Owl’s Nest Book Launch – Calgary
On Wednesday, February 7 we held a book launch event at our favourite local indie book store, Owl’s Nest Books. Sarah Pratt, the Events Director at the store (and an avid ultramarathoner) was our marvelous host for the evening.
We were thrilled to welcome a standing-room crowd of friends, neighbours, teammates and work colleagues. I was honoured that my neurologist (Dr. Demchuk) and my long-time teammate at Adrenaline Rush Athletics (Dr. Stephen Wood)… both heroes of my stroke story… joined us for the evening.
I did a short reading from Stroke of Luck: My Life in Amateur Athletics. During the lively Q&A portion of the program, I shared my main messages:
- the importance of an active lifestyle
- knowing ALL the signs of stroke
- raising awareness (and funds) for the world-class stroke care provided by the doctors, nurses and staff in the Foothills Stroke Unit
Sincere thanks to Sarah at Owl’s Nest Books and Jeremy Deere from Strides Running Store, for your support of the reading and running communities in Calgary.
It was a special evening!
First Half Marathon – Vancouver
We didn’t get much time to recover, as we headed off to Vancouver on Friday for a weekend visit with Matthew. The headline purpose of the trip was to participate in the annual First Half Marathon, put on by RunVan and sponsored by BlueShore Financial.
As usual, the race was outstanding. It sold out immediately, as it does every year. This is definitely one of the premier races in Canada; well-organized and perfectly executed. It doesn’t hurt that the scenery is second to none. The highlight is the lap of the Stanley Park seawall.
I wrote about my history with the race in a previous post. This year, our race was challenging. The weather did not cooperate, although the steady rain was little more than an inconvenience. Deb and I were both hobbled by nagging injuries, which affected our preparation. While it is often true that one can run through these things on race day, neither of us was so lucky this time.
The second half of the race was a slog. The good news is that we got through it. The finish line on Drake St. in Yaletown is always a welcome sight. And who cares if we were a few minutes slower than last year?
…and a bit of street photography
I always look forward to walking the streets of Vancouver, armed with my discrete camera, the Ricoh GR III. It is the perfect camera for street photography.
Here are a few samples of the photos from the weekend.
My Second Running Life 