There are two course options:

SHORT COURSE - A 6km run up to the top of Mt. Douglas (200m) for an amazing view over Victoria. Filled with great flowing single-track trails that is ideal for both runners and hikers.

LONG COURSE - 11km that features three summits to the top of Mt. Douglas. Each time will leave your breathless by both the views and the workout! You’re going to to LOVE this course!

and there are…

FOUR EASY WAYS TO REGISTER:
1. Register online
2. Download registration and mail it in
3. Drop off your entry at Frontrunners in Victoria, Nanaimo or Langford (must be dropped off by Thursday before race day).
4. Come early on Race Day

But this late in the game your only option is to get down there early tomorrow.

The outdoor recreational capital of Canada (Squamish) hosted the BC Bike Race for the last 2 nights and served up the full meal deal of bountiful BC singletrack to racers. From punishing grunty climbs to “wooohooo”ing bermy downhill bliss, there was something for every rider on the Day 6 course. Some might call this the Squamish highlights tour, as the course consists of the Gearjammer and Test of Metal courses combined.

Read more here…

July 2, 2008 Squamish, BC - BC Bike Race repeat competitors knew what was in store for Day 5 of the seven-day mountain bike stage race from Victoria to Whistler. In fact, they’ve been eagerly counting the days to get to this stage. And new comers quickly found out what all the hype was about.

Read more here…

Read more here…

Peak Challenge – July 19th

Organizers for the July 19th Peak Challenge in North Vancouver are looking for volunteers in the following areas:

Pre race:
Package Pickup- 4 at store
Course Flagging- 3
Day of:
Marshalls- 10- keeping people on the trail
Transition- 4- ensure exchange runs smoothly
Aid Station 3- 3 at each station: 9 total volunteers
Package Pickup- 3 race day- timing chips etc.
Gear Check- 2- at start of race (vehicle ie truck or minivan)
Finish- 2- food and coffee
First Aid- 2- 1 at finish, 1 at half way

All volunteers will receive a complementary pair of Sole socks, a free Run the North Shore race entry of their choice and an invitation to the Volunteer Appreciation Soiree at Taylor’s Crossing later this Fall. If interested contact Laura Jones at laura@northshoreathletics.com. For details on the race itself visit www.runthenorthshore.com .

Mind Over Mountain Adventure Race Shawnigan Lake – July 26th

Volunteer benefits include an invitation to the dinner and afterparty, a graphic t-shirt, and a bag filled with goodies.
Please sign up today as we only have a limited number of volunteer positions. Click here to register .

Read more here…

Stage 2, the longest of the week, threw racers onto 124km of active logging road cutting through the Cowichan and Alberni valleys enroute to Port Alberni. Though the race profile appeared to highlight massive, gruelling climbs and descents, the actual elevation gain only capped out at 193m, making for a fast, undulating course.

Read more here…

Olympic silver medallist Marie-Hélène Prémont topped the list of four athletes named Friday to Canada’s mountain biking team for the Beijing Games. Prémont, 30, from Chateau Richer, Que., placed second in the women’s cross country race in Athens in 2004. She finished fourth at last Sunday’s world championships in Italy, and has posted three World Cup top-10 finishes this season.

The other riders named Friday were Catharine Pendrel of Kamloops, B.C., (sixth at this year’s worlds), along with Victoria’s Geoff Kabush (14th) and Seamus McGrath of Carlisle, Ont., (24th).

"We are very excited by these four athletes that are going to Beijing," said Sean O’Donnell, manager of high performance programs for the Canadian Cycling Association. "All four athletes have a strong history of international performances.

"I think we go into Beijing, on both the women’s and men’s side, with a strong chance of earning at least one medal in each event. It’s a very strong team, an experienced team. I think that bodes well for Canada."

Under brilliant blue skies and a hot summer sun, the BC Bike Race start gun fired to launch more than 400 riders from around the world into the first stage of the second annual multi-stage mountain bike event. Over the next 7 days, racers will cover stages totalling more than 550 kilometres as they race a combination of singletrack and logging roads from Victoria to Whistler.

Read more here…

The 2nd Annual Lonsdale Mile Race is put on by North Vancouver City Fire Fighters IAFF Local 296, Run The North Shore and North Shore Athletics and will take place on Tuesday July 01, 2008 on the North shore Canada Parade Route at 0900 hours. The event will start (0950 hours) just ahead of the parade at 165 East 13th street in front of North Vancouver City Fire Department. It will then proceed to Lonsdale, right to 17th Street, left to Jones Avenue, left to 16th Street, right onto the Mahon Park Running Track, finishing on the north apex of the track, just before the kids water park. There will be an awards presentation immediately following the race with an assortment of prizes for the athletes and volunteers.

Anyone 5 and older that can run/walk a mile is welcome to enter. We would like people to come out and support this event and the Canada Day Parade!

All Proceeds will be going to the British Columbia Professional Fire Fighters Burn Fund.

Anyone that would like to come and volunteer would be greatly appreciated! They can contact me if they are available;

Bob Hanlon - Race Director at; email bhanlon@cnv.org tel. Hm. 604 980-3207, Cell. 778 549-0100, Wk. 604 980-5021

Should you be fortunate enough to walk onto the track and witness, up-close, a 27:18 10, 000m runner, put out 10 near-perfect and even 1km repeats off of 60” rest (not sure how fast 2:40?) you may want to pay attention. Sure he will make it look easy, as he runs just as smooth-like in the first repeat as he manages during the tenth, appearing to coast, that is until he grabs his knees after; yes the talented work hard too.

One day I was on the local track running a few mile repeats. Also on the track were a dozen or so 20 year olds who appeared to have as much business being on a track as Jon Brown does wearing skates on the ice.

Turns out these giants with all of their explosive, anaerobic drills were top NHL prospects. I had asked them to not block lane 1. I let them know that they want out of lane 1 because a serious runner is coming by to do a workout. If they had gloves on, I think they would have dropped them, then me. Thank goodness for gloveless, dry-land training. Actually they couldn’t have been friendlier.

When Jon arrived they all stopped and watched, probably as amazed as their own fans are at their skating, to his seemingly effortless glide; at a pace not one of these pro athletes could handle for more than 200m, once or twice.

Of the 2 or 3 times I ran in a group with Jon; his breath couldn’t have ruffled the down on a gosling’s belly. He also lacked the typical vertical action of his distance cousin, the ‘jogger’.

