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+ inspire

september | october 2005

on the cover: RunneRs and WalkeRs at the staRt of the 2005 InG edmonton maRathon

23 actIve kIds27 head oveR heels30 cookInG at maRket squaRe

32 toRonto maRathon36 my heRo don38 RunnInG WIth tRacy40 takInG canceR and RunnInG WIth It42 2005 mIssIssauGa maRathon44 stephanIe's jouRney to health46 catchInG up WIth fRank shoRteR48 team osteo50 RunnInG as a couple

14 hIll tRaInInG16 WalkInG WaRm-up moves19 yoGa youR RunnInG

+ What’s happening5 GRand openInGs11 InstRuctoR pRofIles12 Run foR the cuRe20 20 mInute challenGe

44 46

+ editor John Stanton jstanton@runningroom.com

+ adveRtIsInG JaSon Stantonjason@runningroom.comMike Mendzatmmendzat@runningroom.com

+ copy edItoRLee craig

+ pRoductIon/layout nicoLe Lathe

Running Room Inc. 9750 47 avenue, edmonton, aB t6e 5p3

www.runningroom.com run@runningroom.com

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copyright 2005, Running Room Inc. all rights reserved. the information contained in this magazine may not be published, broadcast or otherwise dis-tributed without prior written author-ity of Running Room Inc. printed in canada.

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september | october 2005

the Running Room is about building communities. the Running Room magazine is your magazine, with many of the articles written by you. In addition to train-ing tips, new products and informative articles by running experts, there are articles on goal setting and motivation and inspirational success stories about real people in communities across america and canada.

to download the magazine as a pdf, go to the Running Room website at www.run-ningroom.com and click on our magazine.

On a very hot and humid Friday evening, we had our wrap-up clinic fun run for the Merivale Women’s Only clinic. Our theme was the Hawaii 5 Oh and 3K fun run, and the weather certainly reminded us of Hawaii. We had a beautiful Hawaiian theme cake, a fruit salad, official race bibs, a race timer and finish line photographer and a cake! Thanks for all of the assistance from the group leaders.

aloha merivale

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WhAt’ShAPPenInGIntherUnnInGcoMMUnItY

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Over $7400 was raised at the Hypothermic Half Marathon to support the Fort Whyte Centre in Winnipeg. Manitoba/Saskatchewan area manager Craig Wilcock presents a cheque to Laura Baraniuk, spe-cial events coordinator for the Fort Whyte Centre.

whitby strollers

hypothermic half

ing engagement

openings

A second Running Room/Walking Room combina-tion store opened in Toronto on Wednesday, July 13. The North York store is at 4984 Yonge Street.

Running Room and Walking Room founder John Stanton joined store manager Bonnie Coulter in welcoming hun-dreds of people to the North York store in the opening days. The opening night was devoted to a fun walk/run in support of the expansion of the Orthopaedic and Plastics Clinic at North York General Hospital

“We are grateful for the Running Room’s support in coordinating a fundraising run for the clinic,” said Ingrid Perry Peacock, president of the North York General Hospital Foundation.

One of the participants was

Cathy Riddell, a North York resident who has benefitted from the world-class expertise of the clinic’s professionals. “Before my knee replacement surgery, I was in so much pain I couldn’t walk to the end of my street without crying,” said Riddell. “Now I’m training for a 60 km walk and I feel like I’m alive again.”

Cathy Riddell and Ingrid Perry Peacock led the fundrais-ing walk with John Stanton. Bravo to all those who came out to support the event on an extremely hot and humid evening. Despite the challeng-ing temperature, a good time was had by all for an extreme-ly good cause.

We would like to thank the people of North York who par-ticipated in the walk/run. We look forward to being a part of this vibrant and bustling corner of Toronto.

Vanessa Cox and her daughter Hannah led the way at the Whitby Running Room’s first stroller clinic. It was a success, with lots of fun for the moms and babies too!

Fredericton gave the Run-ning Room a huge Maritime welcome when the company officially opened in the city on Wednesday, August 17, 2005 at 440 King Street in Kings Place. The opening ceremo-nies were dedicated to cre-ating greater awareness for Fredericton’s beautiful trail system and the Fredericton Trails Coalition.

