Ladysmith Strider Archives   2007  | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011

2007 Ladysmith Striders News Headlines

December 27, 2007 -- It's that time of year again when many runners begin to gaze into the new year and ponder the running calendar challenges that lie ahead. No doubt there will be some Ladysmith Striders that include themselves in this group as many Striders participated in the Frontrunners Island Race Series last year. For Ladysmith Striders that are considering the fun again, the Frontrunners Island Race Series begins on January 13th so I think it appropriate here to provide a friendly reminder to take advantage of some cost savings by entering early. And when entering, don't forget to record that you are from the Ladysmith Striders. 

For your further awareness, runners who complete all eight races in the 2008 series, or eight races and volunteer at their own race, will receive a gift certificate from Frontrunners entitling them to 50% off the series registration (without shirts) for the 2009 series. Check out the schedule below.

Frontrunners Island Race Series 2008 Schedule

Race	Date	Start	No Shirt	With Shirt	Late Register	Info
Prairie Inn Pioneer 8k Saanichton	Jan 13	11am	$20.00	available at race	$23.00 after Jan 8 $25.00 day-of-race	Randy Jones 250-474-6546	Entries
Cobble Hill 10k Cobble Hill	Jan 27	11am	$20.00	no shirt	$23.00 after Jan 22 $25.00 day-of-race	Loni Dutton 250-746-6344	Entries
Cedar 12k Cedar	Feb 10	11am	$20.00	no shirt	$23.00 after Feb 5 $25.00 day-of-race	Robert Cross 250-245-4690	Entries
Hatley Castle 8k Colwood (Royal Roads)	Feb 24	11am	$20.00	no shirt	$23.00 after Feb 19 $25.00 day-of-race	Stephen Cook 250-474-4863	Entries
Synergy Health Management Ltd. Bazan Bay 5k - Sidney	Mar 9	9am	$20.00	available at race	$23.00 after Mar 4 $25.00 day-of-race	Bazan Bay	Entries
Comox Valley 1/2 Marathon Courtenay	Mar 16	11am	$20.00	available at race	$23.00 after Mar 11 $25.00 day-of-race	David Nowak 250-897-8484	Entries
Merville 15k Merville	Mar 30	11am	$20.00	available at race	$23.00 after Mar 25 $25.00 day-of-race	Ron Fisher 250-286-1364	Entries
Sooke River 10k & Series Awards - Sooke	Apr 13	11am	$20.00	available at race	$23.00 after Apr 8 $25.00 day-of-race	Bill Ethier & Sarah West 250-479-9404	Entries

• Click here to register online.
• Click here to download the Full Series entry form.
• Click here to send in your questions or comments.
• Individual race forms are available by clicking the appropriate race name in the table above.

December 7, 2007 -- For those that enjoy running with iPods or Mp3 Players, consider a download from Phedippidations. Its a "Runcast" of thoughts, opinions, observations and rambling diatribes composed during distance long runs. Phedippidations is a weekly podcast for runners, recorded while the host, Steve Runner, is out on his long runs, or running a marathon or road race. Check out the podcast download site at http://www.steverunner.com/

December 5, 2007 -- Ladysmith Striders declare 3rd Annual Cinnamon Bun Fun Run a success. More than sixty hearty fun-loving runners braved the heavy snow in the 3rd Annual Cinnamon Bun Fun Run in an effort to stock up the shelves at the Ladysmith Food Bank. 

The Cinnamon Bun Fun Run is an annual event for runners and walkers held on the first weekend after the Ladysmith Festival of Lights and is organized by a group of local runners called the Ladysmith Striders. The Cinnamon Bun Fun Run is a predicted time event designed for fun where friends and family can get together for some competition against the clock and support a local charity at the same time. 

The Cinnamon Bun Fun Run has a history of poor weather conditions and this year was no different as adverse weather conditions settled in on the area no less than 18 hours before the start. That didn't seem to deter participants however as they arrived dressed in their winter gear ready to begin and luckily for the Run Organizers, the weather broke early Sunday morning and that lull in the weather provided a window of opportunity to prepare the start/finish area before the snow started falling again. Participants arrived for race day registration just after 8am and a crowd of about sixty runners and walkers were ready for the 9:30 start from the FJCC parking lot. The Run Coordinator decided on a small course alternation due to the severe weather conditions where the those running the 10km simply ran the 5km course twice for safety reasons. 

