Holy Smokes, Honey, The Knee Knacker is 20!

I should know this, but it just sank in that the Knee Knacker is going to be held for the 20th time on Saturday!

I was trading email with founder of the Knee Knacker, Enzo Federico, and one of my Knee Knacker arch-nemesises, Ron Adams, today. Enzo was looking for a copy of an old race poster. Seems Enzo is putting together a historical shrine of Knee Knacker memorabilia for the 20th. Got me to thinking about what I might contribute. Here's my Knee Knacker story...

The Knee Knacker was my introduction to trail running. I was a triathlete and roadie who came down from the ski hills of Whistler in 1991. I bought an old VW camper van from a Swiss couple for $1,200. My girlfriend and I decided to check out Vancouver on our way back to Toronto the long way via Nicaragua. Rusty (the van) had a coronary in Squamish. He made it to Vancouver on life support and died at the corner of Cornwall and Vine in Kitsilano. We rented a small, furnished place next to Kits Pool and set out to discover Vancouver.

I can't recall how I first learned of the Knee Knacker? At the time, there was no Internet. 'Must have been a poster in a running store? Somehow I learned of an informal Sunday run along the Knee Knacker route (the Baden Powell Trail) in the mountains above Vancouver.

I was very apprehensive but even more jazzed as I made my way across the Lions Gate bridge for that first Sunday training run. I don't recall where we ran from or to, but I remember meeting Enzo, Ron Adams, Tony Humphries, Darren Lauscher, Neil Wakelin and possibly Shane Collins that day. "What a neat bunch of characters", I recall thinking.

Running in the rain forest was as much fun I'd ever had with my clothes on! There was Spanish moss, rushing creeks, monster old growth trees, little slippery bridges to cross, grouse thumping in the woods and constant talk about black bears. True, I'd spent the winter in Whistler, but I was from Toronto and this was the first time I'd seen a BC forest in the summer.

I believe it was Enzo who organized the trail runs. They became the highlight of my week and the focus of my social circle in BC.

Then there was the race itself. Compared to today, the 1991 race was a small field with only 89 finishers, but it was Canada's largest trail ultra. I remember feeling nervous about my first trail ultra. "Hang back", I remember thinking as I made my way to Cleveland Dam, "There are 2 more mountains to climb!" It seems to me I ran a lot of the way with Tony Humphries and Darren Lauscher that day. I kept thinking this was too awesome to be true. Running in the rain forest. The world's toughest 30-miler. I wanted to call my running buddies in Toronto and tell them what I was doing, but cell phones were way too big to carry on a run in those days!

It was a blast to try and scare the tourists as we ran across the Lynn Canyon suspension bridge in full gallop. I hammered the last bit into Deep Cove with Darren and got the first of what have become annual leg cramps in one of the seven-odd valleys immediately before the finish. The hot donuts were awesome... and I was moved by the personal touch Enzo added for each finisher as he handed out the awards in an Edgemont Village church basement.

The Knee Knacker has become my favorite running race. I've completed it 15 times, now, and also served on the board for a few years. My wife has done it twice and has managed the Cleveland Dam aid station even more times. My kids (10, 11) have at least 2 volunteer shirts. The Knee Knacker is now a highlight of my family's summer.

I'd be up there with my arch nemesises Ron and Neil with 17 had I not been out of the country for 2 years. Trying to outlast Ron, Neil and David Brown to be the most prolific Knee Knackerer racer has become one of my life goals. I've been injured for 6 months, but I have to start otherwise those guys will get so far out of sight I'll not catch them in this lifetime.

At one time I wanted to be the first person to do 10 top-10 finishes. Now I'd be happy to be the last one to cross the finish line in under 10 hours. Win or loose against the distance and time, I know running the Knee Knacker will be fun for every one of the 50-odd kilometers.

To all of you who were fortunate enough to win the registration lottery, "Good Luck"... and see you early Saturday morning!