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Wednesday 28 May 2014

Running for Pancakes: Stampede Road Race

The other morning I woke up and thought...mmmm. Pancakes. 
Anyone who knows me knows that I love pancakes. A LOT! 
Even when I am not running or on taper
I know you are thinking...and this has to with running...HOW????
One of my local favourite runs has pancakes. You run, they feed you pancakes. BONUS, indeed.

Yes. I am talking about the one and only Stampede Road Race
SO I guess a little background is in order. The Stampede run is held during the Calgary Stampede. If you are not from Calgary, you might not be familiar with the Stampede. 
The Calgary Stampede is an annual rodeo, exhibition,festival held every July. The 10-day event bills itself as "The Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth" attracts over a million visitors and features one of the world's largest rodeos, a parade, midway, stage shows, concerts, agricultural competitions and First Nations exhibitions. Our Stampede has been going strong since 1912. 
And with Stampede comes pancake breakfasts. I am not really sure why. 
Legend has it that in Stampede's early days there was a chuckwagon driver known to camp at the old Canadian Pacific Railway station. He often shared breakfast with other cowboys. And, with other who passed by. Thus began the tradition of Stampede hospitality. And, over the years this tradition has expanded. Today, (seriously) every day during Stampede there are dozen so pancake breakfasts. 
Pancakes are synonymous with The Calgary Stampede. So with the Stampede Road Race we would expect nothing less! Its a great local race - with a halfmarathon, 10km and 5km. And a fun kids race too...so there is something for the whole family. Like many summer time races it really is a party atmosphere. 

This year I am SO pumped to be doing this race this year. I have missed out on running it the past two years due to other commitments. But this summer I am back. And I am excited for one of the the awesome shirts...something that many runners rave about. The shirts are fun, and technical. The kind you actually wear AFTER a race! 
And in keeping with the "stampede" or western tradition, 
the medal for the halfmarathon is pretty freaking awesome. 

Another reason this race is so appealing to me is the view. The route is great - a scenic favourite of many Calgary runners. We run around the Glenmore Reservoir area and Weaselhead Flats - which connects north and south Glenmore Park. It's scenic, a little hilly (not THAT hilly) and challenging but so beautiful to have such a great park within the city! 

There is also a personal reason for why this race is special...in 2010 I did the 5km race in just shy of 41 minutes. It was hard. And, there is no photographic evidence (whew). I was about 210 pounds, and not really in shape.

One year later, I was 30-some pounds lighter. And ran 10km in about 70 minutes. Quite a victory. And, the race was so fun for me. It was so different running after I had been training.

And I am so looking forward to running again this year! And this one will be a half-marathon for me. IT might be my 30th half...or maybe it is my 29th...I better go check! It does tend to get very warm, but the race starts early - 7 am - so by the time we are done, it is still early and time for pancakes!! 

And one of the other great things (IMHO) about this race is their charitable donations. Since 2009, the Stampede Road Race Society has donated over $45,000 to Calgary-based charities. This year, the profits of the SRR will benefit Can Praxis, a charity that helps veterans and their families though equine assisted learning. 

Stampede Road Race is proud to announce its partnership with Can Praxis, a not for profit that helps veterans and their families through equine assisted learning. Horses, along with team building and communications training, help soldiers and their families recover from the effects of war.

I love smaller community races, and this is one that you really should do! Come join me (and all the fun kids!) for a fun race and a great pancake party afterwards!

If this isn't enough to make you want to sign up for this FAB race, check out these reviews from my fab pals who love the race... Michelle is running the halfmarathon again this year. I am hoping Cori will have a super awesome cheer station! 

Michelle 2012 + 2013          Cori  2010 + 2011


Have you run the Stampede Road Race?
Are you signing up this year? 
HURRY UP....early bird pricing ends June 2!!




2 comments:

  1. YES! I'm registered for the half... I'm hoping to take advantage of all this crazy marathon training and run it FAAAAAAST :)

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  2. I've been toying with doing the 10k! But hearing about Can Praxis gives me more of a push to do it! Hmmm...

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