Ahh, the August civic holiday long weekend. Seems like so long ago. Sun, sand, great lakes and the always smoking hot 58th running of the Shore to Shore Road Race. I don’t need to remind my faithful readers that I do not like warm weather running. And by “do not like” I mean “passionately hate and want to hibernate with my running shoes until September”. But this is a nice race. Only $25, the earnings go to family literacy programs, and for a small race the aid stations are numerous and bus shuttle service impressive (I don’t use it, but I’m impressed they have one) and a generous post-race fruit feast … so even though a few years ago I vowed ‘never again will I pay money to run in August’, how could I resist?
The race runs from the shores of Lake Huron across the peninsula to the shores of Georgian Bay, a scenic 13Kish route across escarpment territory. As the more clever among you have deduced, that’s why it’s called the Shore to Shore. Escarpment, noun, a steep slope or long cliff that results from erosion or faulting and separates two relatively level areas of differing elevations. So the route is a little up and down with a final downhill quadbuster in the last half kilometre. With little shade we were lucky to run under overcast skies, although the oppressive humidity ensured there was enough torture to toughen us up. Although the race attracts a solid field, it is collegial and supportive in that 200 personsized race kind of way. To wit, as I passed a very nice woman from the Saugeen Track & Field Club gave me a hearty well done and offered me some of the Gatorade her on the course support crew provided. So nice.
Husband and I ran this as leg one of a 27K long run, so we didn’t race (and I couldn’t anyway, at 95% humidity) as we needed to save our energy for 14K on the Bruce Trail that we never really found. Instead we finished our run on lonesome country roads beside mountainous piles of bear poop and an invasion of flying insects and I had a complete run-down, but that’s a story for another day. Or a story to repress.
Title Reference: The Drifters – Under the Boardwalk. 1964.