The first couple of times I asked Jon for an interview, he was reluctant. However, I have a marketing and sales background, so I sold him on the concept; it was either that or ask him solitary questions enough times until a conversation was compiled.

We did finally start developing an interview, here it is below, perhaps long, but when you run a 2:09 marathon you are given your space.

CK: Jon, in 2005 during a Runner’s World magazine interview with Peter Gambaccini you said in reference to your London Marathon personal best of 2:09:31, “I still don’t think it’s a personal best I should be jumping up and down about. It’s not something I’m particularly proud of. I should have run a lot quicker in the past.”

How fast are we talking?

JB: I think low 2:08 or maybe high 2:07 wouldn’t have been unreasonable for me. The time just after Sydney Olympics should have been my prime marathon years, but I was struggling through a groin problem then that was only corrected by surgery in 2003. It’s a little frustrating, but I don’t lose any sleep over it.

I know hitting a perfect race is so rare – I feel lucky that I achieved a decent 10000m track personal best. I regret not having a better Pb over 5000m more than the marathon; I ran 13:19 but I feel I should have run much quicker. It’s making the most of the opportunities you are given; I ran under 13:25 many times, but I just never managed to hit the right race at the right moment. I guess 13:19 isn’t too shabby though!

CK: I’d say!

Looking back on your negative splits from both Olympic Marathon (Athens and Sydney) are you satisfied with the way the races played out, could you have taken bronze with a slightly faster first half?

JB: No I don’t think quicker first half’s would have aided my medal chances. In an Olympic marathon it’s all about racing not time trialing, so it usually comes down to running negative splits. Obviously the main feature of Athens was the uphill between 15 and 30km, so the last half was always going to be quicker. In Athens the field made the mistake of just letting de Lima get too far ahead, which in hindsight was stupid because we new he was going to be well suited to the Athens course. In both Olympics, 3 better guys beat me on the day, simple as that.

CK: In that same interview you said that the IAAF have squeezed the calendar a bit too much. It seems you were referring to the Commonwealth Games Marathon being more of a developmental meet now and not as important as it used to be.

Do you get the sense that the IAAF are dampening the importance of other international competitions. If so, what do you think is the purpose behind doing that.

JB: It seems to me that athletics is struggling in Europe and the IAAF are unsure about what the future will be for the sport.

Television audience figures are not what they used to be and the domination of Africans in the middle and long distance is now so overwhelming that you can hardly find a non-African in those events at the Grand Prix level.

I think the commercial appeal of the sport is at the lowest point it’s been at for many years. This is partly a result of the never-ending doping scandals also.

The best competitions to watch are still the championships and events where athletes are representing their countries; I think the appeal of these is their diversity of competing nationalities and the unpredictability of the competition. I’m all for the banning of rabbits and the promotion of racing not obsessed with setting world records. There’s a time and place for record attempts, but I think people love most of all to watch just good racing.

The global nature of athletics and its composition of individual athletes make it an unusual commodity. Once upon a time Europeans and North Americans dominated the sport, but now it’s dominated in many events by athletes from third world countries where there is no commercial market for the sport to sell itself to. That must be a unique situation in sports I think, and a very precarious one.

CK: In regards to UK Athletics, when you say they were unprofessional and certainly more unprofessional than previous UK Athletics staff including the uncommunicative High Performance Director, Dave Collins. How did the lack of professionalism manifest itself (outside the lack of communication).

JB: Certainly the lack of communication was a big issue for me as it was for other UK athletes. I felt the endurance technical director basically neglected his job duties in order to pursue other interests; it later turned out this was one of the young female athletes under his supervision. Probably in part the problem is that I operate by high standards and make sure I’m always thorough in my preparations. There’s no excuse for official coaches neglecting their positions due to basic indifference or laziness and this I found to be an increasing problem after 2004.

CK: Which self interests are you referring to?

JB: Dirty old coach preying on vulnerable young female athlete – familiar story.

CK’s note: Never mind that now, check this Daily Telegraph editorial headline: Collins at the helm of a very shaky ship

CK: Switching gears, a few times you have mentioned many runners don’t run easy enough during their easy days. I notice on your warm down, after a race, you move achingly slow. Is this something that took you a while to learn and adapt to?

JB: That’s funny; I’ve never thought about that before. I suppose my various habits have been partly learned and partly just developed naturally over time. There’s nothing unusual about it I think; most top guys have very slow warm-ups and warm-downs. One sure giveaway of an athlete who lacks confidence is when you see someone warming up at a fast pace. After a hard race or workout the last thing I want to do is warm down, but I know it’s important so I do it. It doesn’t matter about speed as all you are doing is performing a muscle flushing function.

When I was young I would observe all the top guys to see what their pre-race habits were, how they warmed up/ what they ate etc; being able to observe world class runners when you are young is just a priceless experience I think.

CK: In England you grew up in an era where the British had all sorts of top-level runners. It was some sort of golden era. Did you receive any level of grassroots support/involvement when you were a kid.

JB: I had lots of support from my schoolteachers and club coaches. The club I ran for when I was a kid was Halamshire Harriers in Sheffield; Seb Coe was also a member at the same time. It was a mainly a middle/long distance club with numerous training groups for kids catering for all abilities; basically every town had at least one such club in those days. The coaching wasn’t technical; we would do 2 quality workouts a week, maybe a race and the weekly long run in the hills. Kids are naturally competitive amongst each other so it’s not as if the coaches needed to encourage us much. Coaching in those days took a very natural approach to running which seems to be missing now.

CK: The sporting world is rife with stories of businesses, governing bodies of sport, teams and even fans giving up on an athlete, only to see the athlete come back and prove them wrong with great performances. Perhaps it is the fuel one needs, to not only go out on top or at their best, but to prove some people wrong. You don’t really have anything to prove however, will this scenario motivate you in your training. I mean someone at UKA must think you are already grazing in the pasture.

JB: Before the last Olympics UKA had already given up on me so it was satisfying to prove some people wrong. I think its part of an athlete’s lot to be constantly at odds with their federation; I certainly felt that way when people like Andy Norman and Dave Bedford managed the sport in the UK.

