Best place to train in Canada (old board)

[Chris Moulton]

run hard [guest]
Best places to train in CANADA Posted 11-18-2001 17:29

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Any suggestions here?

Ontario [guest]
Best places to train Posted 11-18-2001 17:51

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Good places to train in Ontario are in the Windsor area, the Tri-Cities area, and the Durham region (Oshawa, Pickering etc. LOSSA). These are pretty much the traditional hot spots for good running in high school. Also Toronto is not bad, perhaps better for after high school. After high school it's still Windsor, the tri-cities and then Toronto.

West Coast Playa [guest]
stop whinning Posted 11-19-2001 01:14

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Vancity Yo, vancouver

U Wish [guest]
Van. can't hang Posted 11-19-2001 03:45

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No contest... Victoria

skillz [guest]
st kitts Posted 11-20-2001 19:26

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no question, st catharines is hype

vanguy [guest]
vancity is the shizzle my nizzles! Posted 11-21-2001 07:24

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Vancouver is easily the best place to train in the country aside from maybe victoria....We have the best weather, we don't have to deal with 5 feet of snow like you other non-bc people. in the winter the temperature is RARELY below 0. and plus we have amazing trails all over the city(Pacific Spirit, Stanley Park etc,etc). Not to mention the best training groups too.

bboy [guest]
westcoastrules Posted 11-21-2001 07:47

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Vancity fooooooshhhhheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!

run hard [guest]
vancouver? Posted 11-21-2001 19:42

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What about the rain though cuz I hate running in the rain. Is it really that bad out there?

ryan_lacquement
calgary Posted 11-22-2001 00:04

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i've been fortunate to have been able to see alot of our great country and i'ld have to say that as far as cities go, Calgary is an amzing training city. they have some wonderful trails (especially nose hill park) and it's at some pretty good altitude. the winters aren't that bad either.
another plus is the lack of polution.

the vancouver/victoria areas would be pretty good as well.

Toronto(and area) has got to be one of the worst choices. yeah sure it has alot of great runners, but that's because it's so fucking huge. the polution sucks ass!!!

It would probably be nice to train somewhere like banff/jasper, but there probably isn't even an outdoor track, let alone an indoor one.

Pat
good call Posted 11-22-2001 00:38

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the fucking pollution is a bitch in T.O. and Hamilton where i'm from. Out west sounds kind of nice to for training.Half the time i can't even breathe in during a workout do to the fucking pollution am i not rite!

chico [guest]
high park Posted 11-22-2001 03:27

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high park has to be one of the best places to train-aside from the polltuion facter-btw who honestly cares about it anyways you get used to it.

guelph [guest]
guelph training Posted 11-22-2001 03:47

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gotta says fellas that i'd put guelph number one. just look at the guys to come out of here the last few years...

Caecilius
The City Posted 11-22-2001 04:57

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Stop bashing Toronto running...trust me...it's better than the suburbs...and it's good with all the people and shit...you don't even notice the pollution...

[Chris Moulton]

davidson
Toronto Running Posted 11-22-2001 12:36

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I've been training in North T.O. for about a year and a half, and I have to say, I don't notice too much difference (other than having to run on the roads for all my long runs). However, I am comparing this to Hamilton. Our whole team trains out here, just off of Steeles, and we're fine (ie, we've had some pretty big improvements this year). Maybe it is a slight advantage to be training in the pollution. When people from no pollution run here it is harder for theem to breathe, but when we go elsewhere, we can breathe a lot easier. As for facilities, none can top our indoor track. I think it's the only one in Canada that is built solely for out great sport (man I love living a 4min walk away from there).

run hard [guest]
specifics Posted 11-22-2001 14:26

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Actually what I'm looking for is a great group of post grad or any solid group of runners to train with. excellent trails and places to run. Facilities that offer both x-c, indoor and outdoor track type training. and finally reasonably priced living. Good winters would be nice though......

