I’m off to run this beautiful relay in Kananaskis. This is a fantastic relay in the Canadian Rockies. I have run it a few years now, and it’s one of the highlights of the running season.
I am running leg 5, a very demanding 17.6 km leg.
DESCRIPTION: This is the toughest leg of the relay. It’s hilly with a number of segments at a 7% grade. The runner will gain 450m over the length of this route; 250m are packed into 6.8 km. The runner will be truly tested on Canada’s highest engineered road. The road peaks at Highwood pass, 2206m above sea level. The surface is new asphalt. Watch for wildlife.
Look at the profile of this leg:
Not exactly a piece of cake! One of the difficulties is that the elevation is over 2,200 m (7,234 feet) above sea level. This means the air is quite thin, and low on oxygen So, running such a leg with this kind of hill profile make is extra hard, due to the lack of oxygen.
I have done it before though, and I am in good shape, so it should be okay.
Check out http://www.hihostels.ca/westerncanada/1017/run_with_hi_kananaskis_100_mile_relay_race.hostel if you are interested! It’s one of the most amazing relays you can run in the world.
