Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Iriquoia Trail Test 34km

http://www.burlingtonrunners.com/index.cfm?PAGEPATH=Club_Races/Iroquoia_Trail_Test&ID=5710 

I was heading from the Niagara Region into Toronto for the weekend and came across this race on a website and thought: hey...why not?  I had no expectations but thought, well, for $60 I can get a pleasant long run in, a new shirt and be challenged by other runners and the time watch on me to boot!

They call it a trail test with many words of warning about the challenge of the terrain in the pre-race meeting.  I, being a BC native, just chuckled to myself thinking, "right so running on gravel is some sort of test"...I was humbled and pleasantly surprised by the beauty, variety and challenge of the terrain.  They offered a 7km, 18km and 34 km - I wanted the best bang for my buck and did the 34km which was a beautiful 3x11.3km loop in and out of the Bruce Trail, (even with a substantial climb to mix it up in the middle).  I was pleasantly surprised by the race and by how good my legs felt after having done my first 50 miler 3 weeks ago.  3hrs 29mns later I got a good long run in and an opportunity to experience trail runs in Ontario...pretty much the same scene as BC, fun people who love to play on roots and rocks.  I highly recommend this race to anyone who lives in SW Ontario!