Gunner Shaw 8.5K Victoria 2009

Gunner, gunner....I sure give it a gunner. What a total different experience for this race!! It sure was a wet and cold day. Ray and I teamed up with 20 other Lions Gate Road Runners (LGRR) to compete with the Prairie Inn Harriers (PIH). The PIH sure put out a good race with well-marked course and let's not forget the huge puddles, shoe-sucking mud and a lake for everyone to frolic before the finish.

Puddle 1 was quite stinky and cold and my feet were numb from it. As soon as my feet warmed up, here comes Puddle 2 which was a muddy one with a huge fallen tree to jump over. I took it slow going through this one and was praying that my shoes stayed on. It turned out fine. After this, the trail was filled with never-ending small puddles and mud. The last 3 hills at the end before the finish were unexpected. It wasn't the hills that worried me, it was running through the edge of Thetis Lake toward the finish that got me wet for the '20th' time but I guess it was good in a way. It sure cleans off the mud and dirt from my shoes. An LGRR member was caught in the act of splashing water at another member as she was approaching the finish. She was soaked but nonetheless, it was fun. Some racers actually slipped and fell into the water. They decided from then on, they might as well go for a quick swim. Interesting choice...not me, I sure tried to keep dry and mud-free as much as I could. As you can see the photo on the left here, I still have a pretty clean jersey compared to Ray's :)

We had a chance to change into our dry clothes just before the awards ceremony. The post race food and refreshment was pretty good. There were a couple hot items like hot chocolate and chicken noodles and regular stuff like cookies, oranges, gatorade, water, etc.

Race results are posted here. I finished with a time of 58:21 and Ray did a fast time of 40:05. Although the LGRR didn't win any of the categories, we sure came together and showed our team spirit. According to the LGRR president, we had the best turn-out of about 20 members this year. Next week, there will be about 20 PIH members coming to do the Gunner Shaw in Vancouver. Congrats to all Gunner finishers!!! Stay tuned for my upcoming first Marathon this Sunday, Dec 6th. Wish me luck!!