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spring run-off Archives - Page 2 of 2 - Canada Running Series

Feb 07 2016
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Tribe’s ‘Learn to Run’ Program Can Help You Rock the Race Roster Spring Run-Off!

By | Community Leaders, Race Roster Spring Run-Off | No Comments
TORONTO February 7th 2016.

Tribe’s ‘Learn to Run’ Program Can Help You Rock the Race Roster Spring Run-Off! By Heather Gardner. 

Through the Tribe “My First Race: Learn to Run” mentoring program I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and running with over a hundred new or returning runners. Folks who literally got off the couch to run, those returning after having a baby, and those looking to connect with family through fitness.

As we begin our third “My First Race: Learn to Run” program I wanted to share the story of an amazing and inspirational woman, Ljiljana Stanojevic, a fierce mother who not only met her goal of racing Spring Run-Off as part of our training program, but went on, with the motivation of her daughter, to race a 15km road race and a half marathon during 2015. Ljiljana has a drive and energy that is truly contagious and you can’t help but be inspired when you sweat with this gal. Please enjoy this “My First Race: Learn to Run” story as told by Ljiljana.

When I joined the ‘My First Race: Learn to Run’ program I couldn’t run. I thought it would be easy to start running, but all my previous attempts had failed and I ended up with sore muscles and an injury. During a weekly yoga class held by Tribe Fitness at MEC Toronto, I heard about the “Learn to Run” program with Canada Running Series and signed up without too much hope that I would ever be able to run – was I ever wrong!

IMG_2043My first day of training was interesting. I was nervous and I thought that all the other participants would run with ease while I fell behind. Thankfully, all of the Tribe mentors were so encouraging, patient and supportive, explaining what to expect and the difficulties that everyone faces when beginning to run. We were all given a training schedule provided by Tribe. During this first session we ran for 1 minute, walked for 2 minutes, and repeated that for a specified amount of time. During the week we were told to run two times on our own as part of the program and once a week we would meet and run with Tribe. The running time would increase and the walking time would decrease every week.

A draw to this free program is that we were teamed up with experienced run mentors from Tribe. We would connect through email and in person at the weekly runs. My mentor, Jenna, was amazing. She helped me by providing valuable advice and sharing her own experiences. She understood the difficulties that I had and followed up with my training through emails. If it wasn’t for her, I wouldn’t be running today.

IMG_2042What I loved most about the ‘Learn to Run’ program is that Tribe is like a family. They care and help each other and always welcome new members. I felt very comfortable during my training and later on during the runs with Tribe. Tribe’s founder Heather Gardner invited various experts to come during the training sessions to talk to us about proper clothing, running shoes, nutrition, etc. which was very helpful. We learned more than just running, we became part of a community.

The goal race was the Canada Running Series Spring Run-Off. Everyone knows it finishes with a giant hill in the final 500m before the finish line. During the Spring Run-Off, killing that hill would have been impossible without the Tribe cheer squad standing at the bottom cheering everyone on. You get an energy boost when you see a bunch of people yelling words of encouragement, holding signs, dancing, and telling you that you can conquer the hill.

One thing I would tell a new runner would be that you can do it! It’s an amazing program. Your mentor and all the Tribe members will be there to help you all the way. You will not regret it. Trust me, you are going to Kill that Hill!

The 2016 Tribe Fitness “Learn to Run” Program in preparation for the Race Roster Spring Run-Off 8k begins this Tuesday February 9th and there are still spots available! If you’d like more information or to sign up, you can find all the details here. Be sure to connect with Tribe Fitness and Canada Running Series on Twitter if you have any questions. 

CRS Community Leader Heather Gardner is a marathon runner, indoor cycling coach, yoga teacher, and triathlete. Running highlights for Heather include racing her first marathon in NYC in 2010, racing her first 70.3 Ironman in Muskoka in 2014, and the Canada Running Series ZooRun every year because it’s such a fun race! Heather is the founder of Tribe Fitness, a Toronto fitness community sweating for social good, and enjoys supporting runners, yogis and cyclists of every level set and rock their fitness goals. Connect with Heather on Twitter, Instagram, and on her blog.

Jan 06 2016
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Alan’s Journal: Happy New Year! Let’s Do It Together!

