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Marathon in Death Valley lures extreme runners

30/7/2015

Care for a run?

July 30: Ninety-seven elite athletes are running an ultra marathon in Death Valley, the hottest place on Earth. They will cover 217km(135miles) from Badwater, California to Mt. Whitney. In doing so they will have crossed from the lowest spot in the continental US to the highest place on Mt. Whitney. While they have 48 hours to finish the fastest will do the job in little over 24hours. Along the way they will have endured 40 degree Celsius heat and crossed three mountain ranges.

Why do they do this? The people give different answers.

Whatever their reasons they do it. The first over the finish line this year was Harvey Lewis who completed the run in 23 hours 52’55”. The first woman to complete finished in 28 hours 37’28”. Thirteen runners did not finish.

So far there have been no deaths due to the heat and distance. Some runners have support crews, but other ultra-marathoners have managed without. Some runners complete the Badwater/Mt Whitney course and turn around and run back to the start line.

When you ask 'how do they do it' you might turn to the Tarahumara Indians who live in Northwestern Mexico in the Sierra Madre Mountains.

They have a tradition of long distance running. And they do it barefoot. They sometimes have a run of 320km(200mi) while kicking a wooden ball. Women run the same course but women run with a stick and a hoop. The runs may be ceremonial or competitive. The Tarahumara traditionally lead a simple life with a diet that is mostly vegetables.

The Tarahumara use traditional tools for hunting but have been known to run down small game.

If you aren’t exhausted just reading about ultra-marathon runners perhaps you will be interested in participating in Adventurecorps planned bicycle race in September. It’s billed as the toughest 48 hours in sport. The Silver State 508 is a 508 mile bicycle race that will start in Reno Nevada, snakes over the “loneliest highway in America” before circling back to Reno.

You will have to wait until next year to enter the RAAM (race across America Marathon).

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TDF Stage 19 Nibali shows why he is The Shark

30/7/2015

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The Shark takes TDF Stage 19

July 24, 2015: Vincenzo Nibali, Astana, showed the world why he’s been nicknamed “The Shark” today when he negotiated the other top hunters and scored a stage win on the second to last day of competition for the general classification. Last year’s Tour de France winner has been moving steadily up the general classifications after a disappointing start. Today he staged a daring break to grab a stage win and move his standing up from 7th to 4th place, shaving two minutes off Chris Froome’s, Sky, lead time.

Nairo Quintana, Movistar, challenged the supremacy of Froome today as well. Froome has been well supported by his star team, but once isolated from their support proved vulnerable. Quintana, looking unperturbable rode up the final climb of the day alone. He cut into Froome’s lead by about thirty seconds. He rides in second place with a deficit of 2’28”.

There is only one day left for the GC riders. Whether Quintana can surpass Froome is debatable. It will take the riders to the top of the legendary l’Alpe d’Huez. There will be only two classified climbs, both of them HC. The TDF 2015 has maintained the suspense every day of the three week epic.

A big loser in the GC standings today was Sky rider Geraint Thomas. He slipped from a possible podium finish to 15th. While he dismissed the effects of his crash in Stage 18 as minor, it may be that they were more serious than disclosed.

Stage 19 Standings                                                                      General Classification
1.       Vincenzo Nibali, Astana    1. Chris Froome, Sky
2.       Nairo Quintana, Movistar    2. Nairo Quintana, Movistar
3.       Chris Froome, Sky       3. Alejandro Valverde, Movistar
4.       Thibaut Pinot, FDJ 4. Vincenzo Nibali, Astana
5.       Romain Bardet, AG2R        5. Alberto Contador, Tinkoff

There are other races than the final GC status. The best young rider award is given to the rider under aged 25 years. It looks as if Nairo Quintana will continue to claim that status. Peter Sagan, Tinkoff, looks to be continuing in the green jersey of most points accrued. Romain Bardet and Chris Froome will have to duke it out tomorrow on the slopes of the Alps for King of the Mountain and Team Movistar looks as if it has a lock on the top team classification.

It has been traditional that the peloton comes together in companionship on the 21st day of the race. The GC riders traditionally do not compete against one another. That does not mean that it is a ho hum stage. Once the mob reaches Paris, the pace quickens and the sprinters jockey for position to be the first to cross the finish line. With the cobble stones on the Champs d’Elysees rattling the skinny tires on the racing bikes, the unexpected is to be expected.

For full statistics and background try Le Tour and VeloNews

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TDF Stage 18 Froome has hammerlock on yellow

30/7/2015

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TDF race leader Chris Froome

July 23: Chris Froome, Sky, appears to have a hammerlock on first place in this year’s Tour de France. He has worn yellow denoting race leader and answered all challenges to take it away. After 74 hours of competitive racing, Froome remains just over three minutes ahead of his nearest rival. With the final two days of racing ahead, the time differential seems insurmountable. But it is the Tour de France and you should always expect the unexpected.

There will be no letup in the punishing course. Today’s stage required the athletes to conquer seven peaks over 185 km. Tomorrow the French Alps will offer four peaks, two 1s, one 2 and an HC. One for heroic cycling(my interpretation).

The participants are also succumbing to the grinding pace. Yesterday saw six riders abandon the Tour, including Tejay Van Garderen, BMC, and Michael Kwiatowski, Astana. Today marked two more gone including Mark Renshaw, Etixx.

