"I've done lots of 100 milers and for some reason this course really tears you up ... it's harder than most 100 milers." Randy Hunter (echoed by Rob MacDonald)
Saturday June 4 and Sunday June 5, 2005
The Double Custom Runners
Randy "You Can't Hunt Down The Hunter" Hunter
14:48:00 (6:37 first half, 20 minute pit stop)
Rob "I laughed, I cried, I puked" MacDonald
18:45:00 (8:10 first half, 8 minute pit stop)
Karl "I love the night" Jensen
22:51:37 (9:22 first half, 24 minute pit stop)
John "Hallucinating can be so much fun" Machray
22:51:37 (9:22 first half, 24 minute pit stop)
Ron "My son was even more excited than me to do The Double" Adams
22:51:37 (9:23 first half, 21 minute pit stop)
Gilles "This pace is just right" Barbeau
22:51:37 (9:22 first half, 22 minute pit stop)
Craig "Black Mountain makes everything else look easy" Moore
22:51:37 (9:22 first half, 22 minute pit stop)
The Double Section Finishers
Brad Misak (to Lynn Headwaters return with dog Pepper, 27.2 Km)
5:30:30
Doug Mackay (Cleveland Dam to Cypress return)
5:25:00
4:32:00
Peter Zubcsek (Lynn Canyon 12.25 Km)
2:01:10
Gyula Szabo (Lynn Canyon 12.25 Km)
Ean Jackson (Cleveland Dam to Brother's Creek return) 0:60:00
Troy Angrignon (to Indian River Road with friend Charles, 5.2 Km) 0:55:00
( **** scroll down to see the pictures *** )
I made an attempt to put a full run report together but I had just too many thoughts and descriptions to have it make any sense and still be readable in one sitting. So I just thought I'd say what an awesome time we all had on this epic run. It was a bunch of great people coming together with a common goal. The runners, the crew, and the spectators were all happy, amazed and stunned that we could actually do this event.
This is easily the toughest run around these parts, even at a mere 96 km. The people that ran the full distance are well experienced and besides having a ton of fun doing this type of event we also take it seriously enough to understand the challenge and were very well prepared. We all knew the route and were ready for anything that came our way, including the bear, the cool weather at the higher elevations and through the night, the light, the dark, the incredible support we had with too much great food to choose from, and those burgers and soup at the 3/4 mark, mmmmm. We took it all in stride and as you can see in the pictures below, the five of us that came in together at the very end all had smiles for a run well done.
It was great to have a few other people come and run with us for a while as they added to the nature of the event and helped to keep us safe. Ean Jackson on the other hand also surprised us with his dignified greeting in the middle of the night at Mountain Highway, showing his true respect for an event that I'm happy to say he is green with envy over but also very proud of us about.
So instead of a long report by me, I've added Ron Adams thorough and thoughtful words here for you to read over and enjoy. I hope we have all inspired you to greater challenges and I also hope that people stop calling me crazy soon because it really was one of the easiest and most satisfying runs I've ever done.
happy trails,
Craig Moore, The Double 2005 Race Director
The Double - 60 miles
North and West Vancouver BC
June 4th and 5th, 2005
Background
The Baden Powell Trail on Vancouver’s North Shore Mountains runs the full length of Vancouver’s North Shore from Horseshoe Bay to Deep Cove. It is 30 Horton miles (16,000 feet elevation change) of arguably some of the most technical and difficult running terrain in North America. This trail is the home of the Knee Knackering North Shore Trail Run an epic event held on the 2nd Saturday of July each year. The Double (60 miles, 32000 ft elevation change) is an out and back starting at Deep Cove running to Horseshoe Bay and then returning to Deep Cove. The Double has only been accomplished once before by 2 runners (Mike Wardas and Randy Hunter). It was also previously attempted by current year RD Craig Moore who had unfinished business on the trail (in his own words he previously “bonked big time”) This event was structured as a pay back to prove that ... yes, it can be done !!
Executive Summary
7 starters, 7 finishers (plus a number of folk who ran part way)
The race was won by former finisher Randy Hunter of North Vancouver in 14:48. 2nd Place went to Rob MacDonald of Burnaby in 18:45. Yours truly was in a 5 way tie for 3rd place in 22:51:37. Ahem ... if you do the math you will quickly figure out that was also a 5 way tie for last place =:-0 You will also figure out that almost 23 hours for 60 miles says a lot about the course difficulty. I’ve described it here as a race, but it was really more of an adventure.
Highlights
Just 20 minutes into the run at Deep Cove Lookout, with the entire field of runners still together, we ran into a black bear guarding a junction in the trail. This Winnie the Pooh was obviously used to people (we have a lot ... I mean a lot ... of bear incidents in the built up part of this community) and he was not willing to give up one inch of the trail. RD Craig Moore made a snap judgement and we took a different trail which circled around and met up with the normal course. I’ve gotta say that a bear encounter with a whole lot of runners is a lot more comfortable than meeting a bear when you’re all by yourself ... I’ve now done both.
The course was in great shape. Virtually all of the snow in the high country was gone. This meant that there was lots of mud in the alpine sections. After tip toeing around the first few mud sections, everyone just gave in and ran through the muck. Some muddy sections looked terrible but were actually quite firm. Other sections looked firm and then tried to suck your shoe off. You never know !!.
Running down Black Mountain was an experience. The regular Knee Knacker Race goes up this climb. It is very steep and there are many, many sections where you need to look for hand holds in the rock to pull yourself up. Of course going up, you are leaning into the mountain. Going down, on the other hand, you tend to lean out. It was very tricky but we all survived to run again.
