Creemore Snow Run

I'm still having trouble grasping the fact that I will attempt to garner the OUTRace Norm Patenaude award this year.  I must be out of my mind.  Yes, I am agreeing with you...  After making such a hubris declaration, I sat down with the OUTRace schedule and did some number crunching.  There are 11 ultra events on the schedule.  I need to complete 8 of them.  We are not able to make 2 of the events; Niagara and Haliburton.  My nephew had the temerity to plan his wedding on June 17, which is the Niagara Ultra and also my birthday.  We are most likely in Great Britain in September.  I know, I could sign up for Hali and see what happens, but I need to present a semblance of logic.  Speaking of realism, in case of a DNF, I need to sign up for the remaining 9 ultras, 3 of which occur on 3 consecutive weekend.  Want to guess how many times I have run back-to-back ultras?  Yes indeed, zero times!  Oh well, pragmatism is a lost art in the ultra community...

Creemore Snow Run

About 15 hardy souls braved the elements and drove up (okay Stephen, down) to Creemore.  The course was surprisingly easy to run.  I think the key factor was that Creemore received a light dusting of snow, instead of the projected freezing rain.  Temperatures were mild and the sun had some difficulty breaking through the cloud layer.  The result was mainly firm footing, with a few icy spots to keep you on your toes.

A few were satisfied with a single 7.5K loop although most stretched the run to 3 loops.  Stephen Bridson held on for 5 loops, considered a seriously tough 37.5K.  Everhard Olivieri-Munroe bagged 6 loops for an official ultra.  One runner (yes, I have forgotten her name) ran one loop.  What makes this of note is that this was her first outdoor run.  Talk about picking a tough first run!

After the run, we retired to the house and chatted about recent runs and race plans for 2017.  This mild January weather is helping us to run outdoors instead of being chained to the treadmill.  I do hope that the weather turns cold as I need some snow before the maple syrup season.  I think people were delighted to receive a finishing medal, embossed with a runner and CSR.  Not quite a race, but the course was tough enough to acknowledge with a finishing medal!

And so, I am a bit in limbo lately.  We leave in about a month for Costa Rica, to spend a week on the beach with Lee Anne's daughter Lily, son-in-law Daryl and the grandchildren.  Not enough time to start a project...  We get back on March 1, just in time to crank up the maple syrup machine.  If anyone is interested in seeing the operation, please email me and we can make plans.  I have 340 taps, so the help is much appreciated!

Some of you should receive an email from OUTRace, as plans are to send out the 2017 start-up email this weekend.  It talks about the 2016 series winners, what's new in 2017 and a suggestion on how to attempt your first ultra, or (if you are already an ultra runner) trying a 6 hour race.  I'm looking forward to a challenging year.


Cheers!