Ray Zahab

A must read. The story of Ray Zahab, Ultra Marathoner / Adventure Runner. Born in Carp Ontario this Canadain shares his training & key races like the Yukon Artic Race, crossing the Sahara in the Marathon des Sables 2004, as well as the Badwater Ultra. 135 Miler across Death Valley in California. "Running for My Life" by Ray Zahab was printed in 2007. check your local library as well. Copy available at Barrie Public Library.

Are You Canadian ?

http://www.arcticultra.de/en.php. I'm reading through my Ultra Running magazine last night, when i come upon the Yukon Ultra. There are some crazy shit people out there. Yesterday in a business meeting a Senior VP of a major shopping Centre Company ask me, "Jamie why do you do ultras & triathlons" ? The jest of my answer was it's fun to see how far you can push your own human body. In other words "what are my limits?" I can see myself doing this race one day. Check it out www.articultra.de (i think i have that right). Here's a little about the race right from the website.
The Yukon Arctic Ultra will follow the Yukon Quest trail, the trail of the world's toughest Sled Dog Race.

The marathon finishes just off the Takhini River. The 100 mile racers will go from Whitehorse to Braeburn. The 300 mile racers will keep on going all the way to There they will leave the river to turn around and go back to Pelly Crossing on the farm road. The 430 mile athletes will not return to Pelly Crossing. Instead they will continue on the Quest trail to Dawson City. Please note: the 430 mile race will be held every two years and will next take place again in 2009.

The trail will be marked. However, if there is fresh snow or a lot of wind it will be difficult to find the trail. If you want to enhance your ability to understand your orientation, we recommend you use a GPS. You will find necessary co-ordinates and more information on the race course in the “Trail Description”.

The Perils of Living in Canada

My mother-in-law frequently gets Marathon events & Triathlon events mistaken. When she learned i was doing the 26.2 Mile Marathon in Hamilton, On. she asked, "won't the water be cold?"
Canada is an amazing place to live. Open spaces, fresh water lakes to swim, but November to March makes it difficult for triathletes. Swimming is definitely restricted to the 25 m dry skin chlorine pools.Running is manageable but not always fun. Cycling with our beautiful cherished tri-bikes becomes almost non-existent. Three options, one take a spinning class, two purchase a trainer or saddle up on your Mountain bike & go out riding in plus 2 celcius. This coming winter season i'm going to make a commitment to do more Mountain biking through the frigid temperatures.

PB @ Hamilton Marathon 42.2

Stiff as hell today, but it was worth it. Time 3 hrs 09 mins & 58 secs.
This was the 2nd year for Hamilton. Ron Leigh actually was the one that convince me to do the race. Why do Hamilton 2009. This is why. It's fast! Most the race is down hill. It's a Boston qualifier. Running down the closed off Red Hill Valley Express Way is a blast. The medal is unique & one that you will want to add to your collection. Ok, so they didn't have the most creative minds design the t-shirts. The race starts on the mountain, you run the rural routes before coming down the mountain and running out towards the Liftbridge and then running the waterfront trails along Lake Ontario and finishing up in Confederation Park. See you there in 2009.

New Nexico

In the Sierra County, between Kingston and Hillsboro, New Mexico on January 18, 2009, 70 some Ultramaniacs will race the Ghost Town 38.5 Miler (about 63km). Keith Lascelles will be joining me on this elevated terrain. Keith & I were taking in the photos from last years race & noted almost all the participants were wearing enough clothing for a biting cold day in November (that's north of the 49th parallel or Tim Horton Line). What the fudge? What gives? Isn't this New Mexico. I'm thinking t-shirt & shorts. Hot sun, maybe I'll even come back to Barrie with a nice tan. Then the lighthouse went off, the mountain terrain & elevation ranges the temperature dips. Dips plenty. The official website is www.journeyheretothere.com

Barrie Performs Well @ RFTT 50K

Yesterday's race in Cambridge, On. Run for the Toad was another successful event for Barrie. Roger Ison finished with a time of 5 hrs 31 mins, while Keith Lascelles & Brendan Kavanaugh finished with times of 4 hrs 54 mins. Mr. Kevin O'Neil who was humming Motorhead tunes in his head as he ran finished 10th overall with a time of 4 hrs 24 mins. Sylvie P. finished with a great time of 5 hrs 50 mins. Congrats to all. I'm hoping Brendan ran the entire race with his helmet-cam on. Brendan you did remember to take it right ? Keith said he was bringing extra reflective duct tape.

Runners, Trouble Sleeping ?

Thanks to the Journal of Sports Medicine, Norwegian Doctor Hans Smeltz, discovered that inhaling toxic fumes for extended periods of time during a normal night's sleep could prevent runners from achieving their full maximum output decreasing lung capacity by as much as 23%. A parallel study of a group of men & women under the same study but with the window ajar a quarter inch found the decrease of lung capacity still was effectively the same.