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Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon Archives - Page 3 of 4 - Canada Running Series

Dec 15 2015
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2015 Canada Running Series One for the Books. By Paul Gains

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TORONTO December 15th 2015. The 2015 Canada Running Series is now behind us and will be remembered, once again, for providing runners of all abilities, from novice to Olympians, the chance to lace up, strip down and challenge themselves over certified accurate and fully supported courses.

The Modo Vancouver Spring Run Off 8k (March 22nd) set the tone for perhaps the most competitive series ever with Canadian internationals Kelly Wiebe (the winner in 23:42), Geoff Martinson and Chris Winter occupying the first three places while Canadian marathon record holder Lanni Marchant fought off a challenge from hometown favourite Rachel Cliff to win the women’s race in 26:43.

Marchant would go on to win the Toronto Yonge Street 10k, the Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon and finish 5th overall (and first Canadian) in the Series climax, the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. The event also doubled as the Athletics Canada National Championships.

Marchant’s finishing time of 2:28:09 was her second fastest time ever, missing her national record by merely nine seconds. Nonetheless, she was all smiles as she was rewarded with an Olympic qualifying mark.

The London, Ontario native’s consistency earned her perfect points in a year when no fewer than 131 runners scored points and she also claimed the $5,000 overall CRS prize. Two years ago she was also the CRS overall champion. Asked what she considers the highlight of 2015 she responds quickly.

“Qualifying for Rio in two events,” says the 31 year old. “The CRS races are kind of the bread and butter for Canadian runners; they put on the top events you are going to run in Canada, outside Ottawa Race Weekend.  (Race Director) Alan (Brookes) makes sure to put on great races and invites us out. He invited me up to Toronto Yonge St 10k where at the time it was my fastest 10k ever and it kind of gave me the confidence to run on the track.

“Winning the Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon told me my fitness was still there for the longer stuff even though in the summer I had been focused on the shorter distances.  I knew I was going to be able to roll right into a good marathon in the fall.”

The $5,000 overall prize will come in handy as she prepares to represent Canada in either, perhaps both, the 10,000m and the marathon in Rio next summer.

“I was fortunate enough to get carded this year but I won’t get the enhanced funding that other athletes get that help them go to training camps and physiotherapy and stuff like that,” she declares. “So having that boost of money from CRS, well, it’s going to get put to good use this year. Definitely having that extra $5,000 in my pocket will cover Kenya and one other training camp.”

With the 2015 Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon earning IAAF Gold Label status for the first time, the international field was once again exceptional. Racing fans in over 100 countries watched the live stream on the STWM.ca website with the first four men finishing within 38 seconds of one another.

Canada’s Eric Gillis placed 7th in 2:11:31 achieving what he had come for – the Olympic qualifying standard. Should he be named to the 2016 Olympic team he would join Lea Pells, Paul Williams and Kevin Sullivan as the only Canadian distance runners to make three Olympic teams.

Gillis, who comes from Antigonish, Nova Scotia but is a long time resident of Guelph, Ontario, also had an incredible season.

Victories at Harry’s Spring Run Off 8k, Toronto Yonge Street 10k and the Banque Scotia 21k de Montreal earned him enough points, together with his Canadian championship marathon title, for the overall CRS prize for the second consecutive year.

“Definitely (the highlight) was getting the Olympic marathon standard in Toronto,” he reveals. “Setting that goal of being around the same time I had run there before and be comfortably under the standard. Setting that goal and achieving it in Toronto was special.

“The (other CRS races) were great setup races (to get the standard). I was hoping to get the standard in the spring nice and early but after a couple of injuries in the buildup for Rotterdam I didn’t feel confident going into that. I didn’t run the marathon and it was so great to have those CRS races in the spring to re-focus myself at home. It was a good ‘plan B’ and it gave me a good vibe going into the summer and in the buildup to Toronto.”

While Marchant and Gillis achieved Olympic standards, the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon also saw Leslie Sexton smash her personal best with a solid performance of 2:33:20. At 28 she is poised to join a growing list of elite Canadian women thanks in no small part to the Canada Running Series.

Another leading light was Rachel Hannah, the 2014 CRS overall champion who elected to run the Pan Am Games marathon, an event for which members of the Canada Running Series staff provided on-site support. She was rewarded with the bronze medal.

Then at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront she entered the half marathon distance finishing with a time of 72:25, good enough to earn a place on Canada’s team for the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships in Cardiff in March. Both Canada Running Series and Ottawa Race Weekend are contributing finances to send that team to Cardiff.

