The Leftovers Trail Race - Medium Distance - Saturday, November 20th, 2021

 Was I in any shape to race? Nope. Was I doing it anyway?

I'll give you three guesses.

It was only announced that this was happening 2 weeks beforehand at The Beav, and things were set up to be a little ad hoc by design: no chip timing, with volunteers recording bib numbers manually; no dedicated swag, just a grab bag of leftovers from prior races; and no published distances or courses, just a "short, medium, and long" option, from which you'd get to choose on race day.

Though this was posted on instagram the day beforehand

With it being the first weekend of the 100 runs in 100 days challenge, I sort of hoped that the "long" option (estimated to be around 20km) would be the "short" loop plus the "medium" loop, so I could do the medium course officially and then wait an hour before heading out on the short option to make it a double run day. 

Which turned out to be exactly the case

I'd probably have been in better condition for the whole business had I not taken it into my head on Friday afternoon that I wanted a new fleece skirt for the race - it was predicted to be a windy day with a high of 5c/41f - and gone fabric shopping at 7:15pm. Keeping in mind, of course, that I'd never made a fleece skirt before. I own an awesome one that I figured I could use as a pattern, and put faith in the fact a skirt is about the simplest piece of clothing you could possibly make: it's a tube for heck's sake. I hadn't anticipated the recalcitrance of my sewing machine, though, so it took me 'til 10:30pm to cobble something together. 

Which I figure isn't too shabby for a first attempt.

We'd been told the race would start from the train station/trail centre, which was not entirely accurate: everything was actually set up on the edge of the main parking lot, including the only aid station.

The train station was the only available washroom, though - a couple of minutes' walk away, down and up again through a ravine

 I'd hemmed and hawed about bringing a pack with a bladder: I wasn't sure how long 14km at Dundas Valley would take me, but it was not going to be a hot day and I typically don't drink that much anyway. So, a hand bottle and a soft bottle it was, which meant less weight to carry - I didn't even need a hydration pack, since I have a soft bottle that fits in the pocket of the wind vest I planned to wear anyway.

To keep me warm, and the kitty theme going
(Photo by Eric, taken long before the start so I'm still in my jacket)

I was grateful for my fleece skirt while I waited around in the cold, saying hi to a whole lot of lovely people (some of whom said very kind things about my late-night needlework) and stuffing my pockets with a couple of gels, a bunch of sour patch kids, and a few crisp rice squares for nutrition along the way. 

Race Director Jeff also said some stuff, like "follow the orange flags for the medium loop, and these other flags that also look pretty orange for the short loop. These are the only colours they had at Home Depot"

We were also informed it would be a bit muddy. That would become the understatement of the day.

We set off at the very reasonable hour of 10am, diving into the woods from the parking lot to hit part of the Tally in the Valley loop (which I had used as a shortcut to get back to the start/finish after running out to the 1k mark back in July). The short and medium loops split almost immediately, with the short loop heading northeast on the Spring Creek Trail while the medium course went southwest toward the main loop.

Short turns left - medium turns right

The trails are pretty wide open to begin with, allowing lots of room for other people to pass. In no hurry myself, I was soon left behind by everyone else.

As I 100% expected

I didn't mind at all - I wasn't feeling particularly lively, and it gave me plenty of opportunity to notice and appreciate the stunning sights around me. I don't think I've ever actually run at Dundas Valley in autumn before, though I certainly have in every other season: the fall colours and wan sunshine were absolutely beautiful.

I might not be quick, but I got to really look at this impressive root system, and that's worth more to me right now than my placing or time.

My only real annoyance was that my phone was being cantankerous about taking photos

I was particularly annoyed with this because the medium course would hit some of the most incredibly gorgeous places in the whole park.