When I was younger selection for national teams or trips abroad usually wasn’t based on performance, but on who coached you and where you lived.  Things like that really bothered me a lot and certainly gave me added motivation. One of the best things that happened to me was when I started working with the late Kim McDonald, my former manager. I realized then, for the most part, I didn’t need the federation at all. Kim had a huge influence on many great runners and his no-nonsense pragmatic approach was really appealing to me.

CK: The internet has developed into this grotesquely, mammoth cache of information. It seems the more freely information is spread, the less accurate much of it becomes. That and every snake oil salesman starts selling whatever people want to hear.

You have entered into the realm of coaching. The name of your coaching business is Run By Common Sense . Now that’s a name to conjure with. With the plethora of training information available over the net, did you come by this name to cut through some of the BS that prevails.

JB: I know what you mean regarding the problems the Internet has created. Throughout my career the main principle George Gandy and myself worked by is just plain common sense, which happens we found out to be pretty uncommon. Its one thing to be technically knowledgeable but to actually put into practice a functional training program is totally different. Successful coaching basically boils down to good judgment and experience; common sense gives the coach and athlete clear training boundaries and consistent methods. I often see running magazines and coaching books overly complicating training and confusing runners, which is totally unnecessary. Then you have the various Internet forums where every well meaning armchair coach can offer all kinds of wacky wisdom.

The fact is many runners have no clue what they are trying to achieve with their training, which leaves them very vulnerable to suggestion. Successful training doesn’t need to be complicated, but it does need to be sensible and within the individual’s current ability range. Steady progress is the key!

My aim as a coach is to give runners a solid understanding of themselves as runners, where they learn common sense training principles and habits that will give them the ability to function independent of me.  The best qualities I have as an athlete are my own self-awareness and sensible training habits.

CK: Has George Gandy imparted as much with you.

JB: Absolutely. George and I think very much alike and have the same way of formulating training plans. Even though George is from an academic background, he knows the art of good coaching is finding the right balance of ingredients in a training program. What absolutely needs to be done, what ideally needs to be done and what would be nice in an ideal world. Getting the athlete organized in a way they can operate confidently by them selves is one of the cornerstones of George’s philosophy. A coach shouldn’t have the athlete dependent on them all the time.

CK: What level of runner are you accepting with your online coaching service.

JB: Ability level isn’t important to me - they could be 30′ 10 km runners or 60′; what is most important to me is their attitude. If they show a genuine commitment to improvement then I’ll help them.  I don’t judge someone on how quick they can run; a willingness to learn and a positive attitude is good enough for me.

CK: It seems that the athletes (runners) who have the most enduring careers seem to have run the most miles early in life. They also seem to have loved running for the sake of running first and foremost. Hence they develop not only a love for the ritual (being creatures of habit and comfort zones), but they develop a large aerobic base, which they can revitalize quickly after some time off.

Training an elite athlete is one thing, they come pre-ordered with some level of talent, interest in the sport and of course the knowledge of what level of work it takes to become elite.  How does a coach, coach someone new to running a lot of miles for a long time, to build up that base.

JB: I agree the runners who have the longer careers are the ones who basically enjoy the joy of running – usually trail running. Coaching someone not used to running a decent amount of volume can be difficult if they are coming from a program more quality based as they are always chomping at the bit to run fast in the base period.

Having patience is a quality essential for every runner serious about progressing; the base phase of training can be monotonous so it’s up to the coach to give the athletes short term goals which break up this monotony. This might be working hard on general conditioning or a steady progression of their weekly long run distance. Getting athletes to train hard is usually easy; it’s getting them to hold back that is the more difficult part. It’s important for the coach to have the novice athlete believe in the annual process and not just think in the short term.

CK’s note: Aspiring runners out there, re: ‘annual process’….take note!

CK: My favorite new question since the World Cross Country Championships in Scotland this year: Seb Coe (Sebastion Coe) and Deek (Robert De Castella) have both been quoted as saying that the lack of depth in cross country by Europeans and North Americans is an indication of why there is a lack of depth in international athletics from these areas.

Do you agree and how important is cross country running and racing to you.

JB: I’m always wary when I hear ex-athletes comment on the current state of athletics, as their memories of ‘what they used to do’ often isn’t very accurate. The situation with non-African performance at the World Cross is worrying, but I think it’s just another symptom of a problem rather than a cause.

For me running cross-country was as important as running on the track in the summer. I would prepare specifically to run well for the World Cross knowing full well if I wasn’t in top shape it wasn’t worth even running. I think most guys of my generation and older, saw it the same way. Of course there were great track runners who never ran it because they didn’t have any interest in it.

I wanted to test myself against the best guys from Kenya and Ethiopia so it was a great opportunity. I think the European Cross Championships has given the Europeans somewhere to hide now; many prepare just for the Europeans and then pass on the World Cross. This is totally opposite to the original idea behind the European Cross. When there was just the World Cross the best Europeans just couldn’t escape from running it as its importance was just too high, but with the introduction of the Europeans there is an option to escape from the reality of the World Cross. The last time I ran the World Cross was 4 years ago and that was after missing the events for 5 years; I did notice changes to the event like the lack of non-Africans at the front end, even though I don’t think the quality of the race is much different to 10-15 years ago. If you are within a minute of the winner you’ll still make top 15-ish.

CK: So is the solution to kill the Euros?

JB: Maybe the solution is to get rid of the European cross-country or maybe having it every other year. The World Cross is a great event and one day I’d like to see it come to Victoria; I think the IAAF need to do more to promote the event and work together with the bigger European races to recreate the magic of cross country.

CK: Victoria has a pretty good network of trails. I haven’t run all that much in other cities. How does Victoria rank with other places you have lived.

JB: In terms of urban running Victoria is pretty hard to beat; the combination of connecting trail systems and large open space parks gives unlimited options for running and cycling around town. Where I live it’s just crazy how good the running is; for me it’s really important to be able to enjoy my surroundings when I’m running lots of mileage. The variety of different types of surfaces and terrain always keeps my enjoyment for running fresh. At the moment I’m really enjoying running on single-track bush trails with my Lurcher called Luna. In other places I’ve lived often you’re confined to large parks like in London or forests like in Germany. In Victoria I suppose we have the best of everything.

CK: The below times are all world-class performances. I am guessing here these personal bests are not linearly equivalent sort of speak. I think your 27:18 out-ranks the others. Is this so? It is still the European 10, 000m record.

