Gunner Shaw 10 km

November 27, 2010

This is part of a series of races put on by the Prairie Inn Harriers on the Thetis Lake trails every fall.  This race is a classic fall race in Victoria that is popular and known for its puddles and muddy terrain.  This year it was a slightly different story though, as we got an early cold snap in Victoria that dusted the ground with snow that lasted for a week.  While the snow had melted in other parts of the city, the trails in Thetis Lake were still completely snow covered, and it would be a slippery run.  Luckily, I had created some 'screw shoes' last year out of an old pair of trail runners, and after seeing the conditions of the trails, I knew they would be perfect for this race. 

It was a beautiful day for a race, the sun was shining and the rays felt quite warm on this autumn day. In the forest, it felt a bit cooler, but the temperature was still great for racing.  I made it to the start line, just in time for the final words by the race director, Bob Reid, and then the countdown.  The race started off fast, as I knew it would.  I didn't want to kill myself right off the bat, so I just tried to maintain a steady effort.  The start of a race is always chaotic, as there's tons of people running all around, and it's amazing we don't all trip over each other. 

I was feeling pretty good and felt like I was maintaining a decent speed.  There were a number of women running around me, who I didn't recognize, but my competitiveness came out and I was determined to try and beat them.  Within the first few kilometres, Antonia Grady, passed me - and my goal then became to latch on to her and stay with her for as long as possible.  Antonia is a fantastic runner, and is somewhat faster than me, so I knew it would be challenging to stick with her, but it would also be a good motivator.  She was pushing it, and was slowly passing other racers as we weaved along the course.  I was following along, passing the same racers, as we went along. 

This year, due to the snow and cold weather, we bypassed the main puddle, as there was still ice on it, and it would have been treacherous to run through it, and likely would have caused some bloody knees.  Just after bypassing the puddle, Antonia and I caught up to the few other women who had been ahead of us.  We tagged along behind them for some time, as I was thinking to myself, 'Ok, Antonia, let's pass them...'.    Soon enough, Antonia made the first pass, and I followed close behind.  I was still feeling pretty good at this point, and was happy that I was able to keep up with Antonia. 

We had now passed the half-way mark, and were on our way back.  The route back went along a few different trails, and we took Sue Reid trail, which is a good single-track section on the way back.  This is one of my favorite parts of this race.  I love this section of the course, as we get onto some more technical terrain that snakes around, and is fun to blast through.  Just as we got near the exit of this trail onto the main trail that passes around Upper Thetis Lake, I couldn't match Antonia's speed anymore.  She was continuing to push hard, and I no longer had it in me to keep up.  I kept her in my sights as we made our way forward, but knew that she would be gone soon enough.  I had to scale it back a bit, but didn't want to slow down completely, as I knew those other women were just behind, and I didn't want them to pass me. 

Soon I was on the last section of the course -- although it's a bit of a cruel end, as it requires us to scale three steep hills, just as the legs are super tired.  I struggled my way up each one in turn, and then came a really fun downhill finish.  I was able to just let my legs spin, and push around the final few bends, before I was spat out into Thetis Lake.  For the very last part of the course, everyone is forced to run through the shallow part of the lake -- it's a fun way to finish the race, and some even decide to dive in and go for a little swim.  I wasn't quite that ambitious - so I kept my top dry.  My finishing time was: 43:57, and I was the fifth female overall.  Thanks to Antonia for giving me the push to work as hard as I did! 

The screw shoes were definitely a good idea - as they really helped with the traction.  After the race I heard about many others who had found the conditions slippery - but I didn't find it too bad.  It also really helped with my confidence, as I didn't feel the need to be tentative out there, either on the up or downhills. 

Shane had a good race as well - coming in 2nd overall, just behind Shawn Nelson, who is running extremely well, and is definitely the force to beat locally on the trails.  Melanie McQuaid was the female winner, coming in at 39:08.  The results are here.

Congrats to all of the racers, and thanks to Prairie Inn Harriers and Bob Reid for putting on another fantastic event!