June 26, 2007
Running the K-100 Relay in 2007
The K-100 relay is a fabulous mountainous running relay in Kananaskis country in the Rocky Mountains. I have run this relay 2 times before, and this year I had trained better and was excited to be the team captain of a very strong running team.
We had a fabulous time in Kananaskis country. The weather was sunny and warm, but not crazy warm - just right. We arrived in Longview on Friday afternoon and hooked up our tents in the campground. After a good night's sleep, the race started at 6am with the slower teams. My wife's team, the Blue Paper Clip, started at 6am, while our team, 2run.ca started at 7am.
I ran leg 5, an extremely hilly run of 17.6 kilometres. The elevation gain on this leg is a whopping 450 meters. Take a look at the profile of this leg.
I ran this one 2 years ago, and totally bonked after 13 km or so, and I struggled to the finish at turtle speed with the total time of 1:20 something. This time, I had trained better and I didn't really have any trouble. There was an annoying head wind that slowed me down early on, but after 10 km or so, that wind changed direction a bit. I would have run faster if it wasn't for th wind, but I am stil happy. I placed 5th on the leg, with the time of 1:17:07.
Some trees had fallen over the trail on leg 10, so it was shortened to around 13 km instead of the usual 18 km. David ran strong on that one and placed 3rd overall on the leg.
After the race, there is a huge barbeque with good hamburgers, salads, etc. You can imagine there are quite a few hungry runners dining then!
We camped in Peter Lougheed Park after the race on Saturday, and on Sunday we went on a challening hike, trying to climb Mt. Indefatiguable. On the way up, we took a wrong turn and ended up climbing it the "wrong" way. It was scary! I am afraid of heights, and both my wife and I decided we'd better head down. That was easier said than done, since there were lots of loose rocks and it was very steep. We did survive in the end, it was still a lot of fun and a memorable experience.
This year's race was a success, a great experience and a lot of fun. This was my first time being a team captain, and I think I did okay. I should however had some cool signs on our vehicle and maybe some t-shirts made up or something. That would be both fun and practical, since it would be easier to spot people in the crowd.
By Robert Renman - www.dolphinstreet.com
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