TransRockies Kananaskis 3 Stage Trail Race

After 3 days of trail races, I think that I've rekindled that childlike excitement and regained a degree of confidence for the mountains that I once had before. The trouble is, I'm now faced with a dilemma - do I go ahead with the 50 mile trail race on August 16th and head back to those very same trails again, this time tackling the distance in just one day, or do I head to Edmonton for a road marathon where I was hoping to run close to the 3 hour mark again. I know what my heart and mind are saying, but I really don't want to let anybody down, and even I'm not stupid enough to run a 50 miler followed by a fast marathon just a week later - it's a recipe for injury, particularly at my age!

I knew that the TransRockies Kananaskis 3 Stage Trail Race would completely wow me, and whilst I was bubbling with excitement about tackling the trails on my own without friends to lean on for the next 3 days, I was also extremely nervous. 

As a road runner, the focus is on running as fast as possible over a given distance, chasing Personal or Seasons Bests, and usually running in a straight line on a hard surface. I've done far more road races than trail races and I know what to expect and how to handle things. However, past experience tells me that trail running is much different and you have far more to deal with. I was already prepared for the inevitable tree roots lining the path, the rocky terrain that can easily turn an ankle, tree stumps that could cause tumbles, the twists and turns of the trail that put extra pressure on a body used to moving in one direction, deep muddy sections and river crossings - the K-3 had all those - but it also had endless climbs that seemed almost vertical at times, downhills that had no mercy for the quads, altitudes of around 6000 ft, changeable mountain weather with rain showers one minute and scorching hot sun the next which could lead to dehydration and sunburn, and of course, we were in bear and cougar country where encounters are generally rare but still possible.

In hindsight, the nerves were unnecessary, and I think I was far too cautious at the Stage 1 Race at West Bragg which probably led to me taking things far easier than I needed to on the first day.

The race was on Friday evening and it was still extremely warm when we started at 6.30pm. I was nervous, I didn't know the course, and with an elevation gain of around 2,400 ft, I didn't want to wear myself out when we still had the longer races to come.

Course Profile for West Bragg - Stage 1 of K-3

Due to extremely muddy conditions, the route was changed, and instead of the anticipated 13km route, we would now be doing 16km over two laps. I'd ensured that I had my bear spray for fear of that unexpected of encounter, and had packed gels into my bum bag along with a drink, just in case I was out there for a while.

There was a fantastic turnout and I had already said that I would be happy with a top 10 finish at the end of the third day - anything better than that and I would be ecstatic. I had no intentions of being competitive - after all, I didn't know how to "race" a trail race when pace is dictated by the terrain and the trail conditions.  The start was all uphill on a single track trail for the first couple of km, so I started right near the back for fear of slowing down the faster and more experienced runners. As we started the climb, lots of people in front of me started to walk, so I followed suit due to the uncertainty of what lay ahead. By the end of the first lap, I knew that I could have and perhaps should have ran harder as I was still feeling pretty fresh and strong, and started to overtake other runners, particularly in the closing stages.  

End of Stage 1 at West Bragg and feeling happy ;-)

I finished Stage 1 in 1 hour 41 mins which placed me 6th - far better than I could have hoped and confident that I certainly hadn't overdone things, bearing in mind the longer and more challenging races were still to come.

Saturday morning it was the turn of Powderface and I really didn't feel nervous at all. The legs felt great and I again felt reassured that I hadn't overdone things the night before, and with today's race being 45km, it was similar to the marathon distance so there was an element of confidence with the distance straight away, if not the terrain.  Saturday's race also included more climbing, this time around 5,000 ft and a visit to Powderface Saddle. so I knew it as going to be a tough one. 

Profile for Stage 2 - Powderface and around 5000 ft of climbs

Start of Powderface (45km) - Stage 2 of K-Triple

This time, I left the bear spray behind but I did take a bumbag full of energy gels and Clif Bars along with a bottle of water to keep me going. 

Once again, the start was uphill, meandering through beautiful Alpine forests, and later we had lush green meadows and the most spectacular views of the surrounding mountains.

