Tales of Trails, Mountains and Rocky Roads

So as we come to the end of yet another year, for some of us it's time to reflect on the past 12 months and all the adventures we've had. For me, it's been a pretty awesome year again and whilst I may not have set the local running scene alight with outstanding performances in any of my races, I've had so much fun both out on the trails and on the roads, and have met lots of fantastic and pretty amazing people along the way. I'm not going to go over all my races again - if you're that interested, you are more than welcome to read previous entries to see what I've been up to - but I will mention some of my favourites moments from this year and I know that they will stay in my memory for a very long time: Del and Kim  in Red Deer Winning the Red Deer Marathon back in May on a cool and rainy day, and celebrating with good friend Kim, who won the half on the same day - not bad for 2 ultra runners! Banff to Jasper Relay  The Calg...

It seems a little strange to see greenery in Calgary during December but the milder temperatures this past week or so has led to pretty much all of the recent snow melting. I'm so used to running indoors this time of year or trudging through deep snow in 5 layers of clothing that it was a refreshing change to be greeted by light rain at today's cross country race at Silver Springs.  The problem is that despite the warmer temperatures, things still hover around freezing point at night and so pavements and pathways turn into skating rinks by morning which makes it treacherous for running. Today was no exception and even though it was raining, the course at Silver Springs was pretty much  80% solid ice - even the organisers recommended not doing the race without spikes or some other sort of traction aids - either that or walk around!  I always enjoy the race at Silver Springs - it usually feels festive with being so close to Christmas and the course is hilly enou...