August was another busy one, starting with a trip over the long weekend for 3 days of trail running in the Southern Chilcotin Mountains on some pretty amazing ridges (check out my report and video).
The following weekend, I managed to squeeze in a loop through Hanes Valley, including an out-and-back up Crown Mountain to take in the views (see my Hanes Valley trip from last year). Probably a little more time-on-feet than I needed before my race the next weekend, but I wasn’t sure I’d have to the chance again this season.
Next was the Squamish 50k where I finished in 6:15 for 17th place overall. It was my first big race back after injury so it served as a real confidence booster for me as I go into the second part of my season and start to ramp up my mileage. Had a great time organizing the Trails in Motion Film Festival there on both Friday and Sunday nights – big thanks to everyone who came out to support it and to watch some amazing films!
And finally, I had the opportunity to join UPRISE Performance Camps and Scott Jurek for an inspiring 3 days in Whistler. I was there to film the experience which included VO2Max and Lactate Threshold testing by Peak Centre (who I do my own testing and training with), a series of classroom sessions on nutrition and training, some amazing vegan food at the Four Seasons, the 5 Peaks Whistler trail race, and an alpine run down the High Note Trail, Musical Bumps, and out Singing Pass. We were even surprised with a helicopter ride back to Whistler after the 5 Peaks race! Check out photos from that on Facebook.
From the Chilcotin, to Whistler, through Squamish, and the North Shore backcountry, I managed to cover some amazing terrain this month!
-
- Ridge running in the Chilcotin.
-
- Racing the setting sun.
-
- Hanes Valley, a late-season staple.
-
- View from Crown Mtn.
-
- Squamish 50k.
-
- Whistler Alpine on High Note Trail.
-
- Garibaldi seen from Whistler.
-
- Running with Scott Jurek in Whistler.
Final Stats for August:
- Distance Run: 341 km (up from 296 km)
- Time-on-Feet: 56.5 hrs (down from 65.5 hrs)
- Ascent: 12,621 m (down from 16,155 m)
September is going to be all about volume as I start my build for Chimera 100 miler in November, with a focus on adventure runs instead of racing.
What I’m most excited about is a trip that my friend Adam and I will be doing the weekend of Sept. 20th to run the Wonderland Trail, a 93 mile trail that circumnavigates Mount Rainier. We’ll be aiming to run it in under 35 hours, including a sleep break of about 6 hours to avoid missing too much of trail by running at night. You can follow along thanks inReach Canada.
Check out more photos on Instagram, and connect with me to follow my training on Strava or Movescount!