You know that the racing season is upon us again when the first of five races in the 5 Peaks series for Ontario gets underway. The first race of the season was Chicopee held in Kitchener at the Chicopee Ski Resort on April 25th.
The course itself didn’t disappoint with pretty of uphill and downhill running combined with technical parts and ofcourse a helping of muddy sections and residual snow on the slopes.
For myself, the race was great and tonnes of fun. I signed up for the enduro course, which essentially was the shorter sport course twice. The first loop was great. The uphill running at the start definately got the blood pumping and you had to be quick on your feet in the muddy sections otherwise you get to enjoy the mud belly flop. I must admit going up and down the hills took it’s toll on my legs but it was a challenge that was great to overcome.
The second loop was way more more fun with the muddy sections now being completed torn up from all the runners going through. I fell three times in the second loop and was covered to my chest in mud. Like a little kid, I was giggling with excitement as I knew that I only had a few more k’s to go. Unfortunately, I got a blister on the back of the foot from the mud rubbing in my shoe that I had to stop for a quick fix me upper at the medical tent along the way. With 2k’s to go, I gave up on the blister and pulled off the shoes. I ran the last part in socks. I figured that I was almost done and nothing hurts more than to not finish so I ran the last part in my socks. I can only imagine what people must have thought seeing me run down the slopes to the finish carrying my two shoes under my arms going full out for a great finish.
I would recommend the 5 peaks races to anyone looking to try their hand at trail running. The organization is awesome and the community is fantastic. Hope to see you at the next race in Durham on June 13th.
EMAN