The city already boasts more than 70 kilometres of trails, and as work continues on this world-class trail system, it is only going to get better.

At the opening ceremonies, Fredericton Mayor Brad Woodside brought greetings along with Bill Thorpe. Bill is the author of a book on Fred-ericton’s trails and a founder of the coalition.

The Running Room greatly appreciated that Diane van der Horden, Divisional Secre-tary for Public Relations and Development for the Salva-tion Army, and members of her Halifax team travelled to be with local Fredericton Salvation Army members for the opening. The Running Room works with the Salva-tion Army on an annual Santa Shuffle that takes place in communities across Canada to raise funds for families in need at Christmas time.

The Fredericton Running Room and Walking Room will also be taking an active role in

this year’s CIBC Run For the Cure in Fredericton. Local co-run directors Judy Douglas and Rachel Brown were on hand at the opening to spread the word about this year’s run taking place on October 2.

Kathryn Baird and Sarah Roberts, who have done such a great job on the city’s Move This Way fitness and recre-ation programs, were out with a large and energetic group of walkers and runners. Andrew Craik spoke on behalf of the Capital City Road Runners, a running club with a long and distinguished history of achievement.

Derrick MacLeod has been named manager of the Fred-ericton store. A member of Speed Skate New Brunswick for more than 25 years, he is the 2002 Recipient of a Petro Canada National Sports Scholarship for achievement in coaching. In 2003, he and his family earned the Gagne Family Award for exceptional volunteerism to the sport from Speed Skate Canada—only the fifth time the award has been given in the last 30 years. He looks forward to bringing his skills as a coach and motivator to the Running Room, helping beginners, walkers and run-ners to enjoy the sport to its fullest

The Running Room/Walking Room looks forward to being a part of Fredericton.

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I was approaching the finish line of the edmonton InG Half Marathon with one of my personal best times, and I could see my mother and my boyfriend’s mother unrolling a banner with the words “Marina, Will you Marry Me?” My boyfriend Scott was kneeling behind the banner holding an engagement ring. Thanks to the Running Room for allow-ing Scott to set up such a special moment. and yes, Scott, the answer is yes, with all my heart. By the way, I think you are running next year’s InG Half with me.

the merivale angels

WhAt’ShAPPenInGIntherUnnInGcoMMUnItY

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david McConkey has had a tremendous influence on the peterborough running scene over the last 20 years.

He participated in the prestigious Boston Marathon eight times. He also finished 33rd in the athens, Greece peace Run Marathon in 1988 where he was the first Canadian to cross the finish line. as well, he completed many marathons, including the dublin, Ireland Marathon in 2000 and has served as an achilles Guide Runner in numerous marathon races, includ-ing the new york Marathon where he helped runners with disabilities to finish the course. He also ran in the Gay Games in australia in 2002 and in several ultra marathons at distances of 50 and 100 miles and even a con-tinuous 24-hour run.

another high point in his running career was completing the Canadian death Race in 2003 in Grande Cache,

alberta where he ran 125 kilometres, climbed three mountains and was still able to sprint to a second-place finish. Five weeks later, he finished first in the Haliburton Forest 100 Mile Trail Run.

david was a founding member of both the peterborough Frontrunners Club and the local achilles Track Club and was awarded a lifetime membership in the peterborough Road Runners Club in 2002. He is also the Canadian representative for the International Frontrunners and was the Canadian flag-bearer for the International Friendship Run in new york in 2003 and 2004. as well, he has been an advisory board member with the Gay and Lesbian International Sport association since its inception.

david has been a strong contributor to the sport of long distance running in peterborough, both as a runner and a founder.

They swam, they biked, they ran, they celebrated their fit-ness and the camaraderie of the World Masters Games held in edmonton. The organization and volunteers delivered a world-class event to the 20,000 plus participants. In addi-tion to achieving their best, the masters athletes inspired many of the spectators to dust off their training gear and hit the trails to fun and fitness.

