Unless your training partner is a horse, the last word you want to come out of your mouth when you’re out running, cycling or walking is probably “Whoa!” Chances are, if you make this kind of an exclamation while you’re exercising outside, you’ve probably just encountered some man-made or natural obstacle in your path – be it a pothole, debris on the road or path, or a car driven by a distracted driver. (While out biking, I was once horrified to be smacked on my, er, “posterior parts,” but that is a topic for another post. Or perhaps not!)

With daylight-saving time approaching, and the days getting longer and the weather finally becoming more hospitable for enjoying the great outdoors, there are a lot more athletes out in the morning and early evening, ecstatic at the opportunity to get in workouts outside of the confines of the gym. With this seasonal transition, drivers are rushing home at night to enjoy those last bits of daylight or pick up the kids from Little League practice, and in regions where snowplows have been busy all winter, well, there’s probably quite a bit of “junk” – rocks, branches and the like – on sidewalks and the shoulders of roads.

What’s a good-intentioned athlete to do to stay safe in these treacherous conditions? You probably know the drill regarding the basics, such as:

• Train with a buddy when possible.
• Runners should try to stick to sidewalks, and on the road, runners should face traffic (so you can see cars and react if necessary if they don’t see you) and cyclists should go with the traffic.
• Take it easy and be especially aware on blind curves or especially narrow shoulders, where you might not be immediately visible to cars or have ample space for cars to safely pass you.
• When training with others, try to proceed single-file, particularly in the above situations.
• Give vehicles at intersections the right-of-way, and obey traffic rules and signals. Drivers don’t always pay attention to traffic signals or signs, and even if they do, when making a turn anticipate that they might not see you. In particular, when running or walking on the left side of a two-lane road, drivers you approach who are looking to make a right turn to pull into traffic quite often will not look to their right (and see you), because the moving traffic they are concerned with all comes from their left! So be very careful.
• Yes, we know that black is a more slimming and flattering color for many of us. But when you’re gearing up for a workout, remember that brighter, lighter colors are a lot easier for drivers to see. At dawn, dusk or nighttime, wear something reflective. There are plenty of inexpensive vests and armbands out there, and most of the major sportswear manufacturers now offer jackets and shirts with reflective strips.

Some other suggestions, from my personal experience:

• The first time a runners steps in a hole or trips over debris, he or she will recognize how fragile these important parts of the body are. Consider wearing a wider-tread shoe on less-than-pristine terrain or in inclement weather. And when you stretch, don’t neglect your ankles. I regularly do heel raises and ankle rotations, and I’m currently trying to master the Bosu Ball.
• Think of yourself an “ambassador” for your activity, whether it’s running, walking or biking. As mentioned, give drivers the right of way, but also give a wave of thanks when they let you pass. And if a driver cuts you off or is otherwise discourteous, resist the urge to yell, wave your arms like a lunatic, or offer up any culturally relevant salutes of displeasure. You don’t want to engender any grudges against your sport!
• Even if you don’t usually run in the dark, recognize that the sun might set a lot quicker than you anticipate and that on overcast, foggy or rainy conditions, it’s going to be harder for drivers to see you and more difficult for you to see the road. Invest in a headlamp – mine is an inexpensive (about $20 model) from Black Diamond, and you can direct the light to cast on either the ground or straight ahead. This handy device saved my bacon a few times this winter.
• Just in case, always carry some form of identification when training outside. You can purchase a wristband from specialty shops, but one of my favorite tools in my running arsenal is a SPIbelt, which is basically a drastically downsized fanny pack. It’s a very narrow strip of expandable fabric with a zipper, which you can use to also store your keys (always a challenge: what to do with those keys!) and phone. And hey, no offense, but it’s not a fanny pack.

What do you think? Do you have any other advice or stories about training and safety! Let your community members know!

Trois coureurs cyclistes Canadiens participent à la 68e reprise du célèbre Paris-Nice: Dominique Rollin (Cervélo Test Team), Christian Meier et SveinTuft  (Garmin Transitions).

Vingt-deux équipes sont inscrites à cette épreuve en huit étapes qui s’étend sur 1288 km.  C’est l’Espagnol Luis-Leon Sanchez qui, en 2009, a terminé en première position, au classement général.

Voir informations sur d’autres coureurs canadiens, sous les tableaux de Paris-Nice.

