Today MEC held their “MEC LOWER MAINLAND ROAD RACE FIVE: TRANS CANADA TRAIL 5K / 10K / 21.1K / 42.2K” and I was one of the 5k runners.
MEC has changed the race naming a little this year. Instead of each individual race ostensibly being held by one of the three Metro Vancouver area stores — “MEC Langley,” “MEC Vancouver,” or “MEC North Vancouver” — they are now all being held by a combined entity dubbed “MEC Lower Mainland.” There are a combined total of 17 races this year, and they are broken down into a “road race series” and a “trail races series.” Today’s race was the 5th race of the road race series.
The Trans Canada Trail race is held in Fort Langley, and it’s a great venue. The 5k, in particular, is a nice little scenic run along the Fraser River. The race continues to gain in popularity, with yet more participants this year than ever.
| Year | 5k | 10k | half marathon | full marathon |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 30 | 83 | 59 | 18 |
| 2016 | 101 | 205 | 139 | 39 |
| 2017 | 155 | 223 | 130 | 43 |
We got very lucky with the weather. Vancouver has been experiencing record amounts of rain lately, but a few hours before the first races the rains stopped. The rain held off all day, actually, and it was a perfect day for a race, with the race participants being treated to moderate temperatures, light cloud, and some sunshine.
Setting up at the start/finish line in Fort Langley near the Fort Pub & Grill
My time this year for the 5k was 25:15. I was pretty happy with that time until I checked last year’s time and saw that I did a 22:52. That means I was 2:23 slower this year. Ouch! I was in better form last year, though, and that was one of my best times ever. I’m actually quite happy with my 25:15. I pushed hard the whole way and ran a great race. I knew going in that my conditioning wasn’t as good as it was last year. I just haven’t been pushing myself as hard during my training runs. My weight also played a part, no doubt. At 193-ish for today’s race, I’m up 3-4 pounds over last year, which is worth about 20-25 seconds.
All in all, I’m happy with how my first race of the year went. It was a lot of fun. A big thank you to MEC for putting on another great event. I can’t wait for the next one in a month or two, depending on which race I choose to do next.
vanTopia 