NEWS photo Mike Wakefield
CHEWING the fat: four of the local Club Fat Ass ultrarunning members - Sibylle Tinsel (left), Ean Jackson, Michele Sherstan and Dom Repta - get ready to hit a North Vancouver trail during a recent run.
Smart Asses
Running club blazes a trail
Erin McPhee
emcphee@nsnews.com
Club Fat Ass: could there be a more attention-grabbing name for something?
"It's all about fun and camaraderie," says North Shore resident Ean Jackson, referring to the international club based in the Lower Mainland whose members are self-described as "promoters of oddball endurance events and a healthy outdoor lifestyle."
Added Jackson: "It's putting the fun into running."
In the late 1970s, Joe Oakes needed a 50-mile qualifying time for the Western States 100-mile Endurance Run, but when he couldn't find one, he created his own, snidely naming it the Fat Ass 50. Oakes decided to make the run an annual event and others - like Jackson - jumped on the bandwagon, creating their own versions.
"The more experienced you are at racing, the more you're looking for something different," he said. Jackson, who has done a lot of running over the years, wanted to give something back to the community, so he launched his own annual run - the Vancouver New Year's Day Fat Ass 50 in 1993.
"We'd go run 50 kilometres in the rain and the snow and the ice, go for a dip in the ocean and then we'd go have a few beers," said Jackson. "The focus was more on the camaraderie than the competition."
Other similarly minded enthusiasts began hosting similar events around the world.
"There's a lot of hassle in putting on an event and we wanted to keep it very low-key so that the person who's hosting the event could also participate in their own event," said Jackson. "That was kind of the genesis of the club."
Club Fat Ass was born with this in mind in 2003, thanks to help of key members like Sibylle Tinsel. Now members are linked by a website (www.clubfatass.com) that makes the organization of events a breeze. The club currently has approximately 350 members and it is growing exponentially.
There are many facets beside the name that distinguish the grassroots sports club from others of its kind. Club members pay an annual fee of $50 and can take part in as many events as they like. The runs are low-key and informal and usually draw between 25 and 100 participants, which allows runners to get to know each other.
"That doesn't happen in your normal Sun Run or Vancouver Marathon - you're just a number," said Jackson. Club Fat Ass is intended to bring people together.
In addition, members are encouraged to plan their own events and participate in them.
"(The races) reflect the personality of the person who's hosting them," said Jackson.
For example, the Go Deep or Go Home run which was held on Sunday in Deep Cove was hosted by club member Dom Repta, who organized it around one of his favourite running trails.
A further distinguishing characteristic of Club Fat Ass events is that winning isn't a goal. Participants, referred to as "guests," don't vie for first, second or third place. Instead, runners are singled out for things like getting the "most lost," picking up garbage along the trail or helping people out along the way.
While running ability is an obvious necessity, it's not only elite ultrarunners who populate the club. People can come out and run five kilometres, or they can run 50 kilometres, he said.
"What we want to do is have events where people help other people," said Jackson.
A number of events planned for the upcoming weeks open to the public who are always invited to join the club include runs and a speaker series.
Upcoming events scheduled for North Vancouver include Fall Mountain Highway Madness on Sept. 10; Wendy's Get Your Fat Ass off the Couch Run on Oct. 21; Go Home 20 on Nov. 18; Mike and Melissa's Fun Run on Nov. 25; and Pure Satisfaction on Dec. 10. Each of the events range in distance and challenges - from 12 kilometres on winter trails to 60 kilometres with tough hill intervals.
A free speaker series event is scheduled for Sept. 13 at North Shore Athletics on Lonsdale Avenue on the adventure race Primal Quest.
For more info on Club Fat Ass and upcoming events, visit www.clubfatass.com.
