October 2008 Newsletter

Ann's Get your FA Off the Couch: 18 October - North Vancouver, BC. A fun run on winding trails and backroads of lower Seymour Mountain. Two distance options, the "Old Chesterfield" 20 km or the "Cushy Couch" 10 km. Enjoy the fall atmosphere in a temperate rain forest. Not a member yet?  Take advantage of the free trial membership for this event. More info and registration here.

Photo right: Gary and his ultrahound Roxy (sporting the red club shirt) during a past Get Off The Couch event

Seawall 100: 25 October - West Vancouver, BC.  An urban 100 miler, mostly on the Seawall path from the Dundarave Park in North Vancouver to UBC. Enjoy an Ultra marathon challenge with minimal concerns for naughty beasts, altitude or elevation gain. Could definitively be described as the easiest 100 miler in North America if there is such a thing as an easy 100 mile run. Custom distances of 25-50-75 miles. Find out what else run100widow and her hilarious husband have up their sleeve here.

Photo left: Bill, Des, Geoff and Collin during the Stein Valley traverse last year.

Photo right: Rick during the R2R2R adventure

Adventure Slideshow: 4 November - North Vancouver, BC. Join us and our friends and sponsors at Kintec for a social wrap up to the year.  The evening will start with images from our 2008 events, munchies and the opportunity to mix and mingle.  Slideshows and presentations of recent self propelled adventures, including a scramble in the Stein Valley and a bike race in the Chilcotin will be the highlights of the night.  If you would like to contribute with a story and/or photos please contact Sibylle.  This evening is free for members and non-members of CFA, but please be sure to preregister so you don't go hungry.

Go Deep: 15 November - North Vancouver, BC. Challenging but beautiful 20 km course on lower Seymour Mountain. Register here.

Photo right: Lorraine navigating the trails of Seymour Mountain during the Go Deep

Mike and Melissa's Fun Run: 29 November - North Vancouver, BC. A late fall challenge not to be missed. Check it out here.

Pure Satisfaction: 14 December - North Vancouver, BC. 12km or 24km on slippery, wet, rooty, dark trails...the perfect way to start the busy Christmas season. Bring your bear and jingle bells and wear your Santa hat. Details here.

Photo right: Craig enjoying the views of Galbraith Mountain.


Galbraith Mountain Tour. 20 December - Bellingham, WA. A 20 or 5.8 mile trail run of the Lake Padden & Galbraith Mountain trail systems. Prepare for the lack of stairs, boulders, roots and bears but with all the fun of the true single track. If we have clear weather there will be amazing views of Mt. Baker, San Juan Islands & the Northshore mountains of Vancouver. More details here.

 

 

NEWS

2009 Membership Registration (Yikes!). Club membership registration for 2009 is now open. Yes, that means it's time to get off your fattening ass and join or renew with CFA for the upcoming year.

Great news for renewing members:  Your annual Club membership dues won't change and the number and variety of Club events continues to grow.

Great news if you're thinking about joining:  New members get 14 months of CFA events to enjoy.

Scared of being called a FA and need a gentle kick-in-the-behind before you join?  Take advantage of the free trial membership for Anne's Get Your FA Off The Couch run this coming Saturday. Anne has beautiful 10K and 20K trail loops and there's a free beer at the finisher party. Tell a friend and pass it on...

There are some changes in the membership registration.  You now need to set up a username on the CFA website before being able to register.  If you already have a username, just login and register as before. The good news is that if you take the time to fill in all profile information you will never have to fill in a club or event registration again, as they forms will now magically auto populate if you are logged in.  Why fill out forms when the system can do it for you?

Sponsors.  Need a new pair of shoes?  Advise on which runners are best for you?  Why not check out Kintec Footlabs. With stores in Vancouver, North Vancouver, Maple Ridge, Surrey, Abbotsford and Langley there surely must be one near you.  Make sure to mention that you are a member of CFA to take advantage of the 10% discount Kintec offers you.

Banner Ads. Want to get your brand in front of a lot of outdoor minded folks? Why not consider a banner ad on the CFA website? It's easy. It's cheap. It makes good business sense.  Check out what it takes here.

Free 2009 memberships. Just a reminder that all Event Hosts of scheduled events during 2008 will automatically receive a complimentary 2009 membership in CFA.  All you have to do is complete the registration form to confirm your contact information is up-to-date.  A big thank you to all of you who are 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 that is, of course, to wear your Club t-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.

CFA ON THE WEB




PAST EVENT RESULTS AND REPORTS

Flash - Chris's Criss Cross Gambier Island Challenge.  Flash Event Host - Chris Benn.  This was a last minute run blessed with beautiful weather.  It might just become an annual event... Check it out here and don't forget to ask Chris about his yurt next time you see him.

Flash - Cresting the Howe Sound. Flash Event Host - Dave Berg. A memorable run/hike/scramble through some tough but beautiful terrain. Read various accounts, view photos and even a video here.

Photo right: Ean, Chris and Des enjoying the sunshine on Gambier Island.

Photo left: Ryan cresting the Howe Sound.

Mutha's Nature Trail Run. Event Host - Ryan Conroy. Despite forecasts of rain, there were clouds blanketing the whole sky but only a very light mist of rain for the prelimenary running of Mutha's Nature.

We had 2 runners show up for the 50K and 4 for the 25K, which was not too bad considering there were at least 3 local trail races and a couple of road races that weekend. 

After a quick briefing with me trying my best to describe the course a bit to help simplify the instructions and we were off. Mark and I were planning on doing the 50K and we set out at a slow pace so that the others could follow our lead at least out of the park.

Behind us, Killaine and Allison ran together, with Amy and Kim behind them. Once we turned off the Trans-Canada and up a hill we pulled away and that was the last we saw of the 25K runners. We ran a fairly good pace through the first 10K until we slowed right down at the Velodrome trail. Even though it wasn't really raining the overgrown trail soaked us to the bone from all the water on the leaves. The last couple weeks seem to have allowed the bushes to encroach further onto the trail although thankfully they weren't thorn bushes (the trail along Cliff Avenue was overgrown with thorn bushes but I got out and trimmed them back before the run). More here.

Photo right: Mutha's Nature Trail Run start

 

 

CONTESTS

2008 Travelling Colours Contest. The winner of this popular contest will receive a full refund of his or her 2009 Club membership dues. Kintec Footlabs is recognizing the second place photo with a pair of running shoes. Pictures of your 2008 adventures wearing your Club shirt (any colour) can be posted to Flickr following the instructions here. All submissions to date are posted here.  Please feel free to comment on photos or add them to your Flickr faves.  The image recording most views/comments and faves (as determined by Flickr) will win this years contest.

Photo left: Pete in Holeman Slot Canyon.

Photo right: Bill getting close and personal with Lilloet Lill

 

 

2008 Point Series. Des is the run away leader and on track again to win the pair of shoes, Kintec Footlab is sponsoring for the winner of this contest. Des is trailed  by Bill Dagg, Baldwin Lee and Penny Jakobsen. (and no, "Out of Action" Jackson and I do not qualify to win, but we like to play anyway)

Up-to-date standings here. Read about how to collect points here.

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.