The Behan Family Sun Run Results

Posted on April 22, 2009 by Janis

Well, it’s finally all over and done with. At the time of the start of the race, Wes was our leader in pledges at $770 for the Children’s Miracle Network, and still waiting for one more cheque. Jordan had about $600 for BC Cancer, and I had raised $680 for Wheels in Motion. By the end of day Sunday, though, Jordan had $885 worth of pledges on his page, because of a last-minute very generous donor. In total, we raised about $2400 for charity. Go Team Behan!

Here is a photo of us after the race with all of our prize schwag from SatoCanada. Wes is sporting his New Balance backpack and he is also holding the “Behan Challenge Cup” – his prizes for raising the most amount of money for charity.

Photo credit: SatoCanada on Flickr

Don’t you just love SatoCanada’s elephant mascots? I do.

I guess some of you are wondering how we finished! Well, Jordan and I both crossed the finish line at the same time, at 48:24, with a pace of 4:51/km, placing 2868th and 2869th. Not bad for a run with 50,000 people! Wesley ran most of the way with my Mom and her friend Leslie, finishing at 56:36, while my Mom and her running partner came in at 57:46. Pretty fit family, eh?

Oh and Wes, you said something about finishing in under 50 minutes next year? You better get training!

Are we ready for the Sun Run?

Posted on April 15, 2009 by Janis

This is it. Sunday, April 19, 2009 is the 25th Annual Vancouver Sun Run. I am running, along with my mother, my brothers Wesley and Jordan, and I think my friend Emily might even come out for it. I’m also hoping my sister-in-law Alex will come out to cheer us on, and maybe snap a photo or two???

If you’ve been keeping up with my blog posts, you’ll know that Jordan, Wesley, and I are also raising money for charity. You’ll see my page here, Jordan’s page here, and Wesley – well, he’s being a little bit secretive about his total.

Photo credit: Wesley Behan on Flickr

My brothers seem to think that I am going to kick their butts (we had a very funny conversation about it before Easter dinner on Monday), but I’m not sure. I know that these guys can push it when they want to. They say they are out of shape and haven’t had enough time to prepare, but I’ve seen Jordan pull a 10ker and even a triathalon out of his hat, with little to no training beforehand, so we’ll see. Wes has been training, but hasn’t quite made to the 10km mark yet.

meandmom My Mom… well, I’m not worried about her. She can do a 10km run in her sleep, and come in at a decent time of 55 minutes. Look at her, isn’t she cute? She’s twice my age, too. She is my inspiration. She never even use to exercise when she was a teenager, or even when she was in her twenties! But after having 3 kids, she wanted to start doing something, so she slowly started running and walking a few laps around the track (we lived literally steps away from one at the time), and now look at her! 17 Vancouver Sun Runs under her belt! That’s dedication.

As for me, I normally keep up with my running and I have been training quite hard, except the last 2 weeks have seen a bit of a lag. I’m still running, just not as consistently. I’m not sure if it has been appropriate timing to slow down with the training or not. We’ll see on Sunday, I guess. Good luck, everyone!

Photo credit: Jordan Behan on Flickr

It may not be the cover of the Rolling Stone..

Posted on March 21, 2009 by Janis

..but I still got five copies for my Mother!

Myself and my brothers, Jordan and Wesley, are featured in a story in today’s Burnaby Newsleader. Click here or on the photo for the full article.

Photo credit: Mario Bartel, Burnaby Newsleader

A Fantastic Birthday

Posted on March 20, 2009 by Janis

It might be a bit of a self-absorbed topic, but I thought I would write a little blurb about my recent birthday on March 12th. ‘Cuz it was a good one.

I never planned on doing anything crazy for my birthday, because I didn’t want to make a big deal of it, and go and plan my own birthday party or anything. I told my brothers and my sister-in-law that I just wanted to hang out with them (and my nephew) on my birthday, which fell on a Thursday, because that’s what I’ve done for the past couple of years since moving to Vancouver. Well, Alex, my sister-in-law, was going to be away in Reno, and my nephew Jaxon ended up staying at his Grandparents’ that evening – but my roommate Carly, who is actually my cousin, and also a very good friend, decided she wanted to cook dinner for me. (Okay, I think she’s actually my second cousin, or first cousin once removed, but explaining the Behan family is at least a whole other blog post, maybe even a series.)

Chowing down on delicious prawns.

