Rene, Alex, Sayeeda, Sharon, Edie, Carla and Rachel ran to Winston through the trail, crossed Brighton and ran down Government to Seaforth School, cut through the school and ran through the neighbourhood to the trails, did a loop of the trails and then returned the same way. That’s a run on sentence. I ran into Al, Lynn, Jet and Bill on the way back – they were all looking great and I appreciated the puppy time break. Our run companions kept up a pretty good pace and Rachel and I had to keep them in sight so we didn’t get lost. Alex did 9.6k, but had a few Bobturns in there, so we did maybe 8.5 to 9. Sharon and Alex waited for us and we were out 1:05 with the others ahead of us. We saw Valerie and Richard on the way in – no baby yet, but parents-to-be looking swell. Just after our return, walkers Larry, Ross and Flora returned from their walk to Underhill and return. Very warm night but nice route and great company. Alex said we burned about 700 calories – Rachel said we could have an M & M, Sharon said we couldn’t swallow it though or we’d lose the benefit of the run.

Three walkers tonight – Flora, Ross and Larry walked along Beaverbrook, Eastlake to Underhill and back. Time out 1 hour 10 minutes. It was inspiring to see Ross as he is looking quite good and had a strong walk. Flora is doing well too. We were all glad to get out and enjoy the surprisingly sunny evening even though dusk comes earlier now.


Wednesday: Libby, Rene, Shiraz, Alex, Sharon and Edie ran through the trail to Winston, turned right on Brighton, left on Government, right on Piper, left on Lougheed after doing the long stairs, right on Lake City to Broadway and back to Cameron via Eastlake, etc. The night was warm and muggy, but no rain. It was a nice route, with ups and downs. We were out about one hour and did 8k, except for Alex and Rene, who did closer to 9k with Bobturns. We did miss our greeter sending us off and hope the recovery time is helping. We saw Barry at the centre going for a spin and looking well.

On Saturday at 7:45, eight Cruisers left Cameron Centre in the pouring rain. Carla, Rachel, Sheraz, Sherian, Christina, Norman, Alex & Edie followed the trail to Winston, then ran up Winston to the overpass where we got on to the Central Valley Trail. Rachel left us at Costco and must have had ESP as just further along the trail before Gilmore, the other Cruisers had no choice but to run through ankle deep water. Norman attacked the water like a true steeplechase runner, plowing on through, with the rest of us following his example, after trying to tiptoe. We soon forgot about wet shoes and socks, which now matched our clothes as we continued on. The rain let up to showers somewhere near the Burnaby/Vancouver border. We continued on Central Valley to Knight Street, where we turned right and ran to Terminal to avoid the 1 mile hill up Great Northern Way (thank you, Alex!), ran along Terminal to Science World, Expo Boulevard, Abbott and Cordova. We crossed the 20k mark across from Waterfront – that felt good! Alex’s watch said 2:27 and mine said 2:39, and his mileage was about 22.5, which was probably similar for Norman, as the two of them did Bobturns.

The Cruisers refueled at Waterfront, leaving the chairs wet then took the skytrain back to Lougheed station, leaving those seats wet as well. We dropped in on Cameron’s 30th Anniversary. We heard Rob playing in the jazz band, a man of many talents, and Christina snuck up on Barry trying out Nia, the latest dance/exercise class offered by Cameron. We had some more coffee and cake while wandering through the displays. The new dragon looks great. I’m sure everyone was glad to have a hot shower and get into dry, warm clothes, once we got home. Another fun Cruiser event! The great company helped us forget about sore limbs and tired bodies. The only thing that would have made the run better was the presence of our missing running buddies. You were all with us in spirit as we called out our familiar running lines, 4 more miles, we’ve done it before and can do it again, good job, men, etc., etc.