Matt [guest]
Run Hard Posted 11-22-2001 16:54

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To respond to run hard's question about post-collegiate places to train in Canada I'll respond with the knowledge that I have acquired from spending time in Ottawa, Vancouver and TO over the last year:

Ottawa-- a good group with the lions. Maybe not what it used to be with the retirement of McGregor and the quasi retirement of Weber, but with the two lads who hammered me at OTFAs plus McDonald, Gamache and Pawson they can and will hold their own against anyone. Elrick is a good coach. Amazing trails and greenspace in the city, and a great outdoor track at the Terry Fox facility. Harsh winters and no indoor track make it sub-optimal for pokilotherms.

Vancouver-- good training groups with the Hershey Harriers or Kajaks and the Saturday morning Stanley Park workouts are second to none. They have the same problem as TO-- no outdoor tracks in the city proper though. The rain at near 0 temperatures makes you wish for clear days and -5 to -10C temperatures though. The rain seeps in and freezes you.

TO-- I obviously have the most experience in TO. Many clubs around-- TOC, Phoenix, EHS are the clubs that serve the peri-TO area. UTTC seems to serve most who live in the near downtown area. TO has good trails, but they are sometimes hard to find (check out a bike trail map). Good indoor facilities in the North (York), Central (U of T) and East (Variety Village). Outdoor tracks in Toronto Proper are either clay or asphalt. Commuting to York/ Centennial from downtown is the true test of commitment to a good track season.
UTTC is a great group for Juniors/Varsity guys/ sub-or aspiring elite post-collegiate guys who want to work/study in TO and have a solid group of runners to work out with. Ross Ristuccia and Don Mills team up to coach this rather large group. Ross is definitely underrated as a coach (personal bias acknowledged) and Don has more experience coaching than Merek, Martin and Poce combined!
With respect to the pollutio issue-- if you look at the air quality index it is universally bad throughout all of southern ON. It is often worse in Windsor/Hamilton than in TO because of the updraft of US pollution. I think the oppresive heat has more to do with sub-optimal summer conditions rather than pollution.
My .02. I hope it helps you out Mr run hard.

am
Banff Posted 11-23-2001 19:39

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Yeah I would have to say Banff would be a really nice place to live and train. There are trails all over the place.
I know "Sulphur Mountain" has a 5 k trail going to the peak that climbs 500 or so metres. The ride down on the chair lift is free.
It is a place where you could really focus on training. (small, not much to do)
Not sure of an outdoor track.
Expensive, although probably easy to get a job in tourism.
It is close to Calgary which also has lots of trails along the Bow River and has indoor and outdoor facilities.
Training wise it would beat Long Island any day.

bat [guest]
calgary Posted 11-24-2001 03:21

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calgary has a 400m indoor track!!

bomba
IMHO... Posted 11-24-2001 06:38

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..considering all things mentioned..victoria is the best place to train....good group right now.....super trails....cheaper than vancouver....and about 3/4 less rain than here (vancouver)......plus lotsa local support....

Waterloo [guest]
Kitchener-Waterloo Posted 11-25-2001 01:32

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K-W is a nice venue. You are only ever 5-10min from the hilly country roads of Waterloo/Wilmot/Wellington and their is a decent (but not great) trail system. Lots of great parks for intervals as well. There are lots of training groups to choose from (Tri-City, LCTC, K-W TF, UW, WLU) and great coaching in Pete Grinsbergs and Terry Goodenough for distance and Brent McFarlane and Gary Crossly for speed/power, among many others. There lots of road races in the area, and it is easy access to bigger races in T-O, and is only a short trip down the road to Hamilton for Pete's great twilights in the summer or across the border for other races. The weather is bareable, nice falls and springs, but the summer pollution is a bit rough at times. Winters are bareable as the area doesn't get too much snow and is fairly mild. Trails are cleared in the winter anyway. Like Ottawa though, K-W is lacking an indoor facility. There is a 250m oval around a hockey rink but it is essentially concrete and hard on the body. The city also has 2-3 rubberized surfaces as well for the outdoor season. Lots of great physio places in town too. With the two universities and 1 college the town is fairly youthful, vibrant, pretty active as well.

I have to agree with Matt the Lions are great to train with in Ottawa. Great coaching, great training group, great city. Winters suck though - ski or stay in.

run hard [guest]
helps Posted 11-25-2001 17:03

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Good insight on what everyone thinks. I just wanted to see what else was out there as far as training groups in canada. How many post colligiate's out there are with a good training group are working full time and are not living at home? I'm just getting tired of training by myself.