The downhills have taken their toll as well. Alberto Contador, Tinkoff, crashed during a downhill yesterday and continued, but has admitted that he is feeling the effects today. French star Thibaut Pinot, FDJ, also crashed yesterday and rode with bandages today.

The long swoop down the Col du Glandon which took a fraction of the time to climb it, looked scary to someone who used to apply the brakes on little hills, but former cycling star Jens Vogt said on the TV coverage that it was not bad at all and that at least the riders, “Don’t risk falling down the cliff edge.”

After the descent of the Col du Glandon, the pack had a seventh climb to the finish. It was only 3.5 km of climbing compressed into 17 switchbacks.

Stage 18 Standings                                                                   General Classification
1.       Romain Bardet, AG2R                                                    1. Chris Froome, Sky
2.       Pierre Roland, Europcar                                                2. Nairo Quintana, Movistar
3.       Winner Anacona, Movistar                                           3. Alejandro Valverde, Movistar
4.       Bob Jungles, Trek                                                          4. Geraint Thomas, Sky
5.       Jakob Fulsand, Astana                                                   5. Alberto Contador, Tinkoff

Stage 19 they do it all again Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne to La Toussuire-Les Sybelles.

Further reading:
Velo News
Le Tour

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Porter Airlines drops the ball Christine Flynn scenario

29/7/2015

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Religious extremists in Scotland's past

Opinion - July 29, 2015
A young woman returning from New York to Toronto is angry with Porter Airlines. I don’t know her but I am angry too.

All women should be angered at the treatment afforded Christine Flynn. The CBC has reported that before take off in New York she was asked to change her seat on the airline.

Some people would say what is the big deal. Here’s the deal.

A man boarded the plane after Flynn was seated in her assigned seat. He took a look at her and while not acknowledging her, asked another passenger to get her to move.

Apparently it was against his beliefs to sit in proximity to a woman. Because she is a woman.

When Flynn refused to change seats to accommodate this religious extremist, the cabin attendant, male, got involved and requested that someone exchange seats with the extremist.

OK so that marks two people as insensitive to the equality of all. Other passengers offered to change seats and the plane took off.

She pointed out that she was being considered unfit to be a seat partner by this religious extremist solely on the basis that she is female.

It is my opinion that the disruptive man should have been told to sit down and be quiet or get off the plane. That may seem extreme when other passengers could accommodate his wishes.

If you don’t see the problem here, think about a NeoNazi in full regalia boarding a passenger plane. His assigned seat is next to a person of colour, who in his twisted mind, considers it wrong to sit next to a person of colour. Would the cabin crew been as quick to accommodate the NeoNazi? How about another type of religious zealot who won’t sit next to a Jewish person? Or a gay or lesbian person? Why is it ok to accommodate a misogynist?

You may think this is a one of, but that isn’t the case. The New York Times, April 9 of this year has reported numerous cases of this. This phenomenon also extends to religious extremists wanting separate buses and streets and erasing women's photos from news stories.

Of course people are entitled to believe whatever they believe, but in a free, democratic society they cannot be permitted to impose those strange or wonderful beliefs on others.

Christine Flynn deserves a heartfelt aplology.

References:
CBC News
National Post

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Pres Obama addresses African Union

28/7/2015

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USA/Ethiopia military training session

July 28, 2015: US President Barak Obama topped off his visit to the African continent with an address to the leaders of the African Union in Ethiopia. He took the opportunity to praise the work being done on the continent in working towards peace and democracy. He also took the opportunity to remind leaders that those who would twist their country’s constitution in order to remain in power beyond the constitution’s limits that they do their citizens a disservice.

He singled out the situation in Burundi in particular. Their president has claimed that his first term didn’t count because he was elected by the sitting parliament. He stood for a third term. Civil unrest, killings and intimidations resulted. Nearly 200 000 people have fled to neighbouring countries to avoid the violence. Pres. Pierre Nkurunziza was re-elected this month.

Obama was careful to not criticize the Ethiopian government whose parliament has no opposition members among the 546 elected. The country is rated as one of the most heavily censored by fellow journalists. Prior to Obama’s visit, two imprisoned journalists were released.

The US and Ethiopia are partners in the military operations that target terrorist organizations in that area.

In spite of its poor record of human rights, Ethiopia has become a partner in the “coalition of the willing” and has received generous military aid.

Pres. Obama is the first serving US president to visit Africa. His father was a Kenyan citizen. During his visit to that country, many claimed family connections and many others cheered him for visiting.

It is likely that the “showing of the flag” in Africa may be a move to counter some of the influence that China has been cultivating recently. Major infrastructure projects have been financed by the PRC and many entrepreneurs from China have quietly moved to that continent. Large tracts of agricultural land have been secured under leases by the PRC government.

The mineral riches of the continent are also well known.

Further reading:
Al Jazeera
BBC News
Guardian

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Marathon in Death Valley lures extreme runners

TDF Stage 19 Nibali shows why he is The Shark

TDF Stage 18 Froome has hammerlock on yellow

Porter Airlines drops the ball Christine Flynn scenario

Pres Obama addresses African Union

Barbara McPherson

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