The winners of the 2007 Cinnamon Bun Fun Run predicted time 10/5km running event were surprisingly close to predicted times. First place finisher was Lorelei Meyer with a predicted 5km time of 27min-43sec and a finishing time of 27min-40-sec for a difference of 3 seconds. Second place finisher was George Sharp with a predicted 10km time of 50min-00sec and a finishing time of 49min-54-sec for a difference of 6 seconds. The third place finisher was Mark Armitage with a predicted 5km time of 53min-00sec and a finishing time of 52min-40-sec for a difference of 20 seconds. Congratulations to these prize winners and to all participants on their finishing times.

A tip of the hat to all the volunteers that helped out as Course Marshalls, and thanks to FJCC Staff that were of great assistance. A word of thanks to those Town of Ladysmith City Works Crews that plowed snow from our race course during the early morning whose efforts should be acknowledged for without clear roads to run on our race would have not taken place. 

Ladysmith Striders offer special thanks to our race sponsors Ladysmith & District Credit Union, LCU Insurance Agencies Ltd., Family Insurance Solutions, Nanaimo Running Room, and the Town of Ladysmith for their support of our charity running event.

We also want to offer thanks to Tony at Esquires Coffee in Coronation Square for supplying the post-run hot beverages for everyone. Esquires Coffee is the Ladysmith Striders regular Sunday morning post-run meeting place and we appreciate Tony helping us out on the fun run charity event.

October 12, 2007 -- While opportunities to run in road races abound from March to November, probably the majority of runners train throughout the summer months for the September to November organized run schedule when cooler weather present ideal conditions for hammering out a PR. This was the case for Ladysmith Striders as many of them logged their long Sunday runs together enjoying both the early morning sunrise and the camaraderie of friendship while preparing as a group for the long distance challenges that they had individually determined for themselves. Out of a summer-long patchwork of stories ranging from encounters with clawed wildlife to painful over-use injuries that accumulated throughout the summer of running, a strong fabric was woven where good friends shouldered their training challenges together in an effort to support each other in their chosen distance which in the end proved to be the element of success. For each runner that endured hours of personal miles and claimed early morning victory over the mattress, their perseverance paid off handsomely as races of varying distances were conquered and the fruits of success enjoyed in the first week of October.

In October, Ladysmith Striders participated in half marathons and full marathons on both the international and local running scenes. Chris Brower and John Mountain traveled to the United States over the Thanksgiving weekend with John running the Chicago Marathon in Illinois and Chris stopping in Portland Oregon to participant in the Portland Marathon. 

By going to Chicago this year, John unknowingly participated in what will go down in history as the hottest Chicago Marathon ever with unseasonable October temperatures reaching 88F which caused the early termination of the race after only four hours. While the Race Director's decision designed to lessen the volume of runners collapsing from heat exhaustion which had reached into the hundreds within hours of the race start, if inevitably stranded over half of the 36,000 runners that had not yet made it to the 13 mile mark after four hours to the howls of disappointment. John finished the Chicago "Michigan Meltdown Marathon"  along with 22,000 others before the race was called off, but it was really unfortunate for the thousands of others that did not finish. The 2007 Chicago Marathon had 45,000 runners register with 36,000 actually starting the race and 22,000 finishing. 
[see Running Stories]

Chris on the other hand, traveled down to Oregon to run the Portland Marathon for the second time in two years. Chris completed the Portland Marathon last year and decided to revisit the city in order to accompany a friend who was making her first marathon attempt. Chris ran and encouraged her friend for the first half of the run and then "released the hounds" on the back half which resulting in a impressive negative split and a sub four hour finish. The weather was cloudy & cool which was perfect for running and spectator and volunteer support was wonderful.

Closer to home, a group of Ladysmith Striders accompanied by many others from Vancouver Island decided that the Royal Victoria Marathon and Half-Marathon would go good with a little turkey on Thanksgiving weekend. Running the Royal Victoria Marathon on Thanksgiving Sunday were Dolly Brown, Bruce Youngren, Kim Judson, and Cassie Judson. While some runners had challenged these long distances previously, it was however the first time at a marathon distance for Bruce, Kim and Cassie. Completing the 26.2 mile distance is a huge achievement for these three runners for it places them in the company of only 3% of the world's population that have completed a marathon which aside from being is truly a unique accomplishment, provides the satisfaction of knowing that seemingly impossible goals are within reach and achievable. Congratulations to you first timers.