MR RUN HARD

TS [guest]
running city Posted 12-13-2001 20:21

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Nothing is close to North/West Vancouver--unbelievable trails, large variety, great scenary, has the grouse grinde which is the "nature's stairmaster", has a beach closeby and has other great facilities. It doesn't really get that cold either. There aren't that many cars around if you decide to run on roads. Lots of hills. It's the runner's dream city.

[Chris Moulton]

somebody [guest]
city? Posted 12-13-2001 23:20

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north van is a both a city and municipality...west van is only a municipality...they definitely rock for training though...but why tell people???...we don't need people coming into our neck of the woods.

Calgary [guest]
Calgary Posted 12-14-2001 00:02

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Calgary is an awesome place to train that is often overlooked. The entire city is linked by trail and bike path...you can get anywhere in the city by these. It has fish creek park that has over 50 miles of dirt, shale, and paved paths right in the city. I have heard that it is one of the (if not the biggest) urban wilderness areas in North America. This is connected by bike path in the west (about 12km) to the Glenmore Reservoir which has a nearly exact 10 mile loop around the lake, which in turn is linked by bike path to the bow river pathway which you can take for miles on both sides of the river either to the far northwest of the city or right through Eau Claire Market downtown to the east of the city where you can hook up with another path that takes you (about 15-20km) back to the east enterance of fish creek park again. Also just 3 miles north of downtown is huge Nose Hill park that is essentially a giant hill that takes about 20 minutes to run up and has 5 or 6 miles of trails on top of the hill overlooking the entire city. This combined with the fact that Calgary is in the foothills of the rocky mountains, which means enough hills in the city for anyone as well as 3500 feet of altitude, plus hundreds of miles of mountain trails within 45 minutes, as well as nice summers (winters get cold but often it is 10-20 degrees celsius in the middle of dec, jan and feb due to chinooks) make Calgary and awesome training city that is often overlooked. Also a 450 metre indoor track plus two other 200m indoor track and two outdoor tracks help as well.

UVic Vike [guest]
Victoria Rocks Posted 12-14-2001 08:04

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I would have to say that Victoria has got to be the best place in the country to train - hands down. We have the warm winter weather, great summers, and beautiful trails that Vancouver has with about half the rain. We have three nice poly tracks in the city, awesome gym facilities, great trail running, and having travelled around Canada quite a bit, I think I can honestly say that all-around, Victoria is probably one of the nicest Canadian cities. If you are a fairly good runner you may be able to get on with Pacific Sport which means you get half price housing - 270/mo for a nice one bedroom apartment - and they can also cover a lot of your competition costs. In addition to this there is a pretty stacked group of runners here - Jerry Ziak, Jim Finlayson, Graham Hood, Zach Whitmarsh, Jon Brown, Bruce Deacon, Diane Cummings, and Steve Osaduik just to name a few. Also the UVic training group is pretty deep too if you're not quite ready to train with the big guns.


Edmonton [guest]
Edmonton is # 1 Posted 12-26-2001 01:10

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Edmonton, Alberta, you can't beat it

We have the whole river valley wear you can run a whole marathon on wood-chip trails, we have 2 mondo surface indoor 200m tracks (kinsmen, U of A butterdome)
and we have probably the most mondo surface outdoor tracks (400m) in all of Canada- Strathcona high school, Commonwealth stadium, Clarke Stadium (only 4 lanes), Foote Field, etc etc... also we have another great polyesterine track in St. Albert just 10 min. outside of the city, also a training venue for the 2001 World championships...

so to sum it up- 4 outdoor tracks, 2 indoor, miles of woodchip trails in the river valley, other cities in Canada simply do not compare...

And I speak from experience...

Why didn't I see any other Canadian cities bidding for the World Championships this past summer ?

It's a no brainer, Edmonton is where its at.

taco [guest]
edmonton Posted 12-26-2001 04:52

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Yeah Edmonton may be good in the summer, But those wood chip trails cant be any good in the winter when there is 30 feet of snow, and it is minus 40 degrees

PlayerOne [guest]
van Posted 12-26-2001 05:02

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vancity Baby...Vee blotclot Cee
hear the echoe