Martin Parnell Finish the Race Attitude

Next Quest:

• Comrades Quest 89
  

• The Comrades Marathon (89km)
• Sunday May 29th 2011
• Durban to Pietermaritzburg
• South Africa
• Days to go: 27
• Finish Time (target): 11hrs 59 mins 59secs
• Finish Time (actual):

All the cucumber sandwiches have been eaten, all the Earl Gray tea has been drunk. The red, white and blue bunting has been packed away and the hat box is back in the cupboard. Sue got up at 2.00am Friday morning and watched the whole thing live. That afternoon Sue and I watched a replay of the glorious event and the followning morning Sue went over to sister-in-laws Helens for a Royal Party. I must say, the Wedding  was quite a spectacle, Wills and Kate looked very happy.

So, now it's down to business for Prince William and his new bride. Their schedule includes a trip to Canada from June 30th to July 8th. The plan is that their last day will be at the Calgary Stampede. Too bad they couldn't stay over a couple more days and participate in the Stampede road race. There's a 5km, 10km and half marathon and spots are filling up fast. I think they both could probably handle the half marathon. Wills did a charity run in 2006 for "Sport Relief" and Kate is very proficent in tennis, field hockey, swimmimg and netball. She was also part of a team that rowed a dragon boat across the English Channel.

It's been tough training around all the pomp and ceremony. I managed to get in a couple of treadmill runs but those are pretty boring. On Sunday, Sue and I ran 17km down Horse Creek Road in beautiful sunshine. It was great not having to battle the wind, sleet and hail. Only 3 1/2 weeks before I head down to Durban, I've had all my shots and the flights are booked.

Dr Randolph Randolph's book of animal jokes (Bees)

Q: What did the bee say to the flower?
A: Hello honey!

Quote of the Day

"Move and the way will open"

Zen Proverb.

No expense was spared with our decorations for The Royal Wedding.

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Next Quest:

• Comrades Quest 89
  

• The Comrades Marathon (89km)
• Sunday May 29th 2011
• Durban to Pietermaritzburg
• South Africa
• Days to go: 20
• Finish Time (target): 11hrs 59 mins 59secs
• Finish Time (actual):

Last Thursday night, I headed over to WO Mitchell School, for a Right To Play fundraiser. Principal Terri had told me it was going to be a fun evening and she was spot on. The school had been working on healthy living and this encompassed three areas: fitness, nutrition and helping others. At 7.00pm I entered the school gym and it was packed with teachers, parents and students. Principal Terri introduced fitness instructor Michelle and the dancing began. Over the last six weeks she had been teaching the kids a number of Zumba dances and for half an hour everyone moved to the music. Lots of the kids had  "jiggly skirts" and they shook these with all their might. Then it was off to the cafeteria to try a number of exotic fruits. The fund raiser itself took place in the library. The kids had spent a day taking pictures of sports gear and the neat thing was the shots were from many angles. All the pictures were pasted to large bulliten boards and parents could order the photos they liked. Great idea.

Friday night, Sue and I headed off to the Safari Room at Calgary Zoo. Calgary Co-op were having their awards night for the Whole Health Challenge. This was an incredable endeavour. For three months, families and individuals had been participating in fitness events, following a nutrition plan and attending presentations on healthy living. At the end they had to write an essay, to say how the challenge had changed their lives. I was asked to give the keynote speech and I was asked some great questions. The evening finished with the family who had been most impacted by the challenge winning a trip to Disney World. Nice one Co-op.

Dr Randolph Randolph's book of animal jokes (Bees)

Q: What did the bee say to the flower?
A: Hello honey!

Quote of the Day

"The man in black fled across the desert, and the gunslinger followed".

Stephen King

Sounds like the beginning of an Ultra race.

The kids at WO mitchell school took photos of sports gear and then had family and friends buy copies as a fundraiser for Right To Play.

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Next Quest:

• Comrades Quest 89
  

• The Comrades Marathon (89km)
• Sunday May 29th 2011
• Durban to Pietermaritzburg
• South Africa
• Days to go: 13
• Finish Time (target): 11hrs 59 mins 59secs
• Finish Time (actual):

The highlight of Marathon Quest 250 was running at schools, with the kids. Over the year I ran at 60 schools, with over 12,000 children. The schools were located in Cochrane, Calgary, Airdrie, Canmore, Exshaw and I even flew to Yellowknife to run at a couple of schools. I would arrive at a school and usually there would be an assembly where I would explain what I was doing and why. The kids were always interested in my bike trip across Africa and how Right To Play helps children around the world. I would then head outside and start running around their soccer or ball field 100 times. The marathon would take between 5 ½ and 6 hours and the kids would come out and join me for a few loops at first recess, lunch recess and at the end of the day. Some schools even scheduled their phys.ed. classes so that the kids could run during school time.

