Iron Knee 25km Trail Race

I had to go to Vancouver for a conference this past weekend, and with my Saturday free, decided to check out the Get Out There race calendar to see if I could find a race to do (yes, I have a race addiction!).  As luck would have it, the 25 km Iron Knee trail race, which runs from Grouse Mountain to Deep Cove was being held just a 15 minute drive from my hotel.  Without hesistation, I signed myself up, then having never been to BC before, wondered if the mountains were really going to be that big…

 The Iron Knee race is one of many put on by Run the North Shore.  Billing itself as “Canada’s largest distance trail race,” I have to admit, I was expecting a few more people than the 280 people who raced it. The course however, did not disappoint.

I arrived at the race much earlier than necessary, having no idea how long it would take to get through registration at “Canada’s largest distance trail race.”  Turns out, it took mere seconds, leaving me with plenty of time to gawk at the hills surrounding me and shiver in the cold.  The race started promptly at 8:00 am, with parts of the course being rerouted because of the fact that the infamous Grouse Grind, usually part of the course, was still closed due to snow on the mountain.  The race started off nice and flat….for about 400m, at which point the climbing began.  I’d wager that at least 20 out of the 25kms in the was either going up or downhill. This included the equally infamous Powerline Climb, which stretched for approximately 3km with, what I was told, was a 30% grade in parts.  Needless to say, there wasn’t much running from me going on during this part of the course.

Near the beginning of the race, I was lucky enough to meet up with Judy, a member of the North Shore Lemmings, a congenial running group from the area, who I ran with for most of the race.  Having raced the Iron Knee 4 times previous, Judy was both an old pro at this course and a great tour guide for me.  We chatted happily throughout the race, with her giving me lots of warning about what was coming up.  Equally treacherous as the uphills were the technical downhill sections of this race, from which my quads have yet to recover!  Chatting with Judy, and the absolutely stunning scenery of the race, made the time just whip by.  Having no goal time in mind for this race as I considered it more as training for Untamed New England, I was quite happy that Judy and I finished in just under 3 hours.  Far from speedy, I was pleased that I stayed upright and held my own against the BC terrain.

At the race finish, runners transitioned immediately from the finish line to the water, where tired legs were soothed.  Rather than shirts, all finishers got two pair of socks from Sole, a company known for their custom footbeds but who are expanding their range of products.

If you are ever in the area, I’d highly reccomend checking out the races put on by Run the North Shore, or just trying out the trails around Grouse Mountain for yourself!