Taking up the half-marathon challenge at the Royal Victoria on Thanksgiving Sunday were Ladysmith Striders Bala and Pauline Naidoo. These two seasoned husband and wife runners placed very well in their age groups with Pauline breaking the tape in 4th position and Bala completing the half in 8th position. Congratulations to both runners who finished the half marathon distance in under two hours.

Now that some Ladysmith Striders have met their running objectives and fulfilled their mileage goals, it may be a good time to take it easy for a few weeks. Clearly you can't hang onto peak performance forever as it is difficult to stay strong and maintain endurance once the road race calendar fades into November, but we'll always have our Sunday morning maintenance runs from Esquires Coffee that hopefully will allow us to hang onto what we worked so hard to build up to over this past summer. And as next January rolls around, I know the Ladysmith Striders will be building strength and endurance again as they look at running the Island Series.

The BC Senior Games was big success in Nanaimo with final results for the regional team competition showing North Island Region Two edging out their Region 1 South Island rivals in the medal count. The BC Senior Games provided an opportunity for all BC Seniors, age 55 and over, to come to Nanaimo and compete in an organized sport recreation that promoted fitness, mental stimulation, individual achievement, and community pride. Over 3500 participants took part in at least 23 sporting events over three days of competition. 

Two organizers of the Nanaimo event were Ladysmith Striders Bala and Pauline Naidoo who volunteered many hours over the last year to make these games a success. Congratulations are therefore offered for their efforts in helping to organizing this huge event. 

Speaking of contributions and congratulations, both Pauline and Bala are avid runners in the Ladysmith area and were keen participants in track and field running events at the games. Bala and Pauline Naidoo have been long distance running with the Ladysmith Striders for some time now and call Saltair their home. Both individuals have routinely participated in the Island Series road races and other local running events, but it was really the first time that either had participated any kind of structured track competition.

And the track sure seemed to agree with Pauline for it was here that she showed her track prowess by claiming honours in all five events that she toed the line. Congratulations go out to Pauline Naidoo on her medal contribution to the North Island Region Two team win with an eyebrow-raising 4 Gold and One Silver. Pauline laced them on and claimed gold medals in distances of 800m, 1500m, 5000m, and the 10k run, and claimed a silver with three other team-mates in the medley relay as well. Five medals in all, truly a commendable achievement. Click photo on above left to enlarge image.

In the men's track competition, Bala Naidoo faced some really stiff competition from a fine field of worthy competitors from the South Island Region One. Even though many competitors were Bala's running mates from both the North Island and South Island regions and the racing was fearsome, he battled to a podium finish and received a Bronze medal for his perseverance in the 1500m. Congratulations for a praiseworthy effort goes out to Bala as well. Click photo on above right to enlarge image.

Volunteers are individuals that freely give their time, talent, abilities to a cause that they believe in. Special mention goes out to another Ladysmith Strider who volunteered her time throughout the Nanaimo BC Senior Games. Robin Billas, who is a regular runner with the Ladysmith Striders, provided support services for athletes during the games and the Striders acknowledge the time, her talents and abilities that she shared in an effort to make the games a success. Great job Robin! 

For those that enjoy running with iPods or Mp3 Players, consider a download from Phedippidations. Its a "Runcast" of thoughts, opinions, observations and rambling diatribes composed during distance long runs. Phedippidations is a weekly podcast for runners, recorded while the host, Steve Runner, is out on his long runs, or running a marathon or road race. Check out the podcast download site at http://www.steverunner.com/podcast.htm . This is a ready unique podcast resource that caters specifically to runners. I really liked the podcast that Steve Runner produced while he was running the 111th Boston Marathon on April 16th 2007... right click here, and choose Save Target As from the right click menu to download mp3. Enjoy!!

