Stage 5 Red Cliff to Vail , 38 km.

I already knew that this would be the hardest section of the race. A very long hill climb followed by a technical single track on the to Vail. 38 km to Vail going again over 11, 000. I took it easy at the start, I wanted to work my legs into today stage. Climbing the back side of Vail was awesome. It was a very cold start, my legs needed time to warm up. So I took it easy at the start. Once I got up into the Alpine I was really enjoying myself. I am so luckly to be able to run this well and not worry about anything. Thanks Salomon for sending me here!

Prerace Food Coffee, Fresh fruit , bagel with peanut butter. Two Advils.

Race Food: Two Nuun tablets mixed with Carbo 1200 in Hydration system.

Post race Food: Peanut butter and honey, lots of Nuun/water. Chips and salsa with ice tea.

Dinner: 2 steaks, potatoes, salad , 3 brownies
Positive highs: Running in the high alpine, working hard , feeling the legs burn, Running in creeks. Now this is a race.

Lows: Running a long logging road into Vail, not very fun. Drinking non - flat coke. Don't try it running down hill. It came out my nose burning.

Stage 4 Camp Hale to Red Cliff 23 km here we come

77 km down and still lots more to go, I can't wait! I will say it again , and AGAIN ! The key to racing is eating. No matter what. After a bit of a late night ........thanks Kev, for the great story by the fire. I need to get food in, today because the body is going to be working hard.

The starting line was a little cold and the gravel road would soon turn into a very, very steep climb into the high alpine. Nothing is better than working your ass off to get high over a ridge. All the top teams were crossing the ridge line once I hit the top of Hornsilver Mountain. It was great to see some racing, finally ! I can't complain , even though I was racing in the Unclassified. Oh well ! I could be at a office Job. The Downhill was great running straight through creek crossing up to your knee. The water was super cold. Which helped take the sting out of my sore quads, that have been working so hard over the last couple of days.

Prerace Food Coffee Fresh fruit Pancakes,
Race Food: Two Nuun tablets mixed with Carbo 1200 in Hydration system.
Post race Food: Peanut butter and honey, lots of Nuun/water. 3 fish Taco at Mango's with 1 beer.
Dinner: Mexican Buffet ! Yipppee ! I am in heaven, 4 large fish Tacos.
Positive highs: Running in the high alpine, working hard on the climb. Finally able to shake a few demons away.
Lows: nothing , it was an amazing day of running !!!!!!!


Up next stage 5, more running ! Wicked .

Stage 3: Leadville to Camp Hale 40 km

Alot of runners are walking around funny, sore legs are being seen from the less experince d runners at breakfast. Even though the elevation gain today is not big it's still 3, 000 feet at over 10,000 feet. Realy long and hot day. We will be heading to Nova guides 40 km ahead on some great terrain.

Prerace food:Orange Juice & Cranberry JuiceCoffee, Potato & Cheddar Quiche
Race food : Raid revo pack and two Nuun tablet. Clif bloks and watermelon from one of the Check points with flat coke.
Post race food: Can of tuna, flat coke, Nuun tablet,
Dinner : Salad, Spaghetti with sauce Chicken Entree, Rice Pilaf. Two Burgers with lots of Nuun. 4- beers (it's my weakness)
Positive high : Ran well in the heat. Great single track on the continental divide trail.
Lows: lets' just say there was lots of emotion on the trail. I realizie that there has been a serious miss unterstanding in my partners abilities. Having to drop as a unclassifed racer. I can still start everyday, but it means nothing. mmmmmmmm........not happy !!!!!

Stage 2 : From Clear Creek to Twin Lakes

This morning we had a beautiful moring sun was out. After a great breakfast from the gourmet cowboys and a 30 minutes ride with some 1960 school buses up a logging road top the start line at clear creek -felt like i was going rafting. Today was going to be another short stage, my partner and I agreed that towing would be best to tackle with 14k with a steep climb up to more than 4000m and then a long descent down to Twin Lakes on some sweet single track. The last 3ks were almost flat and crossing over creeks, that was definitely better than the first one. Click on the Video below to see the Start line

Gore tex and Salomon team were setting all the post race camp goods to welcome us and get us some lunch.

Prerace food: Coffee , very small eggs, fruit and bagel.
Race food : Raid revo pack from Salomon with hydration system and two Nuun tablet mixed with 2 liters of water.
Post race food: 2 Italian subs from the Salomon Guys - thanks KJ and Josh. Follwed by a BLT with fries, lots of water with Nuun.

Dinner: Greek salad, Breast Chicken with Lasagna. lots of food as I said !

Positive high : Running over a sweet pass. Placed 8th overall in the GC again.
Lows: Not getting on the poduim. Dealing with inexperienced running. Mentally and physically having a parter break down.

TransRockies Run 08 Stage 1

Are we go ! It's been 4 month in the making and we are finally got stage 1 of the 2008 Transrockies run over with. From Buena Vista to Clear Creek. Stage 1 was very easy and mostly flat, quite a lot of road portions but this will be the only stage. It was super boring ! I really had no problems with breathing at 8, 000 ft. The lead pack was ready to lay everything out there in a fast 10 miler at 8, 000 feet and some hot sun and they did !


