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Scotiabank Vancouver Half

Feb 05 2016
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Scotiabank Vancouver Half – Gold Certified sustainable event!

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February 11, 2016 – Vancouver, BC

The Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon and 5k is committed to producing a world-class event that showcases the city and is both socially and environmentally responsible. After a complete analysis by the Council for Responsible Sport, the 2015 event has been awarded a Gold Certification, making it the only event in Canada to do so. By reaching the highest sustainability certification of any event in the country, #ScotiaHalf claims to be Canada’s Greenest Race!

west-02-09-16-crs-goldCertification from the Council for Responsible Sport formally recognizes significant achievements through the successful completion of socially and environmentally responsible best practices at sporting events. Standards can be achieved in areas ranging from waste management and climate impact to community involvement, health promotion and more. The only other certified event in Canada is the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon (Silver – 2014).

The Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon has a big job that includes integrating sustainability into all aspects of its production. The event was able to achieve Gold level certification by receiving 50 out of 50 credits it applied for, improving upon the silver certification it earned in 2013. Credits in the Council’s certification program are based on industry best practices in the areas of planning and communications, procurement, resource management, access and equity and community legacy.

“We are thrilled to have been awarded this designation”, said Operations Director Tom Skinner. “Our staff and Volunteers have worked tirelessly over the years to achieve this goal. We can all feel proud that we are doing our very best for the environment and our community. We feel that we have set the bar high for other events in the region and across Canada.”

The Council for Responsible Sport’s certification director, Shelley Villalobos, commended the achievement by saying, “this gold certificate is well-earned by Canada Running Series for its mature, thorough approach to hosting an exemplary responsible event in the Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon.”

Waste Diversion Highlights

  • 98% of waste diverted from the landfill over two days at the Expo and Race Day
  • This includes over 600kg of composted waste and 300kg of cardboard/paper
  • Over 350kg of food donated to Quest Food Exchange
  • Only 56kg of garbage was produced for over 6000 runners
  • Participants brought hard-to-recycle items (batteries, light bulbs, etc) from home to be recycled

Carbon Footprint and Offsets

  • All electrical use at the Event Expo was offset by purchasing clean energy from Bullfrog Power
  • Almost 30% of the event’s operational power came from solar and bike power, covering the majority of the Finish Area’s power needs
  • Carbon footprint of event calculated at 5.03 tonnes, 100% of which is being offset through Offsetters.ca carbon credits, making the event carbon neutral
  • New Bike Valet increased the number of participants who rode their bikes to Stanley Park
  • Event paid for additional public transit service on select routes headed to UBC on Sunday AM
  • Event will also purchase carbon credits to cover 50% of greenhouse gases produced by local participants travelling to the event (additional 17 tonnes)

Procurement

  • 100% of food purchased for the event was either from local businesses or sustainably produced (e.g. local cookies and bagels, organic fruits)
  • Majority of services and supplies procured from event come from locally owned businesses
  • 100% of registration performed online to remove paper registration forms
  • Participants all receive Virtual Event Bag, to cut down on waste from paper flyers and handouts

Improvements Planned for 2016

While ecstatic about the Gold certification, the team at Scotia Half is already thinking of ways to improve for next year. Over 80% of participants surveyed said sustainability efforts were good or great, and many provided suggestions on ways to improve. Plans for 2016 include:

  • Additional recycling and compost stations to be added to Finish Food Area
  • On-course waste diversion at Water Stations to be simplified with improved signage and infrastructure
  • On-course water bottle refill stations will be expanded to reduce reliance on paper cups
  • Supply orders will be further refined, thanks to data collected at 2014 and 2015 events, reducing waste

Join us at Canada’s most sustainable run on June 26, 2016! Sign up today at VancouverHalf.com to show your support for sustainable events!

Jun 28 2015
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Reid Coolsaet and Lanni Marchant take convincing wins in Scotiabank Vancouver Half-marathon.

