MULTISPORT CANADA NEWSLETTER
MAY 2020
Greetings!

With so much attention focused on these difficult times we thought it was time to send a few articles that are fun, informative and have some ideas on how to keep your fitness level high.

In this issue:
  • Coaches Roger Hospedales and Paolina Allan of PR Endurance Training, Miranda Tomenson of Tomenson Performance and Wellness and Richard Pady of Healthy Results have passed along some training tips and thoughts.
  • The Real Triathlon Podcast, which examines some of the behind the scenes decision making a race director goes through when deciding on whether to cancel or postpone a race. John Salt discusses some of the factors here in Ontario.
  • A Virtual Race Community challenge from the Series official timing company, Sportstats, which is a little different from others and allows you to complete goals at your own pace....with prizes for participating!
  • Series Updates on Welland, Gravenhurst and Kingston

Please stay safe!
FOLLOW THE SERIES ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Athlete Training Tips
With races being postponed and cancelled each week, it's certainly a disappointing and challenging time for all of us in the endurance world.

However, #teamprendurancetraining have chosen to not waste time and mental energy on things we can't control, instead we will stay positive and look at this as an opportunity to get even stronger and faster for when the races return.

Here are some of the things we are doing to keep our eyes on the prize:

All the pools have been closed and you might be worried about losing your swim specific strength and fitness. However, there is some way to keep that conditioning throughout this pool closure. I have created a program that you can do every other day to keep the swimming muscles firing. The only equipment required is swim tubing that can be purchased from Amazon. It won’t be a perfect supplement to real swimming in the pool, but it will help you re-gain your swim fitness much faster than if you do nothing at all.

When was the last time you had a perfect season? Conquered every workout? Felt great on every km, every lap, of every day? And yet, that is the expectation many of us.

But that sure isn’t reality, is it?

Behind The Scenes
What Goes Into The Decision To Cancel A Race
The Race Director's Perspective
We're sure you have seen all sorts of comments and discussion around the impact COVID-19 might have on races all around the world. I was very grateful when Jackson Laundry,  Garrick Loewen and Nicholas Chase invited me as a guest on The Real Triathlon Podcast to discuss some of the factors that go into the decisions a race Director has to make when considering whether to cancel a race. 

The first forty minute segment is an interview with Nick Zivolich who is the race director for the U.S. based Best Damn Race Series. Nick's interview discusses many of the financial realities when dealing with races in multiple communities in the United States, which are not dissimilar to Ontario.

I join the guys at the 40 minute mark and our discussion covers a myriad of thoughts behind making these difficult decisions, especially for Barrelman Niagara Falls. I hope you have a listen and think you might find it interesting. - John Salt

You can listen to the full podcast on the Real Triathlon Podcast website
Sportstats Virtual Race Community
No Early Season Races...Why Not go Virtual?
With the nicer weather ju st around the corner more of you will probably be getting outside on your bikes and running your favourite routes. Whether you are outside or inside why not add an element of fun to your training?

Sportstats the Official Timing Company of MultiSport Canada has launched their Virtual Race Community. The Sporstats VRC is not like many of the typical virtual races and give you a lot more flexibility because you are not confined to a few days or a weekend. Given you have an entire month to complete the Sportstats VRC race distances or you can complete several different distances from the same event. You can also repeat your efforts at any time. This provides you with options and some competitive strategy. 

Are you the competitive type? Whereas in other virtual races, you can only see updated leaderboards for those who have finished and only upload one effort per leg, with Sportstats VRC you can see live updates to the legs and repeat your efforts. This gives you the opportunity to go back and retry an effort if you think you didn't do as well as you’d have liked. It also encourages you to push yourself. As an example, perhaps you upload a 10k run time and you see you are close to several other athletes. Why not set a personal goal to improve your time? You’ve got a month to put in some work and see if you can improve your time and pass some of those ahead of you. With the Sportstats VRC you pick the distance and amount of time you want to devote. 

While there are no awards, there are also other components to the Virtual Community such as online club training, the Sportstats Facebook Group, the Strava Club and give-aways for participants. The best part? The Sportstats VRC is FREE! 

Remember, you can choose to simply record your results and do not need to opt-in to any the other program components .
Series News
Triathlon Series Race Updates
We last wrote on April 15th to give you a general update on the series and now have information on our races in Gravenhurst, Welland and Kingston. Given the current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic and circumstances beyond our control, we have to make the difficult decision to officially cancel those three events for 2020. All registered athletes were given four options. These were: 
  1. Refund 75% of the registration cost (the purchase processing fee is not included in the refund, however MSC will pay the refund fee on the athlete's behalf)
  2. Defer entry to 2021 for the same race
  3. Transfer to another race this season. If no other races are available or chosen by the athlete, options 1 and 2 are available
  4. Support MultiSport Canada and Give Back a percentage of your entry fee

These were the first races cancelled in our nineteen year history and very difficult decisions. We are already looking forward 2021 and seeing you enjoying the sport you love!

If you missed the April 9 announcement of our policies in case of race cancellations. You can also read when we intend to make the decisions for future races here .
Barrelman Niagara Falls News
For those athletes who are considering, but have not yet registered for Barrelman Niagara Falls, we are including the latest information on the status of the race and our plans for a final decision date. You can get caught up on the latest race and COVID-19 news on the Barrelman Niagara Falls website .
Events We Know You'll Love
Creemore Springs Turas Mor
MultiSport Canada has teamed up with Creemore Springs to bring you the Creemore Springs Turas Mor. Join us in Creemore, ON for a truly unique bike tour. Inspired by the vintage rides of Europe, Turas Mór – meaning ‘Great Journey’ in Gaelic - is a cycling journey on gravel and non-gravel roads through the rolling hills of Creemore. For seasoned riders to first-timers, there’s something for everyone. Check out our website to see what each route has to offer!
THANK YOU TO OUR SERIES SPONSORS
Presenting Sponsor
Series Sponsors
MultiSport Canada | (705) 797-4951 | (705) 730-7567