The Sunshine Coast Trail
The
Sunshine Coast Trail is a 180 kilometer
(118 mile) hiking trail. Located
approximately 100 kilometers up the coast
from Vancouver near Powell River, British
Columbia, Canada, the Sunshine Coast
Trail offers some of the most spectacular
scenery on the planet. Runners can
expect to enjoy rocky coastline, flat and
fast trails through old growth forests of
Douglas fir and red cedar, nasty, rooty
climbs up steep mountains and equally
challenging descents. The trail passes
through several communities including Powell
River. Total vertical gain and
loss over the course of the trail is
approximately 8,300 meters. In
perspective, that is like climbing to the
summit of Mount Kilimanjaro and back twice
from sea level.
The Challenge
No
one has ever run the entire length of the
Sunshine Coast Trail in one go. The objective of
the Sunshine Coast Trail 180 is to complete
the entire length of the trail from Sarah
Point in the north to Saltery Bay in the
south within 48 hours. As an
additional element of challenge, the aim
will be to complete as a team.
The Team
Given
the extreme nature of the challenge and the
number of unknown risks associated with
running the trail, it was decided that the
event would be attempted as a team. The team was comprised
of four of Canada's top ultramarathon
runners, triathletes and adventure racers.
Dave Cressman
Cressman has been running for most of his
life. Although he is drawn to many
sports, running is the one he returns to
time and time again. An elite level
ultrarunner, cyclist, inline skater and
snowshoer, he has competed in the
Marathon des Sables, the
World Duathlon Championships,
North American Snowshoe Championships and several other major events all in a
quest for adventure.
His racing history includes 2 victories at
the
Vancouver Fat Ass 50k, top Canadian at
Marathon des Sables in Morocco, numerous
snowshoe wins, top Canadian at
World Duathlon Championships, OCAA Cross
Country Championship, and many others.
Married with one child and living in
Vancouver, BC, Cressman is a Sales
Representative in the sporting goods
industry. He first thought of running
the Sunshine Coast Trail in 1998 and only
needed to find the right mix of athletes to
pull it off.
Ean Jackson
"Action" Jackson
(also called "Rain, No Train" Jackson and
other names) is an entrepreneur in the high
technology field, a university professor,
father of 2 and a self-proclaimed endurance
sport junkie. A fat kid, he got into
running in university on a beer bet.
The only team
member who has not competed in the
Marathon des Sables, Jackson has
completed 82 ultramarathon runs, 3 ultra
distance triathlons, 27 marathons and 6
Ironman triathlons. He has been on
Canadian national Duathlon and 100K run
teams, has participated in 2
Ironman Hawaii world triathlon championships and
was a top finisher at the
Western
States 100-mile endurance Run in
California.
Jackson, who lives in North Vancouver, worked with Pacifica Papers in
Powell River as BC Territory Manager for Oracle, a big software
company. He has been vacationing with his family on the Sunshine Coast
for almost 10 years and has dreamt of running the Sunshine Coast Trail
since learning of it's existence.
Dom Repta
A recent graduate of
the Masters in Environmental Studies at York University,
Dom works for Friends of Clayoquot Sound as
an Aquaculture Campaigner. His claim to fame is that
he is Wade's brother. He says he is
ridiculously good looking, but the consensus
of the team is that this observation is in
the eyes of the beholder. He is a
vegan, which means that he is a pain to cook
for.
Dom completed the
Marathon des Sables in the spring of
2003, a 7-day run across the Sahara desert
that is billed as the "hardest footrace on
earth." His other accomplishments
include top finishes at the
Western
States 100 Mile Endurance Run, the
Mohican
100 Miler, the Haliburton 50 Miler and
Ironman Florida.
Having grown up in
Ontario, he didn't know where the Sunshine
Coast was until moving to British Columbia
in 2002.
Wade Repta
Wade is a sandbagger. In technical
terms, this means he's a bit less
outwardly confident about his running
ability. He is looking forward to "the
chance to be lost and malnourished on the
Sunshine Coast Trail for a second year in a
row" and is not quite sure what
to do with his puppy, Kaioma, while he's
on the trail.
An ultramarathon runner since 1999, he has
sought out some of the toughest athletic
challenges in the world to test himself.
Athletic highlights include a top 20 finish
in his first 50 mile race, the
Bull Run
Run. He has since earned four top
10 finishes at the 50 km run distance and
has completed two
Ironman triathlons (Canada in 2001 and
Utah 2002.) To date, his greatest
athletic accomplishment has been to complete
the
Marathon Des Sables in Morocco.
Professionally, Wade
is a Rehabilitation Consultant and
Occupational Therapist, single, who lives in Vancouver. Like Dom, he
grew up in Hamilton, Ontario, is a vegan and
couldn't find Powell River on a map until
learning about the Sunshine Coast Trail.
The Crew
It would be very
difficult, if not impossible, to attempt
this challenge without help. Support
crew tasks
include everything from help with maps and logistics to providing food
and water during the run to shuttling people and supplies around the
back roads that intersect the Sunshine Coast Trail.
|
Crew Captain |
Cheryl Picot |
|
Powell River
Crew |
Eagle Walz,
Len & Gail Swanson |
|
Imported
Crew |
Paul & Lora
Repta (Burlington, ON, Steve & Jany
Mitges (Burlington, ON), Jesse
Richardson (Vancouver, BC), Mark Fearman
& Gary Robbins (Whistler, BC), Tom Mills
(Richmond, BC) |
|
Film Crew |
Angus
McLellan, Shay Wilson, Paul Kennedy |
Please refer to the
Thanks! page for more information about
our crew in 2003 and 2004.
Media Coverage
Trailer from the film
"Running Wild" www.highroadfilms.com/films.html
Powell River Peak - 7 July 04
Vancouver Province - 1 July 04
Powell River Peak - 19 August 03
Ultramarathon World - 31 August 03
(Website at
www.ultramarathonworld.com currently down)
Payback Time
The
team of four runners who first "bagged" the trail by running it
non-stop in 43:50 all strongly believe that they owe a debt of
gratitude to the Sunshine Coast Trail and the people of Powell River,
BC who maintain it.
To that end, we
committed to raising $5000 to help maintain the Sunshine Coast
Trail. We have also committed to help raise the profile of the
trail. There are 2 reasons why we feel this is important:
- we had a blast running the trail and we hope you will too
- the trail is in danger of being logged. If you use it and
tell your friends, it might be possible to save some of the few
remaining groves of old growth
In the fall of 2004, we hosted a series of
fundraising slide shows on the trail and their adventures.
Proceeds from a June 2005 article in "Trail Runner" magazine were also
donated to the trail.
Happy trails!
Dave Cressman, Dom and Wade Repta and Ean Jackson
