Note: Normally this is a 22 km race but due to a female Grizzly and her cubs being spotted in the area they had to close off a section of the trail. At race package pickup they said the course was being shortened to 20.2 km.

My Garmin got messed up with the mountains and trees on this course. First km I went out at a 4:31 min/km pace. 2nd km split came at 3:52 min/km which is possible as there is a significant downhill by the waterfall. The next km split came way to early, did not match up with the course markings and the pace said 3:07. No way was I running 3:07 / km so at this point I ignored my Garmin and just ran what I felt was a good pace.

At each km mark on the course I checked my time on the Garmin. As I wasn't feeling 100% at the start I figured I'd be happy with a 5 min/km pace which if the course was 20.2 km as they had said would bring me in around 1 hour and 40 minutes. If I was on my P.R. pace for this course I'd finish in around 1 hour 35 minutes.

For the first 10 km I did the math each km and saw that I was about 3 minutes ahead. I hit the 10km mark at exactly 46 minutes.

By 11 km I started losing energy. I'm sure it was partly due to not eating enough the night before but also I could tell a head cold was coming on. That desire to slow the pace down kicked in but I resorted to counting down the km's (only 9 km to go) and reminding myself that slowing down will only drag this out.

My hydration plan was to drink every 15 minutes. I'm one who can't run and drink at the same time so I walk a brisk pace while drinking (I carry my water bottle in a waist belt). I hit the bottom of the hill by the water fall at 45 minutes and had a choice to make. Walk and take my drink before the hill or afterwards. I chose afterwards. Now I wasn't passed by anyone on the hill but I know I have run up hills faster in training. The calfs were both tight and I was feeling very sluggish.

At about the 14 km point you pass by the Start area so it was a challenge not to toss in the towel for the day. I kept thinking that I'd be mad at myself for a DNF. This is a race I hope to continue running yearly for as long as I can.

After passing the start you climb up a bit more as you run up to the Cave and Basin and then starts the descent into Johnsons Canyon. This can be a mentally tough section as it seems to descend forever but it is in fact not so steep a descent.

Surprizingly the turn around for both the 10 km race and the 22 km race came at the same point so at this point I began to wonder if the race was going to be finished once I climbed back out of the canyon or were they going to be tacking on some additional new section to bring us up to 20.2 km. Turned out it was to be finished.

So my finish time was 1 hour 29 minutes and 48 seconds. My Garmin tracked it as 17.54 km but I am suspect of it's measurement. The Running Room Website forum had other runners questioning the same and the concensus is it was about 19 km (based on 5 other runners with Garmins).

A beautiful run through the Rockies. I'd recommend this race to anyone. It can be crowded at times so don't be looking for no record pace. Post race they offer banana's, oranges, apples, orange juice, plain donut, granola bars, yogourt, and a beer. Nice long sleeve t-shirt though this year the picture on the front could have done without the "runner" (looks more like someone wearing a sweatband from a 80's aerobics class).

# 1 I had so much fun training and racing tri's this past summer that I ignored putting together a training schedule for this race. For this race and the Half Ironman I will definitely follow a training schedule.

# 2 Eat a proper meal the night before.

# 3 - Figure out what is up with this tight calf. Do more stretching, change back to my old brand of runners.

Some stretching and walking around but with the cool temperature just wanted to get back to the van to warm up.


Not eating a proper meal the night before. Head cold.