Martin Parnell Finish the Race Attitude

Next Events:

TriOil-Soccer Quest 42 (Quest #5)

• Friday Oct. 5th 6.00pm to Sunday Oct. 7th noon 2012
  

• Location: Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre, Cochrane, Alberta

Running 250 marathons in a year is one thing. Writing a book is quite another. My first effort going into print was after my cycle trip across Africa in 2005. My daughter, Kristina had given me a leather bound journal and every night after a gruelling day of riding I would write my thoughts. Every five or six days I would find an internet café and blog. After the trip I took the blogs, matched them with photo's I had taken and using Lulu.com self-published "How do you eat an Elephant" (one piece at a time).This hard cover book was sent to all family and friends that Christmas.

My next foray into the book world was "Riverbank Friends". Sue's mum, Terryanne, had written a poem about river bank characters; Ferdinand Frog, Wilma Water-rat, Mistress Mabel Mouse, Victor Vole, Thomas T. Toad and I illustrated it. At the time, Terryanne didn't know what I was doing and it was a thrill giving her a hard backed copy of the book the following Christmas. The following year I added photos to more of Terryannes poems and again with the help of Lulu.com published "Pause for Thought".

The possibility of a book based on Marathon Quest 250 only came about because of the prompting of my social media guru and friend Lyn Cadence. Lyn is in the book business and she suggested I write a book proposal. She sent me an outline and I went at it. In mid 2011 she sent it out to two publishers and one of them, Rocky Mountain Books, said they were interested. I met with Don Gorman, the publisher, and on September 30^th 2011, signed a contract.

The first task was to send off a manuscript. I had blogged all through Marathon Quest 250. Every day after a marathon I'd sit at the computer and layout my thoughts for the day. The date the manuscript had to be at the publishers was October 15^th and by that time I had 120,000 words. I had checked out a number of other books of the same type and found that the average number was 80,000. So I definitely had enough words, now the challenge was to develop it into a coherent story. Don introduced me to Meaghan Craven. Meaghan is a freelance editor and lives in the West Kootenays in British Columbia. We spent 3 months emailing back and forth, adding things, taking things out until we had a completed document.

Next was the cover and photos. One cover was suggested and rejected. Photos were added and then removed. But by June 2012 we had a Advanced Reading Copy available. The next step was to see if some of my friends and acquaintances would be willing to write a "Blurb". This is a few sentences about the book. The response was amazing. I had made contact with 14 people including John Stanton, Bart Yasso, and Beckie Scott, and they all replied.

The big day arrived in mid September and I went down to Bentley's Books to pick up the first copy. Mary Lou opened up a box and I picked one up. The first thing I noticed was the smell.  Other than a new baby and new car, it's hard to beat a new book smell. I took the book home to Sue and we just smiled. It's probably the closest I'll ever come to having a baby and this one took 12 months.

The World Wide book launch was scheduled for September 29^th at Bentley's Books in Cochrane. This adventure had started in Cochrane and it was the only place I wanted to do the launch. It was a beautiful fall afternoon and at 1.00pm I ran along the side walk towards the book store with children from the local schools. All afternoon people came by and I signed books. Some I signed for them, some for grandparents and some for their kids. So began the MARATHON QUEST World Book Tour.

During 2012 2013 I plan to visit a number of towns and cities around the world. I'm treating it like a rock tour but instead of playing concerts I'll be running marathons. My next stop is Toronto where I'll be running the Toronto Waterfront Marathon on Oct. 14^th.

If you're in the city come out and say hi.

Quote of the Day

"The pen is mightier than the sword"

Edward Bulwer - Lytton

Two young readers get a signed copy of MARATHON QUEST. Enjoy.

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Next Events:

3rd Annual Marathon Quest 250 Run / Walk

• Monday December 31st 2012
  

• 9.00pm to 3.00pm
  

• Location: Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre, Cochrane, Alberta

Hockey Quest 500 (Quest #6)

• Saturday January 19th 2013

• 8.00am to 4.00pm

• Location: Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre, Cochrane, Alberta

At 12.01 pm on Sunday October 7th MPP Blake Richards blew a whistle, bringing to an end 42 hours and 1 minute of 5-a-side soccer.

I was on the substitute's bench as the shrill note went up and everyone in the Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre erupted into a cheer. The celebrations began with the players hugging and giving high fives, as Robin Mitchell, Facility Manager, called together the two teams and introduced Michael Empric, the Guinness World Record adjudicator. Michael congratulated all involved and announced that a new record had officially been set.