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VANCOUVER. June 28th. Reid Coolsaet and Lanni Marchant both cruised to comfortable wins on a hot morning at the 17th annual Scotiabank Vancouver Half-marathon, in 65:40 and 71:08, respectively. Temperatures were between 20 and 25 celsius under bright blue, sunny skies for the 4,400 runners who took off from UBC to run the 21k down to Stanley Park, along the Pacific shores, in one of the world’s most-scenic urban road races. Another 2,150 ran the accompanying 5K that was held entirely within the park, around Lost Lagoon and the stunning Stanley Park Seawall. Combined, the 6,500 participants were drawn from 8 Canadian provinces and 29 countries.

The men’s race got off to an ambitious start with the first ScotiaHalf Blog Reidkilometre covered in 2:55, and the second in 2:59. A group of four broke away immediately; Matt Loiselle and Sami Jibril from Newmarket Huskies High Performance group in the Greater Toronto Area pushing the pace, with Kenyan Bernard Ngeno and Reid Coolsaet of Guelph’s Speed River TFC tucked in behind. After settling into a couple of 3:08 kilometres, the pace began to slip. Reid Coolsaet moved to the front to pick things up, and Ngeno and Jibril were immediately detached. Coolsaet and Loiselle then ran together out of the UBC campus area, and down to Spanish Banks, passing 10k in 30:26. In a 2:55 12th kilometre, Coolsaet broke clear. He extended his lead after the sharp hill up from Jericho to West 4th, and cruised for home.

“I felt good and am happy with my race,” said Coolsaet. “It seemed a little quick at the start. I mixed it up in the pack for a bit. Matt and I ran together ‘til about 10k, then I pushed on. It was hard on my own, but I wanted to go hard. It was a hot one! I’m just glad there was no-one pushing me on the Burrard Bridge hill today!”    

ij_svhm15_1259

The battle for the places was perhaps a little more interesting as Loiselle faded to 3rd (66:58), with 21-year old American collegiate runner Arya Bahreini from Edmond, Oklahoma finishing strong to take 2nd in 66:34. Jibril kept going for 4th (67:14), with Rob Watson the first Vancouver man home in 69:02 for 5th. Watson is putting in some 200 km weeks currently, in preparation for the Men’s marathon at the PanAm Games in Toronto on July 25th, where he will race for Canada. “It was hot, the legs were tired, and the body took a beating,” said Watson.

ScotiaHalf Blog LanniThe women’s race featured two intriguing contests: Lanni Marchant, the country’s #1 ranked marathoner and Natasha Wodak; and top Masters’ athletes Lioudmila Kortchaguina of Toronto (still the Course Record Holder with her 70:50 from 2003) and Catherine Watkins of Vancouver’s BC Endurance Project. Wodak bested her friend and sometime Asics training partner Marchant, 31:41 to 31:46, to set a new Canadian 10,000m track record at the Payton Jordan Invitational in May. Since then, the road-race specialist Marchant has got the better of Wodak at the National 10K Road Championships in Ottawa and the National Half-marathon Championships in Calgary. Like Watson, Watkins will also be representing Canada in the PanAm Games, in the women’s marathon on July 18th.  With Wodak also running for the VOKRA cat rescue charity, wearing cat-like face make-up, the duel with Marchant was also billed as the “Catfight in Vancouver”!  ij_svhm15_8384

“Natasha and I were together for about 12k,” said Marchant. “She was more aggressive on the downhills. My hips don’t like the big downhills! I knew if I just stayed with her and relaxed, once we started climbing (at 12k and 18k), I’d be ok.” Lanni was ok, and retained her road supremacy, crossing the line in a very impressive 71:08, given the conditions. Natasha was 2nd (72:31), while Lioudmila won the Masters battle taking 3rd overall in 77:33, with Catherine Watkins 4th in 79:04. Both Marchant and Wodak will also represent Canada in the 10,000m in the PanAms next month, and then go on to race the same distance at the World Championships in Beijing in August.

While the warm weather proved a challenge for racing, it was conducive to a great post-race party in Stanley Park, with March Hare playing “live” on stage. And 83 Vancouver area charities went home smiling! Impressively, some 30% of the 6,500 participants ran for one of the official charities in the Scotiabank Charity Challenge, raising almost $1 million for the community.