..which were looking extra lovely dressed for autumn

As a matter of fact, I was down on that bridge trying to get my phone to respond (it's old, and a bit senile, but generally gets there eventually - wait, it's my spirit device!) when I was caught up by Nat and Deb. I managed to snap the photo I was attempting of the stream below the Hermitage Cascade:

Totally worth a few minutes of waiting, then a restart

..then I got my legs in motion again to join Nat and Deb, because I couldn't think of any better way to spend the next 12+ kilometers than with two wonderful ladies. Nat had come out to join me for a few laps at Three Days in the Park last month, and I'd had a lovely conversation with Deb while walking up the infernal rail trail at Tally in the Valley in July, so I knew I was in great company!

Heading for Canterbury Falls

The scenery along this bit - which follows a Bruce Side Trail - is quite dramatic, as you meander along the edge of a cliff strewn with large sections of exposed bedrock.

Looking back along the trail - I usually do it in the opposite direction to the course

While there were a few occasions when I could have run for awhile and got away from my companions, I was more than happy to hang back with Nat and Deb - the former of whom is nursing an Achilles injury, and the latter has not had much time to train this year. It was great fun just ambling along and chatting.

..and trotting up ahead from time to time, just to get some photos
(Deb closest, Nat following)

I knew that as you approached Canterbury Falls, there was an outcropping on which you could tenuously perch in order to get a good shot of the full cascade. It took me a couple of false starts to find it, but eventually it appeared.

Bit of an act of faith to step out onto that lonely rock, though it's much more secure than it looks

Nat went on ahead, so I managed to get a shot that gives great perspective on just how impressive Canterbury Falls really is.

That's her on the bridge

I picked my way back onto more solid ground, while Deb ventured out onto the rock to get some shots, snapping this one of Nat and I that I adore!

Friends + falls = a good day out!

From that bridge we had an amazing view of the only tree in the little canyon that still had leaves - all of which were shining the most brilliant yellow.

Autumn in the Valley is definitely worth the trip!

Onward, with one last look back at the falls themselves.

We were still less than 4km in!

Things got a bit more technical as we continued onto the main Bruce Trail, heading east toward the edge of the park. Being around 45mins in, I stuffed a few sour patch kids in my face, and tried to wash them down with some water. I'd mistakenly bought "BIG KIDS" that are about double the size of the normal ones - I'll try not to make that error again, as I prefer the ratio of salty/sour/sugary-dust-to-gummy of the normal ones. The bigger ones formed a somewhat unpleasant lump of goo that stuck alarmingly in my teeth as I tried to wolf them down while also trying to keep myself upright.

Deb taking the first stream crossing like a champ

We were on a narrow section of singletrack I'd never actually done before - some of which was made into stairs by way of sections of 6x6 joists having been hammered into the soil to form the steps - when the long course leaders began to come past us. The long option had begin with the short loop, so the leaders had now covered about 10km versus the four we'd completed.

We were getting way better photos, though

The fast people also neglected to make the small side trip off the actual course to go look at Sherman Falls, which is really a shame.

 

Nothing could have persuaded me to pass this by, even though it meant a couple of hundred metres of detouring

The bowl carved out by Sherman Falls is incredibly impressive all on its own.

Especially with a multicoloured carpet of fallen leaves

..but the actual falls?

*chef's kiss*

The bridge was closed, but that only meant we couldn't get the upstream view - we were more than happy to scramble around a bit on the rocks to gape a bit and get a photo or two.

My phone even cooperated for a group shot, and didn't fall in the water!

Then it was back into the park via Artaban Road and the Monarch Trail, and the beginning of the worst of the mud.

Splurpy

At about 5.7km, we passed the point where the medium loop doubled back on itself to continue toward the start/finish, which solved a mystery: we'd seen a girl running the wrong way while wearing a bib number as we were leaving Sherman Falls, and wondered how she might have ended up going backwards.

It seems she had in fact - in spite of the sign - missed this turn

This multi-pointed loop included the worst of the sloppy mud, in several sections ranging from a bands only a few feet long..

..through a couple of hundred metres
Also: unicorn (aka Ruth) spotting!

SERIOUSLY THO

It was around this time I learned that I am not actually the most timid person in the world when it comes to slick mud: Nat was sensibly taking things very cautiously, and I was happy that Deb and I were with her to lend a hand and moral support when needed.

