Beverley Tannahill
Charles Guevremont
Dean Proctor
Barbara Freedman
Marion & Don Landry
Selina Itzkowitz
Alan Miller
Michelle Putzlocher
Randy Cairns
Peter Collins: Race Director's Report
I have to say one of the best experiences of my running life. The weather Gods had blessed us with perfect temperatures and a very nice tailwind. The first kilometres through the West Island were gorgeous and ended too quickly. I had a blast sharing this adventure with my running partners. True to the spirit of the day we took our time to make it enjoyable and easy. Our pit stops were many and lengthy so we could stretch, eat, drink and have mini parties with the crew. Friends are heaven sent when it comes to blessing you with their presence as crew. Aside from Michelle trying to teach us the finer points of base sliding, not once but twice, our run was without incident and so very much fun. I highly recommend this event to anyone who wants to get back to just enjoying a fun day out running with friends with other friends there as support. Thanks Peter for reminding us of what it's all about. And thank you so much Scott, Michelle, and Chin for joining me on this adventure . And greater thanks to Pat, Laurie, and Mike for providing great support and lots of laughs along the way. Can't wait until next year! See you all back at the starting line.
Peter good morning, Louise, Maria and I really enjoyed the run and your company yesterday. You and Danielle did a great job in keeping everyone in line and made sure the event was well managed. We appreciated your efforts and commitment to running!
Peter - excellent race, and very well organised! I do hope it becomes an annual event. I'll see what photos Sabine may have to contribute, and I'll try to put together a sentence or two. By the by, as I am not "ageless", I should pass on my birth date for you to add to the results (sorry, I thought I had previously done so). My birthday is Nov 15, 1962, which puts me in the 40-49 category. Thanks again, and bravo!
Always a pleasure to do a race report--it's the next best thing to running: Fat Ass 50KM: Quest for the Summit I suppose we should have known that this would be a different Fat Ass right from the start. With the ambient temperature hovering somewhere around 10 C (or less, with windchill) on June 27th (compared to 29 C last year), this could hardly be called normal! And then, there was all that support out there when we were warned to count on none. Everyone from family and friends, to the local journalist who had covered the story the day before, was out in force to provide aid and encouragement as we rolled happily along. Our group, comprising six runners distinctly in the midpack, kept a steady, consistent pace right up to the Mountain. Up until that point, we spent our time admiring the scenery and the day, exhilarating in what was going to be one of those amazing "bliss" runs. While the conditions may not have been strictly Fat Ass (a little too soft), our style definitely was. We chatted, sang, made up games, and generally let down our guard to take in the pleasure of the run, the crew, and each other. By the time we reached Mount Royal, we had already socked in a solid performance with lots of laughs. That left the last few challenging kilometers to deal with before heading for the brew. Even the climb to the top was rather inviting, given the conditions. So, leave it to Fat Assers to constantly look for the challenge, which could be said to have been more evident in the blustery post-race picnic conditions than during the run itself! Profound thanks to R.D., Peter Collins, whose creativity and appreciation of the spirit of the Fat Ass are truly inspirational.
THANK YOU for a great race. We really enjoyed ourselves and love your route. Thank you also for the wind assistance that helped us along our way. Your finish line awards are unique. Thanks again and hope to see you at the races.
Well, even though I ran only until Atwater, it was my longest run to date. I felt wonderful during it; it was actually a lot of fun! Got some great training tips too! It was great to have this experience and I hope to join you all again for the full 50K next year. Have a terrific summer!
Having got within a hairsbreadth of heatstroke last year, I have to say this
years run was a lot more enjoyable. The 6am start was a good idea but the
weather gods blessed us anyway. The wind was strong (!) up on Pont Jacques
Cartier but it just gave us an opportunity to re-enact the famous scene from
Titanic ("look Jack I'm flying !").
For me the spirit of the run was emphasised by the fact that I ran again with
several people I haven't seen since last years run and we treated each other as
old friends.
I went the whole distance with 5 women (??!!) which meant there was no shortage
of conversation (sorry ladies !). For example it was very enlightening for me to
compare my 2 bandaids with their choice of sportsbra! (you see... you should
have run with us...all kinds of new learning was available !).
A nice distraction was the "greeting competition" which we started after 25k.
(You had to greet everyone you met coming the other way but you could not repeat
the same greeting twice.) The singing challenge was somewhat less successful,
mostly due to gradual brain-death from blood sugar depletion.
On the mountain things got rather serious , a significant challenge for the
whole group....except Barbara who skipped merrily away into the distance ! The
mountain stretch is longer than you think, steeper than you think and tougher
than you think. Why?...because when you start you are already bloody exhausted
of course !
Thanks to Kate for the partnership up the last few Kms.
Linda, Barb, Kate, Naomi and Selina you are all shining gems and gutsy runners.
Thanks Peter, another brilliant day. One day when the Mount Royal Challenge is
one of the premier Ultras in North America I can say I was there at the birth...
A tale of temperature, tailwind, and tetanus shots.
Or
My First Ultra!
Arriving at Peter’s house very early on Sunday morning, I was still not sure what to expect.
I had never done an ultra, and given that my group had planned in advance to take it very
easy, I knew that I would be running for a far longer time than ever before.
Any apprehensions I had faded away when I saw our race bibs. Any event (and race director)
that would take the time to put each and everyone’s names on the bibs (especially when I was
not even expecting one) was going to be a very special and fun event.
