May 2017
Congratulations go out to a very large number of runners who have been traveling the last few weeks to various races. It is always a challenge to keep pace with who is where and doing what. There was a large number of you ran in the Nashville heat and had a great trip, some in Toronto at Goodlife marathon who ran P.B.’s, others here and there including Kevin with a 5 and 10 km in the last couple of weeks, the 5 km of which was a personal best. So kudos to all of you for your efforts recently. Hopefully you feel good about the training paying off because some of those nights over 4 or 5 weeks of clinic have not been perfect running conditions. But challenging conditions do toughen up the runner and stiffen up the resolve!
We are entering the season where often we can do a little less traveling with less time commitment and cost to take advantage of some runs. A few coming up locally are:
Chesley Classic. This 5 km route leads through the town over and under the historic railway trestle bridge crossing the north Saugeen river. The race is on Saturday May 27th. There is race day registration for runners and walkers not able to register in advance.
For all details and to register you can go to https://www.chesleycommunityclassic.com/
The following Saturday (June 3rd) is the 29th annual Saugeen Shores 5 km, 10 km and half marathon. It runs south from main street in Southampton along the water offering terrific views to make the minutes and the miles fly by.
https://www.rotaryrun.net/ is the website to visit for registration which can be done online or print a form and take it on race day.
On June 24th the Georgian Bay Nordic ski club is presenting the Pure Grit trail race. Another distance added this year is the 30 km challenge which places the event on the Ontario Ultra race trail calendar. One loop is 7.5 km, do it twice or have the kids in the 2.5 km fun event. Register early for this affordable and fun event starting at $20 benefitting the top echelon of xc skiers. This event corresponds with the end of the spring clinic and can be great cap for runners. More info @ skigbn.ca or
https://www.runnersdenos.com/Runners_Den_Owen_Sound/Local_Race_Roundup.html
Historically on July 1st the Duntroon to Stayner 5 miler takes place. Put on your Canada headgear (Watuko Canada headbands and buffs now available at Runner’s Den) and race your way from the public school to Stayner in this old school and free event. It is always a treat to be there and support the donation of time and resources from the individuals putting it on.
The next Saturday (July 8th) is the area’s greatest 5 km race. The Meaford Harbour 5 km benefiting the hospital foundation. The 5 km event starts at the waterfront pavilion and runs through downtown, through the campground and back towards the marina. There are pledge sheets available at the store for participants interested in raising pledges.
For a direct link for further details please go to https://www.mhfoundation.ca/events.cfm
You will find further links and information to the August events on our website by going to the races tab.
Other fun events coming up which have several of the Runner’s Den runners attending which some of you may wish to look into are on the weekend of June 11th. There is the Toronto Divas 5 km and Half marathon and also on that same day is the 8th Annual Phlox Run. The Phlox Run is presented by Runner’s Den Paris and located at the Brant Conservation area near Brantford. It has a 6, 10 and 25 km all on trail. Check out www.runnersdenparis.com for more information or ask in the store.
For some of you who have running watches uploading to online platforms we wanted to ensure that you were aware of the Strava website where Tracy has a group created called Runner’s Den Owen Sound. On our front page of the website is a strava widget showing the most recent uploads. It is fun and motivating to look at some of the work of runners around you. Especially neat are the uploads from races when they occur or flyby’s as they are known on the screen. Pretty cool to check out. If you have any questions just ask of us at the store.
Featured product discussion of this news bulletin is relative to the time of year we are now running in. I could highlight the trail shoe however I will highlight the lightweight performance running shoes available. New for spring this year are the Brooks Asteria, New Balance 1500V3 and the Asics DS Trainer. This type of shoe makes for an excellent complimentary choice for some of your runs. Note the word ‘some’! For most runners your tried and true, go to shoe is the standard training shoe we are all familiar with. That type of shoe offers you the most protection and cushion for the stresses incurred from running. If you are running more often than maybe you used to, then considering a lightweight shoe to do your FASTER runs or RACE IN is an excellent idea. The Asteria, DS Trainer, and 1500’s are shoes which are lighter and brighter. Any of these shoes offer themselves to aid your running mechanics by being a little more conducive to a faster foot turnover, tend to be slightly firmer than your more cushioned trainers which aids in responsiveness that is more often experienced as less pulling of energy back out of a more cushioned shoe. By rotating a model such as these shoes alongside your other trainer you will generally also experience a longer shoe lifespan for both models as each shoe receives more foam return due to the extra day off. (Shoe midsole foams rebound most fully after 24 to 48 hours). As well, your body makes subtle adaptations in each shoe that from a physical standpoint works to further strengthen and enhance the development of muscles, tendons and ligaments providing further benefit to you. That last line is particularly important for runners wishing to increase their performance. At some point the body must encounter additional stressors in training to make advancements rather than running the same thing, the same way on the same days. Without having the body positioned to respond to the new stress positively then the extra stress can become negative and work to break down the body resulting in physical injury or mental fatigue. The general lifespan on the performance training shoe is a little less mileage accumulation than the standard running shoe which is really a reflection of; less midsole = less weight, less weight = less life, less midsole = less support and protection. Standard shoe models generally are suggested as having a life of 600 to 800 km whereas the performance type shoe is often 400 to 700 dependent upon variables such as run surface, running mechanics, foot type and the size of the runner.
