Staying warm at the start.

Even in rain, wind and gloomy skies – 76 brave souls finished a really tough 16th Annual Tour de Trail 5K & 10K raising $1000 for the Food Bank. This is not a fast course even if it is dry. The wet conditions add time because of slipperiness of mud & it “lengthens” the course as people zig-zag around puddles that block the trail.

Naturally these events only happen because of the work of certain volunteers. We would like to thank Mel Waldron, Libba Padgett, [The Chefs]

Libba & Mel feeding the troops under FCU's awnings.

Rose Temple, Teedie Kagume, Una Southall, Debbie Tait [Registrars]  Steve Beck [Water Transport] Karin Burnikell & her boys – Zack & Eli [Water Station] St Johns Ambulance, Greg Tait & Alston Miller [Super-Dooper Course Pioneers & Marshall Management Team!] Spencer Burns & Malcolm McDonald [Course Sweepers] And Charlie The Dog – Official Course Certifying Dog.

The coffee from Starbucks, the pancakes, sausages & fruit served up by Mel & Libba and the volunteer treats baked by Jeannie at Aroma’s Cafe were all greatly appreciated. After a cold wet race like that you would be amazed at the number of sausages & pancakes that are consumed afterwards! And the awnings that First Credit Union provided were the only shelter that people had at the finish.

The draw winner of the FREE New Balance Minimus Trail shoes was Katie Ruedig!

Katie Ruedig

We would also like to thank the tremendous bunch of kids from Brooks Secondary that acted as our fearless trail marshalls: Aaron Wentworth, Keaton George, Sawyer Gowans, Clayton Hackett, Mariah Morgan, Johanna Noseworthy, Braden Shaffer, Justin Alexander, Jonathon Gordon & Richard Tattersall. You guys were our best marshalls yet! Thanks!

Our most excellent Brooks Secondary marshalls!

In the 5K, our MENS WINNER was Craig Moore running in his first race in 16 years. The WOMENS WINNER  was Rosalyn Culos.

Craig Moore

In the 10K, setting a New Course Record, our MENS WINNER was Larry Nightingale in 43 minutes & 11 seconds. His wife, Teresa, was the WOMENS WINNER. They are both elite runners from Halfmoon Bay & they assured us after the race that this course easily adds 5 to 8 minutes to most peoples’ times for this distance.

We were lucky to have only one serious fall & it only resulted in a banged & bloodied kneecap. On the other hand, I am sad to announce that this is the first year in which we have had to sanction aggression by disqualifying Tania Brown for trying to throw her husband under the barriers at the Finish Line. An evidential picture accompanies this post. Officials have confiscated Ms. Brown’s Garmin until she can prove that she is rehabilitated.

Evidence of one sad woman's desperation!

Official results and times are posted here Tour de Trail 2012 – Results

The makers of Holy Crap are coming to Avid Fitness this Sunday January 29th from 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM to do FREE tastings of their product. As well, while they are here they can give you other nifty ideas for using this wonderful cereal in your daily eating.

As you may know, Holy Crap was a featured product concept on the TV show Dragon’s Den.

Holy Crap is gluten free, lactose free, nut free & does not need to be cooked.  The all natural & all organic ingredients are chia, hemphearts, buckwheat, cranberries, apple & cinnamon. It is hard to beat for for overall wholesomeness! 

Tasting Poster

SPECIAL SALE FOR THE TASTING! We will sell bags of Holy Crap at a blow-out price of only $8.99 – a full $2 less than normal retail price! As well, ALL OLD STOCK – shoes, socks, apparel, etc. – (excluding electronics) is 25% OFF – JUST DURING THE TIME OF THE TASTING!

Drop in, try some Holy Crap and save a bundle! See you Sunday!

Drills & strength work help you run better!

Una came up with a nifty group training idea for the month of January! The idea is to get together Monday & Friday mornings before work – do 10 minutes of drills like track & field athletes do; follow that with a quick-tempo 20 to 30 minute outdoor run & then the whole group comes inside to do 20 minutes of running-specific strength exercises.

This link opens the flyer http://www.avidfitness.ca/documents/runtough.pdf

Call Avid to register or ask more questions – 604-485-9580 or e-mail Una at una@avidfitness.ca

Time is ticking and now there are only 13 days left until the Jingle Jog 5K organized by Brooks Secondary School students. This is a nifty little event & a great opportunity to run in festive apparel. Besides the little bit of money that you pay when you enter goes to the local Food Bank. The run happens on Sunday December 11th.

You can pre-register online at this link https://www.registrationlogic.com/secure/Register.aspx?ID=114

Get your entry in and come out to support the Food Bank and the efforts of the Brooks students!

Don't cry - save big at our 2-Day Sale!

We were stunned by the turn-out at our GREAT 1-Day Sale that we held back on October 22nd. But then came the flood of e-mails & phone calls from people who missed the deals because of work or travel obligations. Folks asked us when we would do it again.

Well, we are doing a special sale again and we are doing it for 2 days this time.

The fall rains have started in earnest so this is a great chance to get deals on jackets, tops & running pants for you or for the runner on your shopping list.2.Day.Sale

Attend Brooks Running Tech Night tonight & your name will be entered in a draw to win a FREE pair of Brooks Ghosts, Ravennas or Cascadias – if you win, you get to pick from one of those 3 model lines.

Also, immediately after the clinic – enjoy a 25% discount off all in-stock apparel – but just for tonight!

Bring your old shoes for evaluation of your shoe needs, discuss the pros & cons of minimal vs traditional shoes, learn a few things and SAVE big on running clothing TONIGHT ONLY!

This Friday night November 4th from 6:30 till 7:30 PM, Christy Lynn – the Traveling Technical Guru for Brooks Running – will be here to discuss the differences between minimalist (barefoot) shoes & traditional running shoes. She will bring models from each style & explain the research that went into them. As one of the local runners says, “There has to be some meat behind the smoke & the sizzle.”

Christy can speak the “techno-talk” and quote the numbers, but she is even better at explaining things in simple terms that anyone can understand. Last time that she was here, she brought some really nifty hands-on displays that really helped us understand the differences in certain sole materials. So this presentation is for anyone – occasional walkers & joggers right up to competitive runners.

She will wrap things up in plenty of time for you to still get down to “Martinis For A Cause” because that does not start until 8:00 PM.

Needless to say, besides the opportunity to pick Christy’s brain with your running technique questions, we will have draw prizes, a special shopping discount for attendees only, awesome treats & coffee from Aroma’s next door & some free schwag!

Here is a link to the flyer http://www.avidfitness.ca/documents/feelorfloat.pdf

See you there! Bring your old shoes & your questions.