Best day ever?

I feel compelled to share this video with as many people as possible.

Behold. Footage from the rarely contested 600m indoor steeplechase.
Run on the inside of a velodrome. With a built-in waterpit.
Commentated by outrageous british announcers. From the late 70s.
And some awesome beards.

It seems almost too good to be true, an event from the Silly Olympiad maybe, but no, it's real.

In lieu of the 2000m National Records being broken this past weekend, I feel compelled to make an attempt at the national record of another, some may say more prestigious, off-distance track event. I wonder if Moults can dig that one up.

Take a deep breathe, watch.



-chris

Mr.Rogers needs a talking to...

So it's 2:51am on Sunday morning and me and Proudfoot just got back from Windsor. Safe to say we're both pretty pumped about our races. More on that later. For now, entertain yourselves with a little video we put together as the interlude into the new season of Rollin with the River, premiering this week. I wanted to put this up earlier today, but our internet displayed abysmal upload speeds. Gonna get that taken care of tomorrow. A strongly worded letter should do the trick.

Trails - 1, Chris - 0

an addiction is an addiction...

I remember watching Winnie the Pooh as a kid and thinking that the Hundred Acre Wood was a really scary place. There was that one episode where Rabbit is having his birthday party and Pooh and Piglet get lost in the Scary Woods, a section of the Hundred Acre Wood where Piglet says that the Heffalumps and Woozles live and they have to sing a song to help them not get scared. Real shit.

Preservation Park in Guelph is very much like the Hundred Acre Wood.

They both have scared me deeply in my life.

So last week I was excited to run some miles on some different surfaces in Guelph. When looking for a place to live in the city some five months ago, I remember driving by what looked like the trailhead of some badass trails. Going home and Google Earthing the neighborhood, I found what looked like a large wooded area that connected to the trailhead I found, only 200m from the house we were about to sign for.

I was pumped.

I love that feeling of running in a new area and just going out and being able to explore. Trails are really a luxury; having run most of my off-days on the streets of Sauga in highschool, I was excited to have the sweet Guelph trail network at my disposal when coming to school here. Going out without a defined route but a number of minutes to fill up was always one of my favorite things about running when travelling, and to be able to do it right by the house I’d be living in for the next few years of my life got me excited.

So last week I trekked out to Preservation Park to run.

It kicked my ass.

I don’t want to say that the place wasn’t awesome. Because it was. Some of the softest and coolest trails that I’ve seen thus far in the city. Awesome wooden platforms that pushed the path through amazing scenery.  A great atmosphere that really made you feel secluded from the suburbs that surrounded it, perfect for the relaxed off-day run. Except I got so lost it wasn’t funny.

I tried following the trail markers and somehow ended up trying to get my boy scout’s orienteering badge. It was not fun. Logs across streams, muddy patches that stretched for K’s, bumblebees that scared the shit out of me… an uncomfortable affair to say the least. Worst of all, I didn’t know how to get out… and I lost how I got in. Ankles were really close to being turned, gashes were even closer to being produced and mental toughness was almost shot. Eventually I mountaineered my way out of the park and got back onto the good stuff, and the run continued, but yeah… it was really scary for a bit there.

Moral of the story; don’t follow the red spray-paint.

well said watson

- chris

Home Improvement?

Currently, I'm writing this blog as an asian couple accompanied with an older british man walk through our new house here in Guelph looking to purchase it.

great show, creepy neighbour still kinda scares me

Yeah... so we just moved in on May 1st and it turns out our landlord is seeking to sell the place. Although we are guaranteed the house for the length of our lease, it isn't exactly an ideal situation. It might turn out that an investor buys it and we're good to go with a new landlord for the next few years. It might turn out that the asian couple buys it and we're off to the cannon again in January. Regardless, one thing that's certain is the fact that the next couple of days will produce their fair share of awkward moments. And I'm excited for them to take place.

Oops, sorry, I didn't hear you come in, would you like me to put pants on?

etc...

Should be fun.

