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April Showers & 50-Milers

by vince May 1, 2011 Monumental Efforts

« When your mind starts to wander, just return your focus to your breath. » André Grandbois, yoga instructor. Exactly one year after doing the Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim double-crossing of the Grand Canyon, two-thirds of the team reunited in Snoqualmie, Washington to run the Mt. Si Ultra. Due to injury, Wade was unable to join us, but [...]

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Happy Monumental New Year!

by vince January 3, 2011 Faces

Happy New Year! In 2010 we witnessed many unbelievable feats…Monica’s 25 x 100-milers, Charlotte’s new Bruce Trail speed record, and Martin Parnell’s Marathon Quest 250 to name a few.  Monumental Effort is looking forward to sharing many more inspiring stories of determination and perseverance with you in 2011. If you have a story, or an idea of one that [...]

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The Bunion Derby – Part One

by vince November 13, 2010 Book Reviews

“It winds from Chicago to LA, more than two thousand miles all the way.  Get your kicks on Route 66” – Nat King Cole On November 13th and 14th, Monica Scholz will run in the third edition of the Mother Road 100-Miler in Oklahoma, and in the process she will eclipse her World Record of [...]

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Into the Wind

by vince October 7, 2010 Faces

“I’m not a dreamer, and I’m not saying this will initiate any kind of definitive answer or cure to cancer, but I believe in miracles. I have to.” – Terry Fox During my latest race south of the border (Arkansas Traveler 100-miler, report to follow…), I ran a few early miles alongside a couple of [...]

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Staying The Course: A Runner’s Toughest Race

by vince January 27, 2010 Book Reviews

“It’s unbelievable that wherever I go, people still want to talk about that race.  It beat me up more than any other race in my life.” – Dick Beardsley Until recently I knew very little about Dick Beardsley.  I vaguely remembered that he was involved in one of the greatest races ever, but that was [...]

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Marathon Quest 250

by vince January 20, 2010 Faces

Yo, Karnazes!  Check this out! This story appeared in The Hamilton Spectator on New Year’s Eve.  Martin Parnell plans on running the equivalent of 250 marathons in 2010 to raise funds for Right to Play, “a humanitarian organization that uses sport and play programs to improve health, develop life skills and foster peace for children [...]

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Hoops and a run in Honolulu

by vince January 13, 2010 Monumental Efforts

‘A’OHE PU’U KI’EKI’E KE HO’À’O ‘IA E PI’I (No cliff is so tall it cannot be climbed) – Hawaiian proverb In my professional life, I’m a teacher and guidance counselor at Académie catholique Mère-Teresa in Hamilton.  We are a school of approximately 300 students, but our boys’ basketball team manages to compete with the province’s [...]

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Monica’s 3000+ Mile Odyssey

by vince January 1, 2010 Faces

Ultra runner extraordinaire, Monica Scholz is raising the bar.  In 2001 Monica set a World Record by completing twenty-three 100-mile races in one calendar year.  Oddly some critics and naysayers suggested that this accomplishment wasn’t that remarkable as they felt Monica wasn’t regarded as an elite runner.  Although Monica did not win any of the [...]

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Scott Hammel – Escaping Life’s Shackles & Chains

by vince December 4, 2009 Faces

Scott Hammel is getting “Paid to Breathe”.  Inspired by a motivational speaker he saw as a teen, Scott resolved to find his passion in life and turn it into a career.  With a keen interest in the art of magic and misdirection, Scott honed his sleight of hand skills at a young age by busking [...]

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