Martin Parnell Finish the Race Attitude

Quests for Kids

Event #2:

Netball Quest 61

• Guinness Book of Records Challenge for the Longest Game of Netball EVER>>>>>

• Donate: MARTIN'S DONATION PAGE
• Donation page staying open until December 31st 2011.
  
• Make it your Christmas wish.
• $50 give 1 child a RTP program for 1 year.
  

When kids are very young and want to get somewhere quickly they run. Their little legs are going a mile a minute and they are laughing their heads off. As we get older we change the way we get around. We stop using our legs. As time moves on we start sitting more. We sit on the couch; we sit in the car, we sit at the desk. Eventually we stop running. The years go by and we wonder how we ever ran in the first place. The odd time when we have to run, after the kids or to catch a bus, we're breathless and out of shape.

Well it doesn't have to be that way. I started running at the age of 47. I had run the Terry run at the age of 22 but then took a 25 year break. The only reason I started was because I was challenged to a run marathon by my younger brothers Peter and Andrew, and you never say no to a challenge. I started off by running 1 kilometre from my house and 1 kilometre back. It was horrible, but I wasn't going to let the younger siblings show me up.

The years passed and I continued running. I met Sue in 2004 and convinced her to take up the activity. I put together a plan that combined walking and running with a steady increase in time and distance. I must admit there were a few of tears the first several sessions but eventually we were walk / running 10km routes together. I'm very proud to say that Sue completed her first marathon in Regina in 2010.

I must admit the idea of helping people "re-learn to run" has appealed to me and last year during Marathon Quest 250 lots of people told me that they wanted to start but were intimidated or thought it was too late for them. In June 2011, I was visiting Benin in West Africa and the staff group at the Right To Play office in Cotonou wanted a "Learn to Run" program. So that night I laid out a 12 week walk/run program and we started the next day.

In July, I was giving a presentation to the Cochrane Chamber of Commerce and had the good fortune to meet Deb Spence. Deb is owner of "Creating Balance", a health and wellness centre in Cochrane. We agreed that fitness is a key part of whole body and mind wellness and the idea of starting a "Run Club" for Deb's members was born.

On October 1^st five brave souls joined me for the first of 12 sessions of their "Live Ideal 5km Team". Each person had to state why they wanted to accomplish this goal and then we started off with 4 minutes walk and then 1 minute run. We did this six times and by the end of the session had completed 3kms. We all agreed that a portion of the cost of the program would go to Right To Play and our little group will help 2 children with a RTP program for one year. Now that's worth running for.

Quote of the Day

"I like Dragons, Good Men and other fantasy creatures"

Car bumper sticker

Members of the "Live Ideal 5km Run Club". From left to right: Deb, Kaitlyn, Shannon, Martin, Renee and Amanda

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Quests for Kids

Event #2:

Netball Quest 61

• Guinness Book of Records Challenge for the Longest Game of Netball EVER>>>>>

• Donate: MARTIN'S DONATION PAGE
• Donation page staying open until December 31st 2011.
  
• Make it your Christmas wish.
• $50 give 1 child a RTP program for 1 year.
  

One of the best holidays you can take is a road trip. Throw a couple of suitcases in the trunk, a tank full of gas and away you go. In the past Sue and I have travelled west to Torfino on Vancouver Island and North to Yellowknife. This year we decided to head east and, for two weeks, visit the Maritimes. We had booked only the first and last nights accommodation in Halifax and left the rest up to fate. Our plan was to tour three of the Atlantic Provinces; Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

Arriving at Halifax airport, we picked up our hire car and headed into the city. The next couple of days were spent exploring the harbour and surrounding area. The highlight was a visit to Pier 21. This facility was used as a passenger terminal for trans-Atlantic ocean liners from 1928 until 1971. Liners docked at a long seawall wharf divided into Piers 20, 21, 22 and 23. The immigration facilities were located at Pier 21, although the term is often used to describe all the Ocean Terminal piers. Pier 21 had a railway booking office and passenger train sidings for special immigration trains as well as an overhead walkway to the railway station. The Pier was the primary point of entry for over one million immigrants and refugees from Europe and elsewhere, as well as the departure point for 496,000 military personal Canadian troops during World War Two. The facility became known informally as the 'Gateway to Canada'.

