Two Explosions at B.A.A. Boston Marathon Finish Area Chris Kelsall Apr 15, 2013

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Two explosions happened near the four hour mark at the finish line of the B.A.A. Boston Marathon on Memorial Day, Monday, April 15th. Several reports indicate that the explosion came from the media tent area from garbage cans. Reports of anywhere from a handful to up to fifty people may have been injured. Emergency crews are on the scene.

 

When Sheldon thought he had a good idea Chris Kelsall Apr 11, 2013

WIN VIP Treatment at a Canadian Marathon near you

 

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Sheldon, a co-worker, friend and running partner of mine thought he had a good idea once. I will share that good idea with you, but just indulge me for a moment.

He and I worked at a software company, in corporate sales, pitching to Fortune 500 and Fortune 100 companies that were scattered throughout the universe. Wal-Mart, Disney, NASA, CSIS, FBI, Lockheed Martin, Siemens, EA Sports, Microsoft, RCMP, Boeing (“Boing” as I referred to them, because of their recurring layoffs and re-hirings), name a company, we liaised with them. Sales was our job, running was our focus.

Catrin Jones Interview - Post Comox Valley Half Marathon Chris Kelsall Mar 25, 2013

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Post race interview with Catrin Jones, winner of the Comox Valley Half Marathon and the Rift Valley Marathon in Kenya. She had returned to Victoria twelve hours earlier and decided to take in the event, which takes place nearly three hours north of Victoria, BC.

Stephen Kiprotich Interview Chris Kelsall Feb 19, 2013

 

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Twenty-three-year old 2012 London Olympic Marathon Gold Medalist Stephen Kiprotich, of Uganda, is currently preparing to compete in the 2013 Virgin London Marathon on Sunday, April 21st. He owns a personal best time of 2:07:20, which he accomplished at the 2011 Enschede Marathon in the Netherlands, the the Ugandan record. His Olympic medal is the first gold for his country since his personal hero John Akii-Bua won won the 400m event at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games.

Declan White - Interview Chris Kelsall Feb 06, 2013

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Twenty-year-old middle-distance specialist, Declan White of South Surrey, British Columbia has committed to competing for Trinity Western University for the start of the 2013 and 2014 school year. He is competitive in the range of distances from 400m to the 3000m as well as cross-country.

On February 2nd he competed in the Jerome Indoor Classic 1500m event, finishing a respectable third behind the seasoned Geoff Martinson and Chris Winter in the time of 3:55.73. White will be competing at the Millrose Games later this month in the 4 x 800m, then plans to begin training in earnest for his first year of University.

Rob Guy - Interview Chris Kelsall Jan 30, 2013

 

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Rob Guy took over as CEO of Athletics Canada in October 2010 and has led a number of initiatives aimed at improving the depth and breadth of the sport of athletics in Canada as well as increasing communication and raising awareness of the sport. As the organization moves on from the 2012 London Olympic Games, Mr. Guy recently made a few personnel changes aimed at re-organizing and re-energizing the organization with a look towards 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympic Games.

Andrew Maloney: One of your stated goals for the sport in this country upon taking over as CEO of Athletics Canada was that different groups start working together more cohesively. What progress have you seen in this area?

Team Canada Nearly Sweeps NACAC Cross Country Championships Chris Kelsall Jan 28, 2013

 

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By Emily Hooper (Athletics Canada) with Christopher Kelsall and Thelma Wright

Full results below

On Saturday, January 26, Team Canada won three of four events at the 2013 North American Central American and Caribbean Cross Country Championships (NACAC) in Mandeville, Jamaica. The three teams:  senior women and junior men and women won their team events while senior men finished second overall.

"It was a terrific day for the Canadian team here in Mandeville, Jamaica; we could not be more thrilled. I'm especially pleased for our senior women, notably Natasha (Fraser) and Rachel (Cliff), who completely rocked the race," said team head coach Dave Christiani. He adds, "All of our entries made us proud today. The NACAC Championships are always a valuable experience for juniors leading up to the World Champs."
The women's senior team (18 points) won with a significant lead over the second place United States (26 points). Natasha Fraser and Rachel Cliff finished one-two in 21:07 and 21:35 respectively. "I am so happy to be part of the winning Canadian team; such an amazing experience," said an excited Fraser.

Deena Kastor - Interview Chris Kelsall Jan 27, 2013

 

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American marathon record holder Deena Kaster, of Mammoth Lakes, California has announced that she will compete in the 2013 LA Marathon that takes place on Sunday, March 17.

