Trail Running Blog

This is for the neo-geography nerds. Google Maps has added another cool feature: countour lines to the terrain mode.

Here is a track from a run I did up to Grouse Mountain from my apartment in the West End of Vancouver.

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The Canadian Mountain Running team is going to have a very solid team this year lead by Ryan Hayden who is a very talented track and road runner. Will be interesting to see how they fair at the NACAC.

Six Canadian mountain runners will head to Tepatitlan, Jalisco, Mexico, on June 15th for the 5th NACAC mountain running championships. The Canadian Mountain and Trail Running Association (CTMRA) selected Ryan Hayden, Adam Campbell, Jason Loutitt, Olivia Yuel, Courtney Harcott and Brooke Spence to represent Canada in this 13km uphill race against top mountain runners from host Mexico, and the USA.

Ryan Hayden has the widest range of any Canadian climber. The sub-4 miler and 1:04 half marathoner was also part of the second place team in the 2007 Gore-Tex Transalpine-Run, setting a course record in the hill-sprint stage. He also represented Canada at the IAAF world cross country championships in 2004.

More information at: http://www.mountainrunning.ca/

A lot of trail runners are mapping nerds including myself. We track our runs using a GPS then upload our GPS tracks to Google Maps and embed in our weblogs. Now imagine if you could do this in real time. This could provide a safety advantage if something happened during your epic run someone could easily find you. Well it looks like there is a company that offers that solution now they are called Spot Messenger it looks like a pretty impressive product. Here is the companies promo:

With the SPOT Satellite Messenger, you and your loved ones have peace of mind knowing help is always within reach. SPOT is the only device of its kind, using the GPS satellite network to acquire its coordinates, and then sending its location – with a link to Google Maps – and a pre-programmed message via a commercial satellite network. And unlike Personal Locator Beacons, SPOT does more than just call for help. Tracking your progress, checking in with loved ones, and non-emergency assistance are also available, all at the push of a button. And because it uses 100% satellite technology, SPOT works around the world – even where cell phones don’t.

The product is seems reasonably priced at $169.99 (that does not include service fees of $99.99 dollars a year for basic service charges and $49.99/yr to do live tracking).

I know there are cheaper ways to do this but they take a lot of “technical” skills setting up a GPS gateway, purchasing a GPS tracking device, setting up your Google Map web page etc, which is a lot of work.

I think this will be a definite purchase for me before this summers “epics” it will make me feel safe/secure while I am out there on my own.

Interesting article on ESPN.com on ultra running I always like it when the mainstream media discusses ultra running. The topic of insanity is always brought up.

Article has a good quote from Yiannis Kouros:

“Ultra running is a metaphysical event,” Kouros explained. “If you don’t have that kind of idiosyncrasy, you will never become an ultra runner, even if you train all your life. I am one of those people who recommend and try to inspire people to get involved with running. But ultra is not a fun-running sport — it’s only for unique souls.”

Link.

Great article in the NY Times on snowshoeing today. I still haven’t participated in a snowshoe race this article makes me want to give it a try. The Yeti series (mentioned in the article) has a race up on Mt. Seymour tomorrow, might consider doing the 5k to test the waters.

Check out the multimedia slideshow here and the article here.