Running in circles is not necessarily my kind of thing, but when the motley Fools posted the Flash Foolish Gerbil 6 Hour run, proposing a 10km loop 6h run in Pacific Spirit Park, it fit nicely into my plans to run a longish stretch on the Vancouver New Year's Day 50 course. Others seemed to think along the same line, as pre-event saw a flurry of online activity: Rick posted a map, old timers mused about the opportunity and newbies committed to join us for a loop or two.
The morning dawned crisp and clear, with amazing views of orange glowing Mount Baker on the eastern horizon as I was making my way over Lions Gate Bridge to the start in Pacific Spirit Park. Surprisingly, I was met by a large group of keener's already assembling at the park center... and I thought I could snooze a bit in the warm car before setting out. It was great to see so many new faces brave enough to join some more or less serious gerbils.
After greeting everybody and making sure we all had maps and course descriptions, Karl sent us off on the trails, with Gilles bringing in the rear, offering to stay with the slowest runner to make sure nobody got lost on the first loop. This was a kind offer, but not many took the opportunity and soon the group stretched out, everybody falling into their own pace in several little groups.
I headed out with Lorraine and Claudia, soon realizing that the pace was to brisk for me to maintain on a long run. But the conversation and company was good and I hung on until the quasi turnaround on Marine Drive and Camosun St. where Arthur caught up to us and I decided to slow down a bit. The last time I ran that route was during the Vancouver New Year's Day Fat Ass 50, when utterly undertrained, the slight incline up Salish trail seemed like Mount Everest. I was pleasantly surprised, how gentle the ascent appeared during the Foolish Gerbil. Connecting back to Salish trail proved difficult for the majority of runners unfamiliar with the route and not having taken up Gilles' kind offer, a number of them put in some extra distance. Arthur kept me on track, though, and after a little stretch running with Karl and John, we finished the first loop in just over an hour.
The second loop started at the same - way to fast for me - pace with Claudia and Jennifer, one of the new Fat Asses. After not getting lost the first time around, we somehow managed to include a little detour together with John. No harm done, though, and we soon were able to pick up the correct trail again. Approaching the powerline, I had to say good bye to my running buddies and knew that I wouldn't head out for a third loop, as my quads and calves were starting to tighten up.
I finished the the second loop in 2:16. Happy with my run and pace, I saw the Fools leaving for their 3rd loop and waited for Lorraine, Cynnimon, Rhonda et al to finish their run.
Hoping for a repeat plus one on December 6th during the Foolish Gerbil 12 hour run. See you there.
