February 2007 Newsletter

Flash Bowen Bash: 10 March 2007 - Bowen Island, BC Canada.  Carpool to Horseshoe Bay, catch the 10:05 ferry, run 1, 2, 3, or more loops of approximately 7 km around Killarney Lake and end at Doc Morgan's Pub. Flash host Mark Grist will post details soon.

Spring Mountain Highway Madness: 18 March 2007 - North Vancouver, BC Canada.  This mind-numbing interval session is officially held twice a year. Runners complete one or more 15 km laps with approximately 1 km (3,300') of elevation change per lap.  The course is on a wide dirt and gravel access road with no traffic.  Check it out here!

Photo: James Sinclair of Ontario running in the snow during last year's MHM

Big Fat Ass 100 km: 25 March 2007 - Vancouver, BC Canada.  This flash event conceived by Karl Jensen and Gilles Barbeau features a double loop of the new Year's Day Fat Ass 50 course.  Why?  Because for some of us, 50 km is not enough. Check it out.

Burnaby Mountain Run: 21 April 2007 - Burnaby, BC Canada.  We are happy to announce that this event will live on, with much thanks to new Event Hosts Katheryne Gardiner and Tara Jackson.  Run 11.2 km or 22.4 km on the trails of Burnaby Mountain, but beware of the killer hill at the end!  Find out more here.

Photo: Just one of the amazing views you'll see at the Burnaby Mountain Run - if it's not raining ;-)

Run to the Clouds: 28 April 2007 - Coquitlam, BC Canada.  This 22 km run is  mostly "off road."  It is a challenging route with over 2,000 vertical feet (or 600 m) of elevation change offering fantastic views of the Greater Vancouver area.  More details here.

Photo: Remote Crew member Chris taking in the view during last year's Run to the Clouds.

NEWS

2007 CFA Collector's Shirts. They're barely off the production line and already I am getting inquiries into whether or not I will be ordering more of the 2007 Club colours.  Sorry -- nope!  Help me to move the black and blue shirts, and then we can talk!

Ordering t-shirts, selecting colours, and getting them screened ranks high on my list of anxiety-inducing activities.  I am happy that it all worked out again, and so far I have only heard positive comments about the classic green/orange men's shirts and the hot lime green/magenta women's shirts.  Thanks to Jess for picking just the right hue of pink.

Poster Children. I am looking for one male and one female model to sport the green shirts as our 2007 poster children.  You don't need to look like the next top model.  Singles, a couple, teenager or grandparent all are welcome, so don't be shy.  Email me if you are interested.

New Year's Resolution Contest.  Boy, the Steering Committee sure had a hard time deciding on a winner.  There were 17 participants.  Of those, Baldwin, Carlos, Craig, Gary, Keith, Sibylle, Andrea, and Ean submitted a final evaluation of how their year went relative to their goals.  We eliminated Sibylle and Ean because Sibylle manages the Club and it was Ean's NY Day event.  Keith gave himself 85%, but didn't really justify his grade; Craig gave himself 75% and did justify; Baldwin gave himself a B+ for 5/8 goals met; Gary gave himself 65% with reasons; Carlos rated himself 7/10; and Andrea rated herself 7/12.  In the end it was a close call, but Craig had the highest percentage of fullfilled resolutions accompanied by an explanation.  Congrats to Craig!  He will receive a pair of runners kindly provided by North Shore Athletics.

(By the way, you can list your 2007 fitness resolutions at any time.  It's a good way to keep yourself honest.)

New Events. New Event Hosts are coming out of hiding all over the place.  I am happy to announce that we have our first event in Edmonton.  The Slack Ass 50 Miler will be hosted by Ryan Conroy's sister Allison in June.  Thanks for roping her into this, Ryan.  More details will be posted on the website soon.

We can also look forward to a little Sunshine in September.  Our new Event Host Committee Chair, Berglind, will host this 20 km+ trail run on the Sunshine Coast on September 8th.  

Mark Grist has just submitted plans for the Bowen Beer Bash March 10th which will offer runners 1, 2, 3, or more loops of approximately 7 km around Bowen Island's Killarney Lake and end at Doc Morgan's Pub. Mark will post details soon.

