Conquer the Canuck 25k Trail Race report

   The Conquer the Canuck trail races were held on June 11 &12 at Shades Mills Conservation Area in Cambridge.  It was a weekend trail racing event, with racing options of 8.3k, 25k, Marathon, 50k and the 92.2k Ultimate Canuck.  I competed in the 25k trail race on Saturday morning, and had a great race.
 
   The course was an 8.3k loop that wound around the conservation area, passing the lake, and into the heavily-forested areas of the park.  I really enjoyed the course.  It brought back memories of racing at Shades Mills during high school cross country.  I remembered the major hill at 5.5k (I especially remember cursing it as I tried to drag myself up it in highschool XC races), this time, I took the hill at a much more relaxed and enjoyable pace - no cursing :)
 
 
Heading out for my last lap - feeling good.
Steve and I are happy to see Greg and the kids cheering for us during our 25k trail race at Shades mills Conservation area


Finishing the 25k in 2:00:51
   The race was 3 loops, my plan was to check out the course for the first lap.  In the second lap I was going to maintain a comfortably-hard pace, and I was going to push hard on my last lap.  When I got out there, I didn't end up following the plan.  I wasn't challenged for the women's title, so I just maintained my comfortably-hard pace for the entire race and ended up finishing 4th overall and first among the women in a time of 2:00:51.  The race felt great, and Greg and the kids were there to cheer me on.  It always feels good to see my family cheering me on as I run by.  After, the kids and I hung out in the lake.  This felt amazing on my legs, and the kids had a blast swimming with their clothes on.

Tessa chasing seagulls on the beach
It was so hot we were swimming in our clothes.  The kids had a blast.

This felt great on my post-race legs.  The kids joined me in the lake.

   The event was well organized and race director Tony Martin did a great job bringing back the Conquer the Canuck after a 10 year break.  All finishers received wine at the awards ceremony, and for finishing first female I was awarded a gift card for a local outdoors shop.  Thank you Adventure Guide for donating the prize.  Special thanks to Tony and his team of friendly volunteers for an enjoyable racing experience.  Thanks to my sponsors product sponsor CLIF bar.  I used razz shot energy gels during the race.  Thanks to my coach Derrick Spafford for preparing me for the race.  Next year, I look forward to Conquering the Canuck again.


Comments

  1. Way to go, Lisa! Great work! :)

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks Holly. Shade's mills is a great place. It was a fun run!

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment