August 2007 Newsletter

Dear Friends and Members of Club Fat Ass,

August is shaping up to be a busy month. With four scheduled events, a Speaker Night and at least one Flash adventure, there's an exciting Club activity for all ages and abilities this summer.

It's been fun to read the various accounts of the holiday adventures of our members. If you've been shy about sharing your experiences in our "online clubhouse," don't be! If you've been frustrated by the technology, please check out our website help section. Either way, do be sure to check the Club website frequently for updates on events and the summer adventures of CFA friends and members.

I am happy to let you know that the Speaker Night on Injury Prevention at Kintec has been rescheduled after having been abruptly postponed when host Graham Archer got a call from his wife saying, "Honey, you'd better get here quick!" The new date is Thursday, August 23rd. I hope you can make it, as it promises to be a valuable session. Registration details can be found in the newsletter below. Congrats, by the way, to Graham who is quickly learning how to be a Dad!

Happy Trails,

Sibylle Tinsel
Chief Executive Fat Ass

Speaker Night - Injury Prevention: Rescheduled for Thursday 23 August 2007 - North Vancouver, BC Canada. Join Kintec and Club Fat Ass for a 45 minute fun run in the jungle followed by a 45 minute seminar on injury prevention and how to keep healthy in training. There will be pizza, maybe a prize on the run, and lots of opportunity for questions and answers. This session is free for friends and members of Club Fat Ass. Pre-registration is required, as attendance is limited to 20 people. More info at Speaker Night - Injury Prevention for Runners.

Capilano Canyon Night Run (A Midsummer Night's Dream): 18 August 2007, North Vancouver, BC Canada. A classic CFA run and a great potluck garden party. If you can run 10 km, you can do this one. Find out more her e.

Go Deep or Go Home: 25 August 2007 - North Vancouver, BC Canada. Join veteran Fat Ass and new Event Host Cheryl Johnson for this scenic and challenging run on the trails of Mount Seymour. Due to popular demand, the official distances for this event are now 20 km (1 loop) or 40 km (2 loops). Of course, if you want more, go knock yourself out! You'll certainly get recognition in the results page if you complete more than 2 loops. . . . Please check out details and register here.

Photo right: Cheryl, the new Event Host for Go Deep or Go Home, working up a sweat.

Flash - Stein Valley Run: 15 September 2007, Stein Valley, BC Canada. This is envisioned as a group run along Blowdown Pass Traverse in the Stein Valley wilderness. There could be 1 to 3 groups based on ability and possible carpooling from Vancouver. As a flash event, no registration is required, but please check the website for more info and updates on the planning of this event.

Flash - R2R2R Road Trip: Date TBD, Colorado, USA. A road trip to run the Grand Canyon Rim to Rim to Rim. This run is currently in the planning stages and tentatively scheduled for early October. Express your interest and take part in the planning here, or better yet, participate in the planning session over a cool one after the Capilano Canyon Night run!

Free 2008 memberships. Just a reminder that all Event Hosts of scheduled events in 2007 will automatically receive a complimentary 2008 membership in Club Fat Ass. If you decide to host a scheduled event between now and December 31st, you can still get in on this deal! A big thank you to our Club Event Hosts for putting back into the community by hosting free events.

Promoting your Club. We would love your help in promoting the Club in person and online. One way to achieve this is, of course, to wear your Club t-shirt. Another is to provide a link to our website on your blog or website. We also have a nice brochure we'd like to get into race packets, community centers and running stores. Please contact me if you would like some brochures to distribute.

ADMINISTRIVIA

Website Update from the Technology Committee: Over the next few weeks we will be moving our "online clubhouse" to a faster server and a newer version of software. We've been warned that it won't be possible to make new posts on the website during the 1-2 days of transition. We will post a warning of potential outages as we get closer to "moving" day, but hope for a smooth transition. Once the site has been transitioned, we will be implementing a few changes to registration and adding other features and fixes that you asked for. If you notice anything that is wonky or messed up, please send me a note so we can tweak it promptly.

Photo Uploading. There have been a lot of digital cameras at our last few events. It's exciting to see so many event photos pop up on Flickr - It's simple; It's neat! In order to share your photos online, all you need is a digital camera and the simple instructions outlined here.

CLUB FAT ASS ON THE WEB

PAST EVENT RESULTS AND REPORTS

Through this evening of friendship and reminiscences, we raised a total of $324 for the Tri BC Fund in Mary's name. Some photos of the evening are posted here. Find out more about the bursary and donate here.

Photo left: Starters at Mary Leliveld's Happy Trail Run.

