Munro rolls into 2007 with Spingery wheels

When Whistler is your training ground for any Endurance Athlete, You need the right gear, that is light and strong. Riding 100km in Whistler your wheels are going to get you there, and fast.Last thing you need to worry about while riding Comfortably numb or , as the locals call it" uncomfortable bum."I am very happy to join the Spingery Team, and to take part in another year of racing on The Xyclones.
Racing at this level has reached such a level of complexity that it is important to be entirely dedicated in order to achieve the results. Spingery wheels are dedicated to making the world's toughest and lightest race wheels. The Xyclone Disc is the lightest disc brake wheel set on the market. PBO technology helps reduce weight, without sacrificing stiffness or durability.
Custom US made alloy freehub with vacuum seal, CNC machined hubs, with sealed cartridge bearings for minimal rolling resistance, Only 1610g per set. Available in black with sweet white or black spokes, standard 26" size with white highlight graphics. The White spokes keeps you riding with style. Visit http://www.spinergy.com/
Thanks, Chris at Spinergy.

Munro hangs in to finish 100 km ultra run

By Andrew Mitchell
According to one race organizer, the fastest teams in the Haney to Harrison 100 km relay didn’t see any rain on Saturday, always staying two steps ahead of a storm that turned roads into rivers along the race route.
The race consisted of 274 relay teams of eight people, although more than two dozen athletes did the entire course on their own. One of those athletes was Whistler’s Duncan Munro, who placed second overall in the Under 40 ultra category with a time of 11 hours, 37 minutes and 39 seconds.
Munro was ranked second after stage two of the race and held onto that position for the next three legs.
“At about the 50- to 60-K mark things started to go south,” he said. “I couldn’t get any food into me, and then I started having some stomach problems. I dropped from second and over the next few legs fell pretty much off the charts.”
Wet and cold, Munro threw up twice and had a difficult time consuming the energy he needed to keep up his pace. He still managed to keep jogging along at a slower pace, but the race conditions and his physical problems at last took their toll on the difficult seventh leg of the race.
“My muscles basically went into spasms after the last downhill on leg seven, the 11 per cent decline into the valley just destroyed my legs. That’s when things really started happening and I couldn’t even walk.”
But walk he did, finishing the last 12 km at a limping pace. It took him more than two hours and 20 minutes to get through the last stage, just 8.03 km, to the finish line.
Despite the hardship, Munro is happy with his race and is already planning his next ultra run.
“It was awesome, absolutely awesome,” he said. “I had such a good time out there. The last 10-K was a unique experience, definitely hard on my psyche, but I enjoyed the whole race — even getting soaked by trucks going by. Not everybody needs to run a 100-K though.”
Munro had people walk beside him for most of the last stage of the race, and he appreciated the support. If he had been showing any signs of mental stress or a decline in mental awareness he would have been pulled out by race organizers, but he talked and joked with everyone who came by to wish him well.
“I had to stay positive,” he said. “I was mentally there and I was going to finish no matter what. I have to thank people like (Scott Whelan), Tiffany (Whelan), Kevin Titus, John and Grace Blok, and everyone who encouraged me. It was a little embarrassing having the ambulance shadow me, but I knew I was going to do it.”
For his efforts in the Haney to Harrison, Munro was given a spot in the 2007 Western States Endurance Run, which follows a 100-mile trail run through the Rocky Mountains. Munro said the fact it’s a trail run better suits him than road running, although he said he would consider running the Haney to Harrison again.
He also knows he has some learning to do, given that only five out of 26 ultra finishers were under the age of 40.
“It’s not a young man’s sport. In a word it’s about patience,” he said. “Young guys go out fast, while older guys have patience and they know how to pace themselves. That takes experience and mileage. That’s the difference between finishing strong and falling down and having muscle spasms on the Haney to Harrison, but you have to learn that somewhere.”
There were three Whistler relay teams in this year’s Haney to Harrison. The top team was the Busted Up Wanna Be Runners, which placed 11th in Open Mixed category. They completed the race in 7:50:11, averaging a pace of 4:43 per kilometre.
The Busted Up Never Were Runners second team was 13th in the same category in 8:14:34, averaging 4:57 per kilometre.
The Postfontaines — named after legendary runner Steve Prefontaine — were 18th in the Open Mixed category in 8:43:43, averaging 5:15 per kilometre. They could have been called The Replacements, with four runners joining at the last minute.
On Stage One, 9.42 km, Alejandro Dias on the Busted Up Never team was the fastest Whistler runner in 49:59. Georgina Titus on the Busted Up Wanna team was 50:05, and Tracy Ackerman of the Postfontaines was 50:52.
On the 13.51 km second leg Dave Higgins of the Busted Up Wanna team was fastest in 56:47. Brandi Higgins of the Busted Up Never team was 1:16:22, and Tami Mitchell of the Postfontaines was 1:23:22.
The third leg was the longest at 15.12 km. Kevin Titus of Busted Up Never was the fastest in 1:01:32, while Craig Johnson of the Postfontaines was 1:07:47. Marie-Anne Prevost, less than two weeks after Ironman, was 1:09:39 for the Busted Up Wanna team.
The fourth leg was 14.42 km. Grace Blok of the Busted Up Wanna team was fastest in 1:19:11. Andrew Mitchell of the Postfontaines was in at 1:20:23, and an injured Bob Deeks of Busted Up Never finished in 1:24:41.
Scott Whelan of the Postfontaines was fastest on the 13.12 fifth stage in 59:47, while Greg Sandkuhl of the Busted Up Wanna team was in at 1:05:36, and Liane Dunsmuir of Busted Up Never was in at 1:08:19.
Stage six was 13.08 km. Nils Robinson of Busted Up Wanna was the fastest Whistler runner in 56:38, while Jen Keefer of Busted Up Never was 1:02:05, and Lloyd Adams of the Postfontaines passed on the timing chip at 1:11:13.
Stage seven was 13.31 km. Scott Young of the Busted Up Wannas finished in 54:10, John Blok of the Busted Up Nevers was 57:07, and Stuart Carmichael of the Postfontaines was 1:09:31.
Stage eight was the sprint to the finish, measuring 8.03 km. Paul Suter of the Busted Up Never team was in at 33:32, Paul Nicholas of the Busted Up Wanna team was in at 38:11, and Gillian Woodwar of the Posfontaines was in at 40:51.
The fastest team overall was Matt’s Minions of Coquitlam, completing the course in 4:30:06 while averaging 3:19 a kilometre. The Islanders of Victoria were second in 5:35:37, and the Pen Run Island Syndicate third in 5:40:30.
The fastest women’s team was the Hershey Harriers Women in 6:57:04, 10th overall. The VFAC Hustling team was second in 7:09:14, and the LGRR Lionesses third in 7:28:19.
In the ultra run, Darin Bentley of Vancouver was first in 7:56:22, followed by Richard Webb in 8:41:29 and Darren Froese in 8:43:57.
Tania Whelan of Surrey was the fastest solo woman in 10:39:52. Rea Blyth was second in 11:20:28, and Susanne Johnson third in 11:45:05.
Complete results from the Haney to Harrison are posted online at www.raceheadquarters.com. Because of last-minute substitutions and runners switching legs the posted results will not always match the results in this article.

