Toronto Waterfront - 2011 Finale

What a day!

The Toronto Waterfront Run marked the finale of our first year running the Fit with Phonak program, and what an event it was.  The weather on race morning appeared ominous as grey skies and harsh winds threatened to make the day very, very uncomfortable.  Although this is a well organized event the sheer number of participants made the simple act of getting to the start line a bit of an effort.  I was happy to have fellow Phonakians Steve Mahon, and Brad Caves with me on the way to our designated “coral’.  A small case of race nerves had been brewing, but were quickly put in check when we passed a small crowed of fans surrounding 100 year old Fauja Singh, pictured below, who was about to embark on his 26.2 mile mission to become the oldest man to ever run a marathon (a feat that he accomplished that day in 8hrs 11mins.)  We managed to see quite a few of the over one hundred Phonak/CanHEAR teammates at the start, but with thousands of people in the queue it was near impossible to make contact with anyone.  

I'm officially out of excuses.....

Congratulations....

Congratulations to everyone who ran last Sunday.  I haven't heard from the West-Coast crew yet, but Phonak's own Janace Daley informed me that everyone who ran Wolfville lived to tell the tale.  Apparently the weather on course this year was unexpectedly warm, which is a stark contrast to the cool windy day we had last year.  I  hope everyone is recovering nicely.  Congrats again!

Janace, Dana, and Aimee looking great after the finish!

Toronto Participants

Hello All

I hope everyone enjoyed their Thanksgiving weekend and used the opportunity to do a little bit of advanced "carb-loading" for the race.  There are a lot of details that you need to familiarize yourself with for the run this weekend, particularly if you are coming in from out of town.  Most importantly, you need to arrange to pick-up your kit prior to Sunday....see details about this and other race information below:

Best of luck this weekend....

to our runners on the East/West Coast.  I'll be thinking of you all this weekend.  This morning's 4 day forecast looks stellar, brisk, but stellar.  Remember to layer up for you warm-up.  Daryl Houghton will be on hand in Victoria, and Janace Daley will be running with the gang in Wolfville.

For any of you that end up with photos of the CanHEAR team in action please send them along.  If anyone cares to add a report to the blog I'd certainly be happy to post that also.  Best of luck, and happy Thanksgiving.

Fact:

Can't make it to the Toronto run???

If you are registered for the Toronto run (particularly the half marathon) but don't think you'll be able to make it please let me know ASAP.  We've got quite a few last minute folks who really want to run and are on our waiting list.  As the half marathon is closed to general entry, a transfer spot is their only hope.

That said, I hope that everyone is injury free and pumped to take on Lakeshore Blvd in a couple of weeks.

Looking forward to seeing you all.

9 Days until Victoria/Wolfville

Hello All

We're in the final weeks of our 2011 race calendar with races in Victoria and Wolfville just 9 Days away.  As always, please refer to the race sites to ensure that you are familiar with the race schedule for the weekend.

Race kit pick-ups:

Victoria does not permit raceday kit pick up unless you are from out of town:
Standard Kit Pick-up is as follows:
Victoria Conference Centre, 720 Douglas Street
October 7-9, 2011

• Expo Hours of Operation:
  
  • Friday, October 7, 3:00 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
  • Saturday, October 8, 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Wolfville is pretty straight forward as you can pick up your race kits on the Saturday before the race, but also any time after 6:30am on race day:

Wolfville Kit Pick-Up

Acadia University Athletics Complex, Acadia Main Gym
Saturday, 8 October 12:00pm to 7:00pm
Sunday, 9 October 6:30am to 8:15am

Hear the World / Special Olympics - Athens 2011

During the Special Olympics in Athens this past July, athletes underwent a thorough health screening program, including an in depth hearing screening. The results revealed that 22.6 percent of all the athletes tested were affected by hearing loss. The Hear the World Foundation gave a total of 344 high-quality hearing instruments to the participating athletes with treatable cases of hearing loss, and is arranging free follow-up care.

 http://www.hear-the-world.com/en/press/current-press-releases/detail/back/1091/read/freida-pinto-strikes-the-hear-the-world-pose.html

Army Run Report

6:30am, alarm goes off, race day begins.  Inventory time…running shoes…check, race#...check.  Quick stop at Timmy’s for a bagel and some caffeine and then I’m off to watch the 5km race start.  The air is cool but it’s sunny as the thousands of runners make their way through the start line.  It takes over 10 minutes to get everyone on their way.  It’s quite the spectacle seeing that many people heading out at once.  As this is a race organized by the Canadian Army there was an awesome presence of soldiers in full gear, including this maniac who opted to run the 5km wearing full chemical gear (gas mask included).

3 more sleeps.....

....until the Ottawa Army race.  I hope at this point you've all logged some miles, or at a minimum have gone out to buy a pair of running shoes (you know who you are).  You might have noticed that it's been a little chilly out the past few days, please prepare for that.  For those running an event like this for the first time you're often required to line-up a little while before the gun goes off so make sure you're dressed appropriately.

