Stride, my new favourite joggling gum

Due to my ridiculously long-lasting joggling, gum-chewing marathon feats, Stride, "the ridiculously long-lasting gum," has supplied me with a bunch of free samples.

I've tested Stride's Forever Fruit flavour on a few joggles and concluded that it's the perfect joggling gum. The flavour is not super-strong, as claimed, it lasts a long time, and most importantly, the chewability factor is very high - that is, it keeps a nice, chewy consistency for many kilometres of joggling.

So far, my unofficial role as Stride's joggling ambassador is really paying off. It's a new brand in Canada, and I've been converting many gum-chewers, who tell me two things about it: good gum, funny TV spots.

Hopefully, they'll launch Sweet Berry and Always Mandarin in Canada soon - flavours just launched in the U.S. I think I know what kind of gum I'll be chewing for my first 5-ball joggling marathon.

Ultra DNF

I suffered my first-ever DNF today at the Toronto Ultra 100K. My Achilles tendon was bothering me a few weeks before the race, but I thought it had healed fully. I was wrong. After a strong 30K in 2:08, my heel began to bother me, and by 40K I was limping. If I could make itto 50K, it would be the longest race distance I had ever covered in one day, so I drank some root beer and water, ate some mini potatoes, Sun Chips and candies (gotta love those ultra aid stations) and set off for another 10K.

For some reason, both my feet felt like they'd been put through a blender, plus my Achilles got worse. So after I crossed the timing mat at 50K in 3:57, I decided to pack it in. Too bad I didn't listen to my mom and enter the 50K instead the 100K, because I would have won it. It's also a shame I couldn't finish the 100K because I was having so much fun. The race was well-organized, the 10K out-and-back course was scenic, and those crazy ultra runners were ultra-friendly. It was a surprisingly satisfying DNF, but I hope this isn't the start of a trend.

Up next: the Toronto Ultra 100K

Because I enjoy punishing myself, I signed up to race the Toronto Ultra 100K on May 3. When the publisher of Canadian Running Magazine asked me how I was training for the event, I said, "Tapering off, from nothing." I'm hoping my BHP Billiton Rock and Ice Ultra experience serves as some form of preparation for this, because I haven't done much else, apart from my usual 10K runs home from work and a Sunday-morning longish jaunt.

I'm planning to pace for 7 hours and 45 minutes, though I'm guessing it'll take me much longer. I hope I don't ruin my DNF-free running record. It was tempting to joggle this race, but I don't think there's an existing record for the 100K joggle, plus I didn't want to worry about getting it verified.

A big congratulations to Perry Romanowski for joggling the Flora London Marathon drop-free, in the rain, in 3:35.

The story of Buster Martin

Buster Martin finished the Flora London Marathon in just over 10 hours, but according to this report, he may not in fact be 101 years old, his name may not be Buster and he may not have fathered seventeen children.

On a side note, the article says the Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon dressed as a superhero is 3 hours and 4 minutes. So the only question is: which superhero do I choose?

Paris Marathon thriller

What a finish. This is the gutsiest marathon win I've seen since Salazar and Beardsley's Duel in the Sun. The announcer is great - he says: "I don't know you Martha, but what you're doing is incredible!"

A gem of a race

The BHP Billiton Rock and Ice Ultra took me more than 22 hours to finish, but by some miracle, I made it. For the second year in a row, Yellowknifer Ewan Affleck took home the half-carat EKATI diamond for first place in the 135K K-Rock Ultra. Conditions were nasty for runners. It seemed like the faster you tried to run, the slower you went, as your feet sunk into quicksand-like sugar snow with every step. On the bright side, the race was a wild adventure and a great way to experience the vast beauty of the Northwest Territories.

Rock and Ice Ultra

It’s a rough life being the editor of a national running magazine. On March 22, I’ll embark on my first field assignment for Canadian Running Magazine by competing in the Rock and Ice Ultra in the Northwest Territories.

The main event is the Diamond Ultra, a six-day stage race of about 45K a day across ungroomed, snow-covered tundra, but I’ve chosen the comparatively easy (ha!) three-day K-Rock Ultra, which covers a total distance of 135K. If you’re curious to find out if I survive, I’ll be posting race updates on the Canadian Running website: www.runningmagazine.ca.

And no, I will not be joggling the whole thing. I will, however, bring along a set of Joggler Sportballs, and plan to do a token amount of joggling – maybe for the last few minutes of each stage.