It can be very difficult to rise out of bed at 6:00 in the morning on a Sunday to go and stand in the pouring rain directing runners where to go. It had been raining all night, but I got up with the blast of my alarm clock and dragged myself through the routine of getting ready for a day in the mountains.
In my morning haze, I was not paying attention to what was happening outside my window so when I walked outside to catch the bus I was pleasantly surprised that there was no rain.
After 45 minutes on transit I arrived at the end of the line cafe, grabbed a muffin and a coffee and walked the 2km to the volunteer meeting point. I was going to me a race marshall.
Myself and a fellow named Ray were takes with directing people at the turn off from the relative flat Lynn Loop Trail to the steeper Lynn Loop trail.
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| Where Lynn Loops trails breaks right and climbs. |
Volunteering can be very tedious at times as you are standing out in the woods, shivering and wishing you were running the race. I certainly wish I was running, but my calf is not race ready. Despite these hardships it is worth it when you see runners go by and they all thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to help them in their endeavour. Makes getting up early worth it.
Ray and I shared 3 hours of great conversation centred around races, running, running clubs, running shoes, running trails and more stuff running. We shared info on great races we have done or heard off, awesome trails and we both came away with some new found knowledge.
After the last runners and the sweeps went by I hoofed it back the the cafe and sat down to do some work. I had 2 hours to kill before my own trail run of the day. So I marked and planned a Gr. 8 unit on Ancient India. Much more exciting than it sounds.
At 2 pm I met Aaron we did a fast 10k super technical route with major elevation gain in the first 3 km. You start off with 500 m of flat gravel before breaking right and starting the tortuous climb for the next 3-4 km. It is absolutely gruelling as it is over gnarly, rocky, root filled terrain.
We flew over roots, rocks, creeks, mud puddles, roots and climbed hills. The Lynn Loop long is super technical and you have to be careful. One could easily sprain an ankle or worse on the wet roots and rocks and steep stairs.
It was great to do a proper run as the last month has been building my running back up after my calf injury.
The run occurred in gorgeous sunshine that felt more like August then late October. It was a perfect day and cured me of my rainy week blues.
When the sun shines in Vancouver you don't know how long it will last…so you must tale advantage.
