Martin Parnell Finish the Race Attitude

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Lacrosse Quest 24

GUINNESS WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT

• Start: 7.00pm Friday May 4th 2012

• Finish: 7.00pm Saturday May 5th 2012

• Location:South Fish Creek Recreational Centre, Calgary

• RTP Fundraising Target: $50,000

• RTP Fundraising Actual: $1,510

.I love snowshoeing. In early February, I spotted the following on the Blitz website:

"Be a part of the fastest growing outdoor winter activity and the fastest new emerging sport, snowshoeing. The Blitz Snowshoe Fun Run is a great day of hiking or running groomed snowshoe trails while enjoying the beautiful scenery of the Banff area in the Alberta Rockies.

An easy 5km snowshoe trail designed for all ages and abilities. Whether you have personal goals and challenges you need to meet and exceed or just want to get out with the family and enjoy winter in Alberta, the 5km loop will be fun for all.

Or for those looking for a little bit more of a challenge, register for the 10km snowshoe trail which will include double track and tree trails with moderate rolling hills and elevation gain."

Well, I knew what they meant about "a little bit more challenge". Three years ago I had completed my first snowshoe race on this same course at Mount Norquay. It was a killer. That hadn't put me off and in March, the same year; I headed up to Yellowknife and completed a 44km snowshoe ultra marathon.

Since then a number of the members of the Cochrane Red Rock Running and Tri Club have bought racing snow shoes and on Saturday March 3^rd a group of us headed to the mountains. This band of racers included a rookie. Lau Mafuru is from Tanzania and has recently arrived in Cochrane. He had never snow shoed before. That morning he rented a pair of snowshoes and headed out. He came 5^th in the 5km race.

Now, that's impressive!

Quote of the Day

Lots of fun at the Blitz snowshoe 10km and 5km runs at Mount Norquay

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Next Event:

Lacrosse Quest 24

GUINNESS WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT

• Start: 7.00pm Friday April 27th 2012

• Finish: 7.00pm Saturday April 28th 2012

• Location:South Fish Creek Recreational Centre, Calgary

• RTP Fundraising Target: $50,000

• RTP Fundraising Actual: $1,510

This was going to be the week of lacrosse. First I had to get some gear then it was a week at Springbank for "Lacrosse Boot Camp". On Thursday I was meeting with the Lacrosse Quest 24 committee and on Saturday it was off to the Dome for a Roughnecks game.

Monday morning I was down at Edge Sports in Cochrane. The previous Saturday, Gord told me to come back at the beginning of the week and he would see what he could do. I met him in the shop and I emptied out my hockey bag. He just shook his head. My shoulder pads were from the 1930's and my elbow pads wouldn't fit a 9 year old. I also had to change my mask from hockey to lacrosse. By the time we were done Gord had kitted me out in a new set of shoulder pads, arm slash guards, wrist protectors and lacrosse gloves. The new gear felt great and I was ready for action.

I went home and showed Sue. She was very impressed. My first session of "Lacrosse Boot Camp" was at 2.00pm at the school and I didn't want to be late. I arrived at Springbank at 1.30pm and met Katie. Katie is a phys-ed teacher and has been a great supporter of Marathon Quest 250. It took me 20 minutes to get all the gear on and in the correct order but I was ready to go. I marched out onto the gym floor and was a little surprised. All the grade 10 students were wearing shorts and T-shirts. No shoulder pads, elbow pads or kidney guards. No problem.

We started off with some warm ups and then it was on to skills training. Katie has asked Kyle to be my personal trainer. Kyle is a talented player and he showed me how to catch the ball, cradle it and shoot. We played a game and the kids were terrific. I went home full of enthusiasm and Sue motioned that I sounded like I used to sound after coming home from a marathon at a school.

There wasn't much to rest however. Sue was off to England for three weeks and I had to get her to the airport. She was heading over for three reasons: to see Calum in London, visit my sister Sally on Dartmoor but most importantly spend time with my mum, Terryanne. I dropped Sue off, gave her a big kiss and then it was home for a hot tub. My muscles were killing me.

The rest of the week went by in a flash. Every day it was off to Springbank for "The School of Lacrosse". Kyle had me shooting at targets and running passing drills. I took face offs and played goalie. Friday came and Jeremy from the Cochrane Eagle came out and took some shots. My week was over and I wished Kyle all the best in his lacrosse try-outs.

My lacrosse week was complete with a trip to the Dome on Saturday and a Calgary vs Edmonton game. Shawn Cable, one of the organizers of Lacrosse Quest 24, had lined up a box and we all met at the Loungeburger before the game. My buddy Lau and Jeremy came with me. It was Lau's first game and he's thinking of signing up to play in Lacrosse Quest 24. If he did it would be his second Guinness World Record after Netball Quest 61. The game was pretty even until the fourth quarter when the Roughnecks "Crushed the Rush" and won 16-9. All in all, an excellent week of lacrosse.