1500m - 3:40
3km – 7:45
5km - 13:19
10km - 27:18
15km - 42:39
Half marathon - 61:49
Marathon - 2:09:32

JB: My 27:18 10km was never a European record, just a UK record. I think I’m somewhere like 6th on the European all-time list, just behind Carlos Lopes. The most impressive part of that performance though was that I ran the last 5km in 13:30, which just goes to show how much more inferior my 5km pb is; for sure my 10km best is statistically my best performance.

My 15km road best is pretty good too I think; I also ran 42:41 on the same course down in Tampa. The best half marathon I ran was probably in Victoria in 2002; 62:30 by myself on an undulating course, having to dodge my way through thousands of other runners. Sometimes your best races aren’t always your quickest.

CK: I remember the half in Victoria where you were like Moses parting the sea, I can’t imagine how stressful that must have been as a runner and as a lead vehicle driver honking for people to move it. It was indeed a great race. It seems you negative split many great performances, is this always the intention or do you ever just race individuals however hard the pace may go.

JB: I think people always run their best performances when they negative split, or at least match their first half effort. When I used to run 5km on the track almost every Grand Prix I would be in over my head running way too fast for the first mile, just trying to hang onto the pack. Inevitably I would pay the price in the closing stages; if an athlete is still strong in the closing laps so much time can be taken off right then. I always seem to run my best when I’m driven by the competition of other people; I suppose it’s important to find the correct level of competition suitable for your ability.

CK: When you were running (perhaps you are again) your 110, to I believe (correct me if I am wrong) 140 mpw, when did the mileage start to drop towards an important race. For instance did you keep mileage high over months as you added in quality.

Can we see a sample base week from your marathon training?

JB: My mileage varied quite a bit depending on what I was training for at the time. For cross-country and track I wouldn’t go above 110 too often. For marathon it would be 115-140, although I went higher on occasion. I would certainly have periods where I wouldn’t do any quality, just steady running twice a day. Once the mileage was up to the level I’m happy with and I’m coping easily with it, I would then work on my threshold running; one good workout each week is all, just running for time. Only in the specific training phase would I add another quality workout – either a 5km type thing or a marathon tempo, depending on what I was training for. My routine was all about bringing each training component together at the right time for me.

Mon: am– 16km /pm – 10km
Tue: am– 6 x 5’ (1’) / pm – 10km
Wed: am– 25km
Thu: am– 16km pm – 10km
Fri: am- 30-40’ hills pm – 10km
Sat: am- 16km /pm – rest
Sun: am - 30km /pm - rest

CK: You are pretty mellow guy. Ever have cathartic moments watching Monty Python or something like that, any favorite cultural things you enjoy that readers may not know.

JB: My routine now to large extent revolves around my family. At the moment I enjoy building dry stone walls for relaxation – It’s kind of like doing a 3 dimensional jigsaw and can be pretty artistic.

CK: A sponsor of your coaching service, we referred to earlier, ‘Run by Common Sense ’ is ‘Greyhound Pets’. Their mission is to place retired racing Greyhounds into good homes, seems like a wholesome project. Do you feel a sense of satirical irony in what they do, with all this false talk of your retiring already.

JB: That is too funny, I never even thought about it like that! Yes, I like the irony of it. I put the link up to Greyhound Pets Inc. because we adopted a greyhound last year from the organization; unfortunately the adoption didn’t work out as the dog had issues regarding our youngest child and other dogs.

They have very difficult lives as racers and sometimes a few dogs need longer to adapt to the ‘normal’ world than others. Greyhounds are amazing in every way though, and we plan to try adopting another soon; the dogs are true athletes - when they aren’t running (which is 99.9% of the day) they will be on the couch sleeping - super lazy. Having a dog hammering around the back yard at 40 miles per hour though is an amazing sight! Right now we have a short coated Lurcher (Greyhound/Deerhound/Whippet mix) and she just loves running with me.

CK: You have joined the Royal Victoria Marathon board. Bob Reid in the Press Release indicated that perhaps you will attract runners who can take the current course records of 2:16 and 2:42.

What level of runner do you think you can attract to this event.

JB: Realistically our goal is to attract up to half a dozen athletes at around the 2:16-2:20 range for men and 2:40 for women. Currently I don’t think there enough opportunities for guys at this level to feel like they feature at big events.  I think athletes always perform their best when they are in a competitive situation with the chance of victory; too often guys at this level get lost in big races as the pace is just too big a leap for them. The RVM is a good course and I believe an ideal event for the development of Canadian and American marathoners. Athletes at this level don’t expect to be coming away from events like the RVM with big pay checks; they are just trying to make progress to that next level. My involvement gives the race a bit more technical credibility in how we provide this elite running opportunity. The RVM is going through an exciting growth period at the moment which will hopefully help advance Canadian marathon performances.

CK: I understand you are going to continue with competitive marathon running and have your sites possibly on the World Track and Field Championships. Is this unfinished business, because going out with an injury is no way to cap a great career. Or is it the notion that you still have a few 2:0X left in your legs.

JB: My plan was to compete in 4 Olympic Games then retire, but that isn’t going to happen now. I’ve never run a World Championship marathon so yes maybe that is an option for me. My relationship with the marathon has always been difficult; it’s proved to be my most successful event, but I can’t say I enjoy it. Maybe competing in the World Cross and doing the European cross season one last time holds more appeal for me.

“Thanks for doing the interview Jon and best of luck with your training this summer and fall.”

“Cheers Chris.”

• Beijing-bound interviews
• Volleyball legend Conrad the Cannon
• Review the camping gear

The access the issue please click here .

With all the available spots selling out in only its second year, the B.C. Bike Race is poised to become a multi-day mountain bike epic on par with the Trans Alp Challenge in Europe, the Trans Rockies in eastern B.C. and Alberta, and La Ruta des los Conquistadores in Costa Rica — and maybe a little more technically challenging than any of the world’s top epics.

This year more than 400 riders will race seven days, starting at Shawnigan Lake on Vancouver Island June 28 and finishing in Whistler on July 4.

The course this year is over 500 km, with a focus on riding singletrack wherever possible. The race also includes a full day of riding in Squamish this year, which is something that was left out of last year’s race so riders could pedal the entire route.

The first stage is from Shawnigan Lake to Lake Cowichan, a distance of approximately 108 km. Day two is from Lake Cowichan to Port Alberni, a distance of 115 km, while day three is a ride from Port Alberni to Cumberland (distance to be announced).