Quatrième étape, Saint-Julien - Aurillac 208 km

 1 Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas - Doimo 3:44:28  
2 Joaquim Rodriguez (Esp) Team Katusha    
3 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale    
4 Jens Voigt (All) Team Saxo Bank 0:00:02  
5 Tony Martin (All) Team HTC - Columbia    
6 Alberto Contador (Esp) Astana    
7 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Lampre - Farnese Vini 0:00:06  
8 Samuel Dumoulin (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne    
9 Xavier Florencio (Esp) Cervélo Test Team    
10 Marco Marcato (Ita) Vacansoleil Pro Cycling Team    
11 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team Katusha    
12 Simon Geschke (All) Skil - Shimano    
13 Eduard Vorganov (Rus) Team Katusha    
14 Alexandre Botcharov (Rus) Team Katusha    
15 Thierry Hupond (Fra) Skil - Shimano    
16 Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Caisse d’Epargne    
17 Christophe Le Mevel (Fra) Française des Jeux    
18 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quick Step    
19 Roman Kreuziger (Répé Tch.) Liquigas - Doimo    
20 Samuel Sanchez (Esp) Euskatltel - Euskadi    
21 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Bbox Bouygues Telecom    
22 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Sky Professional Cycling Team    
23 Evgeni Petrov (Rus) Team Katusha    
24 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale    
25 Reine Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne    
26 Luis-Leon Sanchez (Esp) Caisse d’Epargne    
27 Jeremy Galland (Fra) Saur - Sojasun    
28 David Millar (GBr) Garmin - Transitions    
29 Yannick Talabardon (Fra) Saur - Sojasun    
30 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana         
84 Christian Meier (Can) Garmin - Transitions 0:00:47        
107 Svein Tuft (Can) Garmin - Transitions 0:01:17   
119 Dominique Rollin (Can) Cervélo Test Team 0:02:23   

Classement général

1 Jens Voigt (All) Team Saxo Bank 12:40:26  
2 Peter Sagan (Svk) Liquigas - Doimo 0:00:06  
3 Luis-Leon Sanchez (Esp) Caisse d’Epargne 0:00:09  
4 David Millar (GBr) Garmin - Transitions 0:00:12  
5 Roman Kreuziger (Rép. Tch.) Liquigas - Doimo 0:00:14  
6 Lars Boom (PB) Rabobank 0:00:20  
7 Alberto Contador (Esp) Astana    
8 Levi Leipheimer (EU) Team RadioShack 0:00:24  
9 Joaquim Rodriguez (Esp) Team Katusha 0:00:28  
10 Xavier Tondo (Esp) Cervélo Test Team    
11 Alejandro Valverde (Esp) Caisse d’Epargne 0:00:30  
12 Samuel Sanchez (Esp) Euskatltel - Euskadi 0:00:33  
13 Janez Brajkovic (Slo) Team RadioShack 0:00:34  
14 Andriy Grivko (Ukr) Astana    
15 Rémi Pauriol (Fra) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 0:00:37  
16 Tony Martin (All) Team HTC - Columbia 0:00:38  
17 Serguei Ivanov (Rus) Team Katusha 0:00:41  
18 Jean-Christophe Peraud (Fra) Omega Pharma - Lotto    
19 Alexandr Kolobnev (Rus) Team Katusha    
20 Christophe Riblon (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:44  
21 Nicolas Roche (Irl) AG2R La Mondiale    
22 Reine Taaramae (Est) Cofidis, Le Credit en Ligne 0:00:45  
23 Laurent Mangel (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 0:00:46  
24 Simon Gerrans (Aus) Sky Professional Cycling Team 0:00:47  
25 Maxime Bouet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:48  
26 Jérôme Coppel (Fra) Saur - Sojasun 0:00:49  
27 Maxime Monfort (Bel) Team HTC - Columbia 0:00:52  
28 Sylvain Chavanel (Fra) Quick Step 0:00:53  
29 Mirco Lorenzetto (Ita) Lampre - Farnese Vini    
30 Romain Sicard (Fra) Euskatltel - Euskadi 0:00:54     
91 Dominique Rollin (Can) Cervélo Test Team 0:03:24    
119 Svein Tuft (Can) Garmin - Transitions 0:08:44    
124 Christian Meier (Can) Garmin - Transitions 0:09:03   

168 coureurs ont complété l’étape.

Première étape, prologue, dimanche 7 mars, Montfort-l’Amaury, 8 km   
Deuxième étape, lundi 8 mars, Saint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines - Contres 203,5 km    
Troisième étape, mardi 9 mars, Contres - Limoges, 201,5 km   
Quatrième étape, mercredi 10 mars, Saint-Julien - Aurillac 208 km   
Cinquième étape, jeudi 11 mars, Maurs - Mende 175 km   
Sixième étape, vendredi 12 mars, Pernes-les-Fontaines - Aix-en-Provence  153,5 km   
Septième étape, samedi 13 mars, Peynier - Tourrettes-sur-Loup, 220 km   
Huitième étape, dimanche 14, Nice, 119 km

Autres coureurs canadiens

Pendant ce temps, en Italie, deux Canadiens, Ryder Hesjedal et Michael Barry, participaient, mercredi, à la Montepaschi Strade Bianche, course de 190 km qui a été gagnée par le Kazakh Maxim Iglinskiy (Astana) en 4:59:48. Hesjedal (Garmin - Transitions) s’est classé au 5e rang, à 0:00:19, tandis que  Barry (Sky) terminait en 32e place à 0:06:15.

À Singapour, un autre Canadien, Ryan Anderson (Kelly Benefit Strategies) a complété le OCBC Cycle Singapore Professional Criterium en 19e position. L’épreuve de 105 minutes a été gagnée par l’Australien Ben Kersten (Fly V Australia).    

Pour nous joindre: clemelin@sdvmag.com . 

SAINTE-RITA - La Corporation du Sentier national au Bas-Saint-Laurent souhaite remercier le gouvernement du Canada et la Coalition nationale sur les sentiers pour l’octroi d’une subvention via le Plan d’action économique du Canada de 19 540$. 

Cette aide financière est venue compléter le budget total de 39 080$.  Ces sommes ont permis de faire l’entretien du Sentier national au Bas-Saint-Laurent qui compte 144,4 km de Trois-Pistoles à Dégelis, réparer des passerelles et des ponceaux, améliorer la signalisation des stationnements d’accès au Sentier national ainsi qu’à faire divers travaux dans les refuges tout au long des derniers mois.

La Corporation du sentier national souhaite également remercier la MRC du Témiscouata, la MRC des Basques et la Municipalité de Saint-Cyprien finançant annuellement l’entretien de base du Sentier national et ainsi que le Ministère des Ressources Naturelles et de la Faune du Québec et la Fédération Québécoise de la Marche qui ont permis la rénovation du ponceau du ruisseau de l’Étang dans le tronçon les Érables, via les programmes Volet 2 et Padélima.

Lauréate régionale des Grands prix du tourisme dans la catégorie «Activité de plein air et de loisir» en 2009, la Corporation qui a comme mission d’assurer la pérennité du Sentier national, son développement durable ainsi que son animation, est  désireuse d’offrir un attrait qui soit des plus intéressants, tant pour la clientèle locale que touristique. 

Les administrateurs de la Corporation poursuivent leurs efforts pour développer le Sentier national et remercient sincèrement tous les partenaires financiers qui les appuient.

Pour plus d’information sur le Sentier national au Bas-Saint-Laurent, visitez le www.sentiernationalbsl.com.

Photo courtoisie Sentier national au Bas-Saint-Laurent

Pour nous joindre: clemelin@sdvmag.com .

In the past year, registered Twitter accounts have grown more than 1,500%, according to Biz Stone, Co-Founder of Twitter. With such an explosion of new voices, that’s a lot of tweets and noise for nonprofit campaigners to filter through.  So if you can only carve out 20 minutes a day to follow nonprofit leaders and thinkers discussing nonprofit issues on Twitter, who would they be? Tough question, right? There are so many smart folks. Here’s my top 10. Feel free to add your top picks too in the comments section.  Note: I have kept the list to only include one person per organization. And don’t forget to follow @Care2frogloop – Frogloop’s very own Twitter feed.

@jocelynharmon – Jocelyn, who has been working in the nonprofit sector for over a decade tweets about online fundraising and how to connect with donors, email marketing, and online advocacy. Jocelyn is also the Director of Nonprofit Services for Care2.com, the company who runs the Care2Frogloop blog.

@kanter – The go-to expert on social media for nonprofits.

@mobileactive – One of the best sources for information on integrating mobile into campaigns.

@NancySchwartz – As a nonprofit marketer, Nancy tweets about online and offline communications including email copywriting, fundraising strategy, and nonprofit resources she discovers.

@nptechblogs – Tweets about the latest articles from the top nonprofit blogs.