gummy bears are tasty! finishing a great event!

When I lived in Tsawassen - a town roughly 30mins from Vancouver I met up with a group of crazy guys - Ferg, Dave and Jerry.  Me and these crazy guys would train together.  These Crazy guys introduced me to Trail Running.  We would cross the border into Washington State and run in the trails around the Fairhaven area.  I remember one of these runs it was the 4 of us running up this road in a foot of snow - I loved it.  I have always cherished these running memories as I felt that this was truly the spirit of sport - friends enjoying the wonders of Nature and their own abilities being challanged. 

So, these crazy guys are responsible for me running in the Chuckanut 50k and I just have to say, Thank-you!  I moved back to BC last summer and so I thought - hey this will be as good as a time as any to go back and run Chuckanut, and I talked my very good friend Andi to join me.  I must admit - my training left a bit to be desired, but you know what I really didn't care - I was going to get the chance to run in some of the most scenic running trails in the world.  I picked Andi up from the airport on thursday and friday we headed across the border into Washington State.  So, I should mention...Andi is from Arizona, desert.......I should also mention that Washington State may very well be experiencing the wettest March on record.  But you know what....it didn't matter.  The rain did not dampen any spirits - in fact I think it created the perfect conditions for this particular run.  I can honestly say that there was not one moment during the event that I did not want to be there - sure couldn't say that about sitting in traffic!!  Below are just a few of the fun experiences of the day....

1. stopping at the Mocha Shake enroute to the start and having a great Americano in my car with the rain falling on my windshield - its going to be a great day
2. seeing my good friends Britni and Tracy at the start and throughout the race as they cheered us on - they drove that morning from Tsawassen
3. laughing at the fact that they had a sign that said "mud ahead" wondering what was it that I had been running in up until then and then realizing what mud actually was - lose your shoe kind of mud!!!  What a hoot!
4. Seeing my crazy friend Ferg out for run at around 20miles
5. Catching up with old friends from the Seattle Area and having time during the run to chat - Great to see you Dave!
6. Running along the ridge, hearing the wind through the trees and seeing the spectacular views through the fog - Spectacular!
7. Having my gummy bears at aid station #3 and #4
8. meeting Krissy - the RD and a very good friend of a friend - you put on a stellar event!
9. Running up the hills while I told myself -  "sound like raindrops, not newspapers - pitter patter pitter patter, quick feet"
10. happy to see Andi run off ahead - she ended up 3rd female overall in her first 50k - and spending such a great weekend with such a great friend!

Go check out the event - I recommend it to anyone who wants to smile:)