Thursday, March 29, 2012

Spring has Sprung at the Gorge Waterfalls Run

THAT WAS SOO MUCH FUN!!!! 
Is exactly what I said when I crossed the finish line at the Gorge Waterfalls 50 km run.
Going into this 'race' I was worried, that I wasn't worried... only because I was more excited about seeing the views than my actual performance. This attitude served me well. 

I was more excited for two relative 'newbies' who were doing their first 50 Km race. Wow, couldn't have picked a more beautiful course!  The poor race director had to deal with last minute course changes due to snow up to the day of the race... and THEN, he got a  FLAT TIRE en route to the start! It STILL ran very smoothly, with a fun and laidback atmosphere. I highly recommend Rainshadow Running races after this experience. 

CUT TO THE CHASE- Here is a Video synopsis of the course. BEAUTIFUL!


My Race Experience: 
First hill always hits me hard. I started powerhiking it with everyone else. It was a great time to have a visit with Jackie ( a great BC ultrarunner), and Clayton (who stop-started all the way up to take pictures).
We finally hit the downhill, then some rolling hills. Here I met Yitka, who I ran with  for a large majority of the middle section. She was such a positive person to run with. And near the end, with only two miles to go she pulls off this! I could barely step over a log at this point! Huge respect!       Photo: Glen Tachiyama 
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There was a short road section,( I would rather forget), a beautiful turnaround at yet more waterfalls. With the out and back it was fun to see the 'Elite' runners ripping it up!! AND High five my great friends including Sarah, Clayton, Ed, Megan, Marc, Janet, and Marianne ! No wonder my arms were sore.  I made it back in similar time with a run/powerhike up the last hill, visiting with my new running mate Bunky (from Oregon) . Then a   fun fly downhill to the end screaming out my token BANCHEE scream  "ay yi yi yi"... and finally end with a rewarding high five from the Race director. Sweet! 
Some guy told me at the end my scream scared the crap out of him and it made him run faster. Glad I could help. 

My Stats (for future reference) 
Time: 5:04  (a PR, but it was slightly shorter than a typical 50 km, but respectable elevation gain-I'll take it)
Calories:  about 900 including breakfast bagel 
Splits: 
First 'mountain'  1:18 on the way out/ 1:20 on the way back  
No name aid station to Yeon Aid station ( 7 miles):  1:03 on the way out / 1:03 on the way back. Weird
Yeon to turn around: 8:53 on the way out, 7:43 on the way back. 
Fun: 100%  (well, except that short road section) 

GOOD TIMES! Its going to be hard to top this one for a beautiful course! 

HV 

2 comments:

HEATHERRUNS said...

Sorry for the wobbly titles. Youtube asked me if I wanted to 'stabilize' the shakiness. I said 'Yes'...which made the video more stable, but the titles move. Too funny!

Yitka said...

Awesome video! So fun to watch and relive all those beautiful waterfalls...I'm already excited for next year! It was great meeting you and running with you - and thanks for the shoutout here on your blog :) Hope to cross paths again soon on the trails!