A record
number of night runners from as far away
as California turned out this year to
celebrate Mardi Gras on the trails of
Capilano Canyon in North Vancouver.
The objective of the evening is to
survive a 90 minute run in the dark
before hitting the hot tub and kicking
back for a celebratory party. Runners
chose to race a very challenging 16K
route or play it safe and do a slightly
less "rustic" 13K circuit as a group.
Neither route is marked, so this is not
your average fun run.
Temperatures had cooled off a bit from
the day, but were spot-on for running as
we gathered in the parking lot of the
Griffin Rec Center. After weeks of epic
sunny weather, the trails were dry and
fast.
This year saw a big spike in the number
of first time night runners. Crew and
well-wishers actually outnumbered those
looking to tackle the nasty route,
prompting the question, "Is it too
tough?" Just about everyone ran with a
friend and several with their dogs.
Stephanie celebrated her birthday.
The jury is still out on who scared who
more...the lone person in black who was
out for a stroll, or the group of 10
loud night runners with headlamps
barreling down the narrow Cap Pacific
Trail? The black bears must have been
frightened off, too, as there were no
bear sightings this year.
While waiting to greet the runners at
Aid Station Adams, a swarm of kids got
juiced-up on smarties and had their own
mini night run along the Capilano River.
As runners made their way down the
canyon, the kids blocked the trail and
devised cruel challenges including "eat
a cracker and say
humuhumunukunukuapuahaha three times"
and "What's the password to Gryffindor
House" before allowing runners to pass.
The moon was almost full. In places,
it's glow illuminated the trail well
enough that many runners turned off
their headlamps. No so Doug Mackay, who
had his lamp on when he ran into a
low-hanging tree branch and almost
scalped himself.
A few folks got a bit lost, including
our visitors from California and the
extended Lepard family from West Van.
Apparently equipped with instructions
for both the group and competitive
routes, they took the average of the 2
and went on a bonus tour of Pemberton
Heights.
After a soak in the hot tub and a little
action on the waterslide, the evening
wrapped up with a potluck party that
lasted till the wee hours of the
morning.
Congrats to all!
Sibylle Tinsel and Ean Jackson
North Vancouver, BC
A scrapbook of photos from the Capilano Canyon Night Run - Mardi Gras 2005.
| Name | Home Town | Event | Time | |
| 1 | Bill Dagg | Vancouver | Competitive | 1:32 |
| 1 | Ellie Greenwood | Vancouver | Competitive | 1:32 |
| 3 | Barry Chilibeck | North Vancouver | Competitive | 1:36 |
| 4 | Liz Decario | Coquitlam | Competitive | 1:41 |
| 5 | Doug MacKay | North Vancouver | Competitive | 1:52 |
| 5 | Sue Nicholson | North Vancouver | Competitive | 1:52 |
| 7 | Kaigo Hwang | Pismo Beach, CA, USA | Competitive | 2:13 |
| 7 | James Lepard | Vancouver | Competitive | 2:13 |
| 7 | Susan Lepard | Vancouver | Competitive | 2:13 |
| 7 | Tim Lepard | West Vancouver | Competitive | 2:13 |
| 7 | Caroline Lepard | North Vancouver | Competitive | 2:13 |
| 7 | Ryan Reilly | North Vancouver | Competitive | 2:13 |
| 7 | Heidi Wolff | Pismo Beach, CA, USA | Competitive | 2:13 |
| 14 | Terry Lewis | North Vancouver | Competitive | ? |
| 14 | Lee-Ann Lyon | Coquitlam | Competitive | ? |
| 1 | Darryl Caves | Vancouver | Group | 1:18 |
| 1 | Mary Shaughnessy | North Vancouver | Group | 1:18 |
| 1 | Glenn Cameron | North Vancouver | Group | 1:18 |
| 1 | Alison Grigg | North Vancouver | Group | 1:18 |
| 1 | Bob Hermanutz | Vancouver | Group | 1:18 |
| 1 | David Murray | Group | ? | |
| 1 | Kathy Nomura | Burnaby | Group | 1:18 |
| 1 | David Setton | Vancouver | Group | 1:18 |
| 9 | Keith Nichol | Vancouver | Group | 1:20 |
| 10 | Caroline Brandson | North Vancouver | Group | 1:22 |
| 10 | Cheryl Dumaresq | North Vancouver | Group | 1:22 |
| 10 | Mike Mankwald | Maple Ridge | Group | 1:22 |
| 10 | Dean Marchand | Maple Ridge | Group | 1:22 |
| 10 | Liz Vanterve | Maple Ridge | Group | 1:22 |
| 15 | Stephanie Tatum | Vancouver | Group | 1:34 |
| 16 | Mary Betts | Surrey | Group | 1:39 |
| 16 | Jenifer Jones | Surrey | Group | 1:39 |
| 16 | Catherine Stewart | Surrey | Group | 1:39 |
| 16 | Jennifer Winiarski | Maple Ridge | Group | 1:39 |
| 20 | Marla Allen | Maple Ridge | Group | 1:40 |
| 20 | Jennifer Dawkins | Maple Ridge | Group | 1:40 |
| 20 | Barb Owen | Maple Ridge | Group | 1:40 |
| 20 | Suzanne Rushton | Vancouver | Group | 1:40 |
| 20 | Theresa Snow | Surrey | Group | 1:40 |
| 20 | Sibylle Tinsel | North Vancouver | Group | 1:40 |
| 26 | Craig Moore | North Vancouver | Group | 1:43 |
| 27 | Louise Arronson | West Vancouver | Group | 1:44 |
| 27 | Patricia Barry | Vancouver | Group | 1:44 |
| 27 | Cheryl Lynch | Vancouver | Group | 1:44 |
| 30 | Andrew Farmer | Maple Ridge | Group | 1:45 |
| 30 | Gabi Kwan | North Vancouver | Group | 1:45 |
| 32 | Sean Rogers | Vancouver | Group | ? |
| Kira Richardson | North Vancouver | Crew | ||
| Niko Richardson | North Vancouver | Crew | ||
| Todd Richardson | North Vancouver | Crew | ||
| Sidney Kwan | North Vancouver | Crew | ||
| Luke Kwan | North Vancouver | Crew | ||
| Graham Kwan | North Vancouver | Crew | ||
| Alan McMordie | North Vancouver | Crew | ||
| Johanna Jackson | North Vancouver | Crew | ||
| Erik Jackson | North Vancouver | Crew | ||
| Ean Jackson | North Vancouver | Crew | ||
| Ethelyne David | Surrey | Crew |