Knee Knackering North Shore Endurance Run – July 14th/2018 

Distance: 48km 

Elevation Gain: 2383m 

Training – After a DNF at Diez Vistas 100k, training was a bit sporadic. Seemed to recover quickly, then had some knee problems, so lots of short weeks. I made 5 of the official training runs, including the first ¾ of the course. The week before the race, I did a bike trip with friends, which only ended up being 2 rides. Had to do volunteer work for the race too, ended up helping with some trail building on the Baden Powell. Was interesting to see it during the race. 

Pre-race – An early morning, up at 3:30am, had most of my stuff laid out. Had the usual bowl of cereal for breakfast and made a double latte to have in the car. Got to Deep Cove really quickly, no traffic at all. Parked in the elementary school lot and walked to the bus pick up. Chatted a bit on the bus, and in no time, we were at the start. Signed in and got my wristband, talked to a few people I knew. Used the porta-potty. Lined up somewhere in the middle. 

Start to Black Mountain Helipad – 8.1km 

Started at a slow pace, there's some flat at the beginning, and a couple short downhills. Lots of chatting as we slowly start to climb. The first climbs aren't so bad and there are a couple flat sections. Some of the trail is more like fire road, it gets more technical. Some really steep sections are coming. I make a wrong turn same place as during the training runs, and quickly see my mistake, maybe 30m up a steep hill. There's a scree section around here, we stick to the side, nice to have markers on race day. Some of this is large boulders, some that rock side to side. We do some steep rock and root sections, where you need to use your hands. Next is a rock section, the view here is stunning but don't look at it much. Quite a few people pass me on this steep section. My legs feel like I've been weight lifting the whole time. I'm not breathing really hard but my legs are feeling it, and there's a long way to go. Once you climb to the top of rock face, things flatten a bit, and you re-enter the forest. A bit of up and down here, lots of flatter swampy sections. Start to see the occasional hiker here, it's still early, so not too many have driven up here. Here a bunch of yelling up on the top of the mountain, water station has a pirate theme, and everyone is dressed up. They're all Buntzen Burners, so see some familiar faces. Fill my bottles, talk just a bit, and take one of the chocolate coins. Had one gel up to this point, and one bottle. Around 2h18m to this point. Lots of flies up here, thankfully they don't bite 

Black Mountain to Cypress Parkway – 12km - 2:35:36 

Lots of downhill here, down to the bottom of the ski lifts. Wide gravel trails with some boulders as steps to slow you down. More out in the open for parts of this, so feeling the sun a bit. Still early, so not really hot. First full aid station is at the bottom of the hill. I have some fig newtons, and other food, potatoes and salt. Fill one bottle with Heed. Not much time at the aid station. They have sponges here, but too early for me. 

Cypress Parkway to Hollyburn Lodge – 16.3km 

Up a small hill from the aid station on the ski run, then back into the technical trails. Following some people that are a little slow here, so pass eventually. A few bridges missing, so some climbing in and out of creeks. One bridge is just the metal skeleton, would like to see someone go across it. Eventually you come out on the cross country ski runs, this part is a little muddy, more runnable, but still technical. A lot less snow than a few weeks ago. Didn't feel too long to get to the next aid station, don't remember what I ate there, I had a few fig newtons and some watermelon at most of the stations. I think I had 2 gels up to this point.  

Hollyburn Lodge to Cleveland Dam – 24km - 4:44:07 

Follow the cross country trails a bit more here, then drop into the Hollyburn Chute. Lots of downhill here, with a few short climbs. Some of it is rocky, and I'm not fast on the downhill. Someone passes me here when I turn my ankle. I walk for a bit, and think, not already. Soon enough I'm running again, so just a minor one (I'm prone to strains). I don't see the person that passes me again, but later find out she was faint the last 300m of the race, and needed medical attention, partial kidney failure. Go through Brother's Creek, there's a small waterfall here, and a short steep climb. Cross and then follow some powerlines, then come out at the top of British Properties, where there are a lot of fancy houses with nice views. Cross some roads, the trails between the houses are still steep, rocky and technical. See a couple more Buntzen Burners at one of the road crossings. Good to see people I know, and get some encouragement. A couple more short trails, then pop out at a gravel road, can hear the dam from here. I run across the dam, a few tourists here. Ellie Greenwood takes my bottles as I'm running into the aid station (she won Comrades etc.). Filled bottles, got a zip lock bag of ice for my pack. Lots of energy at this aid station. 