By | Alan's Journal | No Comments
TORONTO January 6th 2016.

Hey fellow runners!

I hope you had a great holiday period with family and friends. There are probably a few of us with food hangovers out there [speaking for myself]. For those who had more difficult times, I hope that family and friends were there with support for you, and with help to move forward.

Speaking of that, 2016 awaits us, pregnant with possibilities, goals, hopes and dreams! What are yours? I’ve SO enjoyed seeing so many of your social media posts over the last few days. Your first runs of the New Year; or your first club and crew runs of 2016, with the Running Room Resolution Runs from coast to coast; from the Paradise Run Club in St.John’s to Longboat Road Runners first run in High Park, to East Van Run Crews first “Monday-Nighter” from Red Truck Brewery in YVR. Please keep them coming; they are great INSPIRATION and MOTIVATION as we start to make our plans for 2016 at Canada Running Series.

Let’s get after 2016 TOGETHER, and make it a banner year!

For sure, it’s now time to set some goals. Maybe it’s your first marathon at STWM or a new 8k PB at the Race Roster Spring Run-Off or a 10k PB at the Toronto Waterfront 10k? If you’re Lanni or Eric, our CRS 2015 Champions, it could be the dream of a great performance at the Rio Olympics. Or it could be a shorter-term goal like Night Terrors’ #JanuaryBattle in TO & LA. Maybe it could be a running streak like Matt Galloway’s epic #365daysofrunning Challenge, which he just finished! If you haven’t read Matt’s interview on the life-changing impact running had for him in 2015, and how it helped him discover his neighbourhood, city and world, as well as himself, it’s really worth a read. And check out the photo of Matt with his #SpringRunOff 2015 finishers’ medal!

cherry blossoms

New Year’s Tips Du Jour: Training helps! 

  • Out on the West Coast, our Modo Spring Run-Off 8k #Modo8k “Learn To Run” training starts this week. Get the training plan here.
  •  Banque Scotia 21k de Montreal #Scotia21kMtl training with Boutique Endurance starts January 17. Details here.
  •  Race Roster Spring Run Off 8k #SpringRunOff “Learn To Run” with Tribe Fitness starts February 7th! Join the training crew here. 
  • Always give yourself three goals: an ACCEPTABLE goal; a CHALLENGING goal; and an ULTIMATE goal, to avoid “all or nothing” disappointment.
  • Plan REWARDS, treats along the way for your daily, weekly, monthly triumphs.
  • In training, VISUALIZE yourself at that Finish Line – the joy, achievement, hands up high!
  • And don’t forget to share these moments with us all on our CRS SOCIAL HUB. It’s a great place to connect as well as getting all the latest news.

At the office, we’re busy, busy, busy getting ready for the 2016 CRS season, and I’ve challenged all of our team to be able to tell each and every one of us:

  • What’s NEW and EXCITING for 2016, for each and every CRS event?
  • Why should I want to sign up for them?

So keep your eyes on our website, newsletters, and especially Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for all the new, exciting stuff they roll out for us, as it’s unveiled. I think today’s a great beginning for them! How do you like the Race Roster Spring Run-Off 2015 medal? I love it. Especially the robin! And what about #KillTheHill Challenge?

That’s a sign. The early bird gets the worm! Gotta run,

Alan

@alnbrookes on Twitter and Instagram

P.S. Keep an eye on the Houston Marathon next weekend too! A whole bunch of our CRS stars will be starting 2016 with a BANG and a BOOM, chasing dreams to represent us and our country – in Rio and at the IAAF World Half-Marathon Championships in Cardiff, Wales. Rachel Hannah will be chasing that Olympic qualifying standard [2:29:50]; Dayna Pidhoresky makes her marathon debut; Krista DuChene, Rob Watson & Sami Jibril are racing the Half, aiming for Cardiff. See the preview, and follow me on Twitter. I’ll be there! [and hopefully in Cardiff and Rio, too]. Here’s a great race preview from Canadian Running as well as information to track your favourite runners throughout the race!

Dec 03 2015
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Announcing the Race Roster Spring Run-Off and Toronto Waterfront 10k!

