Banff Marathon

The Banff Marathon last weekend was pretty spectacular, and that's despite a change of course having received the following message from Parks Canada just the day before:

"Staff had to temporarily close the Vermilion Lakes Road to the public last night due to the presence of two competing male grizzly bears that were both dominating the roadway and preventing safe passage by visitors. Both animals are in the height of breeding season and actively searching for females. One of them also travelled the length of the road yesterday, not yielding to people. Although both are ear-tagged, neither of these large males (500-600 lb range) are id radio-collared, so we are unable to monitor their whereabouts other than through visual observations. There is also another very large unmarked grizzly bear in the immediate area that appears more reclusive, but has been popping up in surprising places over the last week. Recent events in Jasper underscore the unpredictable nature of large male grizzly bear behaviour during breeding season and the potential risk to visitors.  We also have a female grizzly with two young-of-year cubs in the Vermilion area. It appears that she is successfully hunting elk calves and is seeking security from the 3 large males noted above. It is probable that she will have a very low comfort level near any humans due to her wary nature. And because of the high level of breeding male behaviour around her, we can anticipate that she will be in a state of extreme hyper-vigilance in defense of her cubs. Because of her young cubs, it is unlikely that she will move away from the area; distances travelled in the last 4 days have been short."

The original course would have taken us through Vermilion Lakes before joining the Bow Valley Parkway for an out and back course, but due to the risk of a bear / runner interaction, we would now be running in the opposite direction, eastwards back towards Canmore along TC1. OK, running the best part of 42km alongside a busy highway may not have been everybody's idea of fun, but the views were still impressive, the air was still fresh, and we were still outdoors being active on one of the most beautiful, warm, sunny days so far this year. In addition, despite the changes, everything still went like clockwork which is a credit to the organisers and their volunteers which were truly amazing.

Vermilion Lakes - but we didn't head this way due to increased bear activity

We'd spent the previous night camping again, this time at Tunnel Mountain, where we had a good few hours of chatting and relaxing around the campfire. I hadn't been feeling too well in the days preceding the race, so I sat contemplating how to tackle things on the Sunday morning, feeling that I was a bit stupid running a marathon with a bad chest but desperately not wanting to miss out on the opportunity to be a part of the inaugural Banff Marathon. I certainly wouldn't be up for a fast race and I eventually decided to just play it by ear and just go with how I felt.

Race day morning was absolutely beautiful and a 10am start meant a nice leisurely breakfast at the campsite before heading down to Central Park in Banff for the start. There was a lovely, relaxed atmosphere despite the 1,500 or so runners and I found that I was getting quite excited about setting off.

Leading the ladies race at the start of the Banff Marathon

The first few km took us through the streets of Banff and I had to keep reminding myself to look up at the scenery and appreciate where I was actually running, and each time I did, I got a little shiver of excitement and disbelief that I really was running here again - sometimes I really do feel so lucky!

I'm sure the scenery helped to give me a spring in my step as I was actually leading the ladies race for the first 11km or so, surprising myself by maintaining a comfortable 4.25 minute km pace. My legs and my mind were really wanting to go, but unfortunately, my breathing was letting me down with all the rubbish sitting on my chest and by 11km, I really was struggling and slowed dramatically. Not surprisingly, the second lady pounced and whilst she wasn't exactly pulling away from me too quickly, the gap was gradually widening and by the time we reached the turnaround point for the second time at about 23km, she had opened up a good 400m lead.

Still leading the ladies race but slipped back around 11km

The route wasn't exactly hilly but there were some inclines which caused me to wheeze even more and I found that I needed to alternate between running and walking. I did start to ponder about dropping out, but with the aid stations every 2km and with the volunteers being the most rowdy and encouraging I've ever met, I really felt that I had to keep going thanks to their enthusiasm.

By 30km, I had slipped to 5th lady but I really didn't mind. I was having a great time and with the run/walk technique, I was noticing things along route that I hadn't noticed before - hidden mountain peaks, eagles soaring overhead, picnic areas for those following the trail, the number of sneaky steep hills - it really did add a different perspective to things.

