2013 - Year 10 - Fall Mountain Highway Madness

8 September 2013 - 11 Starters

The odometer rolled-over on Mountain Highway Madness this year.  I thought I’d propose something a bit different for the 10th anniversary.  Why don't we make it a group run and bag a peak while we're at it?

Eric was all for it.  Unfortunately for him, he showed-up a day early.  (Ha, ha.  Gotta read the agenda, Eric.  Did you earn trash points?  =;-)

Swad had to be different.  He signed-up to do laps.  "How many laps you going for, Swad?", I asked.  "Oh, I don't know", he answered.   He didn't appear to have any food and he was going solo.  I figured him for 2.

It was nice to see the familiar faces and great to see several new fat-asses.  Cressman and his gang came from East Van.  Frank came all of the way from South Africa! 

We started promptly at 7:30.  The fast folks took off as a group, but no worries... I was the only one who knew how to find the trail to the peak of Fromme, so they had to wait.  Swad had a big smile on his face and looked fresh as he made his way downhill.  A large group waited at the turnaround... an abandoned stone quarry.   I offered bonus points to whoever grabbed a rock for my rock wall project, but got no takers.

Bill's Trail is a lesser known, runnable gem that leads to the summit from the quarry.  We had barely changed gears from gravel road to single track when I let out a holler, "Purple Corts!"  Rick, Cressman and some of my other frequent trail companions shook their heads, but I believe most of the others were startled when I abruptly stopped to photograph several large, velvety purple mushrooms just off the trail.  Yes, after a summer of dry heat, the recent monsoons and warm, humid weather were perfect for mushrooms... and there were gobs of good ones (3 types of yummy boletes!) at higher altitudes.

It was a mob scene at the summit of Mount Fromme.  By my reconning, a Bagger Challenge world record for the most people to simultaneously bag a peak!  Given the fog, there was not much of a view, but we did find an ammo box full of cool stuff (geo-cache).  Only 2 people had signed the log since Bill's Great Peak Ascent last year.  I noted the occasion, but had nothing special to trade.

Rather than take the same trail back, we opted to take a longer route back to Mountain Highway via a secret lake.  Rick calls it Leech Lake.  There were no takers for a skinny dip.

The descent was steep and super-slippery.  It’s a miracle nobody broke an ankle.  I shared the story about the time Bill and I got off the trail and spent several hours whacking through devils club somewhere to the east of this trail, but being concentrated on their foot placement, I don’t think anyone heard it.

Back on the dirt road, the fast boys cranked it up and took off.  There were lots of mountain bikers heading up as the rest of us headed-down.  There was some discussion about dropping in at the Van Tan Club as we neared the bottom of the hill, but concensus was that we were overdressed in our running shorts and tech t-shirts.   Near the bottom, the group I was with added another special bonus to the run and took a new mountain bike trail in for the last 500m.  Apparently, we missed seeing Swad head up for lap 3.

All-in-all, a fine day to be on the trails.  Congrats to all who did a lap and bagged a peak on the 10th anniversary run... and a respectful tip-of-the-hat to Jim Swadling, who joined the elite few to have gone platinum (4 laps... 60K) on water and cold pizza!!!

Ean Jackson
Host of the Fall Mountain Highway Madness

PS  Congrats to Frank for winning a purple heart for twisting his ankle and for travelling the farthest.  You get a subscription to Trail Runner Magazine!

PS  Please post your comments, impressions, corrections to the results and feedback via the comment link below.

Photos can be added to the CFA Flickr group, tagged with  FallMountainHighwayMadness2013 FallMountainHighway ClubFatAssEvents ClubFatAssEvents2013


 

Post Event Survey:  Please take a moment to give us your feedback with this Post Event Survey.
 

Results:

* Bonus point for garbage collection

All Time Record Book

This is a record of top finishes at Mountain Highway Madness listed by medal category and time. Thinking about doing MHM and wondering how you might rank? Done MHM in the past and wonder how your time stacks up against others who came before you? Interested in knowing if you're getting older or getting better? Check out the stats!

