Mount Tzouhalem Gutbuster - Enduro

May 7, 2011

Here is a quick and long overdo report. Mount Tzouhalem (near Duncan) is the first of 4 Gutbuster races this year and due to other conflicting races and vacations the only one I can compete in this year. I've always found Tzouhalem to be a tough race due to the challenging climb (all the climbing is pretty much done in one steep accent), but I've always raced well here. Since I am really concentrating on hills and as it was to be my only Gutbuster of the year, even more than usual, I wanted to race well.

I was racing in a new pair of X-Talon 212 Inov8 shoes that I had recently purchased. They are basically a trail racing flat with massive rubber lugs for traction. To keep weight down, there is no rock plate, however, so I was a little worried that they would really beat my feet up on the steep downhill. This turned out to be somewhat of a legitimate worry, but my feet did survived with only minor damage.

My main competition this time around were some regular faces, Shawn Nelson and Sean Chester. To take the win, I knew I had to climb well and build a gap on the ascent as it was likely that both of them would be able to put time into me on the remainder of the course. Thus, I carried through with my plan and started out at a solid pace. Within a km or so the course starts to climb, and first gradually, but soon enough it ramps up. I knew I had a good chance to do well that day when both Sean and Shawn fell back soon after the climb began and within a few more minutes they were out of sight. Now it was time for me to focus and push hard through the pain.

About half way up the climb, the course turns onto single track (from double track) and goes very vertical for a hundred metres or so. I have never before been able to run this section as it is just brutal, especially after coming off of a sustained climbing section. This year though, with the legs feeling decent and the lead in hand, I decided to go for it and see if it could be done. It wasn't a fast run and indeed probably only marginally faster than hiking, but I was able master it this time around. While this accomplishment was encouraging, the climbing was not near over and with one more really steep section just before the cross, I had and to gut it out for another 10-15 min of elevation gain. Luckily, the high point came a little before I expected it to so it was a relief to get some downhill on a logging road.

Soon though, the course veers back onto a some fun single track. It is mostly fairly flat or downhill, but has a couple little climbs here and there to remind you that your legs are toast. Sonja was not racing, but was running the course and it was around this point that I caught up to her. The course had been altered a bit, with some additional single track added near the far end of the course. The wasn't a long section, but probably added a couple minutes.

From this point on the course is primarily downhill with several more kms of nice single track. I was feeling good was pretty optimistic that no one would catch me, but kept the pressure on myself because if someone catches up enough to see the person in front, it gives them extra incentive to push even harder.

Before the final major decent, there is a modest climb that can feel tough on the shattered legs. This time around, I was able to hold steady on it, but was relieved to have it over. Then the punishing downhill begins. It is steep and not too technical so extreme speed is possible if your body can take it. I'm not sure that I was quite as fast as some previous years on this section, primarily because my lightweight shoes did not protect me enough from the rocky terrain and I was able to feel a bit too much through the bottom of my shoes. Soon though I was down again and I noticed that a small section of the course had been removed which was just fine with me. Then just a bit of flat terrain, one more little grunt of a hill and a flat few hundred metres to the finish remained. My shoes performed exceptionally well on a little section of mud that racers had to navigate (overall I was quite happy with them despite battering my feet up a bit).

I accelerated into the finish stopping the clock at just under the hour mark for 59:52, my best time ever at this venue (although with course changes it is hard to figure out exactly). I was pleased with my performance and race execution (and for my first Gutbuster win since 2007) and it shows that I am setting myself up well for mountain running later in the summer. Shawn finished only 40 seconds back so my keeping the pressure up turned out to be a good idea. Sean crashed on course and decided to cruise in after that finishing well back. This left Andrew Pape-Salmon to pick up a podium finish in well run race. Care Wakely continued her dominance of the woman's field with Claire Morgan coming 2nd. I was pleased to see that Antonia Harvey, whom a coach, came in 5th place and only 20 second back from Claire in a cluster of woman vying for podium spots. I expect to see her race well later in the season.

Results.

