NEWS
October - November 2008

Lung-busting 5k in Halifax
It’s called the Credit Union Atlantic Lung Run for a reason – but not the one you think. It’s true the Halifax 5k race is a lung-buster, but the run actually gains it name from the organizer, the Lung Association of Nova Scotia.
The second annual Lung Run in early August came with a twist this year: a race-off between 5k race champions from across the Maritimes. The first pack of four all came in under 16 minutes, with Halifax’s Russell Christie posting 15:20 for the win over 178 other runners. Second went to Halifax speedster Curtis Archibald in a time of 15:35. Chris Algar, also of Halifax, came third in 15:46.
The women weren’t far behind. Erin Maclean of Timberlea, N.S. grabbed gold for the women and seventh place overall with a time of 16:41. Halifax marathoner Denise Robson came second in 17:04, but can be forgiven the lag; the previous day she’d run third place in the annual Bridge Mile in Halifax. Up-and-comer Robyn Erickson of Bedford, N.S. snapped up third in 17:17.
The dead-flat course around the Halifax waterfront and a lack of wind that day helped runners post exceptionally fast times. Already, word is growing the Lung Run offers a great race to notch a personal best for the 5k.–Charles Mandel

Terry Fox van goes on tour
Funny how a motor vehicle can bring back so many memories. That’s certainly the case with the iconic Ford Econoline van that Terry Fox used as his support vehicle – and mobile home – during his Marathon of Hope in 1980. The video footage of Fox running down the highway is etched into the minds of most Canadians, and with it the ubiquitous tan-coloured van in the background, blinkers flashing. The van is part of the legend, and this summer, 28 years after Fox was forced to abandon his cross-country tour after his cancer came back, the van returned for a victory tour.
There’s an interesting backstory to how the van was rediscovered. After Douglas Coupland wrote a Terry Fox tribute book, Terry’s Fox’s brother, Darrell, asked the author to try to track down the old van, which had followed Terry for all 5,000-plus kilometres of his journey. By an incredible fluke, Coupland ran into a painter at an art exhibit who said he know the location of the van. They found the Econoline parked on a street in West Vancouver, looking much like it had it 1980. A heavy metal band had been using it as their tour van, and had preserved the good karma by keeping the interior pretty much as it was on the Marathon of Hope.
Ford agreed to restore the Econoline, which was in fair condition considering the band drove it a total of 200,000K. Meanwhile, Darrell Fox and the Terry Fox Foundation organized a 50-city cross-Canada tour to show Canadians the van as it was, and that the hope lives on.
The van tour started in St. John’s, Nfld. on May 25 and will end in Victoria, B.C. later this year. Employees of Scotia McLeod are helping out with funding and organization. After the tour, organizers say the van might end up in a museum or go on another tour to visit schools across the country.–MK

Lambert repeats in mountain win
Suzanne Evans of New Westminster, B.C. won the women’s title at the Canadian Mountain Running Championships, sprinting up the 12k North Vancouver course on Mount Seymour in 1:17:23. Edmonton’s Adrian Lambert took the Canadian men’s title for the second year in a row with a time of 1:02:44. The top six Canadian men and top four women qualified to represent Canada at the World Mountain Running Trophy in Switzerland in September.–MK

The men’s team:
Adrian Lambert, Edmonton
Kris Swenson, Victoria
Adam Campbell, Victoria
Mark Vollmer, Edmonton
James Richardson, Duncan, B.C.

Women:
Suzanne Evans New Westminster, B.C.
Krissy Dooling, Edmonton
Carole McClean, West Vancouver
Syl Corbett, Calgary

Catch the Spirit on dvd
After a successful theatrical tour in the U.S. and Canada, including an encore presentation before this year’s Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon, the acclaimed documentary, Spirit of the Marathon, is now available on DVD. Director Jon Dunham spent four years tracking runners on four continents and five countries, weaving together the training and ambitions of a diverse group of runners – both amateurs and elites – as they prepare for the Chicago Marathon. The movie features some stunning cinematography of the marathon, with insights from a host of marathon legends, among them Bill Rodgers, Kathrine Switzer, Joan Benoit Samuelson and Grete Waitz. The DVD includes a bonus featurette, Marathon in the Making: Behind the Making of Spirit of the Marathon. It sells for about $28, and can be ordered directly from
www.marathonmovie.com.–MK

A half at high noon
Although each of the past three years has provided unpredictable weather, for the fourth year in a row the Port Credit New Year’s Eve High Noon Half Marathon in Mississauga, Ont. will take place, with a growing number of participants to boot.
“It was more just to have a significant run to do between the fall clinics ending and the winter clinics beginning at the Port Credit Running Room,” says Stephen Longhurst, one of the co-creators of the run. Longhurst and his friends, Doug Benevidez and Patricia Wong, came up with the idea of running a half-marathon on New Year’s Eve as the final race of the year.
After convincing some other regular runners at the Running Room to join in, a group of eight met up at 12 p.m. on December 31 of 2005 during a blizzard. “It snowed quite a bit and we were all pretty cold and wet when we were done,” says Longhurst. Three of the runners decided due to the weather that they were going to cut the run down to 12K. Since then, Longhurst has offered the same option to anyone who would like to run shorter than the half-marathon distance.
The route covers the lakeshore area of Mississauga, as well as surrounding neighbourhoods. Longhurst is positive the run will continue to grow because runners are always looking for a race to train for and it’s a perfect solution to keeping their figures svelte during the sweet-tooth holidays.
“I’m hoping one day the event will take on a life of its own – maybe even street closures, race shirts, post-race food and finisher’s medals.”
The New Year’s Eve High Noon Half Marathon is on Facebook and everyone is invited to join this year’s run.–Erica Timmerman

Tracking kids’ fitness in Victoria
In a growing trend to incorporate kids’ fitness into marathon events, the Royal Victoria Marathon added a logbook called the Tracker for kids to fill in their activity, nutrition and reading leading up to the Thrifty Foods Kids Run at this year’s October 12 race. Similar to other programs where kids run a total of 41k in the months leading up to the 1.2k run on race day (which adds up to the 42.2k marathon distance), the Tracker goes a step further by incorporating healthy eating and reading into the plan. Kids who handed in a completed Tracker at the marathon expo receive a certificate of completion. “By encouraging kids to stay active, eat healthy and develop a love of reading our hope is that the Tracker initiative will plant the seeds for life-long healthy choices,” says Malcolm Webster, VP of marketing and communications at Thrifty Foods.–MK