Earlier that morning, I'd been speaking to Melody Switzer who had been a team mate on the recent Banff to Jasper Relay. She's a very experienced trail runner and knows the trails extremely well and she shared some wisdom about the trails - walk the ups  until you reach the brow of the hill, jog the flats, and run the downs. It was advice that stuck in my head throughout the day and whilst there was the temptation to just run hard like I would in a road race, I deliberately took on board what Melody had told me and was finding that for the vast majority of the run, I was feeling relaxed, comfortable and growing in confidence with every stride.

I really hadn't given any thought to where I was in the ladies event but have passed the second aid station and started the climb up towards Powderface, I found that I was starting to overtake people, including ladies. I had no idea how many people were ahead of me, but the fact that I was  actually overtaking people on the uphills genuinely surprised me especially as I was walking, although my walking was still pretty quick in comparison.

The climb just got steeper and steeper and with the rocky terrain and plenty of tree roots across the path, it took extra effort to lift the legs high enough to avoid a tumble. It had by now gone extremely warm and I was literally dripping with sweat, but thankfully I had been drinking plenty of fluids and the heat wasn't really affecting me too much.

After what seemed like an endless climb, we came out of the trees on Powderface Saddle to the most wonderful sight of nothing but mountains stretching into the distance with no sign of civilisation - it really did take my breath away and I had to stop just to take a picture.

Powderface Saddle

Having done so much climbing already, the downhills were greatly appreciated although they really played havoc with the quads, and with some sneaky short, sharp, uphills that had me almost literally on my knees, it was tough. We were also treated to plenty of boggy and muddy sections which were energy sapping at times, as well as several river and stream crossing which were actually quite refreshing in the heat of the day, and yet despite everything that was been thrown at us, I found that I was gradually working my way through the field and passing people.

I hadn't seen any ladies for a while, but then on a pretty steep downhill, somebody came flying past me at a fair old pace. This lady was Natalie - an absolutely awesome runner with such a wonderful, positive, friendly attitude, and we found ourselves running together for several km until she pulled away with around 10km to go. I'm usually a bit of a loner when I'm racing, but I have to say I appreciated Natalie's chatty and encouraging nature. We were almost evenly matched - she would pull away on the downhills, I would catch her on the up ( I appeared to be doing quite well on the hills for some reason), and we ran together on the flatter sections. It was a partnership that would continue the following day and I was so grateful for that company.

Beautiful Views :-)

The last 5km were almost torture with lots of little climbs, but being so close to the finish, I somehow found some extra energy and speeded up. I passed 6 men in those final stages, striding out as best I could on the flats and downs, and power walking up the hills to get them out of the way. I encountered a few mountain bikers and hikers and knew that I must be near the finish and yet it seemed an eternity before I finally crossed the finish line.

I finished in 5 hours 30 mins and had now moved up to 3rd place overall in the 3 Stage Event which I found unbelievable. Natalie was lying in 2nd place, but I knew there was no way I would catch her even if I wanted to as she now had a good 20 mins or more when combining our times for the 2 races so far - i just needed to make sure that the 4th and 5th place ladies didn't beat me in the final race and if they did, I had to make sure that it was no more than 12 minutes otherwise my place on the podium would be taken away. Roll on the third and final race!

The final race at Little Elbow on the Sunday morning would turn out to be the toughest so far - 25km and another 4000 ft of climbing, with the majority of that being in the first 3-4km as we once again made our way up Powderface, this time from the opposite direction. 

Little Elbow - Stage 3 in the Kananaskis Triple

We were greeted by light rain prior to the race, and we were warned about being in the high alpine at some point today and therefore advised to take warm clothing due to unpredictable mountain weather conditions. Fortunately, it was only a passing shower, and things soon warmed up to the same levels as the previous days.

Start of Little Elbow - Stage 3 of K-triple stage race

I spotted Natalie early on, and whilst we were both extremely nervous about today, we were also pretty excited, and we agreed to run together and help us get through the run if and when it got tough.

It was strange walking for the first 3km or so of a race, but the climb was pretty steep and I couldn't see anybody running ahead. I was once again making good progress on the uphills, but in all honesty I was trying to put as big a gap as possible between myself and the 4th place lady - I wasn't taking any chances on that current 3rd place! The route once again passed through the wooded areas before opening up into a beautiful meadow with fantastic views of the valley below where we had just come from. 