Times Colonist 10k

May 1, 2011

To have any hope of keeping this blog up to date, I'd better start writing more and racing less! I'm not sure that is going to happen since it is tough for me to turn down the chance to participate and compete.

The Times Colonist (TC) is the largest single race in Victoria and is even tougher than most races to not do because it is so well known even by non-runners. It is a good race due to a fairly fast course and a deep field. There are always plenty of talented racers to run with. This year saw a course change from the last few years from a modified out and back with a turn-around to a pure loop course. Initially, I thought it would be a bit tougher because of the addition of a climb up Johnson St and a few other little blips that did not exist before. However, upon seeing the elevation profiles of both courses, they are actually pretty similar so overall I figured the new course wouldn't make a big difference.

Image courtesy of Chris Callendar

The start area is a bit nicer this year than in recent years as it is in front of the Empress where the road is much wider. I expect for people farther back it the pack benefited even more from this extra road space.

The 8 am start time came soon enough and off we ran north on Government St. I started to find my pace and the pack quickly spread out. As we turned onto Johnson St off of store St I saw the first km marker. It seemed to come too soon and a quick check at the watch confirmed an impossible 2:32. I don't know how such a large placement mistake happened when even a quick look at the map confirms that the marker should have been another block further along the route. Regardless, I knew it didn't really matter for the overall race.

Johnson St is a long gradual climb up, although coming this close to the start of the race it doesn't seem too bad. I did, however, start to realize that this race was not going to be as good as Sooke River for me. While I didn't feel too bad, I just didn't feel that I had the same snap in my legs or ability to push myself and hard. There was nothing I could do about it though so I resolved to race smart and see if I could still pull off a decent race.

I soon found myself running with local running legend Bruce Deacon. Bruce is a two time Olympian and was Canada's top marathoner for several years in the 1990's. Now a master, he has still held on to most of his speed. Soon we started trading the lead with me gaining on the climbs and Bruce pulling ahead on the descents. We would do this for most of the remainder of the race.

As we turned onto May St, we were treated to a little hill and although I expected it, it was still a bit of a bugger. I continued to feel reasonable, if not fantastic and when I went through 5 km in 16:15 I knew I had a very good chance to get under 33 min unless I really blew it on the second half. I managed the climb up to Clover Point and Mile Zero fairly well slowing only to 3:21 from 6-7 km.

Things started to get a bit rougher for me after that and Bruce pulled a bit ahead of me on the downhill towards Ogden Point. Fortunately, I did manage to keep my pace fairly solid even though it was a little slower than the first 5 km. With about a km to go, Nick Walker went blowing by me, obviously feeling strong. I wanted to latch on and have him help pull me through to the finish, but I just didn't have the ability to change gears at that time. I was just trying my best to not slow down. I managed a weak surge to the finish and closed in a decent 3:14. My final time was 32:43 good for 15th place. Considering that it wasn't my best race in terms of how I felt, I was happy with my time and the personal best. On a good day, I am confident a 32:30 would be possible.

I finished1 second behind Bruce, but somehow managed to get placed ahead of him. Perhaps because the official results are sorted by chip time rather than gun time? Nick was a few seconds ahead and Craig Odermatt just ahead of him. Willy Kimsop edged out Simon Witfield for the overall win in 30:22, about 30 sec slower than he was last year so perhaps it is a bit tougher course. The top woman, Karolina Jarzynska from Poland, ran an amazing 32:54 which I believe is a new course record. Congrats to all though who ran, I know many who had some spectacular races on a great day.

Results.
My splits: 6:31 (2 km), 3:14, 3:12, 3:18 (5 km split 16:15), 3:21, 3:20, 3:16, 3:18, 3:14

Sooke River 10k

April 17, 2011

Since I just ran the Times Colonist (TC) 10k today, it is of course much overdo that I get this race report up. Sooke River is the last of the 8 Island Race Series races. I have not run it since 2007 where I posted a then respectable for me 35:20. The course consists of some rolling hills so it not conducive for blazing fast times, nor is it super slow like Hatley Castle.

