Penguin Stampede Encounter, Calgary, Alta.
July 6 to 10, 2006

Race report from Glenn...
Date: Sun Jul 16, 2006
Subject: YEE-HAW! Glenn's Calgary Penguin Stampede Report
 

Fellow winged wonders...   This was probably my first REAL vacation since my trip to St. Louis in April 2004. Since then, life has made things fairly busy, although I managed to make the annual pilgrimage to Chicago to help out with the Chicago Distance Classic. So I was really looking forward to the Penguin Stampede encounter. I had never visited Calgary; in fact, I've never been west of Ontario in Canada. So this was new to me. When I asked people, "What should I do in Calgary?", many of them said I should see the Rockies. Which is funny to me because they're suggesting something which is completely outside of Calgary! Anyway, my knowledge of Calgary was limited to: 1. Stampede, 2. It's near the Rockies, and 3. There's a great Penguin group there. I had communicated with Karen, Dawn and Dianne through the various lists for the last couple of years and I was looking forward to finally meeting them. Last Thursday (July 6th), I flew from Pearson airport in Toronto to Calgary. Five hours (and a stopover in Winnipeg) later, I arrived in Calgary. I knew I arrived when I looked out the window and saw the Calgary Tower. Karen and Jeanne (from Maryland) were waiting for me at the arrivals' exit. It was a hot day already. Nearly 30C and sunny. We got into Karen's car and drove downtown. It was lunchtime, but you could see plenty of people using the Bow River trail. Runners, inline skaters, cyclists. You could even see people kayaking and canoeing down the river itself. We arrived at the Mewata Armoury, site of the race expo, and met up with Dawn. I didn't really want to move around very much, so I decided to help with the packet stuffing for the race. After a couple of hours, I took my stuff and walked to the nearest C-train station and caught the northwest train for University station. I was staying at the University of Calgary campus. The prices were pretty good for a private room ($43 a night), although you got what you paid for. A small room, no air-conditioning, shared bathrooms. But considering I usually stay in hostels, this was _luxury_. I dropped off my junk and went exploring. There were some neat perks: Free Internet access in the library, a very nice student centre/food court, celebrity sighting of Catriona Le May Doan (double Olympic gold medal winner). I went back to my room and got ready for the group run and weenie roast, hosted by the Penguins and Calgary Roadrunners. Well, as soon as I got dressed, it started raining. Hard. I looked out my dorm room window and thought, "It'll pass." Well, that's when the hail came down. Good chickpea-size pieces of it, too. By the time it settled down, I knew I would be late. I ran down to the bus loop and travelled to Edworthy Park. It was still raining, so I hoped they didn't leave. I got to the park entrance and who walks toward me but Virgil from Nebraska! Virgil and Cheryl had been travelling across the U.S. and Canada for the last couple of weeks and it was good to see a familiar face. (We had met previously in St. Louis.) Anyway, I was recruited to bring back a watermelon to the campsite, which was luckily under cover. It was there that I saw Cheryl along with Dianne and several members of the Roadrunners. Most of them had skipped the run and decided to focus on the weenie roast. As soon as the rain died down, they started the fire and we cooked our own hot dogs over the fire. Halfway through the roast, the Calgary Penguins held a "White Hat Ceremony" for the visiting Penguins. Traditionally, when a "dignitary" visits the city, city officials give them a white hat as a welcoming gesture. Well, the Calgary Penguins did the same for us (Virgil, Cheryl, Jeanne and I) and we also had to recite an oath. I can't remember the words to it, but it definitely ended with a YEE-HAW! We finished the roast with marshmallows. Nebraska Penguins Virgil and Cheryl The next day (Friday), I started out with a short run through the U of Calgary campus. I always find a short run a great way to clear my head and discover my surroundings. Well, the first thing I realized was that there were a bunch of kids camps going on at the same time: tennis, basketball, football, skating... U of C is the home of the Olympic Oval skating facility, which was built for the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics. It's open to the public all