Not to be outdone, there was a terrific competition for the CRS Masters’ titles with Vancouver’s Stan Jang earning the victory with 83 points while Lioudmila Kortchaguina, a familiar name to race fans, collected 135 points to win the women’s Masters’ title. They each collected $1,000 prize money for the overall titles.

“Congratulations to Lanni, Eric, Stan, Lioudmila, and all of the runners who crossed the finish lines of CRS 2015,” says Alan Brookes. “We saw so many great races, so many great achievements, so many great stories. So many runners, of all shapes and sizes, all abilities, came together to create a wonderful season. We’re already excited for 2016, which will be a massive year at home with 8 more CRS events to celebrate, plus Cardiff and Rio!”

Almost 60,000 runners participated in the 2015 Series and together raised $5.8 million for local charities. No doubt the numbers will continue to grow as the Series heads into 2016.

For complete Canada Running Series 2015 standings see http://www.canadarunningseries.com/crs/crsRESULT.htm

Registration for Canada Running Series 2016, including “Combo Packs”, is now open at http://www.canadarunningseries.com/crs/index.htm

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

By | Scotiabank Vancouver Half | No Comments

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!”    

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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!

By | Digital Champions, Scotiabank Vancouver Half | No Comments

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

By | Digital Champions, Scotiabank Vancouver Half | No Comments

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 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.

Jun 03 2015
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Tune In: The Art of the Half Marathon Playlist.

By | Digital Champions, Scotiabank Vancouver Half | No Comments

VANCOUVER June 3rd 2015. Digital Champion Ryan Chilibeck was born and raised in Alberta, but now calls Vancouver home. While training for the Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon last year, Ryan got a little tired of training on his own. He thought to himself: “Running has to be more fun than this” and the next day the East Vancouver Run Crew was born! Their goal is to provide everyone with a pressure-free, organized and socially driven environment where runners of all abilities can come together to meet, chat, running, and then chat some more. Ryan is very proud of the community he’s built and he can’t wait to see the East Vancouver Run Crew grow. Connect with Ryan on Twitter and Instagram. Follow the East Vancouver Run Crew on Twitter and Instagram.

Tune In: The Art of the Half Marathon Playlist. By Ryan Chilibeck.

Whether you are an everyday goal seeker, elite athlete or anything in between, music has probably helped you with race training at some point. Most people will rely on a favourite playlist to pass the time on those grueling preparation runs. Others will put on some tunes before a race to help get the blood pumping, with many keeping those earphones in long after the starting gun has gone off. While some ‘running purists‘ may argue that earbuds and iPods have no place on the course, I am here to set the record straight. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely respect their physical mastery and ability to run without the tunes; it’s just that some of us can’t physically and/or mentally do it without some help. Plain and simple.

Me? I embrace it all. I work long hours, I have a baby, I train hard (okay fine, semi-hard) to meet my personal goals and music plays a huge part of helping me across those finish lines. Furthermore, when you are blessed with a husky Ukrainian frame like mine, having a mind-boggling playlist is absolutely essential to this whole painful process. I know it’s incredibly nerdy but for each race that I enter, I also craft a unique playlist for that specific course. The Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon is an amazing track and it deserves a pretty amazing soundtrack. From the UBC loop to Spanish Banks, through Kits and up over the Burrard Bridge, we are about talking 21.1km of pure beauty. To help you get ready for the day, I gift you with some insight into how I perfected my Scotia Half Playlist. You’re welcome. This way, if (and when) you pass me, you’ll know exactly what I am listening to. Here’s how it all goes down:

Commuting and Pre-Race

Always an audiobook. I wake up pretty anxious on race day so putting on an audiobook helps to calm me down. Having someone talk at me keeps my focus on something other than the next couple hours of emotional undulation. When I get to the race, I usually turn the music off and take in the energy at the start line. Lots of stretching. A little water. Potty Break. Sing “O Canada”. Game on.

KM 1-5

My goal here is to keep calm, settle into a rhythm and conserve some energy for later in the race. I am always a little more lucid at this point so I stick to songs that are of slower tempo and lend lyrical encouragement to the task at hand. I came out of the gate a little too hot last year and was pretty haggard by Kitsilano. I’m hoping that a mellow start will help to avoid a repeat in 2015. I’m feeling a little Beirut, Lord Huron, Say Hi & some other sappy junk.

