It's the weekend and time to have some fun! And really, what could be more fun than trail running with your best buds?
Since it's the weekend, Chantal was fortunate to have so many friends available to come and help out today! Chantal started this morning in the aptly named Pretty River Provincial Park with her Wild Bruce Chase teammate Kathryn, and local runner Francois.
Kathryn recalls:
(the) morning leg was gorgeous with some great lookouts. we were running on a section Chantal is familiar with and trains on. We saw bear scat and a massive paw in the mud that definitely did not belong to a dog. Chantal was doing great but did have to do a mid-leg quick change to get out of her tights and into her shorts. She was rocking the uphill climbs (of which there were many).
Leg 2 was special today another former FKT holder (FKT out of all men and women, which held until 2012), Charlotte, came out to pace. Charlotte just got back in from the world 24hr championships in Ireland and was happy to jump right into pacer duty.
Charlotte commented "Chantal was amazing today. Very strong and positive. I was happy to have had the opportunity to pace with her on the end to end journey."
Leg 3 saw more Wild Bruce Chase teammates come out and show their support (is it just me or are the WBC girls the most awesome and supportive group of gals? Have I mentioned I want to be them?). Erin and Cassie helped lead Chantal through an interesting section, to say the least. According to Erin,"... many kms through grass so deep Chantal would disappear ahead of me and so thick we needed a machete to break through.... "
I seem to recall Chantal saying to me the other day how nothing surprises her anymore on the Bruce. Grass taller than you? Check. Casket on the side of the trail? Check. Mud to your knees? Check. The Bruce has it all!
We also had lots of help at our aid stations today. Rob, Alan, Craig and Steve held down the fort today. Sylvie and Brian also helped and brought Chantal's daughters for some extra motivation. How cute is this family photo???
Chantal had a shorter day today as she had some treatments during the day and a massage booked for tonight.
Some of you may be looking at the numbers and thinking 'hmm... 532km down so far, 358(ish) to go... that leaves a lot of kms if Chantal is finishing Tuesday...'. Well, yes you would be right. While a finish Tuesday is looking unlikely (but hey I wouldn't put it past her to pull an all-nighter to get it done), Chantal is still on track to beat the current record (13days 6hrs 28min). Chantal's resolve is strong and with her amazing team supporting her she is in fine form. This girl is so strong both mentally and physically, and she will do whatever it takes to get to that 'finish' line. Chantal has lots of friends coming out tomorrow for what is sure to be another epic day!
Let's go Chantal!
Today's fun facts:
kms today: 65
kms so far: 532!
pacers: Kathryn, Francois, Charlotte, Erin, Cassie, Rob, Alan
support crew: Craig, Sylvie and Brian, Steve
ended @map21 @ Black Bank