The Last Quarter (Lynn Valley to Deep Cove) ... by Curb Ivanic
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The race is only days away,
I'm sure everyone is pretty psyched. I know I am. This
Sunday was the final training for the 2002 KK and what a blast it's
been. I decided to stick to my regular Saturday night regime;
have a few beers, stay up late, get up late, skip breakfast and
hurry to the North Shore to make it on time for the training run. With
the race so close, I figured why change things now.
I arrived a little late to find
about 20 runners waiting to start. The majority
were running the last quarter of the course but a handful decided
to run the last half. Personally I think that's a little
too long to run one week out from race day but to each his own. We
carpooled to the Seymour Demonstration Forest (I've never gotten
used to calling it by its new name) and start the run from the third
major aid station area.
In a complete reversal from
Saturday, the weather was overcast and looked like a good
chance of rain but the humidity was quite high so it wasn't cold. This
is the first year in a while that the weather has been so
consistently good for the training runs, meaning it wasn't cold
and wet! The snow should not be a major factor this year
though the trail around the Cypress section will
definitely be muddy.
Most of the group decided to start
out slow and have a nice, easy run. Of course there was one
runner who had other plans (I won't mention names) and took off
from the pack, only to be seen again in the Cove. The
trail in this last section is in great condition for the most part
which will be welcome relief to tired legs next Saturday. The
only tricky part is a downed tree on the section below Indian
River road just before the BP intersects the Powerlines.
As you approach the big drop off the rock there is a big tree
blocking the trail that you have to go under. I'm not
sure if it will be cleared by race day so Keep your eyes open. I
almost speared myself on one of the branches as I turned the corner!
Apart from some slight
spitting the rain held off and we were greeted by another lovely if
somewhat gray day as we came into Deep Cove. The
first runner came in at 1:16 with others not too far behind. With
all the excess energy we didn't use up on such a short run we
headed over to Honey's and enjoyed tasty treats and friendly
banter. With the field that's entered in both the men's and
women's categories it should be an exciting race this year.
I think the bookies in Vegas would have a tough time picking any
clear favourites.
I heard some talk about runners
wanting to use trekking poles for the first section or two of the
race. Be aware that this is NOT allowed under race rules.
No trekking poles, no crampons, no home-made devices, nadda; you
risk disqualification if you use such aids. Wear a trusty
pair of shoes on your feet and that's it. I
don't want to sound like some "trail nazi" but just
wanted everyone to be clear on that. 'Nuff said.
We had a great turnout this year
for the training runs and I hope everyone enjoyed them as much as I
did. Good luck to everyone and I hope each of you
achieves your race goals. Whatever they are don't lose sight
of one thing - have fun! And thank the volunteers who
make this race possible; without them you wouldn't be able to do
this race.
See you on Saturday!
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