Fastest Times in History

Tobermory Trail Race Weekend continued its tradition of hosting a community-led and strongly-supported event in Tobermory with the proceeds again being forwarded to the Primary Place Child Care Centre.  The event is put on by Peninsula Adventure Sports Association (PASA) which is a local non-profit promoting outdoor sport on the Bruce Peninsula, along with the help of a local committee.

2018 organizing committee – absent Monique, Sarah and Sheila!

Friday’s wind gusts created some challenges for the organizers, however with the help of committee members Ashley Salen, Sara Gowland, Tien Angus, Monique Wall, Terry Heffernan, Leigh Grigg, Tara Harpur, Sarah Peacock and Sheila Buckingham, along with extra assistance from race volunteers and key sponsors, everything was set up in time for the weekend.

The poor weather on Friday undoubtedly frightened away a number of racers entirely, resulting in 35 racers and 5 relay teams not attending the weekend.  However the event added 20 spots to last year’s capacity thanks to its close partnership with Parks Canada and a continued commitment to safety planning. Keeping the event environmentally sustainable is at the forefront of planning and the event this year ceased use of plastic cups.

Despite the gusty evening, a group of outdoor enthusiasts cozied up in the Community Centre for the guest speaker Shannon Miller listening to her fascinating talk on Adventure Racing.

Saturday morning saw the marathoners and relay teams start with PASA directors Tara Harpur and Leigh Grigg at 7am, subsequently producing a mad dash through downtown Tobermory.  The half marathoners were then brought to Cyprus Lake campground for their start at 8am.  From that point onward, as racer Jay Myatt succinctly put it, it’s “run time now.”

Jay was certainly correct. This year was by far the fastest race weekend yet, with 14 course records being broken by the winners, including all the big ones: overall Trail Marathon, overall Trail Half Marathon, Trail Marathon Relay and overall Flowerpot 5K.

Despite some downed trees and the occasional (temporarily) lost racer, race weekend was relatively incident-free and plenty of smiles were found at the finish line street party.  After two years of fun activities along the pedestrian-only Bay St. the community knows now to bring along their kids to check out the exhibits.  Cheering on the finishers as they cross the line is always the most popular activity but this year there were inflatable Zoo Guts to compliment the bouncy castle and face-painting.  Saturday evening there were a lot of familiar faces at the Tobermory Brewing Company for dining, and at the Painted Turtles Silent Auction event at the Parks Visitors Centre.  There were racers literally everywhere you looked in town Saturday evening, even some who were due to be ready at 6am the following morning for the sailing to the Flowerpot Island 5 km run.

All finishing times in all divisions can be found on the website www.tobermorytrail.com and then by clicking on “results”.  An achievement that stuck out was Owen Sound’s Brian Dubeau and David White winning their third set of relay paddles after taking the relay division for the 3rd straight year. What made it unique this year though was that they finally beat the 4hour mark (finishing in 3 hours 53minutes and 53 seconds) although a minute later the men’s trail marathon solo winner Zack Reimer from St. Catherines also achieved the same feat, posting a 3 hour 54 minute and 35 second result.

Brian Dubeau and David White on top of the Relay podium (again!)

Sunday’s 3rd annual Flowerpot Island 5K had fewer no shows than it’s counterpart marathon, so the new glass-bottom tour boat Blue Heron 8 had a lively atmosphere on its sunrise trip to the island.  Race director Tien Angus started everyone at 7:05am and finishers came into the Flowerpot lightstation not long after, the fastest of whom was Jake Harpur of South Bruce Peninsula, at 24 minutes and 1 second; a three-peat victory for Jake.  Lola Bater, a track and XC star from Kitchener, posted a 28min 59sec result to claim the women’s title this year.

The Friends of Bruce District Parks provided an incredible breakfast after the run, complete with hors d’oeuvres of every popular breakfast treat from waffles to quiches.  The awards were handed out at the Blue Heron dock with each racer receiving a medal and a Tobermory stainless steel water bottle.

In total, 230 racers and approximately 75 volunteers took part in the weekend, each of whom received a treat from the Sweet Shop, a hearty meal (Leeside’s brown bag lunch for volunteers) and a commemorative t-shirt.  Keeping proceeds local and providing a great race experience is what PASA does in close consultation with Parks Canada, and the event couldn’t have taken place without the generous support of Bruce Peninsula National Park and Fathom Five Marine Park.

The organizers would also like to thank the Peninsula Bruce Trail Club, the Friends of Bruce District Parks, Leeside’s Restaurant, the Blue Heron and all the other partners and landowners who donated cash or prizes or simply time and effort to help make the 3rd annual TTRW a success.

Breeze through Registration

See y’all between 5pm and 10pm at the Community Centre for registration.

