Monday, July 18th, 2011 - 12:21pm
"The Fat Dog race has been called off due to snow and unsafe conditions, such as exposure to long falls. We are not able to mark trails according to permitting requirements. As well, we cannot set up three remote aid stations. On Skyline, you would need crampons and an ice axe to navigate the route (and all events must use Skyline to return to the finish). In some locations, there is a 7 foot bank of snow on the trail. There is no alternative route that is not impacted by snow. Nature has beaten us this year; like other trail races that had to deal with weather changes. Your options: you can have a free race entry next year or you can choose to do another Mountain Madness race such as Dirty Duo in March 2012 in North Vancouver. For people who sent me an earlier email, we had no Internet access in the park so could not reply. The race committee is disappointed and we realize that racers are also disappointed by this outcome. We hope you will return next year to see what the course is "usually" like. Race Committee"
....
I won't lie - it sucks.
Emily and I recieved the first e-mail saying there was a risk of cancellation due to snow the Thursday before this last one, and one more update on Saturday while they continued assessing the situation on Saturday, before recieving this final e-mail on Monday.
It's funny too because we saw pictures of it before and after this news and you can see the drastic differences between places where the sun hits and doesn't. One hillside has green trees, brown dirt, and flowers in bloom, and 1km away around a corner and it's covered in deep, deep snow.
From a safety standpoint i completely understand and agree with the decision - i would do the same thing - doesn't change the face that it is a bit upsetting. I have no issue with the Race Organization group - they did an amazing job putting together what could be one of the best ultramarathons around, but nobody could have predicted the weird weather we have had the past month or so. With the snow not melting away as fast as hoped, it just wouldn't be right to risk it.
So now Emily and i are shaking it off and keeping ourselves busy - she has signed up to do Sooke Half Ironman on August 7th (after doing one 2 weeks ago in Peterborough!), and will be training to do a full Ironman in about a year's time. I am now focusing on prepping myself to train for Oliver Half Ironman next June (my first!), but i am still leaning towards doing Fat Dog next year - it just feels like unfinished business now, and i am determined to do what i set out 7 months ago to do - even if i have to wait a year to do it! I'll keep up training for it, and the training for Oliver will be a great way to cross-train. Emily is leaning towards not doing it next year - and likely a good idea if she plans to focus on training for a full Ironman! Still she might do Dirty Duo - but there's time to think about it all.
With that in mind, i'm going to take my wetsuit and bike up with me when my family heads to Oliver for our annual 2-week vacation in August, because we stay at the campsite/resort at the lake where the swimming portion of the Oliver Half Ironman takes place! So i will have ample time to get myself accustomed to the route - as the area is extremely familiar!
Back to Fat Dog though - Emily and I are still going forward with the Fundraising that we have done during our training - we don't want that to fall apart just because the event did not happen! We have to thank everyone who has supported us both in donations and all-around goodwill and support since we sat down to work out our training and fundraising plans 7 months ago yesterday! Everyone has shown us amazing support, and i have to say that the past 7 months have been COMPLETELY worthwhile. Only good things have come from it, the only downside being that the event itself didn't happen as planned, but we gained so many connections, friends, and the benefits of training. I can say that i am in arguably the best shape of my life - with the ability to run a 100+ km race!
We've gained so much worthwhile knowledge as well - i'm so much more in tune with what my body needs both in rest and during training runs, we have the knowledge of how much it benefits anyone to have a goal set as motivation, and how great it is to have a training partner to keep you going, especially on those rough days! I know for a fact that - especially in the January-March training with the dark, rainy mornings (and sometimes snow!) i would not have gone to train if i did not have Emily there to get me going!
If anyone ever wants to talk about the benefits of goal-setting and training with a partner as motivation, i'd be more than happy to do so!
Also along the training road i met so many other great people too - helping out with the Mountain Madness Trail Running Clinics not only introduced me to Mountain Madness as a group, but the people who come out to participate are an amazing community unto themselves! Everyone is out there to help one another accomplish what they are setting out to do, and i can only applaud everyone who is/has been/ and will be a part of that!
So while yes - one more time - i am dissapointed that the race was not able to go on this year, only good has come from this experience, and it is one that i will always be able to look back on with great memories. It has been amazing and unforgettable - i still can't believe what has happened in the past year! I went from my first half-marathon (BMO) last May - i now have 3 under my belt, bettering my time each time - i did my first 50K Trail Race in March - with great results, and i trained for 7 months with a singular goal in mind - al the while raising funds for 2 great causes.
Emily and I are still intending to Blog as we train for our different events - they may be different than planned in the next little while, but that doesn't mean they are any less of an Epic Adventure!
Team NSA will continue!
Keep an eye out on the roads, waters, and trails, and you may see us running, biking and swimming along!
See you out there - and best of luck in whatever you set out to do - If you want to do it, there is no doubt that you can!
-Noel
