Race Reports 2009

Shirlee, Dan & Tammy

Thanks for hosting such a great day, your hard work to make the day enjoyable for all the runners was quite obvious.
Your grassroots approach to Scorched Sole is exactly what we, more mature runners, look for. The volunteers were superb.
We really enjoyed the 50 mile course, but I'll need more 'running training' for the KVR next year!

Best regards
George & Gail

PS - What about a double 50 miler next year?

    I'm just writing to send off a great big THANK YOU to yourselves and the other volunteers that made this year's Scorched Sole Ultra such a fun, classy event. I understand full well just how difficult it is to host such an event, and I wanted you to know that your efforts are enormously appreciated by all who took part. The aid stations were well stocked, the volunteers at each were super friendly, helpful, understanding and encouraging ... entries, numbers, results, and awards were smoothly and professionally handled ... the BBQ at race's end was a wonderful touch ... I REALLY enjoyed the fun paper decorations that marked the final 100m to the last aid station ... and the course itself was very thoughtfully designed to be simultaneously challenging, scenic, and safe ... Bravo!  Despite terrific instructions and generally thorough course marking I still managed to take a wrong turn or two, proving that no course is entirely idiot-proof ... but that's all just part of the fun. I look forward with excitement and enthusiasm to next year's version of the Scorched Sole Ultra.

      Yours in running and in staying at least one full stride ahead of the bears;

               Tom Carlson

Thanks Shirlee to you and all your volunteers for putting on such a great event - our group from Calgary (9 of us) had a wonderful time! It is too bad that some of the course markers got removed after all the hard work you did but we recognize that is just one of the hazards you face with shared-use trails and there is nothing you can do to prevent it.

We all really appreciated your hard-working and super friendly and supportive volunteers.. at the aid stations and start/finish. Please pass on our thanks and appreciation for their efforts.
I took a number of photos along the course and of the aid station volunteers so you may find some use for them or enjoy them.
The link for the photos which are posted on the internet is:

http://public.fotki.com/trailtrash/scorched-sole-weekend/

Thanks again and we sill certainly be spreading the word in Calgary about your great event so hopefully you will see more Calgarians back there next year.
Cheers,
Hugh

Dan
I wanted to thank you and all those involved in putting on the race on Saturday. I was a very enjoyable experience for me. This is the first race of this sort for me.
Having the race details on the web site made it much easier to find what I needed to give the race a try. I was in Kelowna for the weekend and looked online to find out if there were any races that I could attempt. I am from Waterloo Ontario (which is the update that I was informing you about) so the terrain was very different than any I have experienced before. I hope to try again in the future if the opportunity presents itself.
Thanks again.
Stephen Karley

Hi Dan and Shirlee,
Hopefully by now you have had a chance to sleep and think about things other than the race.  If not, you need to!

I just wanted to drop you a note to say that I thought the race was great!  I decided to run hard right from the start - just to see how far I could get before the wheels fell off.  Apparently it worked.  I have never had such a fast 50 - and I didn't really push it on the downhills.  The wheels never fell off.

I know that a fair few runners went off course or missed key turns.  I didn't go off course at all and it was all new territory for me.  I studied the map pretty closely and the twists and turns were evident.  I'd never seen the trestles and was glad to have the chance to run them - although that was the hardest 10 km of the course!!  There was a volunteer/marshal on the KVR, directing my group down the Myra Bailout.  Perhaps I would have stayed on the KVR if he hadn't been there.  Perhaps KVR cyclists or walkers removed the ribbons at hat crucial turn.  The Myra Bailout didn't have any flagging and that was the only place I really wondered if I'd gone wrong.

Sometimes a side trail signpost was marked with a plate and a ribbon, indicating that we should NOT take the side trail but instead continue on the main trail.  This is a bit confusing.  I would suggest not marking the signpost at the side trail but simply placing flagging beyond the side trail.  I also am familiar with the placement of 2 or more ribbons on the left side of the trail about 30 ft before a left turn. 

Anyway, I had a great time and I hope you have had positive feedback from others.  We plan on returning again next year!
Cheers
Martha