The weather report for the morning started with the current temp of 5C with the high for the day being 19C. I don't remember what temperature it finally got up to, but the weather was perfect for a trail race. It was the kind of weather where you actually would want to lie in the sun to keep warm. Also the wind was quite strong at times so this kept the bugs away that would have devoured any and all spectators.
My family and I set off for the race just after 7:30 am, the drive was just over an hour. It was good to see people in the adjacent cars at the offramp from the 401 who had the same printouts of the driving directions that we had been using. After lining up for maybe 5 minutes to get into the park after paying (?), we were able to get a really good parking spot and get ready for the race.
Shortly after 9 am, the race director got onto the PA and announced that due to the long wait to get into the park thru the front gates, that the race's start time would be pushed back a half hour to allow everyone ample time to get into the park. This just meant a little more time to warm up and go to the bathroom a couple more times.
The race started at 10:30 am and quickly turned into a mad sprint into the woods. I kept telling myself that no matter what, I wouldn't start too fast and I would pace myself at least until the half hour mark of the race. Just after 1 km into the run, my right shoelace came undone. I pulled over, swearing and reassuring myself that I had double knotted my laces and that this shouldn't have happened (see my Cascadia shoe diary for more rants about these shoes!). Before I stopped, I marked that I had been right behind Mike B and that I would try and make up the difference by the end of the race. Continued along, chatting when I could in order to keep calm in the narrow sections where everyone seemed to bunch up all at once. After clearing the second water station I was pleased to find that I finally had some breathing space. I was then able to pick and stay at my pace and start picking people off.
Before I knew it we were heading into oncoming traffic, probably the worst possible place to have an overlap-at the downward part of the stony staircase. One lady actually cursed at me as I came bounding down the course at her. She spouted off something that sounded like I was coming the wrong way or taking up too much room. It was then onto the boardwalk and the part of the course that I had been waiting for. I knew that the long uphill was next and that this is what my training had gotten me here for. So I pushed up the hill, encouraging the guys ahead of me to push to the top, crested the hill and kept on running. With 3 km left to go I knew that I could push for a little while longer. After a couple of surprise uphills thrown in by the route committee, it was the sounds of the band playing and the final push into the sunshine where the finish line was.
I finished at least 9 places overall faster than last year but at the same spot in my age. The route must have been quite a bit shorter this year because all the times were considerably faster than last year. So I can't really compare apples to apples.
The awards ceremonies after the race seemed a bit abbreviated but at the same time it seemed like the race director was stalling while the Champion Chip people got the results sorted. The major change this year over last was that they weren't handing out prizes to bib numbers/names this year. Last year I felt that everyone got a prize and that made it seem a little more family friendly. Not sure if I will stick around next time for the awards. Overall impact timewise on the day: 6 and a half hours with traveling. At least I didn't have to wait long to get into the park.
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