Running Mania

Hey everyone,

I'm new to this forum and originally posted this under "general running discussion", but I guess it really fits here...

Anyone run the Brookvale PEI Ultra before? Or anyone running it this year?

Family's vacationing in PEI, so I thought I'd try to fit it in.

We have very few members in PEI, if any, so I guess it would have to be vacationers, or hard core runners who've gone to run it. You'll probably end up covered in red dirt!

I'm hoping to run this someday and came across this race report which describes the course pretty well:

http://mainerunner.blogspot.ca/2011/08/ ... eport.html

Mike, thanks for posting the link to the BVU race report - I really enjoyed it! What a great description of the course. I know a few of the people he mentioned (the "beasts" who were 1st & 2nd and "groin guy", I think).

Funny enough, I was out running some of the 25k loop yesterday - my first time in those woods. It's beautiful and much more difficult/technical than I imagined it to be. I was thinking of doing the 50k in August but may stick to 25k for my first trail attempt. I'll get out there a few more times this month and see how I progress before making a decision.

I'm not sure if you've run the trails out there. If you haven't, you should try to get out there if you're home this summer. There is a group that usually meets every weekend. Send me a message if you want the details.

Thanks again & hello from PEI .

Have heard lots of good things about it...
http://runningmagazine.ca/2010/03/secti ... ail-races/

alexk wrote:Mike, thanks for posting the link to the BVU race report - I really enjoyed it! What a great description of the course. I know a few of the people he mentioned (the "beasts" who were 1st & 2nd and "groin guy", I think).

Funny enough, I was out running some of the 25k loop yesterday - my first time in those woods. It's beautiful and much more difficult/technical than I imagined it to be. I was thinking of doing the 50k in August but may stick to 25k for my first trail attempt. I'll get out there a few more times this month and see how I progress before making a decision.

I'm not sure if you've run the trails out there. If you haven't, you should try to get out there if you're home this summer. There is a group that usually meets every weekend. Send me a message if you want the details.

Thanks again & hello from PEI .

I haven't had a chance to run the trails yet. We tried to go for a hike last summer but showed up at the ski hill not realizing the x-country trails are just down the road now and not off the base of the hill like when I was a kid 25+ years ago. I've never been on the mountain bike trails either.

I'm definitely planning to run there this summer. Depending on what day we can leave, I may even be there for the race. Originally I was thinking of ramping up to trying a 50k but an injury has kept my mileage lower than I'd like so if I make it, it'll likely be for the 25k. If I don't get there for the race, I'll message you for the group run details.

Mike, I can see how you had trouble finding the Nordic trails - I did too and I've skied at the downhill park (if you can call it a hill ) every weekend for the past several winters!!! It's about a km up the road. The race actually takes place mainly on the mountain bike, single-track trails (the 25k/50k). As I mentioned, the difficulty of the course really surprised me. I've never really run trails so I have no point of reference but I don't really think I'm up for the 50k yet. I pictured it as more realxing/laid back - thought I'd saunter through the trails to 50k . That's not too likely. I was shocked at how alert/aware I had to be on Sunday! I may be too much of a klutz/scatterbrain for trail running. We'll see. Hope to see you at the race. It's usually a nice, small crowd.

I am going to have to check this place out while I am here.

Feels weird to resurrect a thread with 2011 in the title but this race probably doesn't need another thread.

I ended up running the 50k race last month. Great race. Tough, but I loved it. I still haven't got around to finishing writing my race report but I did find a couple of others:

http://runningthepassage.blogspot.ca/20 ... -race.html
http://anevolvingpath.com/2014/09/11/le ... trail-50k/

Thanks for posting those links, Mike. I really enjoyed reading the reports, especially the second one. I thought BV was a tough course but I have no point of reference - now I feel validated . That guy would have been just behind me in his first loop, funny enough!

The guy who won (& broke the course record) is a friend so I stayed to watch his finish. In fact, he broke the record of another friend so it was intense waiting for him to come in. We knew he had the fitness to come close to the record but didn't predict he'd run that strong. He was almost 15 minutes ahead of my friend Leo's record, set in 2013! He was a shell of himself when he came in - I can't imagine racing, like he did, on that course!!! It was exciting to witness .

Every once in a while, my thoughts return to my 25k & I think about tackling the 50k - I'm not ready to commit yet though but we'll see. The reports are so inspiring & feed the desire - can't wait to read yours .

alexk wrote:Thanks for posting those links, Mike. I really enjoyed reading the reports, especially the second one. I thought BV was a tough course but I have no point of reference - now I feel validated . That guy would have been just behind me in his first loop, funny enough!

The guy who won (& broke the course record) is a friend so I stayed to watch his finish. In fact, he broke the record of another friend so it was intense waiting for him to come in. We knew he had the fitness to come close to the record but didn't predict he'd run that strong. He was almost 15 minutes ahead of my friend Leo's record, set in 2013! He was a shell of himself when he came in - I can't imagine racing, like he did, on that course!!! It was exciting to witness .

Every once in a while, my thoughts return to my 25k & I think about tackling the 50k - I'm not ready to commit yet though but we'll see. The reports are so inspiring & feed the desire - can't wait to read yours .

It's staggering to think of that winning time. He finished both laps in the time that it took me to finish the second lap. What an amazing performance!

After the race I chatted with the guy who wrote the second report. Really nice guy and I enjoyed hearing about the race he puts on (Deer Lake 67).