As I stood  with my team mates from the "Eh Team", I thought about how it had all begun. The previous October, I had contacted Robin and bounced off him the idea of attempting to break the 40 hour record, held by a team in the UK. He loved it and soon we had Lucy from Cochrane Rangers, Ally from Cochrane Minor Soccer and Cynthia from the center on board.  Nick Edwards  had approached me about playing but, at 12 years old he was, officially, too young. So, I offered him a position on the organizing committee and he accepted.

Work progressed over the winter and spring and Robin recruited TriOil Resources as the title sponsor. The fund-raising target was $25,000. In June, Cochrane Minor soccer held a tournament and raised $5,000. At around the same time the "Ton of Pennies" fundraiser was born. Three Cochrane musketeers, Dan Kroffat, Alex Baum and Jack Tenant came up with the idea of collecting one ton of pennies and Cochrane and the surrounding area ran with it. On Sept 29th 2,900 lbs had been collected, taken to ATB in a chuck wagon, guarded by a cowboy posse and members of the RCMP. Due to the generosity of Cochranites, in donating their pennies, at 5.30pm on Friday October 5th, on the turf at Spray Lake Sport center, a cheque for $6,100 was presented to representatives of Right To Play.

By then, all the players had been at the center since 4.00pm and were itching to get going. Those in the black shirts were the "Eh Team". They consisted of Daran Fletcher, Cecily Woolrich, Jason Smith, Denean Thorsen, Sherry Grund, Dena Sykes, Dee Dee Cook and myself. The players in the red shirts were "Team Red Quest", consisting of Matt Wiacek, Andy Harris, David Savage, Rochelle Nydokus, Caitlin Smid, Maria Perkovic, Kira Alston and Ellen Anderson Penno. Special mention to Terry Norman who was Captain of the "Eh Team" until an old knee injury kept him from playing.

At precisely 6.00pm, the whistle went and the game was on. Michael Empric later informed us that the true test of whether a Guinness World Record attempt will succeed is the organization and documentation. Lucy Lovelock, with help from Sarah and Julie had dotted the i's and crossed the t's so that everything ran like clockwork. Volunteers turned up at the appointed time, the appropriate paperwork was satisfactorily completed and the required video evidence was recorded. For those taking part, breakfast, dinner, supper were hot and tasty and the knockout punch was the special delivery "Banana Buzz" smoothies requested from Jugo Juice. Unbelievable.

Almost two days and the final whistle, all 16 warriors emerged from battle. Injuries and fatigue took there toll but no one had quit. The final score was The Eh Team 381 and Team Red Quest 346. But it's true to say we were all winners. A Guinness World Record has come to Cochrane and over 2,600 children have been given the gift of a Right To Play program for one year.

Now that's what I call a great result.

Quote of the Day

"Football (soccer) isn't a matter of life or death, it's more important than that"

Bill Shankly, ex-Manager of Liverpool FC

Members of the "Eh Team" and "Team Red Quest" line up with GWR adjudicator, Michael Empric, after the 42 hr and 1 min soccer marathon.

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Next Events:

3rd Annual Marathon Quest 250 Run / Walk

• Monday December 31st 2012
  

• 9.00pm to 3.00pm
  

• Location: Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre, Cochrane, Alberta

Hockey Quest 500 (Quest #6)

• Saturday January 19th 2013

• 8.00am to 5.00pm

• Location: Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre, Cochrane, Alberta

On my recent trip to Toronto I had three objectives. Take a copy of MARATHON QUEST and give it to Right To Play CEO, Johann Koss; complete in Bonsai the Don, a trail race with a twist and run the Scotiabank Waterfront Marathon. I flew out on Thursday morning and was feeling a little fatigued. The previous Sunday a group of 24 players from the Cochrane Rangers had broken the Guinness World Record for the longest game of 5-a-side soccer. It had gone on for over 42 hours and I was still feeling the effects.

My meeting with Johann was scheduled for 11.30am on Friday and Sarah, my RTP contact, took me up to his office. She knocked on his door and he came out joined by Clara Hughes. Clara was one of my inspirations for working with Right To Play. In 2006, after winning gold in the Turin Winter Olympics, she donated $10,000 to the organization to provide play based programs for many children. Luckily I had brought another book and was happy to sign it for her.

In the afternoon I had to head down to the marathon expo and pick up my race package. At the Running Room booth I chatted with John Stanton. John had been good enough to write a review for the book. It was then over to the speaker stage where I talked to one of my all time heroes Faugh Singh. Last year, at the age of 100, Fauja ran a marathon, the first centenarian ever to do so. This year he was going to run a 5km "Victory Lap". Good for him.