year long, so I definitely wanted to skate there before I left. I also noticed all the animals and bugs in the area. Most notably, the rabbits and magpies. And especially the mosquitoes! Boy, did i get bitten big time through the weekend. Fortunately, by the end of the trip, I was wearing pants and long-sleeved shirts :-) After my run, I cleaned up and went downtown to explore. I visited the Eau Claire market and 8th Street (aka Stephen Avenue), which is a popular pedestrian mall. All the western wear stores (Lammle's, Riley & McCormick) were packed with people wanting to buy cowboy hats. The Stampede parade was that morning, which officially started the Calgary Stampede. The Stampede is a celebration of the West, and everyone wears their cowboy gear, even in downtown office buildings. That evening, Karen, Jeanne and I visited the Loose Moose Theatre. Loose Moose is the home of the "Theatresports" improv comedy format. I belong to a theatre in Toronto which has the rights to that format, so this was akin to a visit to an improv "Mecca". The performance was great and there was plenty of audience participation (we got to rate every scene). A fun night all-around. Saturday, I signed up for an introductory climbing course at the University. Turns out that U of C has a great outdoor centre, which organizes classes and equipment rentals. They also have a great climbing wall inside the university. I spent most of the day learning how to rappel, belay, boulder and fall (yes, fall). We had an excellent teacher and I'm looking forward to contiuing my climbing exploits in Toronto (where it's not so hilly). When I was a kid, I used to climb trees all the time, so it really brought back fond memories. My only concern was that I didn't have a major injury before the race on Sunday! Climb every mountain! Linda and Jane repeat Karen's "White Hat Ceremony" oath I took the C-train to the southeast part of Calgary and took another bus to Dianne's house, which is right beside a provincial park. Dianne was hosting the pre-race pasta dinner. Got to meet Dianne's family as well as Penguin Linda from Alberta and Jane from Charlotte. The Calgary Penguins held another white hat ceremony for Linda and Jane. The dinner was AMAZING. There was plenty of food for everyone. We got to sample some of the Saskatoon berries in their backyard. And Derek even gave us an impromptu running fashion show. Derek's style advice: More colours! Got back to the University for an early sleep. The marathoners were planning to start at 6:00 a.m. on Sunday. Woke up early on Sunday and put my junk together for the C-train trip to the start/finish area at Mewata Armoury. I was walking through the campus a little groggy from the lack of sleep and rushing to get downtown when a young man approached me and said, "Good morning!" in a British accent. He was in a bathrobe and smoking a filtered cigarette -- I was so floored by this that I stopped to talk with him. He wished me good luck and continued on his walk. There was already a big group congregating at 7 a.m. for the half-marathon and regular marathon start at the Armoury. I could tell it was going to be a hot day: Sunny and 30C. I really didn't know how anyone could run a half, let along a full marathon in these conditions. You know how you know you're in Calgary? They start the race with a SHOTGUN blast! Announcer: "That's how we do things here in Calgary!" Wow. I was running the 10K, which started at 7:30 a.m. It was going to be a hot one, for sure. Of course, I forgot to bring my water bottle, so I had to rely on the water stations. The race started and it only took a minute to hit the starting line. My goal was a sub-hour, but at the 1 kilometre mark, I knew I would be over that, so I switched my strategy to one of survival. I realized that it was a big mistake not to bring my own water, because there were only TWO water stations on the 10K route. Although the course was supposed to be closed to runners, there were several Calgary transit buses that made their way slowly to the side of the road. You could tell that some of the passengers were not happy at all. I waved to a couple of them and one cowboy gave me the finger! All I could do was laugh! Grand Poobah Glenn on the 10K course Because time wasn't an issue, I decided to walk through the water stations and get enough hydration. I also posed for pictures any time I could. I think they look very nice. You can see them by finding #4315 on the TPS photo Web site. There were two more