Running the Squamish 50 - 50 Mile
So I actually did it. It still feels a little bit like a dream really. The months of physical preparation, the mental anguish I put myself through, were finally put to the test on August 16th when I got to run the Squamish 50 (50mile/80km) trail race. There was so much trepidation leading up to this day, unsure I would actually be able to complete the full distance. The longest run I had done leading up to race day was 50km and I just hoped that race day endorphins would pull me through the extra 30km that my legs would need to carry me that day. But how exactly did the day unfold? My good friend and fellow racer Sarah toed the line with me that Saturday morning for the 5:30am start. We hugged each other, wished each other a strong race and didn’t see each other until the end. In my mind that morning, I had Sarah’s advice floating through my mind, “for your first 50 miler go uncomfortably slow for the first half”, hopefully this would help me reserve energy for the second half of the race. Coming into AS #2. Re-fuel Getting words of wisdom from Leigh The first 10 km was flat and despite the easy start to the race I forced myself to keep the pace I knew I wanted to hold. ALOT of people passed me and I tried to not let it bother me as I knew there was a good chance I could catch some of them on the second half and it also gave me a chance to find a rhythm; pacing is an art that I was hoping to master that day. The first aid station was 10 km in. Here I saw Solana & Jay, cheery as always, manning the station and cheering the runners on. This is when I first saw my personal crew, my favorite person and better half, Leigh. He was there with a “How are you feeling” “What do you need?” and with a few clicks of the camera and a kiss, I was off. The next 10km had a hilly and technical middle portion. Sarah and I had actually discussed the previous night how we were not looking forward to this particular section as it seemed so brutally steep on the last training run. But this day it didn’t feel as bad as I had remembered, maybe because I knew there was so much more ahead of me that day. It was still steep, dry and dusty so there was some hard power hiking happening. Climbing is something I have the long gait...
Garibaldi Park - Rubble Double
The first few weeks of July has seen some glorious weather, if you like +30C degree. Nothing but sunshine and blue skies. As much as I enjoy the warmth of the sunshine, this heat does not make for great running weather. You overheat quickly, become dehydrated even faster and your body grinds to a halt. Pretty hard to feel too tired with views like this. Beautiful trail coming into Cheakamus Lake. Ahhh Black Tusk never gets old! Well July 12th was the day I decided to attempt the “Rubble Double”; the forecast was for sunshine and +34C. The Rubble Double is a run through the beautiful Garibaldi Provincial Park that takes you from the Rubble Creek entrance to the Cheakamus Lake entrance at which point you then you turn around and go back the way you came. In total the run is approximately 47 km with 2300m elevation gain. I was able to convince my friend Adam to come along for the full distance. It was also nice to have a few friends come along for the first 12km, Hailey and her fiance Eduardo. It was Eduardo’s first time in Canada and with it being only his second day in the country it was a privilege to be able to share such a beautiful part of the country with him. Coming over the Cheakamus River. Adam setting up for the perfect GoPro shot. Adam doubled over in laughter? In 2012 I ran the Rubble Creek route, one way, solo.That was 2 years ago and I know I am much fitter and have much more endurance now, so I had been thinking about doing the Double for a while especially since it would be good training to get another 50’ish km run in so soon after my last one. Beautiful and green. Stoked! Keep laughing through the pain. If you have ever hiked or ran this trail then you know that no matter which side you start on you have 6-7 km’s of steady climbing at the start and if doing the double then you have a another big climb thrown in right at the halfway mark. The first climb into the park felt like a breeze, the stoke and banter was high and everyone was having fun. When we dropped Hailey and Eduardo at their chosen destination, they were heading to Panoramo Ridge, Adam and I continued on. Eduardo later told me that they could hear us laughing long after they couldn’t actually see us anymore, so that was a good sign! We were running and we were happy! First aid station. Beauty trail. Classic GoPro face! Essentially we...
