Harvesting a great weekend

Woo hoo! Long weekend is upon us! What to do? What to do? Run, hike, rest? I do know Friday will involve a jackhammer. Wish me luck! For those of you that wish to trot on Saturday why don't we do something we have never done? Yes, road trip! We will meet at Glenbow Ranch for a trot that includes *FREE* undulations! To get there, take Crowchild west toward Cochrane. you will see a big sign pointing left toward the valley. We will meet at the interpretive centre at a special time of 9:00am!

Who said training is all hard work?

Yes, it is time to head back to a later time so that Willy, Sharon, Susan, and the rest of the "I can't make it that early" group might have a chance to join us. We will keep 9 am through the winter months and lean back to 8 am around April.

Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park Foundation or Alberta Parks will help you find the way.

It has been 12 years since Ron from Telus wandered over to the Tech Shop to suggest a new event to be run in Fish Creek. He was looking for support for a half marathon in honour of Tracy Flagg who had recently passed away. Twelve years later Ron is still sweeping the course, ensuring those endurance athletes make it home from their tour of urban landscape, forest, prairie, and the largest swimming pool in Calgary.

I have trotted most of the Harvest Half events since then, skipping occasionally for trips to Budapest (wouldn't you rather too?) and beyond. But this race always seems to pull me back in. It is also my usual visit with two trotting pilgrims from Ontario, Mark and Susan, who were once part of our weekly brown pop and fatty foods group. Work and adventure pulled them away but you could always count on seeing them race weekend...except this one??? Did I just miss them?

This race was a little longer than the usual. If you were unfamiliar with the event you might have turned right vs. left at a critical junction of the race. Many of the endurance athletes unfortunately added three kilometres to their day and became a true 'Ultra-half-marathoner'. They seemed to enjoy the moniker and had little bad to say about the missing volunteer.

For myself and Tamara, we trotted her longest day to date, a 36 km meander through all parts of the park, eventually finding a willing dog in Sadie to welcome two sweaty individuals with licks-a-plenty. Tamara is off to Niagara Falls for the marathon in three weeks. She is well prepared to enjoy the day. Like my golf game, she will use the entire course to the fullest extent!

Christine is also off to another event, this one on Sunday in Chicago. Lucky bugger! She will be showcasing her best tinkerbell and leading Hubby D along the shores of Lake Michigan. And who can forget Carroll off to Portland to check out the city that her daughter almost moved to last year. Pamela, she wants you closer! Races all over this weekend including my favorite, the Victoria Marathon. Six times I have crossed that finish line, including my first in 1996. Forty-something marathons later it still holds a place in my heart.