I had a break of 4 weeks without racing and while I had hoped to really get a solid block of training in, dealing with a new house while also trying to sell my condo sucked up the time. My speed and hill sessions were pretty solid, but I didn't get as many longer runs in as I probably should have, I was hoping this wouldn't hurt me.

I didn't have any aspirations that I would be breaking my 10k PB on this race, just figuring that if I could run in the low 33's that would set me up well for doing a sub 33 min at the TC. I went into the race relaxed, but as usual ready to do my best.

Off the line, Nick Walker, Shawn Nelson, and myself quickly separated ourselves from the pack. Within a kilometer, Nick fell back slightly undoubtedly opting to run his own smart race. Shawn and I continued to two abreast for another kilometer or so. It sounded as though he was labouring more than he should have been at this point in the race so he must not have been having a good day. I on the other hand was feeling expectationally strong and was running comfortably. When Shawn started to slip backwards a bit, I put the pressure on to get some distance between us. My 3rd km (with a good amount of downhill) was a pretty quick 3:10 although I didn't know at the time how fast I was going since I opted not to look at most of my splits.

I had a good lead at this point, but continued to feel really strong. The kind of feeling you get only a couple times a year (if you are lucky) so I wanted to capitalize on it as much as possible. Before the turn around, I only had the company of Garth Campbell, Hugh Trenchard, and one other cyclist who were leading the race. When I am feeling good, I like pushing myself so runnign solo wasn't a big deal.

My pace remained fairly consistent to the turn around just before the 5k marker. At this point, it was nice to be able to see the runners in the field behind me. Thanks to all those that acknowledged me even if I couldn't respond in all cases since I was really in the zone. I noticed that Nick had moved into second behind me (perhaps 20s back) with Shawn holding onto third, and Keith Mills nippling at his heels. At the 5k mark, I did look at my watch and was pleased to see a 16:22 split which was better than expected. I knew though that holding on to that sub 33 pace would be really tough on the second half because there was significant hill to climb on the way back.

I hit the big hill hard, really hammering up it and getting onto my toes, trying to keep all the speed I could. I did well on the first steeper section, but had to pull back a bit on the final section or risk blowing up. Despite my efforts, this was still my slowest km in 3:31. We were treated to some downhill in the last couple of kilometers which I managed to use fairly well. Things were starting to get more difficult at this point (as they always do) and I was glad the finish was not far away.

At 9k, I took a look at my watch and noted that I had 3:05 to get to the finish to dip under 33min...not much time, but I decided to try my best. I pick it up a bit and then after the final corner, sprinted the few hundred metres to the finish...32:30...oh maybe I can make it, I'm so close...32:45...almost there...32:55...in the chute...33:00....damn! not quite. I ended up with a 33:01, but couldn't be disappointed at all since it was better than expected. Picking up a win at an Island Race Series was also a nice surprise and quite honestly not something I was sure was ever going to happen since so many of the races are really stacked with amazing runners. Of course, I do have to thank the Sun Run for sucking all the top talent off the island for that event.

Nick held onto 2nd finishing about 30s back and Keith ran well to pull ahead of a fading Shawn Nelson to take 3rd in just over 34 min. Care Wakely took the win for the women, with a minute and a half gap over 2nd place Sara Gross. It was unfortunate that some runners from up island were unable to start with the main race due to a tanker accident at Goldstream. They did get to race in their own heat 30 min later, however.

Thanks to Island Road Runners for another successful event and to all the IRS organizers and volunteers - it was a fun season and without every ones dedication to keep things going, it wouldn't happen.

Results

My splits: 3:20, 3:17, 3:10, 3:13, 3:22 (5k split 16:22), 3:19, 3:23, 3:31, 3:18, 3:07

Here is a video put together my Chris Kelsall. The footage from Garth's bike it unfortunately pretty far away due to the wide angle on the camera.

Dirty Duo 25k

March 12, 2011

I have been falling woefully behind in this write-up as life has been busy with packing up for a move to a new house Sonja and I recently purchased. I figure if I wait just a few more weeks, the writeup will be only 2 sentences long as that will be all I remember!