So Thursday night, Carly was cooking – a Greek feast, might I add. Her sister Cassidy and boyfriend Greg also came over to help her, but I wasn’t allowed to do anything! There was chicken, prawns, spanakopita, roasted potatoes, greek salad, hummus, tzaziki (sp?) and pitas. YUMMM! My brothers Jordan and Wes, and my friend Emily came for dinner, too. My friend Jerra also stopped by after her practicum to give me a birthday present, and she was just in time for some prawns and dessert (ice cream cake that Jordan brought!).

Jerra and her practicum is a whole other blog post, too. She is taking her Social Services course at Langara, and her practicum involves walking around Vancouver’s Downtown East Side with a backpack, handing out juice, water, clean needles, etc. to youth on the street. She is one amazing chick, you take my word.

It was an amazing dinner all around – good food, good drinks, and great company. And in case I haven’t already thanked Carly enough, I’m going to do it one more time – Thank you!!

Emily & Sheralyn thoroughly enjoying their mani-pedis.

Saturday, March 14th, was my friend Sheralyn’s 30th birthday, and she wanted to go out and have some dinner and drinks. So we did! Actually, Saturday was a pretty action-packed day of girly things. Six of us went for brunch at Glowbal in Yaletown, and then for manicures and pedicures at Pure Nail Bar. We even had a glass of champagne while enjoying our pedicures. Then a quick shopping trip with Emily on the way home, and it was already time to start getting ready to go to V , the new lounge upstairs at Earls Yaletown. Quite a few people came out for this, a combination of both my friends, and Sheralyn’s. It was a blast, to say the least. How about one more “thank you” to all of you who made it possible? Muah! That was one great birthday.

A couple of my favourite gals.

The amazing Carly, and Greg, prawn fisherman extraordinaire.

xoxo

The Behan’s are making the Newspaper

Posted on March 16, 2009 by Janis

On Saturday, Jordan, Wes, and I met at Wes’ place in Burnaby near Metrotown, so a photographer from the Burnaby Newsleader could take our photo. It was horrible rainy weather and we had to take the photos outside, decked out in our running gear. I hope that they turn out!

The week previous, each of us were interviewed by reporter Heather Gardiner, because she was interested in our Behan Family Vancouver Sun Run challenge. Something that started out as a friendly challenge (because I thought both Jord and Wes were going to say no to me!), has snowballed into something greater and even more interesting than I ever imagined. We are not only running the Vancouver Sun Run, but also competing in raising money for charity. You can view my previous post about our charities here and donate to my charity if you wish. We have until the day of the Sun Run, April 19, 2009, to raise money for our respective charities.

Sato Canada has offered a prize to the winner of our challenge, and also to donate to each of the three charities we are supporting. I just love that so many people have shown interest in our little competition, and that these three charities will benefit from our sibling challenge.

Stay tuned for the article on the Behan’s in next Saturday’s Burnaby Newsleader!

Support the Charities in our Challenge

Posted on February 27, 2009 by Janis

The charities for the “Behan Sibling Sun Run Challenge” have been chosen. If you look at two of my previous posts, you’ll understand what I am talking about. In short, my brothers and I are competing in the Vancouver Sun Run, but we are also competing to see who can raise the most amount of money for charity before the day of the race (April 19, 2009). We have all chosen a favourite charity, and without further adieu, here are your competitors and their charities:

I have chosen Rick Hansen Wheels in Motion (@WheelsInMotion on Twitter), firstly because my cousin, roommate, and friend Carly, works there as an Event Coordinator. They organize smaller, local community fundraisers, and are constantly looking for new ways to raise funds. Although they are a very established foundation, they struggle with fundraising because not as many lives have been touched by spinal cord injuries, as say, breast cancer, so they need all the help they can get! Their main goal is to succeed in helping people with disabilities in your community, and well, I happen to think that’s pretty darn cool.

“Wheels In Motion has touched thousands of lives with entire communities benefiting from the funds raised. By removing barriers and creating more accessible neighbourhoods, we are helping individuals with disabilities live life to its full potential and making our community stronger, richer and more vibrant.”

Click here for my handy dandy little DONATION PAGE.
All you have to do is click on “Donate Now” and fill out the required information to donate by MasterCard or Visa. Also, you do not have to tell me who you are or how much you are donating (but I’ve made a suggested minimum dollar amount of $5). And in case you were wondering, you will automatically receive an e-mail with your electronic tax receipt if you provide an e-mail address.

Wesley has chosen the Children’s Miracle Network. Wes is a real estate agent for the Blum Real Estate Team of Re/Max Central, and they are proud sponsors of the Children’s Miracle Network, which is why he chose this charity.

