Feb 15, 2011 - World Outgames revisited

i recently ran into a canadian marathonner from the mainland who has apparently met me and a few of my other frontrunner friends, while in copenhagen. this colleague will be in town later this week so we are going to plan a social event, to catch up on news, and to perhaps talk about the state and future of the LGBT sporting scene.

the world outgames marathon results are hard to find, as they only appear deep in the games website, and not on any other results site that i can find, so i decided to transpose them here:


2009 World Outgames Marathon Results

rank - bib# - name - hometown - time

Females

1 M4 Cornelia Schindler Germany 8349 03:15:09
2 M6 Cinta Groos Netherlands 03:28:03
3 M8 Janny Dekker Netherlands 03:55:28
4 M5 Tina Ruiz USA 03:55:32
5 M2 Kristin Magnussen Norway 04:23:03
6 M9 Dusty Rhodes United Kingdom 04:49:33
7 M7 Patricia Dubler Germany 05:11:11

Transwomen

1 M1 Jennifer McCreath Canada 5937 1 04:19:53

Transman

none


Males

1 M40 Hansmartin Spatzier Germany 02:40:00
2 M30 Frank Bassin Germany 03:04:57
3 M29 Ian Mcpherson USA 03:08:07
4 M23 Stephen Souch Canada 03:09:30
5 M31 Steffen Faerber Germany 03:12:58
6 M63 Daniel Laster USA - Seattle 03:19:14
7 M59 David McConkey Canada 03:20:07
8 M32 Warren Brown USA 03:21:22
9 M56 Nils Øksnevad Norway 03:25:15
10 M57 Sylvain Barbeau Canada 03:26:37
11 M53 Martin Abele Switzerland 03:28:14
12 M33 André Ahrend Germany 03:31:05
13 M58 David Hazzan Canada 03:31:22
14 M20 Douglas Lawrence Canada 03:33:23
15 M34 Peter Kummert Germany 03:35:04
16 M60 Erik Winther Olsen Denmark 03:40:06
17 M36 Jeff Barbier USA - Sacramento 03:40:44
18 M21 Dennis Grouleff Denmark 03:41:40
19 M62 William Barrett USA 03:45:41
20 M45 Per Horn Rasmussen Denmark 03:45:43
21 M52 David Bush USA Seattle 03:45:45
22 M61 Jan Roffelsen Netherlands 03:48:05
23 M37 Kjeld Hansen Denmark 03:49:37
24 M12 Karel Tichy Czech Republic 03:50:46
25 M65 Ray Bisson Canada Toronto 03:52:52
26 M55 Cletus Durkin USA DC 03:53:41
27 M50 Robert Klein Germany Frankfurt 03:54:59
28 M15 Ruairi O'Connor United Kingdom 03:58:05
29 M24 Mohan Sharma Canada 03:58:35
30 M54 Roberto Gomez Mexico 04:07:22
31 M68 Robert Lyons USA NY 04:10:01
32 M44 Jan René Rasmussen Denmark 04:15:05
33 M39 Billy Stewart India Delhi 04:23:03
34 M28 Deo Jaravata USA L.A. 1 04:24:19
35 M13 Lars Boye Andersen Denmark 04:29:39
36 M38 Robert Bartolo USA DC 04:32:41
40 M67 J Ford Huffman USA DC 04:39:00
37 M64 Daniel Suman Panama 04:50:07
38 M16 Sumit Baudh India 05:18:37
39 M49 King Chow Toh Netherlands 05:21:17

note these results only include officialy registered athletes, not charity runners.

February 13, 2011 - you can't keep a good advocate down!

Well, the past few days have been extremely challenging for me. The healing skin and stitches on the lower outter area of my surgical site, have become irritated by the constant requirement for vaginal dilation. this has caused constant pain, and makes walking, standing, and sitting, a severe challenge!

