Martin Parnell Finish the Race Attitude

Next Quest:

TransRockies Quest 888 (Quest #8)

• 6 months (May to October 2013)

• 10 trail running, mountain biking, road running and road biking events

• Completing over 888 race kilometres

One down and nine to go. At 6.03pm on Thursday May 2^nd Aaron McConnell from TransRockies Events Inc. blew the whistle and a group of "Chasers" headed west, from the East Village Plaza in Calgary, along a path by the Bow River. Three minutes earlier a much larger group of "Skirts" had headed off in the same direction. This was the Skirt Chaser 5km, the first event in my 8^th Quest; TransRockies Quest 888. There are a total of ten events from May to October and my quest is to complete all ten, covering over 888 race kms.

This first event had stirred up some controversy. There were comments on Twitter and Facebook expressing the opinion that it was sexist and demeaning to women and even the CBC got in on the act. I asked Sue what she thought and she said the negative comments were a load of nonsense, that it was just a bit of fun and people should lighten up. I asked her how I should pace myself for the race and she told me to run as fast as I could but treat it like a fishing trip: Catch and Release.

I arrived at the East Village Plaza start area and met up with Aaron and Jonathan from TransRockies. They said that the media had been buzzing around earlier but had headed off before the start of the race. Aaron mentioned that 160 individuals had signed up and of these, 120 were women. I was in the "Chase group" and ran one of my fastest 5kms in years. Around the finishing area, everyone was laughing and joking and having a great time. I'm sure for a number of runners it was their first 5km. Way to go.

So Quest #8 has begun. The next event is Rundles Revenge in Canmore on June 22^nd and 23^rd. This involves a 100km mountain bike on the Saturday followed by a 50km trail run on Sunday.  Interested in joining me for one or more of the events? Then check out TransRockies at http://transrockies.com/ .

As with all my Quests, I'm raising money for the children's charity Right To Play. During the TRQ888 we hope to raise $25,000 and with matching donation of $3 to every $1 raise $100,000. When children play the world wins.

Quote of the Day

"I can live with disappointment but I can't live with regret"

Andre Agassi

TransRockies Quest 888: 6 months, 10 events, 888 race kms.

Read More

Next Quest:

TransRockies Quest 888 (Quest #8)

• 6 months (May to October 2013)

• 10 trail running, mountain biking, road running and road biking events

• Completing over 888 race kilometres

One of my favourite places to go and talk about Marathon Quest 250 is the Running Rooms in and around Calgary. So far this year I've been to Glenmore Landing, Country Hills, Eau Claire and Crowfoot. There is always an enthusiastic group of runners who want to listen to and share tips on pace, gear, hydration and nutrition.

The man who started the Running Room experience is John Stanton and I've had the pleasure of meeting John on a number of occasions. John was born in Alberta and in the 1980s, a short fun run with his youngest son offered a wake-up call to improve his overall wellness and he began running, entering road races and marathons. John has since competed in over 60 marathons, hundreds of road races and numerous triathlons, including the Hawaiian World Championship Ironman competition.

Last Friday I was at the Crowfoot Running Room and over 25 people attended the presentation. These folks were made up of three groups; learn to run, 10km and half marathon. The 10 km and half marathoners are racing on the Calgary Marathon weekend, and for a number of them it's the first time at that distance. It's great to see so many taking up this activity and stepping into the unknown for a new distance.

I told them that I was attempting to set a Guinness World Record in the marathon by running in a full lacrosse uniform. I explained that I was doing it to raise money for the children's charity Right To Play. Using your running to raise funds for a cause, close to your heart, is a great way to go.

At the end of the evening I was chatting with 10 year old Grace. She had come with her mum and wanted to buy a copy of MARATHON QUEST. Grace is planning to do a duathlon and, looking ahead, she wants to try a triathlon. Way to go girl.

Quote of the Day

"A life has to move or it stagnates."

Beryl Markham

Grace, age 10, came to the Crowfoot Running Room to hear about Marathon Quest 250. Her next challenge; a duathlon.

Read More

Next Quest:

TransRockies Quest 888 (Quest #8)

• 6 months (May to October 2013)

• 10 trail running, mountain biking, road running and road biking events

• Completing over 888 race kilometres

In January, I wrote about meeting Glenda Zamzow and her son, Marcus at a book signing at Crowfoot Chapters. It resulted in them putting together a plan to try and complete 10 events in 2013 and raise $25,000 for Right To Play. Well, here we are in May and I want to bring you up to date on what's been happening. On January 19^th Glenda and her eldest son, Derek, along with 373 other hockey players, took part in Hockey Quest 500. Not only that, during the event they sold cup cakes donated by Twisted Tortes and raised $300.

On February 9^th Glenda and Marcus headed up to Edmonton to complete in the Birkbeiner cross country ski event. Marcus skied further than he had ever gone before and completed 55kms. Unfortunately, March 17^th disaster struck. The family were getting ready to start the Rocky Mountain Ski Challenge, Family Ski Day in Canmore, when Marcus slipped on some ice and broke his arm in two places, so he was unable to compete.