Make no mistake - Nat is a badass adventurer, who never wavered in her determination to get through!

..but this slop was sketchy as heck.

I didn't really help matters, as I spilled water while trying to pour the soft bottle from my pocket into my now-empty hand bottle. Probably would have been easier to do so while stopped, but I was starting to tire a bit, and wasn't sure of my ability to catch back up if I fell too far behind. I got most of it in the bottle, anyway, and it's not like I could have made things much muddier! At the lowest part of the giant meadow there was actually a straight up seasonal stream running across the trail due to all of the rainfall lately.

I'd never been on this section before, but I'd swear you wouldn't see this 95 days out of 100 in any given year.

The mud was so thick and claggy it stuck to our shoes, picking up fallen leaves and dead grasses until it completely subsumed the lugs on the soles. I'd feel something hitting the inside of my ankle with each step, and discover it was a bit of mud-caked grass stuck to the opposite shoe.

I had gained about 5lbs per foot

As we began to climb - passing the end of the closed loop just shy of 9km, but NOT missing the turn - we mostly left the mud behind us. It didn't want to un-cake from my soles, though, so I tried to scrape it off a bit on some roots and rocks along the way. Success was mixed at best as we ascended, and with it now being about 90mins in I finally pulled out my crisp rice squares, eating one myself and splitting the other one in half (as they were a bit bigger than I usually make them) to give a piece each to Nat and Deb. They both seemed to appreciate the sweet/salty combo of my maple-sea salt twist on traditional crisp rice treats!

Not muddy, but definitely indicative of the wet fall we've had!

The uphills got quite aggressive past the 10k mark as we headed up toward Groundhog Hill.

Between the waterfalls, stream crossings, and elevation, it was like a miniature version of the Falling Water Trail Marathon - only 1/3 the distance!

Seriously - why have I never run here in autumn before?

We eventually reached the top of the hill, with about 3km left to go (assuming the medium loop was actually 14km). The view was pretty impressive!

It would have been even more stunning when the colours were at their peak, before the leaves mostly fell

I needed a pee and it was still going to be quite awhile before we reached the trail centre, so I found as much cover as I could (which was not a lot) and hydrated a tree. Deb offered me a tissue, but I declined on the grounds that the only other time I'd worn the compression tights I was wearing that day, they'd been on me for about 40hrs and seen much worse things than a drip or two of wee! Yes, trail running is gross. Just deal with it.

No, I don't blame anyone for running away.

So look at that hill, and tell me you believe there was actually more mud right near the damn top!

HOW IS THERE NO DRAINAGE TO ELIMINATE THIS?

Things got even weirder as we bopped down another trail that was piled with brush at each end - the sort of thing they do to close a trail to foot and cycle traffic.

..but that's the way the flags went, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

..and then, just to add a little more clench-worthy sketchiness, we hit the Sulphur Creek crossover trail. It was its usual muddy self, though I was very pleased to see that the edge - which had eroded badly in the past few years, leaving it very narrow and side-sloped - had been shored up with some logs.

Hopefully no-one else will nearly lose the blind person they're trying to guide into the clutches of Sulphur Creek Ravine!

From here we basically followed the Sulphur Springs course for a bit, which meant another big climb on the far side of the bridge.

I was beginning to be about done with hills, and poor Nat's heel was giving her grief

..keeping in mind we had been down at the level of Sulphur Creek - winding like a dropped chrome ribbon - just a few minutes before.

I knew we were nearing the finish, though we'd already passed the 14k mark - definitely a Jeff Rowthorn "added value" course! 

Still plenty of time to check out some neat shelf fungus

The sun came knifing through the forest as we followed the Sulphur Creek Trail back toward the main loop.

Making the orange foliage glow

Around the northeast corner of the main loop, I'd finished all of the water I had on me, but I knew we were only a couple of minutes away from the finish, so I bypassed the spigot by the trail centre/train station and made the turn onto the Sawmill Trail, then across the bridge and up one last climb to the finish.