But through all of this, and even with the buzz from the somewhat helpful pain-killers, i have managed to take on and complete, a great deal of advocacy work with regards to Bill C-389, the trans human rights bill. i have recently joined a team of 17 trans people from all across Canada, who have conducted a media blitz in hopes of getting our side of the story broadcasted to the country, so everyone may become better educated about the truths and myths of what the implications would be to the trans community with or without this bill. we have all offered up our personal life stories of discrimination, in a way to illustrate the challenges we face, and the desperate need for human rights protection.

In addition, i wrote up a very detailed personal letter to 98 out of the 105 Senators in Canada (the ones who have published e-mail addresses), to demonstrate to them as to why this Bill is needed.

It will be very interesting to see if i get a response from anyone.

Meanwhile, i am trying my best not to get too frustrated at my lack of mobility. it's rather tough reading the facebook posts of my many friends and colleagues who went out for their infamous weekly long run today. oh well, my day will eventuallyt come again!

In the meantime, i am making the best of my time at home inside, enjoying the company of my two cats, and welcoming short visits from some of my friends, and enjoying corresponding by e-mail with the many new friends that i made in Montreal 2 weeks ago.

Until next time,

Jennifer

generic letter to senators re importance of bill C-389

With the passing of Bill C-389 through the third and final stage of the Canadian House of Commons, it will now move onto the Senate for review and consideration for adoption into law. If adopted, this bill will change the Canadian Human Rights Code and the Criminal Code of Canada to include 'gender identity' and 'gender expression' as grounds for human rights protection, and grounds of hate crime. It is critically important for the trans community of Canada that this Bill get passed into law as soon as possible. With this in mind, i urge everyone to contact every Senator and relay such thoughts. A list of Senators and their contact information can be found here: http://www.parl.gc.ca/common/senmemb/senate/isenator.asp?Language=E

Here are 98 of the 105 e-mail addresses:

andrer@sen.parl.gc.ca, anguswd@sen.parl.gc.ca, bakerg@sen.parl.gc.ca, gautht@sen.parl.gc.ca, boisvp@sen.parl.gc.ca, braled@sen.parl.gc.ca, brazep@sen.parl.gc.ca, brownb@sen.parl.gc.ca, callbc@sen.parl.gc.ca, campbel@sen.parl.gc.ca, carigc@sen.parl.gc.ca, carsts@sen.parl.gc.ca, champa@sen.parl.gc.ca, chapum@sen.parl.gc.ca, cochre@sen.parl.gc.ca, comeag@sen.parl.gc.ca, coolsa@sen.parl.gc.ca, cordyj@sen.parl.gc.ca, cowanj@sen.parl.gc.ca, dallar@sen.parl.gc.ca, dawsod@sen.parl.gc.ca, dayja@sen.parl.gc.ca, debanp@sen.parl.gc.ca, tessil@sen.parl.gc.ca, dininc@sen.parl.gc.ca, johnse@sen.parl.gc.ca, pdowne@sen.parl.gc.ca, mikeduffy@sen.parl.gc.ca, dyckli@sen.parl.gc.ca, eatonn@sen.parl.gc.ca, egglea@sen.parl.gc.ca, fairbj@sen.parl.gc.ca, finled@sen.parl.gc.ca, fortis@sen.parl.gc.ca, foxf@sen.parl.gc.ca, frasej@sen.parl.gc.ca,
fruml@sen.parl.gc.ca, fureyg@sen.parl.gc.ca, greens@sen.parl.gc.ca, harbm@sen.parl.gc.ca, hervic@sen.parl.gc.ca, lacomd@sen.parl.gc.ca, hublee@sen.parl.gc.ca, jaffem@sen.parl.gc.ca, johnsj@sen.parl.gc.ca, joyals@sen.parl.gc.ca, kennyco@sen.parl.gc.ca, kinsen@sen.parl.gc.ca, kochhv@sen.parl.gc.ca, langd@sen.parl.gc.ca, lavigr@sen.parl.gc.ca, lebrem@sen.parl.gc.ca, losier@sen.parl.gc.ca, smithc@sen.parl.gc.ca, mahovf@sen.parl.gc.ca, mannif@sen.parl.gc.ca, marshe@sen.parl.gc.ca, martin@sen.parl.gc.ca, massip@sen.parl.gc.ca, mccoye@sen.parl.gc.ca, meighen@sen.parl.gc.ca, mercet@sen.parl.gc.ca, merchp@sen.parl.gc.ca, mitchg@sen.parl.gc.ca, mocklp@sen.parl.gc.ca, moorew@sen.parl.gc.ca, munsoj@sen.parl.gc.ca, murral@sen.parl.gc.ca, mcgeed@sen.parl.gc.ca, neufer@sen.parl.gc.ca, nolinp@sen.parl.gc.ca, ogilvk@sen.parl.gc.ca, olived@sen.parl.gc.ca, patted@sen.parl.gc.ca, pepinl@sen.parl.gc.ca, russem@sen.parl.gc.ca, plettd@sen.parl.gc.ca, poirir@sen.parl.gc.ca, poulim@sen.parl.gc.ca, rainen@sen.parl.gc.ca, ringup@sen.parl.gc.ca, rivarm@sen.parl.gc.ca, jcrivest@sen.parl.gc.ca, rompkw@sen.parl.gc.ca, runcib@sen.parl.gc.ca, kfl@sen.parl.gc.ca, seidmj@sen.parl.gc.ca, sibnic@sen.parl.gc.ca, smithd@sen.parl.gc.ca, stgerg@sen.parl.gc.ca, stewac@sen.parl.gc.ca, stratt@sen.parl.gc.ca, tardic@sen.parl.gc.ca, tkachd@sen.parl.gc.ca, wallaj@sen.parl.gc.ca, wallinp@sen.parl.gc.ca,
wattc@sen.parl.gc.ca, zimmer@sen.parl.gc.ca,