On March 30^th Glenda entered the Canmore Ski Fest. Her plan was to try and ski 90kms in the 12 hour allowed. She headed off and didn't stop. By the time the clock hit 12 hours, she had covered an amazing 111 kms.

The family have a number of events planned for the rest of the year. These include: June 22^nd, trail run at the North Face Rundles Revenge; June 30^th, trail run at the Fernie Ultra; July 20^th, Banded Peak Challenge and the 24 hours of Adrenaline mountain bike event; August 25^th, Run at the Ranch (Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park); September 21^st, trail run at the Canadian Rockies Heli Run and December 31^st, The 4^th Annual Marathon Quest 250 Run / Walk.

Right To Play's motto is "Look after yourself, look after one another". It's great to see a family taking this to heart and trying to make a difference. Will they be able to complete all the events and raise the $25,000? Who knows? But at least they've decided to "Give it a go". In life you don't have to do a lot, you just have to do something.

So far the Zamzow's have raised $3,447.05 so there's still along way to go. If you'd like to support this amazing family, the "Zamzow Family Charity Dinner, Auction and Dance" is being held on Saturday June 8^th at the Bearspaw Lifestyle Centre. There are two bands, great food, silent and live auctions plus an excellent guest speaker (who also writes this column for the Eagle) and fun for all the family.

If you would like tickets please go to www.zamzowchallenge.com. It will be a night to remember.

Quote of the Day

"I travel not to go anywhere, but to go. I travel for travel's sake.The great affair is to move."

Robert Louis Stevenson

Derek, in red, playing during Hockey Quest 500.

Read More

Next Quest:

TransRockies Quest 888 (Quest #8)

• 6 months (May to October 2013)

• 10 trail running, mountain biking, road running and road biking events

• Completing over 888 race kilometres

At 6.45am on Sunday May 26^th it was sunny in Calgary. This was great for approximately 13,000 runners who were there to take part in the 49^th Scotiabank Calgary Marathon. But not for me. For the previous month, I had been training in full lacrosse gear and was hoping to set a Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon in the uniform. Despite this being a new record attempt, the administrators at Guinness had set me a sub four hour target and this was certainly not going to be a walk in the park.

With me at the start line was Blaine Penny and his MitoCanada team. They were going for a Guinness World Record themselves for the fastest marathon with 10 runners all linked together. They had to run a sub 2 hour 57 minutes.

To have my record verified by Guinness I had to have my whole run videoed, so Evan Weselake was my cameraman. He kept behind me, on a mountain bike, the whole time with a Go-Pro camera strapped to the handle bars. With one minute to go there was a huge crowd of full and half- marathoners behind us. Then Calgary's Mayor Nenshi started to count down: 5..4..3..2..1...and we were off.

I had a plan and I needed to stick to it. I would run to an aid station then take a drink of my water / nutrition mix. A key piece of technology that I had with me was my Helmet 4iiii's Sportiiii's. This little gizmo, attached to my helmet, would give me an audio heart rate and pace at two minute intervals. To achieve the record I would have to maintain a 5min 30sec per kilometre pace and keep my heart rate below 166 beats per minutes (bpm).

Things started off well and the kms ticked by. I got a number of comments from the spectators along the route: "Go hockey player", "Are you warm in the helmet?", "What the hell are you doing?", "Go Right To Play!", "You can do it Martin". My heart rate started off at 105 bpm but by km 15 had hit 161. Along the way, I was joined by two friends, Wayne and Ken, from the Cochrane Red Rocks Running Club. I have run many marathons with these guys and they really helped to keep me spirits up.

My first problem occurred around km 28. The sun was getting hotter and hotter and my heart rate hit 165. I was starting to feel some cramping in my legs, so I increased my electrolyte intake. I was still on pace but the heat was beginning to take its toll. By km 34 things were starting to go sideways. My heart rate hit 175 and I was getting light headed. Evan, Ken and Wayne were shouting encouragement and I concentrated on shutting out the pain. The next 4 kms were a blur. I kept my head up and shoulders back and tried to stay up with the runner in front of me. My head was cooking and my buddies were pouring water through the vents of my helmet.

At km 38 everything fell apart. My legs became rubber and started to spasm. My heart rate spiked at 190 and I finally dropped off a sub 4 hour pace. I jogged the next 3 km in a daze. The final 1 km I walked. With 300m to go I could hear the crowd cheering in the stadium. I turned into the final 150m stretch and with the cheers of the crowd started up a shuffle / run. I crossed the line and collapsed. Medics were there and fellow runner Ally helped me to the medical tent. They laid me down, wrapped me in a silver blanket and feed me apple juice.

I'm delighted to say that Blaine and his buddies achieved their goal and set a new record, raising $100,000 for their charity. Way to go guys.

My final time was 4 hours 18 minutes and 58 seconds. Not a Guinness World Record. Would I have liked to have achieved it? Of course but, on the day, it was not to be. I believe that all you can do is "Give it a go" and that's what I did. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

Why did I try to set a Guinness World Record? Well, I was running for the children's charity Right To Play and in the end that's what really counts. Besides, there's always next year.

Quote of the Day

"The one thing that matters is the effort."

Antoine de Saint-Exupery

The finish line (photo by Neil Zeller)

Read More