2010 - Year 8 - Capilano Canyon Mardigras Night Run

Report:This year was a special "Olympic" version of the famous Capilano Canyon night run.  What does that mean?  In the end, it meant nothing more than the run was postponed a few weeks from its traditional Mardi Gras time slot to not conflict with the once-in-a-lifetime party that was the Vancouver 2010 winter Olympics games.

The change in timing was a significant contributor to the character of the 8th annual night run, however.  Of note:

• it was light when we started the night run so we could actually see ourselves in the starter photo!
• the Dirty Duo trail run also changed dates, so many night runners had either run or volunteered earlier in the day
• those who ran with Mardi Gras beads stood out a bit more than they normally would
• given that clocks "spring forward" on Sunday morning, the post-event party seemed to go a bit later than usual

It was great to see many first time night runners and fat asses at the start.  Their nervous tension was almost palapable.  "Are the fat asses as hard-core as I heard they are?" "Will they drop me in some godforsaken
corner of the canyon?"  "Will I stumble over a root in the dark, fall off a cliff and never be heard from again?" and, of course, "Are there any skunks out there?"

Many of the starters rubbed or kissed our porker mascot for good luck. Runners separated into long and short distance groups.  The speaches were mercifully short.  Off into the night…

Photo left: Aidstation Adams equipped with PowerBar Gel Chews, Carbbooms, Oreos and chips!

The monsoons of earlier in the day had stopped, but the canyon was still dense with moisture.  In the beam of powerful headlamps, the mist and fog reflected the light creating a surreal running environment like running in a cloud where visibility was no more than a stride long.  Somewhere below you could always hear the rushing Capilano River.  Fellow runners could only be identified by firefly-like points of light on the trail and disembodied voices.

Island girls Katie and Lysanne opted to run in their dresses.  Katie chose the occasion to do little solo bushwhack.  I held my camera at the ready while running with Lysanne through the Mackay Creek Jungle section of the long course. Would she slip on one of the dicey little bridges along the canyons edge and slide into the quicksand?  Could I capture the moment?

While the weather was perfect for a night run, it wasn't long before the chill set in at the finish line.  Around 8:00 we decamped for the hot tub. Sorry, Bill.  Sorry, Michael.  'Didn't realize you were still out there!

Leg 2 of the event included hot shower, a long soak in the hot tub and some thrills and spills on the water slide.  (I hope to share a little video of this later in the week.)  By 9:30, runners were ravenous and desperate for a
celebratory beverage.

Leg 3:  The potluck party.  The table sagged with treats including seafood gumbo, Pat's phyllo-wrapped asparagus and goat cheese, JoJo's deviled eggs, Liselotte's Danish Apple Pie, Baldy's Tim Horton donut pudding, a variety of brownies and pies, and a spectacular and totally decadent chocolate cake thanks to Isabel.  A few lucky runners came away with hardware for their exploits thanks to TrailRunner magazine and Kintec. There was much trail talk and sharing of upcoming events and road trips. Kudos to Des and Jess for picking up trash while out on the trail.  The evening concluded with a beautiful fireside slide show of Bill and Jess's trip to Ghana and their traditional African wedding.

Thank you for joining us.  Hope to see you back closer to Mardi Gras next year!

Your Event Hosts
Sibylle and Jackson

Photos of the event can be uploaded to Flickr, added to the CFA Flickr group and tagged with CapilanoCanyonNightRunMardigras, CapilanoCanyonNightRunMardigras2010 CapilanoCanyonNightRun ClubFatAssEvent2010 and ClubFatAssEvents. They will automatically be added to this slideshow.

Feedback:  We welcome and encourage your feedback and comments via the comment form below.  Please also take a moment to fill in this brief post event survey.

Results:

*     Bonus Point for garbage collection
**   Event Host Point
*** membership status