As time was ticking by, I knew that I wasn't even going to go sub 3.30 today, but I figured that if I could finish in one piece and without any injuries, that would be ok. It was getting extremely hot and I could sense that I must be burnt to a cinder by now and that I would be paying the price for it later on. For the last few km, all I could think about was a massive cup of root beer and the urge to jump in the river at the finish line to cool off - it took a lot of restraint not to jump off the bridge as I crossed the river with 1km to go - the crystal clear waters of the Bow River sure looked appealing!

I crossed the finish line in a little under 3 hours 42 minutes and having been passed by another 2 ladies in the last 3k or so, I ended up 7th but 1st in my age group. It wasn't an outstanding run but I was happy enough and I know that I will definitely consider coming back to do it all again next year.

Finishing a very sun burnt and tired 7th lady -
right, where's the river and the BIGGEST cup of Root Beer you can find?!

The best part about the day was seeing Andy and the dogs waiting at the finish line, and getting dragged in to the river by 2 overly excited dogs. It was absolutely freezing and I wasn't quite brave enough to have a swim, but it was so refreshing having a paddle in the ice cold water with the lovely cool mud squishing between the toes!

I've done so many fantastic races already this year, and there are still more to come, but this week I've been doing more cycling to give my body a bit of a break and to help recover from the cold. I am feeling much better and I'm eager to get back into my running, so the motivation is certainly still there despite a slower than average run for me at Banff. I'm entered for the Kananaskis Triple next weekend - 3 mountain trail races in 3 days - a 12km, a 42km and a 25km. I'm not sure whether I will now do all 3, but I know that with the carrot dangling there, chances are I will just for the experience. After that, my focus turns back to the roads again with Edmonton Marathon in August and Toronto Marathon in October and I'm really hoping for something special again in the not too distant future :-) 

5 Peaks Trail Race - Canmore Nordic Centre

With 5 races already under my belt in the past month, I suppose I couldn’t really have expected anything better at The 5 Peaks Trail Race last weekend. I wasn't particularly tired prior to the race and although I knew I wouldn’t be at my best, I felt that I was recovering well considering I’d recently ran a marathon, a 50km and 2 legs of the Banff to Jasper Relay totalling around 38km.

I was looking forward to the run in Canmore – another couple of hours in the mountains doing what I love best – and because the race would only be around 12km it almost felt like I could treat it as a recovery run. I’m realistic enough to know that I will never win any of these races – there are far too many outstanding trail runners out here that are far superior to me – but I headed to Canmore with the mindset that if I could win my age group, I would still be a happy camper.

The race was taking place at the Canmore Nordic Centre and as we entered the town, things looked a little eerie with the mountainsides shrouded in the mist that had settled in the valley whilst the tops of the higher peaks  poked through the clouds . It was also a little cool, but with signs of the sun breaking through, I knew it wouldn't be long before things started to warm up.

Misty morning in Canmore

The Nordic Centre has some excellent trails, and I’d had some experience of them when I did the Grizzly 50km here a couple of years ago. I was actually quite excited about exploring again, even if it did mean sharing the trails with around 200 other people. The area is also known to be a “wildlife corridor” and is home to plenty of wildlife, including bears and cougars. Whilst I personally have yet to see either of these wandering around Canmore, there are frequent warnings in the area which has resulted in a new policy that says all competitors at the Nordic Centre MUST carry bear spray. Indeed, prior to the race start we were given a safety talk about bear encounters by a Conservation Officer along with a demo of how to use bear spray, and we were warned that due to the nature of today’s course, there was potentially a higher chance of encountering a bear on the trail.

I have to say that the course turned out to be far tougher than I was expecting (Alan Lam, you have A LOT to answer for young man!) The first 100 yards or so was a sprint across the field as everybody jostled for position and I hadn’t even warmed up before the climbing started. It was a fair old climb too – steep by my standards and quite rocky – and it just seemed to keep going and going and going. Tons of people were passing me already, but I had absolutely no strength to push any harder and I knew that any hope of a decent race today was already out of the window. Had it been a road race, I would have been absolutely gutted, but knowing that we would be on the trails for the next hour or so, I now had every intention of just enjoying the run in such an amazing environment.