Photo below right: John and Rob refuelling to fight the Fluffy Bunny

Fluffy Bunny Trail Run: Event Host - Geoff Palmer

Who was tough enough for the Fluffy Bunny this year? Find out here!

Flash - Juan de Fuca Marine Trail Run 2007: Event Host - Carlos Castillos

So we are all done. Five souls started Five finished: Bob Wall, Isao Hirayama, Jeff Hunt, Caroline Goluza and I. Bob, Isao and Jeff took off and after a little bit of reorientation and regrouping, took off again leaving Caroline Isao and I as the caboose. After some beach walking on Bear Beach and some ankle wading on Sombrio, we were all well and working our way to Botanical Beach and the ride back. We had a happy time even though we had to deal with a lot of deepish mud. I have never run it that muddy. The lads, Jeff and Bob ran the whole trail in 7:55. We did it in 9:32. No major injuries; many wonderful views. I waded through the Sombria river up to my hips and fried my camera! (Time for an upgrade.) This trail is a real character builder, a "must do", at least once a year. Thanks Isao and Norma for doing all the driving. See you at the Monty. Read the full post here.

Flash - Garibaldi Trail Run: Event Host - Desmond Mott

Four of us turned up to do the run: Chris, John, Angus and myself. As Gary had said the flowers were few and far between, though they were there, as was the snow. We were going at a pretty easy pace, with time to take photos and take in the scenery. The sun was shining as we left the trail head just after nine. It took us about 75 minutes or so to get to Helm Creek campground where there was one lonely tent hidden well in the trees. Our hopes for a sunny day were dashed. . . . read on!

Photo below left: Pat and Sibylle posing during a foggy Hollyburn Hurtle

Flash - Hollyburn Hurtle: Event Host - Sibylle Tinsel

Three eager runners drove up Cypress this morning to tackle the Hollyburn Hurtle (as in hurtling down the chute ;-). Cheryl and I were surprised by the chilly air blowing at the base of Cypress Mountain as we started our ascent to the Hollyburn x-country area on a battered Baden Powell trail. I have not been on that part of the BP since before last fall's devastating windstorms and last winter's record snowfall. The trail is freed from the debris of trees and branches, but the devastation the storms brought on is still visible. Once we reached the Hollyburn slope magical fog wafted over the tree tops. No views of Vancouver below for today! Instead, glorious mud, thick and black, greeted us. Does this area ever dry up ;-) Read on and see photos here.

Flash - Stormy Brick: Event Host - Ean Jackson

This one has great potential. Look for a full scheduled event in next year's calendar. This year's impressions are here.

Bill's Great Peak Ascent: Event Host - Bill Dagg

Photo above right: Starters at this years Bill's Great Peak Ascent

Flash - Juan de Fuca Preview Run: Event Host - Carlos Castillos

Well we made it back, after a very enjoyable jaunt on the top end of the JDFT. Paul, Elaine, Charlie and I, plus our gear piled into the Jackalmobile and made our way to Port Renfrew, stopping at Sooke for breakfast then heading to Parkinson Creek trail head to leave our stash of food and drinks, with a plan to make that our turnaround after 2.5 hours. We got there with time to spare (10 minutes or so). Not feeling any real compulsion to kick out ten more minutes after the break we had a seven minute stop, while Paul and I proceeded to demolish our supplies. Elaine watched on in amazement! She drank but did not eat. Check out the full story and Jackal's video here.

2007 Point Series. Ean, Craig, Ryan, Sibylle and Des are still in the top 5, but Baldwin, Bill, John, Cheryl and Peter are in hot pursuit. Don't forget to pre-register, pick-up litter during the event and refer your running buddies to CFA to maximize your chance of winning. Up-to-date standings are posted here. Read about how to collect points here.

If you have any causes close to your heart and want to raise awareness and/or funds let us know. A number of CFA Event Hosts use their events as fund raisers. Be sure to consider the special section on the Club website that offers ideas on how to raise money for your favorite cause while hosting a free, CFA event.

BC Lung Association. Event Host Craig Moore uses his events to raise awareness and funds for the BC Lung Association.

Mary Leliveld Tri BC Fund. Mary was a friend and member of Club Fat Ass. The fund was established in her memory to help deserving athletes get to competitions they otherwise might not be able to race in.

PRPAWS (Powell River Parks and Wilderness Society). The boys who ran the Sunshine Coast Trail 180 in 2003 and 2004 vowed to help raise funds for PRPAWS, a society that aims to protect old growth forest in the Powell River area.

SPONSORS

Please visit the Club Fat Ass store to find cool merchandise with the happy porker logo.