10 Reasons To Run Squamish 50 Every Year
This year made my 3rd year in a row running a distance in the Squamish 50 series. My love affair with the Squamish 50 began when I signed up for my first trail race, the 50km option, in 2013. The following year would see me attempting and finishing my first 50 miler and this year I chose the 50km option once again. What exactly is it about this race that keeps me coming back for more? Here are 10 of my favourite things about this race and reasons why you should put this race on your yearly schedule. 1.Finish line hugs. The race director, Gary Robbins, actually waits at the finish line both days to congratulate every single runner that comes across the finish line with a hug (he might even let you tousle that glorious beard, if that’s your kind of thing). Don’t be surprised either if random runners are coming up to you to hug you, high five and give you a job well done. There is just a lot of love going around at the finish line of this race! 2. Singletrack trail for miles upon miles. The course has been designed to contain at least 85% beautiful forest singletrack.This is trail running at it’s best! 3. Running in a rainforest. That’s right, this isn’t just any forest we are running through. This is Pacific Northwest Rain Forest which means there are giant cedar and hemlock trees, ferns filling the forest floor and moss a colour of green you wouldn’t believe. It’s vibrant, it’s humid and the air is filled with the scent of wet earth and vegetation. 4. Bouncing across wooden mountain bike bridges. Did you know that almost all of the trails in Squamish have generously been created by the SORCA (Squamish Off Road Cycling Association) mountain biking community and do you know what mountain bikers love? Wooden bridges! Funny because trail runners love them too. The short ones curve steeply requiring you to pay extra attention to your footing and the longer ones bounce with each step which means the bridge rises up to meet your foot at each placement. 5. Salty potatoes. This might not sound like a big deal or even that tasty. But run 23 km (14 miles), 50 km (31 miles) or 80 km (50 miles) on a warm August day and tell me that the starchy, salty, melt in your mouth potato doesn’t hit the right spot. 6. High fives everywhere. I like to think that trail runners are a different breed of runner. They are friendlier, more excitable and more willing to have a chat on the trail....
“Spring Rush” Trail Race Recap
Every time I have ever driven through the Kelowna area, gazing at the dry, sagebrush covered hillsides, I have dreamt of running there. So I was pretty stoked to get the chance to run “Spring Rush” on April 25 in Kelowna. Not only is the race named after me (you may have to fact check that with the race director), but the race would wind through the very hills I have long dreamt of running. The event is located a ten minute drive from Bear Creek Provincial Park, which came in very handy for camping the night before. With such a short drive from the start line it meant I didn’t need to get up too early on race day. When I arrived at the start line the morning of, the tents were just being set up. Despite the flurry of activity I wanted to take a minute to meet Rene Unser, the race director, as I have seen so much of her through social media and have heard so many wonderful things about her. She said hello with a big warm hug and was bubbling with excitement! All I could notice was the huge smile on her face and how eager she was to share her local trails with everyone that day. This race was tough, tougher than I thought it was going to be. I am not sure what I was expecting, in fact I didn’t actually research much about the actual course before running it. There was a quick glance of the elevation profile, but apart from that I was just so stoked to run the race that I didn’t pay much attention to anything else. I had no knowledge of when the big hill was coming or of the endless switchback descents. Everything was a surprise and in the end I kind of liked it that way. If you are reading this though you probably want to know a little bit about the course, so I’ll share some of it with you. The course is flowy, runnable, dreamy singletrack. But don’t let that fool you, there is some serious climbing to be done on these trails and it is the runnable nature of the trail that makes this race tough. When you are used to technical uphill running, like I am on the west coast, you get used to slowing down a lot. This terrain, however kept you running, even when it was steep. You are convinced that since the path under your feet is not technical there is no reason to slow down, so you push harder. Then there was “the monster climb”. This is the part of...