Start of 5 Peaks Trail Race - Canmore

Photo by Glen Crawford

When the trail eventually flattened out, I found I was picking up the pace despite the technical terrain. There were plenty of twists and turns, slippery rocks and tree roots, muddy patches and stream crossings – and yet I was in my element. We were still in the trees at this point and it required a lot of concentration to keep focused and watch our step to ensure we didn’t fall.

River crossings at Canmore Nordic Centre 5 Peaks Trail Race
Photo by Glen Crawford

A short while later though, we came out into a clearing and were greeted by the most beautiful views of the Bow Valley. I felt the urge to slow down to absorb everything before me and savour that moment, feeling that I wouldn’t have a full appreciation of where I was racing if I just sped through without even glancing up.

Outstanding views at Canmore Nordic Centre
(Picture taken during Grizzly 50k but same trail - credit to me!)

The field by now had spread out and there weren’t so may people around, but as we dropped back into the trees, the twisty turny, tree rooted, narrow trails started again. I’ve always considered myself a pretty good downhill runner, almost fearless and no fear of just letting myself go, and whilst some of those ahead of me tentatively picked their way around roots and rocks, I stormed past them in an attempt to make up as much ground as possible.

I was absolutely loving this section but with being a two lap course, I knew that at some point we would start to climb again. Sure enough, around 5km, the pathway turned and up we went.  I was pumping my arms and trying to push as hard as my legs would allow but they were stubbornly refusing to move and I was absolutely dripping with sweat and desperate for a drink. I really wasn't making a great deal of progress despite my best efforts, and before long, I was once again overtaken by the stronger hill runners. 

Hills, hills, hills - gritted teeth and determined not to stop!
Photo by Debi McGrath

Lap 2 went pretty much the same way as the first, the only difference being that at least I knew what to expect this time around. I continued to curse the uphills but refused to be beaten, I acted like an excited child on the downhills and was enjoying the adrenalin rush as I dared myself to go faster, and every time the trees parted and I caught a glimpse of those mountains, I had one of those surreal moments of still not truly believing that this place is now my home.

I have to say that the last 3km of the race were perhaps the toughest. I was trying to convince myself that at some point we really would get more flatter running, and yet the hills just kept on coming, and with following a slightly different route for the latter part of this loop, I didn't know what to expect.

The forest trails were wonderful despite the hills, and I was so grateful when we had a steep long gravelly downhill for a good couple of hundred metres, where I was able to stride out and open up a considerable gap over a couple of other ladies that were just behind. But this was an "Alan Lam" course, and as soon as we hit the bottom and turned a corner, we were once again greeted with a steep ascent with switchbacks, leading up the hillside. Every time we turned a corner, I was hoping that we had hit the summit but t just seemed to carry on climbing, ever upwards, with what appeared to be no end in sight.

By now we had caught the tail-enders of the sport course, many of which were walking. Up until then, I had stubbornly refused to even consider walking, but with so many power walking up the hills, and due to the narrow nature of the trail, I finally caved and did likewise. It was actually quite nice having folks around me, and we all gave encouragement as we passed by, laughing and joking as we went.

At long last, I heard the tanoy at the finish line and as we emerged from the trees for a final time, I was in the last final 200m that would lead into the finish.

I crossed the line in just under 75 mins with 11.41km on my watch. My legs were like jelly and my first words to Andy were, "That was ridiculous – if I was a newbie to trail running, that would scare me off for life!" OK, after nearly 1300 ft of climbing at 4000ft and having done a fair few races recently, I was perhaps feeling a little grumpy but I know I only have myself to blame for being so crappy at running up hills.

