Subaru Awards Luncheon

[spindizzy]

The year-end awards ceremony was held yesterday for those racing in the Ontario Subaru Series. To be eligible for placing, you had to do at least 4 races. Points are awarded depending on your finish. I finished 2nd overall in my age group. (yay)

What I realized yesterday, was how fortunate I am to live where I do. Between the Subaru series and the HSBC series, I could race every weekend if I wanted. The furthest distance a race is held is about a 2 hour drive. That these people- (Mitch and Janet Fraser and their entourage) put together these well organized races + the Muskoka 70.3 is nothing short of amazing. Lunch was a fantastic sit-down, served hot meal. Athletes honoured went as high as the 70-75 age group. One woman who turns 70 next year did an Ironman this year! I can only hope to be standing there when I'm 70.

Barry Shepley (coach, announcer) spoke at our lunch yesterday. He doesn't coach Simon Whitfield (triathlete) but was announcing the amazing, exciting, yell at the TV mens' tri at 12:20 a.m. race at the Olympics for us Canadian viewers. Simon's gutsy performance gave him the silver.

He also mentioned a German study that has just been published (wish I knew where) which concluded that the best, most successful athletes did not "specialize" in their chosen sport until after age 15 - and were active in many other sports until then. I'd love to get the word out there to all the parents that encourage year-round activity in the same sport. Even the greatest hockey players that have come out of Canada often played other sports in the summer, not just hockey. He was speaking to Simon whom afterward and Simon likened his final sprint to "running down a soccer field from end to end with the ball and then scoring the winning goal." Imagine, that was what was in his mind as he overtook the athletes in front of him - something he did as a teen!

Anyway I just wanted to express my small bit of gratitude for the fun I had this summer. Subaru rocks!

Subaru lunch, 2008. 2nd place 50-54.jpg (142.8 KB)