Calgary Race Weekend

One of the worst things about being injured is missing out on race weekends like the one which just took place in Calgary.  Harriers were all over the place, especially near the front of the three main events - the 10k, the half and the full.  Results are not yet out but we have the following unofficial results:

Travis - 5th in the 10k in 33:20
Jeremy - 2nd in the half in 69:58
Frank - 3rd in the half (time unknown)
Scott - 5th in the half in 73 mins
Blaine - 6th in the full in 2:39
Darcy - 7th in the full in 2:41.

There were also a number of Harriers pacing Ed Bickley round to (another) sub 3 hour marathon.  "Just a training run"!

Good running everyone!  And well don to everyone who wore their MitoCanada vest with pride.

Duncan

Track Anyone?

Jody suggested we might want another crack at the track after last season's efforts:

http://www.athleticsalberta.com/sites/default/files/content_files/pdfs/TechPkg/TF/New%20Balance%20Athletics%20Series%202012_0.pdf

Anyone?

5 Peaks COP

The Bow Valley Harriers showed their prowess on the trails this past weekend at the 1st Central Alberta 5 Peaks Series Race at Canada Olympic Park. The course proved challenging but the group showed their mastery of off-road racing with two wins and a runner-up finish. Jeremy Deere claimed victory on the challenging Enduro course (approx. 10km) in a time of 39:34 while Travis Cummings placed 2nd behind Deere in a time of 40:24. Too many surges at the start of the race cost Cummings over the back half of the course as Jeremy's controlled, even paced strategy proved superior. Over the shorter Sport course (6ish k), Blaine Penny claimed a convincing victory winning by nearly 2 minutes over his closest competitor. Also to note fringe Harrier Phil Villeneuve placed 5th in the Enduro race a few minutes back of Jeremy and Travis. It is a busy next couple of months for Bow Valley as we see many of our members contest multiple distances at the Calgary Marathon this upcoming weekend. Jody Draude, Blaine Penny, Ken Myers, and Darcy Bell are all slated to participate in the marathon distance as elite runners. Jeremy Deere is assigned elite status in the half marathon and Travis Cummings is also given the same status in the 10k.
The 5 Peaks results bode well for the Harriers who competed at COP on the weekend as all 3 runners have big plans for the trails this summer. Jeremy is attempting Powderface 42.2 for the 1st time, Blaine is having another go around at Powderface and will also be doing the Iron Legs ultra. Travis is making his first serious attempt at qualifying for the World Mountain Running Championships so these fine young gentlemen all have their work cut out for them as they try and accomplish these significant tasks. Also of note to mention on the trail side of things, Duncan will be making an assault on the Trans-Alps stage races this summer so he will have to keep everyone posted about his training and his results as the summer progresses.
Anyone have any other off-road attempts or summer races to report about?
And last but not least, K100 roster was posted this weekend, with everyone running as well as they are this is going to be a scary team for the competition. I'm not sure if the Leg Champs will be able to claim that title for a name as they will not be taking our title provided they don't load up with Ontario based Kenyans last minute. Preview for this epic race will be forthcoming in the next few weeks.

Great job Harriers!

By Travis Cummings

5k Results - May 2012

We have one more time yet to come in but the results of the first 5k of the season are as follows:

1.  Deere - 16.25
2.  Titus - 16.26
3.  Marsden - 16.29
4.  Twa - 16.34
5.  Penny - 16.39
6.  Draude - 16.46
7.  Haddow - 16.52
8.  Woolstencroft - 16.56
9.  Bell - 17.27
10.  Rich MacDonald - unknown
11.  Jason Reed - 17.53
12.  Bobbi-Jo - 19.13

Jeremy had a great run in the Mother's Day race last weekend, as did Frank.  I will try and get a comment from them at some point.  We have also Harriers running the 5 Peaks COP race tomorrow - starts at 10am!

BVH 5k Series - May 2012

There was a cold northerly wind whipping through Prince's Island Park last night which made it the ideal opportunity for the Bow Valley Harriers to kick off summer with their first 5k of the season.  About 10-15 of us made it out and you could literally (Jeremy) have thrown a blanket over the field for the entire race.  The first lap saw some former winners (Deere, Marsden) heading to the front as well as some newcomers (Titus).  After the first lap a group of 4 had broken away slightly (Deere, Titus, Marsden, Penny) and at half way that had fragmented with Deere and Titus forging a lead.  The finish was tight but in the end Deere held on, to make it a 100% record this season.

Negative split of the night was (for once) not taken by Jody Draude but by Ryan Twa who was virtually last on the first lap and stormed through to fourth.

The engineer amongst us mapped it out (and apparently took seismic data too):

http://www.gmap-pedometer.com/?r=5441407


Turns out we were right all along and the course is slightly long (by about 40 m) which means we can all take a minute (at least) off our times!

Unofficial results of the top five are as follows:

1.  Jeremy Deere  16.25
2.  Morgan Titus  16.26
3.  Duncan Marsden  16.29
4.  Ryan Twa  16.34
5.  Blaine Penny  16.39

Official results will be posted as soon as I have everyone's time!

See you next month everybody.