The Merivale store participated in a group fundraiser with the Loeb Fundrace for the Ottawa Hospital Foundation as a part of the 2005 national Capital Race Weekend. We did exceptionally well, raising $11,766 and our team placed sixth overall. One of our participants, phil dawes, raised over $1000, and a spe-cial mention goes to Benoit Jolicoeur, who at 12 years of age was one of our top 10 fundraisers with $300. We sold home-made baked goods at the Wednesday and

Sunday run clubs; we even had a breakfast tailgate party for the marathon clinic par-ticipants after their 16K taper run that led up to the big race. This past Wednesday, Susan doyle, president and CeO of the Ottawa Hospital Foundation, came out to present us with a plaque

of appreciation. We all proudly wore our Merivale angels Fundraiser T-shirts. Many thanks to Hilda and peggie for coordinating the fundraising and the many events that were held.

DaviD mcconkey builDer/Distance running

ST-GaBRIeL-de-VaLCaRTIeR --- On august 4, 300 cadets of the Regional Cadet School of Music eastern (RCSMe) participated in a sports challenge. The activities the cadets took part in were a 15-km bicycle race, 5- and 10-km runs and a 5-km walk.

The school’s chief warrant officer, Michel noury, wishes to reinstate this sports event to be held every summer at the RCSMe. Intended for the cadets, the staff-cadets and the RCSMe personnel, the event would consist of a series of physical challenges for the competitors. In this year’s competition the distances of those races were covered on the RCSMe grounds and on the neighbouring streets. This challenge permitted the cadets to have a competitive race and to develop a healthy team spirit.

300 caDets at the sports challenge

worlD masters games

Several thousands runners and walkers proudly ran or walked the Running Room Canada road race in several cities, with edmonton and Ottawa leading the pack in numbers of participants.

canaDa Day roaD race

WhAt’ShAPPenInGIntherUnnInGcoMMUnItY

8 Over 1300 runners participated under clear blue skies in the Marathon by the Sea on august 7 in Saint John. david MacLennan, from Scotburn, nova Scotia, led the men’s marathon and allyson Macdonald was the woman’s marathon winner. alex Coffin and Tammy Hiscock, from dartmouth, nova Scotia, placed first in their respective divisions in the Xerox/aliant Half Marathon. The Crosby’s 5 Miler was won by Richard Tessier, of St. anne, Quebec, and donna McCullum, of Sydney, new Brunswick.

The Canmore duo of Jason Loutitt and Shauna Skinner won the men’s and women’s marathon, while Mike Booth, of Winnipeg, and nancy Baxendale, of Shawnigan Lake, British Columbia, won the half marathon titles. There were 859 runners competing in the marathon, 1615 in the half marathon and 1073 in the 10K, with local runners Jeremy deere and Lisa Harvey taking top honours. The Running Room Friendship Run kicked off the various events. The Running Room water station was awarded top marks by all the competitors.

marathon by the sea

calgary burnco marathon

purchase any 12 poWerbar items and receive a free* hat!

*WhIle quantItIes last

Leighann Rowe dana nosellaI am a self-made athletic enthusiast, with a fingerprint and interest in just about every sport imaginable. I hold cer-tifications from canfIt pRo and the ymca as a personal training specialist, and from oases (ontario association of

sport and exercise sciences) as a certified heath and fitness consultant. I’ve com-

peted in triathlons, a duathalon and 10 km events. I completed my first half marathon in las vegas

this year, and I hope to complete a marathon before my next birthday in 2006! my philosophy is that one’s

biggest failure is never to try and that all bodies are deserving

of movement regardless of shape, size or ability.

I am the mother of three and have been running for seven years. I have successfully completed “training for General fitness” personal trainer, unit 1 and “training for advanced fitness and Recreational sport” personal trainer unit 2, earning

my certifcates from the sport performance Institute. I have run five half marathons, the around the Bay 30k Road Race and 6 full marathons: the casino niagara Interna-tional marathon, the lasalle Bank chicago marathon, the toronto marathon, the mississauga marathon, the prince edward county marathon and the las vegas marathon. I

have instructed 3 full marathon clinics, 1 half marathon clinic, and a olympic distance triathlon clinic. I am the

assistant sprints coach for london Western track & field club. I have taken nccp level 1

and I am currently working on nccp level 2 sprints & hurdles.

