By Richard Seymour

The Lions Gate Road Runners couldn't have picked a better day for the 27th Annual Gunner Shaw Memorial Cross Country race this year. The race was held, as usual, at Jericho Park with the race headquarters at the Jericho Sailing Club. By the time the starting gun went off at 11 a.m. the sun was shining bright and there wasn't a cloud in the sky - perfect conditions for December in Vancouver.

The course was a 5k loop of the park including the beach on the sand, through the trails, around the ponds and through a cold muddy stream. The toughest part was running on the sand and there were some muddy patches but that made it more fun.

Marcus Ribi from Lions Gate Road Runners was the fastest 5k runner coming in at 17:52 to win the Silver Fox race.
Jeremiah Ziak came in with the fastest time of 32:28 to win the 10k race.

The Lions Gate team came through with an amazing post race spread of pizza, Timbits and chicken noodle soup.

See you at the next race!

If your creative juices won’t stop running, you might want to spend a little of that energy designing a t-shirt for the 40th Year of the BMO Vancouver Marathon. Organizers are staging a contest for a t-shirt design that will be worn by more than 15,000 runners in the race on May 1.

The top three designs choices will be posted online and promoted via social media channels to allow the public to vote on their top choice. In addition to having your design printed on the event t-shirt, the winner of the contest will receive a prize package valued at $1,000, that includes free entry in the event of your choice (marathon, half marathon, 8 km), free accommodation, apparel and restaurant vouchers.

See www.bmovanmarathon.ca for contest details

CALGARY, Alta. – Former Calgary schoolteacher turned professional Ironman triathlete, Janelle Morrison, was involved in a serious head on collision west of Revelstoke, B.C. on Nov. 21. Janelle is listed in stable condition, however she has suffered extensive injuries.

Due to the serious nature of her injuries Janelle had to be airlifted hospital in Kamloops, B.C., where she is currently in the Intensive Care Unit.  Doctors state had it not been for her exceptional physical condition, she may not have survived her injuries.

At the time of the accident Janelle was en route to Calgary to attend a Spin-a-Thon fundraiser for her and TriCommitment teammate Jordan Bryden, on Saturday, Nov. 27.  In spirit of Janelle, an athlete who never shies from adversity, TriCommitment will proceed with the Spin-a-Thon fundraiser in her honour as planned.

“Janelle is an incredible athlete and a great friend,” said Rose Serpico, co-owner of Calgary retailer Tri-It Multisport. "She is a fighter who knows how to push through adversity."

In 2008, Morrison left her full-time job as an elementary school teacher to pursue her Ironman dream in Penticton, B.C. In her professional debut at Ironman Canada in 2009, Janelle raced to an overall third place finish.

“Janelle and I face the same challenges of balancing training against earning a living as other professional athletes. We use fun events like this Spin-a-Thon as a way to give something back to the people who are kind enough to donate to us as emerging athletes,” said Bryden who is a London 2012 Summer Olympic hopeful. “With Janelle’s accident, we will be raising money not just so that her and I can compete, but just so that she can race again.”

TriCommitment, a unique innovative triathlon team comprised of Morrison and Bryden, aspires to share the sport of triathlon with others while raising money for emerging Canadian triathletes.

This Saturday TriCommitment will hold the Spin-a-Thon Fundraiser from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in Eau Claire Market. The event has the support of star Canadian triathlete champions Simon Whitfield and Samantha McGlone who both donated signed championship race suits to the event’s evening auction.

Approximately 100-150 athletes and friends are expected to attend the indoor ride to support the athletes, supported by local coaches and fitness companies.  Auction items will be on hand will include a jersey and signed hat from Lance Armstrong, and donations from many Calgary retailers.

The Spin-a-Thon will be followed in the evening by an after party and auction at 6:30pm at Spur Gastropub.

Donations will be accepted at both events for Janelle and a fund will also be set up in Janelle’s name to provide her with financial assistance during her recovery.

Participation in the fundraiser Spin-a-Thon and/or Party is open to the public, and registration is still open at www.tricommitment.com.

For more information contact:

Jordan Bryden

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(403) 483-7433

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Rafael Lopez

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(403) 875-6739

BURNABY B.C. - Industry leader of high performance technical apparel and accessories STORMTECH Performance Apparel announces the opening of its refurbished showroom and office facility at 2560 Boundary Road in Burnaby B.C. In an effort to increase exposure in the lower mainland and to better serve their distributors, STORMTECH Performance Apparel has acquired an addition 40,000 sq. ft. and undergone a substantial renovation. "Our new showroom features a lending library, presentation centre and the entire STORMTECH collection in all sizes with ample parking and knowledgeable staff to serve. We have incorporated our imagery from our retail stores, and in doing so, we will make our customers feel more comfortable in this revamped environment", says Steve Dewar, VP of Sales & Marketing. STORMTECH Performance Apparel is a Canadian owned and operated company that is distributed in over 30 countries. www.stormtech.ca

The folks at Louis Garneau have been busy with new product launches for the upcoming triathlon and biking seasons. Cool offerings include ventilated Flintstone Shorts, the Vorttice and X-Lite helmets, the Elite Lazer Tech triathlon suit and the CFS-300 shoes, heat moldable to any foot. www.louisgarneau.com

Is your workout routine getting stale? Pep it up with one of these incredible fitness stories in the new book from Ripley's Believe It or Not! called Enter If You Dare! The book is an annual collection of unusual, unbelievable and amazing stories from around the world. Here are a couple of the book's unusual fitness stories:

Knuckle Buster: Mick Gooch must have the strongest finger in the world. The martial arts expert from Kent, England, is capable of 17 one-armed, single-fingered push-ups on the head of a nail.

Human Weights: In January 2009, a gym in London set up weight-lifting machines using people as weights. The five people - ranging from a 66-pound man to one weighing 340 pounds - not only helped gym goers visualize the weight they were lifting, but also shouted words of encouragement.

Mountain Bike: Extreme yoga artist Khiv Raj Gurjar from Jodhpur in Rajasthan, India, balances in extraordinary positions on his bicycle just inches from the edge of rocky outcrops 300 feet high.

Stiletto Sprint: At a race in Nanning, Guangxi Province, China, all the runners wear high heels - both men and women! Male runners must wear shoes with heels at least 3-in high, while women have to run in 4-in (10-cm) stilettos because they are more used to wearing high heels.

Plane Crazy: In perhaps the greatest feat of strength ever, Rev. Kevin Fast from Cobourg, Ont., pulled a giant Globemaster airplane weighing 416,000 pounds - the weight of more than 50 African elephants - for 29 feet across the runway at an airbase in Trenton in 2009.