Monday, June 30 2008 - Rollin' With The River- Episode 6- Ladies Night
In our sixth installment Rachel Cliff and Shantelle Novak complete their final key workout before Canadian Olympic Trials. They are joined by Lindsay Furtado who is focusing on Canadian Junior.
Saturday, June 28 2008 - Stellingwerff Twelfth In France
Hilary Stellingwerff competed for the final time before next weekend's Canadian Olympic Trials, Friday night in Lille, France. Stellingwerff recorded a time of 4:12.69 good for 12th at the Meeting Lille Metropole. For Stellingwerff, the race continued her frustrating season. Stellingwerff has seen consistent performances in the low 4:10s but has been short of achieving her goal of meeting the Olympic Standard.
Next weekend's Trials could be an incredibly intriguing race as Stellingwerff (the defending champion) and 2004 Canadian Olympians Malindi Elmore and Carmen Douma-Hussar all have yet to meet Olympic Standard this year. With next Sunday being the final day of the qualifying period, it will thus be necessary for them to run under the A+ standard of 4:05.70 to achieve their Olympic dream. With all three having personal best better than the Olympic standard, we could see a repeat of the 2004 Olympic Trials where both Elmore and Douma-Hussar ran the Olympic standard.
The women's 1500 meter heats will take place Friday evening at 6:10 pm, with the final scheduled to be run Saturday evening at 5:30 pm.
Friday, June 27 2008 - Rollin' With The River- Episode 5- Who Is Taylor Milne?
In episode five of our ongoing series "Rollin' With The River" we have a sit down conversation with Taylor Milne. In the interview, Taylor discuss how he got into running, the transition from collegiate to post-collegiate running, his spectacular Olympic A+ standard run at the Harry Jerome race and next weekend's Canadian Olympic Trials. "Rollin' With The River" episodes one through four and the Harry Jerome Race can be seen here.
Thursday, June 26 2008 - Gillis Returns To Action
Eric Gillis returned to action Wednesday night in London, Ontario. In his first race since winning the Canadian 10000 Meter Championships earlier this month, Gillis captured the 1500 meter title at the Runners Choice London Distance Series Meet. Gillis broke the tape on a windy night in a time 3:49.76, teammate Cleve Thorson was second in 3:51.13.
In the women's race Carolyn Ellis nipped teammate Shantelle Novak at the line for the silver medal, Ellis was clocked in a lifetime best of 4:36.07 with Novak crossing the line in 4:37.95. Windsor's Hannan Eberhard won the race in 4:33.56.
The race served as a final tune up as the group prepares for next weekend's Canadian Olympic Trials in Windsor. Prior to departing for Windsor, Speed River will be hosting a community practice and barbeque to send the team off Wednesday, July 2nd at the University of Guelph Alumni Stadium starting at 5:30pm.
Tuesday, June 24 2008 - Rollin' With The River- Episode 4- Avoiding Competition In Workouts
Speed River Director and Head Coach Dave Scott-Thomas discuss avoiding competition in workouts.
Tuesday, June 24 2008 - Olympic Trials Send Off- Open Workout and Barbeque
The Speed River Track and Field Club would like to invite anyone and everyone to the University of Guelph Alumni Stadium, Wednesday July 2nd for an open workout and community barbeque. The workout will be starting at 5:30 with the barbeque starting at 6:30 pm. This will be a great opportunity to meet and greet with the Speed River team and send them off in style as they head to Windsor with the hopes of qualifying for Beijing and improving on last year's club record medal haul.
For more information please see our Promotional Flyer.
Monday, June 23 2008 - Video Of Taylor Milne's Phenomenal 3:36.00!
Thanks to Jimson Lee of SpeedEndurance.com for providing us with this video of Taylor Milne's Olympic A+ Standard performance Saturday afternoon at the Harry Jerome Classic in Burnaby, BC.
Monday, June 23 2008 - Gillis Featured On CBC.CA
Another great piece by CBC.Ca writer Paul Gains. In his article titled "Eric Gillis: Rising Star", Gains discuss Gillis' waiting game, his current training focus and how he came to join Speed River and move to Guelph.