A few time a year it is fun to head over to the mainland to race at some different venues. The main premise of the Dirty Duo (and where it gets its name) is due to the face that it was originally envisioned as a combination mountain bike and run event (either as a relay or solo). In the preceding years they have added additional events so a total of 6 are now offered (relay 30k bike, 25k run; solo 30k bike, 25k run; 30k bike; 50k run; 25k run; and 15k run) so it now caters to nearly everyone.

I briefly considered doing the solo bike/run as it would be a good challenge to test my mountain biking skills, but decided against it since I have not been out on my mountain bike in months. However, since the first MOMAR is only two months away, I really need to get out on the saddle again.

I headed over to Vancouver on Friday evening with Sonja (who was also doing the 25k run) and managed to get a reasonable sleep in the night before. Fortunately, it was a 11am start time so a 5am wake up time so common to these events was not necessary (although the 50k, and duo events did start at 8am). The venue at Jaycee House was the same as it was for the Hallows Eve race we had done back in October so I suspected that at least some of the trails would be the same. I spotted Jen Seggar there who was also doing the 25k just as a little prep for Coyote Two Moon 100 Mile race in California the next weekend. Because of this, she was just going to cruise this 25k (she still ended up being 2nd woman at around 2:30).

For me, this was not a A goal race for me, but more one just to experience and have fun. Of course, I always like to perform well and do what I can to race as well I can. Based on previous year's results it didn't seem like a particularly competitive field although you never know who is going to show up at these kind of events. I did know that it was going to be a relatively long day out there since the actual distance was 27k and winning times seemed to be around 2:15.

Unlike Hallows Eve, this race started with a downhill run to the river and then turned upstream. The first few minutes were on road and very wide trail, but after a little while it turned onto some pleasant single track. I started out at a comfortable race pace, but very soon I started distancing myself from the field. I was both relieved and disappointed by this. Being in the lead tends to take a bit of the pressure off since there is no one to chase and you can hold a bit in reserve in case someone catches up (unless you are trying for a course record). On the other hand, running to an easy victory is much less satisfying than winning a hotly contested one. In any case, I hoped to be treated to a fun course.

We soon joined into trail that I had run before at Hallows Eve and the stairs to climb were still there as well. Either I was moving a little slower, or my additional hill training is paying off as they seemed easier this time around. Back on some double track, the course intersected with the mountain bike course and for most of the remainder of the race I was seeing a lot of bikes (passing them for the most part).

I passed an aid station and then started to make my way down to another river. I had examined the map prior to the race, and knew we had to make the decent, but at one point I passed flagging on the left at an intersection and some flagging on the right, there were a couple people around, but it was unclear whether one of them was a marshal or not so I continued along the main road assuming the other way was the return trail. After several minutes of seeing no flagging, however, I started to doubt myself. Since I had a solid lead, I figured it was better to turn around and confirm that I was on the correct route. I'd lose some time, but better to lose 2 minutes and find out that I was on the right path then continue on and risk losing way more. So I turned and after a minute of so of running saw the 2nd place guy (David Smith) coming towards me. He said that the marshal had directed him this way so I turned again and we ran together for a while. And of course, just around the next corner from where I had turned, just 200 metres away was a piece of pink flagging!

We passed through another aid station and then crossed the river over a good sized bridge. Before too long we moved onto single track again and started a bit of a climbing. David dropped back a bit at this point and the trail continued on to rolling terrain for several kilometres. The single track was fun, but went on for longer than I was anticipating. I knew the main climb of the course was still to come so I just wanted to get on with it. Eventually, I passed another aid station and the trail tilted upwards. It was gradual though and not as steep as I had expected. My legs were still feeling pretty good so I ground it out. I was passing a lot of bikes now and also quite a few 50k runners on their 2nd lap hiking up the grade. After about 10 minutes I reached snow level and the trail became a bit slick. Luckily, it was nearly the top and the snow was not a big factor.