Quote of the Day

Lacroose Boot Camp at Springbank School with my personal trainer Kyle

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Next Event:

Lacrosse Quest 24

GUINNESS WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT

• Start: 7.00pm Friday April 27th 2012

• Finish: 7.00pm Saturday April 28th 2012

• Location:South Fish Creek Recreational Centre, Calgary

• RTP Fundraising Target: $50,000

• RTP Fundraising Actual: $6,462

At the age of 16 my life started to go downhill. That's when I learnt to ski. I signed up for a one week school ski trip to the French Alps with my friends Patrick and Malcolm. None of us had skied before and as there are not too many ski resorts in Devon, England we headed over to the Torbay Leisure Centre. There, they had a dry ski slope laid out down the side of a hill. Imagine a carpet with toothbrush bristles sticking up. For six weeks, every Saturday morning, we'd head over to the centre and learn to snow plough. Things we're good if you stayed vertical but if you went down you'd get a nasty burn on your elbows and knees. The best times were after a down pour when you could fly off the end of the "carpet" and keep going for 50m on the wet grass.

Fast forward to Kimberley, B.C. I immigrated to Canada in 1977 and my first job was at the Sullivan mine. Besides the "Happy Hans" cuckoo clock, the best feature of the town was the ski hill. I bought my first set of Lange 211 racing skis, Nordica boots and poles at a ski swap at the hill. Over the following two years I spent most of my winter free time at the hill. My next move was to Yellowknife, NWT. It's flat, no problem, I moved onto Cross County skiing.

In 1985 it was over to Sudbury, Ontario. Again, not a mecca for down hill skiing but the kids learnt at the Lively ski hill and holidays were taken at Searchmont in Sault Ste Marie and Mount St. Louis Moonstone in Barrie. Arriving in Cochrane in 2004 it was time to head out to the mountains. In the winter of 2006, my nephew, Luke came over from England to work at a ski resort. He needed a Canadian Ski Instructors Alliance (CSIA) Level 1 certificate. To keep him company, I joined him on the course. We spent two weekends at Canada Olympic Park and at the end of the program I got my certification.

The biggest thrill I've had in skiing was when I returned to Sudbury in March 2011 and joined my grand daughter Autumn on the slopes.  She was seven years old and had enrolled in the Nancy Greene "learn to ski" program. She wanted to show Papa Martin how it was done and we took the lift up to the top of the hill at Adanac ski centre. It was a little misty and she was off like a bullet. I stuck with her most of the way down but suddenly she seemed to rise in the air and disappear. In the nick of time I realised it was a jump and I swerved to the left. I went around the obstacle and found Autumn in a heap. I asked if she was alright, she just smiled, got up and kept going. That's my girl.

Quote of the Day

A powder day at Lake Louise: March 14th 2012

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Next Event:

Lacrosse Quest 24

GUINNESS WORLD RECORD ATTEMPT

• Start: 7.00pm Friday April 27th 2012

• Finish: 7.00pm Saturday April 28th 2012

• Location:South Fish Creek Recreational Centre, Calgary

• RTP Fundraising Target: $50,000

• RTP Fundraising Actual: $9,711.14

On Sunday, Sue and I drove to the Olympic Oval at the University of Calgary for a very special event. Kyle Shewfelt, Canadian Gymnastics Gold Medal winner, was hosting his Gymnastics Festival. As I entered the Jack Simpson Gymnasium I remembered the first time I had met Kyle. It was Wednesday August 16^th 2010 and that morning I had run marathon #107 in Marathon Quest 250. I had been invited to the Right To Play Red Ball golf tournament at Silver Tip golf course. It was a miserable day, cold and wet, and I was happy to get inside and warm up.

The tournament is one of Right To Play's main fundraisers. Corporate and business folk sign up to play a round of golf with an Olympian. Right To Play Canada have over 130 Athlete Ambassadors and they give their time to visit schools and participate in Right To Play activities. The dining room was full but I didn't know anyone. I sat at a table and who sat next to me but Kyle. He introduced himself and we hit it off right away.

Over the next year we stayed in touch and in September 2011 he came out and supported Netball Quest 61. In 2011, Kyle started running and completed a half marathon. This year he plans to tackle his first marathon. He's shooting for the Calgary Marathon in May and I had the pleasure of joining him for one of his long slow training runs. He's got a busy schedule ahead of him. In July, he's heading over to London for the Summer Olympics. He's going to be the CTV Gymnastics analyst for the games.

This was the second year for the Kyle Shewfelt's Gymnastics Festival. In 2011 the festival raised $10,000 for Right To Play. In this years program Kyle said "At the KSGF, we put a great deal of emphasis on fun. Our goal is to ensure that every participant, judge, volunteer and audience member feels like a star and has an experience that they won't soon forget." The facility looked amazing. There was action everywhere. Children were tumbling on the floor exercise, twisting on the rings, and flying through the air on the pommel horse.

There was even a draw for a number of prizes. I put all my tickets in a "Golf Basket" and Sue put her tickets in a "Romance Basket". Guess who won? I love chocolates.

Quote of the Day

"Make sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm"

Abraham Lincoln

A great afternoon at the Kyle Shewfelt Gymnastics Festival

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