E-Newsletter

E-Newsletter

3DNewsletter

Volume 1 = No. 1 &= nbsp; May 2008

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

2007 was an outstanding y= ear for the ultra running community in Canada! Kudos to all of you for making last year the best ever!!

The 24hour World Champion= ships was held in Canada (fi= rst time in North America) and in doing so i= t has increased the visibility for the discipline in the country. The race was a tremendous success in terms of members from the International Association o= f Ultrarunners and local athletes’ participation.= The City of D= rummondville left no stone unturned in welcoming our guests from the entire nation and t= he whole world.

However, with any major e= vent, financially it wasn’t as successful and the members of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) are still covering costs. Nevertheless, hosting = of the event has opened more avenues for the sport and with the upcoming Commonwealth Series in 2009, ultrarunning is no= more a sport flying below the radar for Athletics Canada.

2007 was also a first for= the Association of Canadian Ultrarunners (ACU) with giving plaques to athletes who have established new records in the various distances/times. This in addition to completion certificates at all ACU eve= nts has made it a very busy year for all of us here at the organization.

This year promises to be = another amazing year. With three World Championships and preparation for next year’s commonwealth series, we will be quite busy here at the ACU.

Ultr= arunning, as I see it, has become very popular amongst the running masses. In order to further promote this, I ask you, to send me your news clips, racing achievements and any athletic awards so that we can post these on the ACU <= span class=3DSpellE>webiste. The site is under review and should be back = on regular updating schedule soon.

I would like to leave you= with one thought --- the ACU is your organization: participate, get involved and promote the sport. It is through working together that we can strive for hi= gher levels and reach our goals as a team!

Michel Gouin

TABLE OF C= ONTENTS

1) Presidents’ Report

2) List of Executive Committee Members

3) Important Announcements

4) National Team Reports

5) Upcoming ACU Races

6) Upcoming Membership Birthdays

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

Preside= nt = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = Michel Gouin

Vice President = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = Andrew McLean

Secreta= ry/Treasurer = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = Michel Careau

National Teams

Team Manager = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = Armand Leblanc

Assista= nt Team Manager = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = Nadeem Khan

Directo= r of Marketing = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = Paula Burchat

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS

Congratulations to Darin Bentley and Laurie McGrath wh= o have been selected as the 2007 ACU Ultrarunners of t= he year. Both Darin and Laurie had an outstanding y= ear in both national and international competitions.

Also, congratulations to Jack Cook and Andre Coulombe for recording the highest points and becomin= g the male co-winners for the ACU Series 2007 and Laurie McGrath for culminating = her year with the female victory in the same series.

Michel awarding the Male ACU 2007 Series

co-winner Andre Coulombe with his trophy

Michel awarding a plaque to Sylvie Bosivert

signifying her age-group re= cords for 24hrs

Congratulations go out to Glen Re= dpath and Carla Arnold for winning the 100k Canadian Championship in Toronto on May, 3r= d 2008.

Congratulations also goes o= ut to Carolyn Hutniak and Glenn Pace for winning the = 50 Mile Series event at Elk Beaver on May 3^rd, 2008.

NATIONAL T= EAM UPDATES: TEAM MANAGER AND ASSIATANT TEAM MANAGER

2007 was another outstanding season for the Canadian National teams. We were well represented in three world championships.

The international season started off in July with the = World 24 Hrs Challenge in Drummondville, Qu= ebec. This was a first time for Canada hosting the world challenge. We had a full slate of twelve athletes (6 male= and 6 female) participating on the national team! There were several outstanding performances by our athletes with Laurie McGrat= h setting a new Canadian National record.

The 100k World Cup took place in Winschoten, Netherlands in September. The= re were seven athletes (4 male and 3 female) participating in the picturesque city. Once again our athletes made us proud and ran some amazing times.

The last International event was the 1^st 50= Mile World Trail Championships in H= ouston, Texas. Due to the infancy o= f this event, each country was allowed to bring a total of three athletes. Despite= the mercury touching 85F, athletes (2 male and 1 female) from the Great White N= orth placed in the top third of their respective age groups.

Congratulations to all the athletes, veteran and rooki= es, who participated on the national team and made our country proud!

2008 is equally exciting. We have another set of world championships to participate in this year. The dates have been released by = the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU)= .

World 24Hrs Challenge in Seoul, South Korea<= /st1:country-region> 18-19^th Oct. 2008 (Selection: May/June)

World Cup 100K in Tuscania, Italy 8^th Nov. 2008 (Selection: June/July)

World Trail Challenge 50 Miles in Huntsville, Texas 6^th Dec. 2008 (Selection: July/Aug)

We’d= like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that in order to qualify for fundi= ng on the National Team, athletes must compete at IAU sanctioned events with a minimum of Bronze Label category. As per the rules and regulations adopted = by the IAU and the Federations in 2005, selection is now based on the previous= 2 years performances. Therefore only qualifying times from 2006/2007 will be considered for the 2008 teams.

Also, if there are any other Canadian Ultrarunners<= /span> wishing to accompany the National Team at the World Championship, they are = more than welcome to do so. However, they are reminded that all arrangements and expenses are their responsibility. Every effort will be made to pass on any information related to accommodations, airfare or any special discounts off= ered by the event organizers.

On a different note, the ACU has approached most of th= e Race Directors and advised them to apply for the Bronze Label (free of charge). = The only cost is to have an official measurer to certify the course and issue a certificate. The IAU will accept the GPS course measurement for Trail events only which make these events free to register.

A reminder to all the RDs that the registration has to be done every year. If there are no cha= nges to your course then it is just a matter of sending in the forms.

In closing, we would like to wish all of you the very = best in your racing season. We hope that you reach your goals, accomplish your t= imes and run your distances!

Armand Leblanc

Team Manager

Nadeem Khan

Assistant Team Manager

UPCOMING ACU RACES

The ACU is once again co-hosting a number of races around the country. The races in the series fr= om April-July are listed below:

17^th-18^th= May 2008 --- 24hr Run, Drummondville PQ<= /st1:State> (http://michelgouin.milpat.ca) = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = = &nb= sp; The race was originally planned to be on the track but= we had to relocate. It will take place at Parc Woodyatt. The race loop will be slightly different fr= om the 2007 WCs loop.

24^th May 2008 = --- 100 Miles National Championship, Dundas ON (www.ouser.org/races/sulp.htm) = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = Another race that I have done a few times. There is usually a huge turnout for multiple distances run at this event.

5^th July 2008 = --- 100km Triathlon de Levis, Levi= s PQ = &nb= sp; (www.tr= iathlon-levis.com/triat/accueil.asp) = = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = This is a good flat course with a kilometer out and kilometer back on a bike path.

Michel Gouin

President

UPCOMING MEMBERSHIP BIRTHDAY

The executive committee w= ould like to wish all of our members who are celebrating their birthdays from April-July. Think of it is getting that much closer to a new age-group and cleaning up all the records and medals!

Sue Kainulainen<= /span>: May 14

David Collinis: May 27

Michel Gouin: May 29

Pierre-Yves Daou= st: June 1

Sylvain Bernier: June 2

Roger Langevin: June 4

Stefan D Fekner<= /span>: June 6

Bruce Barteaux: June 21

Jocelyn (Joy) Ch= ikinda: June 24

Ron Gehl<= /span>: June 30

André = Coulombe: July 4

Syl Corbet= t: July 13

Charles Smith: July 16

Ghislai= ne Beauli= eu: July 22

Sue Armstrong: July 27

<= /p>