Icebreaker 2011 Report

by Duncan Marsden

I was not planning on running this year's Icebreaker but managed to sneak an entry, late on Friday, and so I decided that it would be good a good opportunity to see how fit I was at this time of year.  I guess the clue is in the title, but I did not bank on the 20 cm of snow which fell in Calgary throughout Saturday, leaving Sunday's race course somewhat of a skating rink.  When I warmed up with Jeremy Deere, there were a number of discussions about what shoes we should wear and we decided that there was no correct shoe (the course being either sheer ice or dry road) and that no one would win simply based on their choice of shoes.  As we watched the eventual winner (who was wearing spikes!) pulling away from us with ease on a particularly icy stretch in the first mile, we had to concede that we might have been wrong! 

Nonetheless, it was an enjoyable race with plenty of BVH interest upfront.  Jeremy was in second throughout most of the race but ended up finishing in third place, closely followed by Frank Woolstencroft in 4th, with me in fifth.  The picture above shows the only time I was in front of Frank in the whole race!  Scott Jensen (also ruing his choice of shoes) was a little bit further back but showing promising form after returning from injury.

All in all, it was a crisp, sunny day to be out running fast round some quiet neighbourhoods and was a very enjoyable race.  The times reflect the conditions and that is all I am going to say about that!  I missed the brunch but by all accounts it is unmissable!

Don't forget the 5K tonight.  Starting at 7 PM under the Olympic arches outside the YMCA in Eau Claire.  It will be a slightly shorter course (by about 150 m) due to some digging that is taking place behind the River Cafe in the park.  There may also be a few small pockets of ice so be careful on your feet.  See you all there!