Want to breeze through our Registration, and optimize your time in Tobermory?  Here’s how:

1. Print the waiver forms now, by downloading them from here.
2. Read the waiver forms over the next while (don’t forget this part!).
3. Complete the waiver forms with a pen.
4. Submit the completed waiver forms when you arrive at the Community Centre.  Note: Waiver forms cannot be sent via email or electronically this year, we apologize for this inconvenience.

This small task, done in advance, helps you enjoy your pre-race dinner (vegan options will be available) Friday evening… but dinner is only served from 5pm until shortly after 7pm, so be prompt!  Guest speaker is right after the close of the silent auction, at 8pm.  This year it’s Shannon Miller, an international Adventure Racer and new race director.

Here’s a snapshot of the rest of the weekend schedule:

READY, SET….

The Starters Lists are ready!

Unfortunately for some, that also means the deadline has now passed to transfer their registration to somebody else, a small service we’ve been providing up to this point, and continue to do each year.

From this point forward in 2018, bib swaps will not be allowed, but if you now find yourself unable to attend and unable to get anything in return for your race fee, feel free to COME AND TAKE IN THE WEEKEND AS A SPECTATOR and experience the finish line fun, grab your welcome package which includes the official tshirt and a gift from the The Sweet Shop and not forgetting the yummy dinner on the Friday evening.  Your can take some comfort in also knowing this event’s best kept secret… it’s a fundraiser for the Tobermory Primary Place Childcare Centre and your race fee means a lot… it basically helps the centre stay open during the winter months in Tobermory.

The confirmation list is here for Saturday Sept 22: https://zone4.ca/report/fbfed346-fd3b-11e7-95a2-0ad99e951742

The confirmation list is here for Sunday Sept 23 2018’s Flowerpot Island 5K Run:  https://zone4.ca/report/a50d5d58-fd3d-11e7-95a2-0ad99e951742

SOLOISTS: Sorry, but the deadline to swap out to a different name has come and gone. There are no exchanges or refunds or credits at this late stage. If you can’t attend the event please don’t advertise your bib for sale any longer.  We cannot change disciplines for any full marathoners looking to run the half marathon at this stage either, thanks for your understanding.  If you are concerned with your ability to complete the full trail marathon, please email us at ttrw2142@gmail.com

RELAY TEAMS: please look over your team makeup by clicking the link above, and let us know if anything needs changing. You are able to make changes until September 14th 2018 without any admin fees. ttrw2142@gmail.com is our email address.

Newsletter #2 is expected sometime this weekend and Newsletter #3 of 3 is expected shortly before you depart for the race.  These will have important information included so PLEASE add our addresses to your safe list or your list of contacts, depending on how your email client works, so that we don’t get filtered out of your inbox.  Our emails are quepasacanada@gmail.com and admin@griggsport.com

Regardless if you’re racing Saturday or Sunday, a copy of the most important Racer Newsletter #1 is available here (on this website) under “NEED TO KNOW”.

Thanks all, and happy training!

 

Bib Swaps

reposted from PASA blog: http://www.peninsulaadventure.ca

UPDATE: The deadline for registration transfers has now passed.  TTRW relay teams can make changes without fees until September 14th, 2018

The most frequent question we get is “I missed the race going on sale, and now the race I want is sold out.  Do you have a wait list?”

The second-most frequent question we get is “I just found out I can’t make it, can I get a refund or defer it to next year?” 

Unfortunately we cannot accommodate any of these scenarios.  We offer no refunds, we cannot defer until the following year and we don’t organize a wait list.

We do allow transfers between parties.  Be it the TTRW or Subaru BPMR, the process is the same.

We encourage all racers to check out your race’s associated Facebook Event (links below) to see if anyone is looking to go (“wanters”) or to see if anyone is looking to get out of a registration and recoup some of their fee (“cannoters”).  If and when a “wanter” finds a “cannoter,” either on Facebook or simply by word of mouth, then the “cannoter” just needs to let us know who the “wanter” is by emailing us at quepasacanada@gmail.com and if there’s sufficient time between the request and the race we can change the name & details.  There will be a $20 admin fee payable by e-transfer to our non-profit association in order to complete the administrative change, typically paid by the “wanter” …but not always.  Each party interested in swapping a bib will have to discuss and agree on the specific financial details with the other party directly, the race will only receive the admin fee(s) for the change(s).

In an effort to be more accommodating and have fewer DNS’s we will send a blurb in at least one of our e-newsletters to our mailing list to find some “wanters”, and a blurb in at least one racer newsletter to suss out some “cannoters” with the same call-to-action to the relevant Facebook event.  This is the effort we find ourselves able to make within the constraints of the non-profit association that we run.

If you don’t use Facebook, you can certainly search Twitter and Kijiji as well.

