Less than 2 weeks to marathon day

It's almost Thanksgiving so the marathon is just around the corner. I went out yesterday with son Sean for his last distance run before he tapers. It worked out to over an hour an a half with a couple of tough hills which showed that I'm lacking but Sean's ready and I hope all the other stalwarts are as well.

Being out of the organizing side of the event has been rather nice and allowed me to watch from the outside. Alex and company are putting together a good event and the numbers show. So, here's hoping for a good day. I'll be working the set up operations as a contract for the event. This will be a first for a local run as far as I know. If it proves to be successful and acceptable, maybe other events will do something similar.

Stay tuned.

Volunteering

The KVC Marathon is but 3 weeks away, so its getting down to crunch time for all the details that come together to make the event.

The most important aspect is the volunteers that are needed along the course and behind the scenes as well. When the KVC first organized back in 2004, we had an idea about meeting volunteer needs that was not fully explored, so I'm resurrecting it today. The idea was simple, but one that I think is necessary to sustain the event.

Every marathoner should bring with them a support team of 2 or 3 to track them and provide them with their needs at the resource stations along the route. In turn, the marathoner would return the favour by supporting someone at another event which would make the process sustainable and keep the events alive.

Hey, it could be just that easy.

I'm back

hey, I'm back after just meeting my counterpart Chuck Teed who's blog is tracing his prep for the KVC Marathon. Anyway, I met him out on the Fundy Trail doing the half marathon as a prep for his upcoming full. Wow, what a daunting course with all the hills. But, he looked no worse for the wear as I tracked him along.
So, I'm back on board and will now stay attached as the marathon is just 4 weeks away.

Where does a month go?

Hey, it's been almost a month since the last blog, so I need to catch up and remember all I've done. Summer time seems to make the days fly. On the running side, the intro to running group made it to their 5k goal at the Grand Bay Canada Day run and they all did well. Since then, the warm days have given way to a couple of lazy runs a week. I'm still not sure about a fall marathon, but will have to decide soon.
MBTS finally has their new summer time course. It encompasses a lot of the original east west course to Lorneville, so they're back to square one and the search for the elusive marathon course for Saint John continues.............
Having said that, time, I believe, will show that a fall course from the valley is still the number one option, but organizers from MBTS aren't ready to consider.
Stay tuned.

I'm back

Well I'm back after a busy 3 weeks with the prep and running of the Bikaru. The event turned out well with numbers up despite the weather. Results are at www.kvcmarathon.com. Besides that my introductory running group continues to progress with the goal of the Canada Day 5k almost in sight.
My other hat, the kayaking one, has been on more of late as well. River Bay Adventures is now officially set up in St Martins. We've already done several excursions.
As a result of all the business my own running has gone on the back burner. Perhaps I can get some running in out St Martins way in between tours.
On an aside, I see Marathon By The Sea has gone back to a version of their original course which is wise.
And on that note, I'll sign off for now.

Something profound

So much for the week to week commentary about me and the weather, although the temperature is getting into the high 20s this holiday weekend and one should be outside enjoying it.
Anyway, I thought I'd take a new route and try to say some profound stuff where I'm touting myself as a founder.
Let's start with the question of the day, why do people run? Good question, eh?
A friend of mine said he thought about getting into running, but commented that any runners he saw weren't smiling, so that doesn't look like any fun.
Somebody asked my 92 year old father if he ever did any running and he said, "no, we always stood there and fought".
When Armstrong the moon walker was asked about running, he said, "you only get so many heartbeats in a life time, so why waste them on running".

So, what might we learn from this? Well for me, I'm not a fighter, so I'll keep running and if I run properly* my heart will become more efficient and beat less. But, I too have lots to do on the smiling side. Maybe I'll start by clowning it up and make someone laugh along the way and maybe I'll smile too.

*my discipline in this regard is Chi Running. Check it out at: www.chirunning.com

Summertime activities

With summertime weather approaching, it's a good time to get into a mix of activities that are conduicive to the warmer weather and can help the motivation. For me, it's a mix of biking, hiking, kayaking and running. It was with that thought in mind that I introduced a fun event to kick off preparations for the fall KVC Marathon/Relay. On the first Sunday of June, people are invited to the Bikaru:
The annual Bikaru this year goes on Sunday June 6th.
The 3 part event(10k run, 25k bike, 7k kayak) is an intro to the course for the KVC Marathon. Participants can do it all, do it as a team or just do one leg.

- The day concludes with a noon hour barbecue on the wharf at Renforth.

This event is sponsored by the KVC Marathon and River Bay Adventures at no charge.
- Monitoring services for bikes in Hampton and kayaks in Rothesay will be provided.
Register with River Bay Adventures: riverbayadventures@gmail.com

Check out either www.kvcmarathon.com or www.riverbayadventures.com for updates

So, for anyone reading, spread the word and come for a different and fun experience.