As the days and months tick their way through 2010 we sincerely hope the miles are currently doing the same beneath your feet!

April is here, in fact we’re already heading into the second week of it. The summer weather is just around the corner...we promise!

First off, congrats to all 140 participants in this past weekend’s My First Trail Race! Smiles were plentiful as Mother Nature was kind enough to shine down on most of the first time trail runners. Great times seemed to be had by all and we at RTNS were proud to introduce so many excited runners to the treasures of The North Shore trail system. Results are now posted with pictures to follow shortly.

Backtracking into March for a quick second...when it was warmer out there...our three winners of the $70 NSA prize packages were: Jackie Forman, Adrian Matangi, and Dana Schwab. CONGRATS! You can claim your prize packages by contacting us via: e-mail, phone, fax, twitter, facebook, snail mail, or pigeon-gram.

Moving forward

Featured Races

Mud-Run-Ride

(April 17th Campbell River, BC)

It's time to get dirty, and bring a friend.

The MUD is an event that gives everyone an opportunity to have fun at an adventure race. Whether you are an experienced racer or you are looking at your first competition, you will cross the finish line with a big smile and even bigger coating of mud!

Tender Knee / Iron Knee

(Brought To You By The North Shore Credit Union)

May 30th

Classic point to point singletrack trail race with plenty of climbing and descending thrown in to keep you on your toes!

Featured Trail Shoe Of The Month

Named after a popular Colorado trail among trail runners, this new long-distance mountain-running shoe is ideal to wear in such environs. Proportioned for female runners, this endurance running shoe features enhanced support, stability and traction. Stability-driven design engineered for the medium-arched pronator.

 

Running Tip Of The Month

Fueling

Ain’t no two ways about it, if you don’t fuel properly, you’re compromising your running performance. Try running on just water, or less, and no matter how hard you've worked in training you simply will not perform at your best.

Fueling can be one of those daunting topics for many new to the running world. Any endurance activity is a calorie deficient pursuit, meaning you can't possibly replenish all those calories you are burning while on the run. Fortunately though it’s a pretty simple formula to follow. The basic outline for success breaks down like this.

*200-300 calories per hour, consumed through a variety of easily digestible sources, such as gels, fluid mixes, chews, etc

*Ample fluids depending on climatic conditions, usually 500-750ml per hour

*Electrolytes, usually starting with at least 300mg of buffered sodium accompanied by calcium, magnesium, and potassium (your standard electrolyte supplement). Consumed either in tablet form or via a drink and gel combination.

*That, combined with ample training will give you the greatest chance of reaching your full potential come race day.

Still have questions? Not to worry, all the staff at North Shore Athletics are pretty much experts on the topic, stroll on in and fire away. They’ll get you set up with a fueling strategy that will work for you within a few short minutes!

 

Featured Athlete Of The Month

(Current Knee Knacker Course Record Holder)

RTNS: First off congrats on an amazing KK race last season. Where would you rank that run in your overall performances of 09?

 

AH: I think the Knee Knacker was my top individual performance last year. I usually pick 2-3 races a year to key in on and peak for. Knee Knacker was a focus race for me and a lot of my training was based around doing well on this unique course.

RTNS: Do you possibly think you can cover that course any faster?

 

AH: You can always run a course faster! And I'll probably have to this year if I want to win again. The conditions were amazing last year, and I think I trained really well for the race, but there are still a couple of things that I can improve on. The Seymour grind is the real crux of the course I think. For me, it was where I won the race last year, and where I slipped from 1st to 3rd the year before. It is a killer hill and so late in a race. I think I can better prepare myself for it this year.

RTNS: What does a typical training week look like for you?

AH: There is no such thing as a typical training week for me:) With a job and a family, my training has to be really flexible. I don't always log my long run on Sunday, and don't hit my workouts on the same days every week. It depends on what my and my wife's schedules look like for the week. For my lead up to the KK last year, I simply logged as much vertical ascent and descent as I could, with one medium length (1.5-2hrs) run and one long (3-4hrs) run each week. A good training hill for this race will let you climb about 1200 meters in 45 minutes to an hour. I ran an average of 12 hours per week during the lead-up to Knee Knacker last year.

 

RTNS: What was your first ultra race? How did it go? What did you learn from it?

AH: Stormy 50miler in Squamish in 2007. I had just moved to Squamish and entered the race on a whim and with no idea how to run an ultra. I thought it would be a good way to learn the local trails and meet some local runners. I really misjudged my pace off the start (too slow) and made a ton of nutritional mistakes. It was definitely an adventure and I was instantly hooked. I've been trying to find the ultimate re-fueling technique since. A lot of top ultra runners swear by a gel every 20 minutes. I have found greater success using Carbo-Pro 1200, which allows me to take in liquid, salts and calories at the same time.

 

RTNS: Any advice for people currently training for this years 50k Knee Knacker?

AH: I think the biggest thing I learned between year 1 and 2 was that preparation for the Knee Knacker requires training specificity. In other words, being in great road marathon shape is not necessarily going to translate into a good Knee Knacker result. My second year all I focused on were hill climbs and descents and it paid off. Also, do some good stair repeats. A lot of the climbing in the race is like running stairs and your hip flexors can tire really quickly if they are not trained for it. Finally, figure out what energy, salt, hydration combination works for you over a long race like this and practice it - a good re-fueling plan over a race of this length is of at least equal importance as getting out a doing long runs.

 

RTNS: What are your 2010 race goals?

 

AH: I am going to contradict my advice from the previous question, but my biggest goal this year is to run the Vancouver Marathon in under 2 hours and 30 minutes. After that I will switch over to the trails and after running KK I hope to run some competitive times at the White River 50miler and the Where's Waldo 100km in the US.

RTNS: What's your favorite RTNS event?

 

AH: The Iron Knee for sure. It is a classic point to point course that has a ton of variety and requires a really well rounded running ability. 

RTNS: Favorite trail shoe?

 

AH: Last year I always raced in the Montrail Streak (it's a great shoe), but I am excited to try some of the lower profile trail shoes that came out this year. Ask me again in August:)

RTNS: Good stuff Aaron! Thanks for the interview and best of luck with your upcoming race season!