Ed Whitlock: Comeback Kid

Congratulations to Ed Whitlock, 78, who ran a 1:37 at the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Half-Marathon. I interviewed Ed recently for this article in the November issue of Canadian Running magazine.

Synchronized Cycling Routine

Impressive, but for obvious reasons, this routine could never be performed by guys.

Joggling: Poetry in Motion

Glad to see Reuters include this piece on joggling in their lifestyles section. Here's the opener:

The long-distance joggler understands better than most that the race is not always to the swiftest.

Joggling, juggling while jogging, requires a hand as sure as a foot is fleet. But for some well-coordinated multitaskers, there's nothing quite like it.

"Once I get in a good joggling groove with a nice, relaxed stride and a perfectly timed cascade juggling pattern, it's pure poetry in motion," competitive joggler Michal Kapral said in an interview.

Bolt breaks 200-metre record

Usain Bolt runs 19.19 for 200. Crazy.

Montreal Half-Marathon

Thanks to Jamie Lynch for this photo at the end of the Montreal Half-Marathon. I'm still getting the paperwork together to submit the record to Guinness World Records. Jamie, incidentally, is married to Cindy of Running Skirts fame.

This Sunday, I'm going to race the 5K, without joggling, at the Bread and Honey Road Race in Streetsville, Ontario.

Half-Marathon Joggling Record Established in Montreal

Success! I set a new half-marathon Guinness World Record yesterday, joggling the beautiful Banque Scotia 21k de Montreal course in 1:23:49.

I dropped a beanbag right at the start line and probably lost about a minute after kicking the ball off the side under the barricade. I had to ask one of the spectators to hand it back to me and by the time I jumped back into the race, I was behind a huge mass of slower runners. In the end, it probably helped me, since the slow start allowed me to finish strong. I dropped once just past the 10K mark and that was it. Much of the route is ont the Gilles Villeneuve F1 circuit, which makes you feel like a race car as you cut the tangents over the red-and-white stripes.

Congratulations to Tara Quinn-Smith for setting a new Canadian half-marathon record of 1:12 and change, and to Matt Loiselle for winning the men's half-marathon championships it 1:04.

SPIKESmag.com Interview

Here's an interview I did with SPIKESmag.com - a U.K.-based athletics magazine -- as a lead-in to the Montreal half-marathon record attempt this Sunday.

Salomon Giant's Rib Raid

I had the honour of joining brothers Mike and Wil Smith on a three-man team at the Salomon Giant's Rib Raid 25K orienteering race in Milton, Ont. Mike and Wil have each won several national and North American orienteering championships. Racing with them was a bit like playing a round of golf with a couple of PGA pros. It gave me the chance to witness up close some spectatcular navigating through scenic, rugged terrain on the Niagara Escarpment. These guys can absolutely fly over loose rocks, slippery boulders, treaturous roots and loose branches, all the while plotting precise routes to lead us to checkpoints hidden in the woods (or in one case, inside a cave!). I had always assumed that orienteers spent a fair amount of time standing in one place poring over their maps. Wow, was I ever wrong. The pace of our four-hour-long race was merciless, with only a handful of brief pauses. Our team, Canadian Running Magazine, placed second, six minutes behind The Foreigners, led by Nick Duca.

Here I am climbing out of the cave checkpoint.

Galavanting in Puerto Rico

This marks the first time I've appeared in a travel show. Check out Kim and Maren's Galavanting Guide to Puerto Rico. And hey, my name is even in the credits. It was fun to watch this and re-live all the fun times Dianne and I had in PR.

Kibet's Amazing Rotterdam Marathon Finish

Kibet surges past Kwambai at the Rotterdam Marathon. Both finish in 2:04:27. Wow.

Gebrselassie's Treadmill Fun Run

Here's a story I wrote for Canadian Running about Haile Gebrselassie's treadmill run at the Adidas Running Camp, including a video clip. I'll be writing up a full article with details from my interview with the Adidas Super Seven in the July issue of the magazine.

And here's a new clip of Tyson Gay demonstating his race start.

Haile!

Adidas Running Camp

The Adidas Super 7: Gebrselassie, Vlasic, Wariner, Gay, Campbell-Brown, Ohuruogu, Felix


How often do you get the chance to interview seven of the best athletes in the world, and watch them train up close? I just returned from the Adidas Running Camp in Santa Monica, California, with Tyson Gay, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Allyson Felix, Jeremy Wariner, Christine Ohuruogu, Blanka Vlasic and Haile Gebrselassie. Between them, they have 16 Olympic medals. The event kicked off with a run with Haile near the Santa Monica pier. Can you say thrill of a lifetime? I'll be writing an article about the running camp in a future issue of Canadian Running magazine.


Haile and me


Running with Haile by the Santa Monica pier


Haile running 4:00/mile on the treadmill (and still talking!)


Jeremy Wariner and Tyson Gay coming out of the blocks

San Juan Marriott and World's Best 10K Photos

Hanging out at the bar.


The view from our hotel room at the San Juan Marriott.


Team Marriott and the running travel reporters.


The start of the World's Best 10K in Puerto Rico.

World's Best 10K Joggling Update

I fell well short of the joggling record at the World's Best 10K, finishing in 39:17, but the good news is that the race was incredible and I joggled it without a drop. Puerto Rico's world-class, IAAF Gold Label event is truly top-tier.

We're also here on a mini-vacation, staying at the San Juan Marriott, a resort hotel right on a gorgeous strip of beach. Not too many Canadians vacation in Puerto Rico, but I think they should. It's full of characater -- and there's a party atmosphere everywhere you go.

Vivian Cheruiyot won the women's race in 31:12 and fellow Kenyan Sammy Kitawara ran an incredible 27:26 to take the men's title. Considering it was hot and a bit windy, these times are surreal.

Joggling the World's Best 10K

Next weekend, I'm off to San Juan, Puerto Rico to joggle the World's Best 10K. The race offers a $100,000 bonus for a new world record. I'll be trying to break my 10K joggling world record of 36:27, and can expect a bonus of, hmm, maybe a handshake from the volunteer working the finish line?

Joggling on MTV

I found this link to the MTV Live Action News story about joggling. People keep recognizing me on the street from this, so I think it's getting far too much airplay.