Registration for the Comfortably Numb Trail Running Race area is currently running ahead of last year, when almost 100 people signed up to tackle this 25 km epic.
It’s not an easy race. Only one short section near the beginning follows a reclaimed logging road, and that trail goes uphill. There’s also about a kilometre of Valley Trail as you head to the finish line. The rest is all winding singletrack, built by local "Trail Chef" Chris Markle, and completed with some assistance by the Stonebridge at Whistler developers, WORCA, and the RMOW.
The vertical gain is more than 4,000 feet, more vertical than from the base of Whistler to the Roundhouse Lodge.
Despite the challenge, the fastest runners finished the route in just over two hours last year, and most of the field finished between two and a half and three and a half hours.
There are spots for up to 150 people for this year’s race on Sunday, June 26, and organizers are expecting a higher turnout now that the word is out. Advance registration is recommended to secure your spot, as well as to ensure that you get a race shirt in your size, provided by Lululemon Athletica. You can register online at www.comfortablynumb.ca, or printed registration forms are also available on the site.
On June 6, three weeks before the race, organizers will be giving a guided tour of the trail for participants, along with advice on how to get from A, the Wedgemont parking lot to B, the finish at Spruce Grove Park.
Whistler Running Experience is also holding a running clinic on Saturday morning for people who are signed up for the Comfortably Numb Trail Run or the Half Knacker on the North Shore. For more information, contact ######.
A volunteer Comfortably Numb trail maintenance day is also being planned as part of the race.
The Comfortably Numb Run is part of the Sea 2 Sky Trail Running Series. Other events include the 67 km STORMY trail run and relay on the Test of Metal trails on Aug. 13, Loop the Lakes (6 and 15 km courses) on Sept. 11, and the 25 km Rubble Creek Run on Sept. 25. Points will be awarded after each event, and an overall winner will be crowned after the final race.
For more information visit.www.s2srun.com.