In all honesty I loved the course - it was interesting, challenging and full of variety. Despite cursing Alan several times for the past hour for having an obsession with hills (sorry!) I honesty think he did a brilliant job in putting together such a wonderful course and flagging it for us to make sure we didn't get lost. I really am truly grateful for the time and commitment people like Alan put into these races - runners know full well that without these volunteers, we wouldn't be able to have all of this fun and such events would not possible.

Just for the record, I finished 17^th lady and 3^rd in my age group – certainly room for improvement for next time, especially considering I won my age group at the last race! I think it's time to give myself a good kick up the you know what - I need to bully myself in to doing hill reps again, just like the good old days at Stoke AC and Trentham. I could come up with any number of excuses for not doing hill reps these days, but the truth is I'm too lazy to find a hill to practice on and prefer to just "run the hills" when I get to them. With running though, we all know that you only get out what you put in, so I need to get my lazy ass in gear and start putting in a bit of effort ;-)

Banff to Jasper Relay

Last weekend was truly amazing - lots of running, lots of mountains, quality time with family and friends, and of course, lots of beer :-) What more could a girl ask for?!

It all started Friday afternoon when straight after work, we headed west towards the mountains and our overnight stay at Lake Louise. I was taking part in the Banff to Jasper Relay as a member of the Calgary Road Runners Team, and along with the majority of the other teams, Andy and I had opted to stay at the Lake Louise Inn with the dogs.

Lake Louise is renowned around the world for its beautifully dramatic location although it is generally far too crowded for me personally due to all the tourists that flock to its shores pretty much every day of the year! Thankfully we were staying in Lake Louise Village, but the views were still spectacular, so much so that being rudely awoken by the alarm clock at 5.30am Saturday morning didn’t seem so bad when opening the curtains and seeing snow capped peaks against a beautiful blue sky.

Beautiful Early Morning Views in Lake Louise Village

The relay is point to point, stretching for 258km from Castle Junction just north of Banff all the way to the town of Jasper, following the Icefields Parkway - one of the most beautiful and stunning routes in the Canadian Rockies.

The original plan was for me to run the 5^th stage in the south but unfortunately, there were some dropouts on the team due to injury or illness. In the absence of any other runners being available, it meant that team captain Kim and I would be running 2 legs each to ensure we finished with a complete team, both of us covering around 38km in total with some fairly hefty ups and downs along the way.

My first leg of the day was still leg 5 on the southern stage so the arrangement was to meet Southern Team Captain Joanna at the start to collect our race bibs and reflective jackets. It was great to meet other members of the team – faces familiar but names unknown until that point – and everybody was in good spirits looking forward to a run in the mountains.

Having wished the team good luck, we headed back to the hotel for breakfast before making our way north towards Bow Summit and Peyto Lake, where my first leg would be starting. Shortly before we arrived, the road ahead was blocked by RVs that had stopped by the side of the road. This could only mean one thing – a bear jam – and sure enough,  a blond haired grizzly bear was feeding in the bushes about 50m or so from the road side. Bears on the course would normally have resulted in the race being halted temporarily to allow the bear to move on, but due to the sheer number of people stopping to take a look , the only concern was for the welfare of the bear rather than the runners passing by on the opposite side of the road.

The start of leg 5 is at the highest point on the course – some 6000 ft above sea level, but I had chosen my leg wisely, knowing that my strengths lie with downhill running, and with a descent of around 1400 ft and minimal climbing throughout the 17.5km of this stage, I figured I’d do alright.

Melody was handing over to me, and we’d spotted her running strongly with about 5km to go, but we knew that she still had the hefty climb to Bow Summit before I headed off. Whilst I was waiting for the off, the atmosphere around the change over area was buzzing and everybody was so friendly and chatty. Our leg 2 runner Donovan had arrived and it turned out that Joanna had been in 3rd place after the first leg and on handing over to him, he had actually taken the lead. By now however, the more speedier team had opened up a considerable gap and they came speeding through way ahead of the others. With the forced start time of 1.30am fast approaching, I was rather hoping that we could avoid that, particularly as this section had quite narrow shoulders alongside the road for the next 6km or so. Thankfully though, as everybody started to muster for the forced start, Melody came over the brow of the hill, still pushing hard, and after a high five and a few cheers, I was on my way.