Then the descending came and it was a blast! I almost ended up on my ass after hitting some ice at the top, but after that it was great. The course was designed for mountain biking with a lot of rock work in place to keep the trail from getting too chewed up. It was great to run if you like technical stuff and if you have the guts, you could really rip. It was somewhat tough on the body since there were a lot of little drop-offs to navigate. Even on the downhill, I found I was passing some bikers as it was just too technical to be really fast on a bike.

Soon though the fun was over and I popped out back on the road near the bridge. Back across the bridge and upriver on another gravel road - it was a bit tedious, but easy at least. Then came the hardest climb of the day in terms of steepness as the course climbed back out of the river valley. It wasn't too long, but coming around 90 minutes in my legs were certainly not pleased with me! I persevered and was just able to run it all, but couldn't have done much more. After that, it was simply a matter of repeating most of the trail that I had come up on although the last 2 kilometers were different. I was completely soaked by this time as the rain had started falling lightly about an hour in, but I was working hard enough that it didn't matter. The last little hill nearly brought me to to a crawl, but I managed to run it (barely). More than likely it would have been more efficient to hike it, but usually I'm too stubborn to hike when I can run.

After that it was just a bit of muddy flat trail and a final road section to the finish. My watch said 2:05:10, but the official results say 2:03:49. I'm pretty sure they had the timing off somehow (since it was chip timed), it doesn't really matter as long as everyone was given the same relative time. David took 2nd about 9 minutes back and Ross Greenwood took 3rd. Louise Oram edged out Jen for the woman's title. Sonja started the race feeling tired, but picked up the competitive spirit not far in and ended up having a one of her best races ever, finishing 20th overall (out of 94) and was the 5th woman.

This was a well run event. Thanks the organizers and volunteers. Next time, I'll have to take up the challenge and do the bike/run!

Results.

Bazan Bay 5k

March 6, 2011

Just a quick report before I race again this weekend over in Vancouver at the Dirty Duo 25k. Bazan Bay always attracts a large and fast field largely due to its fast and nearly flat course. It is an excellent course to try for a PB. This year, it was easier for some elites to come over from Vancouver because the start time had been shifted from 9am to 11am to match the rest of the Island Race Series races.

I figured a PB for me was certainly possible since I had been racing well so far this year and I had set a 15:30 as an A goal (last year I ran 15:47). I decided for the fist time in a while not to look at my km splits while I was racing and just race based on how I felt.

Once we got underway, I expected a fast start since there was plenty of talent in the field (including Jim Finlayson, Steve Osaduik, Matt Clout, Jon Bird, Sean Chester, Trevor O'Brien, Andrew Russell, and Craig Odermatt). I was surprised, however, since what we got underway, it didn't seem that fast at all and by the time I passed the 1km marker in 3:04 I was still with the front pack running beside Steve. Even before I have been running competitively, Steve has been a fixture in the local racing community and one of the better runners in the county with an impressive resume. Needless to say, racing next to someone of this caliber is not something I am used to doing and I briefly thought that I must be going way to fast. I pushed the thought aside though since I felt very light on my feet and I decided to continue on and and see what happens.

The second km also went by quite quickly in 3:01 (I only looked after the race) and I was still feeling great. There were only a half dozen or so guys in front of me and I was ahead of some people that I normally only see the back of so I knew I was doing pretty well. The turn around came just before 3km and Paul was there on his bike shouting encouragement to his Aspire Runners. I wasn't expecting it, but after the turn around we encountered some wind on the return stretch. It wasn't brutal, but was still a factor, especially at this point in the race and combined with a slight uphill. I had passed Trevor earlier in the race, but he passed me in the windy section and I tried to tuck in behind him for a bit, but then I decided to put a bit of pressure on him and passed him back. As usual, I just found I don't like to follow although I should learn how to use others to improve my racing.

