Mark’s Observation

“If you hang out with crazy people, the insane starts to sound normal”

What that means is if you hang out with people that do drugs, or binge drink or hold up doughnut shops, then doing drugs, drinking heavily and armed robbery become normalized pretty quickly.

If you hang out with people that run marathons, complete Ironmans and volunteer at the local food bank, then being active, dedicated and compassionate become your normal too.

You become who you associate with.  Hang with the right crowd

Around The Bay Training 2020 Info

After a few years absence, I will be hosting the FREE Around the Bay training clinic in 2020. 

Instead of running Friday evenings, we are switching to Sunday mornings at 9:00 AM

The weekly clinics are geared towards the first time Bay runner but we welcome runners of all abilities who wish to improve upon their times with training focused on the Northshore hills section of the Around the Bay course.

We run every Sunday morning out of the LaSalle Park parking lot in Burlington, leaving at 9:00 AM sharp!

For more information on 2020 training runs, check out the Training menu above or just click here.

Resolution Run 2019

Well, it’s been a while since I’ve posted to the site. It’s been a bit of a challenge with lung issues over the last two years. Basically, if you can’t breath properly, you can’t run either.

After a lot of doctor’s appointments and different medications, things seem to be on the improve. December 2018 was a month of firsts, 5 km then 8 km without stopping, then 10 km doing a run walk with a friend.

January 1, 2019 seemed like the perfect time to show up for the BRC’s Resolution Run on New Years Day. Not just me, but also Amanda. We did the 8 km route in just under an hour. It wasn’t speedy by any measurement, but was a firm step in the right direction for the coming year. Amanda’s smile in the picture above after our run seems to say it all.

Here’s to 2019, the year of the come back… I hope.

Around The Bay Training 2017 Info

Once again, I will be hosting the usual FREE Friday evening Around the Bay training clinic in 2016.

The weekly clinics are geared towards the first time Bay runner but we welcome runners of all abilities who wish to improve upon their times with training focused on the Northshore hills section of the Around the Bay course.

We run every Friday evening out of the LaSalle Park parking lot in Burlington, leaving at 5:00 PM sharp!

For more information on 2016 training runs, check out the Training menu above or click here.

Boilermaker 2015 – Racing And Paying It Forward

Utica Boilermaker 2015 - Start line selfiesEmily and Howard sharing a start line selfie with Team Rocket

For the first time Amanda and I had another wheelchair team to start with at the Boilermaker, a young lady named Emily with her dad Howard pushing.  It was wonderful to have met them.   Emily is about 12 years old, trapped in a body that doesn’t work, but I could see the charming young lady hiding inside. They where only the second wheelchair team to start the 15 km race, Amanda and I being the first team to do the race in 2011.

Both Emily and her dad Howard were excited to be there, it was their first time at this race as a team. Howard being a local area resident and runner had done the 15 km a few times by himself, but this was the first time with his daughter.  It was also the first race for their new racing chair.

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