COME JOIN US AT GYMNAUTILUSTHE Your Lakeshore neighbour since 1982. We Cater to a mature crowd and provide clients a clean, Friendly and quiet atmosphere to exercise in. 11 LAKESHORE ROAD WEST, OAKVILLE, ONTARIO TELEPHONE: (905) 8441610 WWW.THEGYMNAUTILUS.COM 2 9 Friday, Septem ber 23, 2011 O A K V ILLE B EA V ER w w w .in sid eH A LTO N .co m run. Of course, there are hinderances to run- ning barefoot. Thwaits stops running out- side in mid-November because of the cold, switching to a treadmill until the middle of March. I do know people who run through the winter barefoot, he says. Theres a guy in Ottawa and a guy in Peterborough. The guy in Ottawa runs shorter dis- tances in the winter, and the Peterborough guy doesnt want to buy shoes. Summer can also be tough on barefoot runners feet, though Thwaits says there are ways to beat the heat. I was really happy in August when it was 37 degrees, he says. You learn things like the pavement is slightly cooler than the sidewalks, or people learn to run on the white painted line on the side of the road. People also take little breaks on the cool grass. Not looking to convert people Thwaits is certainly passionate about his unique running style. His email address includes the words basic bare, and he blogs online about his running exploits (www.barefootjourney.org). But he understands barefoot running is not for everybody. At the beginning, (you try to convert people) because you want everyone to enjoy what youre enjoying. Now I dont really care, he says. If youre curious, Ill point you to either my blog or a website you might be interested in. At this point in my life, I know full well that converting people isnt a good way of doing things. If I show up at the Oakville Half and look happy and am happy and I run a decent race, whatever that might mean, someone there might say Oh yeah, that looks like fun, I think Ill check it out. I dont need to pressure them or make them feel like theyre doing some- thing wrong. And he certainly gets his share of attention running barefoot, most of it posi- tive. Ive only had antagonism a couple times. Ive heard from other barefoot runners fwho get a fair amount o antagonism, but I dont get that, he says. I get curiosi- ty. I get friendly comments. I get waves, people I dont know beeping their horns and waving at me Id say 98 per cent of the time its cheerful interest. Theyre curious and want to know. Oakville Half to feature 2,000 runners Thwaits will be joined by as many as 2,000 fother runners at Sundays Oakville Hal Marathon. WThe event will feature the Budds BM 10K Run/Walk at 7:30 a.m., followed by the Half Marathon Run/Walk at 7:40 a.m. and the /Whole Foods Market 2K Family Fun Run Walk at 7:45 a.m. All races will start and finish at Coronation Park, with participants and spectators enjoy- ing finish-line entertainment and awards. Online registration closed last night (Thursday), but organizers will accept walk- up registrations tomorrow (Saturday) at the Oakville Half Marathons Runners Expo. The expo will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at Coronation Park. fFor more information on the Oakville Hal Marathon, visit www.oakvillehalfmarathon. com If I show up at the Oakville Half and look happy and am happy and I run a decent race... someone there might say 'Oh yeah, that looks like fun, I think I'll check it out.' Barefoot running enthusiast Alan Thwaits Continued from page 28 ld h l d b fCo , eat s ow own are ooters SECOND GOLD: The Oakville minor midget AA Rangers earned their second tournament title of the young hockey season last weekend, winning the Mississauga Early Bird competition. Oakville won all its games by two goals or more, including a 7-1 whipping of the Aurora Tigers in the final, and finished the tournament with 28 goals for and just five against. Members of the team are Doug Bertrand, Antoine Brochu, Connor Chambers, J.J. Cipriano, Colin Clarke, Alex Cox, Logan Crozier, Marko Jugovic, Patrick Leon, Chris Luongo, Lukas Marek, Sean McKellar, Zach Murray, Jacob Serensits, Ben Sisokin, Jake Smyth, Tyler Spence and Ryan Wolski. Dave Crozier, Jim Nyhuus and Doug Spence coach the team, Mark Ramos is the trainer and Tim Clarke is the manager. in the NLL, he said, but playing senior against guys who are already in the NLL, you see how much quicker and stronger and how much smarter they are. Im glad I got that summer of senior A ball under my belt. And the experience will help him transition to the NLL, where MacIntosh said playing with confi- dence will be the key to his suc- cess. When youre lined up against Geoff Snider (for a faceoff) or youve got John Grant or John Tavares bearing down on you when youre playing defence, even though theyre established all-stars, you have to believe youre on the same level as those guys. You have to believe in your game. After an 8-8 season, the Swarm traded several veteran players for draft picks, making moves to go with younger players. MacIntosh said he was told the team is looking for a player it can lean on for faceoffs as well as for providing offence off the right side. They want to go younger and play a fast, high-paced game, he said. That fits in well with my game. fMacIntosh built con idence playing in senior A loop Continued from page 28 Early bird champs 1-800-387-1479 Support our mission to find the cure. Just another disease Inflammatory Bowel Disease Only the Pain is predictable.