After missing the Albion Hills event in July, and no events in August, everyone was glad to see the return of 5 Peaks to the Heart Lake Conservation Area in September. And what a September! The summer heat came in late, and everyone needed to prepare.
The kids 3k timed race starts first. As a ‘Trail Crew Leader’ and slowpoke, it made sense for me to bring up the rear in case of stragglers. I spoke with another volunteer who helped sweep and learned that not only was the race centred around a different site within the park but naturally the course had been altered from previous years. That meant my favourite hill, which I always climbed like Spider-Man wouldn’t be there. Oh well, the heat would make it plenty challenging.
The Kids course was an out and back, and I encountered Shark Boy a little later than I expected. He had the company of one of our Trail Crew Leaders, and I found out later that there were tears at the finish line due to an encroaching headache. It seems his late nights in competitive gymnastics catch up with him. A little more water and he was good to help his brother in the 1k fun run.
The Lightning Kid has been getting faster and faster on his feet but he also likes to use those feet to dance with Buffy.
As I had mentioned, Shark Boy got his second wind and wanted to keep his brother company. The Lightning Kid didn’t mind a big brother chaperone but dismissed his mother from the job. Apparently, he took a little spill but the community spirit at 5 Peaks is always huge, and he ended up picking up an adult guardian anyway.
For my part, the new Sport Course provided lots of shade, so I didn’t feel the heat too badly, and there were some nice views of Heart Lake along the way. I’m pretty proud of the cruising pace I maintained, though I forgot to stop my Endomondo app for tracking. My paces varied between 6:20/km to 7:16/km.
The final race of the season is at the Kortright Conservation Area on October 28th. If you live in the area, consider signing yourself, your friends and your little ones up! Use the code ‘IRONROGUE’ when registering.