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!