Taylor Milne shattered his personal best by nearly four seconds in capturing the gold medal at the Harry Jerome Track Classic in Vancouver, Saturday afternoon. Milne bided his time behind rabbit Ryan McKenzie for the first 800 and Canadian Record Holder Kevin Sullivan through the next 400 before exploding over the last 300 meters. In the process Milne led what may be the greatest day in Canadian 1500 meter history as a stunning six Canadians broke the 3 minutes 40 second barrier. Milne's time of 3:36.00 was a full six tenths of a second under the Olympic A+ standard. After the race Milne gave credit to his teammates and coaches "I've learned a lot from the guys around me and have had great coaching. It's just starting to click. It's all starting to come together." He commented to the Canadian Press. All that stands between Milne and a trip to Beijing is finishing top 4 at the Canadian Olympic Trials in two weeks (or top three among athletes with A standard if that possibility presents itself).
In the women’s collegiate 1500 meter race Speed River runner Lindsay Carson achieved yet another World Junior qualifying standard in a silver medal winning performance. Carson’s time of 4:21.38 ranks her third amongst Canadian Junior runners. With the top two being selected for the World Championships she will have to await final declarations as to whether she will earn the right to represent Canada at the Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland.
The most inspiring, and unexpected effort, of the meet came from 26-year-old Taylor Milne of Guelph, Ontario. Milne hacked an impressive 3.5 seconds off his personal best to win the men’s 1500 metres in 3:36.00. The effort also earned Milne the Athletics Canada ‘A’ qualification standard for the upcoming Olympics in Beijing.
“I ran a 3:39.54 a couple of weeks ago, I won by about three seconds and did a lot of leading,” said Milne, who with 300 metres remaining grabbed the lead from Canadian record holder Kevin Sullivan and never looked back. “So I knew there might be a couple more seconds in there, I didn’t know if there was three. It ended up being three and a half. I’m a bit surprised, but not super surprised.”
Sunday, June 22 2008 - Speed River Wraps Up Busy Weekend
A busy weekend for the Speed River Track and Field club concluded Sunday with six more medals at the Ontario Championships in Ottawa. Rob Watson and Max Paquette completed the club’s third one-two finish of the championships in the men’s 3000 meter steeplechase. Watson’s who led from the gun broke the tape in 8 minutes and 51.80 seconds, while Paquette recorded a life time best 9:22.45 clocking.
Joining Watson and Paquette on the medal stand were Dustin Gamble and Kyle Boorsma. Gamble placed second in the men’s 800 with an impressive 1:51.87, while Boorsma collected a bronze in the 800 to go with the gold he captured Saturday in the men’s 1500 meters. Boorsma recorded a time of 1:52.84.
In the field Owen Willems was third in the men’s discus with a best toss of 50.51m while Cornell Haynes narrowly missed a medal in the men’s high jump with a best jump of one meter and 95 centimeters which placed him fourth.
Rounding out the action was the women’s distance medley, the team comprised of Rachel Cliff, Jenni Vanos, Tara Macdonald and Shantelle Novak placed second in a tight battle with the host Ottawa Lions team. The silver medal was the second of the championships for Cliff.
Overall, the Ontario Championships were a stunning success for the Speed River group as they captured a club record twelve medals including four golds. They will now enter the final stages of their training as they aim to peak for the Canadian Olympic Trials in two weeks in Windsor, Ontario.
Saturday, June 21 2008 - Cliff and Laurie Highlight First Day At Ontario Championships
A one-two finish in the women’s 5000 meter race, highlight an impressive first day for the Speed River Track and Field Club, friday night at the Ontario Championships in Ottawa. Leading from the gun Rachel Cliff and Courtney Laurie recorded impressive 17:17.50 and 17:27.58 clockings respectively. These times rank Cliff and Laurie eight and ninth in Canada, coupled with Carolyn Ellis’ fifth place ranking, Speed River boasts three of the top nine performers in the women’s 5000 meters nationally.
In the men’s 5000 meters, Cleve Thorson placed third overall in a life time best time of 14:28.47. After a slow opening kilometer the race gradually heated up over the next two kilometers as high school sensation Mohammed Ahmed made a bold move into the lead. Thorson gradually pulled the lead pack of four up to Ahmed; however, shortly thereafter Adrian Walton made his own move pulling away for the win. Thorson made a valiant attempt over the final lap to try to cut into the lead built by Walton and Matt Bruce but the lead proved to be to large. Thorson will contest the 1500 meters Saturday where teammates Kyle Boorsma, Tim Konoval and Scott Arnald are the top three seeds.