long before the start line !

It's been a while since I've updated my site, only because I've been busy training for an Ultra 100 km marathon. In hopes of making the qualifing time for the Western State 100 mile run. What was I thinking! Why do I run so much ? I run for the pure simplicty of the sport. No flat tires, no busted derailers, no problems right? Wrong. When you run 130 km per week, your body goes big changes. My weight has gone down to 143 lbs, so my worry was " am I eating right ?" I found a online website that let you track Track your foods, exercises, weight and goals lets you view your calories, nutrition, weight loss and more. check it out http://fitday.com.

I will let you know how the ultra goes, weather is calling for 55mm of hard BC rain.
stay tune, Munny

Munro signs with Adidas Eyewear.

The great thing about Adidas Eyewear is how they just keep getting better through innovation and attention to detail. When I am working hard out there pushing my body to extremes that's the last thing I need to worry about. The Supernova's are my favorite, they weight in next to nothing. Visit them at the web site www.adidas.com/eyewear/homesite/index.aspsee. It is all about the lens.

Munro Second in BC Orientering championships.

By Andrew Mitchell

The woods around Whistler came alive this past weekend as the town played host to the B.C. Orienteering Championships. There were three courses — a short course on Nesters Hill and a middle distance competition in Lost Lake Park on Saturday, and a long distance event in the Brandywine area on Sunday.

Several competitors took part in all three events, with an overall provincial champion crowned at the end of the weekend and titles awarded for short, middle and long events.

Whistler’s Scott Brammer placed first in the men’s open competition with a course time of 23 minutes and 11 seconds, while Duncan Munro placed a distant second after struggling to find a checkpoint.

Joel Young raced unopposed in the Men’s Open 3 race.

In the middle distance race, where courses were up to 3.1 km in length, Whistler’s Martin Padroe was 10th in the Men’s 20 category in a time of 35:14. Young was second in the same group in 50:17.

Sheryl Reynolds was unopposed in the Women’s Open 3 category in 1:50:39.

Gary Robbins, a Squamish adventure racer, placed first in the Men’s Open 5 group in 30:05.

The long distance course followed a route that was up to 5.1 km in length, providing you move smoothly from checkpoint to checkpoint.