ScotiaHalf Blog CharityFull results available at http://www.canadarunningseries.com/svhm/svhmRESULT.htm        

Jun 24 2015
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#ScotiaHalf – Running Green

By | Scotiabank Vancouver Half | No Comments

In case you missed it, we’re striving to be Canada’s first event to receive a Gold level certification in Sustainability from the Council for Responsible Sport!

How you can help us:greenchair-svhm-expo

  • Bring your own water bottle – refill at one of our refill stations (last table at Aid Stations) to help reduce cups used and to minimize water waste
  • Bring hard-to-recycle-items (batteries, lightbulbs, old running shoes, cookie/cracker wrappers) to our Expo and Green Chair will recycling them for you
  • Bring your old iPod or MP3 players to the Music Heals booth at the Expo and they’ll be use in the Music Heals iPod Pharmacy program
  • Choose a sustainable method of getting to the race
    • transit – additional service has been added to the 99 Route, leaving Broadway Station at 6:30am & 6:45am on Race Day Sunday! There will also be an additional bus (modified 25 Route) leaving King Edward & Cambie St at 6:24am heading to UBC.
    • bike to the 5k – bike valet added to Stanley Park
    • walk/run – get your warmup in!
    • carpool to UBC then take our free shuttle from the Finish Line back to UBC

15-svhm-solarbikeOther initiatives:

  • Almost all event waste is sorted for composting and recycling, with 98% being diverted from the landfill in 2014.
  • 100% of finisher food purchased for the event is either locally produced or organic
  • Reduced carbon footprint by powering sound system and stage with solar and bike power – get ready to spin out your legs on a bike after the race!
  • Expo is bullfrogpowered with 100% green electricity! This means that Bullfrog Power will ensure that the equivalent amount of renewable electricity is put onto the energy system to match the amount consumed by the event.
  • Carbon credits from Offsetters.ca will be purchased to offset the carbon footprint from event operations (trucks, generators, supply deliveries) and participants’ travel to the event.
  • Brita Water Filters will be on site at the finish area providing fresh, filtered tap water to runners, reducing the amount of water that has to be brought into the event and cutting out single-use plastic bottles.

Read our original Press Release

Jun 24 2015
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Inspiration!

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VANCOUVER June 24th 2015. Digital Champion Lynda Kerr was born and raised in Vancouver and is grateful everyday for the mountains, the river, the trees, and all the opportunities of living in such a beautiful city. Running wasn’t on Lynda’s radar until a few years ago when she signed up to train for the Vancouver Sun Run with some friends from work. The next year the group decided to train for a half-marathon and Lynda is excited to be conquering the distance again on June 28th at the Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon! Connect with Lynda on Twitter and Instagram.

Inspiration! By Lynda Kerr

I am in the middle of a sea of people – colourful, healthy, Lynda Kerr Blog 2happy.  You beautiful runners. Race day is finally here, the finish line is a few hours away.  I am surrounded by a feeling of spirit that will carry me (hopefully) to the end of the race.  As I look around, I see a community, assorted and diverse.  We all have the same goal, we’re all headed in the same direction, but what gets each of us there, our inspiration, is as unique as we are on the outside.

What inspires us to get from the start to the finish of a running race?  What inspires us to even sign up for such an event?  Here we are, today, all together. There was a moment, our own moment, when each of us said “YES!” and with friends or alone; training or maybe not so much of it; with dread, or anticipation, nursing injuries or anxiety.  The excitement… here we go!

Are you seeking your personal best?  Checking something off your bucket list?  Are you running for a better body, a clearer mind or is it because you like to eat?  Is it because, like Al Howie, you just need to  run?  Are you running because everyone else is and it seemed like a good idea a few months ago?  Did you sign up for that run clinic to meet new friends, or maybe a new love?  Are you running to get away from yourself, or maybe to have time with yourself? Are you running to fundraise, or in memory or for healing?

Each one of us has our own inspiration. The why. Here is why I am doing this. How come you are doing this?

