February 2009 Newsletter

 
UPCOMING EVENTS

Capilano Canyon Night Run. 21 February - North Vancouver, BC, Canada. A CFA classic not to be missed.  Entry limited to 50! More info and registration here.

Speaker Night - Survive Outside. 26 February - Kintec Footlabs, North Vancouver, BC, Canada.  Don't miss this presentation by Adventure Smart team coordinator Sandra Ferguson. Topics will include planning your run in the boonies, hints and tips for outdoor travel from the pros, a video about a true outdoor story, back country code of responsibility, what happens when you screw up:  Search and Rescue in BC.  The evening will conclude with discussion about your outdoor questions and experiences.  This event is free and we highly recommend it for anyone who gets off the main trails.  More info and registration here.

Photo right: Will we see a repeat of the snowy conditions at last years Mountain Highway Madness?

Spring Mountain Highway Madness. 15 March - 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 or 3,300' of elevation change per lap) on a wide dirt and gravel access road (no traffic). Check it out here!

Run to the Clouds. 28 March - Port Coquitlam, BC, Canada. A 12.5km or 25km run, all on trails with some gravel road sections. Come see and run around beautiful Buntzen Lake and surrounding mountains. A challenging route with over 2000 vertical feet (or 600 metres) of elevation gain/loss. Fantastic views of Buntzen Lake and the Greater Vancouver area. Details here.

 
NEWS

2009 Club Shirt. Your 2009 Club shirt is expected to be ready in early March.  When the shirts are in you will receive an email with pick-up information or - if you paid for shipping - a note that the shirt is in the mail.

Website. You may have noticed the lights were out at our "online clubhouse" recently.  Sorry for any inconvenience.  If you were wondering why the website was down, it's because we did a major upgrade of what's under the hood. The website is now faster, more robust and ready for us to implement more of the features you've been asking for.  Speaking of which, Ran, our official "code monkey", is working on a way for you to see who has signed up for a Club Event.  We are still experimenting, but we hope to have this implemented for all Club Events by the time you have your t-shirt!

CFA Steering Committee.  A small group of community minded people are selflessly working behind the scenes to build and manage your Club. We are always looking for help and fresh ideas.  If you can spare a couple of hours a month to work with one of our committees, please drop me a line. We are especially looking for an enthusiastic people to guide our Event Hosts, someone with PR experience and someone to represent the voice of Club members.

Business Members.   Please help me to welcome our newest Business Member, Dr. Scott Merlely at Aarm Dental Group. Please consider Scott if you live near downtown Vancouver and need dental care.   Scott has been a trail runner for the last 6 years and enjoys getting out on the north shore trails. He looks forward to participating in upcoming Club Fat Ass events.

Don't forget to check out our great sponsors and consider doing business with them.

2009 Membership Registration. Registration and Renewal for Club Fat Ass for 2009 is ongoing!  Don't miss out on a whole year of free events.

CFA ON THE WEB




PAST EVENT RESULTS AND REPORTS

Flash - Pure Foolishness 100K. 14 February - North Vancouver, BC Canada. Event Host - Karl Jensen.  Read on here.

Squamish Scrambler.  Event Host - Ryan Conroy. The 5th annual Squamish Scrambler again offered perfect conditions.  The treacherous access road was bare almost to the trail head, a first to be sure.  The forecast had called for rain and clouds with clearing in the afternoon.  Luckily, the rain didn't materialize and the cloud cover wasn't hanging too low.  The sun peaked out a few times and revealed fleeting glimpses of Diamond Head and surrounding peaks.   Read on here.

Photo right: First wave starters at the 2009 Squamish Scrambler

Photo left: Carrie and Betty at the Squamish Scrambler

Flash - Mount Kenya Summit Circuit.  Event Host - Chris Benn.  We haven't heard yet how Chris and Benn fared during their Summit Circuit of Mount Kenya in Africa.  We'll post photos as soon as the runners are back home.

Flash - Valentines Double Fat Ass. Event Host - Gilles Barbeau. There was a lot of love to go around...Results here.

Flash - Foolish Gerbil 50km Run. Event Host - Karl Jensen.  More here.

Flash - Foolish Gerbil Twenty-Four Hour Trail Run. Event Host - Karl Jensen.  The biggest difference between gerbils and fools is that gerbils have enough sense to get off the wheel when it gets tedious. Read more of Karls report here.

Photo right: Starters at the Foolish Gerbil Twenty Four Hour Trail Run

CONTESTS

 

New Contest Announced. We'd like to see CFA grow to include even more active, community-minded members. We've noticed that people who learn about the Club from people they trust and admire quickly become active CFA members.  Many go on to host Club events. Every year since the Club was founded, we've noticed that a special few make the effort to share their passion for the Club with friends.  Without asking for recognition, these individuals act from the heart to help mold the vibrant CFA community that all Club members benefit from. This contest is intended to recognize those special people who actively contribute to the growth of the Club.  Check out how to participate in the Refer a Friend Contest.

2009 Travelling Colours Contest.  Same contest, same rules, new year. Pictures of your 2009 adventures wearing your Club shirt (any colour) can be posted to Flickr following the instructions here. All submissions to date are posted here.

2008 Point Series. Same contest, same rules, new year. Up-to-date standings here. Read here about how to collect points. 

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.

Run for the Cure.  The Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation CIBC Run for the Cure is Canada's largest single day, volunteer-led fundraising event dedicated to raising funds for breast cancer research, education, and awareness programs.  If you would like to support one of your fellow members, please click here.

Easter Seals 24 Relay. The Easter Seals 24 Hour Relay is an annual community based fundraising event that challenges groups of people to run or walk Relay-style for 24 hours. Teams of runners and/or walkers made up of Corporate and Recreational groups collect individual pledges or organize team fundraising events to raise funds towards their collective team totals.

In 2008 CFA member, Glenn Pace, set our to run 100 miles during the 24 hour relay and raise funds for less fortunate children. Here the link to his fundraising page. Read here how it panned out. 

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 CFA. 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.