Author | Lightnews

David Barker @nouspique.bsky.social · 1d

What a beautiful cool fall morning! Perfect for a recovery run in the Don Valley where the colours are glorious. #Toronto #Running #RunSky #RunnersOfBlueSky #NeverNotRunning

An iron train trestle spans a river and is reflected in its water. On the far bank, trees rise up beyond the trestle and their leaves exhibit all the colours of a brilliant fall morning. Because the image comes from the poster’s Strava account, it is overlaid with running stats and the words, “Oh what a beautiful morning…”

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David Barker @nouspique.bsky.social · 1d

The new Glen Rd pedestrian bridge isn’t exactly conducive to scenic vistas.

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David Barker @nouspique.bsky.social · 3d

Thanks!

David Barker @nouspique.bsky.social · 4d

Completed the #Toronto Waterfront Marathon. Not well. But I did it! Now I’m rewarding myself with a local blended red that’s absolutely brilliant. Icellars! #Wine #Marathon #Running #RunnersOfBlueSky #NeverNotRunning

A bottle of Wiyanna Wanda Bordeaux style blended red wine from Icellars Winery in the Niagara Region. Beside it, in the centre of the image, is a decanter holding the wine and, in front of the decanter is the cork and a corkscrew. To the right side of the image is an empty crystal wide bodied wine glass waiting for the wine in the decanter.

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David Barker @nouspique.bsky.social · 5d

Ran the #Toronto Waterfront 5K as a shakeout for tomorrow’s #marathon. Maybe I pushed too hard? We’ll see. Ran it in 22:50 & placed 5th in the M60-64 category. Ran it with other members of the Orpheus Choir of Toronto. #RunSky #RunnersOfBlueSky #NeverNotRunning

Four runners posing for a selfie at the finish line after a race.

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David Barker @nouspique.bsky.social · 7d

People go on about the importance of the tapir leading up to race day, which is all well and good except pets aren’t allowed in my building. #MarathonTraining #RunSky #RunnersOfBlueSky

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David Barker @nouspique.bsky.social · 8d

Thanks - one of the many practical benefits of a classical education is it helps you poke fun at conspiracy cranks.

David Barker @nouspique.bsky.social · 8d

I See You - ambiguous words I stumbled on in Toronto’s Cottonwood Flats. They could be taken as a statement of surveillance, or of empathy. You can’t control how others choose to see you, but you can control how you choose to see others. #graffiti #RunSky #RunnersOfBlueSky #NeverNotRunning #Toronto

Two feet in trainers standing on a rock painted red with a white line drawing of a face and the words “I see you.”

A map of Toronto’s Don Valley and an orange line showing a running route. The map is overlaid with running stats and the words, “Keeping Limbs Limber & Feet Fleeter.”

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Reposted by David Barker

Larry Fedoruk @larryfedoruk.bsky.social · 9d

At least someone took those right wing wackos seriously.

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David Barker @nouspique.bsky.social · 9d

The Ylied - the Welsh translation of Homer’s epic poem (about a runner whose GPS malfunctioned while he was on a trail run back from Troy). #Running #RunSky #RunnersOfBlueSky #NeverNotRunning

A yellow poster promoting a COVID conspiracy theory web site rests against a rock while behind it stands an abandoned bicycle. The image comes from the poster’s Strava account and so is overlaid with running stats and the words, “The Ylied - the Welsh translation of Homer’s epic poem.”

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David Barker @nouspique.bsky.social · 11d

A morning run up and down a few hills with a pause at Chester Hill Lookout for a view to the northwest over #Toronto the #DonValley & Evergreen Brick Works. Overcast with dramatic clouds but perfect conditions for #Running #RunSky #RunnersOfBlueSky #NeverNotRunning

A view from Chester Hill Lookout overlooking Toronto’s Don Valley with the Don Valley Parkway in the foreground, a train trestle and the Evergreen Brick Works in the middle distance, and beyond that trees of Mud Creek and Governor’s Hill. The sky is overcast and filled with dramatic looking clouds. Because this image comes from the poster’s Strava account, it’s overlaid with running stats and the words, “Fun With Hills.”

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David Barker @nouspique.bsky.social · 12d

It’s a 3-tier thing:
1. Ecstatic - 3:50 or better which a BQ for my age category;
2. Happy - under 4 hrs
3. Satisfied - I finish the damned thing.

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David Barker @nouspique.bsky.social · 12d

Thanks!

