It has been an amazing fall running season on the P.A.C.E. scene. Over 40 athletes took their trail running goals to me and my team to advance their off-road running skills and fitness. We covered over a dozen different locations in the local Kelowna and West Kelowna areas as athletes built their endurance up to 1.5hrs (15km training crew) and 3hrs (25km training crew) Saturday mornings. Not to mentioned the challenging speed work and interval training the groups did every Wednesday evening. These workouts consisted of track sessions, time trials, hill climbs, combo sessions and more. And let me tell you... this group was getting faster and fitter with each passing week!
Last night we had our clinic wind up party. Athletes arrived dressed up in their halloween costumes and were given glow sticks as we headed out for a night trail run in Kuipers. It was incredible the amount of thought and effort that went into some of these costumes and if you can believe it... Nathan even ran with a guitar and serenated us along the way. The hills were bright with headlamps and colorful glow sticks as we had one last fun and social outting together as a group this clinic.
The party continued after the run with an incredible pot-luck dinner. The variety and amount of food was unreal! Thank you to everyone for your contributions. Whether it was somethin made from scratch or picked up on your commute to our house from work - the spread was really out of this world and there was something for everyone. Butter chicken, curries, ribs, spanakopita, tomatoes & balsamic, salads galore, fancy jell-o squares, the 'best cookies in the world' (according to my 10yr old), sushi, breads, casseroles... and I could go on!!
We held our annual 'triva' game and this year I got flack for making the questions too hard, however the more questions you got right, the more entries you had into the grand prize which was a free clinic give away! Karen Christie took the title of 'teachers pet' as she scored high... with 18 out of 20 questions, although I thought everyone did a great job and my favorite part was hearing everyone share something interesting they learned about their fellow trail runners this clinic. We ended up with two grand prize winners this year... Brian had his name drawn with only one entry in the bucket and as a newbie to the PACE scene we aree excited to see Brian suffer in future clinics. He just has to leave his "Teva's" at home next time. And long, long, long, time P.A.C.E. athlete Alison Campbell-Urness was the 2nd lucky winner of the night!
Whether people won one of the prizes or not, I think the best prize of all is the outstanding group of people that continue to train on the P.A.C.E. scene. New friendships are always made. Goals are always reached. Fun is always had (even when training on Hell Hill). The community P.A.C.E. has created is so much more than fitness and trail running. And this is largely influenced by the P.A.C.E. team who are all such dedicated, talented and passionate group of people who choose to share their experience and consideration within the P.A.C.E community!
So as we wrap up another fall clinic, on behalf of me and the P.A.C.E. team, thank you for all the adventure, memories, sweat, tears, friendships, fitness and health gains with us again this season!
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