The talent that has gathered for this epic adventure, amazing runners of all ability's. We have Eric Skags and Max King from Rogue Valley Runner's taking the first day win. Phil Villeneuve and Denis from Salomon Flight crew ran well, placing 6Th.

The key to race race is how fast you can recover from each run, so you must eat a boat load of food as soon as you can after a race even if you don't feel like eating anything. You must eat.

Prerace food: Coffee , very small eggs and bagel.

Race food : hand water bottle and one Nuun tablet.

Post race food: at Arrowhead Point Camping Resort had 4 Fajitas and loads of water with Nuun.

Positive high : Feeling no pain on mostly a road 10 miler. Placed 8th overall in the GC.

Lows: Seeing early prelude of what was to come.

Saab/ Salomon 5 Peaks Trail Race this weekend !

See what you will be missing in Whistler ! This weekend will be one of the top rated 5 peaks trail races.

If you never been to one of these events, you must give it a go ! Check out www.5peaks.com

A great race dircetor would like me to post this for all you Crazy runners , and fun hoggers !

If you've been wondering what the new Frosty Mtn race route looks like, check the new photos posted on the Mountain Madness Races page showing the first 25 km. If you are doing the race, I recommend taking a camera. The views are outstanding (making the climb worth it).http://www.mountainmadness.ca/frosty.php

Hi runners, potential runners, volunteers and anybody else who wants to come out and have some fun!!!

Saturday August 30th and Saturday September 6th, we are doing orientation runs in Manning Park. We will make sure that everyone gets up and over the mountain safely. The first 25 km loop will be done on Aug 30. Second loop for 50 km runners will be done on Sep 6.We will meet at the Lightning Lake Parking Lot which is 3 km from the main Hwy at Manning Park at 10:00 a.m. each morning (or at 7:30 at a yet-to-be-determined location in Vancouver to carpool). Your input is appreciated.After the second training run, we will draw a name for a free entry to FROSTY MOUNTAIN ULTRA or 25 km RACE.

EARLY BIRD ENDS AUG 3, Saturday August 31st is the last day for regular entry fee which includes a shirt. After that, the reg fee goes up.

CONTESTSee the Contest information at the top of the Frosty race page and select the photo linked there.If you can name the North Vancouver location of the picture of the young trees from Harvey's tree farm, send an email to Gottfried and you may be the one to win a bottle of wine.

BIKE RACE NOT INCLUDED, maybe next year!

Trans Rockies run

Let the Countdown begin 7 days until the Trans Rockies run .... Here are some pics for last years race.

This year should be just as fun and twice has hard.

Salomon Hash House Run Tonight !

The course is set and the rain is falling, a perfect opportunity to demo the new trail running shoe from Salomon - the XT Wings!

Tonight only will be your chance to demo the shoes, and as always have a laugh and meet some new friends.

Whistler Hash House Harriers will meet at the Escape Route in the Marketplace.

5:30pm sign in
6:00pm hashing begins

Cost $5 for good times and apres provided by the Cinnamon Bear Bar & Grill.

Hope to see you all there, on! on!

South Chilcotins

How Sweet it is ! The South Chilcotins has always been one of my top place to ride. The Pic s don't even do it justice. Life's good.

Kneeknacker Race Report

It's been a while, with the whole blog thing but we are back on track! This one is a Kneeknacker Race Report.

203 ultramarathon runners started the “Race Across the North Shore” at 6:00am, just above Horseshoe Bay. The goal for most was to reach the finish line, 30 miles later in Deep Cove, within the 10-hour race limit. 188 of the runners achieved their goal on this day, making for a very good finishing rate of 92.6 percent. The weather held out great, as well as the snow. Pretty much everyone got a little turned around when they hit the snow on Cyprus Mountain.

This being my third Kneeknacker I knew what to expect from the course, but setting a PR (which was my goal) in this kind of race is hard, and just finishing was a milestone. My hats off to all 188 runners who finished, it takes a lot of guts and determination to finish this race (if you are wondering I finished 14th in 6 hours 2 minutes). As I crossed the finish line I was so mentally and physically punched, I couldn't even enjoy my placing, but after cooling off in the Cove, downing some liquids and great post race food I told our wonderful race director Kelsey Triggs "I'll be back next year, see you in 11 months".

The volunteers, support crew (Creek and The Kiwi), and the race director did another world class job, and this keeps me coming back year after year to the Kneeknacker. If anyone thinks they needs another challenge - the lottery for the 2009 Kneeknacker is open - bring it on!

Complete results for the Kneeknacker click here

Read more about the race click here thanks to Andrew Mitchell !

Way to go Jen

Jen Segger Gigg, One of the greatest runners from our neck out the woods just finished BADWATER ! Wow, Jen is the youngest racer ever to race Badwater. Jen finished the 135 mile race in a time of 32 hrs 31 mins that puts her in the into the top ten. WAY TO GO JEN ! We are all very proud of ya !

