Martin Parnell Finish the Race Attitude

Quest completed:

• Comrades Quest 87
  

• The Comrades Marathon (87km)
• Sunday May 29th 2011
• Durban to Pietermaritzburg
• South Africa
• Finish Time (target): 11hrs 59 mins 59secs
• Finish Time (actual): 11hrs 51min 23sec
• Course: Stats and map
• Video: Comrades in 8 1/2 mins
  

Sue and I have just returned from a three week trip to England. It was a chance to catch up with family and celebrate one very important birthday. Sue's parents, Terryanne and Eric live on the South coast of England, in Dorest. They are only five minutes from some amazing beaches and if they head in land they're in the New Forest. There are a number of olde worlde pubs and I knew that, if I was to enjoy their offerings, then I had better get some runs in. My favourite route was along Mudeford Quay and past the Haven Pub. This establishment had been around since the late 1700's and was know as a smugglers haunt. Further down the beach was the Avonmouth cafe. Every morning I'd run past the kitchen and the tantilizing smell of fried bacon.

After a week in Dorset I headed down to visit my sister Sally, in Devon. She had recently moved to Princetown in the middle of Dartmoor. Princetown's claim to fame is that it houses Dartmoor Prison, which has been home to some of the most notorius criminals Britain has ever produced. However, I must say it's a runner's paradise. There are hundreds of trails all through the moorland and the views from the "Tors" (granite rock outcrops) are spectacular. Sally mentioned that Steven Spielburg had just been there to finish shooting his latest movie, "War Horse".

Returning to Dorset, it was time to plan the big event, Terryannes 80th birthday. The cakes were ordered and the sandwiches made. The party was in the afternoon and 50 of Terryanne's friends and family joined her to celebrate. She had asked that, instead of presents, people donate money to two chairties. Honour Our Hero's and Right To Play each received $100.

It just goes to show that, no matter what your age, you have the Right To Play. Happy Birthday Terryanne.

Dr Randolph Randolph's book of animal jokes

Q: What kind of birds do you usually find locked up?
A: Jail-birds!

Quote of the Day

"We choose to go to the moon, and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard."

John F. Kennedy

Terryanne's 80th Birthday

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Race completed:

• Powderface42
  

• Date: Saturday July 16th 2011
• Location: Kananaskis, Alberta
• Temp: 22C
• Distance: 44.5km (actual)
• Run Time: 7hr 39min 17sec
• Average Heart Rate: 107 BPM
• Total nos of Runners: 57

One of the toughest marathon's in Alberta and possibly Canada is the Powderface42. It starts in Station Flats, 20km West of Bragg Creek and winds its way across ridges and valleys along the Elbow River. The elevation gain on the route is 5,173 feet and the highest point is at 6,651 feet. The first time I ran this race was in 2008 and I remember the scenery blew me away. This time I had decided to run it on the invitation of a friend. During Marathon Quest 250, Pete Estabrooks had been a great supporter and run with me several times. At the end of 2010 he asked me if I wanted to run Powderface in 2011 and, of course, I said yes.

My training has been a bit hit and miss since the Comrades run in late May. Sue and I have been over to England for the past three weeks and the British pubs are very hard to resist. I did several runs along the South English coastline and a couple on Dartmoor in Devon, but I don't think that made up for all the fish and chips and real ale. I must say that, at the start of the race, early Saturday morning, I was feeling well fed and rested. Several other Cochranites lined up with me. Cochrane Red Rock Runners members Kevin Akre and Roy Ellis were there as was David Gilbertson, who was doing the half marathon. It was a beautiful morning and 50 plus runners were ready for the 7.30am start. Within the first half kilometre, Roy was out of sight. I ran with Pete for a while before he pulled away. Kevin was behind me and after five kilometres I was on my own.

I love trail running and for the next few hours I made my way through some of the most spectacular scenery in the world. Across creeks and though woods, with blankets of wild flowers every where. However, all is not a bed of roses. On the Powderface42 website it says "It is possible you will encounter wildlife while on the race course. If you come in contact with a bear please remain calm and remember the basic rules in a bear encounter." Always call a bear Mr!

I arrived at the finish in 7hrs 40mins and a small group of runners and volunteers cheered me in. One of the runners was Ellie Greenwood.  Ellie lives in Banff and in late May she had run the Comrades Marathon coming in 4^th in the women's race. In June she ran the Western States 100 and destroyed the women's field. It's great that she also supports local races. At Powderface she won the women's race but waited for all the "Back-of-the-pack" runners to come in. Much appreciated. The other Cochrane runners had mixed results. Kevin came in with five minutes to spare, Roy blew an ankle at the 35km mark and David had a great half marathon.

Dr Randolph Randolph's book of animal jokes

Q: What do you call a woodpecker with no beak?
A: A headbanger!

Quote of the Day

"I am prepared to go anywhere, provided it is forward."

David Livingstone

Trail running through the mountains

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Most Recent Race completed:

• Powderface42
  

• Date: Saturday July 16th 2011
• Location: Kananaskis, Alberta
• Temp: 22C
• Distance: 44.5km (actual)
• Run Time: 7hr 39min 17sec
• Average Heart Rate: 107 BPM
• Total nos of Runners: 57

In 2010 whilst running the 250 marathons, one of the top questions I was asked was "Are you going to write a book?" I'll be honest it was the last thing on my mind as I trudged through the rain and snow, day after day. Still the Quest ended on December 31^st and, as the months passed, and the pain subsided, the idea of a book resurfaced. I've dabbled in the world of book publishing before. In 2008 I self-published three books. The first was a book on my cycle trip across Africa called "How do you eat an Elephant?". The second was an illustrated children's book called "Riverbank Friends". My mother-in-law, Terryanne Roberts, who is a gifted poet, wrote the story and I provided the drawings. The third book was "Pause for Thought". I had the honour of providing photos for Terryanne's spiritual and inspirational poems.

Publishing these books made me realise that self-publishing is a viable option but it sure would be nice to get a publisher interested. Fortunately I have a secret weapon, Lyn Cadence. Lyn and I met, through a mutual friend in the fall of 2009. I needed someone to handle all the Public Relations aspect of Marathon Quest 250 and Lyn stepped forward.

All though 2010 she sent out news releases and lined up interviews for me. She also introduced me to the world of social media. I'm really not very good but she got me going on Facebook, Linkedin and Twitter. You can teach an old dog new tricks.

Lyn's background is in the book industry and she agreed to be my Literary Agent. The first thing she told me to do was to put together a book proposal. Some of the key elements for the proposal are a cover letter, author biography, book outline, book title, sample chapter, and marketing plan. While preparing the plan I had several chats with Mary Lou Davis who owns Bentley Books in Cochrane. Mary Lou has given me a number of excellent tips. Did you know that 87% of books are sold based on their cover. She noted it was critical to do something eye catching, with a good title.

The working title for my book is "Marathon" but that might be a bit boring. I think it's vital to have an original title so I'm playing with "Martin Parnell and the 250 marathons", "The Man with the Running Tattoo" and "Twilight: the best time to run 250 marathons".

Any ideas?

Quote of the Day

"When you were born, you were crying and everyone else was smiling. Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone else is crying."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

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