The fourth day is just 60 km, but includes a pair of ferry rides to the Sunshine Coast before following a selection of trails all the way to Sechelt.

Day five starts in Sechelt, and hooks up with the Roberts Creek Rat Race trail network before heading to the ferry and a bus ride up to Squamish.

Day six is all Squamish, combining the courses from the Test of Metal and Gear Jammer to create a unique 65 km epic. Trails include Tracks from Hell, Bob MacIntosh loop, Rock and Roll, Rob’s Corners, Cliff’s Corners, Skookum, IMBA Smart, George’s Crossing, Recycle, Pseudosuga, Nine Mile Hill, The Rip, Powerhouse Plunge, Crumpit Woods, Route 99, Three Virgins, Seven Stiches, and Discovery Trail.

The distance for the last day in Whistler is still being determined, but it promises to be a tough day. The stage starts in Whistler Creek and follows the run up to the top of Lower Babylon By Bike before veering off to See Colours and Puke. The course then descends the Upper Far Side Trail, crosses the suspension bridge, goes down the Riverside Trail, climbs Lower Far Side Trail and hops onto the High Trail to the Microwave Climb. Next up is Tunnel Vision, followed by a climb up Kadenwood Road to Big Timber and back down to Creekside. From there the riders will head across the valley to attack the Lower Sproatt Trail, followed by Beaver Pass, A River Runs Through It, Rainbow Trail, Bob’s ReBob, Emerald Forest, Cut Yer Bars, and a lap of the Zappa Trails in Lost Lake Park before finishing in Spruce Grove Park.

The B.C. Bike Race is limited to teams of two and recreational teams of four, and there are categories for men, women and mixed groups. While the majority of teams are from Canada, the list of registered racers includes athletes from the U.S., the U.K., Australia, Mexico, Costa Rica, Columbia, Switzerland, Netherlands, the West Indies, Morocco, Germany, Oman, South Africa and France.

The majority of entries are men (83 per cent), and almost half are between the ages of 35 and 44.

Some of the more famous riders in the field this year include Chris Eatough and Tinker Juarez, 24 Hours of Adrenaline world champions, Canadians Andreas Hestler, Seamus McGrath and Leslie Tomlinson, and Costa Rican racer Many Prado.

The race will take 40 crew members and 60 volunteers to support the racers each day.

For more information on the race, or to volunteer for one or more days, visit www.bcbikerace.com.

The following interview was originally published on the Flotrack website by interviewer extraordinarie Christopher Kelsall. Thank you again Chris for the wonderful interviews. If you like this please visit his website. You can view his other interviews with BC athletes here.

==========

There was a stretch of time (for a couple of years) where on occasion, while running around some local lakes, a runner would approach at an alarming speed. I could instantly deduce who she was even as a mere spot in the distance. Her form was so flawless that there was only one person it could be. The process of elimination was instant. This is saying something as the trails of greater Victoria are many and the runners of all levels are everywhere.

As the space between us would dwindle, a quick nod is all that would transpire as she moved so deftly. Breezing by, stirring the congregating midge, which swirl innocuously in a mid-air swarm.

The runner, Lucy Smith, happens to be a fixture on the Canadian race scene. Like those who during childhood participate in sport for the sheer joy of it she, so far, has enjoyed a very long and versatile career in endurance sport.

She has raced at a high level on the track, roads, trail, cross-country and multi-sport.

To date, the lady with the efficacious gait is a nineteen time Canadian Champion in distance running and various multi-sport events.

Twice she was awarded the Athlete of the Year, once as a Rookie and once as a Senior from Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

A few personal bests:

5km: 15:40

10km: 32:46

21.1km: 1:13:35

Marathon: 2:38:40

CK: I have seen you run a fair bit; zipping by at the lakes or around town and at races too. Your form seems impeccable; very smooth. Is this something you spend much time perfecting?

LS: Thank you for the compliment. I have very little video coverage of me running and most of my greatest races were done before youtube, so I don’t get to see myself running very much, but feedback like yours makes me believe I must be doing something right!

I was active and started running at a very young age so I am sure that I have developed efficiency. I did work on my running technique while I was at Dalhousie University in Halifax being coached by Al Yarr—we observed my cadence and my ‘bounding stride’—and Lance (Husband and coach, Lance Watson, LifeSport) has continually monitored my training and racing biomechanics and efficiency through my career.

I am a very conscious runner. I pay attention to my breathing, my forward energy and my posture. I use imagery of great runners, and try to ‘feel’ like them while I run. Running well—a many-faceted concept–has always been a very strong theme in my life.

CK: So are you saying good form doesn’t necessarily become innate.

LS: Good form, like most motor skills, is most successfully learned while you are young, and it can be innate for people with some natural ability. Watching an elementary school cross country race can prove this. But there are runners with not so great form, that have incredible VO2 and desire and they do well too!

“Lucy does have good form, she is conscious of it and conscious of her tempo too. She runs with very good tempo and arm swing, keeping it through, late in races. Lucy runs as efficiently as possible,” says Ron Bowker.

CK: When did you start with LifeSport? Were you brought on as an athlete and later as coach or did you start coaching immediately?

LS: Well, it’s not as simple as that, as LifeSport is like a family business. I was an athlete at the National Triathlon Centre and was greatly influenced in coaching by both Paul Regensburg and Lance (now partners in the business). Lance was already coaching when I met him in 1993, and I started coaching runners and triathletes in about 1996 and he has obviously been my biggest coaching mentor. As Lance was already my life partner and coach, I became both a LifeSport athlete and coach from the start.

CK: With being a coach at LifeSport, do you allow yourself to live vicariously through your athletes?

LS: My intentions have always been to be in involved in sport, fitness and healthy living in some way. My relationship with athletes has always been more about giving and learning from being a teacher. I love to teach, inspire, coach and assist people who really want to achieve, especially when it means they have to overcome personal barriers or fears.

I meet the most interesting people through LifeSport: high achieving individuals who are not necessarily high performance athletes and my life feels richer for it. As I mentioned before, about why I use the word Joy so much, LifeSport attracts people who are passionate about sport and I enjoy that energy and really appreciate the zest for life that other athletes have.

CK: Does this passion from others help, when dealing with your own injury.

