Happy International Mountain Day!
To mark the occasion, it seemed rather fitting to post a trail running route that celebrates one of the “shorter” mountains in the Bow Valley: Tunnel Mountain. Elevation 1,692m and runnable (up and down) in around 32 minutes (and i’m no speed demon)! But don’t be deceived. What Tunnel Mountain lacks in elevation and technical difficulty is compensated for with stunning summit views of Banff and the Bow Valley.
I’m truly baffled as to why it took me so long to head out on the trails around Lake Minnewanka. What a spectacular place to run. I’ve walked there, i’ve taken the kids and visitors there, i’ve eaten ice cream there, i’ve even potted around the lake in a small boat and walked across it last winter when it was frozen. But it wasn’t until this week that I finally ran there with Ms. Canmore Runner (who has run there). It seems i’ve been missing out on something quite stunning.
Covering 70km from the Goat Creek trailhead on Highway 742 just outside Canmore, to Elk Pass on the Alberta-BC border, the High Rockies Trail looks set to become an absolute must for trail runners, mountain bikers and hikers. And with good reason. 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
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
The Montane Traverse Trail, on the east side of the Bow Valley, is another spectacular run. Starting at the Cougar Creek trailhead, it climbs steadily and steeply in parts in the first 2 kilometres. But after that, the trail stretches out into a rollercoaster of a ride along largely technical single track with tree roots, twists and turns, and the occasional rocky creek bed to navigate. Continue reading
And so to the third of my trail running route posts – the Bow River Loop. Continue reading
Canmore Runner 