I have drafted up a generic letter of support. Please everyone feel free to copy, paste and edit as you see fit, and send to these Senators. They need to hear from Canadians about the importance of respecting Human Rights for all Canadians....

Dear Senator,

As I am sure you are aware, Bill C-389 passed third and final reading in the House of Commons on February 9, 2011, and will now be moved onto the Senate for debate and consideration for adoption into law.

Amidst the controversy that surrounds this Bill, I am writing as a concerned citizen of Canada to provide testimony as to the importance of adopting this Bill into law.

Prior to coming out to themselves and others, transsexual and transgendered Canadians lead what many would consider a rather normal life. Many go to school, have jobs, have a family, and make significant contributions to society. However, many are burdened with internal emotional confusion, denial, and turmoil. This often leads to depression and even suicide.

Unfortunately, the medical community in Canada has refused to recognize this for what global experts have determined it to be, a physical birth defect. Instead, transpeople are inappropriately labeled as mentally ill. In order to receive public health treatment, 7 of the 10 provinces require transpeople to under go treatment at the infamous CAM-H mental institution in Toronto, where they have often reported that they were disrespected and treated as if they were sex criminals or mentally ill fetishists, and ultimately denied a recommendation for the help that they need: hormonal and surgical treatments. These folks have gained respect even though they received no formal training on transsexualism in their education system (even as of today, there is practically no formal training on transsexualism anywhere in Canada's education system).

Once coming out, many transpeople face loss of employment, and/or challenges in finding employment. Many face rejection, ridicule, and exile from families and social circles. Many are refused public services that others take for granted, such as access to housing, insurance, and inclusion in social clubs. Many face constant verbal abuse, and on occasion, physical abuse by members of the general public.

Most of all, transpeople face a significant challenge with regards to health care. Many are refused health care products, services, and funding, both for trans-specific and non-transpacific issues. The failure of most provinces to create and implement a transsexual health protocol, leads many transpeople to find doctors who were either unwilling, or supposedly unable, to help them. The majority of health care that transpeople receive comes from private medical clinics, both in and out of Canada, and has been funded by the few dollars that they have managed to save up over the years. Even worse, many transpeople cannot afford the health care that they need, and suffer because of this.