joyce louie owen archambaulta long-time avid walker, joyce started running in 2001 just to see what the fuss was all about and trained for the sun Run. she got hooked and decided to up the ante a bit and joined the denman Running Room in 2002 to train

for the vancouver half marathon. three half marathons, three full marathons and a smattering of 5-km and 10-km races later, it was clear that running was now an integral part of her life. after many years of working in

administration and fundraising in the non-profit world, joyce joined the denman Running Room team in janu-

ary 2005 as assistant manager and became manager in may 2005. Walking was a lifestyle change that totally changed joyce’s health and life and led her to the world of running. she’s proof that if she could do it, anyone can; it gives her great pleasure to support anyone in their pursuit of a walking or running goal, no matter what level.

instructor profiles

I instruct walkers and runners in our web-based on-line clinics from the Running Room home office in edmonton, alberta. We train mem-bers for all distances and in many cases for specific events. I associ-ate with walkers and runners of all abilities and ages. I love having the chance to train and help members to achieve new goals.

my trip of a lifetime occurred this august when I trav-elled to Reykjavik, Iceland, as canadian diabetes association team trainer. next stop for team dia-betes is honolulu in december. I love participat-ing in local and out-of-town events.

this summer I participated in the 10k (p.B. at 53m) and half marathon (1:57h) at the

World masters Games in edmonton. next is the oIm marathon in kelowna

on october 9, hopefully qualifying for Boston!

PINK RIBBON DONATION TO DATE

$386,696every time you purchase “pink ribbon apparel” from your local Running Room, a portion of the sale is donated to the Canadian Breast Cancer Foundation, aiding in finding a cure.

the Running Room design team of dana lozinik and christine le-ong, along with a team of cana-dian Breast cancer foundation models, debuted the exciting lineup of pink Ribbon apparel in vancouver. john stanton pre-sented a cheque to the canadian Breast cancer foundation for $80,000 from the current sales of the pink Ribbon line. to date the Running Room pink Ribbon line of clothing has provided over $400,000 to the canadian Breast cancer foundation for re-search and education. “together we will find the finish line we are all striving for—­a future without breast cancer,” said john stan-ton.

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14 www.runningroom.com

There are a couple of ways you can look at hills:

One: they are a pain in the butt and should never have been inventedTwo: every time you run one, you are that much stronger.

If you belong to the group that believes the first premise, let’s just say it’s amazing you showed the self-discipline required to get out the door and run! If you belong to the second group, I have some tips for you that will help you glide up hills that much easier.

Hill training builds leg strength by develop-ing the main driver muscles in the quadri-ceps and the calf muscles. Strength is im-portant in speed training, and you’ll need a fair amount of strength in any race, particu-larly the marathon.

Another characteristic that hills develop is a thing called character. As you do hill repeats, mentally, or verbally if it helps, repeat the words “character, character.” On race day, think back to the hill you trained on and re-peat the word “character.” It should go eas-

ily. No course has 12 back-to-back hills.

The first thing to do when you begin hill training is, of course, to find a hill. It should be about 200-600 metres in length, with an incline of about 8% (5 degrees). The idea is to strengthen the legs by pushing them and then resting them to build up for an even greater effort. The incline of the hill will force you more forward on your foot. Be-cause running fast also pushes you forward on your foot, your hill repeats will prepare you for speed. The change in foot strike will help strengthen the muscles and tendons used when you run faster.

Concentrate on keeping good form. We have all seen runners attacking hills with their heads down and arms pumping away. But if you bend your head and lean forward, you are constricting the flow of oxygen to your lungs at the very time when your heart needs it most. Therefore, it is important to maintain a relaxed, upright posture. Keep your shoulders back and your chest and breathing relaxed. Think of the power com-ing from your legs, strong and efficient.

Here’s a tip we’d appreciate your not passing

on (even fun runners like an edge!): As you run up the hill, while keeping your posture erect, look up the hill parallel to the surface. In doing this, an amazing thing happens the hill flattens and is not visually as tough as it is when you look up occasionally while slug-ging it out with your head down.

The key is to maintain the same effort as you go up the hill. As the degree of steepness increases, shorten your stride accordingly. Your speed will slow slightly and then in-crease again as you reach the crest. Increase the rhythm of your arms slightly as you near the crest of the hill and push over it. You can then turn around and congratulate yourself on a job well done.

Start with 4 hill repeats and increase by 1 repeat each successive week, working to a maximum of 12. After a hill session, allow two days before attempting another quality workout.