See the arch, flag, and volunteers up there?

The final tally according to my watch was 15.5km - of which less than half a kilometer was our Sherman Falls detour - with 394m/1,292ft of elevation. 

We made it!

Official time: oh, I don't actually know - not sure if results were ever published!
We'll go with my Garmin time of 2h51m27s 

The finisher medals were awarded by the neat method of a Plinko board with all of the race logos along the bottom: wherever your ball landed, that was the medal you got..

Except mine landed on Tally in the Valley twice, and they were out of those, so I chose a Sticks'n'Stones wooden medal with a Happy Trails Racing logo on the reverse so it could be a generic HTR medal!
(Screen grab from Patty's insta post)

Then I hung around for a bit more than an hour - thanking Nat and Deb for letting me tag along with them, changing into a dry shirt, eating some stuff, and trying to rehydrate myself - before heading out again. Byron had already picked up the flags from the short loop, so I figured I'd just head out on the Spring Creek Trail (which comprised most of the short course) and figure the rest out later.

I've always thought this spot was lovely - right by the parking lot - but seldom get a chance to photograph it with no-one else there

I wasn't actually feeling too bad - my legs had more in them than I expected - though it would turn out later that it was most likely just an effect of the trail being a net downhill in the outbound direction.

Whoops.

Honestly, I didn't really care how I moved - I was just delighted to experience some more of the beauty of Dundas Valley, especially since I'd never been further than Bumblebee Hill on the Spring Creek Trail - that being where the Tally in the Valley course turns up toward (or down from, depending on the year) the rail trail.

Not that I'd have been able to see this in July!

With no-one else to keep up to, I was free to go explore bits off the side of the trail whenever I liked. 

Like checking out the pond where I'd heard frogs singing all night at the first Tally in the Valley

..or this stunning root structure, clinging to the bank of the creek.

I crossed endless bridges, as the trail contrived to span Spring Creek's wandering path.

I didn't find any trolls

..nor any billy goats.

..though I did spy some bits of singletrack here and there.

Eventually - at about 2.4km - I came to a big heckin' hill.

So I climbed it, while eating another handful of sour patch kids.

It came out to a park - Sanctuary Park, as a matter of fact, though I didn't know that at the time. I figured the rail trail was probably around there somewhere, but I don't come to Dundas Valley to run rail trail (well, ok except at Tally in the Valley and Foxtail..), so with 2.67km down I just turned the heck around and headed back the way I'd come.

This represents that bump in the middle of the elevation profile above.

The way back felt tougher - I put it down to fatigue, since I was now coming close to 4hrs total on my feet. This was by far the longest day I'd put in since Three Days in the Park just 5 weeks beforehand.

But definitely one of the prettiest.

I wasn't done with the mud yet, either - while not as bad as that bloody meadow, there were a few slick patches along the way.

Well, both ways, since it ended up being an out-and-back.

Despite my fatigue, I actually ran quite a bit of the net-uphill way back - partly just to keep myself warm in the chill wind that was picking up strength as the day wore on. 

Definitely a negative split, much to my surprise

Soon I was into the final climbs before the trail turned toward the parking lot.

This looks much more familiar

I paused one last time to pick up a couple of flags that I guess Byron had missed, just after where the short and medium loops diverged.

I don't like to see things left behind on the trail - 
you could say I'm ill-litter-ate.

Then finally - after taking nearly an hour - I ran past the car with Tank patiently waiting (as everyone else had long ago packed up and left) until my Garmin read 5.60km, so I'd officially done a half marathon for the day.

With another 109m/357ft of elevation

So, I got my double run day in for the 100 in 100, and loads of fun to boot!

Not sure my hat has ever been quite so accurate!

I was pretty beat up the next day, though - mostly from running a lot of downhills, causing a couple of minor niggles to re-aggravate, and my quads to absolutely hate me - so I only ran once, in the chilly rain. Still, up until today (my traditional Friday day off) I was at 1 run per day for the first 11 days of the challenge!

We'll see if I can pull off back-to-back doubles this weekend..