On Saturday I headed to the Don Valley Parkway for a very special event. A group called "Preparing the Trail" had organized a four hour trail run. This could be done in teams or solo. My buddy David and I decided to do it solo. The twist  was that at some point during the race we had to each plant two trees. "Preparing the Trail" is a grass-roots, environmentally active, not-for-profit organization that use the power of sport to educate and empower a growing movement of environmental aware individuals, while supporting charitable partners Right To Play and Trees Ontario.

The 5.5km loop was through the Don Valley's Crother's Woods Trail. The scenery was spectacular and km after km ticked by. The race was reduced to 3 hours due to a late start but David hammered out 30km and finished first. His prize, a Bonsia tree. I completed 19km, just the right amount ahead of Sunday's marathon.

Sunday morning came around quick enough and the rain was hammering down. David was suffering after his trail race and he dropped me off at the start. I chatted with Jerry in the purple coral. It was his first half marathon and I wished him all the best. As the gun went off the rain stopped and 24,000 of us headed out on the streets of Toronto. I planned to run a 5 hour marathon but I felt good and ran a faster pace. The effects of the trail race started to hit me as I crossed in the 30 plus km zone. I hung in and finished in 4 hours 40 minutes 28 seconds.

Another good day at the office.

Quote of the Day

"If you have enough willpower and you want something bad enough, you can get your body to do enough anything, anything."

Jonathan Boyer

At the Toronto Marathon expo I was thrilled to meet 101 year old marathon runner Faugh Singh and give him a copy of MARATHON QUEST.

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Next Events:

3rd Annual Marathon Quest 250 Run / Walk

• Monday December 31st 2012
  

• 9.00pm to 3.00pm
  

• Location: Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre, Cochrane, Alberta

Hockey Quest 500 (Quest #6)

• Saturday January 19th 2013

• 8.00am to 5.00pm

• Location: Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre, Cochrane, Alberta

One thing I like about the Rotary Club of Cochrane is that they are a group of people that want to make a difference. Sometimes it's an international project like the eradication of Polio, sometimes it's something local like the Rotary Youth Talent Contest. On Saturday October 27^th the Rotary Clubs in district 5360 held a conference called "Make Dreams Real".

One speaker that had an incredible story was Christie Johnson. Christie was a volunteer teacher in Malawi in 2000.  One of the young women she was teaching with was Memory Mdyetseni. Memory was born in Mzuzu, Malawi in 1980 into a family of 6 children, Memory became an orphan at an early age, losing her mother while still in primary school and then losing her father when she had just started secondary school.  She and her siblings were scattered amongst various extended family members, as no single family could take in all 6 children.  Memory and her sister Lucy were adopted by their uncle and put back into secondary school where Memory graduated at the top of her class.  Memory dreamed of going to university, an almost unheard of goal for young Malawian girls born into poverty, but when her uncle passed away, Memory was left with no one to support this dream.

Memory had no option but to go back to live in her grandfather's village where she felt pressured to give up on her dream and get married as not only was she a drain on village resources, but she had no one who recognized the value of further education for girls.  It was at this point that Memory became aware of a small secondary school for girls within walking distance of her village.  Feeling that this was her chance to remain focused on her dream, she volunteered her services as a teacher and discovered a deep commitment to helping her fellow girls who were struggling just as she was.

When the school that Christie and Memory were teaching at closed due to lack of funding, Christie returned to her teaching position in Canada determined to find a way to help her 24 students complete their education.  She has since travelled back to Malawi 8 times to work with Memory and their first 24 girls, supporting them as they completed their secondary education, certification in trades, entered and completed university, started their own businesses and became independent leaders in their villages. She knows first hand the power of education in transforming lives.

Since her travels and teaching experience in Malawi in 2000, Christie has become a passionate advocate for the rights of girls and women in Malawi.  In 2006, she went on to co-found (with Memory Mdyetseni) Atsikana Pa Ulendo (Girls On The Move) Secondary School in Malawi and in just four years, the school has grown to include 320 students, employing 17 Malawian teachers, and over 300 labourers (construction workers, brick layers, architects, surveyors and engineers).

Other presentations in the conference included the refurbishment of fire trucks which were then taken to towns in Mexico and an expedition to Everest base camp in aid of the Sir Edmund Hillary Foundation, for the construction of the Zeke O'Connor Secondary School in the Solo Khumbu region of Nepal. I was honoured to be able to talk about "Quests for Kids" in support of Right To Play.

In the words of an old sage: "Take your dream and run with it"

Quote of the Day

"The notion of looking on at life has always been hateful to me. What am I if I am not a participant? In order to be, I must participate."

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Cycling through Malawi in 2005 on the Tour d'Afrique

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