Beyond the household shenanigans that are bound to take place, a lot has been happening in Guelph that's worth mentioning.

As mentioned above, we moved in to our new house! And it's sweet! We have a fireplace... and a french door! We fancy huh? Yes, 163 Ironwood is shaping up to provide the setting for what can only be an epic second year. Our location is clutch, right on the 52 bus line and minutes away from Stone Rd Mall and other essential undergraduate services. Across the street from a public school that apparently houses an outdoor ice rink in the winter and down the road from the trailhead of what will provide some sweet untapped off-day adventures. Our build quality rivals any student house you could put it up against in the city. Built in 1984 and at 1085 square feet, the house is straight gangsta with a quality deck (with wooden awning) and barbecue that would make Rob Rainford jealous. Yeah, and the kids in the house are known to have fun too.

Outdoor track is finally upon us and if early season efforts are any indication, this year is going to be a memorial one. Last weekend saw action from Speed River in Hillsdale, Michigan at the Gina Relays, in Alto Palo, California at the Payton Jordan Invite and in Toronto at the Sporting Life 10k. All across North America Speed River made a statement that we're ready to compete with the best and that it's not just something in the water in Guelph that makes us run. Big shout out to papa Genest who threw down a great steeple at Stanford, running just shy of the World Champs B standard in 8:33.85, his fastest time on the track in almost 2 years. Watch the video below, you'll see for yourself that he's going to be doing big things this year.



I too ran a steeplechase this past weekend. 9:36 and change. It was not exactly what I wanted it to be but I did get a feel for the track again and the pace that I'm hoping to maintain for the entire race... not just the first 2k of it. The steeple is a tough race. I was reminded of that fact in what is truly the only way that you can be reminded of it, by running one. All in all, it was a stronger debut on the track than last year so I can see the positive from that, but there is still much work to do in order for me to visit Disneyland this coming July. However, with the success that my fellow steeplers, along with the other, inferior-event track people are having, I'm excited to put the work in.

So yeah, there's a lot going on here, and I'm excited to spend my summer immersed in it. Clerke has headed back to la belle province de la Colombie Britannique, Proudfoot is chilling with the likes of Bernard Lagat and Nick Willis in Flagstaff, Arizona and Geiser is living the life in Mississauga writing up a storm on his blog (check it out if you haven't) and preparing for his comeback, reportedly throwing down a 27' 200 yesterday at the track. Yeah, I was there, believe. (edit: it was a 26' after all; read about his outlook on running on his new post here. I'm rooting for ya man!)

So ya, expect more from the blog in the coming weeks as the summer brings with it more time and more excitement to write about.

Doha Diamond League just ended, sweet 3k over there.

10000 m Ontario Champs on Sunday, should have some studs throw down.

Speedy Manure this weekend, get ready for the shit show.


Excited for it all. Well maybe not that last one.

- Chris

Resuscitation

I'd say it's about time to clear the spider webs and start throwing some blogs up here... well atleast for the next two weeks well I'm bored as shit in Flagstaff Arizona. I have nothing against the place, It's actually pretty cool, but when your at altitude and only running 60-80 minutes a day with not too much else to do one tends to get restless. Restless enough to say, start up an old blog that's been dead for around two months. So far I've been up here three days, running some of the coolest trails I've came across in my 19 years on this planet. I've already come across a jackrabbit, groundhog, two squirrel-rabbity things, and a horny toad (which I almost stepped on), all without running close to a fraction of the little dirt trails right out the door. Anyways the reason I'm up here is for a National Center training camp so pretty soon I'll have to hit the track and actually do some workouts, but for now I'm pretty content with my little senic runs. The other guys here are all pretty big studs so it won't be all that terrible when I hit the track on Saturday with them. Thats really all there is to update the last two months, some exams and then Flagstaff with a crummy race thrown in there that doesn't need to be talked about.

Hopefully the other dudes will start bloggin aswell, seeing as they are much better writers and school is finally out.

Later.
- Ross