Start of Stage 5 - Bow Summit

As I headed off down the road, I was blown away by the valley opening up before me – mountains towering above me on either side, thick dense forest, and barely any traffic despite being one of the main tourist routes between Banff and Jasper National Parks. I was having so much fun, I was feeling strong (it was downhill mind!) and as I ran along, I passed 7 other runners in the process.  Joanna was being a superb team captain, checking on me every 5-6km and handing me drinks – it was a deceptively warm day and I sure was dehydrating, and I still had another leg to run!

The 17.5 km and 1 hour 15 minutes went by so quickly and before I knew it, I was running alongside the shores of Waterfowl Lake with the handover point not much further on.  I’d just missed the leg 6 runners so didn’t get to give Hugh a shout as he set off on his journey, but I was pretty sure that Calgary Road Runners were doing a damn fine job.

Having way too much fun :-)

Having been bombarded by black flies at the finish due to being covered in sweat, we started to make our way north so that I could be there in plenty of time ready for my next leg which started close to Athabasca River raft landing. N15 was just shy of 20km, it was the final leg of the relay which meant that I would be bringing the team home in Jasper. It was a flatter stage but it was longer so it would be a real test for me, especially as I had only ran the Calgary 50km less than a week ago. 

As we drove up through the Columbia Icefields, we encountered even greater breathtaking views and lung busting climbs, and I thought about our team that were currently running the northern part of the relay, wondering what their experience had been like. The climbs were evil, but the views were spectacular and I sensed that knowing the folks that were running this stage, they would be relishing the challenge.

Heading down the other side, we started to spot runners at the side of the road so we knew that we were getting close to the rest of the team. Sure enough, we spotted Alan, Kim and Adam and a few other CRR members waiting at the side of the road, so we had a little trot over to say hello and find out how things were going. Not surprisingly, we were all doing great, and it was certainly a motivator knowing that we were doing so well.

The start of final leg 15 was at the Athabasca River raft landing and on arrival, it was getting pretty busy as all the other teams were waiting for their runners to come through. A paddle in the river certainly helped to cool us down a bit before getting ready for Anne to handover to me. The leading teams were way ahead of the field, and as time passed by, it was becoming clear that the vast majority of us would face the forced start. I heard the mumblings, I heard the comments and was certainly caught on the hop when a shout came “Forced Start Go” and all remaining runners set off down the road!

2nd leg of the day and forced start on N15

I already knew this leg would be tough. It was mostly flat, yes, with just a couple of climbs, but with flat comes fast, and as is the case with most relays, there were quite a few speedsters on that last leg!

The mountains were still towering above us as we ran along the valley and despite now being after 6pm, it was still pretty warm. I tried carrying a drink but found it too cumbersome and with Adam and Kim checking on me every 5km in the support vehicle, I figured I'd be ok if I dropped the bottle.

Although we'd said all along that the relay was "just for fun", I think some of us were a little guilty of allowing our competitive streak show through. As I was running along and admiring the views, I realised that I was gaining on a couple of runners just ahead of me. Whilst it probably wouldn't make any difference to the position of the team - the result is based on cumulative times rather than leg positions - I decided to give chase just for my own entertainment. One of them was a lady and she was looking strong, but although the gap was closing, I wasn't quite catching her. My mind started to wander, and before I knew what was happening, I was finally overtaking the other lady with around 3km to go.  My legs were really aching and tired by now, but having made the move, I couldn't let her come passed me again and I was determined to do all I could to stay ahead. I could still hear her very close behind, and as we entered Jasper, we started to climb up to the town site. I'm useless on hills and could her the lady getting closer again, and I was praying for the road to flatten out so that I could lengthen my stride and speed up again. I managed to pull away in the final km and finished just 30 seconds ahead which if nothing else, gave me a little confidence.