By | Alan's Journal, Race Roster Spring Run-Off | No Comments
TORONTO December 3rd 2015.
A Message from Canada Running Series Race Director Alan Brookes:

I hope you are enjoying some nice, easy running in this down season, giving yourself the time to recover physically as well as mentally after the race season. In the planning department at Canada Running Series, we are all systems GO! The 2016 Canada Running Series season will be our 27th year and it’s shaping up to be a thriller! Most of you know our shared mission of “building community through running”, based on the twin pillars of organization and innovation. 2016 will be no exception with some exciting new changes and growth.

We have two big news items to share!

Announcing the Race Roster Spring Run-Off 8k & 5k! The Spring Run-Off is Toronto’s oldest, continuously-held road race, going into it’s 38th edition, with the killer Spring Road Hill, piper McGonigal, fresh maple syrup, Councillor Doucette flipping pancakes, and hopefully some blossoms in Toronto’s most magnificent park! Race Roster has signed on as new title sponsor and we’ll be working with them on state-of-the-art, customer-friendly online registration and referral incentives for you and your friends! And don’t forget Tribe Fitness’ free “Couch to 8k” training program, designed to get you to the start line on Saturday April 9th. Use hashtag #SpringRunOff to connect with others also training for this race. Registration opens this Monday December 7th at 12 noon!

Perhaps the biggest news of the day is that the Toronto Yonge Street 10k is evolving into the Toronto Waterfront 10k! We are working on an exciting new course with a tentative date of either Saturday June 25th or Sunday June 26th. We have submitted our application based on recommended dates and a fabulous new course which starts on University Avenue, runs down the Lakeshore, out and back past the CNE, and then returning from the West to finish at Coronation Park. Pending final approval from the City, we are planning to open registration in the new year. Stay tuned and feel free to connect with us on Twitter @alnbrookes and @RunCRS using hashtag #Waterfront10k to chat and ask us questions about this exciting new development

Are you ready?

Let’s get our CRS 2016 on! View our full race calendar at RunCRS.ca  

Connect with me on Twitter and Instagram and let’s keep the conversation going!

Mar 11 2015
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Competitive Field to Race Modo Spring Run-Off 8k, by Paul Gains

By | Modo Spring Run-Off 8k | No Comments
Kelly Weibe breaks the tape to take the "W" at Modo Spring Run Off 2014

Kelly Wiebe breaks the tape to take the “W” at Modo Spring Run Off 2014

Just eleven months ago Kelly Wiebe lay deathly ill in a Vancouver hospital bed, a blood clot embedded in his groin. In an astonishing display of resilience the 25 year old from Saskatchewan recovered and went on to claim the silver medal at the 2014 Canadian Cross Country Championships just four seconds behind Chris Winter.

On March 22nd Wiebe will defend his Modo Spring Run-Off 8k title in Vancouver’s picturesque Stanley Park against a field which includes Winter. The race kicks off the 2015 Canada Running Series.

It will also open the 2015 racing schedule for the majority of competitors and the general consensus is, therefore, that it’s not to be taken too seriously. But with pride on the line runners of this calibre will have a difficult time quashing competitiveness. Bragging rights are at stake here.

Wiebe spent a month training in Australia recently and reckons his fitness is at a new level.

“The Modo 8k is just intended to get me sharp and race ready,” he explains, treading the politically correct line. “I have only raced once since the National Cross Country Championships back in November, so I am just looking for that race stimulus that you can’t really get in training.

“It promises to be a competitive event this year. I expect there to be some good competition from Chris Winter and Lucas Bruchet, but at the same time I think all three of us are really just looking for something to break up training, and not really something to smash. The main goal is to walk away from the day feeling healthy, and ready to tackle 12km at the world cross country championships the following week.”

Neither Bruchet or Winter the 2013 and 2014 National Cross Country Champions respectively, will be joining Wiebe at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Guiyang, China March 28th. Despite their best intentions to use the Modo 8k as a fitness run it is more likely they will not want to lose in front of the hometown crowd. All three are living in Vancouver these days.

Winter leads Wiebe in the battle of the "W's" at the Canadian National Cross Country Championships. Photo: Rita Ivanauskas

Winter leads Wiebe in the battle of the “W’s” at the Canadian National Cross Country Championships. Photo: Rita Ivanauskas

Winter spent five years at the University of Oregon before joining Speed River Track Club in Guelph, Ontario. [see VIDEO “Chasing Rio 2016”]. After three years in “The Royal City” he and his fiancee, Rachel Cliff, have moved back to B.C. He continues to receive his training program from Speed River coach, Dave Scott-Thomas.

