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Last Quarter, 12 Km
Well I checked and it's been over 3 years since I last did a run report, so I guess you might say it's my turn! We finished up yet another training season over the holiday weekend with our run on the last quarter of the Knee Knacker course. It was actually the last quarter of the "classic" course, starting at the Lynn Valley Suspension Bridge. For those of you not aware of the "ancient" history of the race (prior to the mid-nineties), the race used to follow the complete Baden-Powell trail. This included taking a right turn at Lynn Valley Road and pounding the pavement for about 1 km. before heading back onto the trail on the west side of Lynn Creek to the 3/4 aid station just before crossing Lynn Creek on the Suspension Bridge. Of course, you all know the route of the last decade which takes a left at the road and quickly gets on to the Varley Trail, crossing Lynn Creek at the Pipeline Bridge into the Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve (LCSR). This is now the the 3/4 aid station, and we re-join the Baden-Powell about another kilometre or so down the trail. So, you may be wondering, why is he bringing this up - what does this have to do with the training run or this year's race? Just how far has senility set in for the race co-founder? I'll deal mostly with the first question, and not the latter (for now). Prior to this year, that course change in Lynn Valley was the most significant in the history of the race. But, you ain't seen nothin' yet until you see this year's changes in the first quarter! And, for those who haven't been on the new start section, you're in for a real treat - mostly single-track trail through forests and over creeks in the Nelson Canyon Park area. The reasons behind the course changes now are much different than they were a decade ago, but I'm sure we'll be pleased with end result of this year's change just like we have been with the Lynn Canyon changes. Now, back to our regularly scheduled run report :-) This is one of my favourite training runs of the season - short, sweet, fast and finishing up within crawling distance of Honey's Doughnuts! We met in Deep Cove at 7:00 am and got ourselves all organized for shuttles to our starting point in Lynn Valley (see above for more details about that). Speaking of getting organized, many thanks go to the Training Run coordinators - Craig Moore & Glenn Pacé. Both were out for this last training run before race day next Saturday, to check on everyone's progress and to possibly to pick up an extra drink or two if they spotted anybody falling on all fours on the trail - a Knee Knacker tradition for many, many years! About 50 runners made the trek over the last quarter, in ridiculously fast times. It really does feel good to run for less than 2 hours when you're put in all those 4-6+ hour long runs earlier in the season. This is the run that provides you with a great boost to your confidence for race day. Just remember that it is a 30-mile race next week, and not to predict your race time based on multiplying your last quarter time by 4. Otherwise, we won't have enough doughnuts ready for all of you sub-5-hour finishers! If you are running this race for the first time and are looking at how to best pace yourself on race day, look no further than the splits for last year's women's champion Suzanne Evans on the 2005 results page. This was her first time racing the Knee Knacker, so she started conservatively in the first half and ran the second half 15 minutes faster. Your overall time and splits may not match Suzanne's, but if your approach and relative splits do, you will have a great day. Once again, back to the run report - I keep getting side-tracked! It was a nice warm day once again, with temperatures hitting 20 C even with our early-morning finish between 9:00 and 10:00 am. While most runners did the "official" run, there were a few variations - Craig doing it in reverse; Kathy (going for finish number 10 this year), Dave, and Lori doing a partial out-and-back from Deep Cove. John did a full out-and-back from Lynn to Deep Cove and back, or at least I think he did. He seemed to spend an hour or so in the Cove enjoying the sunshine, and had not headed back yet when I left for my doughnut(s). Of course, he had many interesting stories to tell of his crewing/pacing effort last weekend at Western States 100-miler for Gilles Barbeau. Gilles finished on a brutally hot day when temperatures hit close to 120 F in the deep canyons of the race. Congrats to Gilles, and we look forward to seeing you in our "little" race next week. Speaking of our little race, a bunch of us will be out putting up many miles of ribbons to mark the first half of the course tomorrow night. We're taking bets on how much (if any) snow will be left on the high country. Smart money says the recent hot spell the past couple of weeks will have decimated most of the snow pack, and some are saying the mud is drying up too. I'll post a brief snow/mud report tomorrow night once we get back. Enjoy the next few days before race day, and don't worry about the race - it will take care of itself on Saturday, and if that's not enough we will have about 200 volunteers to take care of you too. You will have a wonderful experience, and I will too as I participate for the first time since 1992. Just get as much rest as you can the next few days, eat lots of your favourite pre-race foods and make sure to drink lots to make sure you're well-hydrated before race day (check out Curb's article on what to drink for best effect). See you at the race briefing Friday night, on the race course Saturday morning/afternoon, and of course at the Awards Banquet Saturday night - the icing to top it all off!!! Enzo Federico
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