometer, the downward grade increased and instead of running faster, my back was starting to nag at me to slow down. Not wanting to end up in a stretcher, I opted to run a bit more conservatively.

1 km: 4:06

2 km: 4:07

3 km: 4:19

The Agonized Terminator

I remember myself feeling quite stiff and probably looking like I was the Terminator but with a look of agony plastered across my face. Although the course is mostly downhill, there are a few uphill parts which slowed me down a touch after the halfway mark.

4 km: 4:08

5 km: 4:18

6 km: 4:12

From Fast to Flat

I still felt good as I turned off of Yonge Street onto Richmond. It still felt like I was on a good pace and I was primarily running by feel at this point. But this was the point where desire was hitting the limits of my conditioning. My winter running legs were showing and my pace slowed down as I was no longer running downhill but across a flat grade.

7 km: 4:26

8 km: 4:32

9 km: 4:27

The Final Stretch

As I turned down Bathurst Street towards Fort York, I knew I was in the final stretch and I got my focus back on. I was going to run hard for the finish and have my usually ridiculous face of agony as I pushed towards the end. I was rewarded with a slightly faster split for the final kilometer and a sub 43 finish time which I was quite happy with considering the circumstances.

10 km: 4:17

Finish: 42:52

Thank you Canada Running Series for another fabulous race – you really do know how to execute a world class race which leads to fast times for runners with both good backs and bad ones.

I’ll be back,

Andrew

Showing support for Boston

UpToSpeed

April 24, 2013

Exactly one week after the bombings took place in Boston, a large group of runners and supporters alike gathered on Parliament Hill in Ottawa. It was the starting point for a solidarity march that would lead the group to the American Embassy where people were invited to hang a donation of gently used running shoes from the fence line.

As I looked around the crowd I realized how many people were sporting Boston 2013 jackets. So many had made the trip from Ottawa to run the race this year. A lot of other people had Boston jackets on from previous years – others were just alone, taking it all in, and there to show their support.

Looking at the crowd, you couldn’t help but think, it was important for us to get together to do this. Events across North America like this one have brought communities together. People are finding comfort in a crowd of people who are asking similar questions. A week ago it was “How could this have happened?” Today it’s “Will Boston ever be the same?”

Debby Duford was one face I found amongst the crowd. She runs a women’s learn to run clinic out of a Running Room located in Downtown Ottawa. Like the rest of us she realizes an event like this impacts the way things are, whether we like it or not.

“One of the first things I thought to myself was,”Great. Terrorists have screwed up air travel and now they’ve done it to races too.”

Debby is actually a volunteer with Ottawa Race Weekend – despite the fact that she works in the finish line area, she isn’t worried about her safety. What resonates with her is the impact this will have on the overall mood of the event.

“A senseless act like this has ramifications, and there have to be steps taken to make sure it doesn’t happen again. But at the same time, this takes away the innocence of it.”

Rhiannon Vogl is a runner from Ottawa who showed up for the event. She’s run a handful of marathons and about 10 half-marathons. Vogl was a participant in Boston in 2010 and it was her first time racing outside the National Capital Region. She said it was like going from little league to the big league.

“The first thing I noticed was the crowds in Boston. The support for runners along the whole route was just amazing.”

Speaking from experience, Vogl knows what goes into training for a marathon. It’s not just the countless miles you have to log in bad weather, it’s also with the support of your family and friends. Before you even get to the race, you’ve got a crowd of people cheering for you. This of course is amplified on race day, and at an event like Boston? You feel it multiplied by the thousands. Face after face that you don’t know, cheering you along the route. It’s part of the experience – and in the case of Boston, she says it’s part of what makes the event so unique.

“When you race a marathon, your whole family is running with you. Changing things too much only gives into the culture of fear,” said Vogel.

Duford said that she had already heard from the volunteer coordinator about security changes coming for Ottawa Race Weekend. She’s been told that people without proper security screenings won’t be allowed in the finish area.

But it seems that what happened in Boston, doesn’t change people’s attitudes towards that race, or any other event for that matter.

Giles Beauparlant raced at Boston this year. His hotel was only blocks away from the finish line. He’s not deterred by what happened.

“Sure, it will make it different next time. But it doesn’t stop me from doing it again,” he said.

“Nope. Not runners. Runners are resilient – they train in everything. An event like this isn’t going to stop them. Runners just have the character,”said Duford.”

Vogel felt similarly.

“I think this will make people want to run Boston more.”

Judging by the spirit of those hanging shoes along the American Embassy’s fence line, you would have to agree. Support for Boston has always been huge – people line the entire length of the race route to cheer on family members and complete strangers. What happened in Boston has brought that same community even closer together. Boston may never be the same, but in many ways, it’s changed the reason why people want to be part of the event. It’s about protecting what will rightfully always belong to those who work hard to get there.