And it was fun. After training through the winter, we felt that we were absolutely due the
clear blue sky, perfect temperature, and (finally!) a wind that works with us as opposed to
against us. I stuck with Bev, Scott, and Chin, with whom I had trained this spring, and we
fully applied our philosophy of stop and smell the roses running (ask us about the casino run
sometime). We giggled, sang, and stuck together right up to the (slightly bloodied) hands held
in victory at the very end.
I had always said that I chose running as my sport as I am not very coordinated and running is
just one foot-other foot-repeat as necessary. How hard can that be? Well, apparently not entirely
easy after 4 hrs. Despite some stories of taking on a cyclist ("don’t be sassing me after 35 K")
the truth behind the legend is that I fell off the sidewalk on the Pont de la Concorde bridge,
picked up and continued the next 15.95 k with blood slowly dripping down the left shin, only to
take another, more magnificent spill over the bricks edging the flowers at the chalet, earning the
Best Blood medal now proudly hanging on Pride Wall at home. After replenishment from the basic
essential food groups (beer and chocolate), the day ended at the General emergency ward where I got
stitches and a tetanus shot (I was careful not to talk too loudly about having just completed an
ultra marathon, least my sanity be examined as well as my cuts and bruises).
Thank you Peter for a wonderful event. Thank you to all our aid. I’ll be back next year, proudly
wearing battle scars from the 2004 event, and I’m bringing more runners with me.
The Montreal Summit Quest Experience 2004, by the numbers:
1 - Times my sanity was questioned (although this might not count exactly as the questioning did not
take place during the run, but at 4:10 am when the alarm rang and it was a Sunday morning and still dark.)
2 - Hands held while crossing the finish line.
3 - Choruses of Happy Wonderer sung while trudging up Mt. Royal
4 - Number of stitches.
5 - Number of times thanked God for Mike White (corresponding to number of ultimate ever aid stations along the route).
6:49 - Final clock time (and a profound hint to by a 6/49 lottery ticket).
Once you start to think that something can be done, it does not take long before you begin the process of convincing yourself to do it. This was what happened to me in deciding to do the Mount-Royal Summit Quest 50KM Luckily I did not dwell on the fact that I would be on my feet for at least 5 hours and up to that point I had done little in the way of long runs. The challenge brought to mind this Vince Lombardi quote : "The good Lord gave you a body that can stand most anything. It's your mind you have to convince." An important factor was removing the pressure of setting a time to beat. This was to be a battle to simply finish without it turning into a death march. The weather was ideal and we had great support from Mike with his roaming buffet of gummy bears, caramel popcorn and pretzels. I think my plan to stop at Atwater market (33KM mark) and have a double espresso helped relieve some of the stress. It helped to break up the distance, though getting stuck in line behind a guy who seemed to be ordering his coffee supply for the next 6 months did leave me a bit frustrated. It seemed that the women ruled this event, 5 women finished ahead of my mid-pack finish. They have all earned my deepest respect for their strength and determination. I look forward to next years event where once again I will enter this special arena they call the ultra. Thank you to all for their spirit! RandyPeter Collins, Beaconsfield
Hi everyone. Thank you for being a part of what was for me an amazing day. Everything fell into place and I feel confidant in saying we all had a good time. Thanks out to all the volunteers (incl. Carl) and the runners who made this 2nd annual party such a success. Ultrarunning Report (Sent also to Club Fat Ass) The 2nd annual running of Montreal's "Mont-Royal Summit Quest 50K" on June 27th, 2004 was a great success in that all of the RD's objectives in organizing the event were achieved in fine "Fat-Ass" style. Word of the "fun" nature of the run, and the beauty of the course had spread such that more than double the number of last year's participants turned out with a good mix of first time ultra-runners and veterans out for a "good-time" training run. True to the spirit of the event, no aid was offered, but the volunteers couldn't be kept away. It turned out that we had impromptu but well-stocked aid stations spring up almost every 5K along the course and had more than a few cyclists ride along with the runners distributing food & drink as needed. The support from the local Ultra-running store ("Distance Sports") and the press coverage from "The Montreal Gazette" was also a surprise and much appreciated. A superb, scenic course, great weather (moderate temperatures, sunshine, and stiff tail-wind) made this event a great introduction to Ultra-running for the 11 first-time Ultra runners. The experienced Ultra runners did not go unrewarded or un-challenged. The last 10K ascended to the summit of Mont-Royal offering an expansive view over downtown Montreal and beyond to the Eastern townships 50 miles to the east. Per and the RD led the run from the start until Per broke away with sub 4-hour aspirations while Peter was distracted marking chalk arrows on the course for the benefit of those to come. Those to come had a glorious time between: - the 5-member "Fat-Ass Choir" singing, - the re-enactment of the "look Jack I'm flying!" scene from "Titanic" while crossing the Jacques Cartier bridge in a strong wind. - the "greeting game" (greet everyone you meet without repeating the same greeting twice.) - comparing running apparel choices (2 bandaids or sportsbras ;) - and the general partying going on in the mid-pack and beyond. All of the runners achieved their goals. Per, & Barb defended their 2003 performances winning the top male and female spots earning hand-made trophies in doing so. Not to be out done, other runners earned their own special awards including: Michelle - "Best Blood" Award for twice skinning her knees and shins (ultimately requiring stitches). Scott - "Youngest Virgin Fat-Ass" award Susan - "Oldest Virgin Fat-Ass" award Sorin - "True Fat-Ass Spirit" award for his efforts creating personalized printed bib's and runner's guides. Barbara & Per - "Most Desirable Fat-Ass" award, a close tie for their blazing times, and future Ultra goals. CYA on the trails ahead.Return to top of page