For those running the half for the first time, if it's really cold I would recommend having a "junk-layer", something over your race shirt that you can dispose of at one of the aid stations along the way.

I already mentioned meeting up for a photo in an earlier post so I hope to see you all there.  For those of you that I haven't met I'll be the guy in the white running visor looking slightly nervous about a lack of recent mileage.  Please introduce yourself.

Okay, that's it for updates, make sure you throw a high-five or a "Go CanHEAR" when you see your teammates out on the course...see you Sunday.



Our Coolest Ambassador yet....



Move over Mick Jagger, I'd like to take a moment to introduce Ayden Marie Vargas.  Okay, I know there are a lot of Stones fans out there (I'm one of them), but as this is a blog entitled "FitwithPhonak", I'm rating the coolness factor based on an entirely different set of criteria than that by which rock legends are measured.  As far as I know Mick has never run a marathon...and I'd be willing to bet good money that Keith Richards hasn't either (and I'm pretty sure he never will). 

Ayden on the other hand is not only a runner, Hear the World ambassador, and all around cool individual, but she has unique understanding of what it is like to experience the sudden onset of hearing-loss.  More importantly, she's a great example of why living with a hearing-loss should never prevent you from living life to the fullest...

Read Ayden's story here...

Better idea....

Make that 8:45 on the steps of City Hall at 110 Laurier (just north of the drill hall and across the street from the park where the race ends).  Thanks for the suggestion Debbie, apparently the finish line is going to be nuts!!!!

Low of 5 degrees forecasted, brrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Army Run Update - Group shot

Hi Team

For those of you that haven't looked at your race times yet, I strongly recommend that you take a look at the race schedule for the weekend.  As I mentioned, I would love to have a group photo...

The 5km race starts at 8:00, so I'll be floating around to take a few pics.  It would be great if you could head to the corner of Elgin and Queen after your race to swap stories and high-fives. As the half marathon crew will be heading off at 9:00 this will likely be our best chance to get a group shot with everybody.

So there it is, Elgin and Queen at approx 8:40 for a post/pre run photo.
Looking forward to seeing you all.  Rest up.

Army Run - 11 Days and counting

Hey Ottawa team, everyone should have received their shirts by now, if you  have not please drop me a line.  Race kit pick-up is available on Friday and Saturday, please familiarize yourself with the weekend schedule.  We'll be arranging a spot to meet before the race for a few team photos, looking forward to seeing you all.  More details to follow.....

http://www.armyrun.ca/race-info/race-kit-pick-up/

Adam.

Montreal

Our first batch of runners hit the road on August 7th for the Défi Boréal Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue.  The fit French contingent did a great job flying the flag for CanHEAR Uganda.  Way to go team!

Here are a couple of shots of team members before the race....I hope we get the same weather in October....

I know these two. (looking good gents)

Next run will be in Ottawa, September 18th...see you there.

Registration Update...

Hey Team

Registration for all races have been taken care of.  Some of you will have received confirmation already and you may have noticed Phonak's Mississauga address.  If this is the case it was due to the organizer's registration process.  I will let you know when the organizers have updated their confirmation pages with our team entries.  Until that point don't worry if you're not on the list of your respective race.

I do urge you to visit the website of the run that you are participating in to familiarize yourself with the schedule of events, package pick-up, start-times, etc..

Each race is a bit different.  The Toronto Waterfront race will require you to pick up your race kit (timing chip, bib#, etc.) prior to race-day.  Please plan accordingly.

We will definitely schedule team photos either before or after each event.  Details to follow....

Adam.

A good couple of weeks....

Another CanHEAR Uganda rider managed to get his nose out in front of the pack at a the Giro di Bolton (a race supporting SickKids Hospital).  Justen Winster (shown in the center) finished the 75km race in 1st place after battling out the sprint with Vancouver's Graham Tutti; Colin Busby of Toronto wasn't far off in 3rd place.  Congrats Justen!

Full story:

http://www.caledoncitizen.com/news/2011-07-28/Caledon_Sports/Giro_Di_Bolton_was_successful_Sunday.html





On the Podium....

A huge effort by teammates Bob Tomsic and Justin Rogers earned Justin a spot on the podium at the Provincial Road Racing Championship yesterday.  After 101km of very hilly racing at nearly 40kph Bob managed to launch Justin into the final sprint earning him 3rd place overall.  It's great to see the CanHEAR logo on display at such an elite event.  Well done!



On the road....

A couple of shots of riders supporting CanHEAR Uganda at the Tom Jehlicka Memorial Criterium.  They'll be racing in the M1 Category at the Provincial Championships tomorrow.  Best of luck fellas!

Getting down to business.....

Victoria Registration Now Open

We're extremely encouraged to learn that folks from all over the country are staying fit and willing to go the distance in support of such a good cause.  As mentioned previously we are proud to add the Victoria Good Life Fitness run to our list of official Phonak/CanHEAR Uganda events.  Registration is now open so sign up ASAP!

http://www.phonakevents.com/newsletter/EB11-49-fit-with-phonak3/newsletter.html