Hello Everyone,                                                                                           May 5, 2005

In this Issue:

Our Biggest

Sun Run

Ever

Yes, this was our biggest Sun Run ever with 402 participants in 4 events. That's up from 190 registrants in 2004. And there were lots off other firsts in this event as well. The race location and course were all new this year with the intent of getting the runners out on the roads where they would be very visible thus promoting fitness in the community. We had one tough intersection at Centennial/Paris and we will fix that next year.The Jim Jerome Sports Complex at Lily Creek was headquarters and start/finish line for all the events and it was a good choice and probably will be retained in the future. The Canadian Diabetes Foundation was on board this year for the first time and spare funds will be donated to their worthy cause. They assisted greatly with the promotion of the event and can't be thanked enough. Carriere Industrial Supply stepped up to the plate as our title sponsor. Their funds allowed the Committee lots of latitude in race preparation. This year we had special Sun Run t-shirts made up for the first 300 registrants. Next year we will order more. This year we had unique Sun Run medals made up for all placers. This year the Running Room came on board and supplied all the race bibs, pins and finishing medals for all the kids. The Running Room also took on the duty of finding and coordinating the volunteers.We had approxinately 75 people out to make sure the event went well. This was the first year we went with electronic timing - and this was a learning experience as there were difficulties with coordinating registrants with their chips. There are no excuses and we promise to be better next year including starting on time. And, contrary to any rumours, all courses are very accurate so your finishing times are real.

The races had some very exciting finishes.

2k - Tayte Kosmerly (age 8) 8:54 outkicked Georgia Debassage (age 14) 8:59 and Jacob MacFarlane (age 11) 8:59. to win the 2k event.

5k - Jeremie Bourget (age 11) from Timmins ran an 18:28 to come in #1 and probably was the youngest winner of the 5k event ever. He was followed closely by Rocks!! runner Shawn Schryer in 18:41 (P.B.) and Jeremie's dad, Yves, came third in 19:20. Congratulations Timmins!

10k - The winner of the 10k (Andrew Hawkins - 37:46) was 17 years old while third place overall (Bill Thompson - 40:09) was 3.76 times older at 64. Good on you both. Pierre Dumont came in second in a very fast 38:32.

21.1k - This was the most hotly contested run of the day as Kerry Abols squared off against Mike Hay. Kerry won the day 4 seconds ahead of his rival (1:17:33 to 1:17:37) Greg Deerlegs came in third in 1:24:55.

Thank you to the Run Committee, all the volunteers, the Sponsors, Chis Gore and the City, Sgt. Gary Lavoie and Tom Saya from the Police and all the participants for making this event our most successful yet. We look forward to seeing you at our other Fitness Challenge events. Vince Perdue

Here is a participant's note:

Vincent,

I had a great time on Sunday. Unexpectedly finished first in the M50 10K,

thanks to Frank Lesk being out of town, and Steve O’Neil running the 5K.

I like the new course, since it runs right by the house I grew up in on York.

These are the hills I used to run as a kid pretending I was Abebe Bikila !

That’s me in the singlet chasing those young guys up the hill.

Thanks to all the volunteers.

Doug Smith (Toronto)

President

Ontario Masters Track & Field Association

Amanda Luoma (Canadian Diabetes Foundation) writes:

Congratulations! I have to tell you that it was a GREAT sight standing on
Regent St to see the lead car, followed by police bike, followed by
hundreds of runners and walkers come around the corner from Walford, down
the hill and pass me to move up to York St. I wanted to jump in with the
throng and run! Well - ok, not with Kerry and the lead pack...

From what I have heard from those involved and those who passed on the
street asking 'what's going on' we did have a success!
One long time runner (Sherry Wuorinen or now McKibbon?) passed me just
before the run started and said "Damn - I just did the Boston and didn't
want to push it... but Chip Timing in Sudbury?!?! I can't believe I missed
it - I will be here next year!"

Thank you all so much for your dedication to a great event and for
supporting the Canadian Diabetes Association - it was truly great to work
with and learn something from all of you.

Amanda
________________________
The Canadian Diabetes Association is the proud winner of the 2005
Conference Board of Canada/Spencer Stuart National Award in Governance.

Amanda Luoma
Development Coordinator
Northeastern Ontario Regional Leadership Centre
Canadian Diabetes Association
2141 Lasalle Blvd., Unit F, Sudbury ON P3A 2A3
Tel:(705)670-1993 Fax:(705)670-1995
amanda.luoma@diabetes.ca              www.diabetes.ca

To Access Results Please go to:

SudburyFitnessChallenge.ca

Trevor Shamas reports:

A quick report from the Sporting Life 10k. And quick it was....

We were fortunate enough to have Robert come stay with us at the 25 Boyton Rd Commune. He was a great addition to the crew and with that hot time he ran he really wow'ed the commune members as well as the neighbours with his running ability. (I know he wasn't happy with it, but most people in the race were crossing the 1/2-way mark as he was crossing the finish line.)