“Children’s Miracle Network is a non-profit organization dedicated to helping kids by raising funds for 170 children’s hospitals across North America. Each year these non-profit hospitals provide the finest care, research and community outreach to help millions of children with diseases and injuries of every kind. In Canada, Children’s Miracle Network raises funds for 14 children’s hospitals, and has helped millions of Canadian children.”

You can contact Wes through his website or his twitter, or visit his office to sponsor his charity.

Re/Max Central (South Burnaby Office)
#1-5050 Kingsway
Burnaby, BC
V5H 4C2
Toll free: 1-866-433-2211
Fax: 1-866-358-8347
Jordan has chosen the BC Cancer Foundation. We recently found out that someone very close to us was diagnosed with bladder cancer, so this one really hits close to home, as I’m sure it does for a lot of people. Here is his donation page.

The BC Cancer Foundation is an independent charitable organization that raises funds to support breakthrough research and care at the BC Cancer Agency. The BC Cancer Agency is responsible for cancer care and control for everyone in British Columbia.

Since Jordan and I are most likely going to use the power of social media to get most of our donations, and Wes is going to try to do this the old fashioned way by personally collecting pledges, this is kind of an experiment to see who, or which method, will be the most successful. We would love to hear what you think of our little “challenge” and I encourage your comments below. Thanks for your support, and happy running. ;) Oh yeah, and don’t forget to donate to my charity.

The Challenge has Changed..

Posted on February 16, 2009 by Janis

In reponse to the positive feedback we’ve been receiving, we’ve decided to up the stakes a little in our Behan Sibling Sun Run challenge. Sato Canada (@SatoCanada on Twitter) has offered to award a prize package to the “winner” of our challenge, but now the “winner” will be the person who raises the most money toward the charity of their choice! This way, everyone wins – we all get fit, we do the Sun Run (which will also make my Mom unbelievably happy!), and 3 charities get a bunch of dough$$$. Sato Canada has also offered to give a prize package to our respective charities:

@SatoCanada: “Time for us to raise the stakes. Win or lose we will pledge to donate products to those 3 charities as well! This is exciting”

We will still, of course, keep our little sibling rivalry going, and come April, you will see much more smack talk happening over the the Twitter tubes between @jordanbehan, @wesleybehan, and myself (@janismary) - but now, we’ve got a lot more work to do before the race!

Updates coming soon on which charities we will be sponsoring. Thanks for reading!

The Behan Siblings Sun Run Challenge

Posted on February 12, 2009 by Janis

Well, it was easier than I thought. All I had to do was publicly challenge my brothers on Twitter to do the Vancouver Sun Run with me (and my Mom, who will be doing her 17th Sun Run or something ridiculous), and, well.. it was just THAT easy!

This is the only pic I could find of the 3 of us on Flickr. June 2005

Here’s a look at our Twitter conversation yesterday (February 11, 2009) in chronological order:

janismary: I just signed up for the @vancouversunrun and I think @jordanbehan should, too. He he.

jordanbehan: @janismary Sign up for the @vancouversunrun you say, eh? Come out of retirement and try to break my record? Maybe, sis. Maybe.

jordanbehan: @janismary @tylerwilman There will be much training, followed by a good old fashioned sibling ass kicking. I’m in, @vancouversunrun.

janismary: @jordanbehan Now if only I can convince @wesleybehan to do the @vancouversunrun. He might be a tough sell.

jordanbehan @janismary I needed the motivation. @alexleebehan will be thrilled to know I’m running again, esp since it’s just 10k.

janismary: @wesleybehan So, I’ve somehow convinced @jordanbehan to do the @vancouversunrun with me, and we think you should too.

wesleybehan: @janismary What’s the date?

janismary: @wesleybehan April 19. DO IT.

DM from Wes: I better start training. yikes

My DM to Wes: Yaaaay!!!!!! It will be fun, I swear!

janismary: Ahh, the power of persuasion! Just received confirmation that @wesleybehan will be joining @jordanbehan and myself in the @vancouversunrun.

wesleybehan: @janismary off to the gym..

Now, that last one was was the hardest to believe, but it’s true.. he DM’d me later to tell me he ran the treadmill for 15 minutes, which I replied was “a good start.”

So there you have it folks… the challenge is on!