Always make sure you are thoroughly warmed up and relaxed before you begin. Make sure you have taken on plenty of flu-ids and you have water available if you are doing a number of repeats. The general rule

By JOHn STanTOn

HILL TRaInInG

rules of hill training•Warm up for 20 minutes before hill training, and cool down for 10 minutes afterward.

•Start with 4 hill repeats.•Work up to a maximum of 12 repeats.

•allow two days of easy workouts between hill sessions.

•Keep posture erect while running a hill.

•Visualize a flat hill.

is to drink between one-third of a cup and a cup every 15 to 20 minutes during exercise.

The intensity for those using their target heart rate is 85% of your target heart rate. The intensity for those not monitoring their heart rate is to reach the point where you just start to no-tice your breathing when coming up the hill. By the time you get back to the bottom of the hill, you should be fully recovered and ready to attack the hill again.

A word to the wise if you are hill training with a group: warm up with your buddies, but conquer the hill at your own speed. It isn’t a race but a quality individual workout.

Now it will be easy to attack all hills, because you know how to make them look flat. Once you get into hill workouts, you will be amazed at how many times you drive up or down a hill in your car and think to yourself, “I must come back and run that one.” They’re magic. Hills simulate speed work but minimize your risk of injury. You build muscle and skeletal strength and improve your cariovascular system and mental confidence.

Hill repeats follow the basic rule of training using a combina-tion of stress and rest. Over a period of 4–10 weeks you will see a vast improvement in the quality and enjoyment level of your running.

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The higher the intensity of the exer-cise you intend to do, the more you benefit from warm-up exercises. Even a relaxing stroll is likely to feel better after two to four minutes of gentle, dynamic warm-up moves. Keep in mind that gradually increasing blood flow and slowly increasing your mus-cle and joint temperature can improve your comfort and performance and reduce the risk of injury during any exercise. You’ll feel better, and walk better.

I recommend the following five simple moves before any brisk walk because they target some muscles that do lots of the work in walking. All are done standing up, and the movements are slow, controlled and comfortable. If you spend 30 seconds on each, the whole routine takes under three min-utes. (Rest one hand on something for balance when needed.)

1. anKLe CIRCLeS. Stand on one foot and lift the other off the ground. Slowly flex that ankle through its full range of motion, making large circles with the toes, but only by moving the ankle joint, not the lower leg. Do six to eight in each direction; then switch feet and repeat.

2. LeG SWInGS. Stand on one leg, and swing the other loosely from the hip, front to back. It should be a relaxed, unforced motion like the swinging of a pendulum, and your foot should swing no higher than a foot or so off the ground. Do 15 to 20 swings on each leg.

3. peLVIC LOOpS. Put your hands on your hips with your knees “soft” (slightly bent) and feet shoulder width apart. Keep your body upright and make 10 slow continuous circles with your hips, pushing them gently for-ward, to the left, back and right. Then reverse directions and repeat.

4. aRM CIRCLeS. Hold both arms straight out to the sides, making your-self a letter “T.” Make 10 to 12 slow backward circles with your hands, starting small and finishing with large circles, using your entire arm. Shake your arms out; then repeat with 10 to 12 forward circles, again starting small and getting larger.

5. HuLa HOOp JuMpS. Begin jumping in place on both feet. Keep your head and shoulders facing for-ward, and twist your feet and lower body left and then right, back and forth, on successive jumps. Jump 15 to 20 times, facing forward but twist-ing the hips and legs left and right on alternate jumps.

Bonus: Up, side, back, down. Ideal if you have shin soreness while walking. Stand with feet hip width apart and roll your feet through four positions, holding each for a two-count.

• Up. Stand on your toes, heels as high as possible.• Side. Roll to the outside edges of your feet, with the inside edges pulled up.• Back. Stand on your heels, with your toes held as high as possible.• Down. Rest, with both feet flat on the floor.

FOuR TIpS FOR FaSTeR WaLKInG TeCHnIQue.To boost your walking to a speed that’s sure to build fitness and burn calories, you don’t have to be a race walker. Just try these four simple tips to pick your speed up to a healthy pace.

