“My name is Rob, and I have a running addiction”. I promised that I would start the next entry with that confession after I heard on Wednesday that the Mt. Robson Marathon had reopened registration due to some cancellations. Registered immediately on-line and left on Thursday to travel for a day and a half to get to Valemount. Ran the marathon on the Saturday morning, then jumped in car and travelled another day and a half to get home Sunday night. When I look at this description I have to confess that I do have an addiction to running marathons.
However, in my defense the Mt. Robson Marathon was special. It is likely a one time only event since it was held as part of the 100th anniversary celebrations for BC Parks. I had tried to get in earlier but was advised that all 100 entries were gobbled up an a matter of hours, so when my friend Fran who was registered for the Half told me of the opportunity it seemed too good to pass up. Where else could I train for Everest on mountain trails. Running the Berg Lake Trail on the highest mountain in the Canadian Rockies with an elevation gain of 2700′ to the turn around point and then back down the same trail to Park visitor Centre was probably close as I can come to modeling Everest conditions. I know that my quads certainly thought so after all the down hill I subjected them to on the second half.
It was a very challenging trail, and my time of 5:35 was a testament to how steep it was. But the scenery was absolutely spectacular. We had a brilliant sunny day and the Mountain’s snow-capped peak, as well as the many falls that we passed in the Valley of a Thousand Falls were jaw dropping beautiful. It was really hard to concentrate on trail conditions and watching for tricky footing when wanted to spend time admiring the views. Definitely a highlight of my running adventures. If I can access some photos from the day I will post them here for all to see.
So while I confess to a running addiction I am not about to try to enter a group to deal with it. Rather than being a self-destructive addiction I gain great personal satisfaction from running and it gives me this unique opportunity to help people in Nepal.
Running for Nepal 