Squamish 50

Accepting my award from the race director
 Gary Robbins.

Last weekend I ran the 23km race at the Squamish 50 and had a great time. The race started at Quest University above Squamish, which is an amazing place to start a race with its great views, and ended in downtown Squamish by the farmer's market and all the atmosphere it brings. It is a pretty challenging course with 1000m of elevation gain over 23km on very technical trails.

When race started I was in the front pack right off the bat. I was trying to go out slow and ease into the race because I was anticipating it being about 2 hours long. But that did not last long, as a fast looking guy in a yellow shirt pulled up beside me and started pushing the pace. All I could think was that he seemed strong and that he was probably an experienced road racer. Once we hit the trails I was in front again, and by the time we hit the downhill after the first aid station I was by myself. This was 4.5 kms into the race and I would race by myself for the rest of the race.

The hardest part of the race for me (mentally) was the last 2.5km of flat running at the end of the race. I seldom run on flats because I do not find it very interesting and so I really have to work hard to keep my legs turning over. I ended up finishing in about 1:51, which was under my 2hr goal time. I think that I could have ran faster - it's hard to put down a really fast time without someone there to push you. A race where you have to fight to the end to win is also much more rewarding.

Results can be found here. Congratulations to Adam Campbell, who won the 50 mile race, and Eric Carter, who won the 50km race. Both of these guys are friends, and we all attended a pre-race pasta party at Eric's house the evening before the race. I think that Eric should cook for us more often!