Clinic #6 - RACE STRATEGIES - September 7th

Time to start gearing up for the last 5 Peaks race of the season and the Blitz Duathlon this Fall! Join us on Saturday, September 7th at the Station Flats parking lot in Bragg Creek at 9:30am. At this clinic, we are excited to have Trevor Williams join us to talk about racing strategies.  He will share  strategies that will help you decide how best to tackle the terrain of these races, be efficient on the ups & downs, and give it your best performance right to the finish line. He will also touch briefly on pre-race preparations for the days leading up to the race, as well as mental preparation strategies for race day.!  After the talk we will run the first leg of the Blitz Duathlon, an out and back on Sulphur Springs Trail (7.km, with the option of adding an additional 4km to the run by running up, up, up the Diamond-T Loop at the end of the run! Come on out and bring your 'race face' with you!!
Mizuno Rep., Andrew Douglas, will also be there with his demo fleet of Mizuno trail shoes for us all to try. Please arrive early to get yourself geared up!

 Date: Saturday, July 7th
Time: 9:30am
Location: Station Flats, Bragg Creek
Length of session: 120 minutes (pre-run talk & 60 min run),
Drop in Cost: $10 (cash or cheque)

Driving Directions:
From Calgary, either take Trans-Canada Hwy #1, turning south at Hwy #22 and following road for 19 km into Bragg Creek. Alternatively, take Hwy #8 from Calgary heading west until it ends at Hwy #22 (Bragg Creek Road). Turn left (south) and follow road into Bragg Creek

Then, turn left at the 4-way stop by the Shell Station in Bragg Creek and follow the road until it ends shortly at a T junction. Turn right onto hwy 66 and follow it to the Station Flats parking lot, which will be on your right (after crossing the single lane bridge by Allen Bill Pond - which I have heard is no longer a pond!).
http://www.braggcreek.ca/kananaskis/westbraggmap.htm 

 ** Please allow extra time to drive out to Station Flats. There is only single lane traffic allowed to cross the repaired bridge by Allen Bill Pond, so expect delays.

What to Bring:
*Running shoes - trail or road
*Water and a snack (bars or gels are good)
*Extra layers (for before and after)
*Insect Repellant
*Change of clothes/towel for afterward
*Completed waiver & registration form if this is your first time out
(will be emailed to you if you pre-register via email)

Clinic #5 - STRETCHING & CORE - Monday, August 19th

Our next Beginner Trail Running Clinic will take place starting at the Cochrane Ranche Historic Site Visitor Information Centre on Monday, August 19th at 6pm.  Sandi will lead the group on a tour of these beautiful trails.  We will plan to run for about 1 hr.  The elevation gain/loss in this park isn't extreme, so it will be an enjoyable social run. See below for driving directions to the trail head.

 

We are excited that Brooks and Moving Comfort Rep, Lilian Yamasaki, will be joining us that evening to showcase some of their gear that is available for us trail runners!  After our run, Sandi will walk us through a good few stretch and strength exercises to keep our bodies loose, healthy and strong for all our trail running adventures!  Please email and let us know if you can make it!

Date: Monday, August 19th, 2013
Time: 6:00pm, sharp
Location: Cochrane Ranche Historic Site Visitor Information Centre
Length of session: 90 minutes (run 60 min max.)
Cost:$10 drop-in fee

Driving Directions: We will meet at the Cochrane Ranche Historic Site Visitor Information Centre parking lot. The entrance is off Highway 1A/Bow Valley Trail on the North West end of Cochrane, 700m East of the Hwy1A/Hwy 22 intersection. For most people, the fastest route will be to take Crowchild Trail North West out of Calgary, which then turns into Hwy 1A, about a 35 minute drive from City Centre. See Map

What to Bring:
*Running shoes (road shoes are fine, however, as time goes on, you may want to try a shoe specifically designed for trail running)
*Water and a snack (bars or gels are good)
*Extra layers
*Change of clothes/towel for afterward
*Bug spray and sunscreen!
*Completed waiver if this is your first time out
(will be emailed to you if you pre-register via email)

2013 Clinic #4 - FUELING & NUTRITION - July 29th

Come and join us for our 4th trail running clinic on the cliffs of Bowmont Park in Silver Springs! These extremely undulating single-track trails are sure to be a gut buster!  Our evening will start off with an informative Fueling & Nutrition talk by Chelsey Armstrong, a Dietician from "Simply for Life". She will walk us through some tips related to pre-, post- and during activity fueling. We also hope to have another demo fleet of trail shoes for everyone to try out, so stay tuned for that!
A clinic not to be missed!