Finally, at the Victoria Track Classic, Lindsay Carson placed fourth overall in the women’s invitational 1500 meters. The race was won by American Olympian Carrie Tollefson. Carson’s time of 4:25.90 was just outside of her seasonal best time which she recorded earlier this week in Richmond, BC. Carson will complete her Pacific Series tour Saturday afternoon at the Harry Jerome Classic.
Friday, June 20 2008 - Rollin' With The River- Episode 3- HAIL DESTROYER!
In our third episode, we meet Rob "Destroyer" Watson. Who joins Max Paquette for a workout on the cinders at the University of Guelph stadium. Both Watson and Paquette will be running the Steeplechase this weekend at the Ontario Championships.
Thursday, June 19 2008 - Speed River Athletes Appear In Canadian Running
Speed River athletes are featuring prominently in the latest issue of Canadian Running magazine. Reid Coolsaet graces the cover with fellow Olympic hopeful Tyler Christopher. Coolsaet and Hilary Stellingwerff are among 14 athletes who are profiled in the Olympic preview issue.
Stellingwerff also contributed to the magazine as a writer, writing an article on elite athlete nutrition and also appears in the "Tips from Olympians" section discussing plyometric training. Coolsaet, Taylor Milne, Eric Gillis and Taylor Murphy also contributed to the favourite post-workout snack section.
Canadian Running is available at most local running stores as well as on many local newsstands and at Shoppers Drug Marts.
Wednesday, June 18 2008 - Boorsma Magical Season Continues
Kyle Boorsma continued his meteoric rise to the upper echelons of Canadian distance running by recording the fastest time by a Canadian for 3000 meters Wednesday night in Toronto, Ontario. Boorsma’s 8:08.32 clocking was a staggering 21 second life time best and put him 15 seconds ahead of his nearest competitor.
Meanwhile, Taylor Milne tuned up for his Olympic Standard attempt Saturday afternoon at the Harry Jerome Classic in Vancouver with a win in the 800 meters in 1:51.09. Just behind Milne was clubmate Dustin Gamble who placed second in 1:53.11. Gamble and Boorsma will be competing this weekend at the Ontario Championships in Ottawa, Ontario.
In other action, Lindsay Carson placed third in the 1500 meters at the Lafarge International Track Classic in Abbotsford, BC. Carson finished just behind Ontario High School Champion Tamara Jewett and Canadian Olympian Courtney Babcock. Carson’s clocking of 4:25.46 was just under the standard to represent Canada at the World Junior (Under 20) Track and Field Championships in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Carson is currently ranked third in Canada among Canadian juniors, with only the top two being able to go to Poland she will aim to improve her ranking Thursday night at the Victoria Track Classic.
Monday, June 16 2008 - Rollin' With The River- Episode 2
In the second episode, Speed River's 1500 meter guys do their fastest workout of the season and we hear about Josh Roundell's interesting last week.
Sunday, June 15 2008 - Konoval Narrowly Misses Lifetime Best
Speed River Track and Field Club's Tim Konoval narrowly missed his lifetime best at 1500 meters as he recorded a seasonal best 3:44.53 clocking at the American Milers Club meet in Indianapolis, Indiana. Konoval who has progressed well over the past two weeks, improving his time in each of his last four races, is now ranked seventh in Canada for the 1500 meters, and third amongst Speed River athletes. Konoval’s next race will be next weekend at the Ontario Championships in Ottawa.
In other Speed River action, Hillary Stellingwerff’s frustrations continued as she once again came up short in her attempt to obtain the Olympic standard in the women’s 1500 meters. Stellingwerff, the 2007 Canadian Champion, recorded a time of 4:14.14 at the Meeting International in Rabat, Morocco. This was Stellingwerff’s fourth attempt at Olympic Standard in the past month. Optimism remains as her coach Dave Scott-Thomas described her recent workouts as “the best of her life” but, with the Olympic clock ticking rapidly towards the July 7th deadline the pressure on Stellingwerff continues to mount.