  1. I was inspired by the challenge of becoming a Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon Digital Champion. I really like to write and the idea of writing, and people actually reading what I write was quite appealing. So appealing, in fact, that I’d run a half-marathon for that.
  2. I am very inspired by the thought of running a personal best, that’s the thought…not the training.
  3. I am inspired by the people at Dixon Transition Society. See my fundraising page and information about Team Dixon, and please donate!
  4. I am inspired by the knowledge that this is a choice I have made, the choice to run, and that I have the physical and mental ability to run 21.1 kilometres. What keeps me going, what makes me push myself, is to acknowledge my good fortune, running with full appreciation of those who have physical challenges, mental challenges, life challenges; I appreciate my strong legs that can take me down the pathway; I appreciate my mostly pain-free body and the physical miracle of being human.

6369A397-E19A-402C-8C77-D0C50B1B215EThere are so many in this world who may never have the luxury of choosing to participate in a run, in Vancouver, on a beautiful day in June.  There are so many who have to be tougher physically, mentally and spiritually then I have ever had to be.  Oh, how lucky I am to be at the Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon, in this inspired community.  You are in front of me, behind me, but most important around me, and your collective inspiration will carry me to the end.

Share you inspiration for running the Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon on Twitter or Instagram using hashtag #ScotiaHalf! All answers will appear on our Social Hub.

Jun 18 2015
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Marchant and Wodak Continue Rivalry in Vancouver. By Paul Gains

By | Scotiabank Vancouver Half | No Comments

VANCOUVER June 18th 2015. A star studded field has been assembled for the Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon, June 28th but all eyes will be on the dazzling duo of Natasha Wodak and Lanni Marchant.

The pair have battled all Spring on the roads and on the track with a 2-2 score. Vancouver will be a deciding race.

Wodak, the 33 year old Vancouver resident set a new Canadian 10,000m record at the Payton Jordan Invitational May 2nd with a time of 31:41.59  getting the better of her friend and rival whose tenacity was rewarded with a personal best of 31:46.94, the third fastest time ever run by a Canadian. Wodak also beat Marchant at the United Airlines New York Half Marathon in March.

It was a different story at the Ottawa 10k May 24th when LanniMarchant, a criminal defense lawyer living in Chattanooga, Tennessee,  finished 3rd in a very strong field with a time of 31:49. Wodak was 4th ten seconds later. The two were heavily applauded for those performances in the IAAF Gold Label race as they beat many strong East African athletes.

Most recently they raced at the Calgary Half Marathon where Marchant put more than a minute on her rival winning in 1:12:17 to claim the National Half-Marathon Championship.

A year ago Marchant easily won in Vancouver. On the day her task was simply to show the folks at Athletics Canada that she was fit enough to represent Canada at the Commonwealth Games marathon. Her 4th place in Glasgow was proof they had chosen well. This year she knows it will be a more competitive race.

“Natasha and I have had a ‘back and forth’ all season,” says Marchant, who is also the Canadian women’s marathon record holder at 2:28:00. “I don’t think that will change for this race. She is running on her home course and I am defending my title on this course. We both have things at stake but that’s how good competition comes about. I think we we’ll see how it goes towards the end of the race.

“I don’t think I can run away from her – like a bad habit – and I will do my best to not let her do that to me. So I think it will be us next to each other or close to each other for a lot of the race before one of us makes a move.”

NatashaUp until last week Marchant had stayed with Wodak at her Vancouver apartment before Wodak flew to New York to compete in the NY Mini 10k and Marchant went south to California. The pair are friends when they are not competing.

“We have tons in common,” Wodak reveals. “We enjoy doing the same things; we like to go out and have a glass of wine or have a beer.  We are actually friends, we don’t just run together, we do other things. We get along very well.”

Wodak will approach the race from a different perspective. Both she and Marchant will represent Canada at the Pan Am Games and then the IAAF World Championships in Beijing. They will run the 10,000m at these championships. In order to be in peak fitness for Beijing she and her coach, Richard Lee,                                                              adjusted her training program going forward.