Platinum - 4 or more Laps

Gold - 3 Laps

Silver - 2 Laps

Bronze - 1 Lap

2012 - Year 9 - Fall Mountain Highway Madness

9 September 2012
16 Starters (photo sans Rachel, Killaine and Craig)

Perfect fall running weather greeted those who trudged-up the paved Mountain Highway just before 7:30.

Ean Jackson
Host of Mountain Highway Madness

PS  Please post your comments, impressions, corrections to the results and feedback via the comment link below.

Photos can be added to the CFA Flickr group, tagged with  FallMountainHighwayMadness2012 FallMountainHighway ClubFatAssEvents ClubFatAssEvents2012
 

Post Event Survey:  Please take a moment to give us your feedback with this Post Event Survey.
 

Results: 

* Bonus point for garbage collection

2011 - Year 8 - Fall Mountain Highway Madness

11 September 2011 - 10 Starters (photo sans Rachel and Sibylle)

Report: coming soon.

Ean Jackson
Host of Mountain Highway Madness

PS  Please post your comments, impressions, corrections to the results and feedback via the comment link below.

Photos can be added to the CFA Flickr group, tagged with  FallMountainHighwayMadness2011 FallMountainHighway ClubFatAssEvents ClubFatAssEvents2011

Here is a slideshow of photos posted so far:

Post Event Survey:  Please take a moment to give us your feedback with this Post Event Survey.
 

Results: starter list posted below. Results will be posted as runners finish.  Please let us know your times, # of laps and if you collected garbage points.
 

2010 - Year 7 - Fall Mountain Highway Madness

12 September 2010 - 7 Human Starters + 1 Hound

By definition, anyone who participates in Mountain Highway Madness is mad. Not mad at the world... I mean nuts mad: Crazy, bonkers, out of their gourd mad. What same person would want to run up a big mountain, turn around and run back down, then repeat until they are too exhausted to even drool? 

Many thanks to Kintec, the Mosquito Creek and Trail Runner magazine for the support. 

Ean Jackson
Host of Mountain Highway Madness

PS  Please post your comments, impressions, corrections to the results and feedback via the comment link below.

Photos can be added to the CFA Flickr group, tagged with  FallMountainHighwayMadness2010 FallMountainHighway ClubFatAssEvents ClubFatAssEvents2010

Here is a slideshow of photos posted so far:

Post Event Survey:  Please take a moment to give us your feedback with this Post Event Survey.

Results: starter list posted below. Results will be posted as runners finish.  Please let us know your times, # of laps and if you collected garbage points.
 

2009 - Year 6 - Fall Mountain Highway Madness

Starter Photo: 13 September 2009 - 17 Starters

Outstanding group of runners and friends.  Decent course.  Perfect weather.  No bo-bos.  Nobody lost or eaten by marauding bears.  Whatd'ya got?

Writers block!

Seriously now, as a Club Fat Ass Event Host, the 6th annual Mountain Highway Madness could not have been easier or better.  The field of 17 was a perfect mix of Club regulars, returning MIAs and newbies to Mountain Highway Madness.  

Baldwin was looking fresh after having run 6 hours the day before.  Killanie was back running after a long injury. Craig was bright eyed and bushy-tailed despite having spent the past 2 days in a row bagging peaks. Ryne was in perfect trash-talking form, that is, until his nemesis arrived looking fresh and confident on a shiny, and very light mountain bike!

Word on the street was that several of today's starters had PBs in mind as they set off.  There was also the sub-plot of the Melcher/Archer grudge match:  runner against bike for what was it, a 4-pak of Guinness?

Melcher bolted from the start as if Olympic gold was at stake with Archer not far behind.  I was out for a leisurely jog, but soon found even the slowest runner was fast today.

Normally, there are no vehicles on old Mountain Highway.  Today, however, the silence of the forest below Mount Fromme was broken by the occasional passing camper and the heavy breathing of those reaching for their personal bests.

