Martin Parnell

One of the toughest marathons in Alberta, and possibly Canada, is the Powderface42, which was held July 16.

It starts in Station Flats, 20 kilometres west of Bragg Creek, and winds its way across ridges and valleys along the Elbow River.

The elevation gain on the route is 5,173 feet and the highest point is at 6,651 feet.

The first time I ran this race was in 2008 and I remember the scenery blew me away.

This time I had decided to run it on the invitation of a friend. During Marathon Quest 250, Pete Estabrooks had been a great supporter and ran with me several times. At the end of 2010 he asked me if I wanted to run Powderface in 2011 and, of course, I said yes.

My training has been a bit hit and miss since the Comrades run in late May. Sue and I have been over to England for the past three weeks and the British pubs are very hard to resist. I did several runs along the South English coastline and a couple on Dartmoor in Devon, but I don’t think that made up for all the fish and chips and real ale. I must say that when the race began early Saturday morning, I was feeling well fed and rested. Several other Cochranites lined up with me.

Cochrane Red Rock Runners members Kevin Akre and Roy Ellis were there, as was David Gilbertson, who was doing the half marathon.

It was a beautiful morning and 50-plus runners were ready for the 7.30 a.m. start. Within the first half kilometre, Roy was out of sight. I ran with Pete for a while before he pulled away. Kevin was behind me and after five kilometres I was on my own.

I love trail running and for the next few hours I made my way through some of the most spectacular scenery in the world — across creeks and through woods, with blankets of wild flowers every where.

Martin poses with Banff's elite runner Ellie Greenwood. Photos courtesy of Martin Parnell

On the Powderface42 website it says: “It is possible you will encounter wildlife while on the race course. If you come in contact with a bear please remain calm and remember the basic rules in a bear encounter.” While I didn’t encounter one, I know to always call a bear mister.

I arrived at the finish in seven hours and 40 minutes and a small group of runners and volunteers cheered me in. One of the runners was Ellie Greenwood.

Ellie lives in Banff and in late May she had run the Comrades Marathon, finishing fourth in the women’s division.

Roy Ellis was among several Cochrane Red Rock runners to line up with Martin at the Powderface42 marathon.

In June she ran the Western States 100 and destroyed the women’s field. It’s great that she also supports local races.

At Powderface she won the women’s race but waited for all the “Back-of-the-pack” runners to come in. Much appreciated. The other Cochrane runners had mixed results. Kevin came in with five minutes to spare to beat the cutoff time at Aid Station 4, located at the 32.5-kilometre mark. Roy blew an ankle at the 35-kilometre mark and David had a great half marathon.

© 2011 Martin Parnell

mjparnell@shaw.ca

www.marathonquest250.com

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