Some have filed Human Rights complaints at the provincial level on the basis of 'sex' with regards to transphobia and trans-discrimination, and have gotten no where with said Human Rights systems. Hence, this proves clearly that without explicitly-recognized protection under 'gender identity' and 'gender expression', their rights as a transpeople are not recognized. As I believe Prime Minister Harper once said "justice delayed = justice denied".

To dispel some of the myths that have been floating around about this Bill, it should be noted that many transwomen and transmen have been using public washrooms on a regular basis, without any incident. In fact, in the many jurisdictions around the world who have already adopted 'gender identity' and/or 'gender expression' into their Human Rights legislation, not one incident of bathroom predators has been reported with regards to this matter.

While some have raised concern over the fact that definitions for gender identity and gender expression have not been clearly defined in the Bill, as Mr. Siksay has pointed out, no other term within the Human Rights Code has been explicitly defined either. He has also gone onto explain the values of allowing definitions to remain interpretable by the judicial system. Furthermore, the internationally-recognized Yogyakarta Principles have clear-cut definitions that have often been applied and adopted in global legislative and judicial settings.

Transpeople are not asking for special rights, they just want equal access to the basics of life: food, shelter, health care. Many transpeople are forced to resort to the underground community of drug dealing or sex work, in order to pay the most basic of bills. Many transpeople struggle with depression, and even suicidal thoughts, due to the stressful challenges life has given them.

Amending a piece of Human Rights legislation won't necessarily guarantee immediate societal acceptance, and it won't guarantee the elimination of discrimination, but history has shown that legislative changes has helped to persuade public perception of a variety of issues. Many people were concerned when Human Rights protection was granted to members of the gay and lesbian community, but history has shown that this addition has only done positive things for society.

Canada has often boasted a great record on health care and human rights. Sadly, Canada lags far behind dozens of other countries with regards to these matters from a transsexual context.

As this Bill now makes its way into the Senate, I ask you to please think carefully about everything I have told you about my challenging life. By allowing this Bill to pass into law, you will help all transpeople of Canada, and their societies, to take a huge leap towards acceptance. You can help build a foundation that will hopefully lead to the gradual elimination of stigma and prejudice against transpeople of Canada. You have the power to provide, for the first time, direct, indisputable human rights protection, for one of the most vulnerable, exploited, and misunderstood minority groups in the world, the trans community. You have the power to set a benchmark for which will hopefully lead to the creation and adoption of proper health care for Tran people in this country, based on global best practices. You also have the power to set the table for transsexualism to be taught in school curriculum, so that the citizens of our country can learn to be accepting of this type of diversity, and gain an understanding that tranpeople are not mentally ill or sexual fetishists.

Finally, the power is now in your hands to uphold the excellent global reputation that Canada has as apparent world leaders in health care and human rights.

If you still have any reservations about supporting this Bill, I urge you to get in touch with any number of publicly out transpeople and trans-advocate organizations around the country, so that they may provide you with first-hand details of how their lives have been negatively impacted by transphobia, and how this Bill is desperately needed.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

February 2, 2011 - ground hog day!!

wow, it's been a while since i logged in for an update. well, as some of you may know, i have been away from home for the past 12 days visiting Montreal Quebec to have sex reassignment surgery performed by Dr. Pierre Brassard. it has been an amazing experience for me. i plan to write a book about this entire experience, so i won't spoil all the details. but briefly, this place should be the benchmark for which all over health care programs are measured. the most amazing care i have ever seen. excellent pre-op consultation, comfortable residence to live in pre and post surgery. great friendly and knowledgable staff, great food... tv, computer, etc. the hospital was top-notched. the surgery went well and after 9 days, i am already healing up well. i really like what i see so far in terms of results. it is still swollen and numb down there, but that was to be expected. not very much pain amazingly enough. the best part of the experience has been to share this residence with several other transpeople. when i arrived, i was matched up with a room mate who was already a few days post op. so she became, not only a friend, but a mentor and advisor. when she departed, i became the veteran and i have now acted as friend and mentor to the next batch of patients. i have made many close friendships with transpeople who have literally come from all over the globe.

more soon,

Jennifer

January 13, 2010 - Money For Nothing rightly censored!

