The goal of this FKT project was to run all of the perimeter trails (every red & black trail) of this trail system. It is ~96% single track. I only used 1 dirt road (out & back to reach the furthest loop (Schumacher) and approx. 100 m of paved roads to connect the other loops.
This trail system is literally right in my backyard. I was never more than ~10km from my front door! How lucky am I!!?? Self-supporting myself was super easy. I drove out the morning of to drop off the 2 caches and to leave my van in a strategic location. It worked perfectly. I passed my van 4x (only stopped twice) and passed each cache 2x (which I only used once each). The water sources on this loop are extremely limited.
I started my day at JCT #35, in the most NW corner of the trails system at 0710 AM. It was -7C, and super windy!! I wore my puffy jacket and windproof pants, hoping it would warm up in the afternoon. (It didn't!!). I know these trails pretty well, however, they are intersected by many other trails! I made sure I checked my map often, as one simple wrong turn would be devastating to the overall objective. All in all, everything went as planned. I suffered some mid-day nausea, but chewed on some ginger which made it go away. I didn't have any belly issues, or suffer any unexpected aches and pains. I pushed the pace most of the day as I felt I had the home court advantage and knew where I could push, and where I needed to hold back. I actually PB'd the Oro/Strachan North loop, knocking 4m10s off my fastest time...and that was 60km into my run haha. I'm over the moon about that!
This FKT was my first self-supported adventure. I must say, it was fun! I'll definitely try another in the near future. I loved how light and reactive I could be. As for gear, I wore my Altra Timps and UD Ultra Vesta 4.0. I didn't fuel with much: delicious Endurance Taps, a few Clif bars, 4 oreos, and 1 fig bar. I drank tons of water and 2 mini-cokes.
I also didn't use any music, nor did I listen to my audio-book (which I usually do). It was just my thoughts, my breath, the sound of my feet hitting the trail and the rustling of the branches in the wind. The sun was out all day, but unfortunately it hailed a few times. All in all, I'm very happy with my effort and I encourage all runners to give this route a go. The twists and turns, rolling terrain and variety of logistical options, it won't disappoint. Just don't forget the map!!!
I finished my run at 4:24PM at JCT #11, stopped my watch and walked the 2km home. Success!!
Note: I used the Ganaraska Trail to cut to and from the Strachan loop to the Breedon loop. It eliminated the need to have a long road section.
Visit www.scmbc.ca to learn more of their trail networks. All of the trails are also on trailforks.com. And although you don't need to be a member to run in this trail network, you could easily donate to their club on their website. They do an amazing job with their trail building and maintenance.