Her recent performances of note were the Olympic Marathon Trials that took place in Houston, TX in January of 2012, where she finished in sixth place in the time of two hours and 34 minutes. Three months later on April 29th, she competed in the 10000m event at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational in Palo Alto, CA, where she placed seventh, finishing in 31 minutes and 49.23 seconds.

Kastor currently holds seven American distance records including the marathon best time of 2:19:36 and the half-marathon record of 67:34. She is also the bronze medalist from the 2004 Athens Olympic Games Marathon. Kastor has also won the Chicago and London Marathons.

Coach Chris Rengifo on Periodisation for High School Runners Chris Kelsall Jan 26, 2013

 

By Chris Rengifo

Chris Rengifo is an Assistant Coach with Division 1, Eastern Kentucky University in the NCAA. He is from Toronto, Ontario.

Periodisation is hardly a new concept, but with new coaches coming into the sport and many different coaching styles there is a simple way of understanding the basics of the concept. There are generally four different phases that should be followed:  aerobic base, aerobic conditioning, aerobic power, and anaerobic tolerance. These four phases are key essentials to improving at getting better as a high school runner or at any level. Each phase stresses different systems of the body, from long tempo runs to shorter, faster intervals. They all help the runner understand their weakness and strengths.

The aerobic base-phase involves building up mileage. Many runners don’t know where to start with their mileage which can lead to a guessing game. It can sometimes be difficult to find a high school coach, who understands the nuances of this concept, but some coaches usually have the beginners run with more experienced runners and have them do about 15-20 minutes, so they can get use to running that long and eventually go longer. This amount of time is a great starting point for beginner runners and for the more advanced runners starting around 20-30 minutes is perfect for high school runners at the beginning of the season.

Shock, Sympathy and Celebration Echo in Response to Firing of Martin Goulet and Alex Gardiner from A Chris Kelsall Jan 24, 2013

 

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"I've had the pleasure of knowing Alex Gardiner for 22 years, since my first World Junior Athletics Championship in 1990, and Martin Goulet almost as long.  I have nothing but the utmost respect for Alex and Martin and wish them well in their next venture. In all my dealings with both Alex and Martin both as an athlete and as a former member of the Board of Directors they have been nothing but professional and focused on improving the competitiveness of Canadian Athletics on the global scene," says Kevin Sullivan, one of Canada’s most successful middle-distance runners. Sullivan owns an outstanding 1500m personal best time of 3:31.71 and has run the mile as fast as 3:50.26. Sullivan finished fifth in the Olympics in one of the most competitive events in all of sports.

Sullivan continues, "Alex and Martin set lofty yet realistic goals for our Athletics teams at the World Championships and Olympics.  Unfortunately when lofty goals are set they are not always achieved and that is not always the fault of the Head Coach or the Director of High Performance.  It is practically impossible to predict with certainty how a high performance team will perform at the very highest level and things such as injury, retirement, pregnancy, disqualifications, or just plain bad luck can throw a wrench into even the best laid plans. I also have tremendous respect for Athletics Canada CEO Rob Guy and know that this certainly could not have been an easy decision and it certainly will not be easy to fill the roles of Alex and Martin, who have been such integral parts of Athletics in Canada for many decades."

Martinson and Winter Set to Clash - Stilwell, Still well ahead of competition Chris Kelsall Jan 22, 2013

 

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Two of the best Canadian middle-distance athletes in Canada, Geoffrey Martinson and Chris Winter, are set to clash, hChris Winteread-to-head at the Jerome Indoor meet Saturday February 2nd in Vancouver, BC.  This should be an exciting race as both athletes are coming off of excellent performances in cross-country and road racing.

Martinson of Victoria competed in the 2011 Daegu IAAF World Track and Field Championships and owns a personal best time of 3:37.56 (outdoors), more recently he ran 13:50 at the 2012 Chiba Ekiden in his five kilometre leg. He then followed up that fine performance by running the ninth fastest course time at the 34th annual Pioneer 8km in Victoria, finishing in 23:49 to win the popular BC fixture on January 13th.

Kendra Schaaf Chris Kelsall Jan 19, 2013

 


Will three times be the charm for twenty-two year old Kendra Schaaf of Craven, Saskatchewan? She has now joined her third University team, during her varsity career. She started with the University of Washington Huskies in 2009, and then moved onto The University of North Carolina until 2012. In her final year of eligibility she will be competing for the University of New Mexico Lobos.

In high school she was Canada’s top junior runner as she won the Canadian Junior Cross Country Championships in 2007 and placed 20th overall at the 2008 World Junior Cross Country Championships in Scotland. She was the top finisher for Team Canada.

