On Sunday while most of us were sunning ourselves in the snowy north Ed was taking on 2298 other men in the annual Around the Bay 30km running race. Ed finished the race in an extremely impressive 2 hours 17 seconds. For those of you keeping track that means a 4:01 minute km pace (right on the threshold for 10k!!). Ed ran 39:17 for the first 10, 58:59 at 15km and 1:18:40 at 20km. He finished 62^nd overall and 3^rd in the men 45-49 category. This would be very good on it’s own but remember how we forced him to put in a monstrous effort last Wednesday taking on the whole team! Good work Ed. (Full results at www.sportstats.ca)

Mono Nordic, located in Orangeville puts on good trail running race every fall around this time. The course is rolling terrain, mostly grassy and dirt covered by leaves. This is the second year in a row I’ve done the event. This year I thought it would be a good gauge of my current fitness. I figured this year should be better than last as I’ve trained longer, more hours and have run more than last spring/summer. If you consider only the time out on course, this year didn’t go as well. I ended up completing the race 20 seconds slower than last year. My first thought was – well that’s great… Not really… This year the weather was better and the trails were not as slippery, not to forget the aforementioned differences in training. Why did I run slower? Read on…

The North Bay Triathlon is held every year on the shores of Trout Lake and at the base of the escarpment. This year the competition was as fierce as ever. There was a good contingent of local racers, especially from the North Bay Cycling Club, involved in both the individual and team events. The highlight grudge match was between team Bluesky 1 (Ashley Duquette – Swim, Aaron Duquette – Bike, Andrew Rees – Run) and Bluesky 2 (Swimmer – Swim, Rosalyn Duquette – Bike, Stephanie Rees – Run). After the grueling open water swim (1km) BS 2 had battled for close to a 2 minute lead. During the bike Duquette raced his heart out and started to chip into the BS 2’s lead. He was able to make up 24 seconds on BS 2 during the very hilly 32km ride. Team BS 2 started the 8km run with a comfortable 1:44 lead. BS 1 tried in vain to close the gap, coming to within 10 seconds then fading back to a 19 second deficit. You can be sure that this rivalry will be raging yet again during this event next year!!

The Ontario Enduro Champs took place in the Durham Forest near Pickering Ont. Trails were in great shape and the weather was sunny and cool. This annual 70km event (Durham Durango) is very well run and the trails are lots of fun. Great end of season event.

This is the second year of Team NSXC participation in the famous North Bay Run Bike Run. Unfortunately last year's intense rivalry between A. Duquette and A. Rees could not be relived due to a training accident (Duquette = knee). Onlookers were not entirely disappointed though as there was an even more fierce battle between S. Rees and R. Prisco in the women's event. Prisco the cycling specialist was just caught at the line by Rees the running favorite. A. Rees took Bronze overall while S. Rees and R. Prisco were 1st and 2nd respectively.

The Elliot Lake O-Cup was the first road cycling event for members A. Rees, A. Duquette and R. Prisco. Joining the team were cycling vets A. Thompson and J. Domokos. Saturday's 100 km road race took advantage of Elliot Lake's hilly terrain and was certainly not an easy task. Despite this being her first road event, Ros Prisco had an excellent race staying with the province's best female racers for the majority of the race. The men also rode well considering. Post race festivities were also enjoyed at the local watering hole.

Lost veterans Duquette and Prisco were the only team members to brave this year's 100k event. Conditions could not have been more muddy and anyone who even thought about starting this event deserved a medal. Prisco suffered a unfortunate fall early in the race and was forced to withdraw to the hospital. A. Duquette rode an excellent race in the mud, placing near the top of a very competitive field. The race moves to a new venue next year so the tradition continues.

Ganaraska, ON - Sunday September 20th saw the biking of Paul's Dirty Enduro 2003 at the Ganaraska Forest Centre near Oshawa Ontario. Competing were two members of team Bike Shed, Rees pro and Rees rookie. Also, a prominent feature of the race were the new team jerseys… but more on that later.

Jack Pine Hill, ON - Saturday saw the 8th running of the local Lost in the Rocks and Trees 100km Enduro. Known to locals as the infamous "100k" the race is no easy endeavor. For some reason the race draws a large out of town contingent; it would seem that people either love it - and keep coming back, or hate it so much they're never seen again. At the unholy hour of 8:00am, racers gathered at the junction of Hwy 533 and Kearney lake road, far from North Bay and its many Tim Horton locations.

Calabogie, ON- One word can sum up the racing seen at this years Calabogie O-cup races - HOT!! Both days saw temperatures reach in excess of 30 degrees with high humidity and bright sunshine! Nice day to be at the beach. The following is a report by A. Rees, of Northshore XC, who was in attendance to race both the short course and the long(er) course events.