October Update

Did September fly past for anybody else? We can’t believe it’s October already! We want to congratulate all Stryders who ran at Ultra Trail Stokely Creek! It’s challenging terrain out there and courses are difficult to say the least so no matter what distance you tackled, we’re proud of you! Congrats!

Covid Safety

Just a reminder to everyone who wishes to participate in any of our group runs that we are still using an attendance tracking form that MUST be completed by ALL runners prior to any group run. In the unlikely event that anybody from our group is exposed to Covid, we need to be able to contact others to do our part in preventing community spread. We are going to try to make the sheet as accessible as possible by linking to it in our group run reminders; links can also be found on the homepage of our website and in the Announcements of our Facebook Group. Again, this sheet MUST be filled out if you want to join a group run. Your co-operation in this matter is greatly appreciated.

Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes!

With the onset of Autumn, we’ll be making some changes to our group run schedule. This will be reflected on the corresponding page of the website, but here’s a summary:

Mile Hill Monday will be discontinued until further notice. The weather is turning unpredictable and the Mile Hill trail is too unsafe to run when wet. If there is enough demand, we may move this run to another hill. Your feedback is welcome!

Tuesday Trail Therapy/Toonie Tuesday will continue at the regular time and place.

Thursday Morning Waterfront 5k will be discontinued until further notice due to lack of interest.

Fartlek Friday will be rescheduled to a new day and time still TBD. We had a lot of interest in a weekly track workout but Friday AM didn’t seem to work for many people. We’re working on it! Stay tuned for further updates about when and where it will resume.

Long Slow Sunday will continue at a new time and location – 10am, Hiawatha parking lot.

Couch to 5K – Round Two!

We will be starting our second Couch to 5K program on Wednesday, October 6th. We will meet at 6pm in Clergue Park, across from the library. Our group uses the ZenLabs Fitness C25K App, available for Android and iPhone. We encourage everyone to download it so you’re able to follow along and do the other weekly runs alone or with a friend in order to keep up with the progression from one week to the next.

Couch to 5K Graduates

For anybody who completed the first C25K Program and isn’t sure what to do next, this one’s for you! Wednesday nights at 6:45pm, meet us in Clergue Park across from the library for a slow, social 5k. This is a no-drop run for anybody who can do most or all of a 5k run but who doesn’t quite feel ready to tackle our Tuesday evening trail run yet. We’ll take it easy, stick together, and move our bodies for JOY, not punishment. We hope to see you there!

Up-and-Coming!

There are a few local and almost-local events to look forward to in October.

Join your Sault Stryders on Monday October 11th at 10AM for a trail trot up the “Mile Hill” in Goulais River, Ontario. We will meet at the bottom of the Mile Hill, HWY 17 on the East side of the road at the Truck Stop/Snow Plow turn around, which is on the shoulder of the HWY. The run will go up hill, alongside the HWY on the trail to the top, then back down again (about 6km in total). Please wear appropriate clothing (bright colours encouraged for visibility), footwear that can take some mud and water. We run rain or shine! Sault Stryders Members will be eligible to receive prizes by random draw! Stay tuned for details but in usual fashion they will be awesome As always please socially distance and we will have our Google Doc sheet for those wanting to attend to fill out prior to attending.

Next, we have The Wawa Trifecta! Want to have a great weekend in Wawa? Join us Saturday, October 23rd at 10am for an amazing 6km trail run, and at 1pm for the brutal 1km hill climb. On Sunday, October 24th, join a scenic half-marathon starting at 10am. For full details, visit the Defeat the Peat Trail Race Facebook Page. If anyone needs overnight accommodations, reach out to Brian via FB!

Third, Bear in Mind Running presents The Homerun Hiller Thriller on October 30th. For anyone new to the concept, there is a a live lottery on Oct 16th to determine the seeding and first round byes for the 4 tournaments. Women’s run / bike, & Men’s run / bike.

Then we proceed to a March madness style bracket tournament of hill running / biking. 1k up Homerun Hill, 1k down. Pick up a chip at the top, get back down to the bottom quicker than your bracket mate and you move on!

Only one will be left standing at the end of each tourney. It’s truly never more fun to be a loser than on Thriller day. Get your name in the lottery HERE.

Finally, also organized by Bear in Mind Running, don’t miss out on the Virtual Robertson Cliffs Challenge! BIM took the toughest 5km hike in all of Algoma and turned it into a virtual race! The event runs all October long, and the goal is simple: Complete that 5km loop faster than anybody else. Watch the Bear in Mind Running Facebook Page for full details.