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rumon carter | sports, reports & reviews
A Runner’s Tale (Michael)
Jim (coming soon – in multi-media)
We had a great day today, playing tourist, eating the types of foods we’ve been foregoing the past while, rehydrating in a manner of speaking (it’s St. George’s Day – the English equivalent of Irish St. Patrick’s Day – here in London and the pints are flowing around the city, the red and white standards flapping in the breeze). We cruised by Westminster Abbey, photodocumenting the spot where we met up yesterday, less than a mile from the finish; through St. James Park and its blossoms; by 10 Downing; into and around Soho, poking our heads in a few shops. In the end, it was likely just what the doctor ordered, working the kinks out of the legs, but we were happy to put our feet up when we returned home. Home tonight is Ickenham, with Michael’s uncle, aunt and wonderful, hilarious little cousins. No plans yet for tomorrow, but there’s a good chance we’ll run. The desire is already there and there are country fields just across the lane. Enticement.
Notes:
- Thank you everyone for the supportive comments – there’s no better salve for tired legs and slightly hammered egos.
- I’ll try to get to Part II of the race tomorrow (my tomorrow, that is; it’s almost time for bed); for Michael’s pan-global cheering squad, he tells me he’s planning on putting together a similar play-by-play for the near future (and Michael and I would love to hear something similar from Jim as he finishes his prep for Victoria’s Times Colonist 10k, this Sunday).
- Looking forward to meeting with our man Ben Saunders on Wednesday – the stories he must have to tell.
- Michael and I just got off the phone with Kirstie Hudson from the CBC, taping an interview that I think she’s going to air during the afternoon.
Suddenly smashed – must sleep. G’night all.
Not necessarily in that order.
We’re back to the hotel following a very long run and what seemed like an even longer tube ride to get back here. Thank you to everyone for the very kind notes and especially to those who stayed up through the night to support us. We’re sorry we made you wait so long for us to finish.
We’re both a little stunned at the moment and need some time to clean up, get off our feet and recompose before posting more.
I’ll say this though: All three roads had their bumps along the way, some earlier, some later, but in a rare moment of cliche for this guy, I’ll say that the journey made the less-than-completely-satisfying destination more than worthwhile. As our times reflect, this adventure brought three friends closer together – Jim, you were with us at the line – and that’s a rare gift.
Finally, London is an amazing marathon. Everyone with a passion for running long should do it. It will blow your mind.
That’s it for now. Thank you, everyone.
-R
By the way, anyone know where Jim went? I swear he was here just a while ago.
From http://www.london-marathon.co.uk/
The London Marathon Charitable Trust has saved another London playing field using funds allocated from the record surplus made by the London Marathon Limited in 2006.
The Birkbeck College playing fields in Greenford, west London, are the fifth set of playing fields in the capital to be saved from the clutches of private developers by the London Marathon in five years. Read the rest of this entry »
I’ve had a few people asking me for some more information/clarification on just what Give Meaning – the site hosting our Shoes for Youth fundraising drive – is all about, so thought a little (re)introduction was in order. The information is a cut-and-paste courtesy of Vancouver-based Benefic Group, which has ties to Give Meaning.
And thank you once again to all those who have contributed! Every $50 represents a pair of shoes on the feet of an “underserved” kid. (More news on those kids coming very soon.) Read the rest of this entry »
I mentioned this briefly yesterday, but a coincidence of timing and information makes me think it’s worth passing along more fully. When the CBC aired our Three Roads to London piece yesterday, they did so as part of a longer “athletes and travel” installment of their great Inside Track program with Robin Brown. Also on the show were Victoria-based professional mountain biker (and recent Pan Am Games silver medalist) Max Plaxton and Dr. Gord Sleivert, Pacific Sport VP Sports Performance. Plaxton spoke about his personal strategies for minimizing the negative performance effects of long-distance travel (pack your own peanut butter) and Sleivert spoke more generally about techniques applied by PacSport athletes. Read the rest of this entry »
A bunch more photos up on our Flickr page. There are some mint pictures there, but the “best in show” award definitely goes to the 3-photo series of Michael in full sprint to the line at the Sooke 10k (unfortunately, I loaded it backwards, so you don’t quite get the proper effect unless you’re reading this in Japan).
Many thanks again to stellar photog Tony Austin for making these pictures available to us!
If you haven’t had a chance to hear for yourself what all the fuss is about, the CBC (Canada’s national public broadcaster) has posted a link to last Tuesday’s Three Roads to London mini-documentary, ably put together by reporter/producer/runner Kirstie Hudson. We’ve had a few requests for it so, to our varied chagrin and embarrassment (ok, and a little bit of pride – the CBC!), here it is:
http://www.cbc.ca/allpointswest/media/20070412PP_MARAT.ram
With thanks (we think) to blogger Cyclisme for tracking it down.
The launch of this blog has already proven worthwhile if for only one reason – the extra traffic it has driven to our Give Meaning / Shoes for Youth page. So thank you to those who have visited, especially those individuals who have recently added their donations. By our estimation, every $50 we raise puts a pair of shoes on a kid’s feet. Equally important, the interest created by this initiative is likely going to lead to a number of spin-off programs in the Greater Victoria area, hopefully including the addition of kids running events to the local road racing calendar as well as running clinics and programs through local community centers.
While we’re on the topic of the Give Meaning page, we’ve noticed that a number of people who made “pledges” in the early stages of the page’s launch have yet to translate those pledges into actual “donations.” It’s likely this is simply due to uncertainty regarding the difference between the two. In essence, you could make a pledge – i.e. a future commitment – before the page went active, but now that it is activated due to all of you signing on in support, those who made pledges need to log back in to turn those into donations that will reach Runners of Compassion.
A little confusing, yes, and we apologize for any inconvenience this creates, but we and the beneficiary kids thank you for taking a moment to turn those generous pledges into donations. And to those of you who have submitted your donation via cheque, rest assured we’re taking the necessary steps to register those donations on the page.
All the best everyone – thank you for your generosity!
