Cross
Calgary - 1st place
The day began with rain and winds gusting up to 50kms...what a summer we've
had! Really pretty city course. Had a great race...until about the last
hour. I changed the brand of food I use, and it did not agree with my stomach...ran
with terrible stomach cramps. My IT band was also calling out to me...will
have to go see my chiropractor,Richard Robinson, about that. The next race
in the Alberta Ultra Series is the Lost Soul...it also happens to be the
last race...I am registered for the 100 miler. Between now and
then...I will likely do the Edmonton Marathon, and the Fort McMurray
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Canadian
Death Race- 12th place
I love racing in Grande Cache...what a great town! I always stay at EJ's
ROOST, a delightful Bed and Breakfast. This year I had two supporters...ANNA
MILINO being one of them, who has helped me now for two races. She has
been incredible.
Race Day started off great. The last time I did this course, it was buried
in snow. This year it was sunny and temperatures were in the low 20's.
Enjoyed most of the day,,,it started to go downhill for me at the bottom
of Hammel. It was dark, and the remainder of the course was on a tiny trail
through dense bush. I discovered that I am extremely claustrophobic in
these conditions.
It gets very spooky. At one point I encountered another racer who was lying
right in the middle of the trail curled up in a fetal position. I was alarmed
and asked him if he was alright(he looked terrible) He lifted up his head
and said he was fine...just taking a break...and then he put his head back
down in the mud.
I shook my head and kept on going. Some of my friends encountered two grizzlies
on Ambler Loop. They too, were sitting in the middle of the trail...enjoying
a big mud puddle. The runners backed up and retraced their footsteps back
to the last checkpoint...no sense messing with bears in the bush.
Once you cross the river on the course, runners have to look for a mailbox.
Inside the mailbox is an embosser that you use to stamp your card. It proves
you have passed that point in the course. I was told by volunteers at the
raft that it was 5km away. .... Well, after what felt like about 5km there
was no mailbox...and I started freaking out. Did I already pass it...or
was I lost? The sun was starting to come up. I came to a clearing and looked
about. I was up on a mountain, and was looking down into the valley. I
could not see any signs of civilization...I should have been getting close
to the town by now I thought. I was positive I had lost my way.
What do I do? I didn't have a flare, no signal mirror, no emergency equipment
of any kind. I had a breakdown...I started to yell out loud at myself,
cursing my luck. I was really angry and had to vent. It was right about
that time that another runner came out of the bush and headed in my direction.
I thanked God. He assured me that I had not passed the mailbox, that it
was only a minute or two away. It turns out that the mailbox was about
8kms away from the river, not 5kms. That is what I was told anyway.
So we get to the mailbox, and the stamp doesn't work. We spend a good five
minutes trying to get the stamp to make an imprint, but to no avail. When
you are really tired, you have to work at not getting frustrated. We just
decided to go on, and vouch for each other at the finish.
I finished, with just an hour to spare. Of the 171 people that started
off this race as soloists, only 72 finished. Of those 72, only 12 were
women. I was happy to get my plaque at the closing ceremony. Now I have
to rest up, and get ready for the 60km ultra in Calgary next weekend. Never
a dull moment!
View photos!
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Blackfoot
Ultra - 2nd place amoung women
What a great race....four 25km loops on a spectacularly
beautiful course!
Tough day though...pouring rain and deep mud! My first 2 loops went
well...but my IT band gave me grief for the third loop. I had to power
walk
the entire 25km loop. But, thanks to ADVIL, my pain disappeared for the
fourth loop, and I was able to have a better race! I would like to thank
my
friend,ANNA, for her tireless enthusiasm and incredible support at the
checkpoints. I think it was tougher for her in the rain than it was for
me!
View photos!
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Frozen Ass 50 - 3rd place
amoung women
The Frozen Ass 50 was a great race...Ran it as
a training run in preparation
for the Marathon des Sables. Unfortunately, I went down hard just before
the 26km Checkpoint. Second degree sprained right ankle, badly bruised
left
knee, and broken finger on left hand. Decided I could go on and finish
race. Second half was tough...but got the job done! (Thanks to Advil!)
No
photos of this race.
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