Running in to the finish line was pretty awesome as all the runners from previous legs had congregated in Jasper to cheer us all in. I was amazed at the sheer number of people, and was so pleased to see the CRR team there, all smiling and cheering as I brought the team home. We hadn't won, but it still felt like there was a need to celebrate.

The post-race party was the perfect opportunity to say a proper hello to the rest of the team as we sat and chatted over a beer and some food. We'd done extremely well to finish 4th in the mixed team category and 11th overall out of 53 teams. More importantly for me, it was great to be a part of a team again as it is something that I have certainly missed since leaving the UK and leaving the running club culture and team competition behind.

Calgary Road Runners BJR Team (Photo thanks to Kim)

The rest of day couldn't have been better as we made our way to Whistlers Campground for the night. This was the first time we had done tent camping in Canada, mainly because of the wildlife and not knowing how the dogs would react - especially Brandy who had never been camping before. The test came after we'd spent a couple of hours around the campfire drinking beer with friends and we made our way to our tent. As it happened, the dogs were extremely well behaved, and apart from a couple of barks early morning when they heard squirrels scuttling around in the trees, they didn't make a sound.

It was fantastic waking up to birds singing in the trees, and poking my head out of the door to see the mountains and breath in that fresh air. I hadn't realised how much I'd missed my camping, and I felt extremely happy and content.

Whistlers Campground in Jasper - loving the wild life :-)

That afternoon, I had made plans to meet a friend of a friend in Canmore, and to take them for a run. I had never met Carl before, but he knew alot of my old friends from running clubs in the UK. He was on a tour of Canada and just happened to be passing through Canmore that particular weekend, so it made sense to meet up. We had a lovely run along the river, following some of the nearby woodland trails, and all along, he too was amazed at the beauty of this wonderful country. It was a wonderful way to finish off a fantastic weekend, and I really couldn't have been happier.

Run with a friend of a friend in Canmore

And so, after running 2 legs of the Banff to Jasper Relay, I think I may have found my next challenge and now have this crazy idea that it would be absolutely awesome to run the entire 258km solo. Yes, it's all on road but the route really does have some spectacular views which distract from the running. We've driven that route so many times, and yet nothing can compare to the feeling of actually running through the area and experiencing that feeling of openness and freedom, of seeing those views first hand. It's certainly something that I shall be pondering over the coming months, and wondering whether it really would be feasible.

For now though, I must say a huge thank you to Kim and Joanna for being the best captains ever - their encouragement, motivation and enthusiasm was faultless. Thanks also to Calgary Road Runners for entering a team and giving us the opportunity to take part, thanks to all team members for being so supportive and welcoming - Kim, Adam,  Alan, Joanna, Melody, Yoshie, Hugh, Anne, Ken, Andrea, Donovan, and the others whose names I don't remember, and finally, thank you as ever to Andy (and my furry supporters!) who ferries me to these races without complaint, listens to me moan and groan, takes photos and offers encouragement - without him, I'm not sure what I would do.

Calgary Marathon 50th Anniversary 50km Ultra

A month or so ago, I was racing in the snow, 2 weeks ago, I raced a marathon in the pouring rain, and after yesterday’s 50k, I’m now sporting some fabulous sun burnt shoulders and a red nose! On reflection, maybe the heat affected me more than I realized yesterday, maybe I didn’t drink enough, or maybe I simply hadn’t recovered enough from the Red Deer Marathon 2 weeks earlier – whatever the reason, I felt a little frustrated by how I performed at the 50km, and I am now seeking redemption!

That being said, I still had a fantastic weekend, and it all started with the arrival of our guest elite athlete on Thursday evening, who would be staying with us until Sunday.

