October (so far)

Joe Grant and I were down in the desert last week, taking some pictures with Arc'teryx. We flew into Vegas and got out of there as quickly as possible to hit up Zion and Bryce National Park in Utah. They really are magical settings. We both wished that we had more time to explore, but were certainly not complaining about the opportunity to be down there.
It was also interesting to get to know Joe a bit better and hear about his vision/philosophy of running. Although we share an equal passion, he has a slightly different perspective and relationship with running than I do. He jumped straight into ultra-running and really embraces the adventure side of the sport, so I enjoyed sharing experiences and running world-views with him.
As for Utah, I love our densely forested coastal trails, but they frequently come with overcast skies and a lack of views. The desert vistas, blue bird days and red rocks are pretty much the antithesis of this climate, so the change was nice. Some of the small towns that we drove through and stayed in also made for some interesting people watching. Definitely cowboy country. I hope to go back on a "runcation" in the near future.

Speaking of sunny days, I have a new badge on the side banner of my blog. Lauren has been a Ryders Eyewear sponsored athlete for the past 4 years and I've been lucky enough to get a few pairs on the side through her. I'm happy to say that I've moved up from Lauren's sidekick to being an athlete on their roster. It's great to represent another Vancouver based company with such a strong commitment to helping us all play outdoors more comfortably. Go Canada!

After quite a long period of feeling flat, I seem to have found some late season pep in my stride recently and have decided to extend my season. I've been ramping up the mileage and looking forward to having a crack at the 50-mile North Face Endurance Challenge, December 3rd, in San Francisco. I've never been to the area before, so I'm looking forward to running in the Marin Headlands and hopefully poking around the city a bit after the race. Also, with $30,000 total in prize money, it has one of (if not the) biggest prize purse in North American ultra-running and attracts a stellar international field. So, lots to look forward to and very good motivation to get my ass out the door.

Finally, I just did a rather "quirky" interview with Chris Kelssal over at Flotrack. I've enjoyed the site's race coverage and reading Chris' interviews for a number of years, so it's a big honour for me answer some questions and share some thoughts. If you want to know whether or not I think Picasso would have been a good trial (trail?) lawyer, read on here!

Here are some pics from Utah (first two by Brian Goldstone):

Guest blogging

I'm doing a weekly post at the new Frontrunner's Victoria site. They've set up a blog and have a few runners writing for them. The store and its owner, Rob Reid, are an amazing resource and are huge supporters of the Victoria running community. Rob and the store have helped me tremendously over the years, with work, sponsorships, race entries, connections, mentorship, friendship etc... They've also started carrying Arc'teryx gear recently, so you know they're a good place to shop :) I'm glad that I can finally give back to them in a small way.

My first post for them was about how much I enjoy fall runs. Here's the post:

Loamy Fall Runs

Fall has always been my favourite time of year for running. I started my running addiction at high school cross-country meets and extended those experiences to university. I continue to run daily; more often than not I head out twice a day, building on the foundation of those early fall runs.

I remember my first group workouts, which could better be described as “hammerfests”, where pacing got tossed out the window and beating your teammates into the ground was the sole objective. This same strategy extended to our races, where we would go out at a suicidal pace and try to hang on for as long as possible. Success came down to those who slowed down least.

I started running wearing baggy soccer shorts, tennis, or basketball shoes and cotton t-shirts, however over the course of that first season, my shorts became shorter, my t-shirts turned to singlets and I started the long process of callousing my feet with blisters earned from wearing spikes that were two sizes too big.

Although the workouts and races were fun, I always enjoyed our long group runs the most. We would meet up after class, on Thursday afternoon, jump on a bus and drive out to a Provincial park about 20 minutes away. It always felt like we were heading off on an adventure. Our runs only lasted 45 or 60 minutes, but I remember finishing them feeling exhausted and satisfied. It’s hard work building a base, but even then we understood that running rewards hard work and the more we did, the better we would become. Inevitably, we would run too hard. We would also joke around during the runs, playing pranks on each other, which mostly involved trying to “pants” each other (pull each other's shorts down), which to a 14 year old boy is probably the funniest thing you can do, or trying to plan ambushes to catch the girls group off-guard, which is the second funniest thing to do.

On top of the camaraderie and physical effort of those outings, I also remember the crisp, clear, cold fall air, the rich tapestry of colours of the leaves carpeting the trail and the dappled light that would pierce through the thinning foliage. What I remember most though is how soft the ground was underfoot. The rich, organic, loamy surface felt bouncy, cushioning our stride, allowing us to run harder and longer. It smelled like nature should. I liked the strength required to run up and over hills, the unpredictability of the footfall on the rocky, rooty surface and being able to splash through the odd puddle that would pool on the trail’s surface.

Last Sunday, as I did a mountain run up at Whistler, I couldn’t help but think how little has changed. My gear has gotten more technical, my runs are longer and I no longer try to pants and ambush my running partners as often, but the essence of what I love about fall running is the same. I love being outside as the seasons transition, running along a soft surface, smelling the crisp, peaty air and feeling it coat my lungs, chatting with a group of like minded friends. We share a lot of intimate and inane details with the trail, but mostly we enjoy the simple act of running. I don’t think that will ever change.

Weekend inspiration:
On the video front, Canadian alpinist & cover boy, Jason Kruk
has posted a video (part I) of a great adventure he had over at Mt Waddington with Arc designer, Tony Richardson (yes, people who work there go after it hard). It's worth a watch for some weekend inspiration:

The journey to Mystery Mountain - part 1 from Jason Kruk on Vimeo.