I am now in the process of recovering after running 78K on the Seaton Trail yesterday. A more detailed report will follow soon.
On Friday morning, I offered my services and helped mark the course. I knew I would go crazy if I decided to just go to work for the day. Conventional wisdom dictates that I shouldn't be doing anything strenuous the day before a long race. However, the word "sucker" seems to be permanently tattooed to my forehead for all to see :)
With eight of us out to mark the course, I thought that I would only be marking a small section... WRONG! Gord decided that he would pair up with me and we would start from the school. I was a few minutes off the mark because I ended up taking the long way to the Seaton Trail to avoid traffic. When I got to the school, I found out that we would be measuring the course again while flagging it. Three people marked the course from Whitevale to Foreststream, the other three marked the course from the Woods Loop. As for Gord and I, we were strictly measuring and not laying down any flags within the vicinity of the school due to the fact that the flags may go missing or get vandalised. We caught up to Howie, Ted and Sandi at the water crossing. Later, we met up with Mike S., Linda, and Helen just past Foreststream. We then walked towards Whitevale and the 13K turnaround point before heading 2K back to Whitevale. In certain sections, we were amazed to see that the flags were vandalised within an hour of laying them down. Some of them were tossed into the stream, and some were planted somewhere else. On race day, a crew will end up running the course replacing or fixing up flags that have been vandalised. While we were hiking along, we were also taking in the sights of the trout and salmon spawning in West Duffins Creek. Fishing season will open up in the next week and I know at least one person who will be at the Whitevale Dam hauling in his catch.
Howie coming up the hill with Ted laying down flags behind him
Ted, Sandi and Howie taking a breather "behind bars" at the lookout point before "Suicide Hill"
Gord laying down one of the kilometer markings in the meadow
Basking in the sunshine
Nature at work. There has been a lot of erosion due to weather conditions and the use of the trail system. Sad, but true...
After we marked the course, we headed off to lunch where we traded a few good laughs and stories from the day, including a childhood summer camp song that was brought up when we were traversing mud and swampy washouts (Going on a Lion Hunt) as well as Gord's cheesy one liners,. I was also reminded to remember that I marked the course if I end up cussing during the race. Therefore... no whining... After lunch, we all headed home to prepare and rest for a long day on Saturday.
On Friday morning, I offered my services and helped mark the course. I knew I would go crazy if I decided to just go to work for the day. Conventional wisdom dictates that I shouldn't be doing anything strenuous the day before a long race. However, the word "sucker" seems to be permanently tattooed to my forehead for all to see :)
With eight of us out to mark the course, I thought that I would only be marking a small section... WRONG! Gord decided that he would pair up with me and we would start from the school. I was a few minutes off the mark because I ended up taking the long way to the Seaton Trail to avoid traffic. When I got to the school, I found out that we would be measuring the course again while flagging it. Three people marked the course from Whitevale to Foreststream, the other three marked the course from the Woods Loop. As for Gord and I, we were strictly measuring and not laying down any flags within the vicinity of the school due to the fact that the flags may go missing or get vandalised. We caught up to Howie, Ted and Sandi at the water crossing. Later, we met up with Mike S., Linda, and Helen just past Foreststream. We then walked towards Whitevale and the 13K turnaround point before heading 2K back to Whitevale. In certain sections, we were amazed to see that the flags were vandalised within an hour of laying them down. Some of them were tossed into the stream, and some were planted somewhere else. On race day, a crew will end up running the course replacing or fixing up flags that have been vandalised. While we were hiking along, we were also taking in the sights of the trout and salmon spawning in West Duffins Creek. Fishing season will open up in the next week and I know at least one person who will be at the Whitevale Dam hauling in his catch.
Howie coming up the hill with Ted laying down flags behind him
Ted, Sandi and Howie taking a breather "behind bars" at the lookout point before "Suicide Hill"
Gord laying down one of the kilometer markings in the meadow
Basking in the sunshine
Nature at work. There has been a lot of erosion due to weather conditions and the use of the trail system. Sad, but true...
After we marked the course, we headed off to lunch where we traded a few good laughs and stories from the day, including a childhood summer camp song that was brought up when we were traversing mud and swampy washouts (Going on a Lion Hunt) as well as Gord's cheesy one liners,. I was also reminded to remember that I marked the course if I end up cussing during the race. Therefore... no whining... After lunch, we all headed home to prepare and rest for a long day on Saturday.
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