In addition to coming to races with us, my younger sister has actually done a trail race with Kent and I! One of Emma’s many fine features is that she is always up for anything – especially unexpected, unusual workouts. So, during our visit home in the summer of 2015, I signed the three of us up for a race in the Birds Hill Trail Series: a 7 kilometer exploration of Birds Hill Provincial Park!
Despite the short distance, this race would be kind of a big deal for all of us. Emma is more of a yogi; a casual runner. Although Kent and I are serious about the sport now, we’d just transitioned to trail running earlier that summer (in the idyllic hills of Switzerland!). I actually had dabbled in trail once before, completing a tough 25k trail race during my stint at school in Ontario. That long ago race notwithstanding, the Birds Hill Trail Series would be a first for all of us!
Plus, this race would allow Kent and I to experience a new part of my home province! I’d never been east of Winnipeg, and my provincial park count is still shamefully small. But with this race, we’d get to visit Birds Hill Provincial Park – and do it right by exploring on foot!
First things first: after we registered to run the race, we needed to run to prepare for it! Luckily, we had a couple of weeks to get in the groove for this Birds Hill Trail Series race. Aided by jetlag (we’d recently arrived in Winnipeg after five months of Golden Trip adventures abroad), we roused my sleepy sister at the crack of dawn every morning to go for a jog around her neighborhood.
Turns out, even the training was fun! We shared a lot of laughs and jaunts down memory lane. Then we’d recover from our hot and sticky runs with extended sweaty stretches at Em’s local yoga studio – or by making luxurious breakfasts together in her apartment.
Before we knew it, it was Saturday, August 8th: the day of the race! We woke up and hit the highway around dawn. We ate a breakfast of energy bars and listened to our favorite songs in the car. Then we arrived to on the scene of Birds Hill Trail Series races!
We were early, of course. We were one of the first cars on the scene in Birds Hill Provincial Park that morning. But this meant that there was lots of time for silly poses, excitement selfies and optimizing our race strategy. Em and I were going to stick together for a sisterly adventure. Kent was going to take this opportunity to strike out on his own for a speed record.
As the sun rose higher in the sky, more and more cars arrived, disgorging colorfully clad runners from around the province. Finally, the race organizers called for us to assemble in front of a puddle the size of a small lake. It was group photo time, and then, the start!
Kent shot off the starting line like a bolt of prairie lightning. Racing at the front of the pack, he was soon lost from view. My own plan was to stick like glue to my sister and provide moral support for her first race ever.
Unfortunately, that didn’t go quite as planned. When you think you’re someone’s moral support, chances are that you’re actually annoying as heck. If you’re struggling, sometimes the last thing you want to hear is an incessant stream of bubbly positivity from somebody struggling slightly less.
We started way too fast, as is often the case. Dashing through the mud, the forest leaning in close on either side, we were huffing and puffing before we’d gone a kilometer.
For a few moments, I think that perhaps my sister doubted her sound reasoning skills – maybe even her sanity. It seemed like there might have been a tinge of vexation that I’d hooked her into yet another one of my crazy schemes. Perhaps there was a look or two.
Then, like a summer storm, it was all over. We broke our pace and slowed down a little. Instead of chasing after one another, Em and I ran side by side where it was possible. When we stopped panting, we resumed chatting. And the rest of our Birds Hill Trail Series race passed in a blur of fun times and fast feet.
At a couple of points, volunteers were stationed to point out the way or cheer us on. Each time, I proudly informed them that this Birds Hill Trail Series adventure was my sister’s very first race.
A short time after we began, we burst out of the bushes onto a stretch of road, and there was a race photographer. “This is her first race,” I hollered once again, pointing at Emma. In the resulting photo, I saw that she was also pointing a finger at me, no doubt implying that this whole thing was my harebrained idea – but smiling about it.
Racing in for a joint, hand-in-hand finish, we found Kent waiting for us with drinks and snacks in hand. He had nailed his solo speedy race! There was a hot breakfast on offer, and so much to talk about after our first outing in this Provincial Park and our shared Birds Hill Trail Series adventure!
Wonderfully, this great race is still running – so to speak! Although the 7k try-a-trail we ran no longer exists, multiple distances and dates do. Check it out here.
Wishing you future trails as happy as these, dear reader, wherever you are!