The great thing about the Grizzly ultra is that its a 5 loop circuit, each loop unique, yet finishing at the same central hub. This makes it really easy to have a single drop bag and drop gear as the day warms up. The course follows the Olympic cross country ski circuit at the Canmore Nordic Center.
Its late in the year so the weather isn’t ideal, but it was quite pleasant once you get moving and the blood flowing.
I had arrived early to the race so I waited around while the sun came up and people started to arrive:
Although leg 3 is the longest leg and rated as the most difficult, I found leg 4 the most challenging as it had quite a bit of elevation and I was already spent by that time. I loved being able to dump gear and use a single drop bag during the race. The course is primarily double track with a bunch of single track in leg 3. I ran with some minimalist shoes which worked fine as there is minimal technical sections.
The best part was the finish where my wife brought out our kids to greet me at the finish line. Hopefully one day they pickup the sport and we can all run together. Until then they are the best support crew I could ask for.