In the bike vs. man contest, the bike won.  Congrats to Graham for beating his opponent by almost 2 minutes... and to Ryne for setting a new course record for a single loop in just under 57 minutes.

Not far back, Ellie finished her first loop in 1:08, setting a new woman's course record, as well, before turning around and doing it again.  (Later, I would learn that Ellie wanted to go for a 3rd loop, but couldn't find anyone to join her!)

Most of the participants reconvened on the sunny patio of the Mosquito Creek Grill where Kirsten, our hostess with the mostest, served up cool, free beers and... to the amazement of all, remembered several of our names from the last Club event.  (Must have been some good tippers at that one!)

Many thanks to Kintec, the Mosquito Creek and Trail Runner magazine for the support! 

Ean Jackson
Host of Mountain Highway Madness

PS  Ray, I owe you one.  This was in fact the sixth, not the seventh running of the fall MHM.

PS  Please post your comments, impressions, corrections to the results and feedback via the comment link below.

Photos can be added to the CFA Flickr group, tagged with  FallMountainHighwayMadness2009 FallMountainHighway ClubFatAssEvents ClubFatAssEvents2009

Here is a slideshow of photos posted so far:  http://www.flickr.com/search/groups/show/?q=fallmountainhighwaymadness2009&m=pool&w=91654961%40N00

Post Event Survey:  Please take a moment to give us your feedback with this Post Event Survey.

Results:

2008 - Year 5 - Fall Mountain Highway Madness

14 September 2008 - 17 starters

"Hey, where was everybody?", Rob Ruff, start line of the Mountain Highway Madness, Saturday 13 September 08 @ 7:30am. 

"Hey, where was everybody?", Baldwin Lee, Mosquito Creek Pub, Sunday 14 September 08 @ noon.

Well, Rob, the run has always been on Sunday.  If in doubt, best to check the website!  And Baldwin, the official start is at 7:30.  If you choose to get hammered the night before, sleep in and miss the start, best to check with the Event Host to see if there were any changes made to the agenda. 

For those who made it to the "official" start, this years' fall running of the Mountain Highway Madness was about as flawless as a trail run could be.  Ryne and Danielle had set up the Kintec tent at the start complete with munchies and timekeeping.  Skies were cloudless, temperatures at the start were in the 'teens.  The day was so perfect, in fact, all of the runners decided to opt out of the free beer offered by the nice folks at the Mosquito Creek Grill so they could do other things out doors after the run.

Graham, on his mountain bike accompanied by his dog Jasper, was going head-to-head against Ryne who, in his runners, was out to set a new record for the fastest single lap.  Jonathan, on the other hand, was putting it all on the line to go for 2 laps.

I'd been fighting an injury all season so wasn't expecting to complete even one lap.  Rick Arikado, who won his age group at the Walk in the Park a week ago (and the BC Ultra Series!) was tired, so I managed to hang with him.  Thanks for the push, Rick!

The thing I love about out-and-back courses is that you get to see everyone.  As he passed us going back down after the turnaround, Ryne was on fire.  (Who would have guessed he puked twice on the way up!)  Glenn, Penny, Jonathan and DarbyKai looked like they'd barely broken a sweat as they passed us.  Everyone, no matter where they were, looked as though they were having a great time.

In the end, Ryan outran Graham on the bike by a couple of minutes.  Jonathan, in his first MHM, got silver.  Ginger became the second canine finisher of the MHM. 

Congrats to everyone who came out and a special thanks to the folks from Kintec, TrailRunner Mag and the Mosquito Creek for the support.

Ean Jackson
Host, Mountain Highway Madness

PS  Please post your comments, impressions, corrections to the results and feedback via the comment link below.

Photos can be added to the CFA Flickr group, tagged with  FallMountainHighwayMadness2008 FallMountainHighway ClubFatAssEvents
Here is a slideshow of photos posted so far:  Fall Mountain Highway Madness Photos

Post Event Survey:  Please take a moment to give us your feedback with this Post Event Survey.