Money For Nothing was a classic 1985 progressive rock tune written by Mark Knopfler and Sting for Mark's band Dire Strait's 5th album. The song went to #1 in the charts in the USA and #4 in the UK. The song has one of the most legendary song-opening guitar-riffs of the rock genre.


However, the tune contains some rather controversial homophobic slurs. the song's story tells the story of an apparent frustrated working class guy sitting at home watching MTV, and voicing his displeasure that glam rock stars are making millions of dollars for dressing up in feminine glam attire, playing guitars on MTV, and getting 'chicks for free'. the glam rock star in question is referred to as a "f@ggot" in three separate references in the song.


well, a complaint was filed recently with the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council, a private organization who has been authorized by Federal Government officials to act as the governing body that will ensure that public radio and tv broadcasts adhere to a set of ethical and legal standards.


Amazingly enough, the complaint was filed by a 21 year old lesbian from St. John's Newfoundland, of all places!


well, i did some research and took note that Part VI of the CBSC Equitable Portrayal Code clearly states that it is a violation to broadcast content that includes negative stereotyping, negative portrayal, or stigmatization, of individuals or groups.


although it may have been acceptable in 1985 to negatively portray, stigmatize, or stereotype, femininely dressed male rock stars, through a homophobic slur, this is not acceptable in today's world.


so it appears quite clear that the broadcasting of this song on radio is a flagrant violation of this policy.


many members of the LGBT community in Canada face employment discrimination, ridicule, exclusion, bullying, and violent hate crimes from intolerant homophobic citizens. while censoring this song won't necessarily stop all of this, it sends an important strong message to society that these actions will no longer be tolerated in our Country.


although i can't relate to being a glam rock star (although i was once actually mistaken for being a rock star when i was in Denmark last summer), as a vocal member of the trans community, i can attest that transwomen all over the world are also often mistaken for being feminine men and/or mistaken for being homosexual men, and often face derogatory terms, such as f@ggot, said towards us by others as a token of intolerance and hatred.


So i say kudos for the 21 year old local who took action. while many seem upset at the censorship, citing 'freedom of speech' violations, the issue here is that freedom of speech rules do not apply to hate literature, which in this case, appears clear.

i also say Kudos to the CBSC for having policies and procedures that ensure respect for the acceptance of human diversity and the integrity of human rights and equality.

and you know, to show my status as a music historian and rock admirer in general, i say kudos to sting and knopfler for many many great songs. other than this one, i think the majority of both of your music catalogues are excellent.


Jennifer

January 12, 2011 - gees, only my 2nd update of the year?

ahh, time flies when you are stressed out and zonked out. i've come off esterogen and blood thinners for a month in prep for my big surgery. this has caused me to suffer some headaches, irritability, lethargy, and exhaustion.. oh what fun! but i managed to get in a 14 k run yesterday to and from the dentist. the teeth are looking great! but the root canal is still a little tender.

let's see. bowl season is over now, and i went 20-12 against the spread. so if i had placed $100 on each game, taking into account booking fees, i'd be ahead $680. oh well, too bad i didn't bet. and not like i would. i have absolutely no faith in my ability to pick bowl games.. you never know which teams are going to show up and which are going to mail it in; which ones will be rusty, and which will be in fine form. which makes it more fun to watch!

KC Chiefs mailed it in in week 17 and did so again in the second half of the playoff game. that's now 7 consecutive playoff game losses for KC, spanning back to 1993! (then missed the playoffs the other 10 years). both appear to be NFL records! it's official. we suck! but at the same time, there is promising optimism for next year unlike anything we've seen since the 2003 vermeil season.

speaking of athletes, there's me. i've dropped 2 pounds in the new year (the same two i gained over christmas and new years). so we are off to a good start. i've ran 9 times over 12 days, logging 76.1k so far. not too bad, i suppose. i am hoping to squeeze in at least anothger 124.9 before my surgery. (200 seems like a nice even number to go out on).

not much else to report on. let's see. C-Path will be engaging my services again next week to help further take action towards putting together a modified membership framework and membership program. i will be suggesting that they put together some projects that will lead to products and services that will fill the gaps in this country regarding the help that is available to those who need to transition. you can't help your client base if you don't have products or services that meet their needs. lots of work to do, and hopefully some progress will be made.