Still climbing after 3km or something, towards
the Powderface summit

Although today's run was only 25km, there was still a fair amount of climbing but it was far steeper and very rocky in parts and I found myself stumbling every so often due to tiring legs. The route continued through the trees again with plenty of undulations before we hit the summit and commenced the run across the ridge. We were in the open and could see for miles and I had such a sense of freedom and adventure, desperately wanting to speed up and sing at the top of my voice, and feeling extremely happy. I glimpsed behind just to make sure "4th lady" wasn't on my tail - there was still a long way to go and complacency was not acceptable, so after snapping a couple of pictures, I pushed on.

Running the ridge from Powderface

After a short while, we headed down the trail we had climbed the previous day. I knew this meant lots and lots of downhill so I tried to make up even more ground whilst I had the change. I knew it had been steep but I hadn't realised HOW steep, and it took a lot of restraint to try and hold back so I didn't go flat on my face with the gradient.

By now I really was needing to drink. I hadn't taken much with me today at all as I wanted to travel as light as possible. I had used a gel which had helped, but having been on the run for over 90 minutes already, I knew I needed to drink. Thankfully, there was an aid station at 11km and having grabbed some coke, energy drink and a chocolate brownie, I carried on as quickly as possible, figuring that if I was making ground on the downhill, there was absolutely no doubt that those behind me would be also be making good progress.

We retraced our steps over some of the trails from the previous day and it was quite good knowing exactly what to expect, especially with the muddy sections and the streams that blocked our path, the hills that had me crawling on my knees. We eventually joined a different trail and once again, the steep ups and downs started as we negotiated fallen trees and other avalanche debris along patches of snow that still hadn't melted. I'd been joined by Natalie again and we ran together for quite some time until we hit another long downhill and she disappeared into the distance.

With about 5km to go, we came into a forest clearing and I was able to have a good look around. In doing so, I spotted the 4th place lady just a short distance behind. She had done extremely well to get so close in the latter stages, and whilst it was unlikely that she would be able to make 12 minutes over me with just 5km to go, I didn't really want her to pass me. Adrenalin pumping, I found myself speeding up and in doing so, I caught Natalie again, explaining that I was being caught. We were both impressed that she was catching us - we hadn't exactly been plodding - but it showed that had we been right to stay on our toes and that had we relaxed too much, she could quite easily have caught me far earlier.

We ran hard for the next couple of km, all caution thrown to the wind even on the downhills, and it wasn't until we hit the road and knew the finish line was only a short distance ahead that we started to relax and enjoyed the moment . 

I was so happy as I crossed the finish line, completing the final stage in 3 hours 16 minutes and giving me a combined time of 10 hours 28 minutes for the 3 events. There were lots of smiles, lots of laughter and applause, plenty of hugs, and as I heard my name called out as 3rd lady in the Kananaskis 3 Stage Trail Race, I shook my head in disbelief It was such a relief and I was and still am trying to comprehend the fact that I actually finished 3rd lady overall in a 3 stage mountain / trail running event - something I never believed possible.

My 3 avid fans were at the finish line again and after hugs and puppy cuddles, we headed over to the river to cool off and soak the feet and legs - absolute bliss!

Avid fans and supporters - post race cool down!

The Kananskis 3 has certainly given me some confidence and it's made me realise that whilst there is still room for improvement, I'm not so bad on hills after all. It also brought back those feelings of being on top of the world when up high in the mountains, that feeling of isolation and being at one with nature and the world around me, that sense of adventure and freedom, and the will and determination to push myself hard even when my body is screaming to stop. It's also been a great opportunity to be introduced to new friends and new places .

So, as I said earlier, I am now undecided whether to do Edmonton Marathon or Iron Legs 50 miler where I can once again visit those places I have been spoilt with over the past 3 days - I'd like to say it's a tough choice, but I'm pretty sure which way I'm heading right now :-)

TransRockies Kananaskis 3 Stage Event - Top 3 ladies, Jess, Natalie and Del :-)