Friday, June 13 2008 - Rollin' With The River- Episode 1
As part of our ongoing effort to develop an online home for the Speed River Track and Field Club and The Guelph National Endurance, we are launching a new video series called "Rollin' With The River". The series will include videos of workouts, interviews with Speed River personalties and race footage. In our first video we have a workout from this past Monday. The workout includes Taylor Milne, Kyle Boorsma, Tim Konoval, Scott Arnald, Allan Brett, Cleve Thorson, among others. Stay tuned in the coming weeks for more videos.
Thursday, June 12 2008 - Gillis Featured In Guelph Mercury
Greg Layson of the Guelph Mercury has written an excellent piece on 2008 Canadian 10000 meter Champion Eric Gillis and his current state of limbo as he awaits word on whether he will be selected for the 2008 Canadian Olympic team. The article is available on the Guelph Mercury website.
Thursday, June 12 2008 - Highlights of Gillis' Win At Canadian 10000 Meter Championships
Video highlights of Eric Gillis' big win at last Wednesday's Canadian 10000 meter Championships in Toronto.
Wednesday, June 11 2008 - Coolsaet Featured on CBC.Ca
Reid Coolsaet's pursuit of his Olympic dreams and the substantial obstacles he has faced over the past three months are chronicled in an excellent piece written by Paul Gains for the CBC website. The full article is available in the CBC Olympic Section. Coolsaet is expecting to take a shot at the Olympic standard June 27th in Lille, France.
Wednesday, June 11 2008 - Jackson Bounces Back
Rob Jackson bounced back after a disappointing fourth place finish at last weekend’s Ontario High School (OFSAA) Championships by capturing the bronze medal at the Invitational 1500 meters at last night’s Runners Choice Track and Field Meet in London, Ontario. Jackson, who missed out on the bronze medal at the OFSAA Championships by an agonizing one one hundredth of a second to Niagara’s Jeremy Rae got his revenge as he beat Rae by over two seconds.
As the gun went off Jackson showed his plan was to control the race as he went immediately to the front, sitting right on the shoulder of pacemaker Brandon Laan. For the next two laps Jackson stayed poised and when Laan stepped off the track just past 900 meters, Jackson took the lead and continued to push the pace. With 300 meters to go, Florida State freshman Matt Leeder went by Jackson, with Ontario High School Champion Thomas Morrison in tow. The race for home was on as Jackson held tight. As the entered the home stretch Leeder pulled away to record a time of 3:46.01, Morrison broke the tape in 3:47.25 just inside of the World Junior (Under 20) Championship qualifying standard of 3:48.00. Jackson narrowly missed the standard with his 3:48.98 clocking but was rewarded with a nearly three second personal best.
In other Speed River action, Rob Watson returned to the track after his fall Sunday at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene, Oregon. For the London native, the raced served as a homecoming for Watson, who was eager to put on a show for friends and family. Never timid, Watson set off once again in pursuit of his Olympic B Standard goal of 8:32 for the 3000 meter steeplechase. With virtually no competition, he set of at a nearly suicidal pace of 62 seconds for the first 400 meters a full 10 seconds ahead of the pack. Over the next four laps he settled into his pace and hit the two kilometre mark still under his target time. Unfortunately, the frenetic early pace struck Watson like “a ton of bricks” just past the two kilometres and he fell drastically off pace as he crossed the line in 8:58.10 still good enough to hold on for the win.
Joining Watson in the winner’s circle were teammates Jenni Vanos and Lindsay Carson. Vanos used supreme tactics to capture the women’s 800 meter crown. Vanos bided her time behind early leader Mariah Kelly of Niagara who took the lead at the gun and led through 500 meters. Coming around the corner just past 500 meters, Vanos moved passed Kelly and never looked back winning in a time of 2:13.84. Not to be outdone Carson, captured the women’s 1500 meter title in a seasonal best performance of 4:25.72, she was nearly ten seconds ahead of her nearest competitor.