• Stand tall. No slouch in the shoul-ders, forward lean from the waist or excess sway in your back. CUE: Keep your eyes on the horizon; don’t let your chin drop.• Focus on quicker, not longer steps. Yes, your stride gets longer as you walk faster. But that shouldn’t be your goal; let it happen naturally. Instead, concentrate on taking faster steps. CUE: Count how many steps you take in 20 seconds; shoot for over 45 (that’s 135 steps/minute, or roughly 3.5 to 4 miles per hour).• Bend your arms. Hold your elbows at a right angle, so your arms can swing more quickly; target a quick, compact arm swing. CUE: Hands should trace an arc from alongside the waistband on the back swing to chest height (no higher) in the front.• Push off with your toes. Consciously push off with your toes and generate as much boost as possible at the end of each step. CUE: It feels like you’re showing a person behind you the bot-tom of your shoe on every stride.

five walking warm-up movesby mark fenton

There’s no need to be super flexible, but it is worth doing just a few minutes of stretching after each walk, when your muscles are the most warm and compliant. That’s enough to help maintain your mobility and a healthy range of movement for a lifetime of active

living. It’s also likely to reduce the chance of injuries or limitations. Here are three simple, stand-up stretches you can do any place anytime after exercise.

Do all of these stretches slowly, never to the point of discomfort; hold each stretch for six to eight slow, deep breaths. Imagine releasing muscle ten-sion with each deep exhale. Begin each stretch standing up, and feel free to rest one hand on something for bal-ance if necessary. If you have time, go through the cycle twice.

1. Calf and hip stretch. Take a giant step forward with your left foot. Bend your left knee (but don’t push it beyond your foot) and keep your right heel on the ground and your right leg straight behind you. Keep your abdominal muscles gently contracted, so there’s no excess arch in your back, and you should feel the stretch in both your right calf and hip. Hold for several deep breaths. Then switch legs and repeat.

2. Back and hamstring stretch. Stand with your feet together and your knees soft (not straight-

ened). Lean forward from the waist and let your arms and head hang loosely toward the ground. Don’t (necessarily) try to touch your toes—just let your body hang under its own weight, and let it ease into the stretch with each deep exhale. Slowly stand up (to avoid light-headed-ness) and repeat.

3. Shin and thigh stretch. Grasp your right toes with your right hand, and gently pull your foot up behind you, keep-ing your right knee pointed toward the ground. Your heel does not have to reach your buttocks—just pull to the point of feeling a gentle stretch in the front of the thigh, hip and shin. Hold for several deep breaths. Then switch legs and repeat.

1. anKLe CIRCLeS

2. LeG SWInGS

3. peLVIC LOOpS

4. aRM CIRCLeS

5. HuLa HOOp JuMpS

3-minute after-activity stretch routine

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Relax Into Your Running

Do you clench your fists or grit your teeth when you’re running uphill? By doing so, you may be expending unnecessary energy. When running, it is important to differentiate between strength and tension. Muscle strength is essential to support a balanced running form and to pro-pel the body forward. Tension, however, only inhibits range of motion and takes energy away from the muscles that need it. If we focus on

Yogaby annabel griffiths YouR RunnIng

utilizing only the muscles essential to our movements, and relax the rest of the body as much as possible, we conserve much-needed energy that we can put back into our stride.

Yoga Posture

The BridgeLie on your back, bend your knees and place your feet hip-width apart about 1-2" away from your but-tocks. Push into your feet and lift your buttocks, hips and mid-back off the floor. Keep your knees parallel. Roll your shoulder blades towards one another. Place your hands face down on the floor (Figure 1) or inter-lace the fingers and push the hands towards the feet (Figure 2). Hold for 5–10 deep breaths. To come out of the posture, bring your arms out to the side and roll your spine down slowly to the floor.

BenefitsStretches the hips, thighs and chest, and strengthens the hamstrings, glutes the back muscles.

Yoga TipTake a mental check-in half-way through your next run. Have your shoulders started to creep up towards your ears? Focus on a strong, upright, yet relaxed running form from your head to your toes.

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KIdS

Many of the athletes in their 60s, 70s, 80s and 90s have been active for their entire lives, some, just recently. I had many enlightening conversations with many of the partici-pants: “I learned how to hurdle when I was 65”; “I started running when I was 70”; “I came to these games to see friends from around the world and to make new ones”; “I feel better now than I did when I was 30!”; “At my age, 90, it’s nice to belong to a healthy community.”

