Grouse Mountain to Mountain Highway Return, 14 Km 

The first training run of the Knee Knacker season was a great success.  There were over 30 people and the weather was perfect: cool, sunny, dry and fresh after some rain the day before.  As usual, there were several first-timer racers and a small handful of people that were out just to get a taste of what the Knee Knacker is all about.   

I mentioned that everyone is welcome but that we should all be in fairly decent shape to begin with before doing these training runs.  In fact, I regularly tell runners that they need to be well equipped to run a marathon already and then we’ll show them what the Baden Powell Trail is all about in preparation for our big 30 mile event.  Trail running is quite different than a good road marathon and doing it on the North Shore mountains is extra challenging.  Congrats to the people running the Vancouver Marathon today by the way. 

I had a great run today and enjoyed a gentle pace at the back with some new faces. We had fun together finding the route and chatting. I allowed myself to be taken off trail a couple of times by Christine but that was no biggie.  I’m sure that happens in the same places on this section year after. The best part is that it doesn’t take long to realize there are no orange triangular markers to be seen and that the trail isn’t familiar. Besides that it adds some distance and builds character, heh heh. 

As we ran we saw that a bunch of work had been done to put bridges and rockways down. I would say this is an improvement for the most part but do be careful of the slippery flat rocks especially when they have small gravel and dirt on them. 

I reinforced for everyone at the pre-run briefing that these runs are for everyone to become familiar with the trail and to help one another. This is a message that I am going to keep repeating because it is very important as we do longer and longer runs on less and less familiar terrain. Believe it or not, it takes effort and thought to stay together and watch out for each other. This is each of your responsibility. Each time you come out make plans to stick with at least one other person and if you can’t keep up with a faster runner then please fall back and find someone else more of your speed. 

Thanks to some of our organizing committee members for coming out today. Bonnie came to take a few pictures at the beginning, Rod was running and Glenn was spotting along the route and taking a well deserved rest after a 50 miler at Elk/Beaver yesterday. And thanks to some of the other regulars like Loger, Monty B., John M., and many others I’m sure, for joining in the fun and watching out for the newbies. It makes a difference for all of us. 

Next week is Grouse to Lynn Canyon Return. Remember to bring fluids and food and dress appropriately. If you’re new to trail running then this is a good time to try new things and find out what works. The right clothing, the right shoes, food and attitude make it all worthwhile. Oh, and a nice cup of coffee at Delany’s afterwards hits the spot too! 

Thanks to everyone for coming out,

 Craig Moore

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