Tales of Trails, Mountains and Rocky Roads

 Lakou Backyard Ultra was not on my list of races for this year, but having missed the Jasper Half Marathon due to the rock slide, I was missing being around the running community and spending time with people who can relate to the things we do. The 2026 event was just one week out from the Calgary Marathon and after what feels like weeks of ups and downs, I just wanted another long run before I toed the line in Calgary. Having already put my name down to volunteer in the timing tent for the evening, I decided to register for the race too, and spend pretty much the entire day out in Devon by squeezing in a few hours of backyard loops prior to my shift.  We were greeted with overcast skies and cool temperatures on race day morning. I'd planned on wearing just shorts and a singlet, but when I saw that it was just below freezing outside, it was obvious that I'd need something a little warmer, particularly for the minutes in between laps where if just be sitting around waiting to ...

 One of my running goals for 2026 is to compete in at least 3 road races. I'd already completed the Hypothermic Half Marathon back in February, and with the Calgary Marathon coming up, I only needed one more road race to hit my goal. I contemplated doing the St Albert 10 miler which was about a month out from the marathon and would be a great test of what my marathon goal would be, but then I spotted the Jasper Half and being a week later, it still fitted in well with a good marathon buildup, plus we could combine it with a weekend in the mountains. After registering for the race, we tried to find some pet friendly accommodation in Jasper, but given that the fires destroyed some of the tourist accommodation, there was a lack of availability for the race weekend. We thought we might camp but campgrounds don't open until late May, and whilst there are plenty of hotels in Hinton, few of them would accept three dogs. After a little more searching, Andy was able to secure an Airbnb ...

It was my third time at Hill of a Race, and I have to say that those ski hills don't get any easier! This year, the race fell on Easter Sunday. Usually we'd be winter camping over Easter weekend, but with a weekend in Jasper coming up, followed by two weeks holiday with a friend visiting in May, we opted to stay at home and do a few things around the house instead.  I find it hard having time off from work and just being stuck at home. Time is so precious and I don't like wasting it, and with nothing else planned, I found myself registering for the race just a month or so out from race day. I wasn't exactly in hill running shape, and I have been feeling terribly slow and unfit after a winter of ups and downs with the weather, so my plan was to just go out there, spend a few hours amongst friends, and hopefully get in at least 10 laps of the ski hills in the six hour period. Andy dropped me off at Rabbit Hill on race day morning, and thankfully there was still some snow ...

It's been several weeks now since I competed in the 24-hour World Championships, and looking back, it still feels a little surreal that I was there on the world stage, representing Canada along with some other amazing athletes. The whole experience was incredible, from our arrival in France where we got chatting to athletes from other countries whilst waiting to clear immigration, to the flag parade and opening ceremony, the mealtimes at the pavillion, the Team Canada meetings, wandering around Albi and the French saying how much they loved Canada, to the actual race itself, where world and national records were broken, PRs set, and a whole range of emotions surfaced, not just for myself but for many others that were out on the course too. Whilst the memories are still there, some of the detail has already faded with the passing of time over the past few weeks, but I still wanted to capture things as best I could in this post so that when I read it again in years to come, I can rel...