Update: Found another sibling photo. Vegas, January 2009

Now, to give you a little more background information:

Jordan ran the Sun Run back in 2006 with my Mom and I, and I think he clocked in at around 46:00 minutes or so (help me out, Jord), and I think I was around 48:00 or 49:00. Jordan and I also trained and ran the Vancouver International Marathon together in May of 2007, finishing in a little under 4 hours. (A pretty stellar accomplishment, if I do say so myself! You can read our marathon story here.)

Now, as for Wes, I’m not really sure when the last time he ran was – other than a few laps around the track as captain of the RE/MAX Easter Seals 24 Hour Relay Team in the last couple of years – but he used to be quite the runner back in the day.

And me, well, I try to regularly run 6-10 km, 3 or 4 times a week, but I’m not always consistent. On Saturday I ran 11km at Burnaby Lake in an hour, and the trail was still half covered in snow!

So… what will our times be? Any bets? Who will collapse before they reach the finish line (*cough*Wesley*cough*)?? Let’s hear it in the comments below!

Jord's Marathon running shoes

The Korean/Behan National Lampoon’s Vegas Family Vacation

Posted on January 16, 2009 by Janis

If anyone knows me or my family, you know we get along pretty well and we like to have a good time. So it’s not a surprise that we might go on a family vacation together. But 2 families??

My sister-in-law Alex, who is married to my brother Jordan, had this crazy idea that her whole family and our whole family should go on a holiday together… to Vegas. I know, CRAZY, right? But somehow this crazy plan went from dream to reality very quickly. Flights got booked, rooms were reserved at Caesars Palace, and before I knew it, I was in a cab on my way to the airport, waving goodbye to snowy Vancouver on the morning of January 4th, 2009.

Pretty Bellagio Christmas decorations

6 Behan’s, 6 Lee’s, (including 2 babies!) and one Grandma Dot made the trip to sunny – but chilly – Las Vegas, Nevada for a 3-night getaway. We went to shows, we shopped, we walked the strip, we wined and we dined… we did just about everything! It was a bit of a New Year’s celebration, as well as my Dad’s recent retirement/my Mom’s birthday/Alex’ Mom’s birthday celebration. That’s enough to toast, right?

L-R: Jord, Wes, Dad, Mom, Grandma Dot.

Bellagio decorations

The most amazing part is, though, nothing really went horribly wrong. The only upset was when we first arrived in the Las Vegas airport, and my brother Wes‘ golf clubs did not arrive with our luggage. To say he was choked, would be an understatement. ‘Cuz he was choked. The ironic thing is, both Wes and Jord went golfing the next morning at 9:30am, and when they returned in the afternoon, the clubs had arrived at the hotel. So he packed his golf clubs all the way there to play only one round of golf and ended up having to play with a rented set. But I think the round of golf was a memorable enough one, that hopefully he forgot about the clubs going missing – right, Wes?!? All in all, not a bad trip, I’d say!

Here’s a few pics I took of our two families, being all nice and stuff.

Dad, Wes & Mom

Alex, Jaxon & Helen waiting for the Bellagio fountain show.

A day of shopping

Anna banana

Grandma Dot playing the slots - Wheel of Fortune, her favourite!

Tony with Jaxon & Anna

Photo courtesy of Alex Lee.

Siblings getting along.

Mom (Grandma Behan) & Jaxon in F.A.O. Schwarz

Wes & "Dadot" on the strip.

Probably my favourite shot.

The whole gang

Photo courtesy of Alex Lee.

Happy 2009, Happy Retirement Dad, and Happy Birthday to Mom and Mrs. Lee!

*There may be some video to follow this, if I feel like it.

Happy (Belated) Birthday Dad!

Posted on September 30, 2008 by Janis

I recently came across this picture again in my e-mail, and I thought it was a pretty good picture of my Dad (not that there are ANY bad ones of him). This is right after he bought his first, current, and only Harley Davidson motorcycle, and I don’t think he was even able to ride it at the time, because he was recovering from ACL knee surgery. But he was healthy enough to sit on it and pose for my Mom, who is taking the picture, and so he could show us kids. The subject line in the e-mail from my Mom said, “P.J.’s New Toy.” New toy, indeed. He says it’s more like a love affair.

His love affair with his motorbike has definitely made shopping for Birthday, Christmas and Father’s Day presents very easy. He now has a complete Harley wardrobe, including a new Harley “hoodie” and frosty beer mugs that he received this September 20th on his 57th birthday from his loving children.

Anyway, I just wanted to share this photo, because I happen to think my Dad is pretty darn cool (and I’m feeling rather sappy at the moment). How about you, do you think your Dad is cool?

JanisBehan.com

Category Archives: Family