“Richard and I sat down and decided June would be a good time for me to sort of take a step back in my training,” she explains. “It’s so that I could have a little bit of a rest from racing hard. I have the Pan Am 10,000m in July but my ‘goal race’ is 10,000m in Beijing at the end of August. So for me to be able to peak at the end of August we decided it was important to take a step, basically, off the track in June. This month is not about racing hard it’s going back to basics getting in some longer runs and tempo runs.”

Among those who have been following the rivalry is 2012 ReidCanadian Olympic marathoner Reid Coolsaet. The Guelph, Ontario resident will also be racing Vancouver and acknowledges the focus has switched to the two ladies when it is usually upon the Canadian Olympic marathon men.

“I don’t really think there’s a difference in performance so much – I qualified for the 2016 Olympics,” Coolsaet says of seeing the tables turned. “The difference is just that they have a good head to head competition going. They’ve gone one for one in half marathon and then the 10k which makes it more exciting than myself running a race, while other Canadians like (two time Olympian) Eric (Gillis) are running the 10k championships and me running the half marathon championship.

“I think that is the big thing; they are running well and they are going back and forth. You don’t know who is going to win each race. I think that is what is exciting about it. It’s cool. Chasing times is not that exciting unless you hit them. A big competition is always cool to see.”

Coolsaet suffered a rare loss on the roads at the Calgary Half Marathon finishing eleven seconds behind Kip Kangogo, the Kenyan born Canadian citizen. He says he will be ready for the Vancouver race.

“After the Rotterdam marathon I took a couple of weeks off and I have just completed six weeks of base training,” he reports. “So the Calgary half marathon was kind of really early in my build up. Since Calgary, my workouts have picked up and, starting this week, I am going to have a 10k focus. I will be in better shape for a half marathon in Vancouver at the end of June than I was for Calgary.”

Coolsaet will face Canadian international Rob Watson and the up and coming Sami Jibril among others.

For a complete Start List click here: https://canadarunningseries.com/blog/2015/06/svhm-elite/

 

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Jun 17 2015
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Running: A State of Mind

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VANCOUVER June 17th 2015. Digital Champion Mike Hsiao began his running journey in December 2012. He was borderline obese, stressed from life and school and suffering from non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). After spending the night in the ER due to complications Mike decided that he needed to make a change for good, and that change was running! He started out with just two laps around the track, and after pouring hours into his training, that two laps quickly turned into his first 10k race. In 2013 he ran the Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon, his first 21.1k race. Since then, mike has completed close to 18 races, including 6 half-marathons, 1 full marathon, 137 Grouse Grinds, and 1 triathlon. He’s lost 1/4 of my body weight and is now fully cured of the NAFLD. Now, Mike is raising awareness and funds to help find cures for liver diseases so no one has to go through what he did. Connect with Mike on Instagram and on his blog.

Running: A State of Mind. By Mike Hsiao 

rs_svhm15_digital champions-14Something that is often overlooked is how important the mind really is. You aren’t becoming a Buddhist monk so it’s not a thing where you sit and meditate for countless hours to get the right state. Rather, it is a process of learning and understanding your body and the little unnoticeable accomplishments that are like pieces of a puzzle that creates a bigger picture, which is an image of you.

When I started running, I was all alone and struggled with myself. But what I really struggled with wasn’t my weight or the workout, but really the little insecure monsters that creep out here and there. I would start to compare myself to other people and wonder why I wasn’t like them. At the gym I would compare myself to the guys with the six pack abs, or during a run, I would compare myself to the people who seemed to be bolting by me without breaking a sweat. Having these insecurities and not knowing what to do when your mind starts to think like this isn’t a good feeling. The mental struggle is real and probably the most challenging of all of the factors when it comes to training for a race. Until I figured out some ways to make it better for myself, racing and running felt like a drag. It really comes down to two things: realizing what your limits, strengths and weaknesses are and letting your mind grow so you can become a better person.