As far as the injury goes, I have always been a very well rounded person, so when I am injured I usually have several other outlets in which to direct my energy: be it my kids, coaching, writing, giving talks, or putting time into my other interests.

Coaching:

Since 1988
Level III certified
Junior World Champion Coach
Coach of national champions and international athletes
Degrees in Education and English Literature

CK: To switch gears a little, I notice Triathlon Canada (TC) and Athletics Canada (AC) who are both governed in some fashion under the Canadian Olympic Committee (COC) have differing selection criteria.

After the World Championships in Vancouver two weeks ago, the triathlon team was announced for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

Having a lifetime experience as a competitive athlete and coach in both athletics and multi-sport what are your thoughts on the way the selection happened for the Canadian Olympic triathlon team?

LS: Sometimes I do feel like I have had a lifetime of experience and that I have seen it all, and while I try to avoid the negative aspects of sport, I have seen many similar selection initiatives cycle through the years, with similar themes, so the current controversy over selection doesn’t surprise me. There was a time when Athletics used high performance selection committees and the ‘politics vs performance’ debate arose during every Olympic year. I find the negativity and egoism surrounding these types of decisions to be very oppressive for sport.

While there are as many ideas about ‘high performance’ in Canada as there are athletes and coaches, I think that sport governance can get very removed from the absolute truth and beauty of the Olympic movement, which is about individual athletes dedicating their lives to excellence and having a positive affect on society as a whole.

CK: Would you suggest that the selection criteria from the top down develop some sort of symbiosis or a mutualism amongst the varying sports, so the criteria is equal for all?

LS: I think that the aim of the COC is to have consistent high performance and Olympic selection criteria across sports. (I believe that each sport is now responsible for setting their own sport specific selection criteria based on their international federations.) I think the goals of high performance are right on track and I don’t have issue with that. (Even if it did mean that I missed the 2004 Olympic team because the standard for the 10, 000m suddenly—in the space of one quadrennial—jumped to an IAAF standard of 31:45, but that’s another story).

The problem is when the spots for the Olympic team do not get automatically selected through the black and white Olympic Qualifying Standards or criteria and become the authority of a High Performance Committee in any one sport. This is where the water gets muddy and things get political and personal. We need to put the same rigorous efforts into creating criteria for choosing sport specific High Performance Olympic Selection Committees so that the committees are fair, objective, and more importantly, are consistent with the high performance objectives of the COC.

CK: Ok what is next for you, you have a wonderful family, a solid business doing what you love to do, are we going to see Lucy Smith cycle into the sunset racing at the age of 50, 60 and 70.

LS: I will always want to race, but I am equally concerned with being healthy and strong in my body and spirit. I look forward to racing as an age-group athlete, and that time is coming soon! My family is really quite young and I love being with children: Ross is only 3 and Maia is 8 and my life feels very full at the moment. I see the next chapter being naturally about putting energy into their lives and validating their dreams and moving on to a fulfilling career post competition as Ross starts school.

CK: Who are your heroes that motivated you? I believe you once mentioned Lorraine Moller as someone you were very happy to meet once. Your careers are similarly long.

LS: When I was a young runner (about 20) I really admired both the American cross country runner Lynn Jennings (she was so tough!) and Ingrid Kristiansen (she always came across as champion that was also a happy and balanced individual). I didn’t have a lot of heroes. In my thirties, I did admire Lorraine Moller and Colleen de Reuck, women who had long careers because they obviously loved it!

CK’s note: Speaking of tough, Bob Reid offers this on Lucy, “I became close to Lucy as a top-level runner at the Canadian Cross Country Championships in Halifax in 1991, a race run in a blizzard.  She showed extreme determination and tenacity that day.  Lucy won the Senior Women’s event and defeated many big names such as Angela Chalmers, Lisa Harvey, Ulla Marquette and Cheryl Murphy.

Our team of Mike Creery, Neil Wakelin, Hans Fenz and I together we won the master’s team title in extreme snow, mud, wind and rain. One of the greatest honors for me was being inducted into the Frontrunners Walk of Fame in the same year as Lucy, 1993.  She was recognized for her many running and duathlon accomplishments and I was recognized for my master’s running achievements and dedication to the sport. I will always look to Lucy as a happy, fun-loving athlete.  She is one of the greatest runners ever to live in Victoria and will continue to be one of the top masters in the country for many years to come. She is a true friend and an incredible athlete.”

LS (continues): Here are my true heroes of sport: David Conley, Alex Maceachern, Barry Sullivan, Al Yarr, Ron Bowker, Jerry Tighe, and Lance Watson.

David was my junior high school basketball coach (I played basketball seriously from G7-12) and he taught me that girls belong in sports and can master skills.

Alex was my junior high running coach and was the coach that introduced me to and taught me how to run my very first cross country races when I was 12.

Barry Sullivan was my high school coach, and he told me that I could be great and gave me my first training schedule so that I could make the Canada Games Team for Nova Scotia (which I did, in 1985).

Al Yarr was my coach at Dalhousie University and he taught me that my mental skills could be trained and practiced to be successful.

Ron Bowker taught me how to train like a high performance runner, and showed me how to run faster.

Jerry Tighe, from Vancouver, showed me that you could run and have fun at the same time.

Lance Watson, took everything that I brought with me, refined it, improved upon it, and showed me most of all that I deserved to be great. Lance empowered me, through knowledge and superior training, to become the best athlete I could be, and how to, in turn, coach others. Lance gave me affirmation for my dreams and opened a door to high performance and professionalism.

I have been extremely lucky to have had so many coaches in my life. Every coach has taken me under their wing and has taught me something or showed me a path I didn’t see. Coaches give and give and give and in return, they only expect for you to thrive. I have been really lucky, to have had people who cared so much about my path. Coaches are the true heroes.

Career:

25 Time National Team Member.

Canadian 10km Road Running Champion:

1995,1996, 1997, 1998, 2004 and 2006

Canadian Cross-Country Champion:

1988, 1989, 1991, 1992 and 1997

Canadian Duathlon Champion:

1998, 2001, 2002 and 2003

Worlds Duathlon, Silver Medallist:

1996 and 2006

CK: Being a writer, what is bar-none, the absolute best piece of literature you have ever read?).

