July 2012 - ActiveSteve

Gran Fondo Ottawa AKA Line-up From Hades

Looking back on my various race and event results, I have now been a pretty physically active fellow for almost exactly 10 years. I have done countless events of every type and description. Short 5k runs, up to 7-day major international events. I’ve done grass-roots style events and slick corporate-backed mega-events like the Boston Marathon. They all have one thing in common. Registration and kit pick-ups. This is sort of the ‘welcome mat’ to an event, and sets the tone and stage for what follows. It says a lot about the overall event’s organization and ability to execute. In these 10 years, I don’t believe I’ve ever had to wait more than 30 minutes to deal with this part of a race. Until GranFondo Ottawa. So shall begin my little post on this inaugural event in Ottawa, and my PERSONAL opinions of the entire weekend. I also covered it for Get Out There magazine, so you can check out my ‘official’ video review which will be a little kinder than this post will be. You can also check out some pictures that I posted from our group. Now, please read on to get my full impressions 🙂

Race Reports Race Review Videos Travelogue

Success on all Fronts on the East Coast

As I trotted around the turnaround point of the run loop to head out on my 2nd loop of the 10.5km run course, I made the final decision. I would NOT upgrade myself to the full iron-distance event by doing an additional 2 loops after this one. It had been a scorcher of a day on the course so far, and completing the Epic-distance race, as originally planned, would be plenty enough racing for me on this fine Canada Day in Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. After all, I would still have raced 205km by the time I crossed the finish line! Welcome to the inaugural Epic Dartmouth Triathlon in Dartmouth. Deanna and I had driven from Ottawa to spend time with family, take in the sights, and for me to take part in yet another excellent endurance event, all in a whirlwind 6 days. Read on for the full story, check out pictures of the race and of the touring (including paddling near Peggy’s Cove as well as watch the video review I pulled together for Get Out There Magazine.

Race Reports Race Review Videos

A Call to Arms… in a Kilt

G’day friends and fellow competitors. I’m here to tell you all the tale of my race at the Perth Kilt Run held last weekend. This is a Guinness World Records-setting event that I’ve been interested in trying out since it’s inception a few years back. It was the third annual, and located close enough to home that Deanna and I both wanted to take part. It also gave us a chance to do a little motorbike tour, and hit Merrickville and Smith’s Falls. I was also onsite to cover the event for Get Out There Magazine, and accordingly, put together my standard video race review. While wandering around and taking the sights in, I also managed to snap a few pictures to commemorate the day. While the Kilt Run is mainly a 5-mile road race, they also had a separate event called the Warrior Class division, which is what I registered myself in. For full details on the race and how I did, read on!