Robert and I walked up to the start line where he spent some time warming up. We bumped in to Jamie Black along the way. Jamie mentioned he had spotted a few Kenyans at the airport the day before, so it was an easy bet that the winning time was going to be 28 minutes or so.

I left Robert a few minutes before the race started so I could get back to Yonge & Eglinton where I could readily board the subway with enough time to get down to the finish line. As I wandered in that direction I looked back and could see runners lined up four stop lights behind the start line. What a massive crowd! 6,200 in all, I believe.

As the race started and the pace vehicle came by, there was a good crowd of people ahead of Robert. He was probably 50 or so back, and I didn't see Jamie at all. I just about missed Robert altogether, actually, but just caught a glimpse of him as he blew by me. He didn't look happy at all - he had one of those "I've got a painful cramp" looks.

I hopped on the subway and got out at Union. I wandered over to Yonge from Bay, expecting the race to come straight down Yonge as it has in other years. As I got to Yonge I saw that there were no pilons up, no police, and lots of cars. I looked north and saw that the race was turning west on what appeared to be King St. This was bad for two reasons: 1) I had taken Robert through the course the day before and I realized I'd misled him; 2) I now had 5 minutes to do an about-face and get to the finish line, which was going to be a problem given how far away I was.

I hobbled as fast as I could and just barely made it to the finish line as the first runner came through. He was right on time, at 28 minutes and change. Awesome! It was a short wait until Robert appeared, then about 20 seconds behind him was Jamie. Nice to see two Sudbury guys in the top 40! Robert reported that, indeed, he had been plagued by a cramp in the early stages of the race. Power to him for hanging in there!

I'm also happy to report that Deby, my next door neighbour, successfully completed the race. This was her first race ever, and she was thrilled with the experience. It was interesting hearing her talk about "not letting that fat guy get past" her, the difference the crowd made, the sprint for the finish, and, best of all, that she's looking forward to her next race. Looks like the friend she was running with was good enough to sign her up for the Scotiabank full and tell her only after he'd done it, so she's going to have her hands full over the summer.

Looking forward to seeing the Sudbury crew in Mississauga in another week! Until then, from the sidelines, this has been T Shamas reporting....

Karen Beaulieu writes:

Hello Vince
I have new respect for anyone who regularly runs a 4;00+ marathon. Oh my god that was so tough. I hated seeing the clock and knowing what my time was at that point. I was determined to stay with Suzanne for the duration but we lost each other several times at the water stations and at the 7mile station I totally lost her . There were so many people back there that we just could not connect again. I did try to find her and stayed with this other runner she had connected with but no luck. I thought if i stayed with him Suzanne might catch us but at the 19 mile mark I was so depressed to see 3:09, knowing that I had run a very difficult 30k in less time, that i was forced to blow off Jim and get that darn marathon over with. It is very tough to run at that pace when you normally don't and Monique warned me of this. When I saw that darn 4:30 bunny I knew I wasn't coming in with her 9 so my last 9 miles were considerably faster than the first . I was not terribly thrilled to see 4:15 but it was better than coming in with Jim who came in after Suzanne. The best part was that I was able to watch Suzanne come in and got a picture of her strong finish and that was the best... It was a great marathon and would do it again and recommend it to all. Thanks for coming Suzanne and giving me a whole new perspective on the marathon . You are the best and Sean will never forget being tossed in the shower fully clothed..... Karen

Martin Tours Africa

from Maun Botswana to Windhoek Namibia and Day 106

Please click here to view his latest update.

I was fifty pounds overweight, out of shape and didn't think I would make it
over the next hill, let alone the finish line. It was my first experience in
the Sudbury Fitness Challenge - Mountain Bike Tour. After a flat tire and
several walks to catch my breath on the up hills, there was only one thing
that kept me going. It was the volunteers. Every person I passed with a
volunteer vest would smile, clap and yell words of encouragement. "Keep up
the good work", "Way to go", "almost there", "you can do it!". Who were
these people? Why would they care so much about my progress when they didn't
even know me? Are they cheering for someone else. I looked around but no one
was behind me. I finished that race in last place. It didn't really matter
to me that I was last, just that I finished. I still remember that race,
with fondness, because of those volunteers. After that, I trained hard and
lost the weight and the following year I won gold in my age category. Now I
am the Race Director for the Mountain Bike Tour. I am also the S.F.C.
Executive Committee Volunteer Coordinator. I help to organize and recruit
all the volunteers for the entire series of races. I have come to realize
the importance of these volunteers. For without them these events could not
happen and I would not have realized my potential. I have those dedicated
volunteers to thank for that. Now when I see someone struggling and ready to
quit I flash a smile, clap my hands and cheer as loud as I can. Sometimes I
get strange looks but more often then not their frown turns to a smile and
they keep going. That's when it hits me, I too was in that dark place. Only
the sunshine smiles of dedicated volunteers pulled me through. So thank a
volunteer, remember a volunteer, be a volunteer.

May 8 (THIS SUNDAY)

Fitfriends "Strive to Come Alive" 5Km walk/run

Visit our Events Section for all the Details