In every case, remember:

• we kindly ask that racers do not charge more for the registration than what they paid.
• if you use these forums, you leave your contact info at your own risk, and
• if you suspect a scam or illegitimate offer DO NOT SEND CASH OR E-TRANSFERS until you confirm with us that the race registrant you’re dealing with actually holds a valid registration.

Our third most frequent question is “can I drop down/ante up to a shorter/longer distance?” in which case you’ll have to do the above (you’re a wanter) and then do the same in reverse (as a cannoter) to find someone who wants to buy your other registration.

Our organization has to do what makes sense to be financially sustainable, and thus be able to continue putting on great events, each with their own great race experience.   Exact deadlines for switches are posted on our social media channels but are typically a month prior to the race.

Check out the discussions here:

Aug 11, 2018 Subaru Bruce Peninsula Multisport Race Facebook Forum

Sept 23-24, 2018 Tobermory Trail Race Weekend Facebook Forum

2018 public on-sale coming soon

2018 will mark the 3rd edition of the challenging & uber-scenic Tobermory Trail Race Weekend.  Saturday September 21 will be the Trail Marathon, Relay and Half Marathon and Sunday September 23 will be the Flowerpot Island 5K.

The public will get access to both these dates on Sunday January 21st at 10am at http://www.tobermorytrail.com

Please note:  Although the event sells out quickly, it’s important to know and research its level of difficulty BEFORE SIGNING UP.  These racecourses take place on VERY CHALLENGING TERRAIN, as described here.  Please be honest with yourself, and with your capabilities, and sign up for the distance you believe you can complete in the allotted time.  Cutoffs for 2018 have not been announced but will be similar to 2017 cutoffs.

2017 Cutoffs (2018 will be very similar)

• Marathon & Relay (7am start) must reach the 1⁄2 point by 11:00am.
• Marathon, Relay (7am start) and Half Marathon (7:30am start) must reach the Little Cove CP on their northbound leg of the trip by 2pm.
• Flowerpot Island 5K racers need to be able to complete a 5km trail run with some difficult sections in under 1h.

Previous racers and volunteers, as well as those who signed up to this promotion will receive an advance opportunity for both events from Wednesday January 17th at 5pm until Friday January 18th at 3pm. Everyone eligible for the pre-sale will receive an email invite by noon on Wednesday January 17th and only one registration will be allowed per eligible person.  Sorry, but pre-sale registrations are not transferable during the pre-sale window and must be claimed using the email address on file, and the name of the eligible person.  After the pre-sale window closes, any registration changes are subject to the usual $20 change fee.  Full details on the pre-sale will be here (coming soon) and will be emailed.

NEW THIS YEAR: Trail Marathon Relay teammates may be added or changed until August 25th for no charge.

50% of the total registration capacity will be available during the pre-sale window and 50% of the total registrations (plus whatever is not sold during pre-sale) will be available during the public onsale starting at 10am on Sunday January 21st at 10am.

Thanks to Parks Canada, Blue Heron Company and Leeside’s Restaurant and other partners for their incredible support.

Event Website: http://www.tobermorytrail.com  Facebook Page

PASA events: http://www.peninsulaadventure.ca  Facebook Page

2018 Date Announced

The date for the upcoming 3rd annual Tobermory Trail Race Weekend (TTRW) has been announced as September 21-23, 2018.  The event will take on a familiar format and will again feature both the Saturday Trail Marathon, Half & Relay as well as the Sunday Flowerpot Island 5K.

If you would like to be notified of the date of the public on-sale for the 2018 TTRW, please join our mailing list here.

The dates for both the pre-sale and the public on-sale will be announced shortly.

If you’re just discovering the TTRW and/or did not race or volunteer last year, there is still a way to get access to the pre-sale window with this promotion currently being run by our sister event, the Subaru Bruce Peninsula Multisport Race. This exciting event combines trail running with mountain biking (and even some paddling options!) and takes place August 11th 2018.  As of the time of this writing, only the sprint distance is left, or the “self-supported adventure race” Buff Long Course relay.

Exactly half of the registrations of all TTRW racecourses are available during the pre-sale window.  Pre-sale registrants will be allowed one registration per email address provided, will have to register under their name only, and any transfers thereafter will be subject to additional fees.  The other half of the TTRW registrations (plus whatever is not sold during the pre-sale window) will be available during the public on-sale a few days later.

Both events, plus the upcoming Wiarton Willie Groundhog Jog, go a long way to fundraise for outdoor sport on the Bruce Peninsula.  For this, we thank you sincerely for your support, and look forward to hosting you up here on the beautiful Bruce!

Enjoy your day.  Get outside!

2017 Event Proceeds: $14,000

The Tobermory Trail Race Committee would like to thank everyone – racers,
volunteers, and sponsors – who helped to make the 2nd annual Tobermory Trail
Race Weekend a smashing success and helped raise money for local causes.

Trail Marathon, Relay & Half photos are here and results are here.