UPrise Performance - Hawaiian Trail Running Retreat
“I am so honoured to be part of your journey.” These are the words I heard from lead coach Paul Romero as we traversed our way through the Waipio Valley trails on my third day in Hawaii. Up and down along a narrow trail that weaved it’s way through the tropical jungle forest. The clouds were closing in and you could feel a mist that was threatening a downpour. Even though our group of nine women, oppressed by the humid heat, wished for the rain to come to refresh us, we pushed on passing small waterfalls and made our way to the next viewpoint of curving coastline and crashing waves. Just being on such beautiful trails, with such passionate and supportive people was an experience I won’t soon forget. This was just one of the moments I remember from my time at the UPrise Ladies Hawaiian Trail Running Retreat. The weekend was filled to the brim with notable memories and take-away’s that I know are going to make me a better, healthier and stronger athlete over the coming months. You do not arrive at this camp to be given an agenda of running to do or to be given a training plan. Instead they provide you with a completely holistic, whole body, approach. They want to improve how you are as an athlete from the inside out. What you put into your body is just as important as what you are trying to get your body to do. Their goal is be able to simplify your approach by providing you with the necessary tools you need. As Paul said during one of our Nutrtion 101 sessions “I have spent countless hours doing the research to give you the information you need. That’s what I am here for, to make it easy for you.” Nutrition, mobility, strength - these are the building blocks. The most notable aspect of the camp was how all encompassing it was. They have the tools knowledge and skills to provide you with more than a training plan. They provide you with all the information you need to adapt and improve your lifestyle to become an overall better athlete.; to get the most out of your body,your skills and mental strength. Being part of a group of women who are all striving to become better and increase their abilities as athletes is an extremely motivating and inspiring atmosphere. Not only do you feed off the energy from the group but you are led by a world class Coach, Paul Romero, and Physiotherapist, Annemarie Alf of Olympus Movement and Mobility, that that are also incredible athletes themselves. They...
10 Things My First Ultra Taught Me
Technically anything over the marathon distance of 42.2 km (26.2 miles) is classified as an ultra distance. With this in mind it means I officially ran my first ultra trail race in August 2013, when I ran the Squamish 50 50 km (31 miles) trail race. However, it wasn’t until I decided to run my first 80 km (50 mile) trail race that it actually felt like I was entering the ultra arena. This felt monumental and to be honest a little outside of my wheelhouse. But I was committed to running it, not just surviving it, and I tried to focus hard on training. Seeing as I am not a professional and fairly new to the trail running scene, my approach to training, although a little more refined recently, could be called somewhat clumsy and haphazard. I have several sports/hobbies that I like to pursue - rock climbing, mountaineering, ice climbing,skiing - so my attention and energy can be diverted easily. Because of this my training became a bit of a juggling act. I ended up learning a lot while training and running my first ultra. Here are the top 10 things I learned during the process: 1) Run a lot of hills - Yes this means hill repeats. BORING! That’s probably what you are thinking and I know because I thought the exact same thing. In fact I remember one elite trail runner say that you know are deep into training season when you have a fair share of boring runs. Yes, not every run is going to be about having fun but about pushing you outside of your comfort zone. Besides if you are anything like me, slightly masochistic as most long distance runners are, you will find joy in these training runs too! 2) Run back to back long runs -The LSD (long slow distance) is the trademark of endurance runners. Spending a lot of time on your feet, not worrying so much about the actual distance covered, but about the hours you spend out there. So run a big 6-8 hour run on Saturday and get ready to run at least another 2-4 hours on Sunday. Let your body know your mind is in control and you are running whether the body protests or not; run on tired legs. 3) Eat a lot while running, even when you don’t want to - I learned this when I let a podium finish slip through my fingers because I didn’t focus on getting calories into my body early on in the race. It was only when my friend, who was keeping pace with me that day,...
Trailrunning the Howe Sound Crest Trail
I remember seeing a photo of a section of the Howe Sound Crest Trail (HSCT) when we first moved over. When I saw the photo I knew that I wanted to do it. It looked rugged, beautiful and tough. The caption under the photo said something along the lines of ‘an ambitious overnight hike best done over 3 days’. Wow, that was something far outside my abilities at that time. Fast forward 4.5 years to today and I was joining a jolly group of trail runners (Jeff, Chloe, Adam, Joel, Shannon & Aran) to run the trail in entirety - from Cypress Bowl Ski Lodge to Porteau Cove - approximately 28-30km. This turned out to be a day for the books! The weather couldn’t have been better, the company was fantastic and with the views we had there was no way we set any speed records because every corner we turned ended up being the perfect photo opportunity. Sidenote: If you are attempting the HSCT it is recommended to do it from South to North as this will ensure you a day of net descent, which you will greatly appreciate at the end of your hike or run. The first water source is at Magnesia Meadows, which for us at this time of a dry year, was a tarn. We treated/filtered the water here. The next water source was just past the Brunswick hut, about 1km. I drank from this creek without treating the water, however please do so at your own discretion. On a dry sunny day this trail is stunning! Be aware that there are boulder field crossings, a few narrow trail sections and roped sections for aid - so attempting this trail in less than ideal conditions will alter the difficulty. I highly recommend this trail - either as a run or an overnight backcountry trip. It is an iconic North Shore adventure. So get out there, be safe and start adventuring! Here are some of the best views and highlights from the day: Nothing like catching the dawn glow Views from St.Marks Summit Bluebird sky I’ll let you guess on this one Traversing the base of West Lion Chloe taking in the views Roped section Coming up to the Lions Boulder field Adam running beautiful trail Brunswick Emergency Shelter Pristine...