 

Exciting Golden Bear Indoor meet Set for Jan. 18 - 20th Chris Kelsall Jan 18, 2013

 

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Sean Bayton is the manager of national coaching development at the Edmonton, Alberta-based Canadian Athletics Coaching Centre.

Recent changes with the University of Alberta varsity cross country and track and field programs include their partnership with the Canadian Athletics Coaching Centre, details are discussed below however, the annual Golden Bear Open Track & Field competition is happening this weekend - January 18th to 20th at the Universiade Pavilion at the University of Alberta, in Edmonton. This is the largest indoor competition by numbers in Western Canada. This year they are gearing up for their largest, most dynamic event.

Natasha Fraser - Brit Townsend - Interview Chris Kelsall Jan 18, 2013

 

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On Sunday, January 13th, 31-year-old Natasha Fraser of Port Moody, BC turned a few heads when she crossed the finish line sixth overall (and first woman) at the Prairie Inn Harrier’s Pioneer 8k road race. She smashed the old course record, finishing in 25 minutes and 28 seconds, the record was previously held by Olympian Debbie Scott (Bowker), which was 26:08, set in 1986. Fraser’s time represents a 40 second improvement over the previous 27-year old record.Natasha Fraser

Fraser has been winning her share of races over the past three years, but what got everyone’s attention wasn’t just the finish time, but also the margin of victory. She finished nearly three minutes ahead of the second place female runner, Sabrina Wilkie who crossed the line in 28:15. The race for second was a little more competitive as Wilkie was followed in by Catrin Jones in 28:26, Anne-Marie Madden 28:38, Lucy Smith 28:45 and Erin Burrett 28:46.

Fraser Smashes Record - Martinson Wins Handily Chris Kelsall Jan 13, 2013

 

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Natasha Fraser of Port Moody, BC demolished the field at the 34th Pioneer 8k road race today, finishing in the time of twenty-five minutes and twenty-eight seconds. Fraser set a new course record and finished sixth overall and nearly three minutes faster than the next competitor. The second and third place women were Sabrina Wilkie and Catrin Jones finishing in 28:15 and 28:26, respectively. “I even surprised myself. I looked at my split at 5k and swore out loud, I was way faster than I expected,” said an elated Fraser. She doubled down on the prize money as she earned $1000 for breaking the course record and $300 for the win. The record was previously held my Debbie Scott (Bowker) who ran 26:08 on a different, but slightly faster course in 1986.

Dick Pound - Interview Chris Kelsall Jan 09, 2013

 

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Richard (Dick) Pound is the former president of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA). It was his brainchild to put the agency together and he was responsible for the code of ethics and the governing structure that are currently in place. He is also a former vice-president of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and currently serves on several boards and committees for WADA and the IOC. Pound is a partner with the law firm Stikeman Elliot, specialising in tax law.

Starting in 1978, Pound began to revolutionise the Olympic movement by leveraging very large and lucrative television and sponsorship agreements that he was instrumental in creating; to re-shape the IOC into a multi-billion dollar enterprise.

As an athlete he won several swim medals during the 1962 Perth Commonwealth Games after having competed in the 1960 Rome Olympics.

Canadians Coaching Successfully in the NCAA Chris Kelsall Jan 04, 2013

 

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According to achievements by their respective teams, Canadian coaches are beginning to produce winners in the sport of cross-country and track and field within the first division of the NCAA. Perhaps Canada's athletics coaching development program is succeeding in engendering the culture of effective leadership. For example, during the tremendously competitive 2011 NCAA Track and Field Championships, where 31 teams make it to the big meet out of 315 teams nationwide, at least twenty percent are coached by Canadians. Some of those coaches are, Peter Watson, the men's head cross-country and assistant track and field coach for the University of Virginia Cavaliers, Chris Rengifo with Eastern Kentucky University men's team, women's head coach Karen Harvey at Florida State University, Ricardo Santos coach of Iona College's women's team, Sean Cleary coach of the University of West Virginia women's team and Andrea Grove-McDonough who coaches the women at the University of Connecticut.

Rachel Cliff - Interview Chris Kelsall Dec 28, 2012

Rachel Cliff
Rachel Cliff at Canadian Championships

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Twenty-four year old Rachel Cliff of Vancouver, BC is a runner who competes primarily in the 1500m and 5000m distance events. She is the 2011 Canadian Inter-university Sport (CIS) national champion in both the 1500m and 3000m distances. Cliff competed for the University of Guelph Gryphons.