hills at the end before a slow downhill to the finish line. I definitely gave the race 100% and I was pleased with my finishing time: 1:01.06. Although I didn't see the half-marathoners finish, I did see Jeanne, Cheryl and Karen finish their marathons. Congrats especially to Cheryl and Karen for finishing their first-ever marathons! I hung around the start/finish area with the other Penguins until Dianne gave me a drive back to the U of Calgary. Cheryl (left) and Karen (right) finish their first marathons Karen and Cheryl, post-marathon Linda, Dawn and Jane, post-half marathon So what's the first thing I did after a hard 10K race in 30C temperature? I went skating at the Olympic Oval! I rented a pair of long-track skates and joined the public skate. There weren't that many people (maybe 30 or so), so I was able to flip and flop around with doing any major damage. Actually, I only fell once :-) My skating is not that great, but I managed to propel myself around the Oval. On the walls are the world records and other accomplishments of Oval skaters. And I was able to see upclose other "professional" skaters. They make it look so easy -- it's like they're not doing any work. On Sunday night, the Penguins had dinner at Applebee's. I had a steak, which was medium-rare and tasty. We travelled to Dawn's house afterwards, where there was a "prize table" for all of us. Some really nice stuff: I got a turtleneck and a toy Calgary Stampeders football (which is now at my work desk). Took some group photos and said our goodbyes. Returned to the University and started to pack for my departure on Monday. Checked out of the University early on Monday morning and left my bags there, which was a nice perk. Ran around the city on Monday doing last-minute things: having a pancake at Rope Square/Olympic Plaza, visiting Gord's Running Store (where I got a winter top on sale), going to church and finally... Visiting the Stampede grounds. I only had two hours, but it was great fun. Even picked up a cool bumper sticker (I'll scan it and put it with my pictures). Rushed back to the University to get my things and hurried for the airport. Unfortunately, I severely underestimated my time! With only one hour to go, I ran off the transit bus and ran to the nearest hotel (luckily, we were in the airport hotel area). I got some money from an ATM, hailed a taxi and we flew to the Calgary airport. I got to my gate 10 minutes before boarding!!! Whew. That was close. Spent my trip back relaxing on the plane. Of course, the only time I ever check a bag, it takes an hour for me to get it at the arrivals baggage area :-( Got a ride back home and crashed on my bed. The good news: I phoned into work and took Tuesday off :-) Assorted bits and bites from around Calgary: Vehicle traps (and a trapped vehicle!), Old Dutch chips, Bernard Callebaut chocolate, magpies, rabbits and mosquitoes, the Wilkinsons' "water bottle holder", pancake breakfasts, sun goes down at 10:30 p.m.!, Stampede packs... A BIG HUGE THANK YOU TO THE CALGARY PENGUINS! Dianne, Karen and Dawn... Karen for being the "Penguin Mommy," picking me up at the airport and going to the Loose Moose Dianne for the awesome pre-race pasta dinner Dawn for the race organization, the goodie bags and the post-race gathering. The three of you have something really special in Calgary and I'm happy that there's a thriving group of Penguins in Western Canada! You are the reason I came down for the encounter! I still wear my white hat with pride :-) Thanks also to your friends, family and the Calgary Roadrunners, who helped to make our stay so enjoyable. Thanks to everyone for helping me get around Calgary. I'm pretty good when it comes to getting around, but I always need help. The trip was definitely worth it and I'd go back again. Next time, I'd probably want to visit the Rockies and try some rock climbing. From a personal perspective, the most stressful thing was carrying around so much stuff. Next time, I have to figure out a way to: 1. bring less stuff, and 2. not have to bring any stuff around with me if I can help it.   Godspeed! Glenn ps. I've put photos on the Penguin Stampede Yahoo! Group Web site. Not all of them, but a lot of them. I also have photos from the race itself. My bib number is #4315. pps. Hmm... I wonder what the NEXT big Penguin encounter will be? St. Louis? Nebraska? Calgary 2007? Toronto? My desk at work: Notice the hat, football and bumper sticker!

 

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