At long last a return to in-person races! And also to writing about in-person races! I couldn’t have picked a better event than a 5 Peaks Trail Run. I did my first 5 Peaks Trail Run almost exactly 10 years ago, and their family-friendly events have been a staple of this blog ever since. Of course, those were all in Ontario, so expected an even bigger challenge and more beautiful scenery in B.C.!
We arrived at the race site in Golden Ears with plenty of time to spare; there had been warnings that getting parking spots and making it to the race start could be time-consuming but we faced no such challenges. We grabbed our race kits (including socks for me) and spent some time getting to know the site, while the Lightning Kid danced with Buffy the tiger.
The kids were signed up for a timed event – 3km of running. It would be the Lightning Kid’s first time (to my recollection) running the longer kids event. I’d predicted the terrain might be more challenging than they were used to and encouraged them to run together, but Shark Boy wanted to run his fastest. My prediction about the challenge proved correct, as the course had 2 creek crossings that the organizers encouraged the kids to get good and wet while attempting, and there was a prize for the dirtiest kid – which Shark Boy ended up winning, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.
I didn’t have a good feel for how long the kids’ race would take or even if I’d be able to see them come in, but I hadn’t even gotten to the front of the line for the toilet when the first kids started coming in. After a few especially fast kids came in, I spotted Shark Boy, who seems to be coming down with a case of camera shyness, but he finished strong. Waiting for the Lightning Kid became a little nerve-wracking when they started the 1k kids’ fun run, and were about to start the first wave of the Enduro course racers. Luckily a volunteer ‘rabbit’ kept him company – I didn’t get her name, but if you’re reading this, thanks again! – and he came in shortly before the Enduro course was to be started. The official race photographer got some great shots of his adventure; see below.
Soon it would be my turn – the Enduro racers all took off in waves seeded by the racer’s own expectation of speed, then the Sport course racers. The Sport course was over 8.5km and the longest run I’d done over the season was probably about 6, so I knew I had to manage my expectations and I seeded myself in the last wave.
The race started, and I forgot to start tracking on Strava for the first 200-300 meters, but I was off – and happy to be running a non-virtual race…
So before the race, I got advice from Shark Boy as to how to best cross one of the creeks and once the race started, I found myself at the first Creek with a big lineup forming so I followed his advice and veered off a little to the right and used the log to cross and probably got a little bit ahead that way. I don’t really mind being slower than other people. I just can’t stand standing in line when I’m in the great outdoors and trying to avoid that kind of stuff. By the time I get to the second creek, I just said stuff it and stuck my foot right in it and got wet feet. The first part of the trail after that was in the Spirea nature trail area which I visited before with my family, and it’s very beautiful. Then there was a road crossing and it was nonstop climbing on the other side of the road just all the way up a mountain. And in spite of my best efforts, I not only had to slow to a walk but actually had to take complete stops just to catch my breath on that climb.
Somewhere between 3 and 4 kilometers, we stopped having to climb and began the descent. Even on the downhill, I found myself slowing to a walk occasionally and had to mentally kick myself to get back into race mode. I did have a little fun at yet another creek crossing – this one was pretty mild as you can see, but I think there were 5 in total.
I don’t remember where the Enduro course separated from the Sport course, but after they re-merged, I made sure to allow people to pass me safely as often as I could. The scenery continued to be enchanting of course. There was light rain to deal with sometimes, but the forest provided more than adequate shelter.
I knew from the tracked distance that I must have been getting close to the finish, but on some other level it was almost as if I could taste it. And there was Shark Boy, ready to guide me in the last 500m or so. I started my Endspurt (a German term for the burst of energy you use to finish off an effort) and started passing people. Somehow I knew the last climb before the finish line would defeat me and the last few meters were more of a crawl.
And just like the start of the race, my rustiness led to me forgetting to stop the Strava tracking, but I still like the looks of the graph showing all the climbing involved; its’a bit weird that the heart rate doesn’t seem to go up much during the climb. I can’t say as I placed well in my division or even overall, but we all had a good day, and 5 Peaks can maintain its sterling reputation.