“Dave and I continue to work together,” he reveals. “It was a bit of gamble to move away from the great program Guelph has built but the relationship works great. We correspond mostly via email, but if something pressing comes up Dave’s always available to chat. It’s definitely not the “ideal” scenario, but I am a senior athlete and both Dave and I know very well what I need to get me where I want to be – and it appears to be working.

“My (track) racing schedule has been such that I haven’t been able to do too many road races in the past couple of years so I am excited that the Modo 8km fell at a great time. I love racing on the roads and training has been going really well. I am looking forward to what promises to be a great, fun event on a beautiful course here in Vancouver.”

Wiebe, Bruchet, Winter and Canadian Olympic marathoner Dylan Wykes, who is also planning to run easy, all live within five blocks of each and see each other training occasionally. Winter represented Canada at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and 2013 IAAF World Track and Field Championships in Moscow and trains alone except on easier days when he and Cliff run together.

“I fully expect that I should be able to mix it up with those guys,” Winter says. “Kelly is a little more experienced on the roads and over the longer distances but Luc also ran a great road 5km (at the International Ekiden) in Chiba late last year. It’ll be fun to see how it plays out.

“I really just want to put myself in the mix early and try to be the first guy across the line at the end of it. I am not putting a lot of pressure on myself for this race. The important races are coming up later in the spring but I do want to run hard and give my legs a good test. It should be fun.”

The men’s event record was set in 2008 by Ryan McKenzie at 23:40. With the strength of the field being what it is there is every chance that time could be challenged.

Natasha Wodak and Rachel Cliff battle it out on the Stanley Park Seawall at Modo SRO 8k 2014. The re-match is on!

Natasha Wodak (left) and Rachel Cliff battle it out on the Stanley Park Seawall at Modo SRO 8k 2014. The re-match is on!

The women’s race will pit Cliff (profile), who will marry Winter on September 11th of this year, against defending Modo 8k champion, Natasha Wodak. A year ago Wodak set a women’s event record with a brilliant 26:37 (see Race Report). But it’s 24 year old Andrea Seccafien who could provide an upset if the other two think they can wait and kick.

A member of Athletics Toronto she is a training partner of Commonwealth 1,500m bronze medalist, Kate Van Buskirk and surprised many with her consistency over 5000m on the track. Her personal best of 15:52.06 ranks her 6th in Canada. But it is a very fit Wodak who will command the most attention.

“I am racing Modo 8k the weekend after the United NYC half marathon, and the weekend before the world cross country championships, so I’m not going to be hammering it,” Wodak declares. “I really love the Canada Running Series events, so I didn’t want to miss Modo 8k, even though it’s not an ideal weekend for me. I’m treating this race as a hard workout, in preparation for World Cross Country Champs the following weekend which is also 8km.”

At the same San Diego training camp where Wiebe took ill, Wodak developed a case of plantar fasciitis which curtailed training for most of 2014. Like Wiebe she had a good result at the Canadian cross country championships to salvage the season. Her bronze medal performance was just nine seconds behind Cliff.

“I don’t feel any pressure (to defend the Modo title). I just want to have some fun and enjoy the race,” says Wodak. “It’ll be great to have Rachel Cliff there again this year- we always have great battles. I’m feeling fit and ready to roll.”

Wodak volunteers every Friday morning at the Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association and continues to wait tables at the Boathouse Restaurant on Kits Beach two or three nights a week to help with her living expenses.

“I have been serving for over 10 years now, all the while training every day. I’m pretty much used to it now. When I used to work five nights a week, it would be pretty exhausting. But now that I’m only working two or three nights a week, it’s not too bad,” she reveals. “Also, my employers are pretty awesome and they allow me to wear Asics running shoes at work. That has been very helpful, especially this year while I was suffering with plantar fasciitis.”

With one of the deepest fields ever assembled in both the men’s and women’s races there is no doubt it will be a battle to get on the podium. What a start to the 2015 Canada Running Series!

For more information & Registration, click here.