Can't wait to hear the story's.

John Belushi's Little Chocolate Donuts, proper nutrition if you want to be the best.

The only way to train !

Click On Image to watch. John Belushi's Little Chocolate Donuts, proper nutrition if you want to be the best ... I love that he's got a cig while promoting the donuts.

Hash House run this Tuesday

If your legs are looking for a workout, and you don't want to fly like a duck. Then come on out to the Whistler Hash House run.

When : Tuesday, June 24 , 5:30 sign in and 6 pm start.

Where: Meet at Escape Route in the Marketplace

Cost : $5

Goals: The goals of hashing, from a 1950 club registration card for the Hash House Harriers in Kuala Lumpur are:

• To promote physical fitness among our members


• To get rid of weekend hangovers


• To acquire a good thirst and to satisfy it with beer

To persuade the older members that they are not as old as they feel.

See ya Tuesday.

Comfortably Numb

Comfortably numb race

The Comfortably Numb Trail Race will put runners through another thigh-burning and lung-busting experience on Sunday, June 22. That's this Sunday !!

The race package pickup at Escape Route on Saturday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and at the start of the race from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. at Wedgemont Parking Lot — shuttle buses are available from the finish at Spruce Grove at 7:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. if you need a ride.

The cost is $50 plus a service fee for people registering online, which includes the race, draw prizes, a water bottle and a technical running cap.

If you’ve never hiked, run, or biked Comfortably Numb, it’s an internationally recognized mountain bike trail that weighs in at about 25 km with about 800 metres of climbing. It starts at Wedgemont and finishes in Lost Lake Park.

Two years ago the International Mountain Bicycling Association recognized Whistler’s Comfortably Numb trail with its highest honour, official Epic Ride status — one of only three trails in B.C. and seven in Canada to earn that honour.

Proceeds from the race go to the Whistler Off Road Cycling Association to maintain the trail. Good Luck to all the racers

Spud valley run set for July 1st

Spud Run on July 1st in Pemberton. The run starts at 8:30 am from the new community centre. New course this year along the Pemberton Valley trail (non-technical, pretty much totally flat). The race distance is approximately 8-8.5 kms.

Cost : $15 and all proceeds are going to the Pemberton Valley Trails Association. Sign-up starts at 8am, day of race.

It’s a great, low-key community event. Lots of great snacks afterwards (including rhubarb crumble made from the local organic rhubarb) and, weather permitting, every participant will receive a bag of spuds!

The season is ON !

Well, we are into another great year of trail running, and there is lots going on. Stay tune to updates from races as it happens. I wasn't able to get down to NV and race the Iron Knee. The crew from Run the shore series always put on a great event. I wish I was there, But I had a great day running Comfortably numb. Yes, it's good to go ! There are a few trees across the trail, but easy to get around them. Remember, If you are going to run Comfortably numb. Please be prepared, bring water, and a high energy gel or snack . Dress for the weather, and tell someone where your going. This is a long technical trail and even longer trail if you get hurt out there.

The next Race :

Comfortably numb 25 km June 22nd, Whistler

5 peaks June 28Th , Cypress Mountain - host of both the Snowboarding (Halfpipe & Parallel Giant Slalom) and Freestyle Skiing (Moguls & Arials) events for the 2010 Olympics!

a BIG thanks for all the volies in the WVTR race.

Thanks so much for the Volunteers at the Whistler Valley trail run. This past Sunday was a great day for racing. There were lots of smiling faces, over 130 runners took part in the annual event. Race peort will be posted late Monday night with results.

prepared for take OFF !!

Salomon Canada is please to announce the formation of our very own trail running team in Canada.

SALOMON FLIGHT CREW TEAM

Men (7)

Phil Villeneuve,Adam Campbell,Jason Loutit, Munro Duncan, Matt Strickland, Denis Colburn, Vincent Gauthier

Women (4)

Jen Segger, Courtney Harcott, Amy Wilding, Brooke Gosling.

With a current roster of 11 athlete’s in total representing Canada’s finest trail runners focused on delivering the following things for Salomon this summer.

The main focus of the team in the first year is to build Salomon’s trail running legitimacy, build awareness for the XT WINGS shoe and also help grow the sport of Trail Running in Canada.

This team is going to fly, try and keep up !

programme court trail running

Whistler Hash house Harriers

A drinking club with a running problem ! That's what a Hash House run is all about. Fun !

The template for a hash run is loosely based on hare hunting. One or more hashers (the "hares") lay out a running trail, that the rest of the club (pack or 'hounds') follows. The trail may include false trails (check-backs or CB), short cuts (or splits), breaks, and checks (a marking on the trail that requires the pack to search the area to discover the correct direction of the trail.

These features are designed to keep the pack together regardless of fitness levels or running speed.

Hashers frequently describe themselves as 'a drinking club with a running problem', and the social element of hashing is of equal importance to the running. The seriousness of the running and of the drinking varies.

on -on !

Mayhem at the Tour de France