The future of Triathlon results

How about we use this program for next years Whistler Kids of Steel Triathlon results.

Pretty cool!

My First Trail Running Accident

So i was out for a trail run today, Doing the lost lake/tin pants trails, and was feeling pretty good. I was running downhill on one of the double track ski trails we often did hill repeats on in the summer, when next thing i know, i am flying through the air headed straight for a rock. I don't think i slipped, but as it was starting to get a bit dark so i probably stubbed my foot on something. I went crashing into the ground face first. I had just experienced my first Trail running crash. I have crashed many time on my Mountain bike, while skiing etc, but this is the first time i can remember crashing while running. I once read an article that talked about training how to fall while trail running. It even had some drills to try. Maybe i should go find that article again and study up.

Anyways, I currently have 2 scraped palms, and 2 damaged knees, one sore shoulder, and a scrape on my right temple where i hit my head and a bit of a headache. Somehow i also cut open the back of my hand and it would not stop bleeding for over an hour. It's funny how different parts of the body hurt at different times. I was able to walk/run out from the trails and my hands were killing, by the time i got home, my knees were the worse, and right now it's the headache. I should be fine though, I will probably still go for another run tomorrow.

TransRockies Music Video

The team at TransRockies put together this music video from footage shot during Stage 4 of the 2009 race. It features Bruce Hayes' song "Feast". It give a great look at some of the scenery and fun we are in for at next years event.

Lumpy's Epic 10k

Today was the final race in the Sea 2 Sky trail running series so i made sure i got back from my trip in time to do this 10km trail run. It is a very grassroots event, all of the $15 entry fee goes to a local charity and the top male and female finishers each get a dozen eggs from the organizer's chickens. I think the rain and the cold kept alot of people away, but at 10am about 40 started the race. After about 100m we started up the hills, after about 20 minutes of climbing we came out on what would have been an amazing view point, but with the low clouds, all we saw was white. We continued on a ridge with a bunch of up and down, before we started the long descent. Once again, my climbing sucked but my downhill running was pretty good. Once down the backside of the climb we had about 2.5k of flat running along a slippery trail. Wet leaves mixed with mud made for an interesting finish lap around One Mile Lake. With about 200m to go, we had to jump out onto a floating dock for about 20m to get around a cliff. Each step splashed water up between the boards. Seamus Frew and Arlene Schieven took home the eggs,(no bacon was given out) and Ben Biswell took second place by 1 second over 3rd. That must have been interesting across the dock. Thaks to all of the volunteers and organizers for putting on a great series of runs.

3 Runs in 1 Day

So after a few days of shooting in bad weather, i figured i better get a run in. The elevation in Yellowstone is around 7400 feet, so it made for a good test of running at elevation for the Transrockies. I grew up in Richmond BC, which is actually below sea level, and aside from a couple of runs over the Rubble Creek trail run course, i have not really ran much at elevation. As we left the hotel, we had the sun shining down on us, but by the time we entered the park, it started raining quite heavily. We hit the turnoff for the Fountain Paint Pots, another Geyser basin in Yellowstone that we had not checked out yet. so we stopped for a quick look. I figured i might as well get a short run in and test running on the boardwalks around the geysers. The day before, all of the boardwalks around the geysers had snow on them, so they were too slippery to walk on, but without the snow they were fine. After 15 mins on running the loop and watching one Geyser erupt, I met my Mom back at the car and we continued on down the road.

We accidently passed to trailhead that I had planned to run, so we kept going until we reached the Old Faithful area. There was a 1 mile loop that climbed up over the basin to an outlook that i wanted to check out, so off i went for run number 2. Running at 7400, i did not really noticed the altitude while on the flats, but once i started up the switchbacks on the climb, i could really feel it. As i neared the top i could barely breathe, my mouth was wide open gasping for oxygen, I know my hill climbing sucks but this was crazy. Transrockies will start at a higher elevation and go up to over 12000ft, Looks like i got lots of work ahead of me. As i headed back down, i passed Solitary Geyser, which erupts every 7 minutes, so i figured i would wait to watch it blow. It had a large pool that you could get really close to. As i waited, it started to downpour again, a mix of snow and rain, so I hid under a tree, but luckily it passed quickly. Just as it stopped, the geyser started to act up. All of a sudden, a huge bubble about 6 feet wide burst out of the geyser, it reached up about 5 feet above the ground before it popped. It was cool to see but that was all it did. After that one bubble it flatten out, and that was it. I headed back down the trail and continued down past about 50 other geysers all the way to Biscuit basin, for a total of 5 miles or so.

