Hi There Winterman Entrants - and those of you who haven’t entered yet!
This is our first of three pre-race day newsletters - and the last one you will receive if you haven’t entered by next week - I promise!

We want to thank the 870 of you who have entered Winterman so far (a 40% increase over last year). We anticipate there will be more than 1200 of you by race morning on February 21st It is going to be quite an event at the Canadian War Museum on February 21st.

There is Still Time to Enter
That’s right, if you haven’t yet, you can enter Winterman online and still receive the cool souvenir shirt right up to midnight Sunday February 14th. You can avoid an entry fee increase if you enter by midnight Monday February 8th. Go to www.wintermanmarathon.ca to enter and to obtain more detailed information.

Late Entry on Race Weekend
If you miss the souvenir shirt entry and online deadlines, you can still enter on race weekend at the War Museum, right up to 8:00 a.m. – but you don’t receive the souvenir shirt, and you pay a little more

The Newsletters
The purpose of the pre-event newsletters is to provide you with up to date information on the event, so you can plan and prepare properly for race day. In this edition and in the next two, we will also answer your questions – so fire them at us. We will respond directly and in the next newsletter

SAR Global 1
SAR Global 1 is the official charity partner of Winterman. We urge you to consider making a donation or collecting pledges in support of their ‘search and rescue’ work in the National Capital Region, Eastern Ontario, and Western Quebec. Check out their web site to learn more about this valuable regional organization - http://www.sarglobal1.ca/index.htm. SAR representatives will be on site to accept your donations.

Start and Finish Line
The race start will be on the Ottawa River Parkway (Westbound lanes only) at 8:30 a.m. in front of the Canadian War Museum. The Finish Line (and 5m point, and the relay exchange zone) are located adjacent to each other on the plaza in front of the Canadian War Museum.

The Course
The main course is an out and back 5Km loop along the Western lanes of the Ottawa River Parkway, a map of which is on the event web site at www.wintermanmarathon.ca . The finish of each of the 5km loops is on the plaza in front of the Museum adjacent to the Finish Line.

Relay Exchanges
The relay exchange is the exchange of the team timing chip bracelet. This will occur in the relay exchange zone adjacent to the Finish Line. There will be a warming tent nearby in which the waiting team member can stay out of the elements. The lobby of the War Museum is also open to those who are waiting longer, or have finished their race.

Course Supervision
There will be first aid support on the course every 500m, with major first aid stations at the 2.5Km and 5Km turn around points. Aid stations will be located every 2.5Km at those same turn around points. More specific details on what will be offered at the aid stations will follow in Newsletter #2.

Race Site – Canadian War Museum
The pre and post race site is in the Museum in the Barney Danson Theatre. Participants may wait inside the Museum before, during, and after the races. Relay team mates can seek shelter there if necessary until there relay leg turn comes up, with the next relay runner able to wait inside the heated Armed Forces supplied tent near the exchange point. Toilets are available in the Museum and a limited number at the 2.5km turn around point on each lap of the course.

Saturday Pick Up
Race Kit Pick Up is at the Canadian War Museum on Vimy St. We strongly recommend that you arrange to pick up your (and your team’s, or friends’) race kit(s) on Saturday between 12:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., to avoid the line ups and panic on Sunday morning. You may have someone pick up your kit for you, and one team member may pick up the entire team’s kits. Parking is available at meters in front of the Museum or in the underground parking lot.

Parking
There are 297 parking spots underground at the Canadian War Museum, so if you want one of them, plan on arriving early race morning. There are also a number of parking meters on the Museum driveway and on Wellington St. adjacent to the Museum, although they definitely fill up very early with volunteers and workers. Regular parking fees apply. You must arrive from the West on the Ottawa River Parkway, or on Wellington St. from the East, to access the Museum parking on Vimy St. check a Google map for directions.

We recommend that you car pool or consider having someone drop you off at the Museum rather than bringing individual cars. This will ease the pressure on the parking spots and the environment. It is recommended that you consider making parking arrangements off site, to avoid the crowd as you are leaving the event. We will provide more information on the location of those lots in Newsletter #2.

Special Guests
At present we note the planned participation of a couple of ‘celebrity’ guests at Winterman 2010. The first is Chief Vern White of the Ottawa Police Service who has indicated he will participate – although not in the Marathon. In addition to Chief White, we have confirmed that Joe Cleary of Georgetown will be here for his 427th Marathon! Joe is a perky 69 year old! We will update you on other noteworthy participants as we learn of them.

Special Winterman Souvenirs
We have a great selection of popular Winterman souvenirs that participants and non-participants may purchase to show you were there, at Canada’s only Winter Marathon. We will have hats, head bands, and ear flap hats in limited quantities. Last year we sold out on Saturday, so be there early to get yours. Prices will be featured in the next newsletter.

Volunteers
We are quite pleased with the tremendous support shown by SAR Global 1 volunteers, but are always looking for more people to make the runners feel welcome and safe. If you are interested to join the volunteer corps, please go to http://tinyurl.com/wintermanvolunteers to sign up and receive your posting.

Winterlude Collaborator Activity
Almost sounds illegal doesn’t it J! Winterman is an official ‘Winterlude’ event within its Winterlude Collaborator’s Activity program. It is being held on the last day of Winterlude 2010.

Winter Running Tips
While we are not the experts on winter running here are a few other internet sites for your information - in no particular order - which provide advice on winter running do's and don'ts.
http://ottawafrontrunners.org
http://www.runquick.com/corcorn/coldweather.html
http://www.active.com/running/Articles/Winter-Running-Tips.htm
http://www.drpribut.com/sports/topten_winter.htm
http://www.mraweb.ca/articles/winter_running.htm

Q & A
If you still have questions, after reading this email and the event information on the Winterman web site at www.wintermanmarathon.ca , please fire them our way. We will be pleased to answer them directly and in Newsletter #2.

Good luck in your preparations!

Terry and Lawrence and the Somersault Race Crew

terry@somersault.ca
lawrence@sympatico.ca