|
|
|
|
|
Thank you, thank you to everyone who has been in touch - we love hearing from you & appreciate all of your stories, comments & thanks. Please enjoy the read through of the following & thank you to everyone who gave us permission to post your thoughts. - Kelsy Trigg (on behalf of the 2007 Knee Knacker Committee)
“Best bunch of volunteers ever!” - Suzanne Evans “I want to say thank you to the Knee Knacker committee and to all the volunteers for putting on an amazing event. The committee did a wonderful job. From a runner's perspective everything went flawlessly. All the volunteers at the top of Black Mountain were cheerful and supportive despite the fact that they were being eaten alive by black flies. The aid station at Skyline asked that we write to you and nominate them for "most fun aid station". With their super soaker showers they definitely earned that title. The Hyannis aid station was also extra special with the sprinkler that they had set up and the Tim Horton's cinnamon buns. The man in charge of the cut off times (whose name I should remember) also deserves a special thank you. By the third check point he had our names memorized and could tell us how long it was going to take us to get to the next aid station. I am always amazed by how supportive everyone connected to the race is. Every single course marshal and aid station volunteer was cheerful and encouraging - to the point of giving hugs on request. I really appreciate the effort that everyone went to. I'm looking forward to KK 2008 either as a runner or as a volunteer (I'll decide once the stiffness in my legs goes away). -- Lara Taylor “Yesterday did not finish quite the way I had expected with a DNF after tearing my shin open at the top of Black Mountain. A few hours later with the help of some great volunteers and a good doctor I made it home in one piece with 16 staples zipping the wound up. Aside from a nasty scar and bruised ego, everything should be fine and I should be back on the trails in a few weeks. What I really wanted to do was pass on a note to you and sincere thank you to the great people who helped me off the mountain. Steve the Aussie was first on the scene with first aid and stayed with me right till getting to Cypress. Thanks for the physical support, great attitude and conversation that helped take my mind off the pain from the walk out. I can't say enough good things about Gary, Cory and their daughter Terra. They were next on the scene and provided the "ambulance" shuttle first to Lions Gate and then VGH after LG proved too busy. Thanks for the ride, the Starbucks, for calling my wife to let her know all was OK and for taking up a big chunk of your day getting me to emerg. Doug, the North Shore Search and Rescue guy was patient and helpful. Barry, who was volunteering instead of running this year, walked with me from the aid station to Cypress when he had a bunch of other things to take care of as well. Chris, the ski patroller at Cypress, drove me down to the lodge and helped keep spirits up by talking about his own injuries and getting back on track. Plus the dozen or so other people at the Black Mountain aid station who surrounded me with support and a few laughs to make things better. You put on a great race and have a great team of volunteers. Thanks to all of them for their help yesterday.” - JP Obbagy “Thanks for a great race and all of your organization yesterday, you did a great job!” - Jackie Muir “Thank you very, very much for another great KK. It's an epic event, and it's always a privilege to be part of it !! You guys did an awesome job, once again.” - Etienne van Eck “Many thanks to you and all the coordinators for another great race. I have always considered the Knee Knacker to be the race highlight of the year and was glad to have my view confirmed by a racer from Toronto who, at the banquet, extolled the multiple virtues of the race and its organizers.” - Jon Fleming “Thanks for such a fabulous day. The course, volunteers, organization and banquet were all wonderful.” – Doug Brown “Thanks again to you and the Kneeknacker Team for once again putting on this great event. Sorry that I barfed on your beautiful trail!” – David Crerar “Just a quick note to say "Thanks". This was my first Knee Knacker but lottery and knees willing, will definitely not be my last. It was a tremendous time from a first timer's perspective and the amount of work that had obviously gone on was amazing. My thanks to all .... every volunteer that cheered us on at every aid station and all that marked the course (GREAT JOB). Thanks again. Hope to see you all next year.” - Dave Berg “I commend you and your team for doing such a great job of organizing the race and ensuring that runners have the best possible experience on race day. I am involved in special events as part of my job and I realize how much work it takes to put on a banquet, let alone a major race involving a 30-mile course on the same day. The pink tape team who must have spent hours on the course ensuring that it was as foolproof as possible for the directionally challenged and the folks who lobbied