The 8th Annual Edge to Edge Marathon is a wrap! After gale force winds the day prior, the sun came out and it was perfect running weather. The Ladysmith Striders joined 58 other teams to pound the beach and pavement between Tofino and Ucluelet in the Edge 2 Edge Marathon Relay on June 10th. The Ladysmith Striders broke the ribbon with a team effort of 3:46:05 which was good enough for a 10th place finish in the mixed division of 30 teams.

As John noted... 

It all went well really. We all nailed our estimated times or bettered them. We all had different distances to run… Robin started us off in Tofino with an 8k run where part of the course swung out onto Chestermans Beach into the sand and later finishing at Pacific Sands Resort… knocking her segment off in 48 minutes instead of 50. 

From there Bala took off for 10k towards Long Beach past Radar Hill on the part of the course they called the “rollercoaster” because it had lots of twisty turns and up and downs, and finished in 47 minutes instead of 50. 

Bala handed off to Eliina at Airport Rd on the flats of Long Beach for a 7.8k stretch uphill off the beach area to Landfill Road. Eliina blasted up the hill shaving 5 minutes off her 50 minute estimate coming in to Landfill Road at 45 minutes where she tapped Pauline on the shoulder. 

Pauline also ripped up her stretch of pavement and almost caught me off-guard near the Ucluelet-Tofino Junction as she rocketed into the transition area for the hand-off way before I expected her. She ran her leg in… I think it was 43 minutes… when I think Pauline suggested about 50 minutes when we did the planning. I quickly threw off my jacket… took a high-five from Pauline and started my scamper to the Ucluelet relay finish with 2007 Boston Marathoner Chris Brower and fellow Ladysmith Strider… who was participating on another team… in hot pursuit. 

It was kind of fun watching Chris… who was in fine running form… put on a clinic where she quickly reeled me in and was passed me within 3k of the hand-off transition area. The anchor leg that Chris and I were running was the hilly section and I quite enjoyed it. I traveled this highway many times on my bike as a youngster when I lived in these parts... so I reminisced about all sorts of boyhood antics that came to mind some 40 years ago on this same stretch of road. We had 9.2k to complete the relay and despite those hills that seem to somehow add weight to my legs… I managed to follow Chris to the ribbon in just less than 44 minutes for a team finish of 3:46:05… and although I was about two and a half minutes behind Chris, I knocked a minute off my ETA. Overall we had a great finish and had a lot of fun. Congratulations to Chris and her Team Sans Frontieres.

Ladysmith Striders participating in the 2007 Edge 2 Edge Relay Marathon were Bala and Pauline Naidoo, Robin Billas, Eliina Alle, and John Mountain. Visit the Ladysmith Striders Club Photos page for a few snaps. Special thanks to Eliina's husband Todd for his kind support during the entire weekend, it was much appreciated.

For Edge 2 Edge Results... click here.
More Edge 2 Edge photos at Tony Austin Photos.

Congratulations to all those Ladysmith Striders who participated in the Holland Creek Crunch on May 27th in Ladysmith. Ladysmith Striders placing in categories were:

Dolly Brown :: 44:47 - 3rd Place - Female Top 5 Overall :: 2nd Place in F40-49
Pauline Naidoo :: 52:17 - 1st Place in F60-69
Bala Naidoo :: 46:25 - 3rd Place in M60-69
Bruce Youngren :: 55:43 - 12/14 in M40-49

This confirms that Striders are true "Hill Tamers"!! To view all the results, click here.

Congratulations to Ladysmith Striders Chris Brower on her April 16th Boston Marathon finish. Chris finished the prestigious Boston 26.2 mile race course in a 3 hours 24 minutes and 8 seconds while pounding out a 7:47 minutes per mile pace. This is a absolutely fantastic result and speaks to the intense training that Chris regime has adhered to throughout this past winter and early spring. Well done Chris!!

Bib	Name	Age	M/F	City	State	Country	Ctz	*
12094	Brower, Catherine C.	47	F	Ladysmith	BC	CAN
Checkpoints 5k 10k 15k 20k Half 25k 30k 35k 40k 0:24:39 0:47:41 1:10:49 1:34:25 1:39:29 1:58:02 2:22:14 2:46:49 3:13:14 Finish Start Time Offset Pace Projected Time Official Time Overall Gender Division - 0:07:47   3:24:08 4144 484 74