Preliminary Results:

2007 - Year 4 - Fall Mountain Highway Madness

I confess, after attending a neighbor's annual "End of Summer" garden party until the wee hours leading up to the run, I felt ripped off by the less-than-ideal weather and the fact that summer had been declared over. As I drove to the start of the 4th annual Mountain Highway Madness, I was greeted with a spectacular view of Mt. Baker on a backdrop of sunny, cloudless skies. Maybe summer was a bit late this year? What a great day to be outdoors!

Those who have participated in Mountain Highway Madness know that the long hike up Mountain Highway from the legal street parking is an enduring characteristic of the event. Call it a built-in warm-up. As if on cue, the start line conversation started with a group gripe about the imposed warm-up. Desmond Mott's arrival stole our attention, however. Des, who had taken the last hour to warm up with a little run on the Baden Powell Trail, experienced the face plant that all trail runners know will likely happen to them, but hate to think about. It was a bad one, and Des was noticeably shaken up. Thank goodness he was only spitting out blood and not teeth!

New Club Fat Ass members Jackie Muir and Arthur Gee were welcomed by all. Arthur, a 5-hour marathoner, had chosen Mountain Highway Madness as his first trail run. Rick Arikado put me on notice that he came to the start equipped with his ultra-accurate Garmin 60CSX GPS, so the question of how far it actually was from the water fountain to the rock at the entrance to the quarry would be established categorically and beyond scrutiny for all time, to a distance of 5 meters or less. (If you believe the user manual.) Michael Wardas and his dog ** showed up just in time for the starter photo. John McRae announced that fellow Fat Ass Gilles Barbeau had just passed the 75-mile mark in the Wasach Trail 100-mile run... his fourth 100-miler in so many weekends. Gilles, you inspire us all... but goodness, buddy, take next weekend off!

It was great to chat with Laddie, Michael and Neil about their summer adventures as we ran up the mountain. "Rocket" Ryan Conroy was the first person to head back down hill. Ryan had let it be known that he'd been doing track workouts twice a week of late and it showed. Newly minted 100-mile veterans Bill Dagg and Wade Repta were next, with newly-minted Club Fat Ass member Jackie keeping pace with Bill.

Given that Rick said he'd turn around at the 7.5K distance on his GPS, Neil and I kept on running beyond the official turnaround point. After about 5 minutes, we figured Rick was playing a prank on us. Surely, he'd have passed us by now if he was going to 7.5K... Hell, I measured the distance twice: once on my bike and once with a Nike Triax pedometer. No way I'm off by more than a few hundred meters. Silly bugger Rick. He probably was hiding in the bushes somewhere and expected we'd keep running all the way up to the top of Grouse! Nice try, bro. Neil and I called his bluff and returned downhill.

It was great to see so many smiling faces coming up the road as we ran down. Laddie, Neil and I traded high-5's with those we passed by. It was good to see Arthur and John Machray together. John has such a wealth of trail running experience and is such a great story-teller. (Run with him sometimes, if you can keep up with him, and you'll see what I mean!) I felt confident knowing that Arthur's life would change after this run and he'd come over to the "dark side" of trail running for good. It was also great to see that John, who is considerably faster than Arthur, was making the time to make Arthur feel welcome in this new and strange environment of trail running. Kudos to you, Machray, for demonstrating the true spirit of Club Fat Ass.

Unfortunately, time would only allow me one lap today. As I sat in the sun at the finish writing down lap times and chatting, Rick Arikado completed his first lap. How could that be? Rick, it seems, ran 7.5K according to 5 or 6 satellites on his GPS. The traditional turnaround point, what I'd been calling 7.5K, was actually more like 7K, and the total distance closer to 14K than 15K. However, until proven absolutely, I'll maintain that the distance is 7.2K each way, or 14.4K return, which still makes it an "ultra" for those who run 3 laps.

The sun was blazing hot on the terrace of the Mosquito Creek Grill, site of our post-run brunch. Thanks to Kelly and Lucy for the free pint, Trail Runner Magazine and KineSys for the draw prizes. See you in the spring!

Ean Jackson
Host of Mountain Highway Madness

Please post your comments, impressions, corrections to the results and feedback via the comment link below.