St John's Pride Inc., was in the news recently, as i pointed out last week. come february, it will be my plans to attempt to re-engage the board of directors as well as several previously-identified stakeholders, to see what we want to do with this entity.

one year ago this week, i filmed one of my all time favourite promo clips. the video depicts me feeding the ducks at Burtons pond in the snow, and speaking about the importance of keeping our parks and ponds clean. check the video out: here

until next time,

Jenn

January 1, 2011 - 2010 running statistical year in review

2010

jan - 271.60k - 271.60k

feb - 205.90 - 477.50

Mar - 258.80 - 736.30

Apr - 213.70 - 950.00

May - 230.20 - 1180.20

June - 147.00 - 1327.20

July - 56.50 - 1385.70

August - 169.10 - 1554.80

Sept - 123.30 - 1678.10

Oct - 218.30 - 1896.40

Nov - 135.60 - 2032.00

Dec - 210.70 - 2242.70k

277 days ran, 138 days off

officially sanctioned marathons:

20 - 04/19/10 - Boston Marathon - 5.16.55

21 - 04/25/10 - Big Sur Marathon - 4.49.49

22 - 05/09/10 - Fredericton Marathon - 4.36.33

23 - 05/16/10 - Mississauga Marathon - 4.56.03

24 - 05/23/10 - Halifax Marathon - 4.35.54

25 - 09/26/10 - Newfoundland Marathon - 5.27.52

NLAA schedule:

burton pond 5k, mews 8k, tely 10, provincial marathon, cape to cabot

most impressive endurance week:

05/23/10 - sun - 42.20k

05/24/10 - mon - 9.00

05/25/10 - tues - OFF

05/26/10 - wed - 22.30

05/27/10 - thurs - OFF

05/28/10 - fri - OFF

05/29/10 - sat - 11.50

05/30/10 - sun - 23.00

well, not really a whole lot in here to brag about. usually at year end, i look back at the stats and think: how the heck did i do that? this year, i did the same, but in more of a negative sense.

oh well, it is what it is. there were many external factors that impeded my ability to run as much, as fast, and as well as i had hoped i would. but given the circumstances, i am generally pleased with the way i have handled things this year, from a running perspective.

what i am most proud of, is how i handled myself on key race days, even knowing that i was entering under-trained and out of shape. i survived the boston marathon, and survived my 5 marathons in 33 days challenge, getting stronger with each run. i also survived the tely 10 on literally no june or july training. and i survived a newfoundland marathon on a morning that i literally had trouble dragging myself out of bed.

it was also a celebration of the hard work i had done in 2008-09. qualifying for the boston marathon is hard work. running the boston marathon is a celebration of that hard work.

visiting california for the first time in 5 years was also a special experience. driving the coast from LA to Carmel was fascinating. completing the Big Sur marathon was another landmark check mark on the life's to-do list.

meeting up with Candace Sutherland, the youngest person to ever run across canada, was quite the thrill.

continuing my streak of 4 consecutive runs and finishes at mississauga marathon, newfoundland marathon, and cape to cabot, were additional accomplishments that i feel proud of.

reaching 25 career official marathons, and doing so at home, on the same occasion that newfoundland running legend joe ryan ran his 50th, was also a fun achievement.

well, i feel as though it can only get better in 2011, and i certainly hope it does. i enter the new year with extreme optimism and excitement. surgery ahead is the short-term focus, and i know there won't likely be any running for 6-8 weeks afterwards; and i realize i won't likely return to my so-called running peak until 4-6 months, but that's ok.

Jenn