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David Barker @nouspique.bsky.social · 13d

Final long(ish) run before next weekend’s #Toronto Waterfront #Marathon just going easy to the end of the Kay Gardner Beltline Trail & back. #LongRun #MarathonTraining #RunSky #RunnersOfBlueSky #NeverNotRunning

A combination lock hangs from a chain link fence overlooking twin sets of railway tracks passing underneath. To the left and running parallel to the tracks are high power transmission lines suspended from tall metal pylons. The image comes from the poster’s Strava account and so is overlaid with running stats and the words, “Short Long Run (or Long Short Run).”

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David Barker @nouspique.bsky.social · 13d

I like the story of how Ed Mirvish turned away a troupe of Boy Scouts because they didn’t meet his dress code.

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David Barker @nouspique.bsky.social · 14d

Cottonwood Flats! The city of #Toronto has installed a new sign. So now I know where I am whenever I run here. How did I ever manage before? #RunSky #RunnersOfBlueSky #NeverNotRunning #MarathonTraining

An orange vertical sign on a 6 by 6 wooden post saying, “Cottonwood Flats.” The sign is set to the side of a path amidst trees and low growth. The image comes from the poster’s Strava account and so is overlaid with running stats and the words, “Lunch Run to Cottonwood Flats.”

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David Barker @nouspique.bsky.social · 14d

Ran over a wasp hive and got multiple stings on my back, arms, glutes & calves.

David Barker @nouspique.bsky.social · 19d

Um it’s in the title of the novel 😄

David Barker @nouspique.bsky.social · 20d

Somehow I missed the news of a rumoured #Strava IPO. Not sure whether this will give it the resources it needs to expand its services or will turn out to be one more instance in the enshittification of everything. But a $2.2 bn valuation? Holy moly.

Strava weighs U.S. IPO, invites banks to pitch for roles - Canadian Cycling Magazine

Fitness tracking platform valued at $2.2 billion in May funding round could go public as early as 2026

cyclingmagazine.ca

David Barker @nouspique.bsky.social · 23d

At about the 25 km mark today, gaps started to appear in my vision. Then a woman ran past me and her right leg was missing. At which point I realized I was having a migraine headache. Ah, joy! (I suspect it’s a hydration issue.) #Migraine #RunSky #RunnersOfBlueSky #NeverNotRunning #LongRun

A view up the paved path beside Toronto’s Rosedale Valley Road. A woman is running past the camera towards the arch of the Bloor viaduct which spans the road. In the foreground is a yellow bollard and there are trees to either side of the path. Because the image comes from the poster’s Strava account, it is overlaid with running stats and the words, “Long Run cut short by a migraine.”

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Reposted by David Barker

Canadian History Ehx @cdnhistoryehx.bsky.social · 23d

Today is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation.
This day honours and remembers the children who were forced into Canada's Residential School system.
It was first observed as Orange Shirt Day in 2013 and was elevated to a statutory holidy for federal workers in 2021.

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Reposted by David Barker

Quite Interesting @qi.com · 25d

In the late 17th century, the librarian of the Vatican wrote a treatise on how Jesus' foreskin ascended to become the rings of Saturn.

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David Barker @nouspique.bsky.social · 27d

Here are the hills:

Vale of Avoca,
Chorley Park Switchback,
Evergreen Brick Works Switchback,
Beechwood Drive,
Pottery Road,
Milkman’s Lane

#Toronto

David Barker @nouspique.bsky.social · 27d

Six hills that haunt my dreams. But not just *my* dreams. Something about them has seized the writerly imagination & so they’ve found their way into Margaret Atwood’s The Blind Assassin, Timothy Findley’s Headhunter, Vincent Lam’s On The Ravine, & Paul Quarrington’s Ravine. #books #Running #RunSky

A trail through the woods (Mud Creek) is bounded by a temporary blue fence. The image comes from the poster’s Strava account and so is overlaid with running stats and the words, “Six Hills that Haunt my Dreams.”

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David Barker @nouspique.bsky.social · 27d

"The fundamental thing, I think, is just go out there and breathe free and run like I'm eight years old again."

How a Canadian became the world's fastest 70-year-old female sprinter | CBC Sports

Many people try to stay healthy long enough to play with their grandkids one day. But for 70-year-old Wendy Alexis, she takes this goal a few steps further — racing against people the same age as her ...

www.cbc.ca

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