Preliminary Results:

2006 - Year 3 - Fall Mountain Highway Madness

The record books were rewritten at this years Fall Mountain Highway Madness.  We have a new Platinum finisher and her name is Berglind Hafdteinsdottir!  Scarcely a week after becoming the first woman to run the Juan de Fuca trail in under 10 hours, Berg opened a can of whoop-ass and became the first woman to ever earn platinum status (four loops of the 15K course.)  Wow!

Berglind's words to me in a voice mail went something like, "...Now I don't have to do Mountain Highway Madness anymore."  Too bad, we'll miss you.  Why not go for the second level of Platinum and be the first person to ever do 5 laps this coming spring, Berg?

Apart from Berglind's madness, Cynnimon Rain went for the gold and also managed to get to the Mosquito Creek pub in time for a free cool one on the sunny patio.  Deller's dogs ChinChin and Sombrio completed their first Mountain Highway Madness and racked up another point each, putting them ahead of many humans in Club participation points.  (Hey you hounds, we have to get a photo of you both in your Club colors!)

As the faster Bronze finishers waited at the bottom of the trail, there was a mad dash for trash pickup points.  The trail and surrounding woods were scoured for bottle caps, gel wrappers and anything else that could count toward bonus points.  Speaking of bonus points, I hereby bequeath my hosting point to Sibylle, who did almost all of the organizing for this event.  Thanks, Sibylle!  (No, you can't have my participation and trash pickup points, though =;-)

A couple of new Club members, Charlene and Lora-Lynn did the unthinkable and got slightly lost after they overshot the turnaround.  Apparently the spray painted "7" on the rock at the turnaround had been erased.  Mea culpa.  According to Club Fat Ass law, if the host provides incorrect directions, (s)he owes the inconvenienced party a beer at the finisher party.  'Missed you at the pub, girls....I corrected the course description, however.

I'd also like to thank Ron Adams for measuring the course with his Nike pedometer.  He measured a couple meters less than 7K to the quarry and several hundred meters more than 7K coming down for a 14.2K round trip.  Given that the up and down is in fact the same distance, I'm good for still calling it a 15K distance.

Thank you for coming out on this fantastic fall day and I look forward to seeing you out at the spring version of the MHM in March!

Ean Jackson
Host of the Mountain Highway Madness

Please add your comments about this run by scrolling to the bottom of the page and clicking on "add new comment".  More photos are posted here.

2005 - Year 2 - Fall Mountain Highway Madness

As they quaffed a cool, celebratory lager at the Mosquito Creek Grill, finishers nodded in agreement. “Perfect.” “A 10 out of 10.” “’Couldn’t have been finer.” After running 15, 30 or 45 kilometers earlier in the morning, the main topic of conversation with these veterans was the weather!

Fifteen Club Fat Ass members toed the line this morning for the 3rd annual fall running of Mountain Highway Madness. Included were a wide range of runners from the trail virgin to the elite veteran.

Take Geoff Palmer, for instance. Geoff is the only person to have earned “Platinum” bragging rights for having run the 15K out-and-back course 4 consecutive times. He looked strong and focused as runners loosened up at the start. Geoff’s goal for the day? Teach his parents what it’s like to run a “real” mountain.

Always soft spoken and a true master of the art of sandbagging, Matt Sessions was out for his first MHM. “Going for 5 laps, Matt? I asked after watching him lug 2 midsized gym bags of food, fluids and other gear to the start area. He answered with a knowing smile.

Then there was Dom Repta. A multiple “Gold” finisher (3 loops of 15K), Dom was looking like he’d been out on a bender the evening before. While he was spotted at the Mosquito Creek eating a veggie pizza with a beer in his hand 8 short hours earlier, it was only after he run the 45K Forbidden Forest Run. There would be no personal bests for Dom on the course today, but he was about to join Geoff Palmer and Doug Bodnar as the only people to have completed 2 Club Fat Ass events in one day. “Jackson, got an extra sock?” Dom asked as we gathered for the group photo. “No, but you can have one of these,” and I handed him a sweaty old wool work sock from one of my feet. (God knows what he wanted with it? I confess I was a bit worried about Dom!)

