Day 10- I scream, u scream...

Are we there yet? Chantal is getting so close, I can practically taste the Niagara wines already! Ok, obviously we don't want to jump the gun and are thinking 20km at a time as I mentioned yesterday, but C'MON I'm SO EXCITED for her!

Today started at stupid o'clock (nod to Rhonda there) with Kathryn, David and Chantal on their way just as the sun was starting to rise. They had a few busy highway sections and had to avoid some really speedy country drivers. Today was Kathryn's final leg pacing Chantal after helping out for 3 days in a row! What a friend! Thanks for your help Kathryn:). David (Team Running Free) was the other pacer, and to really up the bar, he paced for 3 legs in a row today for a total of approx 45km. This was after David ran 56km at Limberlost this weekend, and he will be back again tomorrow for more! David recently completed Canada's first 200 mile race (yes you read that right), so Chantal was really in good company.

Below is a picture of David and Chantal going through a culvert under a road. I think this is a Bruce Trail first (so far en route), but likely not the last... The photo is blurry because they were going so FAST ;)

Leg 2 included another Wild Bruce Chase team member- Tanya! Tanya dropper her kids off at camp then beat the rush hour Toronto traffic to be nice and early for her leg. While waiting for Chantal to arrive, a van pulled up to the parking lot. Tanya, in her typical enthusiastic way, ran up to the van yelling 'are you here to support Chantal?!'. The person in the van said (very politely) no, and that maybe he should know her judging by how excited Tanya was to see her. After chatting for a bit, Tanya learned that Tom was an E2E (end to end) hiker, who is chipping away at the Bruce Trail by hiking sections on his days off. He is hoping to have it all completed by next Spring. Tanya told me that Tom is just the nicest guy, and that he is hiking for a really amazing cause. Tom is hiking the trail to raise money for the Canadian Mental Health Association in honor of his son Isaac. Check out his Facebook page here for more info or to donate.

Tanya, David and Chantal then headed out for leg 2, and then Chantal ran into Tom on the trail (he left before they got in). Chantal stopped to chat with him for a little bit, and gave him some pointers for what to expect on the north sections. Fun fact- almost all through runners go North to South, and almost all through hikers go south to north. I asked Chantal the other day why this was, and she (and Craig) think it is because the runners want to get the hard and technical sections done first, and the through hikers leave the hard stuff for the end when their pack would be lighter as they would be carrying less food/ supplies by that point.

Below is a picture of Tom and Chantal on the trail:

As Tanya and David ran Chantal through the last few km's of their leg, they were asked to send Chantals food requests. 'Something small, she doesn't know what' was the reply. It's now 10 days in and Chantal is starting to get tired of all the trail-side food. The guys talked back and forth and offered some suggestions. Then we heard.... 'we have ice cream'.... to which they got a resounding YES. Ice cream on the trail? The heck you say! Well, turns out fellow badass ultra runner (and team member on Virginia's FKT record) knew that Chantal was in the area, and decided that she would just stop by and offer her some ice cream. Did I mention Barb has never even formally met Chantal, and yet she took time out of her day to stop by and show her support? Trail runners truly are the best people.

Leg 3 was the David show. I think the photo below actually took place earlier in the day, but I had a good chuckle over this picture. David commented that this little friend "scared the living day lights out of me". I can only imagine running across this guy in a forest may give you pause, at the very least:

Leg 4 another Team Running Free member, Lindsay, joined in for some fun. They had so much fun that Lindsay has signed back on for the 5am shift tomorrow!

The final leg of the day was Alan, who got to hang out with Chantal at her MOST fun at the end of the day, when everything hurts. Alan was a great motivator and kept her moving until her end of day cut-off (it's a massage night so they had a strict time cutoff tonight). Alan told me that one special thing that happened during his leg of the trail was that while they were running along in the bush, they rounded a corner to find a man and his daughter waiting to cheer Chantal on! Dave and Julia had been watching the tracker and waiting to see Chantal. How wonderful are they!

A few memorable quotes from today that I thought I would share with you:

"I was impressed with how great Chantal seemed to feel. She charged up the hill to the aid station!... The support crew was extremely well organized and efficient, even though they haven't slept much. They are on track- great job"- Barb

"Chantal you are AMAZING! I loved every step with you today to witness your trail smile, strength, and stamina- the coke burps not so much! Support crew- you are real special too!'- Tanya

"Une autre journée de paradis sur la Bruce Trail! Félicitations" - Francois

Today's Fun Facts:

kms completed today: 72

kms so far: 676!!!

pacers: Dave, Kathryn, Tanya, Lindsay, Alan

support crew: Craig, Alan

special appearance: Barb and the best ice cream ever

Today's parting shot: just a few stairs to climb today...