Salomon Raid The Hammer 25k Adventure Run
Sunday November9th 2008
Ancaster/Dundas On.
Alright,I’ve run my fair share of trail races.I’ve even done a little bushwacking.But I’ve never combined them over some of the hilliest,rockiest terrain I’ve had the pleasure of exploring.
My first foray into the adventure running game was eye-opening to put it mildly and I now have TONS of respect for those who regularly play this mad game!
I was fortunate to have won a team entry in the lottery at the beginning of this season,so as the date approached,I asked two good running/training mates who both shop regularly at Running Free to join me.Ed Wong has done one of these races before,but Nick Roberts was a virgin like myself.Neither of us had much experience with a compass,but I’m pretty good with maps but we had no idea what we were getting into as the buses pulled out of the Ancaster Community Centre toward the start line of the days festivities.After a quick briefing,we set off on the first section of orienteering.We found 3 of the 4 points pretty quickly and proceeded to the 2nd section.The 50metre traverse thru a tunnel set the tone for the rest of the day.The shin deep water was cold and made the rocks and mud all the more slicker.We found the required points,I lost my fluid bottle,we had burrs covering our clothing,legs scratched from thorns ,rocks and barbed wire!The cold,wet feet seemed almost refreshing!
From here we moved on to the 2nd map,more climbing,bushwacking,bruises oh and finally some running!I think we got a little cocky here as we ran right past checkpoint #4 and had to backtrack 10 minutes to it.From that point on it was more of the same…run hard,get lost,backtrack,cross the river,get lost,get back on track,make dumb mistake,cross the river and so on and so on….
So by the time we got to checkpoint #14,we were DONE!I had a sore right knee from one of the climbs which aggravated my chronic abductor/groin problem and a sore thigh from a near disastrous impaling from a fallen branch!
What a day!We finished well back in the field,but not last,and my two team-mates and I were well satisfied with the day.
The pizza and hot coffee at the end was a nice touch and much welcomed after nearly 5 hours on the course and I applaud all the volunteers and organizers for their hard work and choice of course.
So,though we limped our way to the car,humbled by our finishing time and placement,we spoke about how much faster we would be next time out!
Look out Dundas,we’re coming back!
Cheers
anthony