Dee is from the Democratic Republic of Congo and what a wonderful person he is – mild mannered, easy going, and with such a great outlook on life, especially when considering the troubles and strives still affecting his homeland. The civil war in Congo forced his family to flee to America when he was young boy, and they’ve now settled in Cleveland, Ohio although he still goes to the Congo when he can. He told us so much about his life there- growing up with 10 brothers and sisters, girls being married off with children when they are barely 15 themselves, the lack of wealth, the lack of opportunities, and the unrest that still exists over there – so much so that he had 4 guns held to his head when he recently visited the village where he grew up.  He showed us some pictures and it looks like such a beautiful country, but there are still so many social and political problems that visitors are advised not to go. Yet through all the adversity, Dee is doing something positive through his love of running. He has a dream to go to the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016 and run the marathon for the Congo – the country he still loves despite everything –  and he wants to help some young people in his village to do the same, by nurturing and encouraging them to follow their dreams to compete for their country. He is hoping to take some of them to the training camps in Kenya to give them every opportunity to succeed, even if it means funding it himself.  Dee came across as a truly inspirational person, so humble in what he does, not expecting any praise, and we found his whole attitude to life pretty amazing.

The following day, we attended the Calgary Marathon VIP event which gave a great opportunity to meet the organizers and other elite athletes, as well as the volunteers that would help the marathon to be a huge success. Dee was absolutely delighted to meet Lanni Marchant, the Canadian Ladies Marathon Record Holder and we did the obligatory photo  that comes with such fame. Lanni is such a diamond, and somehow managed to hold a smile all evening whilst people were asking for photographs with her.

Dee, Lanni Marchant and Del at the VIP Event

This year, the event was held in the Calgary Tower, and on such a beautiful sunny day, we had splendid views of downtown and the mountains in the distance. With free beer and wine, and a few nibbles, it was tempting to stay a little longer but we really did need to head back for a bit of rest.

Come Saturday, it was time to carbo load properly, and so we headed to Smitty's for a pancake breakfast before going to the expo at Stampede Park to collect our bibs and for me to attend the mandatory briefing for the ultra. 

The rest of the day was pretty relaxing, and after meeting with a good friend for a lovely evening meal (thanks Alan!), it was time to get some shut-eye ready for an early start the next day.

The worst thing about the weekend was the 4.30am wake-up call on race day, especially after only managing about 5 hours of decent sleep thanks to the usual pre-race restless night. 

I awoke feeling excited, relaxed and relatively confident of running the 50km in sub 3.40. I've always been told that nerves are a good sign that I'll have a good race, and yet that morning, there were no nerves whatsoever - I even managed to down a huge bowl of porridge along with a banana which was surprising as normally I can't stomach anything. I suppose I've done enough long distance events not to worry about things these days, and I was more concerned about making sure Dee had everything he wanted with it being his first ever marathon. I was also beginning to wish that I'd just stuck with the marathon and ran it for fun with Alan and Joanna like I'd originally intended, but it was too late to go back on things at this stage, so I guess I just went through the motions and didn't really think about things too much.

On arrival at the Stampede Park, we left Dee at the VIP Elite area and having wished him good luck, headed over to the start. The atmosphere was buzzing and everybody was in great spirits as I picked my way through the crowds to find my spot near to the front. Usually at this stage in a race, I get all emotional, especially with everybody singing along to the national anthem "Oh Canada" but today I wasn't feeling anything and figured that maybe things would change once I got going.

Feeling good at the start of Calgary Marathon 50km

Bang on 7am, we set off along the road leading out of Stampede Park - some several thousand people heading out on their journey of either 50k, a marathon or a half marathon, some of them experienced runners, others running the distance for the first time. 

It's amazing how quiet things seem to go after the start, the cheering of the crowd almost a distant sound and the only things I become aware of are the footfalls of those around me and the sound of my own breathing.

The first few kilometers went really well. I was feeling strong and was bang on pace, knocking out a pace of around 4.20's which would bring in at around 3.40 assuming I could keep it going. But then the climbs started, things were warming up quickly and I suddenly felt quite tired and a little worn out. I was also starting to get a stitch and my glutes were going extremely tight again, so much so that even on the downhill sections, I couldn't stride out properly to make any gains. I wasn't really thinking of how far I'd gone, nor how far there was still to go, and I have to say that the km were whizzing by. However, the heat and the hills were taking their toll, and whilst I went through half way at my target pace, I knew that I would start to slow before too long.

