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Dear Friends and Members of Club Fat Ass,
With spring in full swing and summer approaching fast, I hope your training is going well and you are enjoying the great outdoors.
Club Fat Ass is driven by you. If you support our goal of making the world a better place for active people through free, low-key outdoor events, please do your part by chipping in. Here are some thoughts on how you might become a more active member of the Club:
- Host an event. Share your favorite trail or training route with your fellow members. We make it easy with a free manual, website and some prizes to give away. (I've received so many inquiries from Ontario, but it seems everyone there wants to participate, not organize. James made the start with the Spring Bunny Hop last month... who is next? If two of you commit to hosting an event later this year, I'll bet we have 10+ events in Ontario by this time next year!) Please read more about hosting under News below.
- Help at an event. Help with registration or be a sweep. Your host will appreciate it.
- Help with Club management. There's a group of dedicated Steering Committee members behind the scenes who run the Club. Think about being on the "board" in 2008
- Help on a committee. We need technical help for the website, public relations expertise for media relations and help with raising sponsorship funds so we can improve the value of membership. There's so much more we could do, but without your help, it just won't get done. Yes, only a couple of hours a month would make a big difference.
- Help spread the word. If you enjoy the Club and relate to its values, please tell your friends and prospective sponsors. If every member introduces two new members a month, all members will benefit . . . and you may even win a 2008 membership!
- Get out to more events. Don't be shy! The more events you do, the more you'll appreciate your membership.
Please contact me to discuss how you can put back in, make suggestions for a better Club or just to share your adventures and successes.
Happy Trails,
Sibylle Tinsel
Chief Executive Fat Ass
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UPCOMING EVENTS
 North Shore Enduro: 12 May 2007 - North Vancouver, BC Canada. Join us on a 6-hour solo or relay challenge. Run as little as one loop or try to beat the record for most loops completed in 6 hours. Event info here.
Photo right: Gary Moorman tackling a loop during last year's Enduro
Run to the Clouds: 27 May 2007 - Coquitlam, BC Canada. This year's run has increased to 25 km and is completely "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.
 The Vancouver 100: 2/3 June 2007 - North Vancouver, BC Canada. The toughest 100 km in Canada. Due to the challenging nature of this event, participation for the full 100 km is by invitation only, but everyone can still participate by running part of the course with the 100 km participants, coming out to the aid station/picnic area at Cleveland Dam or crewing for a runner. More info and applications here.
Photo left: Rob MacDonald at the 75 km mark during last years Vancouver 100
Photo right: Aidstation "motocross" at the Run The Clouds 2006
 Vancouver Skyline XTC: 9 June 2007 - North Vancouver, BC Canada. A trail run with a twist that explores some of the most scenic areas of Vancouver's famous North Shore mountains. Runners can choose to run 25K "Up," 25K "Down," 50K "Up and Down" or a "Roll Your Own" custom distance to suit your ability. Approximately 3,000 m (9,000 ft.) of elevation change over the 50 km course on moderate to challenging trails. Find out more and register here.
New Alberta Event!
The Slack Ass 50: 16 June 2007 - Edmonton, BC Canada. Join new Event Host Alli Conroy for 13 or 50 miles featuring Edmonton's extensive trail system along the beautiful river valley. A mix of forest trails and pavement, the trail will follow rolling, well established trails through major parks for most of the route. There will be some steeper cross country style terrain to mix it up a bit so be prepared. Start/finish at the main pavillion at Hawrelak Park. Find out more and register here.
More Events. Over the past few months we've introduced two new types of CFA events: Flash events and Speaker events.
Speaker Events. So far we've hosted two successful free speaker events and hope to have more on the way soon, including talks on nutrition, event hosting and awesome adventures. If you have expertise to share on a topic you feel would be of interest to Club members please let us know.
Flash Events. We've also had several members take a stab at event hosting with flash events, which are a great way to host an event without much commitment or time investment. You can use the CFA website to publicize your run, but participants are not obliged to become members or pay a day membership. Your event might just be a one-off excuse for group run, or you could use it as a trial run for a full-fledged CFA event and knock out the bugs for next year. Another cool thing about flash events is that once the event is complete, it becomes a template for any member to go ahead and put on their own version of the same run. To view previously-held flash events, just go to Club Events and search the alphabetical list for events beginning with "Flash Event". We're hoping to make navigation to flash events easier over the coming months.
So, why not share your favourite quad-busting trail with other CFA members or take along some company as you scout out a new one? Just post the date, time, and basic logistics as a Flash Event. What are you waiting for? Click here to get started. (Note: to avoid abuse, you need to be logged in)
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 upcoming events during 2007. Such a deal!
Promoting your Club. We love your help in promoting the Club in person and online. One way to achieve that is of course wearing your Club shirt. Another is to provide a link 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
Spam. Unfortunately, Spam seems to be everywhere. We've been able to control website spam through the nifty features of our online clubhouse, but lately there has been some sign-up spam and bogus postings in the forums. Because of this, I had to limit posting to logged-in users only. Users who abuse this and post gibberish and link-only content will be blocked immediately. Spam filters are also cranked up and your occassional comment may get flagged to be reviewed by me. The spam filters "learn" as we go along, so hopefully, this won't happen frequently.
CLUB FAT ASS ON THE WEB
   
PAST EVENT RESULTS AND REPORTS
Burnaby Mountain Run: Event Hosts - Tara Jackson and Katheryne Gardiner
Unlike last year, no torrential downpours hampered the enthusiasm and efforts of the 16 CFA members who came out to tackle the infamous killer hill of Burnaby Mountain. The temperatures were mild and pleasant and at times the sun even peaked out. The views of the North Shore Mountains and Indian Arm were breathtaking.
Nine runners tackled one loop of 11.2 km while 7 had the endurance to go up (and%202.jpg "James Sinclair") down) the loop twice to complete 22.4 km. Full results and more photos here.
Spring Bunny Hop: Event Host - James Sinclair
James Sinclair at the Seaton Trail race in Ontario April 2006 - Photo by Rene Garneau (published with kind permission from OUS)
James is the brave Ontarian that took the plunge and hosted the Spring Bunny Hop. He called it a "Flop" as he was the only Fat Ass who showed. James took it in stride and with good humour. He is already planning for next year (this time trying to avoid a date conflict with the Seaton Trail race. He is also looking for partners in crime to host a couple of Flash Events in the area to get the Ontario Fat Asses off the couch.
Photo: James Sinclair during last years Seaton Trail Race
 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 e-mail 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. 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.
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 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
CFA does not sell or otherwise distribute our member list.
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