The experience for me was truly amazing. Daily informa-tion from a variety of media sources reminds us that the majority of children and youth do not consume nutrition-ally balanced or adequate diets; that obesity in children and youth affects almost half of those between ages 7 and 13; and that over half of children and youth ages 5 to 17 are not active enough for optimal growth and development, according to the Canadian Fitness and Lifestyle Research Institute. Children, youth and older people need to take care of their hearts. Kids need to follow good examples. Their moms and dads can make healthier food choices and introduce more physical activity to their own lives. If adults don’t act now, many of today’s kids have or will encounter as they age very serious health issues, which may include heart disease and type 2 diabetes.

Valuing physical activity, as well as the benefits of partici-pating in physical activity that provides personal meaning, is what will ultimately lead to life-long participation in physical activity. So, be a mirror for your children and run, walk, jump and throw your way to family and personal fit-ness. Our goal may not be the Masters Games, but it would be great to see these games continue with higher participa-tion levels from our present healthy active families.

One FaMILy’S FITneSS pLan

The Hildebrandt family of Edmonton recently received the Active Edmonton Family Challenge Award and were fea-tured in the Edmonton Journal.

Mom and Dad explained that “It’s exhausting to follow an active lifestyle for your kids when you could be lazing around home on the weekends, however, we found it’s

ACTIVEBy dOn zaBLOSKI

I had the pleasure of volunteering for the 2005 World Masters Games in Edmonton from July 20 to July 31 at the track and field venue. The volunteers assisted over 3000 athletes, ages 30 to 95, to share their passion for physical activity through a variety of running, walking, jumping and throwing events. All participants were excellent role models who demonstrated that increased levels of participation in physical activity can lead to higher levels of personal fitness, a life-long participation in healthy activities, social inclusion and an overall sense of belonging. The games’ philosophy is to sup-port, recognize and value the various levels of ability over a variety of ages. Everything that we believe and encourage about the long-term benefits of a healthy active lifestyle for our children and youth was on display during these Masters Games.

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more exhausting to have them fighting, bored, crying all the time, sitting at home, than being out doing things with them, so even though it’s tiring for us, it’s less tiring.”

They said, since deciding to become more active, they have seen significant changes in their two girls ages 3 and 6. Their youngest daughter who is in grade 1 is spending more time at gymnastics. Mom says “she goes for two hours and she still has the energy to go longer. Before she was always wanting to lie around, not wanting to do anything.” Her achievement at school also improved. Their older daughter was extremely miserable and unhappy as a child. Mom says they do not see that anymore. “She pretty much always is happy.” Both parents think that boredom caused their children to act out.

The Hildebrandts made the decision that quality of life was very important. They disconnected their girls from T.V. and plugged them into activities, joining in the FUN them-selves. “The T.V. is only on for perhaps half an hour a day.” They walk, explore insect ponds, climb rocks, participate in family gymnastics, regularly kick or throw balls at a local park, swim three times per week, swing and climb from a rope Dad attached to a basement floor joist, only to name a few of the variety of activities they do together or alone.

Mom now works part time to spend more time with the girls, and Dad has transferred his job to a location closer to home to cut down on commuting to and from work. He has also condensed his work week and gets every second Monday off to volunteer at their daughter’s school or do something active with the family. In addition to being

active as a family, Mom is now running on her own once a week at a local leisure centre, and Dad is playing ball hockey one night a week after the girls are in bed.

The Hildebrandts agree: “You have to make a conscious decision to get active because there are so many sedentary things now for us to just sit around and do nothing.” Their youngest daughter says she would rather be out doing something than watching T.V. “because it’s FUNNER.”

“you have to make a conscious decision to get active because there are so many sedentary things now for us to just sit around and do nothing.”

• include a pedometer and light Dyna band in your kids’ school supplies—walk and record as many steps a day as possible and do three or four fun resistance exercises with your band each day.

• promote safe bicycling and walking routes to school in your community.

• children who eat breakfast perform better at school, have healthier weights and eat more essential nutrients.

• try to include at least three of the four food groups from Canada’s Food Guide to Healthy Eating.

• when planning snacks, aim for two of the four food group—provide foods that are both nutri-tious and great tasting.