Descending Monmouth Canyon, Squamish
Last year we started to see more and more mentions in our news feeds and social channels of Canyoneering in Southwest BC. It was enough for me to investigate it further to see who was doing it and where. When I discovered that these Canyoneers were coming to Squamish and descending Monmouth Canyon (known locally as “Jump for Joy Falls”) I was shocked. I’d past by some of the waterfalls of Monmouth before on a previous adventure and I remembered them being not only large, but powerful. I couldn’t imagine people trying to rappel anywhere near those things. We’d never really Canyoneered before. On a past holiday in Scotland we’d experienced “Gorge Walking” which, I’m not going to lie, felt a little contrived. We basically just walked around in shallow pools in wet suits and did a few short jumps into the water. I was always aware that I could just step out of the river onto the banks. It lacked the feeling of commitment that I imagined rappelling waterfalls in a tight canyon would provide. I contacted one of the BC Canyoneers and gave them my best elevator pitch to see if they’d allow us to join them on their next trip. I wasn’t hopeful but they accepted! We rented swimsuits, figured out what waterproof gear we’d need, and, slightly nervous about stepping into an unknown activity in an unknown environment, met up with them to cross over the Squamish river and explore Monmouth Canyon. I’ll let the photos below do the rest of the talking, and check out the video at the bottom, made from the plethora of GoPro footage I recorded on this adventure. For more information about this Canyon check out this website: BC Canyoneers Photo Credit for some of the pictures in this set goes to the awesome Kevin Swanson. The 30ft jump after rappel 6 Touchdown! Video from this...
Squamish 50 Orientation Run
June 22nd was the last of the orientation runs for the Squamish 50. I knew I wanted/had to run the 47km for peace of mind. I woke up that morning tired, unsure of being able to run the full distance. I actually thought to myself I would cop out and probably choose the 37km halfway through, as there is a point in the run where the 47 and 37 runners split. Anyway, I had my good running friends Adam and Sarah(both wanting to run the 37km) with me, so with their combined stoke we walked and laughed our way to Escape Route, the start of the run. I started off nice and easy, I wanted this to be a long slow run for endurance training. Adam took off like a shot and within after about 3km I didn’t see him anymore. Sarah and I yo-yo’d a bit but were generally always in eyesight of each other. I knew I wanted to keep it really slow and forced myself to take it easy. I arrived at the 18km aid station to find Sarah fueling up on coke, cookies and other ultra type foods that one only eats during an ultra (Scott Jurek dies a little inside at reading this). Adam was already gone as Sarah told me that they were goth going for the 37 distance. I wasn’t too excited for the additional 10km loop but the thought of getting to hit the aid station after the loop was pretty enticing and when asked what distance I was doing, they keep track of all runners for safety reasons, I immediately said 47km. I chugged a bit of coke, had a few salty chips and a Hammer Bar and then told Sarah I was off. However during the time spent at the aid station Sarah succumbed to a bit of peer pressure from other runners at the station and she was shamed into running the 47km. So off we went.Not going to lie, this worked to my advantage as it was nice to have company on that extra 10km. Not a bad view. Going UP! The theme of the race. Another lovely view en route. I think it may have been a mix of the coke, the calories from the hammer bar and just starting to get my second wind but i was starting to feel good again. The 10km loop was beautiful, with one steep uphill section and the rest classic flowy squamish bike trail. Only the last few km’s were on logging road and I forced myself to run until I seen the aid station. Most times on logging...
Descending Box Canyon, Squamish
All great Canada Days should start in a canoe in our opinion and on July 1st, Canada Day 2014, ours was no exception. Myself and Spring, along with 6 others loaded into 3 canoes on the east shore of the Squamish river and made a crossing to the west side and the trail head for Echo Lake. We followed this trail for a while before branching off and following Box Canyon Creek upstream for a while. The geology in this area is amazing with high walls of basalt columns on your left and walls of granite on your right. When this creek became a waterfall in front of us we left it and climbed up beside these waterfalls in the forest until we reached an area were we could enter the creek again and being our descent, rappelling these waterfalls and exploring the canyon along the way. Canyoneering (aka Canyoning or Gorge Walking) is still very much a fringe activity. We’re pretty new to it ourselves but can see it becoming something we’ll participate more and more in in the future. There is an indescribable feeling being at the bottom of a deep canyon, waterfalls booming around you, looking up at exquisitely carved walls of smooth curving rock which tell the history of how the flow of this water has been the architect to creating this place. You know this is somewhere that humans don’t go for good reason, but curiosity, and necessity, pushes you onward, deeper through the canyon, until you can experience all of it and find your way out on the other side. We’ll let our pictures do the rest of the talking. If you want more information about this canyon please visit this website. If you have the inclination or opportunity to experience Canyoneering yourself we’d highly recommend...