It is amazing, the topics that crop up when you run and chat with kids. Try getting them to talk in a classroom and some of them are as quiet as church mice. Get them running around a soccer field and they can't stop talking. Over the 60 school marathons I completed, three topics came up time and again; food, pets and favourite TV shows. I would stress the importance of a good breakfast, however, pizza seemed to be the food of choice. The variety of animals these children have in their homes blew me away. In some cases, I'm hesitant to use the term "pet." Are lizards and tarantula's classed as pets or do some children have mini zoos?  Two TV shows kept coming up; "Heartland", and "Mantracker". I told the kids I knew about Heartland, because Sue and I had done some extras work on several episodes. I asked them if they recognized me and they said no. I hadn't heard of Mantracker so the kids told me that it was a man (Mantracker) on a horse, who hunts two human "prey" across really tough terrain. They said I could beat Mantracker. So, I told them that I would check into it, once I'd finished my marathons.

In early February of this year, I started running on the treadmill and needed something to watch. I found "Mantracker" on the schedule and decided to check it out. It is brilliant. I recorded 27 episodes. The content is a bit repetitive, but the scenery is amazing. It's a Canadian production and they've done shows right across the country. In each segment Mantracker , Terry Grant, on his faithful steed, attempts to catch  the "prey" within thirty-six hours , before they reach the finish line, thirty-nine kilometres away. Last week I talked to my running buddy, Roy Ellis. He is an Ultramarathoner and, like me enjoys a challenge. He didn't take much convincing, when I suggested we take on Mantracker. Our application is in the mail. We also had to send in a video, so check it out  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zycispNqfss . If you think Roy and I should be on the show then send Mantracker an email at  contact@bonterraproductions.com and tell him why.

Happy hunting.

Dr Randolph Randolph's book of animal jokes (Bees)

Q: What's a bees favorite flower?
A: A bee-gonias!

Quote of the Day

"A horse, a horse, my kingdom for a horse".

Shakespeare's Richard III, 1594 and Mantraker, 2007

Mantraker and his sidekick Neil take a rest after chasing Roy "The Rabbit" Ellis and Martin "Marathon Man" Parnell

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Next Quest:

• Comrades Quest 89
  

• The Comrades Marathon (89km)
• Sunday May 29th 2011
• Durban to Pietermaritzburg
• South Africa
• Days to go: 6
• Finish Time (target): 11hrs 59 mins 59secs
• Finish Time (actual):

Saturday was my last running event before heading off to Africa. Four months ago, Carol Scarratt had contacted me and said she would like to hold a 5km Fun Run and raise money for Redwood Meadows Children Programming and Right To Play. Redwood Meadows is on the outskirts of Bragg Creek, a town 30km south of Cochrane. I said I'd love to participate and Carol started working. Carol is an organizer extraordinaire. She ended up geting 42 sponsors, including race bags from LuLuLemon, gift cards from Boston Pizza, day passes to Calaway park and a gift pack from Mark's Work Warehouse. A month ago we had a registration day and 45 adults and 42 kids signed up.

Sue and I arrived at the Town offices at 1.30pm and more people were signing up for the race. At 1.45pm Trisha Koomans began a warm up on the playing field and a 130 plus adults and kids started doing jumping jacks and leg squats. Unfortunately, the mosquitoes were also very active and we got eaten alive. At 2.00pm we all lined up at the start line and, at the sound of the Redwood Meadows fire truck siren, we headed off. I ran with Sue and runner Jeremy. After 2km a young lad joined us. He said his name was Zac and he was nine. He told me it was his first 5km run and he wanted to finish. He was having a tough time so I stayed back with him to give him a hand. He said he wanted to stop but I suggested we do walk breaks. This worked and we crossed the line in 41mins 37secs. His mum was thrilled.

After the race we handed out a load of raffle prizes and Carol figured we had raised over $1,000 for the Children's program and Right To Play. Everyone agreed that we should do it again next year. The world needs more people like Carol.

I'm off to Africa tomorrow. I've packed my camera, sunblock, running shoes and toothbrush. My next blog will be on Monday June 6th. Talk to you then.

Dr Randolph Randolph's book of animal jokes (Bees)

Q: What did the confused bee say?
A: To bee or not to bee!

Quote of the Day

"Miracles happen to those who believe in them".

Bernard Berenson

Warming up for the Redwood Meadows 5km Fun Run

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