Hi everyone,

Our team is slowly growing. We now have 70 runners participating in Ottawa Race Weekend to raise awareness and support and funds for research for MitoCanada.

There is still room on the Team! It would be amazing to get to 100 runners, so please spread the word with family, friends, co-workers or neighbours who are also registered to run at Race Weekend in Ottawa.

Fundraising:

I hope everyone is gearing up for fundraising. We are 26 days from race day and this is the time to start to get the word out about what you are doing the weekend of May 27^th-28^th and why. Visit the MitoCanada website to learn more about mitochondrial disease and start to spread the word about how important this charity is to Canadians and their families struggling with this disease. Facebook, Twitter, email, face to face conversations (imagine!) are all great tools to help you reach your fundraising goals.  Here is a short blurb you could post:

I will be running for Team MitoCanada at Ottawa Race Weekend May 27^th and 28^th, 2012.

Mitochondrial disease affects 1 in 4000 people. Mitochondria are the energy engines of the cell, when they fail cells fail in the body. If a large enough number of cells fail, organ failure, chronic illness and serious medical conditions an occur. Common conditions related to mitochondrial disease include: hearing loss, blindness, muscular weakness and neuropathy, gastrointestinal conditions, impaired cognitive functioning.

Mitochondrial disease has no treatment or cure at this time – but with your help we can raise awareness, support for families living with this disease and funds for research.

The goal for the Team MitoCanada Project is to raise AWARENESS for mitochondrial disease and to raise funds to support the mission of MitoCanada. I hope you will consider sponsoring me for this important cause. Please visit my donation page at: xxx

For more information on mitochondrial disease you can visit www.mitocanada.org.

Don’t forget to visit our fundraising page www.mitocanada.org/team (Donate) and to set up your electronic account under Team MitoCanada Ottawa. I you need further information on how to do this, please contact me

Team MitoCanada Cheering Station – Ottawa Half Marathon and Full Marathon

I am excited to announce that we will be partnering with Bushtukah and Ottawa Race Weekend to host a cheering station during the half and full marathons. We’ll be proudly flying our MitoCanada colors and making lots of noise for the runners to cheer them on. I am sure many of you have friends or family who would like to join us. We’ll be setting up in the parking lot of Bushtukah on Richmond Road. Bring out your posters, noisemakers and best cheering voice! Our cheering station will be on location from 7 a.m. until noon. (Note: If you would like to see the elite runners go by, it is recommended that you arrive by 7 a.m.)

Team MitoCanada and Bushtukah

Bushtukah is one of the key supporters of MitoCanada. I am happy to let you know that they have included all MitoCanada team members into their athlete database to receive a regular 10% in-store discount. Simply let the staff person at the checkout know that you are with Team MitoCanada and you will receive this regular discount (excluding sale items).

Bushtukah has 2 great locations on Richmond Road and in Kanata and have all the gear you need for running, cycling, swimming, cross country skiing and more.

www.bushtukah.com

Team MitoCanada In The News

We are beginning to get some media coverage in advance of Ottawa Race Weekend. Check out this weekend’s Ottawa Citizen and Ottawa Citizen online for an inspiring interview with Team MitoCanada Ottawa athletes Sarah Antonakos and Alyson McNish who will be telling their stories about how mitochondrial disease has touched them.

You can also check out the recent Running for a Reason blog on the iRun website where they have published a recent article I have submitted about Team MitoCanada

http://www.irun.ca/blog/index.php/irun-for-team-mitocanada/

I also had an opportunity for a radio interview chat with Mark Sutcliffe, the publisher of iRun (my interview is around minute 21)

http://proxy.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/12/6622/runningshow-april14.mp3

Happy Running!

Julie

As part of the Team MitoCanada Marathon Project, we will be running a water and gel station on the Marathon course as a means of spreading awareness for our cause and supporting the Team Mito runners out on course that day running for those who can’t!!!

We are putting the call out to volunteers to help us support and cheer on the Calgary Marathoners out on course that day as part of the Calgary Marathon Charity Challenge!  Joel Souchotte and his wife Laurie will be coordinating the station on behalf of MitoCanada.

Aid Station #4:  We have been assigned Water Station #4 on the Marathon course.  It is located at 3808 – 13th St. S.W., which is located approximately half way between the 12 and 13km markers of the Marathon course.  Please refer to the PDF map and look for the MitoCanada logo.

Required Volunteers:  We will be aiming for 15 volunteers to help out that day.

Time Commitment:  The water station timing is from 7:00 a.m. through about 9:45 a.m. on May 27, 2012.

MitoCanada “Flair”:  We will be doing our best to brand the water station stand out from the pack, so that people remember going through our station.  Further details to come!

Where do I sign up?:  Please follow this link to sign up for the water station.

http://www.doitsports.com/volunteer/join-protected-group.tcl?event_id=212898

Select “Station 4 (MitoCanada)” from the drop-down menu and enter the password “joel” to register.  Please enter “not applicable” when it asks for your “State”. 

Please also email joelsouchotte@gmail.com to let him know that you have registered.  Contact Joel at that email address with any questions or concerns.  See you on May 27th!

