Race Report – 5 Peaks Central Alberta – Canmore Nordic Centre

June 16^th, 2012

The second race in the 5 Peaks Central Alberta trail running series took place at the Canmore Nordic Center. The Canmore Nordic Center is located just above the town of Canmore and was the host of the cross-country and biathlon events during the 1988 Winter Olympics.

Canmore enduro elevation chart

The weather leading up to the Saturday morning race was a little sketchy; rain, thunderstorms and snow. This mix of meteorological delights made for some muddy and slippery sections on the trail, but nevertheless added to the experience! 

223 participants ran the sport course (5ish kilometers) and 195 participants endured the enduro course (10ish kilometers). Both courses included double track, rolling hills, steep climbs and lots of single-track. Sport course racers began ten minutes before enduro racers to help alleviate bottlenecks in the single track. As with most 5 Peaks trail races, runners seeded themselves and started at the sound of “Get off the road!”

Canmore Enduro course map

The first couple of hundred meters was open and allowed (somewhat) for the crowd to thin out. Double track soon turned to single track with sharp turns, rolling hills and some minor traffic jams. Roughly 3 kilometers into the course, the trail opened up to a meadow and a leg punishing 1.5 kilometer of uphill. I managed to push myself through this section with a combination of running and walking, knowing that what goes up, must come down! At kilometer 6, the downhill started and continued for roughly one kilometer. This section included scree fields, double track and gnarly single track. It was here that I managed to catch 6 other runners and we ran the rest of the race in formation (sorry about the heavy breathing team!). With a little less than half a kilometer remaining we crested one last hill and the finish flags came into view. A gradual uphill brought us to the finish line of the most technical trail race that this Saskatchewan Clydesdale has ever run. Check out the race results here.

After the race I had an interesting conversation with a former Canadian Mountain Running team member (Phil Villeneuve) and a gifted young runner who is aspiring to make this year’s team. One amazing aspect of these local events is the mixture of elite and recreational runners. Few other races give you the ability to run and chat with runners from all backgrounds and experience levels.

Étant un Clydesdale (un coureur qui pèse plus de 200 livres), j'ai des problèmes d’irritation lorsque je cours de longues distances. Ce qui fonctionne bien pour moi est de porter une paire de culotte de compression et de les couvrir avec une paire de short  de course de fond. Le short double Voracious de North Face fournit les deux options dans un short; une paire de culotte de compression intégrée à l’intérieur d’un short léger.

Les shorts double  Voracious ont des panneaux latéraux en filet qui permettent au corps de rester frais pendant l'activité. La poche en arrière avec glissière est assez grande pour une clef ou un paquet de gel.

J'ai utilisé ces shorts pendant plusieurs différentes séances d’entraînement; des sessions d’intervalles, des sessions de collines et quelques courses de distances moyennes. Je n'ai eu aucun malaise pendant les sessions d'entraînement de colline, mais j’ai eu des irritations pendant les sessions d'intervalles et les distances moyennes. Je crois qu'une partie du problème d’irritation est due au fait que les shorts sont un peu grands. En comparaison avec mes autres shorts et collants de grandeur large de North Face, le short de compression est un peu plus ample et permet le mouvement et le frottage. C’est ce mouvement et frottage qui cause l’irritation.

J'ai également porté ces shorts pour des  classes de spin, de bootcamp et de Tabata et je n’ai eu aucun malaise et pas d’irritation du tout!  Alors je ne porterais pas ces shorts pour toutes mes séances d'entraînement de courses, mais je les emploierais certainement pour mes autres activités physiques. 

TNF Single Track Hayasa Review

I was pretty excited to receive my TNF Single Track Hayasas in the mail. I had been coveting these shoes at my local outdoor store and in the pages of my favorite running magazines for a couple of months. Now they were sitting in my living room just begging to go play.

I like the appearance of the Hayasas, the bright blue or red color makes them stand out even when covered in mud! These shoes are ultralight, weighing in at 8.3 ounces, more than 3 ounces lighter than the previous Single Track model. North Face has also managed to drop the heel to forefoot profile to 10 millimeters, again bettering last year’s Single Track model by 2 millimeters. This low profile allows you to have a good sense of the trail beneath your foot, thus providing a “close to trail ride”.  

 I have used these shoes for most of my runs for 5 weeks and I have had no problems, no pinching or blister problems. I have punished them through intervals, hill workouts, and long runs as well as differing conditions; snow, rain and sun. The fit is snug and my foot feels secure and balanced. The laces have some grab to them, so even when not double knotted, they manage to stay tied.

However, I do have some concerns with the shoe. I have covered roughly 200 kilometers, 30 percent on road and 70 percent on trail and the 3 front nubs on the forefoot of both shoes have worn down considerably. This is not a concern with my other TNF shoes (Single Tracks and Double Tracks) and I have more kilometers on those shoes. With these grips worn down, traction on the trail can be compromised, especially in snowy or muddy conditions. Also, the toe cap on my right shoe has begun to peel off the upper. There does not seem to be any performance hindrance; however it is worrisome that these shoes would break down so quickly.

I am still sold on the lightness and comfort of these shoes; however there are a few kinks left to iron out.