I’ve been checking out pictures on Facebook posted by our friends at 365kingston.com and it reminds me what a great running community there is here in Kingston.  This past weekend there was a Kingston Road Runners Association Twosome race leaving from Winston Churchill Public School that was just fantastic.  There were superstar Queen’s (and national team) runners there like Julie-Anne Staehli right down to young kids (and even younger ones being pushed in strollers).  If you are a runner – and that means anything from strapping on your sneakers once a week when the kids are napping, up to full marathoner – we encourage you to take part in some of these races.  The running community here in Kingston is amazingly friendly, and you are sure to make some new friends through KRRA, and maybe even meet members of some local businesses like Runner’s Choice and Kurtis Marlow RMT.  We had Meg, Stacy and Cole representing Align in the race, and saw lots of familiar faces from our running assessment clients or those wearing our fancy compression socks – we’re looking at you Robby Breadner!

Above is a pic of Cole and some pals before the race.

— Written by Mac Graydon owner of Align Orthotics & Rehab who is: “committed to providing custom and individualized treatment solutions for each client to help alleviate foot and lower limb pain and sports injuries.”

Learn more about the services provided at Align Orthotics & Rehab. Visit their website: www.alignkingston.com

If you haven’t seen the photos from Limestone Race Weekend, click here. There are a great team effort with more to come.

5K and Historic Half Marathon Race day, April 26, 2015.

The Kingston Road Runners have been traveling to the Peterborough Half Marathon for a number of years and Sunday February 22nd 2015, was no exception. 17 runners boarded the Runners’ Choice sponsored bus for race day. The conditions were as good as it had been for weeks: a balmy -5°C, little wind, mostly bare roads.

Over 300 signed up for the Half Marathon. Results are here. Kingstonians captured the following awards; chip times shown:

• Tim Gillespie 1:25:50   9th overall, placed 1st in M35-39
• Benjamin Rudson 1:26:34  10th overall, placed 2nd in M20-24
• Robby Breadner 1:31:42   25th overall, placed 2nd in M45-49
• Heather Ostic 1:34:24   34th overall, placed 1st in F45-49
• Al Cantlay 1:41:29  56th overall, placed 1st in M60+
• Lana Saunders 1:42:41  63rd overall, placed 2nd in F40-44
• Ed Brand 1:44:34  75th overall, placed 2nd in M60+
• Shirley Myers 1:50:30  103 overall, placed 2nd in F60+

Well done to all the runners who took on this winter half marathon.

Click here to enjoy some photos of the day.

Special thanks to Che Breadner (who placed 13th overall in the 5K) for taking some of the photos.

The race event was very well managed. The race kits were bountiful. The route was well marked (there was mention of how many pil0ns exist in Peterborough) with lots of friendly volunteers. Lunch was terrific and the prize packs were tremendous. Kudos to the race directors and event organizers.

There was also a 5K Race for those who aren’t ready for a half marathon distance. This year’s 5K had 100 runners participate. The KRRA’s own Ché Breadner finished 13th overall.

One thing that was a bit a topic of conversation was the “Half-a-Half” Race. While the idea of running half the Half Marathon is interesting, most of us agreed that a 10K Run would likely attract more runners who can relate to the more traditional distance.

One thing is for certain: the Peterborough Half comes highly recommended. If you are attending some of the KRRA race events, you may be fortunate enough to win a Peterborough Half entry as a prize.

Everyone is looking forward to next year. Thanks Peterborough for hosting this event. We’ll see you next year.

This winter has been cold. Sunday Feb. 1st 2015 was no exception with temperatures hovering -15°C for the Kingston Road Runners’ annual Twosome 5K Race. The frigid conditions didn’t stop the 112 hearty runners who bundled up and hit Kingston’s downtown streets to challenge themselves, their fellow runners and Old Man Winter.

Roads were mostly snow covered thanks to a fresh snowfall only a couple days prior. The skies were very blue and it was a great day for racing.

Top 3 finishers

1. Kevin Coffey (15:46)
2. Clay Patterson (16:46)
3. Matt Straatman (18:17).

Top 3 women

1. Heather Ostic (20:00)
2. Agatha Nicholson (20:17)
3. Heather Giffin (20:46)

Top three Twosomes

1. Kevin Coffey and Heather Ostic
2. Matt Straatman and Jasmin Aggarwal (21:06)
3. Nate Tsang (18:24) and Simonne Tomasovic (22:02)

Full race results for individuals are shown here. Twosomes are shown here.

Go to the gallery section of the site to enjoy photos from the event.

