Luckily, but rather unluckily, Peter and I were in Powell River after his surgery which is where he wanted to be during his recovery.
The shuffle kind of reminds me of the Knee Knacker (KK). People throw around "Shuffle" times like we North Shore-ites throw around KK times.
For a FREE event, this race offers A LOT. There is a FREE shuttle that will pick you up and drop you off at the ferry. There is a FREE t-shirt for the first 100 who register and a FREE Townsite Brewing beer after the event at the Shinglemill. The trails are well marked and the trail maintenance volunteers put in countless hours of work. Plus there is a pasta dinner ($15) the night before at Mag Pies. I should mention that its a great excuse to hang out with some awesome people and in a pretty wicked town. They do recommend a donation to PRPaws, the local non profit who up-keep the trails, build wicked SCT huts, and sooo much more.
I am lucky to have made some running friends in Powell River. This trip I made some new one's too. Every time I go to Powell River, these awesome people invite me to join them to explore new places (to me). All of my friends were also running the Shuffle which was pretty cool.
I decided I wanted to run hard at this event and test my fitness. I made a mental note of the previous course record which was 3:04. I set out at a petty conservative pace and quickly one of my new friends Steph (badass runner/mother of 3) told me to pass, so I did. I passed a half dozen more people and shortly there after we went up a rather long and steep hill. Because I was now in front of a group of people I decided to keep running up the hill at a decent pace. It went on for much longer than I thought it would and my heart rate was through the roof. I couldn't help but wonder if this was going to bite me in the ass later but decided to put it behind me and do my best.
The rest of the race was SOOOO fun. The trails are so lush and the old growth forest is incredibly beautiful. I pushed myself really hard, even on hills I typically wouldn't. However, the run was 29km and I have learned I can push myself pretty hard for that distance. I ended up finishing in 2:52, setting the female course record by 12 minutes.
I really enjoy the shorter distance races. I find I can push myself harder in a race than in training and it's a hell of a lot more fun.I recommend this race to everyone!!! Thank you to Eagle and Scott and everyone else who volunteered their time out there.
My La Sportiva's were the perfect shoe for the course.
Happy trails!