Cleveland Dam to Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve – 35.2km - 7:19:14 

From the dam, the course follows the road for about a km. I'm starting to get hot, and my legs are feeling it from the climbing and descending. I walk up most of the road section, that leads to the bottom of the Grouse Mountain Skyride. The Grouse Grind trail starts here too, so a busy area, with lots of tourists. Head back into the forest, and a steep technical climb. Feel weak on the climb, just keep going, one foot in front of the other. Very little of this section is runnable for me. The flat sections are all roots and rocks and are on a side hill.  They've started to fix parts of the trail, so there are a few switchbacks, and some stone steps. A few creek crossings, and steep drop offs on the side. I know this trail pretty good, have done quite a bit of training on it. Starting to feel hot, but the ice is helping. I know I need to get to LSCR before 7.5 hours, so try not to go too slow. I pass some slower people, than end up tripping and falling. Hard to keep alert for hours on technical trails. I'm not bleeding, so dust myself off and keep going. I see someone doing some trail work, so go to thank him, trail is a bit narrow, but a really easy section, I slip and fall again. I'm thinking it must be dehydration to be so clumsy, so start drinking more. After Skyline, the trails get a bit easier. You go down to Mosquito Creek, then have to climb back up again, up to St. George's Bench. After this there's a nice downhill to Mountain Highway. There's an aid station here, fill up bottles, and get a bit of food. I know I have to go a bit harder here to make the next cutoff. The trails are more runnable, down a bunch of stairs, then onto the Varley trail. There's a lot of boardwalks here, some of them are brand new. Run as much as possible here, still have to walk some of the stairs. Cross the bridge over Lynn Creek, then up another hill, run a bit of this, but still have to walk. Some fairies dressed up to cheer us on here. Into the aid station, probably spend a bit too much time here. Clean up my wounds a bit and get another bag of ice. 

Lower Seymour Conservation Reserve to Hyannis Drive – 39.7km 

The next section starts with downhill, going back down towards Lynn Creek. Lots of boardwalk, and lots of tourists, some that don't want to get out of the way. I don't mow anyone down, but not a fun section. Lots of stairs up, after a new boardwalk section. Dragging and feeling hot on the stairs, I know that I still have to climb the Seymour Grind. Cross the road to the LSCR, up a bit more, then a bunch of switchbacks down to the pipe bridge on the Seymour River. After the bridge, it's back up, and I'm not feeling great at this point. More walking than I'd like, and a couple people catch me here. One person I talked to on the bus, and another I saw at another aid station that was having some problems. Hit Hyannis Drive aid station, and they have a hose, and are misting people. Get a sponge down, clean up. They give me some ginger ale, since I say my stomach isn't the greatest. Eat as much food as I can handle, then on my way. 

Hyannis Drive to Mt. Seymour Road – 44km 

Start up the grind, trying to lose as little time as possible. Some people come up behind us, I ask if they want to pass, turns out they're the sweepers. Feeling a bit down at this point, and I'm not sure about the cut off at the next aid station. I'm thinking it's 9h, so thinking I'm going to DNF at this point. Start getting some calf cramps on the bigger step ups. Have to stop and massage them out as the sweeps wait behind me. I keep going and get to the top of the climb around 9h. A long downhill here on what used to be a road at one point. Cramps seem okay on the downhill, I'm trying to take in as much water and electrolytes as I can. Finally come out at Old Buck, and think oh crap, more uphill. Turns out we just cross it, and then more downhill to Mt. Seymour Road. 

Mt. Seymour Road to Finish – 48km 

I get to Mt. Seymour Road, thinking I have a DNF. Turns out it's 9h15m cut off, so I still have 45 minutes to finish. I'm still running with the sweeps, the others are a bit ahead of me. I'm glad to still be running. More downhill here, so go as fast as I can handle. Follow the Baden Powell trail to Quarry Rock, then onto the really busy Quarry Rock Trail. There are some stairs and uphills here, and I catch up to someone that's suffering more than me. I end up passing him, as I hobble along. The up and down doesn't want to end. They have marshals to tell people to clear the trail, this is really helpful, I did a race on this trail before, and passing was a huge problem, especially on some of the stairs. We can hear the announcements now, and cheering, so the people that passed are just finishing. Most of the tourists are nice and encouraging. The guy I passed jokes about us sprinting to the finish. I contemplate taking the DFL and decide to run as best I can. It's not very far to the finish once you hit the road. I run along the sidewalk, then into the park. I can see the clock, 9:52. I run the final stretch as fast as I can, and finish in 9:53:08. Not the race I was expecting, but glad to be able to finish it, after almost missing the time cutoff. The last guy bobbles in a few minutes after me. I see some people I know and they congratulate me on the finish. They had tough days too but finished strong. I had a hard time eating at the finish. I had one of the famous Honey's Doughnuts, and more water. There was a BBQ at the finish, I didn't feel up to it and ended up leaving. Not my best race but even with the falls, no real injuries. My calves are still sore a couple days later, the rest of my legs feel fine though. 

Ugh scree. Take 3x normal effort to do scree miles.

Do do you think in retrospect that dehydration contributed to tripping and falling?  Wondering if you noticed improvement after drinking more.  Sounded like a lot of technical stuff too, which is tough on tired legs.

Great job getting it done!

good job Derek! i think those who are out there the longest need to be considered as the toughest

Nice job drock!  I'm with Gatsby on the scree.  The first time I encountered that stuff was in a mountain race.  Runners were passing me on that stuff like I was standing still (obviously experience matters).  From my chair, I think if I were in your shoes toward the end, I'd want the DFL bragging rights; however, when you're in the race, especially for that long, you think a little differently.  Way to tough it out.

Finally got around to reading your RR. Sounds like a brutal course and exposure with sun, even if it's not really hot, can make for a much tougher race. Running down scree can be a lot of fun once you learn the technique, but running up is always a challenge.