Toronto Marathoners: Let’s run with Boston

Andrew Chak

April 23, 2013

Whenever I meet another runner, I immediately feel a common bond with that other person in knowing that he or she has gone through the same struggles as I have in learning to run longer, faster or harder. We share in the mental roadblocks that we have to overcome to stick to our training plan as well as the physical challenges of doing hill work, intervals or even running through walls. So when the bombs went off at the Boston Marathon, one of our most celebrated running events, we felt as if it was an attack in our own backyard, in our own running community.

When Rob Kent heard that the bombs had killed eight-year old Martin Richard, it touched him in a very personal way as he is a recent father with his own five-month year old son. As a participant in the upcoming Toronto Marathon, Rob wanted to find a way to show the people of Boston that runners in Toronto were supporting them.

Rob quickly hatched the idea of selling a technical t-shirt for runners to wear at the Toronto Marathon to raise funds for Boston Children’s Hospital which is one of the official charities of the Boston Marathon. He contacted the Toronto Marathon organizers and they’ve gotten behind the idea by providing floor space at the pre-race expo as well as promoting the sale of the shirt via Twitter and Facebook.

Rob collaborated with friends and family to come up with the t-shirt design which is in the blue and yellow colours of the Boston Marathon. The “we run with you” phrase was chosen for its power and simplicity; Rob liked that “if you emphasize different words in the sentence, you get a different meaning, but always the same sentiment.” On the back is a 26.2 which incorporates a bowed unicorn head that is derived from the Boston Athletic Association logo and serves as a “very strong image connecting back to the race itself.”

So if you’re planning to run the Toronto Marathon, please consider purchasing one of these shirts and wearing it on race day or you can choose to make a direct donation to the Boston Children’s Hospital. As runners, let us take every opportunity to show our support for Boston and demonstrate that we run with them.

To purchase a shirt, please visit the Boston, we run with you campaign page on Indiegogo. The order deadline is Thursday, April 25, 2013 at 11:59pm.

To make a direct donation, please visit Boston Children’s Hospital 26.2 for Boston Community Fundraiser page.

Running with Boston,

Andrew

TORW: the leader of the pack

RunningForAReason

April 23, 2013

pacebunnygroup — A past TORW pacing team

This year will be Mark Wigmore’s fifth time organizing the Ottawa Race Weekend pacing team. With 58 pacers in the 10K, half-marathon and marathon, it is one of Canada’s largest pacing teams.

How many times have you run at ORW?
I ran my first Ottawa Marathon in 1982, and ran again in 1984. I took a break from running for 20 years and then restarted in 2004. I ran Ottawa in 2005. I have paced or raced every Ottawa marathon since.

What’s the best part about being head-bunny?
I start recruiting in December. The best part is knowing I have a great team of pacers that will deliver for the runners.

What’s the biggest challenge?
Keeping track of all the interest in being a pacer, and sometimes having to say no because I have too many. Not a bad problem to have.

As a pacer, what’s your favourite distance to pace?
I love the marathon. Keeping the right pace is so fundamental to the success of the runners; you can really feel the race with the runners especially in the last 10k.

What’s the best part about being a pacer?
The finishing stretch because I know what a joy the runners are experiencing and I feel like I get to borrow their experience a bit.

Any anecdotes?
The first time I paced, I ran by Jean Chretien who had just retired as PM and was out cheering the runners. I looped back to shake his hand.

Another time, my Garmin quit 15k into the race. I kept asking people running with me for the time and I still came 40 seconds under my target time.

Check out this article for some tips on being a 24- carrot pace bunny!

TORW: an Ottawa fan living in New Jersey

RunningForAReason

April 18, 2013

The following is a guest post by John Revans who is running the Tamarack Ottawa Marathon for the first time this year.

It all started when my son came home and announced he was joining the track team at high school. I told him I always wanted to be on the track team and he told me that was a long time ago. I told him I could still run and he basically told me I would get hurt and I’m old.

Now being from Brooklyn, NY that sounded like a dare, so I began to run. At first I couldn’t run 10 blocks but continued to run. Next 3 miles then 4, then 5 miles. Then my son quit the track team and joined the marching band so I’m up at 5am running while he’s sleeping. As time moved along I entered longer runs 10K, half marathons and in 2009 finished the NYC Marathon in 5:02. Running has most likely saved or added years to my life.

But why Tamarack Ottawa Race Weekend you ask? Simple – I’m an Ottawa Senators fan living in New Jersey. That’s right – sounds crazy but it’s true. I began following the team almost from the beginning just hoping for a win or two. Then the team grew into a terrific winning organization. I listen to the Team 1200 every morning on the way to work and I listen to the Running Show every Saturday morning. I’ve told people that it was going to rain forgetting I was listening to the weather in Ottawa. I wear red on Senators home games so you see how I feel about the team and the city. I can’t wait to visit and finally see the city. So hopefully I can combine the two things I love, running marathons and the Senators. And if I’m lucky the Sens will still be playing hockey. So it’s only natural that a guy from Brooklyn, living in New Jersey wants to run the Ottawa Marathon. I can’t wait to cross the finish line in Ottawa!!!

See you on May 26th!!!

John Revans

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