To recognize the efforts of new Event Hosts, the Steering Committee has decided to offer them free memberships for 2007.  Next year, the efforts of all Event Hosts will be rewarded with a free membership. Please understand that for logistical reasons we can't do this retroactively.  Besides, new members can't get a green t-shirt!

2007 Membership Registration.  If you haven't registered yet, you missed your chance to get the special green 2007 collector's shirt.  But don't despair, members signing up now will receive our classic black Club shirt and can still participate in all 25+ events during 2007.  Such a deal!

ADMINISTRIVIA

CFA Flickr Integration.  In the January newsletter I introduced Flickr to you.  Flickr is a top notch photo sharing site.  More and more websites are using Flickr and we too have started to integrate Flickr into the Club Fat Ass online clubhouse. 

Instead of sending me your photos, please upload them to Flickr.  This way you will never loose ownership of your photos and they will be posted on your own Flickr page.  If you post photos from our events or your shirt contest image and then add them to the CFA Flickr group, they will automatically appear in the Member In Action space on our website.   Best of all, Flickr is free.  I've set up a Group Pool at http://www.flickr.com/groups/clubfatass/ where you can sign up for Flickr and the Club Fat Ass Group. 

PAST EVENT RESULTS AND REPORTS

Squamish Scrambler. Event Host, Gary Robbins. 

WOW did we ever luck out with that weather!  It's always a lot easier to host an event when the weather cooperates, and there was no shortage of sunshine on this day.

I've been up to Elfin Lakes almost 10 times now and this past Saturday was the first time that I've seen a completely blue bird day.  The six inches of fresh snow and endless views as far as Vancouver Island ensured that no matter what I did wrong, people were walking... running away happy after the event.

Photos: Scenes at the Squamish Scrambler 2007

We had 21 people show up for the fabulous morning... and a few that decided to sleep in, to which all I have to say is, enjoy the photos!

In stark contrast to last year's event, there were no near death experiences before we started the run.  The road to the parking lot was clear the whole way up and I am constantly amazed at how 9 times out of 10 (last year being that unlucky number 10), the snowline starts right at the parking area.  Check out the full report, results, and photos here.

Capilano Canyon Night Run - Mardigras. Event Hosts, Sibylle Tinsel & Ean Jackson

Photo: 2007 Capilano Canyon Night Run - starter photo

The weather forecast gave a 100% probability of heavy rain.  The trails were still a mess from the wind and rain storms in December and early January.  It didn't look good for the 5th annual Mardi Gras version of the Capilano Night Run!  Frantic plans were made to come up with an alternative course cutting out the mudslides while still providing for a challenging night trail run.

Not surprisingly, 32 hardy runners weren't deterred by the obstacles and nobody took me up on the offer of a safer, alternative route...  The full report, results, and more photos are posted here.

2006 Travelling Colours Contest Vote.   If you haven't voted yet, please do so now!  We've extended the voting window so you can help us break a tie.  Please click here and follow the instructions to cast your vote.

Photo: Rhonda planting rice in Japan

2007 Travelling Colours Contest. Capture and share the tender moments you experience with your Club t-shirt throughout the year, and you might just win some great stuff!  To participate, just email me your photos.  Those of you who have discovered Flickr can upload your submissions to your Flickr page, add them to the Club Fat Ass group, and tag them with TravellingColoursContest2007.  Submissions we've received to date are posted here.

2007 Point Series. Because it was so much fun, we will continue the Point Series in 2007.  Up-to-date standings are posted here.  Read about how to collect points here.  A new way you can garner points is by wearing your CFA t-shirt during a non-CFA event and posting the photo to prove it.  Thanks to Karine Lavoie who gave us the idea and pointed us to Steven Lamothe's photo on the Vancouver First Half website. As a bonus, any photos of you and your shirt at races will also be added to the Travelling Colours Contest.

Photo: Ruby enjoying the views from a lighthouse near Mazatlan, Mexico

CAUSES YOUR CLUB SUPPORTS

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 favourite 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

CFA does not sell or otherwise distribute our member list.