LS: I just can not answer that question with one book. I tend to get very moved by the books I am reading and I also tend to read several books at once. One of the most motivating books I ever read was actually a very somber and sad book by Philosopher Ken Wilbur called Grace and Grit. It’s a compelling and heart wrenching story of cancer and love, survivors and loss. It is about choosing a path in life that has purpose and it’s about relationship, truth and honesty.

I read a lot of mountaineering books and am fascinated by the world of high altitude climbing: the obsessiveness, the competitiveness, the ego, and the sheer magnitude of expeditions. Running through all climbing expeditions, there is the same orientation: the quest for the external reward, the summit. Mountaineering is interesting to me, as it’s so all consuming a passion, but with the added aspect that climbing comes with a huge personal risk.

I also read much literature but recently, I love the writing of Anne Patchet and particularly Bel Canto, which I found to be a fabulous story, so cleverly written and funny and true to human nature. I read a lot of memoir and especially memoirs of women, as their voices are often silent in the history of our world. And, like many, I found A New Earth to be a really compelling read. It’s not the first time I have studied ego identification and human pain, but Eckart Tolle writes very lucidly.

As far as running books go, The Pursuit of Excellence, but Terry Orlick, is bare none, the best piece of writing about sport excellence.

CK: Sounds to me like you are energized by compelling, non-fiction and perhaps a leaning towards philosophy, are you a closet philosopher?

LS: Yes, I am energized by that, and a lot of my own writing up to now is personal narrative. I like to understand the reasons why people do things and act in the way they do. I am inspired immensely by people who find something truly meaningful to pursue, and get beyond ego gratification.

CK: I understand that at one time in your life, you lived on Salt Spring Island. I assume that this was due to your interest in sailing. Did the proximity to the ocean intrigue you?

LS: My time on Salt Spring was one of those serendipitous events that life offers. I always lived on or near to the ocean and I received a job offer that was intriguing. In 1990, I had moved to Victoria from Bedford, Nova Scotia to train with Ron Bowker’s high performance group, but I was injured and couldn’t train right away.

The Director of the Salt Spring Island Sailing Club called, looking for my sister, Jo to take over the sailing program. Jo was already busy that summer, and I figured that it might be a great summer job since I had 6 years of coaching and a level 2 coaching in sailing. I offered to come and run the sailing school and teach the program. It turned out to be an amazing summer, and life on Salt Spring was different for me, to say the least. I sailed and raced a lot that summer, which was pretty much the last time I was seriously involved in sailing, either as a coach or as a competitor. By the time I returned to Victoria in the fall, I was healthy and really strong again, and by the next spring, being coached by Ron and training with Ulla Marquette (my first Victoria friend and still one of my closest) I ran a PR of 9:06!

CK: I can’t imagine a single-minded athlete finding an athlete’s version of utopia over there. Does Victoria provide a nice balance between the big city of Vancouver and the small town of Ganges (on Saltspring Island)?

LS: I was only in Ganges for the summer, and it was really just a way for me to use my other skills while I was injured and unable to run. I love Salt Spring and I’m sure part of it was how similar it is geographically to small seaside towns in Nova Scotia where I grew up. I spent my childhood in Bedford being outside as much as possible and small communities seem to naturally foster love of nature and the outdoors. However, to follow my running passion, I had to live either in Victoria, or Vancouver.

I lived here from 1990-1992, and then moved to Vancouver, where I met Lance, and started working with him as a coach too. Lance really guided my career in the 1990’s, and is primarily responsible for fostering my vision of becoming a professional sportswoman. In 2000, we moved back to Victoria and I started training with PacificSport and the National Triathlon Center. I feel that Victoria is one of the best places in the world to train.

CK: Back in 2002 and before that, I notice you used the word ‘joy’ quite often in interviews. You still use it and your personal blog has the word ‘joy’ in the name. Does the frequency of the use of this word come from a specific, life determining moment?

LS: I feel that by staying in sport for a long time, I have matured in a way I wouldn’t have known if I had quit while young. I couldn’t have foreseen this, but I think it’s more that the sheer length of my career in sport has taught me to be very grateful for everything I have achieved. Over the past few years I have lost several close friends to either tragic accidents or illness. When I have contemplated their lives and deaths, I have been given a chance to really look at my own.

Joy is the word that seems to best describe the awareness I have about my life path. My main dream has always been to have a life in sport, to be outside and active and to surround myself with great people who have similar energy. When I was 18 this was manifested as wanting to be a varsity runner, then I dreamed of following the path of a full time professional athlete. As I look back at my long career, I see now that I followed my dream, I have no regrets and I feel joy that I managed to stick to that.

_________________________________________________________

One of Lucy Smith’s joys and her partner in life, Lance Watson is co-founder of LifeSport, which provide multi-sport coaching services to all abilities including some of the top names in triathlon and ironman.

Lance is a graduate of Human Kinetics who has gone on to coach Canada’s triathletes in international events since 2000 including the Olympics. He has coached several national team events, ironman and ITU. He is 5 time winner of the ‘Triathlon Canada Elite Coach of the Year.

Although a young master, Lucy is currently nursing an injury but don’t expect her to slow down much. To read more of Lucy’s thoughts about running see her blog at runforjoy@blogspot.com

According to Ron Bowker, “she is a bundle of constant, positive energy; she has such a positive attitude and is always smiling.”

_______________________________________________________

Christopher Kelsall is sponsored by Island Runner Footwear, located in Victoria, BC - Check out the store’s site: Island Runner.

When visiting Victoria, rent from Chris’ favorite RV place CampRV

Chris is a member of the Lydiard Foundation

Contact: chriskelsall@flocasts.org

“With the creation of a new course though comes the desperate call for course marshals to help direct participants around the trails, and course sweep to collect all the course markers we use. At the time of this email, we’re short 9 course marshalls and 4 course sweep volunteers. If you or anyone you know is able to help out on race day, we’ll provide a race entry into a future event, the day’s event souvenir, a t-shirt and the chance to win some of the day’s great prizes. To sign up, you can either register here or send an email to our Keri, BC Race Director as soon as possible!! We appreciate your help.”

There’s a lot of great information out on the web but there are two great resources that are good places to start, the BC Bike Race website which has an entire section containing training information, and the Wings of Steel blog , which is all about what it takes to participate in the race.

Registration for next year’s BC Bike Race begins July 5th. Ride on!