After a long absence from running, Ken MacLeod chose Mountain Highway Madness as a place to stage his comeback. Ken and I used to run intervals on the MHM route when we were training for the Western States and Angeles Crest 100 mile runs over a decade ago. It was Ken who inspired me to host the event… so thank him if you’re one of the many to have tenderized your quads on the course.

“Ready, set, go!” The field was gone as MacLeod arrived at the start line. The trail knows no favorites.

It truly was a fabulous day to be in the mountains in beautiful BC and those who have run MHM several times in the past agreed that we were enjoying the best weather in the history of the event. Hikers, dog walkers and lots of mountain bikers were also out enjoying the trail, so there was plenty of encouragement.

Today was destined to be Session's day: Matt was on fire. By the 7.5K turnaround he was so far ahead he was out of earshot of the second-fastest runner. Oblivious to the shouts of his mates, Matt kept running hard. Past the turnaround at the old quarry. Past Mosquito Creek. Past the Inferno chairlift and right to the top of Grouse Mountain setting two new records: First ever to get lost and longest lap.

Don and Regina Palmer traveled the furthest to the event. They live in Winnipeg, where the biggest hills are old garbage dumps. Their record-holding son Geoff treated them to a lap during their visit to Vancouver. I’m not sure if they went for pancakes or an IV drip afterwards, as they did not show up for the awards. Geoff set another course record: First person to run Mountain Highway Madness with both parents.

As the runners completed multiple laps, the mantra of the armor-plated mountain bikers was, “Holy smokes, how many times are you running this?” Glen Pace was the only one to answer, “Three” this year. He didn’t break a sweat, so mark your calendars for 19 March next year and give him some competition!

Thanks to Trail Runner Magazine for the draw prizes and the Mosquito Creek Grill for the pints. Dommer, where’s my sock?

Ean Jackson
Host of Mountain Highway Madness

3 Laps

2 Laps

1 Lap 

* extra point earned for collecting garbage en route

Robert Westendorp and Craig Moore earned extra series points today for picking up trash during the run. Below is a picture of Craig's loot. Whatever you do, don't ask him for a drink from *this* waterbottle the next time you see him on the trail!

2004 - Year 1 - Fall Mountain Highway Madness

11 September 04

They said it would never be done. Geoff Palmer, a recent immigrant from the flatlands of Winterpeg, however, done done it! On Saturday 11 September 04, he became the first person to ever go platinum in the Mountain Highway Madness!

A veteran of the Rocky Raccoon 100-miler, Blackfoot Ultra and the Great Canadian Death Race, it was Palmer's first time at Mountain Highway Madness. "Allison (Knowles) and I had a lot of fun on the first 3 laps. The pizza bread and Eatmore bars kept me fueled for the fourth lap and the mountain bikers who kept asking, "HOW many laps are you doing?" kept me motivated. If I'd had some competition, I might have done five laps."

After the monsoons of Friday evening, it was a wonder anyone got out of bed for the run early Saturday morning. As it turned out, the rain held off at the start and as Laddie Hannan put it, "we ran between droplets" on the return leg of the first lap. The general consensus was that the cool, moist weather was ideal for good times in this, the fifth running of the event.

The only downer of the day was that Colin Freeland's blue, Capilano Eagles vest and Doug MacKay's green windbreaker went AWOL from their resting place near the water fountain. If a good Samaritan picked them up, there's a cool beer as reward. Speaking of cool beers, all participants who attended the post run brunch were treated to a free cool one by the good folks at the Mosquito Creek Bar and Grill. All runners received some hammer gels and Laddie Hannan came away from this free run with a free ($45) entry to the Grouse Grind run for her efforts.

Mark your calendars for the next Mountain Highway Madness on Sunday 20 March!

Ean Jackson
Host of the Mountain Highway Madness

Results

Total starters: 13
Total finishers: 13