Tales of Trails, Mountains and Rocky Roads

I love volunteering at races. It gives a different perspective to things and makes you realise just how much time and effort goes into organising these running events. For somebody like me that likes to race a lot, it also allows me to put something back into the sport that I love, to give encouragement to other runners and to help them to have a successful race. A few weeks ago, I volunteered to help out on one of the aid stations during one of the 5 Peaks trail races up in Edmonton. I spent 4 hours handing out water and gatorade to people I had never met, laughing and joking and generally having a great time. Along with my aid station buddy, we clapped and cheered for a good couple of hundred people racing that day - some new to trail running and needing that reassurance, others experienced but still clearly grateful for that encouragement. I loved it! Aside from the benefits of seeing people achieving their goals, volunteering for 5 Peaks also brings a free race entry to on...

It's been several weeks now since I ran the Blackfoot Ultra and I have to say it's been somewhat strange having such a huge gap between that and my next big race. I did have a few days recovery following Blackfoot but I was soon back into training and starting to prepare for my next 50 miler. Iron Legs is a mountain race and takes place in Kananaskis Country near to Calgary. I ran this race back in 2014 and finished 5th lady in a little over 13 and a half hours. There's considerable climbing involved and on my first attempt, I was still predominantly a road runner that was more focused on speedwork that hill work. Iron legs in 2014 - I was more of a roadrunner back then! Things are different this time. My body is no longer built for speed and I'm finding it harder to knock out those faster miles after so many years of competitive running. However, I am able to plod for more than a few miles and in the past 5 years, I have ran close to 50 trail races compa...