====

Phidippides the Athenian foot-messenger left a legacy that grows greater each year and is propagated by the millions of people who now participate in marathon races all over the world. In 490 BC, Phidippides was fighting for democracy, when he ran back-to-back ultra-marathons; two days each way, to ask the Spartans to help fight a war for democracy against the Persians and return with their answer.

His inaugural marathon, delivering the news of victory, after back-to-back ultras, killed Phidippides; he was a martyr of sorts. Thus sport has become one of the greatest political arenas. Roman god, Mercury was a messenger, a mediator and a god of commerce, trade and profit. His legendary trait of being able to move from one place to another swiftly is his best known characteristic.

Running is many things to many people, but ultimately is an expression of freedom.

On the trails and within the pine trees in and around Putaruru, New Zealand, Lorraine Moller began to express her sense of freedom by running. She ran when women didn’t run, running with her father for hours.

Although many parents can be credited with developing their star child into the great person or athletes they become, Lorraine can be credited with turning her father into an excellent runner.

As it turns out, Gordon ran many marathons and at mid-life, ran as fast as 2:51. Of the millions of messengers who dream of breaking 4 hours or 3:30 or even 3:00, Lorraine’s father did so, not just by training endlessly with run groups at the track, but building a solid aerobic base first with steady, long runs with his sometimes barefoot daughter.

During New Zealand’s golden age of running, Lorraine became intrigued by the most inspiring of athletes like, Sir Edmund Hillary, Peter Snell, Barry MaGee and many others. For a country the size of New Zealand (3.5 million) they produced a stunning quantity of quality athletes.

As a second generation runner trained on the Lydiard method by the likes of John Davies, Dick Quax and later by Ron Daws; Lorraine turned out a career typical of those who trained under the Arthur Lydiard method, long and versatile.

Four Olympiads and 30 years of competitive running, including a stunning bronze medal in the Barcelona Olympics, after she had been written off as too old, capped a career where she competed at the highest level on the roads, track and in cross country.

Recently Lorraine wrote her autobiography, On the Wings of Mercury. Although not yet released in North America, it is available online. The book has already reached the top sellers list in New Zealand.

As a runner fighting for the right to compete both as a professional and as a women, when women weren’t welcome in many races, perhaps Lorraine, like Mercury, is a messenger and mediator of democracy.

Of her book, Peter Snell writes, “The most compelling autobiography I have ever read”.

Chris Pilone, Olympic Coach offered, “The best autobiography and possibly the best book I have read, full stop.”

CK: Mercury, the Roman god (like the Greek Hermes) was known for many things, most importantly as a messenger and his ability to move quickly from one place to another. My first assumption is that you named your autobiography, ‘On the Wings of Mercury’ was taken in reference to his legacy.

You helped create a beach-head in women’s participation in competitive and later professional athletics.

As it turns out, Mercury was also a mediator – I get the sense Mercury played a larger role in your naming your book, than his ability to move swiftly from one place to another.

LM: Mercury is the Roman god, the Greek version was Hermes, and he was preceded by the Egyptian god Thoth.

They are all an archetype for the faculty of higher mind: that capacity in humans for inspired thought that bridges heaven and earth and moves us to greater awareness. Mercury in particular was portrayed as a runner; the celestial messenger who delivers missives from the gods to mortals.

I increasingly related to Mercury as I came to realize that my path as an athlete was, above all, a spiritual one. My book, “On the Wings of Mercury” is about navigating the uncharted territory of being a Professional Woman Marathoner and how the quest for Olympic gold awakened my consciousness.

It was published in New Zealand last October, hit #2 on the bestseller list and is now in its second printing. It is due to be released in the USA this fall. Presently it is available at www.garymoller.com .

CK: Was writing your autobiography, without a ghost writer, no less a cathartic exercise in some way.

LM: Totally cathartic. As I sifted through my past I bawled, laughed out loud, got indignant, disappointed all over again and mad as hell. By the time I got to the finish I had made peace with it all. I could let it go out into the public arena because my past history no longer had a hold on me.

CK: Is it easy to write about yourself? Did you at anytime need to contact friends or family to clarify fact, you know, remove the first person and prejudiced perspective.

LM: It is impossible to write objectively about oneself, unless you are a total robot. I attempted to be accurate in my facts but when you just pull things from memory it can be terribly inaccurate, as eye witness accounts have proven. (Thank heaven for the divine gift of a good editor!)

The brain stores things in emotional buckets (at least mine does) not linearly at all, so time sequences in particular were hard to recall.  My two time markers were Olympic Games and love relationships, which were not useful at all for my early years. When it comes to actual events themselves there are probably as many versions as there are people that took part. I dove in and wrote it down as I remembered. When it involved people that I wanted to continue having a copasetic relationship with, I read it to them first to see if it was an accurate account in their eyes, and whether they minded it being in print.

For most of us ninety percent of life is a projection. Writing for me was a way of looking at my story and seeing it as just that - my own personal prejudiced perspective. While truthful it is not truth. Truth is what is left when we take away the story.

CK: Regarding Mythology. Perhaps you were born 1000s of years late. You, Greta and Joan could be written about extensively at some point in the future. Almost like Martyrs, except there’s no sacrifice if you just loved to run, maybe catalysts affecting change.

Perhaps you were part of the greater movement for women, without all the bra burning and hype. More so by actualizing what you are capable of rather than just demonstrating if you know what I mean. There is a holism in self-actualization; demonstrating what you are capable of.

A little like Rosa Parks.

LM: I feel so fortunate that I got to partake in an extraordinary time for women in sports. So much change afoot, incredible names to be associated with and historically defining events. I never set out to change anything. I had no cause, just the youthful naiveté to think that I could and should rightfully have the right to do what I loved and to fulfill my dreams. This desire led me to the start line, to run for the same opportunities as the men to compete in long distance events, run in the Olympics, and to earn a living.

CK: It is well noted that you started running quite early in life. I understand you were not directly coached by Arthur Lydiard, but trained according to his method through your own coach. When did it occur to you that all the training you were doing was Lydiard’s method?

LM: I was introduced to the Olympian John Davies who became my coach for many years. He would often call Arthur, his coach, about my training, so I grew up knowing that Arthur Lydiard was the highest authority on all things running. While he was not directly my coach, because of the lineage I was one of his from the beginning, and he would take a personal interest in my training and racing whenever our paths crossed, which was fairly frequently.

CK: And to think you ran barefoot for many years.