The Limberlost Challenge
The Limberlost Challenge (TLC) 2013 was my first trail race. I had been running the trails of Hardy Lake Provincial Park for several years but had never taken the next step, but after my marathon in May I decided that I wanted to focus on trail running.
The atmosphere at the start was very different to a road race. I find that the people at the start of a road race are usually limbering up or stretching or trying to get mentally focused. Very few people are chatting. At TLC many of the runners knew each other and were casually talking while eating muffins and sipping coffee. I managed to strike up 3 or 4 conversations before the race.
The race is a 14km loop course through some of the most beautiful trails I’ve run, and there are 4 distances (14km, 28km, 42km and 56km). The event was very well organised and the trails were clearly marked. The pre-race speech covered all the necessary points, the aid stations were well-stocked, and the post-run feast was awesome. A big shout-out to the race organiser Neil Jefferson for a job well done.
I opted for the 28km. My thinking was, “28km? I got this! Let’s have some fun”.
The reality was quite different. I really enjoyed the first loop and got a 1:30 split, but half way through the second loop the wheels started to fall off. I was walking a lot more, the 28C heat was taking its toll, and the second loop took me 2 hours for a finishing time of 3:27.
Overall it was a great race and one that I hope to run again next year.
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