2009 - Pure Satisfaction Results - Year 7

What a great day it was.  Near perfect conditions for this time of the year - not counting the black ice, of course ;-)  If you haven't submitted your times yet, please send us an email or post a comment below.

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Event Report:

Pure Satisfaction has always been a popular run: right from day one seven years ago. I’ve enjoyed every year of it even in the slippery cold and sometimes rainy and the sometimes dark starts. And I figure people keep coming back year after year so others must like it too. Like our dedicated Chief Fat Ass, Sibylle, who has participated more than anyone else now (6 times).

And there are enough finishers since 2003 to enable me to collect some pretty serious statistics. We’ve had 213 finishers, an average of 30 finishers each year, and we’ve max’d out at 52 starters (2008) before we changed a few rules about getting CFA points. This year we had 33 starters matching the 2007 total of 33 as well.  And it’s nice to see so many people running the distance they want to do. Everything from a gentle hour or two custom length to one leg of 12.5km and up to 50km. 

We’ve also had all kinds of weather over the years but a few of us agree this was the best year yet. At the start line I didn’t even hear teeth chattering, like last year. And on the course, even though there was a bit too much ice in spots (Lynn Canyon board walks in particular and outrageously brutal I might add), it wasn’t wet and it did snow just enough to cover everything in a couple centimeters of white stuff to keep a bit of traction in some difficult places. 

And let’s talk about records for a minute … this year we had Ryan Conroy setting the second fastest time ever for 25km at 2:47. And along with two other 50km runners doing a very notable 8:44 on a tough course, (Karl Jensen and Kirsten Ramage, woohoo!), David Crerar now holds the course record at this distance in a speedy 6:48! Wow!!!. Nice run David. And I know that Pushpa Chandra was going for 50km as well; but, as wonderful a runner as she is, this is not an easy course. Pushpa gets to settle for a very respectable 37.5km.

Thanks to the first time Pure Satisfaction runners for coming out I hope you had as much fun as I did being out there. I stuck near the back with Reagan and had a great time. We kept finding all kinds of reasons to stop and take pictures and visit with other runners. We even saw one of my good friends Randy on his horse in Lynn Canyon.

I didn’t hear of anyone getting severely lost this year by the way. But I did catch wind of a major elbow injury from Ray and some hand gashing by Heather … slippage was a problem for all I’m sure. In fact, if you made it through without any scrapes in those conditions then you did very well. I myself drew a drop ‘o blood on my hand. And there were some lengthy patches of ice both hidden and in plain view. The granular snowfall helped to conceal many of them unfortunately.

But now another Pure Satisfaction is done and I’m looking at a change for next year … a good one I hope. Yes, the event will go on, with me … but I’m going to change the starting point. Starting in December, 2010, I will have us all begin in Lynn Canyon and (probably) run to Deep Cove, then back to get 25km … or back again and again if you’re a Fool (you know who you are). The 50k’rs like starting in Lynn Canyon anyway so I say we might as well join ‘em. I’m looking forward to it and I hope you are too.