KM 5-10

This is a funny stage. All the adrenaline I had when the starting gun went off is lying in a puddle somewhere around the first water station. The initial hints of fatigue start to set in BUT it is also balanced with the onset of a tiny runner’s high. How do you pump yourself up, but simultaneously let your endorphins do some of the legwork? Simple…just a few flowy, old school, hip hop jams. I’m cruising to classic Outkast, Big L (RIP), Naughty By Nature & some other head-bobbing junk.

KM 10-15

This is FULL ON panic mode for me. What happens in this 5km stretch can be the difference between a Personal Best or complete bonk. My mind wanders more during this section than at any other point in a race. There is doubt. There is pain. There is hunger. My goal here is to hit the eardrums with some pretty (I hate this word) EPIC songs. I want nothing but good vibes, sing-alongs, fist pumps & basically anything to keep my mind off the struggle. I’m feeling a dose of M83, Volcano Choir, Phantogram and some other epically epic junk.

KM 15-20

There is a light at the end of the tunnel and the chance of a medal hanging around your neck is on the incline. More importantly, a beer (or multiple beers) will be in your hand (or multiple hands) very soon. It is imperative to my sanity at this point to go back to High School. It’s time to bring out the big guns and go metal, punk or anything else with a boatload of treble. I’m in need of a heavy helping of Metallica, Social Distortion, Pantera, Japandroids and some other intense junk.

KM 20-21.1

Well, you did it Kiddo. Barring any natural disaster, severe injury or mental breakdown, you should technically finish this race. Turn off your music, take out your earbuds and bask in the glory of just how awesome you are. You’re a monster! There is absolutely no music that will psych you up more than the sound of complete strangers going bonkers all along Beach Avenue and into Stanley Park. The last 1100m of the Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon is pretty special so go on, wave to your fans. Kiss all the babies. Drink it in. Get that medal.

For those of you wanting to listen along for yourself, below is a link to my Playlist. It might not for everyone BUT it’s for me. Caution, there might be a couple of naughty words in there so put the kids to bed before pressing play. Here:

Ryan’s Scotiabank Vancouver Half Marathon Playlist

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May 27 2015
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Preparing For Race Day: Countdown To The Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon.

By | Digital Champions, Scotiabank Vancouver Half | No Comments

VANCOUVER May 27th 2015. Digital Champion Steph Harrap started running cross country and track in high-school and completed her first half-marathon in 2008. Since then she has run 8 half-marathons and 3 marathons. The half-marathon is her favourite distance to race, but her most memorable running moment was crossing the finish line of her most recent marathon and qualifying for Boston! When she’s not running, Steph works as a physiotherapist and spends her free time planning her next travel adventure and refining her culinary skills. Connect with Steph on Instagram.

Preparing For Race Day: Countdown To The Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon. By Steph Harrap. 

Steph ScotiaHalf Blog 1We are just over 4 weeks out until the Scotiabank Vancouver Half-Marathon and you’re about to enter into some critical weeks of your training – peak week and the dreaded taper (for me anyways). It’s time to start thinking about your race prep and your plan for race day. Here are a few tips (mostly from lessons I learnt the hard way) to keep you on track in the critical weeks, days and hours before the starting gun fires!

THE TAPER

For me, the last two weeks before the race, aka “taper time”, are the ones where I typically start to stress and ask myself “have I done enough?” In my last few races calming this pre-race anxiety and trusting the taper has been something I’ve really been trying to work on. Whether it’s your first race, longest race or 100th race, it’s always hard mentally to decrease your running and trust that your body will be race day ready.

If you haven’t built a taper into your training don’t worry, it’s not too late! Here are a few tips to help you execute a trustworthy taper:

  • Give yourself about 14 days to taper, longer races require longer periods of recovery.
  • Decrease your distance but remember to maintain your training intensity. In other words, keep doing those interval workouts and tempo runs to avoid de-conditioning.
  • I like to follow a progressive taper where I reduce my weekly mileage by about 25% each week until race day.
  • The week of the race I’ll usually do 2 runs at my goal pace (a 6km and a 10km), take 2 days fully off and then do a short shakeout run the day before the race

THE DAYS BEFORE THE RACE

Don’t do anything new. Race week isn’t the time to try new shoes, new food or drinks, new gear, or anything else you haven’t used on several workouts. I made this mistake last year before a marathon, I let myself get talked into trying a workout class I hadn’t done before. It sounds so stupid when I think about it now, but I thought I would just go and watch, take it easy, which I did, but there were some weights and moves I hadn’t done in a while and I definitely felt it going into the marathon. Needless to say, it wasn’t smart and I definitely learnt my lesson…nothing new on or leading up to race day!!!

