I was one of the hundreds who took part in the inaugural Tsuut’ina Trail race on Saturday.
Race proceeds went to promote “healthy lifestyles through physical activity and to raise funds for the development of a pathway on the Tsuut’ina Nation.”
The short trail race – covering roughly 14 kilometres over Tsuut’ina land – was a rare opportunity to run on the beautiful nation’s trails. There was a large staging area with many social distancing processes in place.
There was a slight hiccup after the race started, which forced race directors to change the route to an out and back. We didn’t see the route before the change so it didn’t really matter.
We were asked not to take pictures on the course in order to respect people’s privacy so that is why you won’t see any course photos.
DJ Caylem 
Organizers check route one more time
So take it from me the course was quite lovely with the fall colours in full force. We ran through farmer’s fields, dirt roads and a lovely single track in the woods. One rough section through a field was not kind to my ankles. I had to slow down and focus on not tripping over these rough patches.
I felt pretty good with the race since I haven’t been running for pace or training. It felt good lining up and running with others.
In all I ran roughly 13.5 kilometres – while others were off track and ran anywhere between 12 and 22 kilometres. According to the official results I ran a painfully slow 1:33 (fourth in my age group). That’s fine with me as this was more a fun run than a race.
I can’t wait to do it again next year.
Prairie Mountain and Powderface Ridge
I didn’t have anything planned for the next day but I definitely wanted to get out to the mountains. wanted to do something that didn’t require any research or a long drive. I haven’t been up on Prairie in months so I decided Prairie would be the first stop.
I considered doing repeats on Prairie but quashed that idea once I saw the number of cars parked at the trailhead. It was getting too busy and I wasn’t in the mood to deal with the crowds.
It was still relatively early when I came down Prairie so I drove over to Powderface Ridge. There were so many cows on the road. I had to wait a few times to allow the cows to safely cross the road.
Several cars were already lined up along my starting point – where the dirt road begins on Hwy 66. Thankfully I was able to squeeze my Qashqai in.
I didn’t see any others until I reached the east end of Powderface Ridge. The last time I was here, I didn’t go up the east ridge so today I didn’t waste the extra vert.
When I was coming off the first ridge, I chatted with a women who mentioned she was doing a loop. I have to research what she meant because it sounded much more fun than an out and back.
My low key in Kananaskis turned out to be a really nice one. I clocked 17 kilometres and roughly 1,400 metres in elevation gain. Not bad for less than five hours work.
Sometimes it’s fun to stick to your own ‘backyard’ and enjoy the familiar.
Have you run any races in 2020? I would love to hear from you in the comments below.