Tales of Trails, Mountains and Rocky Roads

Every year in January, a battle takes place between running clubs around the globe, where the goal for each individual is to run 400km for the month of January. The top 5 men and top 5 women count towards the overall score, and should there be a tie, then it moves down to the 6th man and women, and so on until there is an overall winner. It's a team effort and purely just for fun, and it's a great way of getting people active in the new year and setting goals early on. This is the third year that I have registered for the January Battle, flying the flag for Wild Rose Runners who meet weekly up in Edmonton, and they usually do pretty well as a team and always make the top 10. Final run to hit 400km :) For me personally, hitting 400km in a month isn't too much of a strain, especially if I include my lunch time wanderings and dog walks/jogs in addition to my scheduled daily runs. Indeed, today I hit the 402km which is 11 days ahead of the end date of the battle, and I have to ...

On the first Saturday of the new year, the organisers of the Blackfoot Ultra put on a casual, social run in the Edmonton river valley called the Fat Ass 50k. For those that perhaps aren't up to that kind of distance, there is the option to do the Half Ass which is 25km, and both distances follow the pathways and trails alongside the river - one loop makes you a "half ass", two loops makes you a "fat ass". The donation is just $4, and this goes towards stocking the aid station which is located under the Quesnel Bridge at around 13k. A couple of years ago, I completed the Half Ass with a few friends, but this year, I really wanted to do the 50k just to see how my body felt running that kind of distance this early in the year. I'd certainly indulged in lots of chocolates and cakes during the festive period, and the scales were happy to confirm this when I weighed myself at the end of the year. I also hadn't really done any proper long runs since the backyar...

As 2023 commences, I'm excited to see what this year will bring. I've got some really good races planned that scare and excite me at the same time, and I know for sure that all of them will test me both physically and mentally, with some - if not all - pushing me beyond what I thought I’m capable of. This year, I will be celebrating my 50th trip around the sun, and it's crazy to think that I've been a competitive runner for over 40 years! Over those 40+ years, I've had some fantastic results, and just looking back at the archives in this blog alone brings back so many fond memories of the different events I've done - I just wish I'd started this blog earlier than 2011, as I'm sure there are lots of things I've since forgotten. Looking back and comparing my former self to the runner I am today, I’m very happy to report that the passion and competitiveness I have for running and racing is still there. Yet I have to admit to getting a little frustrated ...