Get off your feet. In the days before your race, try to stay off your feet as much as possible. Relax, and leave the lawn mowing, shopping or workout classes (still can’t believe I thought that was a good idea) for after the race.

Graze, don’t chow down. Carb loading before a run is one of the many perks of running long distances… I think so anyways 😉 But rather than devouring a gigantic bowl of pasta the night before, which could upset your stomach, try eating carbs in small increments throughout the day before the race.

Drink all the water! Hydrating in the days leading Steph ScotiaHalf Blog 2up to the race is just as important as what you eat. It could be a hot one on June 28th, so make sure you drink up!!

Get your race pack early and get your gear prepped. The night before the race, lay out your clothes, prep your fuel and pin on your bib….and of course take a pic and tag it #Scotiahalf ! That way you won’t be scrambling in the morning and risk forgetting something critical.

RACE DAY

Arrive early. Get to the race at least one hour before the start so you’ll have time to use the porta potty (those lines can be rough), check your gear and warm up. You don’t want to be rushing to the starting line.

Don’t overdress. It will probably be cooler at the start, but don’t wear more clothing than you need.

Set at least two goals. Set one goal for a perfect race and another as a backup in case it’s hot, it’s windy, or it’s just not your day. If something makes your first goal impossible halfway through the race, you’ll need another goal to motivate you to finish strong.

Have fun and run happy! Remember that races are hugely positive community events. You get to spend a morning running through our awesome city with strangers cheering you on (this is my favourite part), feeding you and offering you water, all while celebrating doing something healthy for yourself and crushing some goals! So remember to smile, read the signs of spectators (some are pretty funny) and be proud of yourself whatever the outcome!

How do you prepare for race day? Do you have some good ways to shake out those pre-race jitters? Share them with me on Instagram @anygivenrunday.

 

May 04 2015
0

Neighbourhood House Week

By | Scotiabank Vancouver Half | No Comments

Neighbourhood House Week marks 121 years of Neighbours Growing Neighbourhoods

05-04-mpnh-photoOriginally from Eritrea, Adiam Haile arrived in Vancouver via Germany. Adiam did not find that her new home was very welcoming. She said that “where I grew up, there was a strong sense of community” but found it difficult to find the same sense of belonging and neighbourhood connections in Vancouver.

Luckily she found Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House.

Ever since the first BC neighbourhood house opened in Vancouver in 1938 (Alexandra House, which had been an orphanage since 1894 and is now called Kitsilano Neighbourhood House) a wide diversity of people have found a home in neighbourhood houses.

Now there are 15 neighbourhood houses in the Lower Mainland, offering programs, services and initiatives to more than 100,000 children, youth, adults and seniors annually. From May 3-9 Vancouver is celebrating Neighbourhood House Week.

For Adiam, finding Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House three years ago offered the lonely but eager-to-learn newcomer the opportunity to connect with friendly people from many cultures who lived in the neighbourhood. Adiam, now with an infant, attends other programs in the community, but is especially connected to Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House because of the early positive experiences she had in multicultural programs. Now with an eight-month old, she says “the neighbourhood house has helped me build a history, especially now that I have my child. I am so thankful the memories and connections I have made here.”

Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House Executive Director, Jocelyne Hamel said that
“Neighbourhood Houses have amazing capacity to help people discover their strengths and find ways to grow into leadership roles. Adiam came to us looking for and finding a community. Now she’s a parent leader for one of our parenting programs.” Adiam’s experience of finding a sense of belonging is typical for those who engage in neighbourhood houses. “That’s why, for Neighbourhood House Week this year we’re celebrating around the theme, ‘Neighbours Growing Neighbourhoods’. It’s people like Adiam who get engaged in neighbourhood houses and find a way to express their passions or follow a dream who help make neighbourhoods friendlier for all.”

Operated by not-for-profit societies, Lower Mainland neighbourhood houses have combined annual operational budgets of more than $50 million, engage more than 3,000 volunteers and employ close to 1,500 individuals.

05-04-mpnh-weekFor more information on Neighbourhood House Week, visit this site.

To find out more about the Mount Pleasant Neighbourhood House, and how you can support them in the Scotiabank Charity Challenge, click here.