2005 - Year 4 - Spring Mountain Highway Madness

20 March 05 - Spring Mountain Highway Madness

Heinous. "Adj. Grossly wicked or reprehensible; abominable", according to dictionary.com.

There was considerable talk about the weather that greeted starters of the Mountain Highway Madness trail run this morning. After a winter of unseasonably sunny, warm days we were treated to some liquid sunshine. Heinous is how I'd describe our weather. The 7th Mountain Highway Madness will go down in the record books as being the event when most of the field poked their heads through the blinds, then returned to the comfort of their warm, dry bed.

For the 19 runners and 1 mountain biker who did participate, however, the run will go down in the training log as a "character builder".

According to Michelle Fredette, there were bands of sunlight and blue skies overhead when she left the False Creek area of Vancouver. Not so in the North Shore mountains! As if on cue as we congregated near the start line fountain, the skies above Mountain Highway opened up and the monsoons arrived. My typical long-winded welcome and pre-run briefing was abbreviated to, "Prize for the person who comes closest to guessing their first lap time. Free beer and some draw prizes at the Mosquito Creek Grill afterwards. Go!"

Sidelined with an injury, I brought my mountain bike along with the hope of being the first to log a bike time on the 15K up and down course. I confess that I was en route for Starbucks before the guilt overcame me.

It was a slow and lonely ride up. On a normal Sunday morning at 8:30 am, Mountain Highway is busy with mountain bikers seeking a hangover cure or nudists en route to the VanTan Club. Today, I had not even a doggie-walker to exchange greetings with. Low-hanging clouds blanketed the trail. Rain and condensation from my breath fogged the lenses of my glasses. I was less than 1/2 way up the mountain when elite Montrail Team runners Dom Repta and Andy Nicol appeared flying downhill through the haze.

Amazingly enough, everyone who I crossed had a smile on their face and appeared to be enjoying themselves. "Any snow at the turnaround?” I asked. "You bet," replied Jenn Winiarski. Great. I thought of Jim Mandelli, who, a week after pushing his bike over 50 miles thought the snow at the Susinita 100-miler in Alaska, would be completing his first lap of the Mountain Highway Madness about now.

The turnaround point in this run is a rock quarry. When I arrived, the road surface was relatively clear of ice and snow, but big, fat flakes were falling. I was soaked to the bone and very cold, so after taking a few photos, my only thought was to get into some dry clothes and to drink some warm beer. As I sped downhill, 10 runners were making their way back uphill for a second lap.

In spite of the weather, Dom Repta set a new course record of 2:13 for 2 laps. (Close on his heels, Andy Nicol also broke the course record with 2:15.)

Many thanks to Kelly and Lucie Nielson for buying us a beer and to Trail Runner Magazine and Hammer gel for the draw prizes. Happy trails...and hope to see you at the next Mountain Highway Madness in September!

Ean Jackson
Host of the Mountain Highway Madness

Results

Total starters: 20
Total finishers: 20