“Oh. My. God.” The first words out of my mouth after crossing the finish line.
This was the inaugural running of a 50km course added to the Squamish 50 lineup and I think RD Garry Robbins was intent on ensuring it was a memorable one. This was only my second 50km trail race and I figured it was going to be tough but to say I underestimated it is, well, an understatement.
(Ed. note: Sorry, it's long. Also, the exact order of trails and experiences are probably off as I don't know the area and I was zoned in my own little world concentrating most of the time)
Leah had a gallery opening the night before so we got in a little later than expected but I actually managed to get a reasonable sleep considering we had to be up at 5am to get ready. We hit the road at 6am and it took an hour or so to get up to the shuttle pick-up location where we met up with Greg, Dave, Alan, Kathryn, et al. The weather was cloudy and cooler than expected which was a pleasant surprise.
 |
| Waiting for the bus. Oh, sweet innocence. |
The atmosphere up at the start line at Alice Lake had lots of positive vibes mixed with bundled, nervous energy. It was a pretty small crowd being that a lot of runners had taken advantage of the early start time (this caused some controversy as it was meant for runners who thought they would not make the 10hr cut off, not regular racers). The weather was cool and cloudy right up until the start time of 9am but then, voila, the sky cleared and we all knew we were in for a hot afternoon.
 |
| Starting Line - Alice Lake (Photo by Emma) |