Whistler’s Mark Fearman, Robbins’s racing partner, placed 13th in the Men’s 20 category in 2:16:15, while Robbins was 16th in 3:31:38.

Joel young competed in Men’s Open 4, placing first in 1:14:48 on a shorter 2.8 km course with eight checkpoint

loop the lakes

Local runners Loop the Lakes

The second annual Loop the Lakes trail run took place this past Sunday in Squamish with 8 km and 15 km course options around Alice Lake drawing more than 110 participants.

The 15 km race was a battle up front until John Davies broke away on the descent to cross the line in 1:05:40. Mt. Currie’s Sean Wolfe finished second in 1:06:25.

Whistler’s Duncan Munro placed fourth overall in 1:07:41, and was second in the Under 40 age category.

The top female was Squamish athlete Teresa Hoivik, who placed seventh overall in 1:12:13.

Whistler’s Walter Wallgram was 14th overall in 1:15:22 and second in the 40 to 49 age category.

Lisa Kallio was the second female overall and in the Under 40 category in 1:15:37.

Daniel Havens placed second in the men’s Over 50 category in 1:16:05.

Local running coach Val Burke was 25th overall in 1:19:28.

Hilary Lindh was one spot back in 1:20:32.

Lee Edwards was 29th in 1:22:02.

Robert Tan was 30th in 1:23:13.

In the 8 km loop adventure racer Jen Segger-Gigg placed fifth overall and was the top female in 36:23.

Shannon Susko placed 22nd overall in 44:30, while Ian McCurdy was 23rd in 44:34.

Libby McKeever finished in 1:04:17.

Complete results are available online at www.loopthelakes.com.

The Loop the Lakes run is the fourth event in the Sea 2 Sky Trail Running Series. Other events are the Rubble Creek Classic trail run, a 25 km route, on Sept. 24, and the Lumpy’s Epic 12 km run on Oct. 14. For more information visit www.s2srun.com

Last Hash Run of the year !!

The Last hash run has come and gone. After the last wet hash run, the runners were a little smarter with the river crossing. The route had over 22 lbs of flour making the route long and hard and yes there was some Hard hills and burning legs. In the end everyone had fun, right Dan? Thanks to all who made it a great year! If it were not for you “hash-heads” coming out every month. None of this would happen. Thanks guys from the top finishers and the last runner we will always wait for the Tan-man.
This Summer Of Whistler Hash runs has been sponsored by The Escape Route, Salomon, Adidas Eyewear, the Cinnamon Bear bistro, Fun Hog, Whistler Running Experience and The letter “B” and the number “12” .
Caio, Munny

Not quite Canadain Hospitality

Not Quite Canadian Hospitality
Just a couch and a road ride.

That’s all my friend Munny was hoping for. After all, last summer for a whole week he put me up, fed me gourmet meals, and took me on some stunning, epic rides in his hometown in Whistler, Canada.

Munny flew down to California last week to get away from the deep snow and frostbite. He’s a full-time firefighter, but somehow finds time to train as a pro adventure racer. He was pining for some long, warm miles on the road bike, and a little time with American friends. And, I was on his list for the central coast wine country segment.

The problem was, my husband and I are in the middle of a home improvement project, in the painting stage to be precise. And for the first time since we’ve lived here, we were going to have to get a hotel room to spare our last remaining brain cells from the toxic fumes. The burnt crème custard walls looked great, but they reeked.


Turned out there was just enough space for Munny in our hotel room on the squeaky little roll-out bed in the corner. He didn’t complain once, despite my husband’s violent punctuated bouts of snoring.

The next morning at a cafe, I broke Munny the news that not only would we NOT be riding road bikes, but he’d be borrowing my heavy free-ride bike to join me as I zipped up my favorite rocky trails on my super light race bike.


“We’ll ride dirt today,” I announced. “The vineyards do make pretty road riding, but I’m kind of in the mood for some trails.”

He muttered something about low-intensity road miles and taking pictures of rolling fields of grapes, but nodded politely and sipped his coffee.

“That’s okay. It’s still California, eh?” he conceded.

Munny did a great job hammering up the climbs on my beefy free-ride bike, although his training schedule forbade it. I kept reminding him that even though he was lugging around those big downhill tires, the Maxxis stuff still has lower resistance tread patterns compared to other brands.

“You’d better clear the next loose climb!” I’d cajole him from behind. “ I always make this section! Of course I’m not supposed to try right now, in my condition.”

When we got back to my place, all I could find in our second-hand harvest gold refrigerator were two bagels: one fresh onion and one very stale blueberry. Without hesitation, he opted for the blueberry. I just shrugged and dropped the pair of dry, half-disc husks on his plate.

Crazy Canadian, I thought. I would have chosen the onion.
writen BY Marla streb