This past weekend was Thanksgiving in Canada. In keeping with tradition, this was marked by the consumption of vast the amounts of turkey and pumpkin pie throughout the land; and by some 1,400 runners from all over Canada and beyond descending on the Canmore Nordic Centre for a truly awesome day of racing at the Grizzly 50k Ultra Marathon and Relay – a day of broken records, personal bests and individual triumphs. Continue reading
It was an ashamedly long time in coming, but come it did. It was time to volunteer at a race. Continue reading
Perpetual forward motion.
I don’t know how many times I uttered or, at times, gasped those words to myself but it seemed to do the trick. Some 9 hours and 36 minutes after starting the second 5Peaks TrailSTOKE ultra marathon on 29 August, I crossed the finish line, feeling drained, soggy and elated at what i’d achieved. Continue reading
Mount Bourgeau. Altitude 2,931m, named by James Hector in 1860 after Eugène Bourgeau, a botanist with the Palliser Expedition. First climbed in 1890.
125 years and countless hikers and runners later, Canmore Runner puffed his way to the summit in the great company of Mike Fitzpatrick, coordinator of Canmore Trail Culture and Mount Bourgeau alumni. Continue reading
I don’t consider myself faint hearted but i’m not sure i’ll be doing the Rundle Traverse anytime soon. Unlike local runner Simon Donato and Ryan Atkins that is, who last week completed the 23km run along the eleven peaks of Mount Rundle, with some 3,100 metres of elevation gain in 10 hours 25 minutes – beating Dow Williams’ FKT by 2.5 hours. Continue reading
Kelowna, British Columbia. 500km west of Canmore. Home of the Canadian Culinary Championships, 
my lovely in-laws, a great climate, sandy beaches, wonderful wineries, not to mention Pace Sports Fitness, organizer of this weekend’s fantastic (by all accounts) Broken Goat ultra, as well as a number of very cool trails. I was in Kelowna last week visiting family and took the opportunity to run some of those trails, including the always-fabulous Knox Mountain. Continue reading
Dear Michael,
At the outset, let me say how much I enjoy Trail Runner magazine. It truly stands out in terms of the consistent quality of the writing, the wonderful photos, and the great variety of articles covering all aspects of the sport. Every edition offers new insights and new inspiration to get out and hit the trails.
But… Continue reading
You may remember from the “The Racing Post” (or as I call it, the “tempting fate post” as no sooner had I clicked “publish” than I was sidelined by injury for three weeks) that i’d set my sights on three key races for this season – Rundle’s Revenge, TrailStoke and the Grizzly Ultra.
The first of these, Rundle’s Revenge, took place last weekend at Canmore Nordic Centre under sunny skies with temperatures in the low 30s. Continue reading
Last week I had what easily ranks as one of my most epic running experiences to date – the Cory and Edith Pass Trail Loop, just outside Banff. What’s more, I ran in the great company of Mike Fitzpatrick – “Fitzy” – the founder of Canmore Trail Culture (find it on Facebook!), the local trail running group and the subject of a future post. Continue reading
Depending on how much you follow trail running, you might have noticed that there’s a lot of talk about “FKTs” or “Fastest Know Times”. As an article last year in Outdoor magazine put it: “A growing number of trail runners are finding a new way to test themselves, and it doesn’t involve race fees, bibs or finish line chutes.” Instead, trail runners are “enlisting their own stopwatch, navigational prowess, and determination to set trail fastest known times. They pick a route, decide whether they’ll receive help in the form of food or aid along the way, and try to cover the distance as fast as possible.”
Continue reading
Canmore Runner 