Date: Monday, July 29th, 2013
Time: 6:00pm, sharp
Location: Bowmont Park, Silver Springs (NW Calgary)
Length of session: 90 minutes (run 60 min max.)
Cost:$10 drop-in fee

Directions: Heading north on Crowchild Trail towards Nose Hill Dr., take the Silver Spring Gate/Sarcee Trail exit (which is the exit just before the Nose Hill Dr. exit). Upon exiting, stay in your left lane and turn left at the traffic lights, taking you over the bridge crossing the hwy you just exited. Follow this road (Silver Springs Gate) into Silver Springs to your first set of lights, and turn left. Parking is along the street at this entry point to Bowmont Park.
http://www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Parks/Documents/Construction/bowmont-park-brochure.pdf
 (Map is on page 2 - meeting location is at 2nd parking lot off of Silver Springs Gate [not 1st], with larger yellow star beside)

What to Bring:
*Running shoes (road shoes are fine, however, as time goes on, you may want to try a shoe specifically designed for trail running)
*Water and a snack (bars or gels are good)
*Extra layers
*Change of clothes/towel for afterward
*Bug spray and sunscreen!
*Completed waiver if this is your first time out
(will be emailed to you if you pre-register via email)

Hope to see you all there (let us know you are coming, if you can!)

2013 Clinic #3 - JUMPINGPOUND LOOP - June 29th

*NOTE: Due to flood devastation, we are meeting locally at Nose Hill Park for this clinic. See meeting location below. We are lucky to have a special guest speaker, Brian Ben, coming out to talk to us about Bear Safety in the mountains prior to our run. He'll give us some insights into bear behavior, teach us about signs to look out for indicating the possible presence of bears, as well as share some tips to help keep us safe in the event of an encounter.
Looking forward to you joining us!

Date: Saturday, June 29th
Time: 9:00am (PLEASE NOTE EARLIER START TIME)
Location: Nose Hill Park (PLEASE NOTE CHANGE IN LOCATION)
Length of session: 90 minutes (talk & run)

Directions: We will meet at the Nose Hill Park 14th Street Parking Lot. See map here:
http://www.calgary.ca/CSPS/Parks/Documents/Construction/Nose-Hill-Project/trail-pathways-map.pdf?noredirect=1

What to Bring:
*Trail running shoes
*Water and a snack (bars or gels are good)
*Bug spray & Sunscreen
*Change of clothes/towel for afterwards
*Completed waiver; registration form if this is your first time out
(will be emailed to you if you pre-register via email)

2013 Clinic #2 - CLIMBING & DESCENDING TECHNIQUES - May 31st

A trail run just wouldn't be so without at least a few good climbs. In this clinic our aim is to help you work on learning to climb most efficiently and comfortably with a few simple techniques; and with a little practice, this will equate to climbing faster, as well! Of course we cannot eliminate gravity, but we most certainly can use less energy as we work towards overcoming its force.
What goes up must inevitably come down. In trail running, descents can often be on loose gravel or very technical, requiring good eyes, quick footwork, a steady focus and a little bit of nerve! We will spend time building our technique for moving downhill both quickly and safely.

Come join us as we enjoy an invigorating evening trail run on Nose Hill May 31st; there will be no shortage of hills!

Date: Friday, May 31st
Time: 6:00pm
Location: Nose Hill Park, Calgary NW
Length of session: 90 min (talk & 60 minute run)
Drop in Cost: $10 (cash or cheque)

Directions: Meet at the Edgemont Blvd Parking Lot off of Shagganappi Trail
Nose Hill Park

What to Bring:
*Running shoes (road shoes are fine, however, as time goes on, you may want to try a shoe specifically designed for trail running)
*Water and a snack (bars or gels are good)
*Extra layers
*Gloves and a cap
*Change of clothes/towel for afterwards
*Completed waiver/information form (will be emailed to you if you pre-register) 
*$10 if you are dropping in (email us if you are attending so we know to expect you)

2013 Clinic #1 - NUTS & BOLTS OF TRAIL RUNNING - May 10th

Welcome to the wonderful world of trail running! In this very first clinic in a series of 6 throughout the summer, we will focus specifically on the differences between running roads vs trails.

When running off-road, we need to be more mindful of such concerns as variations in terrain, obstacles, trail conditions, wildlife, etc. It is of utmost importance to assure we are familiar with our route or course, and that we are prepared for any sudden changes in weather. This will help prevent us from getting lost and will keep us comfortable and safe throughout our runs.

The session will start with a 10-15 minute discussion introducing trail running technique; we'll go over the basics to get you out and running on trails, and will have lots of tips to help you feel comfortable and begin to build strength and efficiency off road. Then we'll hit the trails to give it a go!

We plan to have a Salomon (or other trail shoe) Representative present at our first clinic to show off some awesome trail runners and give participants a chance to actually try them out during our run!

Date: Friday, May 10th, 2013
Time: 6:00pm, sharp
Location: Weaselhead (North Glenmore Park, Calgary, SW)
Length of Session: 90 minutes (run time 45-60 minutes, max)
Drop in Cost: $10 (cash or cheque) if not registered in the "Peakprints Package"

Directions:
We will meet at the north parking lot, located at the main entrance to North Glenmore Park at the corner of 37 St SW and 66 Ave SW.
North Glenmore Park Map


What to Bring:
*Running shoes (road shoes are fine, however, as time goes on, you may want to try a shoe specifically designed for trail running)
*Water and a snack (bars or gels are good)
*Extra layers
*Gloves and a toque/beanie
*Change of clothes/shoes/towel for afterward
*completed waiver/registration form (will be emailed to you when you preregister via email)