2010 5Peaks Burnaby Mountain Warm Up - Results

Starter Photo: May 22, 2010 - 21 Starters

Report - We had a nice cool day for a group run on top of Burnaby Mountain. In fact it was only about 8C with a breeze that lacked the warmth of the previous few days when temperatures where up to double that. I for one kept my sweatshirt on until we started to run.

Starting in parking lot C was the right place to be for access to the race day course, but, as many of us hadn't been there before it was a little fun to find. Slowly everyone trickled in after driving in circles a bit and making phone calls to help locate the lot. Then we had the challenge of buying a parking ticket to steer clear of the campus security forces that I saw driving around. Actually, that was a nice way for some of us to get a little warm up run because the ticket meter was quite a distance from the area where we parked (it was $3.25 per hour or $6.50 for the day).

A quick survey at the start showed us there was a good balance between first timers and veterans to the course and also several Club Fat Ass members to share in the fun. We headed out a few minutes after 9:00 am and quickly split into small groups. Once we got into the trees, we found the first part of the trail is an exciting and very twisty downhill before coming out much lower on the hill at the Power Line Trail. Janice and I were carefully corralling the rear of the group while Debra and John were happily keeping us company.

John and I stuck to the shorter Sport Course after seeing Janice and Debra circle around for the second loop of the Enduro Course. And that meant we got to experience the thrill of Cardiac Trail before everyone else. There wasn't a lot of talking up there as John steamed ahead of me. And eventually we watched as the leaders, Byron and Heather, came back to parking lot C, with the others finishing soon thereafter.

Thankfully, this event was uneventful except for the adventures in parking. And for those of us doing the race on Saturday June 12, we now know what to expect, when to push it hard, and how to avoid the heartbreak of Cardiac Trail. Lastly, thanks to the leaders as always for helping out.