Runners looking back at Olympic Mountains from Jocelyn Hill

The Seven Peaks

ByMike Neill

With a summer void of most sanctioned races (with the exception of SwimRun Victoria) we at Human Powered Racing have been doing some different “events” this summer that have definitely pushed our endurance limits.

July 1st was all about the bike as we tackled the “Big Loop” Ride up to Port Renfrew and back via Lake Cowichan and Duncan (260km for those that made the full round trip). Check out our earlier post for more information on this one.

August 1st it was a trail running adventure. Team member Colette Hopkins (no stranger to trail running) proposed the Seven Peaks Trail Run. The Seven Peaks Trail Run is a point to point run that starts at Mt Finlayson and then proceeds to hit Holmes Peak, Jocelyn Hill, Mt Work, Stewart Mountain, Scafe Hill and Seymour Hill ending at the Thetis Lake main beach, or in our case, The Six Mile Pub. At over 35kms in total distance and with over 1800m of elevation gained (and lost) during the day this run/hike is tough. As someone who has done 26 Ironman’s and 4 marathons, my legs were as trashed after this as they were after any of those events.

One of the keys to this day, be prepared! Make sure that you have enough nutrition and hydration for at least 5 – 10 hours. Our front group was finished in just over 5 hours, while our back group was almost double that. There are very few opportunities to re-fuel along the way so it is wise to have an extra vehicle with nutrition or at least extra water at the Mt. Work parking lot.

Another piece of advice; prepare your legs in advance. It would be wise to do some shorter runs on trails with good vertical (both up and down) in the weeks leading up to your Seven Peaks attempt so that they are somewhat prepared for the full 35km. If you don’t, be prepared for some of the worst DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) you have ever experienced. I am speaking from experience now!

A big thank you to everyone that made this an awesome adventure (Rob, Brandon, Matti, Mikaela, Christopher, Colette, Anna, Sandy, Debbie, April, Barb, Shane, Mckenzie, Boss, Buddy)

The soreness has almost subsided enough to say that I would think about doing it again.