Around the Bay 2011

The 117th running of the Around the Bay 30k race took place at the end of March - my 11th. Above shot was taken the day before with the finish line setup at center ice of Copps Coliseum, where Gretzky to Lemieux to top shelf on the Russian net saw Canada defeat the Russians at the 1987 Canada Cup.

My sister Michelle and Coach Julie. Michelle did her first Bay this year and, despite battling illness, gutted it out and earned her first Bay medal. Well done!! Coach Julie, who's in her early 70s but definitely does not look it, was doing her 24th Bay. She vows to retire once her 25th is complete but I don't believe it - she is tough and has the biggest heart in the world!

Check out my new ride. I picked up 2 pair of Saucony Kinvaras. Why 2 pair? Because I'm size 9 and that's the size that sales reps for Saucony use to demo new lines. I got these from the Saucony outlet in Cambridge. They retail for $140.00 + tax. I got both pairs for $91.00 including tax -SWEET!!

Here I am pre-race and post-washroom. Now I realize I'm a short guy but this picture makes me look like a bobble-headed hobbit!

Here's the finish on race day. Having the finish line here is awesome. Plenty of seats to relaxe in post-race and easy to coordinate meeting friends after.

Ironically I went to university with this character. Geoff Sheppard ran as a "rainbow". Geoff is quite an ultramarathoner but I'm not quite sure what message he's sending here.

There were some awesome results from other people I know (I'll forget someone probably - sorry!). Evan Dietz scorched a 1:57, Peter Ames 2:14, Mark Watling (my Ironman Lake Placid buddy) 2:19, and my friend Scott Little's dad Doug who blazed a 2:46 in the 65-69 age group (despite being in Mexico for 5 weeks). Doug's been running as long as I can remember and is still kicking ass - the man's a legend! Here's Sara and I after the 30k. Sara and I both improved on last year's times - not bad considering we just got back from vacation. Sara came in with a 2:38 and I managed a 2:26. Overall a great day with the winds low and sun shining.

And now it begins....this should be the view as I ramp up for Ironman Lake Placid. The road is my friend!

Cheers