I figured i was done at this point, but as we drove past the the original trail i planned to run, i told my Mom to pull over. Why not make it 3 runs in one day. I had hiked part of this trail years ago, it passes right by the Grand Prismatic Spring, which is an amazing pool of water with every color of the rainbow. You really need to see it from the air to get the best view point, and from this trail you can climb a hill get a better viewpoint of it. As i didn't have a camera with me, i kept running past it. The trail is 4 miles long, and quite flat, but it really takes you away from the park roads. I kept looking over my shoulder to see if any wolves were chasing me down, but luckily i did not see any more on this day. You go through an area that was hit by forest fires in the past, so you see a lot of downed trees, with many new trees growing around them, it looks like a Christmas tree farm, but it is all natural. At one point i climbed this rise above a curving river, just as the sun came out. A perfect rainbow formed just behind the S curves of the river, with golden grass on either side. I really need to pack a baby camera with me on my runs to capture these amazing sites. It would have been a perfect shot. As i got to the end of the trail, where my Mom was supposed to pick me up, she was no where to be found. So rather than stopping in the cold to wait, i just kept running down the road. About another mile later she finally showed up, she had figured i would take longer than i did. It didn't matter at all to me, as it allowed me to continue my run in one of my favorite places in the United States.

Yellowstone Nat Park

So we finally arrived in Yellowstone. Last night we saw a moose while driving into Jackson Hole, and this morning we saw 2 wolves just outside the park. Not a bad start. But as soon as we entered yellowstone, it started snowing. we also found out that 2 sections of the road were closed, which meant we would have to travel about 150km one way to get to the best wildlife viewing sections of the park each day. So instead we stuck to the geyser basin. After checking out Old faithful and a few other geysers, on the first day, and the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone on the next i figured i had better get a run in at elevation.


Grey Wolf outside the Park


Old Faithful


Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone

What's Next?

One question every endurance athlete knows well is the dreaded "What's Next?" It usually comes in the days following completion of a major race, such as an Ironman, a marathon or an adventure race. The feelings and emotions you feel after reaching such a big goal make it all worthwhile. I remember after my first Ironman race back in 1989, i felt invincible. Everything was possible! It was a high that lasted for months. But those feeling of accomplishment are often mixed with an emptiness. You have just reached something you dreamed about each and every night for the past year, and now its gone. What's Next?

Over the past 20 years, my "What's Next?" has usually been Ironman Canada. After completing it 8 time, i was ready for something different. It had got to the point where i knew i could finish another Ironman, and while it is still a huge challenge, it didn't scare me like it used to. I needed something bigger that would make me really have to change my life in order to complete it. I was really enjoying Mountain biking and Trail running, and have always wanted to try adventure racing race, so I started looking for something there. I signed up for the Test of Metal in June of 2009 ( see previous race report) partly as a personal test. I had been thinking about entering a Mountain biking stage race, such as La Ruta de Los Conquistadores, a 4 day stage race across Costa Rica, and wanted to see how i would do at that distance. But my results at the Test of Metal told me i was not quite ready for it yet. I signed up for a few Momar Adventure races to gain experience in that field, but the bigger races all required teams of like-minded racers. While i enjoy my crazy endurance events, i am not the fastest person out there, so finding teammates of the same ability can be challenging.

Sooooooooooooo, What's Next?

I am happy to announce I have registered for the Gore-Tex TransRockies Run , a six day trail running stage race across the Rockies of Colorado. I have signed up with my friend Gabi Moeller, another like minded endurance junkie facing the same question, What's Next? While neither of us are exceptional athletes, or as she calls them, "little genetic freaks", we both enjoy a challenge, and pushing ourselves to do the best we can with what we have. It will be a lot of hard work just getting to the start line, as I will need to change a lot of bad habits to get into the best shape of my life in order to compete. But i have finally found another challenge that scares me and motivates me as much as my first Ironman did. Wish me luck, as it's a long road ahead.

Welcome to my Blog - First Post!

So after years of following other photographers and athletes blogs, I have finally gotten around to starting my own. I never really felt like i had much to blog about, but this upcoming year is gearing up to be quite exciting. With the 2010 Winter Olympics coming to my hometown of Whistler, I know that photographically i will be shooting quite a bit, and this will be a great way to share some of my imagery. As an athlete, I have some big plans for next year, (more on that later), that i think are worth documenting. And next fall I am hoping to get back to Africa again. So hopefully more that just my Mom will enjoy reading this. Please feel free to leave any comments and suggestions, and let me know what you think.

Over the past few years, i have had some events and race reports that i wanted to share, but didn't really have a forum for it, so over the next month or so, i will post them here, and backdate them to the time when they occurred so they will show up below here.