Welcome back to MARS after the break. Despite -30C this am, we feel certain that winter is done for. Good riddance. There’s lots going on on MARS in the coming weeks and months. Keep reading to learn more. Several MARSians are in the final weeks of preparation for the Around The Bay 30 Km Road Race, the oldest road race in North America. This race is older than the Boston Marathon. Troy Cox, Mark Sinnige, Roger Penney, Katherine Ahokas, Lowell Greib, Pierre Mikhail and Jess Sheppard will all do this race in preparation for spring marathons. Troy Cox will start things off with his return to the Boston Marathon in April. Then in late May he will join the group above (minus Roger), along with Helen Dempster and Dave Johnstone at The Vermont City Marathon May 25 in Burlington, Vermont. Roger will continue training for his August battle with Iron Man Mt Tremblant! Doug Neudorf will tackle the Toronto Marathon in early May.
Our friends at The Muskoka Mud Run have announced their 2014 race. Click here for details. And like them on Facebook as well.
With the great (fingers crossed!) spring weather about to burst forth, mark your calendars for the next two Run To The Pub events, Thursday March 27 and April 17. Both runs will start at 4:30 pm meeting at River Mill Park. The join us for some time at the Pub beginning at 5:30 pm. New members are welcome to join club in the pub after the run. We will also be celebrating a MARS member birthday at the April 17 Pub Night.
Scheduled club runs continue this week with a stride workout Tuesday at 6:30 am, meeting in the High School Parking lot. As well, the long run group will head out from Highway 60 Tim Horton’s at noon on Thursday. Finally, we will be doing a hill workout, departing 1027 East Walker Lake Drive at 7:00 am Saturday. Most of our work will be around one hill so come out and suffer with us. Coffee and treats afterwards.
A reminder to high school runners that Craftsbury High School XC Running Camp is almost full. If you are interested in attending reserve your spot by contacting the camp here and then reserving your spot in our vans by contacting Pierre Mikhail. Six local runners are confirmed on the trip so far and the camp’s capacity this year is 25 runners. Last year they filled their 30 spots by the end of March.
Finally, it’s time to meet our next MARSian, Dave Johnstone. Dave is one of the club’s two VPs and is the most positive person we know. He is always willing to give his time to promote sport, especially running and skiing. Let’s meet Dave:
Nickname(s): Dave “The Hammer” Johnstone, Dave “Don’t Call Me A Jogger” Johnstone
Weaknesses: “Achilles”
Favourite Races: The Porto Potty Mile
Distances Run: Everything
Career PR: 2006 Chicago Marathon 3:06; Half Marathon in 1:25
Pre-Race Rituals: Double Features
End-of-Run Rituals: Reading the paper in other runner’s driveways.
Favourite Quote after completing a long run: “Hold me, I’m cold”
Describe MARS in One Word: “Pierre Pressure”
See you on the roads.