Sunday, June 8 2008 - Gamble Leads Team in Michigan, Watson Falls in Oregon
Last night, at the Hansons Saturn Midwest Distance Solution in Hillsdale, Michigan. Dustin Gamble ran a three second lifetime best over 800 meters to finish in 1:51.39. Gamble's time was good for eighth place in a competitive field. Tim Konoval had another good improvement from last Tuesday as he finished second in the second heat of the 1500 meters to record a seasonal best peformance of 3:45.72. In the same section Allan Brett came within .13 of his personal best with a 3:48.05 clocking and Josh Roundell ran 3:50.95 for a nearly four second life time best. It was a very hot night and it showed across the board for all of the 5000 meters and 10 000 meteres results. Kyle Boorsma and Cleve Thorson toughed it out in the 5000 meters with respectable results considering the heat and humidity.
Meanwhile at the Oregon Track Club Qualifier in Eugene, Oregon. Rob Watson did much of the early leading in the men’s 3000 meter steeplechase. Watson led the field for the first 5 laps on his target Olympic B standard pace. With two laps remaining Watson was passed by US champion Josh McAdams. Watson held strong and was poised for Olympic standard or at worst a lifetime best. Unfortunately, as he entered the water pit on the final lap, another athlete clipped his heal causing him to fall. Stunned, he managed to gather himself, but lost precious time and places as he crossed the line eighth overall in 8:43.33, short of his goal.
From the Royal City to the Forbidden City, Eric Gillis of the Speed River Track and Field Club put the final touches on achieving his Olympic dream by winning the Canadian 10000 meter Championships Wednesday night in Toronto. Gillis, the 2007 Champion, defended his title in fine form defeating Canada’s top ranked marathoner Dylan Wykes by nearly a minute. All that stands between Gillis and his ticket to Beijing will be final selection by the sport's governing body, Athletics Canada.
Youngster Nyial Majock of Calgary led the first two laps of the twenty five lap race. At one kilometer Wykes took over and lead until the three kilometer mark when Gillis took over the lead and never looked back stretching his lead to about 50 meters at five kilometers and gradually pulling further away from there. Although the time of 29:28 is nearly a minute and a half behind his seasonal best of 28:07 the focus was on winning the Canadian title and satisfying the Beijing selection criteria.
Gillis will now take a well deserved “down week” as he and Coach Dave Scott-Thomas will begin planning with an eye towards Sunday August 17th, the night of the Olympic 10000 meter final.
Meanwhile, in the accompanying 1500 meter high performance meet Speed River put on quite a show. Leading the charge once again was Taylor Milne who narrowly missed the Olympic "B" standard of 3:39.00 by recording a two second lifetime best time of 3:39.54. Milne led a Speed River sweep of the top four places and six of the top seven finishers in the men's race. He was followed across the line by teammates Kyle Boorsma, who recorded a three second lifetime best of 3:42.80 and Tim Konoval, who clocked a time of 3:47.69. Not to be outdone the Speed River women placed three in the top four led by life time best performances by Shantelle Novak who placed second with a time of 4:32.68 and Courtney Laurie who finished third with a 4:39.41 clocking.
Wednesday, June 4 2008 - Guelph Awarded 2009 and 2010 Canadian Cross Country Championships
Speed River Track and Field Club and the Guelph Athletics Society are pleased to announce that the City of Guelph has been selected to host the 2009 and 2010 Canadian Cross Country Championships. The championships which will be held in the University of Guelph Arboretum, will build on the highly successful 2007 championships and the upcoming 2008 championships which will be held November 29th. The 2007 championships were highlighted by Guelph’s own Carmen Douma-Hussar and Reid Coolsaet’s victories in the senior women’s and senior men’s races. Despite snowy conditions and frigid temperature the highly positive feedback received by Athletics Canada, led them to take the unusual step of awarding the championships to the same site for the second two year block. The Canadian Cross Country Championships consist of five races, the Junior (under 20) Canadian Championships, the Senior Canadian Championships and the Masters (over 35) Canadian Championships. In addition to the Canadian Championship races there is also a community race and a under 13 kids run.
Monday, June 2 2008 - Watson Finishes 6th in France Steeplechase
Rob Watson raced this past Saturday in Pezenas, France in the 3000m s/c and finished 6th in 8:39.30. Rob was less than a second off his Personal Best and is showing some good consistency so far this season. He heads to Eugene this weekend for another 3000 steeplechase in a loaded field.
Look out for a lot of 1500m action from the group on Wednesday as well as the 10 000m National Championships featuring Eric Gillis in Toronto. www.torontotrack.com
Speed River athletes are featuring prominently in the latest issue of