Last weekend, we traveled to Canmore, Alberta for a girl Road-Trip and a bit of racing as the organizer of the Trans Rockies put together a 2 days event at the Nordic Center; The Rundle’s Revenge. It was the first edition of the race and as expected from the TR group, the event was very well organized. The event was divided in many categories as racers could pick from entering only the “Kick Ass “ Mountain Bike Race (100km, 50km or 25 km). Then on the Sunday, runners could enter the “Mountain Mule” trail run (50 km, 25 km or 12.5 km). For people that wanted to push it a bit more, it was possible to enter the “Full Donkey”: 100 km mountain bike, 50 km trail run, the “Half Donkey” 50 km and 25 km run and the “Lite Donkey” 25 km bike & 12.5 km run. People could also team up in order to race in either or both events.
The course was the same on both days with a great mix of not so technical trails around the Nordic Center. Event if the riding was not technically challenging, it was still quite hard for the lungs and the legs.
After a long four and a half hour of sleep, we woke up just after 5:30 am in order to make our way to the race start. The weather was great even if a bit cold and the trails were in great shape. A quick warm up lap led me to think that it would be a hard event. About 80 racers lined up at the start/ finish area (20 for the 100km, 40 for the 50 km and 20 for the 25 km). At 8:00 am we were on our way around the 12.5 km loop. The pack spread out nicely half way into the 1st lap. It was a bit hard to tell how hard to race since racers had no clue who to race against so it came down to how the legs felt, keeping in mind the 25 km run the following day… not a good idea to go all out! My friend Audray did not race the mountain bike but she sure was a great support crew! Thx girl! After a relaxing afternoon, lots of hydration and food and a longer sleep, we woke up to a really wet and cold day for the run. Over 100 racers lined up at the star/ finish area. Being on the course the previous day, the expectation of pain was there but again, you just need to put the head down, put one foot in front of the other and go with it.
Congrats to Audray, it was her first trail race event ever and she finished 4th of her category out of 14 racers. I was so proud and happy for her! Sweet little Bee just killing it! Way to go!
As far as things went for me, I completed the 50 km mtb race in second place, being pass by a local rider half way in the last lap. Keeping some leg straight for the following day, I did not want to fight too hard plus Margie was looking very strong when she flew pass me. Great work! Then, I completed the 25km run in 3rd place overall just behind some really fast ladies. There was just a few people competing in the half donkey category unfortunately so I finished 1st & last all at once!… Nevertheless, it was a super fun weekend but pretty demanding.
Thx to all the organizer! The swag was awesome with some great gear from The North Face. Thx to Audray for the company, to Steve, Deb, Anna & Christie for the hospitality.
Next event, the Local Stoke to Get Spanked in Revelstoke!
Full Results of the event: http://rundlesrevenge.com/2011/06/official-results/
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