I recently had the pleasure to speak with Mark Sutcliffe of iRun – Canada’s Running Magazine. Mark hosts a radio show on Saturday’s, also called iRun. He focuses the show on local runners and events. http://irun.ca/

April 14th, Mark invited me to speak with him about Team MitoCanada Ottawa at Ottawa Race Weekend.  Here is the podcast (my segment is at minute 21). http://www.autopod.ca/podcasts/chum/12/6622/runningshow-april14.mp3

Team MitoCanada Ottawa is 10 weeks from Ottawa Race Weekend and ready to run!

I am proud to announce that Team MitoCanada Ottawa is at 54 runners for Ottawa Race Weekend, only a short 10 weeks away, May 26th and 27th in our nation’s capital.  We are also excited to be a sister event to Calgary Race Weekend, and team MitoCanada Calgary led by Blaine Penny. We are still recruiting, so if you are registered to run in Ottawa why not join Team MitoCanada Ottawa and run for those who can’t.

Our athletes will be participating in events including the 5k, 10k, half marathon and marathon.  We are excited that the warm weather has arrived and everyone is well into their training.

Fundraising:

In addition to wearing the MitoCanada colours at Race Weekend, we are also going to do some awesome fundraising for this important charity.  Our charity website is up and running at  https://mitocanada.myetap.org/team2012/ and we are well on our way toward our goal of $10,000. Yes, that’s right! We’ve upped it from the original $5000. There is power in numbers.

We are also happy to announce that MitoCanada will be hosting a ‘cheering station’ during the Ottawa Race Weekend half marathon and marathon. Our cheering station will be loud and proudly flying the MitoCanada banner and colours. If you are in Ottawa during Race Weekend, and not running, please feel free to join us (contact me for more information).

Team MitoCanada Launch and Team Event 

Sarah Antonakos (another mito-mom and runner) and I have planned a Team MitoCanada party for Tuesday, March 27 from 6 – 9 p.m. at the Cock’n Bull Pub on Richmond Road.  It will be a great evening full of motivation, inspiration and surprises. If you can join us, you can RSVP to me at Julie.drury@mitocanada.org.

I am please to announce that triathlon and running coach extraordinaire, Geordie McConnell, will be joining us to give a motivational talk and get us even more excited about being involved in running with a purpose. You can check out more about Geordie at http://www.ottawatriathlonclub.com/

Go Team MitoCanada Ottawa!

Julie

Julie.drury@mitocanada.org

In the March Issue of the Team MItoCanada Newsletter: (Download the Full pdf version for complete articles: http://www.mediafire.com/?ht5ze1h04vs6kym)

PLEASE READ THE FULL PDF VERSION FOR MORE INFORMATION AND LINKS ABOUT EACH OF THE TOPICS ABOVE.

Come out and support a great event- The Canmore Ski Fest! This year all proceeds will go to MitoCanada! Big Thank You to race organizer Richard Boruta for supporting our cause.

Here’s the scoop or visit the website (http://www.canmoreskifest.com/):

Skiers, bikers, adventure racers!

Please, mark down in your calendar, that the second edition of our 12/24 hrs cross – country ski race will be held on March 24 – 25th, 2012 in Canmore. The world-famous Canmore Nordic Centre will host our annual event on same trail system as last year. Trails will be professionally prepared for both skating and classic skiing and you can use technique of your choice in the race.

Since we are encouraging the whole family to participate at the Canmore Ski Fest events, we will host again a short race for kids and novices, along with more fun activities on Saturday afternoon.

Proceeds are going to MitoCanada.

Watch the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K6YNwkVYlZ0

Register now!

Come and join us for a weekend full of cross country skiing and fun!

Richard Boruta
Chief of OC
(403) 688 – 1113
canmoreskifest@gmail.com – or go to Contact Form

Alicia Evans, Performance Endurance Coach from Ascent Physical Therapy and Performance Lab in Canmore, has graciously offered to host 2 nights of Computrainer Bike Races in support of MitoCanada.

On Feb 21 and Feb. 23, Alicia has planned a Time Trial Course using Computrainer bike trainers/software.

FORMAT FOR THE NIGHTS:

Distance: 16.09km Flat Team Time Trial (Pairs)

Categories: Men, Women and Mixed with a limit of 8 teams per category. They will be run over three time periods.

Cost: $30 per team ($15 each). All money going to MitoCanada

TUESDAY: 6.30pm (women), 7.30pm (mixed) and 8.30pm (men). – 4 Teams of each

THURSDAY: 6.30pm (women), 7.30pm (mixed) and 8.30pm (men). – 4 Teams of each

We have been fortunate to have several local organisations donate prizes for category winners along with door prizes, including 2 entries to Rundles Revenge and the Highwood Pass Gran Fondo. Many thanks to Kevin McDonald.

All proceeds from entry fees and donations will go to MitoCanada.

Contact Alicia at alicia@ascentperformance.com for registration info.

We are truly thankful for Alicia’s/Ascent’s support and to all the local businesses in Canmore and Banff who have donated prizes.

Many thanks to the support of Jeremy Deere and Strides Running Store. Not only have they ordered Team Mito Apparel for sale at their Store but they also featured Team MitoCanada in their latest newsletter.

Please visit Strides for your next shoe purchase or just to ask questions from their very knowledgeable staff. They will also be hosting a talk from Award winning author and former Canadian National Track Team member Alex Hutchinson on Feb. 8 from 6-7pm. He will speaking on the Science of Running and his popular book “Which comes first Cardio or Weights”.

Thanks Jeremy!