Driving down the Sea to Sky Highway toward West Vancouver, have you ever wondered what it would be like to run the whole thing?
Squamish athlete and business co-owner Nicholas Fadden, who commutes six days a week to West Van, has, and, in fact, he is helping organize a new event around just that very thought.
The is a 58-kilometre ultra-marathon that starts at midnight from Valleycliffe in Squamish and finishes at The Cove Sports Recovery in West Vancouver, with runners on the Sea to Sky Highway most of the route.
"The concept behind the race is to 'beat the commuters' by running from Squamish to West Vancouver before the morning rush," Fadden said.
While the company he co-owns, , is officially organizing the event, the idea was born in Squamish, where he lives and trains.
Not to worry if you like the idea but aren't in tip-top shape to tackle 58 km with a 1,220-metre elevation gain just yet.
The run is slated for April 26 to 27.
The race is divided by gender, but not by age.
Why a midnight start?
As anyone who drives the highway often knows, late at night, the traffic is much lighter.
"Starting at midnight, we're going to be in the quiet time," Fadden said, adding that organizers are anticipating 200 to 300 runners for this inaugural run.
As traffic picks up in the morning, closer to West Vancouver, runners will be in the daylight.
Fadden expects the front runners will take just under six hours to complete the course. Most participants will complete it in eight or nine hours, Fadden said.
Ultra attraction
Fadden said that contrary to what non-runners may assume, what draws many athletes to ultra running is that it is really about endurance, not speed, per se.
"It's more of a battle of attrition than anything else," he said, adding that it is more of a mental game to run an Ultra. "And that's where a lot of people get drawn, is because you're not trying to go faster. It doesn't hurt ... like a marathon or something [where participants] run it to finish at a certain time, rather than just trying to run at a heart rate, which a lot of ultra runners do."
Unlike other styles of race, runners are also not typically running in packs throughout. They can be on their own for lengths of the run and then connect for a bit with other runners.
"People love it because it's having a little chat for a couple of kilometres, and then you separate out into your distance again. But there's this weird draw to it just due [to it being just] yourself and the course, but not the clock. It is just about doing the distance instead of doing the time."
He added that he has found with ultra runners that many like it because it focuses their minds—you can't be worried about life's everyday problems when you are pacing yourself and trying to complete the distance.
The sport also draws folks who have overcome hardships, he said.
"They are like, well, nothing is as hard as what I went through."
Fadden said the timing of the event, in early spring, was purposeful in that, as a local, he finds Squamish has a lot of events bunched into the mid and late summer but fewer at other times of the year.
He also wanted to add a different spin on a sporting event, too, he said.
"Just a different take on a lot of running events where we want to run it overnight. Get people to see what a lot of us have seen and love from a different way. And we're just trying to get the community involved with running, in a nutshell."
Like all events, organizers welcome more volunteers. If interested, contact [email protected].
There will be a hot breakfast from a West Van bistro for athletes and volunteers after the race.
