I just love trail running. After hours of long runs on the pavement there is something wonderful and refreshing about getting off the road. The Keen 12k Trail run at Collingwood provided some of the best trail running highs.
Around 5 pm, As we waited at the bottom of Georgian peaks ski hill, the sun shone delightfully while the skies opened up and gave us a cool fall shower. The mountain bikers were all arriving by shuttle, covered in mud from head to toe. They all seemed cheerful and ready to go so the 60km ride must have been good despite the all to obvious muddy conditions. As we lined up to start the run the rain stopped.
The race started with an ascent straight up the hill. 5 minutes? 10 minutes? 15? I’m afraid I lost track of how long I climbed for… I think one person ran while the rest of us scrambled up the somewhat muddy track. Once at the top we were off onto the Bruce Trail. Lovely single track with some great views of Georgian Bay. The downhills were a tad slippery but all in all it was a great route along the top of the escarpment between the Peaks and Blue Mountain. After about 8 km there was a gentle but constant downhill run to the base of Blue followed by a 3-4 k road run back to the Village.
My only regret is that it didn’t last a little longer. Perhaps the 20k next year…
Jennifer – good seeing you @ Keen. The 20k was tough – a lot more hills. We had just finished a brutal 55k MTB through some pretty ugly conditions (and a cold 10k river paddle) so the legs weren’t working that well!
This 20 km run has to be my favorite this year. It was so beautiful-and just technical enough to keep my attention. The time flew by!! Are you sure it was 20 km??!
hi jennifer long time no see email me if you wish ok i moved to orillia my wife died then my dad 2006 was a bad year for them