and worked to get the Black Mountain segment of the trail ready for running deserve special recognition. It's a daunting course for the first timers like me, but the professional attitude and abilities of the organizing team (plus diligent fuelling and a bit of luck) enabled me to complete the race and enjoy a feeling of accomplishment that I have not felt since my first marathon almost 20 years ago. Please pass this on to the committee.” - Anne McLaughlin “I wish to comment and thank you on how much I really enjoyed and appreciate the efforts you and your team of coordinators and volunteers made to my first kneeknacker. The trail killed me (more than once), but your enthusiastic team kept bringing me back to life with methods like sponge baths (oh yeah), constant encouragement and comments "looking good". Please pass on my many, many thanks and future support to your team.” - Bill Wight “Just wanted to commend you and the committee on doing such an amazing job this past weekend. This was my first KK and ultra, thanks for making it so special. Thanks again for all the hard work you put into this organization.” - Sukhi Muker “Just want to say what a great event the KK is and what a honour it was to participate this year. Can appreciate the amount of work that went into the event and can only say thanks to all involved and particularly the volunteers. All we had to do was run! Hope to have the privilege again next year.” - Scott Galloway “Thanks again for another fantastic race. As per usual, you put on a fantastic event. From the accurate, detailed pre-race info, to the exceptional course markings, to awesome volunteers and aid stations, what a great event.” - Suzanne Evans “Just wanted to say that this race was of the proudest races I have had and it felt amazing to cross the line not only to my family but to the extended family of the trail running community. I cannot tell you how many times I wanted to pull the pin and grab a coffee but it only gets easier to quit when you start quitting. I am a lifetime junky for this race and want to thank you for all your efforts to make this event better and better each year. I am very excited to prepare myself for battle next year and really feel I have something to prove to myself.” - Paul Purin “Thanks once again to you and all your volunteers for an excellent race. Your volunteers all seem to be well prepared and very enthusiastic.” – Rob Fontaine “I just wanted to pass on my thanks to you and your organizing committee for once again hosting a wonderful event for the 19th edition of the Knee Knacker Run. You did an awesome job once again of coordinating all the various needs that must be done before and during the event. It is just such an experience to see everyone achieve their success. I certainly was aware of all the trail work that was done to clear the downed trees, branches, and debris from the various winter storms that hit the coast and to see how the high country snow all but in a few patches had disappeared with the latest onslaught of heat. I and all the other runners appreciated this groundwork as there would have been many more trees to climb over or duck under along the route had it not been accomplished. I recall crawling under one such low fallen tree, reminding Mark to watch his head! And, Oh, for Enzo to run the first quarter with his video camera to record some of the 1st quarter highlights including the new trail...now this was tough for anyone to do, but Enzo was up to the challenge and did a great job. Please pass on my congrats to him as he was consuming more energy with his commentary, taking away from some of the critical focus needed on this rugged piece of trail, but what a job he did! Talking and running when you are working that hard is an added stress to the system that is for sure. Well, thanks again for a great weekend.” - Peter Findlay “Enjoyed watching the race on Saturday. Very well organized. Incredible athletic performances. There supporting my brother in law Fred Bushell as he came in 25th. You might enjoy some of the pictures I have posted on my website. http://web.mac.com/kylemitchell/iWeb/Site/KneeKnacker%20Race.html” – Kyle Mitchell
“I wish to pass to you and all those involved in the race
organization a very big thank you.
It was my first KK - it was tough and long, but it was a good experience for me. You've got a great thing going there.” - Ran Katzman “I can't thank you enough for putting on such an unbelievably well organized event. I've ran most of the big running events around here in the last couple years but the smoothness and attention to detail that I saw in this race were truly second to none. It must be an incredible amount of work but it really does set the Knee Knacker apart from any of the local running events. My only complaint is that you are doing nothing to help curb my trail running addiction. Thanks again and I'll be looking forward to you putting another medal around my neck next year. PS Please thank Enzo for the "Ultracam" race coverage. How cool is that!!!!! Oh and of course, the volunteers ...They were so awesome.” - Brad Dean
|
|