Flowerpot Island 5K photos are here and results are here.

Friday’s Pasta dinner & guest speaker photos are here:

After a delicious pasta dinner, provided by the parents of Primary Place Daycare, 120 racers headed out early Sept 23 to tackle one of the toughest runs in Ontario. The course progressed mostly on the Bruce Trail through Bruce Peninsula National Park between Cyprus Lake and Tobermory.

At 7:00 am, accompanied by Kathryn Hauck on bagpipes, the 28 Marathon and 9 starting Relay racers were escorted to the start line on Bay St.  After cheering them on, the 82 Half Marathon runners loaded onto buses to head to their start line at Cyprus Lake. The rain the previous night combined with the humidity making temperatures reach well over 30 degrees Celcius made for a slippery hot run. Everyone was very careful to run within their abilities & the safety team was called on only a handful of times to coordinate aid for racers.

The finish line festivities began with a repeat of last year when Spencer Summerfield was the first racer across the line, holding onto his Half Marathon Open Male title. Don Graham, Steven Forrest, Bryan Dubeau & David White, and Joan Matthews also retained their respective titles from 2016 – Half Marathon Masters Male winner, Marathon Masters Male winner, Marathon Relay winners and Marathon Open Female winner.

These are amazing accomplishments but the talk of race day was Benjamin Jagdeo, who is just 12 years old and running with his teachers.  He finished the Half Marathon in 3:49:22, apparently high-fiving fellow runners all the way.

The amazing weather continued on Sunday morning when, in the still greyness of
dawn, 73 racers were transported by the Blue Heron Company to Flowerpot
Island to compete in the Flowerpot Island 5km race.  Jake Harpur (aka. Jack Van Dorp) retained his title of Flowerpot 5km winner.  Steven Forrest, Mary Thompson and Lisa Wardell were the other category winners.  Of note Steven and Lisa were just two of a group of racers who competed on both Saturday and Sunday!  The dedication of these athletes is extra impressive.

At the finish line of the Flowerpot Island 5K, the much sought-after Friend’s breakfast did not disappoint.  Have a taste for yourself with this Youtube clip: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYti-_GJpL4

The purpose of these events is to draw tourism in the off season, fundraise for the Primary Place Daycare & the Friends of Bruce District Parks, and share our amazing trails and natural environment.  The event raised over $10,000 for the daycare this year, plus an additional $4,000 for outdoor sport ventures via PASA.  By this bar, we consider this weekend a huge success and look forward to planning next year’s run.

Welcome!

It’s Race Weekend!

Thanks to Parks Canada, Leesides & Blue Heron for being such a big part of the event.

                         

Bruce Peninsula National Park & Fathom Five National Marine Park make up almost 95% of our racecourses this weekend.  Leeside’s Restaurant is providing our volunteer lunches, and all sorts of prizing.  Blue Heron is our Sunday morning cruise to Flowerpot Island and back, and a massive part of our awards ceremony.

Thanks as well to all our sponsors, volunteers and landowners for supporting the 2nd annual TTRW.

Thanks as well to the racers.  You’re going to have an awesome time.

Here’s what else is going on this weekend in Tobermory.

It’s almost raceday

Weather’s looking warm this weekend.  Keep your fingers crossed for nice conditions for us all.

All the info you need for this weekend, including copies of all 4 newsletters are here:
SATURDAY RACES: tobermorytrail.wordpress.com/marathon/
SUNDAY’S FPI5K:  tobermorytrail.wordpress.com/flowerpot-island-5k

Did you know:

• This race has 7 different landowners, without whose support we couldn’t deliver such an exciting course.
• There will be fun activities for your friends and family to discover at the finish line… right on Bay st in front of Tobermory Brewing Co from 10-3pm Saturday.
• This race is non-profit!  Proceeds benefit Tobermory Primary Place Daycare and local outdoor sport projects via Peninsula Adventure Sports Association.
• You race entry also gets you an advance purchase opportunity for next year’s race…. helpful considering we sold out the FPI5K in 3 hours.
• Your race bib will get you a couple of clutch discounts around town.
• There are 65 volunteers helping out!  This year’s volunteers get access to free first aid training and also get the advance purchase opportunity next year.
• Tobermory is an absolutely incredible place to visit in the fall!  Laid back & super-scenic.

 

Be a part of the fun

If you weren’t able to get into the race then another option is to volunteer.

We are looking for amazing volunteers for the Tobermory Marathon and Half Marathon Race.  Any volunteers this year will receive a complimentary CPR course prior to the race.  Several dates are available.

Come race weekend, the delicious volunteer sandwiches are generously provided by Leeside’s Restaurant.   All race proceeds go to local causes, including the Tobermory Primary Place Daycare.

To volunteer (the weekend is September 22-23) please email Tien at tien.angus@hotmail.com