Pier 21 was closed in 1971 but was re-opened as a museum in 1999. As the nation's last remaining ocean immigration shed, the Pier 21 Museum tells the stories of the 1.5 million immigrants and Canadian military personnel who passed through its doors. As Sue and I went around the exhibits we learnt a number of personal stories of immigrants who had tried to come to Canada. Some had made it, others were turned back. I immigrated to Canada in 1977 and it made me think that if I had arrived only six years earlier I would have gone through Pier 21.

On the road, we headed 45kms south west to one of Nova Scotia's 'Must-Sees", Peggy Cove. We arrived mid morning and the place was deserted. This is one of the advantages of heading on a road trip in late October, the trees look amazing and there aren't so many tourists. Peggy's Cove is a small picturesque fishing village with a population of 120. It's located on a narrow ocean inlet which provides safe haven for boats during the Atlantic's rough weather. The main attraction is the Lighthouse and the camera was soon into over drive. As we made our way back to the café on the head land six super coaches pulled into the car park and out poured 400 sightseers. We asked one of the bus drivers what was going on and he said this was the cruise ship season and a liner had arrived from New York. Time to hit the road.

In future travel blogs I will talk about scallops, lobsters and a 20 foot beaver.

Quote of the Day

"What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?"

Vincent van Gogh

Peggy's Cove before the 400 cruise liner folks arrived.

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Quests for Kids

Event #2:

Netball Quest 61

• Guinness Book of Records Challenge for the Longest Game of Netball EVER>>>>>

• Donate: MARTIN'S DONATION PAGE
• Donation page staying open until December 31st 2011.
  
• Make it your Christmas wish.
• $50 give 1 child a RTP program for 1 year.
  

After our narrow escape from 400 tourists at Peggy's Cove, NS, Sue and I continued on our road trip of the Maritimes. We headed to the ferry from Digby to Saint John, New Brunswick. I had booked the trip online and under the section "Frequently asked questions", I found out that: We would be travelling on The Princess of Acadia; the trip would be 72kms and take 3hours; The Bay of Fundy has the largest tidal bore in the World at 56 feet from high tide to low tide; the water never freezes and varies only 5 degrees from summer to winter; also, whales are seen quite often. Time to get the binoculars out. The crossing was relatively smooth and Sue spotted two whales. I spotted lots of seagulls.

We headed to Fredericton to visit our friends Tom and Ulrica. Tom suggested he and I join up with the Capital City Runners running club. Fortunately, I had thrown a pair of runners in the suitcase, so we met the group at 5.30pm and headed out for slow run. That's the great thing about running, go to any town or city and check out the local club's running schedule. They always welcome visiting runners.

I started chatting with a member named Gabriella, who works at the University, and had started a Right To Play club. She mentioned the Prince Edward Island Marathon coming up the following Sunday, in Charlottetown. It had to be fate because Sue and I had planned to be in Charlottetown for the weekend.

After saying goodbye to our friends, we headed to one of nature's outstanding features, the Hopewell Rocks. These rocks, nicknamed "The Flowerpots", are located on the shores of the upper reaches of the Bay of Fundy, at Hopewell Cape, near Moncton, New Brunswick. Due to the extreme tidal range of the Bay of Fundy, the base of the formations are covered in water twice a day. We arrived at the site at 10am and, fortunately, hit low tide. This meant we were able to view them from ground level. We scrambled down a rickety wooden ladder and spent an hour exploring.

The Bay of Fundy is trying to be voted as one of the "Seven New Wonders of the World" .At the exit to the park, there was a kiosk where we could cast our vote. Check out www. Votemyfundy.com and make this Canadian marvel one of the next "Seven New World Wonders".

Quote of the Day

"The glory of friendship is not the outstretched hand, not the kindly smile, nor the joy of companionship; it is the spiritual inspiration that comes to one when you discover that someone else believes in you and is willing to trust you with a friendship."

Ralph Waldo Emerson

Hopewell Rocks, New Brunswick: Low tide

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