5 Peaks ambassador and Need For Speed repping well.
The 3rd installment of the 5 Peaks Northern Alberta took place on Saturday July 21st at Sunridge Ski Area. There was plenty of storms leading up to this race meaning the running surface would offer its own challenges to racers. The weather on the day was perfect for running a race. There was a special buzz about this race and it seemed everyone attending was in a good mood and ready for a fun race day. The course itself had changed from previous years and offered new challenges.
Course Description
Ski trails with a mix of double and single track. Bring on the HILLS!!! The course begins with a 300m pavement section followed by a single track downhill to the edge of the river. This is immediately followed by a three step climb from the bottom to the top of the bank. There, a crowd will be waiting to cheer you on into the next section of technical single track. This section has plenty of twists and short climbs and ends with a blazing descent through the trees. From there you break out onto a short section of pavement and are greeted by the first Aid Station. After that, you face a 1.5km section of rolling single track along the river’s edge. This is follow by a grueling uphill that will take you to the top of the bank and into the Nordic ski trails. The ski trails are 1.5km and are a mix of double and single track with a few punchy up-hills. This section concludes when you reach the top of the Chairlift and make your way into the Down-hill ski section. This area will have a number of slalom descents and off-camber traverses mixed in with some switch back climbs. The last section of single track is as wild as it gets. Be sure to follow the markers here my friends because you will see people running in every direction! As you break out of the trees from the mind-bending single track the course concludes with a run-way finish.
(Taken from the 5 Peaks website; http://www.5peaks.com/shop/sunridge).
My Race
I was going into this race hoping for a podium but also wanted to conserve some energy for the LuLu Lemon 10km race the next day where I was shooting for a Personal Best. Like with any race this plan immediately went out the window. The pace started out quick but nothing ferocious which I was happy about. At 5 Peaks races both the Enduro and sport distances start at the same time so its hard to know your placing with the mix of both racers. This is a positive change though as it means the faster sport athletes don’t catch up with Enduro athletes half way through the course.
Getting ready for the battle and MUD!
We started the downhill section which already made our shows muddy and the footing was loose your feet. I took this section a bit easier to ensure no falls. Next was the biggest climb of the day. There was a king of the hill competition for this part, first male and female up would win a free race entry to the next race. Tyler Gamblin made a dash for this and won for the men, Sonya Jongsma Knauss took the king of the hill for the women. This was a fun and added to the competition but most people stuck to their game plan. On the uphill section I took my time as footing was unsteady and the mud made it slippery. Packie Kiernan took the lead at this stage and wouldn’t let go of it for the whole race coming out on top of the podium. When we got to the top of the hill we cut left into a long section of single track, this is where I made my moves passing all sport athletes (apart from Packie) and several enduro athletes.
After this there was a break on a pavement section and about a 1.5 – 2km section along the rivers edge which was flat, wet and muddy but allowed runners to open the pace a bit. This is where I caught up to Packie and another Enduro racer. We then immediately turned left and went up some gnarly climbs that were slick, muddy and made for more scrambles, hands and knees climbing than anything else. I lost ground here on Packie and the Enduro athlete and actually got passed by another Enduro but I knew I was in second place for the Sport distance. I kept a comfortable pace for the final single track sections, broke out of the single track, asked my friend and fellow Rampage Racer Kody O Brien who was course marshal was I second or third, he told me second. I drop the pace and coasted in the last 200m. Packie took first, I took second and Nathan Eriksson took 3rd, a familiar podium!
Shared many podiums with these guys.
This was a fantastic race and as I mentioned the festival area was buzzing with everyone sticking around for giveaways competitions and to cheer fellow racers over the finish line. A great event, you don’t want to miss the next one on Saturday August 11th in Chickakoo. Get all the details here; http://www.5peaks.com/shop/chickakoo-race-4
More medals for Rampage Racing!