Realizing your limits: One key thing that I’ve learned is that everyone is different. This may sound cliché but if you think about it, it’s meaning is profound. Our genetics are different and depending on our life experiences, there is not one identical person in this world. So you can’t expect to run as fast as Usain Bolt or look the same as that really annoying guy next door with the six pack, beautiful hazel eyes and perfect teeth. You were built to be you and no one can replicate you. There’s a famous saying by Oscar Wilde “Be yourself, because everyone else is taken”. So if you put in an hour to train for a race and Mr. Super hot dude next door is also putting in an hour at the gym, but the “results” look more visible on him than you, that doesn’t mean you haven’t trained. You are both putting in an hour, you are both trying your best. The key is to find out what your best is and be satisfied with that. You can only really go as fast as you were built to go (if you go any faster, you risk injury). Once you accept yourself for who you are, then all of a sudden there is only one competitor on the race track, and that is you.

Building your strengths: This is where the challenge really begins. Once you realize what your limits are, you need to fight the inner battle on the other side of things, and this is recognizing where your weaknesses are. These weaknesses are things that you can build upon and they don’t necessarily have a limit. For example, if you always have a hard time running non-stop up hills, this is a weakness. If you have a hard time running up hills at the speed of Usain Bolt (that said, if you are Usain Bolt or an Olympian, then pretend the Usain Bolt we are talking about in here is a Cheetah or something), then the expectation maybe beyond what you were built for. Once you find your own weaknesses, this is where the mind comes in. Your mind will help you set your goals to build on the weaknesses and convert them into strengths. Your mind will keep you going to achieve your goals and overcome your weaknesses. Your mind will ultimately bring you through the hard times and help you persevere through tough training and that last few kilometers of every race.

The result: When you throw away your insecurities and just enjoy the moment of the race, the people around you doing the sport and thing they love, that is when running becomes fun. The training leading up to a race is more about the mental challenge than anything else because you are getting to know the person you should know the most, which is yourself. You are getting to know your limits, your strengths and ultimately, you are building your own owner’s manual. At the end of the race, besides being more physically fit, it is really the mind and what you have put yourself through to grow as a person that is the prize.

I look forward to seeing you at the Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon on June 28th! I love making friends so feel free to connect with me via Instagram or Facebook.

 

 

Jun 16 2015
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2015 #ScotiaHalf Elite Start List

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Vancouver, BC – June 16, 2015
Elite list and numbers, for the 2015 Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon

Men’s Start List

Bib Name City Prov Twitter
2 Reid Coolsaet Guelph ON @reidcoolsaet
3 Rob Watson Vancouver BC @robbiedxc
4 Sami Jibril Toronto ON
5 Matt Loiselle Toronto ON
6 Willy Kimosop Lethbridge AB
7 David Le Porho Montreal QC
8 Berhanu Degefa Toronto ON
14 Jeff Symonds Vancouver BC
15 Jeremiah Ziak Vancouver BC
16 Nick Hastie Vancouver BC @nehastie
17 Craig McMillan North Vancouver BC
18 Corey Gallagher Winnipeg MB @CoreyGallagher4
21 David Larpenteur Bellingham WA
22 Bryan Andrews Vancouver BC
23 Drew Nicholson Surrey BC
24 Chris Napier Vancouver BC @runnerphysio
25 Tyler Cannon Bellingham WA
31 Skeets Morel Coldstream BC
32 Mark Bennett Vancouver BC @mbenvan
33 Dave Stephens North Vancouver BC
34 Barry Young Vancouver BC @BourryYang
35 Hicham El amiri Victoria BC

Women’s Start List

Bib Name City Prov Twitter
F1 Lanni Marchant London ON @ljm2525
F2 Natasha Wodak Vancouver BC @tasha_wodak
F3 Lioudmila Kortchaguina Markham ON
F4 Catherine Watkins Vancouver BC @runmommaster
F5 Kimberley Doerksen Gibsons BC @kadoerks
F10 Danya Crawford Midway UT
F11 Lissa Zimmer Vancouver BC @lissa2s
F12 Melissa Ross Errington BC @melissaross929
F14 Katherine Moore Vancouver BC @runningintoyoga
F15 Kristyn Webster Port Moody BC
F21 Melanie Kassel Chilliwack BC
F22 Margreet Dietz Squamish BC @MargreetDietz
F23 Karen Warrendorf Vancouver BC @kwarrendorf
F24 Karyn Mitchell North Vancouver BC @karyn_mitchell
Jun 15 2015
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RCH Foundation – the Van Marrewyks

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Vancouver, BC – June 15

When you google the phrase “making lemonade out of lemons” Ron and Stephanie Van Marrewyk’s name should appear at the top of the page. After finding out they were expecting triplets in 2009 they were even more surprised to learn that the Stephanie would have to have an emergency c-section at 29 weeks.

Their three girls were born just over 2lbs each and spent over 88 days in the hospital dealing with breathing issues, feeding issues and meningitis. Most of that time was spent at the Royal Colombian Hospital in the NICU.

The care and support that the family received from the health care team over that time was overwhelming. Determined to say thank you, the Van Marrewyks spent two years fundraising over $110,000 for the NICU to help other families in similar situations.

This year, with their triplets turning a happy and healthy 5 years old next week, they have teamed up with the Scotiabank Vancouver 5K Charity Challenge on June 28th, and are aiming to raise $55,000.

“We felt so blessed to be surrounded by amazing nurses and doctors, and now we want to raise money for Royal Columbian Hospital Foundation to purchase a jet ventilator so other fragile newborns can receive life-saving care.” – Ron & Stephanie Van Marrewyk

Royal Columbian Hospital provides the highest level of care to some of the most critically ill and injured patients in the province. It is the only hospital in BC with cardiac, trauma, neurosciences, high-risk maternity and neonatal intensive care on one site. Its Foundation relies on the generous support of individuals, businesses, community groups and other foundations to achieve its vision — to inspire giving and grow funding so patients have access to the best in health care at Royal Columbian Hospital.

Find out more about the foundation and how you can support them here.

 

Jun 09 2015
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Tapestry Foundation – Imelda Villeneuve

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Imelda Villeneuve has worked as a nurse at the Mount St. Joseph Hospital Providence Health Care Breast Centre since its inception in 2009. A breast cancer survivor herself, she is able to provide relatable support to patients and recognizes the importance of the clinic as a second ‘home’ to her patients.

This is one of the reasons why she started running in the Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon & 5k four years ago, to raise money for the clinic that gives so much back to women like herself. The 62 year-old raised close to $12,000 last year alone and along with her running mates on Team Breast, raised a total of $26,000.

One running mate is Dr. Nancy Van Laeken, a plastic surgeon specializing in breast reconstruction. The staff at the clinic are so dedicated, that this year, on June 28th, they are running in the Scotiabank Charity Challenge again, in hopes to fundraise through the Tapestry Foundation for Health Care to expand the centre to include more patient consultation rooms and space for physiotherapy to be achieved on-site.

Check out this new video featuring the Tapestry Foundation for Health Care!

 


Featured Charity of the 2015 Scotiabank Charity Challenge

Tapestry Foundation for Health Care cares for seniors. We raise funds for hospitals, hospices and residences in Metro Vancouver that are operated by Providence Health Care.

Find out more about the Tapestry Foundation, and how you can support them, here.

Jun 09 2015
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Going for Gold at the Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon.

By | Digital Champions, Scotiabank Vancouver Half | No Comments

VANCOUVER June 9th 2015. Digital Champion Karin Jackson began running in July 2008 with some good friends at work and completed her first race that fall. Over the past 7 years Karin has lost 120 pounds and has completed 13 half marathons, 5 marathons, and an Iron distance triathlon! Karin loves the social aspect of running and is grateful for all the friends she’s made on this journey. When she’s not running, she’s swimming, cycling, or yoga-ing and trying to convince others to join her! You can connect with Karin on Twitter, Instagram and on her blog.

Going for Gold at the Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon. By Karin Jackson.

Recently I was accused of being goal-driven.  I know, there are worse things…thinking Crocs are fashionable is one of them and thank God, that doesn’t apply. And well, it’s true. I am.  I’m a big believer in goal setting. Big, scary, dare-to-dream “stretch” goals, and smaller confidence building goals. I think they keep you focused on a place you want to get to, and motivated to continue on that journey despite any setbacks or pauses along the way. For me, they’ve also played a role in moving forward, in getting better, going further, going faster, in testing my limits. Because when you reach a goal, the logical next step is to set a bigger one, right?