• have family dinners together—children who eat home-prepared meals are more likely to include the four food groups and fewer fried foods and soft drinks than those that eat out.

• dieticians of Canada have produced two pam-phlets titled “Eat Well, Play Well at Home” and “Eat Well, Play Well at School.” Contact the local dieticians’ association.

In order to become an adult with a healthy heart, your children require healthy food choices and regular physical activity as a natural part of their lives. To assist with this lifestyle choice, look for the following book published by Breakaway Books in 2004: Happy Feet, Healthy Food: Your Child’s First Journal of Exercise and Healthy Eating, by Carol Goodrow.

Please share your active family stories with us. Enjoy the start of another active school year.

BACk To SChool TIpS

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When one is out on his or her group run there is probably nothing more frightening than hearing that one of your fellow run-ners has fallen. This conjures up images of someone lying on the trail, road or sidewalk in a crumpled mess of scrapes and abrasions. Or covered in blood! Worse than hearing the news, however, is actually watching a runner fall (probably what is worse is YOU being the faller!). The event seems to take place in slow motion. You see them trip and then stum-ble. Their legs collapse, the knees strike the ground and their arms extend in an attempt to cushion the fall. Then comes the ominous thud as their head makes contact with the pavement. The sound of a hollow organ strik-ing a solid surface. Ugh!

I have written about micro trauma—the usual cause of repetitive injuries in runners—the overuse injuries. Falling results in macro trauma. Big trauma that can cause big, acute injuries. Acute injuries because they occur suddenly as opposed to chronic ones that occur over time.

why Do some runners fall?

Several factors that may be responsible include:• Fatigue• Running style• Running surfaces • Shoe versus contact surface• General course terrain• Vision and balance issues

Runners’ paths are rarely perfectly level and clear. Frequently, runners are confronted

with uneven sidewalks, manhole covers, branches, potholes and other impediments to their course. Obstacles of varying heights await the unwary runner who must alter her running style to deal with them. Doing so usu-ally involves stepping over the rock, running around the hole or jumping on top of the log and then jumping down on the other side. Of these three available options for dealing with an impediment, stepping over the obstacle places the greatest demand on the runner’s system and poses the greatest risk. Not clear-ing the obstacle is the most frequent cause of the runner’s tripping. Most medical research has focused on walking over level ground and going up and down stairs. These stud-ies are usually only relevant for the geriatric population. Most obstacles to running, how-ever, are encountered in everyday settings. Tripping, falling and stumbling are examples of “unexpected” encounters with an object; in England, more than 10,000 disability claims were filed in one year for injuries sustained from tripping over paving stones!

how Do some runners fall?

Walking and running can be divided into two main phases: the stance phase when at least one of the legs is on the ground; and swing phase, when at least one of the legs is in the air.

Normal walking produces what is called “dou-ble stance phase” in all strides. This means that at some point in the walking cycle both legs will be on the ground at the same time. Therefore, when one is walking, if a swinging leg or toe strikes an object, the remaining

leg, which is still on the ground, provides stability to allow the walker to recover with-out stumbling. Runners, however, have no double support phase—in other words, at no point during their running cycle do they have both feet on the ground at the same time, as well, they have a very shortened stance phase. Hence, when one of the swinging legs strikes an object (uneven surface, etc.) there is likely to be no other leg in contact with the ground at that same moment to compensate, protect or make an adjustment in the running style. Momentum for the upper body and the centre of gravity continues forward, but the legs and lower body lag behind. The result is that the runner stumbles and then falls. The reason is because the forward moving centre of gravity of the runner’s body requires stability and the only way that can occur is to contact the ground and stop the forward fall-ing. The point of initial contact is influenced by several factors. These include the velocity or running speed at the time of stumble, the vertical height of the runner and her weight (mass) and the height of the object struck. Other factors that researchers have studied include the running surface, the friction fac-tor, the type of shoe wear and reaction times of the runners.

what kinD of injuries can occur with falling?

Generally, initial ground contact when falling is made with the flexed or bent knee in the leading leg. The runner then twists sideways and often strikes the ground simultaneously with the arm or wrist and the pelvis. Further deceleration is extended through the shoul-der and ultimately the head.

HEAD OVER HEELS!by richarD beauchamp, m.D.