My parents came to visit! So excited since we had to cancel our March and summer trips out west due to Covid. They came with their airstream and quarantined the required 2 weeks in our yard. In order to be able to qualify for family unification, they had to present my Canadian passport, birth certificate showing they were immediate family members at the border (I included some other paperwork to make sure there was no doubt they were allowed. The border guard was very happy they had everything in order and let them in.
They worked on the trailer and we ate meals on the back deck including a meal for Canadian thanksgiving.
The beginning of October I ran the Bruce Trail Niagara section with 5 other runners. Of the 6 I was the only one who made it end to end. 1 woman only wanted to run the 50k, 2 men got injured and didn't continue past the 45/50k mark, and 2 other women made a wrong turn and decided not to continue once it got dark (they were only 3k less than I was at when they finished. I have no doubt they would have made it if not for the wrong turn.)
We started at 5am from Queenston Heights.
This is my bag that went in the car that was following us:
We made it to our first checkpoint, Woodend by 7am. Then ran by the old Welland Canal. There are several of these locks left.
leaving Woodend, looking over Niagara-on-the-Lake
Running through the golf course after Woodend.
Another old canal lock
Lock with a boat on the current canal.
current canal
Checkpoint 2-Decew Ruins
Smaller checkpoint-Wiley Road at Shorthills- this was about 30k in and I got a knot in my calf that I was hoping was just because I'd only drank water, no electrolytes. Unfortunately, it was still with me 50k later. Thank goodness for endorphins and ibuprophen!
One marathon done!!!
Checkpoint 3 and the 50km ish mark-Rockaway Conservation area. Waited an hour for the girls that were lost. This is where our 50k participant ended her run and the guys dropped with leg pain.
Rockaway to Louth conservation area is very beautiful, but also very, very rocky and hard to run.
Popping out on the road after Louth, running past vineyards
There's this great garden and a field of chickens when you pop out to get to Victoria Avenue.
Victoria Ave, looking towards Lake Ontario
Every once in awhile you'll see these fences for private land owners' with a ladder over them for the trail hikers/runners.
Up on the Escarpment
Lake Ontario is the blue bit under the clouds and sky.
Another checkpoint, Quarry Road. About 60 km in. Started feeling a little cheeky. Knew I'd finish.
Made it to quarry road and it was raining for about 15 minutes while we rounded everyone up. Between quarry road and Mountainview conservation area the rain stopped. Once we hit Mountainview, our organizer informed me I was the only one left running. Mountainview is another area that is beautiful, but very rocky and starts with about a 45 degree climb up a steep hill. It had just finished raining so there was mud. And because of the long stop earlier, it was now getting dark. He said, "if you want to finish, we will keep going with you, but you'll be by yourself, in the dark with a headlamp and you know what the terrain is like." I replied, "I'm less than 10km from the finish, I'm going." One of the guys who dropped out earlier said, "you'll be walking this part, right?" I replied, "yes, no way to run it, esp in the dark." He said, "I'll go with you for this section then." and he walked with me through the dark and the rocks. We made it out of there to the next section that met up with the road. He got back in the van and I finished up the last bit myself, with the crew checking in by cell phone and at every road crossing but it was dark, I didn't leave one blaze marking until I could see the next one, so it was a bit slow and I swear the whole freaking area was uphill except for a downhill, which is tough even in the light. Right after I took off by myself there's a very steep downhill where large rocks are held in with metal stakes to get you down a very steep hill.
I made it to Grimsby and the crew was cheering and told me I'd made it, come have pizza! I said, "nope, I'm 200m to the sign!" They realized I was right, got me to the sign, got my picture and I hopped in the van. Husband came to pick me up. What an epic adventure!
My parents got to break out of quarantine and the camped with the kids in Darlington and carved pumpkins. The kids also swam in the lake (it was really cold!)