The aid stations and volunteers were fabulous. We also had the good fortune to have the same aid stations and volunteers at each location where the trail crossed a road or came close to a road. With such a small field, the aid stations were run off a tailgate with the same volunteers moving along the course. They were great, anticipating the runner’s every want and need.
God’s aid stations - the earliest berries are Salmon berries and they were right in season with many nice plump berries lining much of the course. I even found an early bearing mountain blueberry bush and lucked out in discovering an early wild strawberry at Eagle Bluff (elevation 3500 ft)
Surprise aid stations - Former finisher Mike Wardas showed up at Capilano Lake (Cleveland Dam) with his BBQ and a pot of steaming hot chicken noodle soup. Most of us showed up at this point right at sundown and the burgers and soup really hit the spot. BTW - Did I mention how good a gooey cheese pizza is after 10 hours and at halfway ?? It really hit the spot and both the pizza and the burgers later were just what the doctor ordered to help keep the tummy happy and the legs moving :-)
Much is often said about the camaraderie in ultrarunning. This was particularly the case in this run. We started out as a bunch of friendly strangers at the start, buddies as the run went on, but after dark we became a group of friends united in the common purpose of achieving our quest. Each of us now share a common bond of almost 23 hours together on the trail that we will treasure for a lifetime.
I learned that there can be a big difference between a trail that is runnable in the daytime and a trail that is runnable at night. Much of this trail is so technical that it cannot be run, particularly at night. Staying together and not losing the trail (even a trail that we know so well in daylight) was a major accomplishment.
A big practical issue was the effect of fatigue after 20 hours or so, where runners normally as sure footed as mountain goats now had to really focus in order not to trip over all of the gnarly roots and rocks.
Ultrarunner extraordinare Ean “Action” Jackson (currently out of action due to injury) was out to greet the group at 2 am at Mountain Highway. As befitting the occasion, he was dressed in a business suit and tie. His excuse was that he had been at a wedding reception ... and we thought he was dressed up to greet a bunch of smelly ultrarunners on the brink of a historic achievement :-)
Another highlight was the privilege (and privilege is the word) of running the whole way with Grand Slammer Karl Jensen who has just so much knowledge of running for 24 hours or more. Karl will be running the Bighorn 100 miler in 2 weeks. He told me that he was inspired to do that race by DC’s photos of last year’s event. Early on, Karl kept telling us that he really enjoyed running at night, but with 5 miles to go we were within a few minutes of his home and he was tempted to head home to bed at 3 am. It didn’t happen. He stuck it out with all of the rest of us. He had to. His car was in Deep Cove :-)
I had hoped that we would finish at night, but just in the last mile, the light steadily increased and we finished at 5 am in daylight, running into the finish line 5 abreast with RD Craig Moore in the centre of the group, thus accomplishing his own quest of “Completing the Double” Congratulations to Craig and thank-you to Craig for the privilege of accompanying him in his quest.
Ron Adams
North Vancouver, British Columbia
Runners do The Double (North Shore News June 19, 2005)
Deana Lancaster
dlancaster@nsnews.com
A small group of experienced runners conquered the almost unthinkable this month.
Seven members of Club Fat Ass - which promotes oddball endurance sport events - raced the 48-kilometre course, along the Baden-Powell Trail, from Deep Cove to Eagle Ridge. It's the same route as the North Shore's infamously gruelling Knee Knackering trail race.
But once they finished it, this crew turned around and ran back again.
"What else are you going to do for fun on a weekend?" said organizer and North Vancouver resident Craig Moore.
The Double, as the event was called, began at 6 a.m. on Saturday June 4. According to Moore, the distance had only been completed twice before, once by ultra-athlete Randy Hunter. On this, his second time running it, Hunter finished first, at a time of 14 hours and 48 minutes.
Second-place finisher Rob MacDonald completed the race in 18 hours and 45 minutes, while the remaining five: Moore, Karl Jensen, John Machray, Ron Adams and Gilles Barbeau ran together and finished it in 22 hours and 51 minutes - completing it just before 5 a.m. on June 5.
"We got back into the parking lot at Deep Cove just as the sun was shining enough for us to turn off our lights," said Moore.
It's a feat that should only be attempted by extremely experienced, prepared and well-supported athletes, cautions Moore.
"It can be really intense," he said. Running 100-kilometre distances requires careful pacing.
"You have to pay attention. And we're all experienced, we know when we get tired we have to pick up our feet. If you lose concentration you'll drag your toes a little and then you trip."
On a trail as rocky, rooty and steep as some sections of the Baden-Powell, a trip in the dark can be critical.
He said the participants ran or jogged the route as much as they were able to, only walking when the trail was too rough, too dark or too steep to run.
"This is one of the toughest routes in North America," said Moore.
As well as a club event, Moore organized The Double as a fundraiser for the BC Lung Association.
It's a cause that hits close to home for Moore, because he himself has an immune system disorder called sarcoidosis that affects his lungs. Moore takes medication for the condition, but nonetheless, he said: "It can slow me down quite a bit."
By running The Double, and other distance events he participates in, Moore hopes to show that "you can have a disorder and still achieve a lot." He knows how to manage his condition, by eating right, getting rest and keeping his stress levels low.
This event was an especially satisfying accomplishment because he had attempted it twice before and been unable to finish.
Though he says he has no plans to run it again, he may help organize it for others in the future - either again as a small event for Club Fat Ass, or if there is enough interest, as a larger event.
The BC Lung Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to eradicating lung disease. One in five British Columbians has a respiratory problem and the association strives to help through research, education and support. For more information visit www.bc.lung.ca.
posted on 06/20/2005 to www.nsnews.com
