2012 - ActiveSteve

Does my Ass Look Fat to You?

There is an expression that I’ve found particularly useful at certain times in my life: “Discretion is the better part of valour”. It is a literary expression which means that it is better to be careful and think before you act than it is to be brave and take risks. It is most commonly referenced to Shakespeare, in Henry IV, Part One (1596). Where have I found this applicable? Well, it’s very good to remind yourself of this phrase when you are a competitive athlete and have some sort of injury. Another good expression would be “Live to fight another day”. In the context of this post, I’m using it in relation to an ankle injury I sustained 3 weeks before my final big ‘summer’ race of the season, a 25km trail running race. While I may not have completely heeded my own advice, I did moderate my participation in the Fat Ass Trail Run, and this post will tell you all about it! I covered this event for Get Out There Magazine and created a video review, and also snapped a number of pictures from the event. Now read on to learn more about the event and my injury.

Travelogue

Rest, Relaxation, and Racing in Switzerland

Hello friends! As you all know well, I’m somewhat of a fan of taking part in races whenever I get the chance. Well, as it turns out, that apparently also extends to when I take some vacation time! This post will cover both the vacation that Deanna and I recently took in Switzerland (3 weeks!) as well as the half marathon that we both race in while there. Some of you may not realize this, but I am lucky enough to have dual citizenship. Canadian, and Swiss. I still have quite a bit of family over there, and it’s been a long time since I visited. Add to that the fact that Deanna has never been over there, and you can quickly see why this ended up being the perfect place for us to take a nice vacation. As you can well imagine, we took a ton of pictures, which you can all view in the collection that I put up on flickr. Eventually, I’ll pull together a ‘best of’ set, but for now, you can have a look at the whole lot of them. Read on for some of the highlights of the trip.

Race Reports Race Review Videos

Three Days of Mountain Bike Nirvana

Hey all, sorry it’s taken me so long to put words to the page for this race report. No doubt most of you have already checked out my 3-part video review of the event, but as always, I also like to follow up with a proper blog post with some additional thoughts from me on the event. The main reason for my delay was an awesome 3-week vacation with Deanna in Switzerland that we just got back from. Although I had intended to do some writing while over there, I was truly more interested in hiking, wine, cheese, and chocolate than opening up a keyboard and typing ;-). Surely you can all understand. Regardless, I’m now back, and ready to fill you all in on this awesome weekend adventure that I took part in and also covered for Get Out There Magazine. Don’t forget to check out all the pictures I took as well.

Race Reports

Power-Napping Through a 24 Hour Race

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Off the top, no, the power napper was not me. However, this was going to be absolutely necessary to ensure finishing the race as a TEAM. That, my dear friends, is what adventure racing is all about. Doing the right things at the right times as a TEAM in order to get to the finish line. Of course, I’m reporting to you all on the 2012 Wilderness Traverse Race. This is the 3rd time the race takes place, and the 3rd time I participate. Also, for the third year running, I ended up racing with a completely different team. I figure as long as I keep racing with new people, I’ll eventually get ‘called up to the majors’, right? Every race more than 24 hours is a unique challenge. This one would prove so more from a mental standpoint than a physical one, but more on that later. This year, I was invited to race on a a variant of Team Spirit, a team that has been around since nearly the dawn of AR! Two of my team-mates (Dave Hitchon and Mike Popik) have reams of experience on the international, expedition-length circuit (think Eco-Challenge, Primal Quest, etc.). The third member was actually the 16-year old son (Will Hitchon) of our captain. I was also covering the event for Get Out There Magazine, and it seemed like it would make a pretty cool video to follow this rookie in his bid to complete his first ‘overnighter’. This was so true, that I ended up making it a 3-part video (See Part I, Part II, and Part III). I also took loads of pictures on course. Now read on for all the gory details!

Race Reports

Paying it Forward at Raid Pulse

Greetings loyal readers! It’s been a pretty busy year once again for me in the race world. I’ve participated in and covered a whole range of events from simple running events to obstacle runs, mountain bike races and triathlons. I do all of these because I love participating in them, regardless of the outcome. I enjoy the challenge of new events, and just getting to spend time outdoors with like-minded people. However, not a single one of these events could ever have gotten off the ground without the help of volunteers. To those ends, even though I’m very busy, I do try to pay it forward now and again. This past weekend, I did just such a thing at the 4-hour Raid Pulse sprint race. The key with volunteering at these events is to view them as fun, not work, and to see the great time participants are having as they tackle what could be their greatest challenge of the year. Don’t they deserve a well-run race and to cross the finish with a big smile? I think they do, so read on about the fun I had at this top-notch event!