I ran a relay race today. It was no ordinary race, you run uphill for 10km, then you do the grouse grind, then at the top of the grind, you run up the ski hill portion of the mountain, and run back down. The race is called the Seek the Peak and it is a challenging race indeed. My co-workers and I formed two teams and finished the race in a little over 2 hours and change. I did the grind portion of the race, which is the usual trail I hike most weekends.
I had to get up rather early (for a Sunday) to make the race but my team mates were there earlier (I was doing leg 3 of a 4 leg relay). Now, the race is open to solo participants as well and the majority seemed to be solo athletes. The first person to finish the race did so in under an hour and a half. Now, to give some perspective, here's what they accomplished: they ran a little over 3k on fairly flat terrain (an elevation change of 90m), then they ran 6km with an elevation change of over 500m and then hiked a mountain and then once they got to the top of that mountain, they ran up another peak on the mountain, and ran back to the end of leg 3. That makes 16km of incredible terrain in about 10C weather with rain pouring down at times. And some of these people finished the race in around 90 minutes. Think about that for a minute.
I have no idea what they do to keep so fit and continue racing as they do, but I hope one day that I can just finish the entire race from the beach to the top of the mountain. It also shows how incredible the human body is. These people are not Olympians or in the midst of their youth (the first guy to finish was in the 40 - 49 years of age category). And yet, they beat the relay teams whose members do a single leg each of the race.
Time to train and get ready for the next challenge!
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