One of the things I've learnt about ultra running is that every race can be so different and that you can't take it for granted that every ultra you run will be the dream race - no matter how much experience you have. When I ran my 3 hours 24 minute PR for 50k back in 2007, everything was perfect and I over the moon at the unexpected result at the time. The same was true about my first 100 mile race last year - everything was spot on and I couldn't believe that things had gone so smoothly. But I've also raced some ultras where despite my experience over the years, things haven't gone to plan and I've felt like burying my head in the sand in an attempt to wipe them from my memory - the 78km Swiss alpine Mountain Marathon and the 100km world Champs in Italy are certainly 2 races I would rather forget. 

Whilst the Calgary 50k on Sunday was in no way anywhere near my disappointment of Italy and Switzerland, by the time I reached 30km, I knew that I was going to feel somewhat frustrated with my performance. I was enjoying the running and I was loving the crowds and the encouragement we were all getting - I was actually amazed at how many people I have got to know since living in Calgary that were either giving me a shout by the roadside or running in the race and giving encouragement as we passed eachother. Yet with around 20km to go, it almost felt like I had gone into training run mode and I was starting to feel that I really couldn't be bothered racing. Maybe that was why, when I saw my good friend Dawn at sitting on the grass at the side of the road clearly in pain, I made my way over to her o see if I could help. I wasn't racing as well as I would have liked, although I was in 2nd place up until that point, but I personally felt that Dawn's welfare was far more important that carrying on with a race that at that particular moment in time I really couldn't give two hoots about. I'd already missed my target time by a long shot, so it really didn't matter if I lost any more time.

After stopping to check on Dawn, I got passed by another 2 ladies, my friend Jess who was running her first ultra and went on to have an outstanding run to finish 2nd lady in 3.50, and Nadiya Fry an awesome ultra runner that has won many races and holds several course records but has been injured recently and is only just getting back into things. Once I got going again, I was still running at a steady pace, but I really hadn't got it in me to go any faster and didn't even try giving chase, my main goal now just to get to the finish line in under 4 hours.

Arriving in Stampede Park and heading to the finish

I finally ran in to Stampede Park in a shade over 3 hours 53 minutes, some half hour off my best and 13 mins off my goal time. I wasn't disappointed in the slightest, but I did feel a sense of frustration that I had been unable to stick to my plan and run a good race. I have no excuses - my mind just wasn't on the race - and I am already looking for redemption elsewhere. I've got the Banff Marathon in 3 weeks time and maybe that's where I'll do it although having just entered the Edmonton Marathon for the 3rd year in a row, maybe I'll chase away some ghosts up north instead.

I did say a couple of weeks ago that this weekend wasn't going to be just about me me me. Our house guest had a superb run to finish 4th in his debut marathon in 2.34 and I was so pleased for him and proud to say that he'd been staying with us. He had such a wonderful smile on his face, and the nicest thing about it is that he is going to take home some wonderful memories of Calgary.

Prize winners in the Marathon and Dee getting his 4th place award :-)

I'd be pretty selfish to go sulky just because I'd not raced how I'd hoped, especially given how well Dee and my other friends had ran. Dawn had managed to finish the marathon despite being in pain with her Achilles - foolish or brave it doesn't really matter, she made it to that finish line despite everything. Don won his age group in an amazing 2.53 - who says we slow down when we become masters? Jess was 2nd lady in her first ever ultra and ran a perfect race to finish in 3.50, Alan finished the marathon in a little under 4 hours off just 4 days of marathon training (yes, seriously - not recommended but still!), Anne ran an amazing PR in the marathon whilst Joanna helped to pace somebody in to the record books and looked like she had fun all the way around.

So whilst we run races for ourselves and we face disappointments, we also need to remember to celebrate the success of others. It was still a marvellous weekend, and despite everything, I can honestly say that yep, I'm still feeling good and I will be back :-) 

A happy camper really - beer, medal and a smile :-)