I stopped feeling great with about 1.5km to go as things started to get hard. I know I slowed down a bit, but other that my dueling with Trevor, I didn't seem to be losing much ground. I bore down and did all I could to keep my pace up. As usual, the last km seems to last as long as the first 4 and felt twice as hard. I don't know what my last 3 km splits are as I missed the 3k marker and the 4th was placed in the wrong location too near the finish. I picked up the pace a bit on the final stretch to the finish, but didn't have a ton left in the tank. Trevor managed to push by me and finish 1 sec ahead. My official time was 15:36, good for 7th place in a competitive field and 7 placements better than last year. Without the wind, I'm confident I could have got pretty close to my A goal of 15:30, but I am quite satisfied with a 11sec PB for a 5k race. I also managed to finish ahead of a few guys that I have never beat in the past so that was a confidence booster.

Despite imperfect conditions a number of other runners had great performances, with Jeremy Lawrence taking over a minute off his 5k time to finish in 17:20 and Garth Campbell posting a 13 sec improvement over his last race here in 2008. Many of my Aspire training partners also ran well, with Sean capturing 5th place overall, Shawn Nelson just behind me in 15:50 and Claire Morgan running as solid 18:06. Jim edged out Steve for the overall win in 14:58.

Results.

Hatley Castle 8k

February 20, 2011

People who want to get a good 8k time tend to skip this race as it is very hilly and half on trail rather than road. There are not a lot of PB's set here, but if you don't worry about times it can be a fun course. I hadn't run this course last year so my main goal was to better my 2009 time of 27:56. Since the course is so difficult something in the low 27 min range seemed reasonable since this was about 1 min slower than my Pioneer 8k time.

The day was beautiful and sunny if a bit on the cold side. The sun rarely shines in Victoria in the winter so complaining about the cold wasn't an option. I rarely have temperature issues when racing these short distances anyway as my body produces plenty of heat when I'm cranking it out.

Prior to my warm up, I heard from other racers that the finishing section of the course had been changed to be the same as that of the Royal Roads Gutbuster course. Instead of the final couple hundred metres of downhill on pavement, it now turns onto the grass for a bit and then has a short uphill finish. Presumably, they shorted the second out and back section on the course to accommodate this change, but it was still bound to be slower due to the presence of grass, mud and more corners. Why they changed it remains a mystery since there seemed to be no obvious reason. This course certainty does not need to be any more difficult than it already is.

I did a respectable 15 min warm up (by my standards) with Larry Nylen and prepared myself for the race. Since I knew this was not going to be a PB course, I didn't work myself up too much about it. I would simply do my best and see what happens. In terms of competition, many my training partners where including Sean Chester, Shawn Nelson, and Nick Walker. On the woman's side Care Wakely was the clear favorite, but Claire Morgan would likely also run well.

Sean took off hard from the start and I did not even attempt to match him and as a consequence soon found myself running on my own with Shawn and Nick not too far back. The first kilometer marker came too soon and was clearly off by the bit as I passed it in 3:02. The first km is fast, but should not have been that quick and the since the second split came in at 3:41 things didn't seem quite right. I didn't take more notice of the times, however, and set up sights on keeping Sean in sight. On the climbs from 1-3km, I actually managed to pulled him back slightly and was probably only 10-15 seconds behind him at the top of the large hill just before the 3k marker. I hadn't expected to be that close to him at this point so was fairly pleased.

I was feeling pretty good and was able push well during the race. The course is tough though and while it felt like I was putting out a 3:15 effort, I was running closer to 3:30 pace. The hills, turn-arounds, corners, and surface really eat into the pace. At the second turn-around I saw that I had a pretty good gap on Shawn and Nick and unless something unusual happened, I would be able to hold onto second place.

Shawn gradually pulled away from me on the final few kilometers, using his long legs and strong downhill running ability to gain ground. The final grind up the aptly named "Little Bugger" hill always hurts, but I ran it fairly well. There was some mud on the new path to the finish so I had to tread carefully - a fall with 200 metres to go would be embarrassing. I finished in a time of 27:27 just 29s behind Sean. Considering he beat me by 1:09 at Pioneer 8k and 1:06 at Cobble Hill 10k I was pretty pleased with my comparative time. This was my best placing in a Island Race Series so that was also a nice bonus. Shawn was just under a minute back and Nick not far behind him. Care comfortably won with a margin of over 1:30 over fellow training partner Claire. Larry ended up running a solid race and Andrew Pape-Salmon and Kevin Searle also finished well winning their respective age categories. Bazan Bay5k is next and unlike this race, it always results in fast times.