The weather rarely gets worst than this: freezing rain atop snow, lots of slush and ice. But that didn’t deter 72 runners from braving the cold and wet to run the first KKRA race of the year. The date was Sunday January 4th, 2015 and the race was nearly called off because of the conditions. This race had a double-whammy due to the relocation from the RMC base. After going over the route, the KRRA President and past President made the call and the race not called off. Thank goodness, because every runner who finished wore this race like a badge of honour… and deservedly so.

This race event was a fundraiser for the charity CanAssist. They provided volunteers and goodies for participants.

Top Male Finishers

1. Kevin Coffey 26:12
2. Clay Patterson 27:59
3. Derek Snider 28:04

Top Female Finishers

1. Heather Ostic 32:58
2. Lindsay Furtado 33:12
3. Suzanne Kerr 35:58

To view the overall race resuilts, view the PDF generated by Running by Design.

Other notables:  youngest runner, 11 year-old Ché Breadner finished 28 out of the 72 runners. The oldest runner was 72 year old KRRA board member PJ Marshall. Despite the inhospitable weather, 10 brave people showed up and registered on the morning of. 15 pre-registered runners unfortunately couldn’t make it. All totaled, there were more registrations than any of the past 3 years.

Learn more about the Resolution Run and other Kingston running races by visiting the KRRA.ORG website. Kudos go out to Race Director, Deb Morin, PJ Marshall and Ed Brand who were instrumental in the event’s smooth relocation, all the volunteers, sponsors and attendees who made the event a success.

Check out the photo gallery, here.

This page is dedicated to the results of each 2014 Race in our Race Series.

The KRRA website has a page dedicated to the 2014 race series standings, which can be viewed here.

You can view how each race breaks down by event…

Resolution 8k Run – January 5th, 2014

• Overall results
• Age Categories

Twosome 5k – February 2nd, 2014

• Overall results

Limestone Race Weekend – April 26-27, 2014

• KidsFest 3K
• 10K Trauma Overall
• 5K Race
• 1/2 Marathon (21.1km)

Belleville Spring Thaw 10K – May 11, 2014

• Overall results
• Age Category

Beat Beethoven 8K  – June 1, 2014

• Overall results

Canada Day Limestone Mile – July 1, 2014

• Junior results (under 14)
• Women’s results
• Men’s results

Woolly Bully 10K – August 17, 2014

• Overall Results
• Age Category

Brockville Half Marathon – September 6, 2014

• Overall Results
• Age Category

Run With the Wild – September 28, 2014

• Overall Results
• Age Category

Anniversary 10k Run – November 2. 2014

• Overall Results
• Age Category Results
• Kids One-miler

Al Cantlay, owner of Runners’ Choice Kingston, was inducted into the Kingston Sports Hall of Fame in the spring of 2014. He was the first runner to earn this prestigious honour. With friends and family, he attended the Hall of Fame banquet at the Ambassador Hotel on Friday May 29th, 2014 where he was honoured and gave a heartfelt speech.

Al Cantlay’s bio

A competitive distance runner for more than 30 years, Al Cantlay competed for Queen’s university as a member of the Cross-Country and Track & Field teams in the late 1970s teams which he also coached from 1980 to 1985.

Al’s coaching and organizing carried over into the wider Kingston community, including his free weekly group training sessions (which continue to date), which have helped many runners achieve personal goals including qualification for the Olympics and the Boston Marathon; among other prestigious races.

Always a superbly fit athlete, Al insisted on hard work and perserverance from himself and those he coaches. He is an innovative trainer bringing ‘track training’ coaching methods to Kingston and area distance runners. He has served in a variety of capacities: participant, coach, organizer, volunteer, advisor, sponsor and fundraiser, for the Kingston Triathlon Committee and the Kingston Road Runners Association since he arrived in Kingston in 1977.

Al Cantlay was instrumental in starting the Kingston Kids Read and Run Program and regularly donated equipment to ensure all interested children could participate.

He was inducted into the Queen’s University Coaches’ Hall of Fame in 2004 and was named a Paul Harris Fellow by the Kingston Rotary Club in 2013.

Hall of Fame banquet and luncheon photos

Click this link to enjoy the animated slideshow of photo images taken at the 2014 Sports Hall of Fame banquet and luncheon as alumni, family and friends celebrated Al’s induction.

Click here to check out coach Al in action on a chilly winter day as he trains his runners.

the MOMENT is CAPTURED by photographer Robby Breadner.

Al Cantlay Sports Hall Of Fame