5 Peaks Rattlesnake Point
July 10
Enduro Course - 12.7k
It was a beautiful, sunny, July day.  Perfect weather for a trail race.  The best part of this race for me was that it took me all of 8 minutes to get to the park.  8 mins!!  For the first time ever on race day, I got to sleep in.  Fellow Running Free team member, Chris Phillips came to pick me up for the epic trip to the park.  Upon arrival we ran into a few other Running Free Milton athletes Scott Smiciklas (who was running), Jane Wood and Al Caballero (who were both there cheering).  There were many other Running Free athletes there, including Ken Niemimaa who was making sure that everyone had some pre-race coffee, among his many other jobs.  There were more Running Free people at this race than I had seen at any other race.  It was awesome to see Running Free so well represented at a local race.
The Rattlesnake Point race has the reputation of being the most technical of the 5 Peaks races.  I had only done one other 5 Peaks race, the Dundas Valley race, so I really didn’t have much of a base for comparison.  After the Dundas Valley race, I changed my expectations and decided that I wasn’t going to wear a watch, I was just going to run how I felt and not worry about pace.  That turned out to be a good plan, as at one point, there was a single file rock climb.  You couldn’t go any faster even if you wanted to because the person in front of you couldn’t go faster because of the person in front of them and so on.  It was definitely a challenging course, but it was a fun race.  There was some breath-taking scenery and lots of people out on the course.  During the last few kilometers of the race, there were some rock climbers taking a break.  As I glanced over at them, all I could see was trees and a bright blue sky.  It was very tempting to stop and take a minute to enjoy the view, but there would be plenty of time for that after the race.  This race had all types of terrain; narrow single track climbs, rocky climbs, a boardwalk through the swampy areas, steady inclines, fast downhills, sunny areas, lots of shaded areas, and great scenery.   In my limited experience, I would say that this is a very technical race, but there is something for everyone!
This was not a great race for me personally.  Time wise things did not go as I had wanted, but since I had rolled my right ankle the week before, I wasn’t expecting to set any records.  It’s hard to run a race when you know you aren’t on your game, but there was never an option to not run.  I pushed where I could and walked when I needed to.  This was a ‘race’, but I ran it for the pleasure and experience of running a new course.David Grant and his team have done a great job with the races this year and as always, have a great bunch of volunteers who are friendly, courteous and helpful in all areas.  From those volunteers who are there super early to get the coffee brewing and registration started, to the chasers who run the course after the racers to make sure that no one gets left behind, a great job is done by all and the time they take to make the race a great one for all runners is truly appreciated by all.  A special thanks goes out to John, Lescine and Charlotte who were working the first/last water station.  The screaming of “Go Running Free” for a minute before I got to the water station was a much needed and made me and several others smile.
Overall, it was a great day.  Lots of fun, perfect weather, lots of great people, and an excellent environment to run a race.  I encourage everyone to try a 5 Peaks Race, particularly if it’s not something you have ever done before.  If you can find one close to home it’s even better.  Take a step outside of your comfort zone and go for a run in the forest.  You never know what’ll happen, if could be your new favorite way to run.