Results.

My splits. 3:02, 3:41, 3:34, 3:17 (4k split: 13:33), 3:30, 3:34, 3:15, 3:34

Cedar 12k

February 6, 2011

As usual, the season is already flying past with Cedar being the 3rd of 8 races. Being an unusual distance, it is still the one and only 12k I have competed in, this was my 5th running of it having only missed last year since my first time doing it in 2006. Despite a couple of good sized hills, I have generally ran well here posting progressively faster times each year. This year, I was hoping for a good time, but was still suffering from lack of proper sleep as I go though patches where my sleep is less than ideal from time to time. I hoped it would not be a big factor. The last time I race Cedar was back in 2009 when I ran 41:31. This year, I was hoping to somewhere in the 40:xx range.

A number Harriers headed up together since Cedar is about an hour and a half north of Victoria near Nanamio. Besides being saving fossil fuels and being more economical, it is also great for comradery. The weather on the drive up was rainy and it seems likely that it would be a soggy run. Fortunately, by the time we reach the race venue things dried up and would stay that way for a few hours, long enough so that everyone stayed dry.

After a brief warm-up with Sonja, I stripped down to shorts and singlet and tried to stay warm while making my way to the start line. The warm-up had felt average so I was optimistic that the race would be at least average. The main contenders for top placements were Jim Finlayson, Sean Chester, Craig Odermatt, Shawn Nelson, Nick Walker, and out of town elite Rejean Chiasson. Once we were off, I settled into a comfortable pace and soon found myself in 4th place behind Jim and Sean who pulled off the line very hard and Craig who as usual was just out of reach. I was surprised to find myself ahead of Shawn and Rejean whom I had been told had impressive race times.

The first 2 kilometers were a little fast at 3:15 each, but I felt in control so continued on. Soon I found that Rejean had gone out easy as he caught up and passed me around the 2k marker. I briefly passed him back on an uphill section after 3k, but on the next flat section he sped up and was soon well ahead. I was running my own race and knew that trying to match him would have made me pay dearly later in the race. I continued to feel strong and posted strong splits though 5k. The 6th km includes a long gradual grade up that cut into my pace, but I was still able to hit the halfway point at a sub 40min pace. It was quicker than expected, but I knew that it would be tough to maintain on the return since there were more hills on the way back.

Craig was only 10 or 15s ahead at the 6k mark, but as we made our way back he inched ahead. Craig is strong on the hills and I was not able to make any ground up on him on the climbs. For most of the race, I was expecting Shawn to catch up and pass me as it has been some time since I have beaten him at any race. Only once I passed the 10k marker did I actually think I might stay ahead. I paid a little for my initial brisk pace on the final 5k with splits that were a little slower than I would have liked. I didn't feel terrible, but was certainly starting to fatigue.

Keeping the form up around 10.5k. Photo credit: Andrew Pape-Salmon

I struggled though the last few hundred meters on the wet grass field and ran an OK final km crossing the finish in 40:24, overall a pretty strong time for me and my second best points for an IRS race only behind Bazan 2010. As a bonus, I was even managed to get an under elite age group benchmark time for this race although due to the rarely run distance this is much easier than normal. I was 5th overall, 27s behind Craig. Jim crushed the field and the course record with a 37:11 clocking and Rejean finished well for 2nd overall with Sean taking 3rd. Care Wakely took the win for the women in 45:17 just edging out Melissa Ross. Results.

My splits: 3:15, 3:15, 3:17, 3:22, 3:15, 3:28, (6k split: 19:51) 3:21, 3:21, 3:30, 3:29, 3:27, 3:24