Karin Blog Photo 3I started running in July 2008 with some girlfriends at work. We were following a learn-to-run program and had set a goal of running an 8k race in the fall. None of us were runners. The first day, we had to run 1 minute, walk 2 minutes, 8 times. On the fifth run interval, I had to stop and walk. I had the big October race day goal but starting out, my goal was smaller. It was about making it through each of the run intervals without having to stop and walk. And then it was about making it to that point where I could do the whole run workout without walking. Not that there’s anything wrong with walking. And if you’re worried that walk breaks make you somehow “less than” the other runners out there, let me tell you, I have been passed by walkers while I was running. When that 8k race rolled around, I ran every step of it and finished happy with having met my goal. My girlfriends? They raced doing the run/walk we had trained with and finished with faster times than me. There’s something to be said for recovery breaks. But I digress… I was talking about goals… Right.

After that fall 8k, I got it into my head that I could run a half marathon the following spring. It was the medal that hooked me. All I had to was run 21.1 km and I’d get a medal? Sign me up! In May 2009, I ran my first half marathon, finishing in 2:52, super proud and excited to do it again, but faster. That was my next goal and I ran a 2:45 in October of that year. Thinking I’d reached the limits of the speed I had in me, I had to come up with a new goal: go further. So I declared that in 2010, just after my 40th birthday, I would push back against Father Time and run a marathon. Because really, what better way is there to deny your advancing years than by subjecting yourself to a grueling physical test that will leave you hobbling around for days afterward? In case you were wondering, I finished in 6:56, just ahead of the sweeper vehicle and while much of the finish area was being dismantled. But I finished.

My goals since those first races have varied – almost always about going faster, sometimes tackling a bigger challenge (hello Ironman!), sometimes trying something new. Trail racing, anyone? In rattlesnake territory? Anyone? Bueller? And I haven’t always met my goals. And that’s OK. Alright, maybe I have had a bit of a potty mouth or shed a few tears, but it’s still OK. It just means that it’s not time to set a new goal yet. Or maybe it’s time to park that goal for a wee while, and focus on something else.

Early in my running days, a friend relayed a second hand piece of advice from a former Canadian Olympic athlete (and yes, a runner!). She talked about stepping up to events with Gold, Silver, and Bronze goals. I love that and is something I’ve tried to adopt before each race. My Gold goals are usually focused on achieving a certain time, my Silver on still netting a PB, even if I didn’t achieve my time goal, and Bronze, well usually that’s no PB, but injury free and chalking it up as a training run. You see what I’ve done there? I always podium! Incidentally, these Gold, Silver, Bronze goals can work for your training too. I always dread track sessions on my training plan. So I negotiate with myself –  if I hit my pace target for all my intervals, that’s Gold, within 10 seconds: Silver, and maybe it’s just that I finish all those hard efforts without peeing a little for a Bronze. You mommies out there know what I’m talking about.

Karin Blog Photo 2Anyone who has read my personal blog, or even my Scotia Half Digital Champion bio, knows that my goal for the Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon is to run it in under 2 hours. I have come so close. So. Close. A year ago, I ran a 2:00:33. That was a PB of 3:32, and a Silver effort by my race goals. I did not celebrate. I asked myself if I could have run every kilometre just 2 seconds faster. And of course the answer is yes. Of course it’s yes. One-Mississsippi. Two-Mississippi. That much faster? Yes. I parked the sub-2 Half goal for a while and focused on something else (an Ironman), but in January of this year, I was ready to try again. Another Silver. 2:00:24. I kid you not. I’m ready for that sub-2 and I’m changing up my goals. Gold is that sub-2. But I am too close to declare a Silver performance if I PB but miss that Gold by One-Mississippi per km! No, Silver is a great race photo (unlike the one above!) And Bronze? Well Bronze would be running it hard, finishing injury free …and not peeing a little.