Here is the debut race report from Chris Winkelaar. Lots more reports to come in the future!

Run the Rock 2011 Race Report
This was to be a training run for me-not an A race as that is coming up at the end of September (MOMAR Cumberland). But I know my run fitness is a little lacking based on my performance at the Snowden group run earlier this month so I appreciated the opportunity to tackle the distance. Goals for this race were:
- Run about a 4:15 pace
- Avoid going out too fast and abandoning my pre-race plan (as has been my trend over the past few races)
- Take in fluids and food regularly to continue experimenting with waht works best for me
I managed to book some work in Powell RIver for the Sunday so that allowed me to finance part of my travel for the trip-yay! So I was able to share the wealth and shuttle over Diane and Andrea to Texada in my Supervan after meeting them on the ferry. Unfortunately, the ferry to Powell River on Sunday am was a 6:30 am start so not much sleep in and a long prep time before the race. Fortunately, I think I benefit from longer prep times as my aged body takes longer and longer to warm up now. I also got the chance to pick Diane and Andrea's brains over various running strategies (that's approximately 80 years of running experience combined!) Needless to say we were unable to cover all the ground in one morning-another time...
I did change one part of strategy based on my chat with Diane-only electrolytes with me for this race-no gels. I knew that I wanted to take in electrolytes based on the heat of the day but was nervous about mixing the Cytomax that I carry with the gels so...no gels. I also was a little hesitant about trusting the water stations on a 1st ever run but this turned out to be pretty needless. Nonetheless, I did not stop at any of the water stations along the way.
Pre-race chatter involved talk about Keith modifying his anticipated race time due to his pre-race viewing of the course and consideration of the heat. This gave me further cause to stay with my plan of staying conservative and not going out too fast.
On with the sunscreen, compression socks and Green Silence minimalist shoes. This would be my first race in the socks. I have experimented with them in tempo runs and found them to be hot but no other benefits seemingly. Still I wanted to try racing in them-how can so many cool looking guys and gals be wrong? I actually believe the research is more supportive for them as a recovery tool but this is not obvious for me either to date. The Green Silence have been my racing shoes of choice over the past year. I have Nike Free for training shoes and find the sole can catch rocks at times. The Green Silence do not, they are light and with a name like Green Silence I can catch up on someone and they dont even know I am there (aside from the heavy breathing and sweat splatters that is).
At the start line, we were given a history of the race by one of the organizers. This seemed to be informative but was interrupted frequently by messages she was receiving over her I-phone by ear piece. So in between explaining the efforts that it took to put together the 1st ever Run the Rock, we would hear her telling her phone to "Be quiet!" or "What-2 minutes to start? I better hurry this along!". Suddenly she announced the countdown- "7-6-5-4-3-2-1", the horn went and we were off!
The 1/2 marathon involved 2 loops of Van Anda before heading out on the remainder of the course. Two younger guys shot off and I considered staying with them as I was unsure how many fasties were there. Diane had heard that 1 of them was running his 1st half after having had a successful 8k so I thought he might be in over his head. Still, his 1st 8K of the race could likely be fast so no need to chase him right away I thought. The loops involved some hills and gave an early favour for the remainder of the course. My 1st K went by in 3:57-oops! better back off...I went by the crowd at the start line again and they were cheering wildly-a very enthusiastic organizing crowd-that was great!
The course seemed to get onto gravel roads right away after leaving town and along came the hills. Fortunately, much of the logging roads were out of direct sunlight so that allowed me to keep somewhat cool. I also like having to focus on my footing as it takes my mind off of thinking how long the race is and how much I am suffering otherwise. On the hills, I would think of 'fast knees' to keep up a quick cadence and not overstride. When going downhill, I think of leaning forward and keeping my feet close to the ground to-you guessed it-keep a quick cadence and avoid overstriding. On the flats-and there was not much of them for the first 12k-I think of proper arm swing to maintain good form.
So..there was much to think about as the course went up, down, up, up, little down and on and on. My Garmin was set to give me feedback on actual pace and I was looking for 4:15 but the course never offered much chance to truly guage pace so mostly I went by feel. As I said, I did not stop at any of the water stations but I was sure to say thanks at each one. I took little sips of my Cytomax but did not actually end up drinking the whole 500mL by the end.
Given the hills and turns of the course it was also hard to determine where the frontrunners were. Definitely ahead of me but I could not really tell how far. I tried to use the yells from the aid stations to determine how far back my chasers were but that didnt work much after about the first 5K. So..I ran alone for the whole race. That really was fine for me as I am not much of a talker when running and it allowed me to get into my own groove. Maybe I could have pushed or been pushed more but it was a training run after all and probably not the place for it.
After 12k, the course seemed to be descending and I took advantage by increasing my speed. I felt good on this portion and knew that the majority of hills was behind me. Into Gilles Bay and-well-a bagpiper! This was a good distraction and kept me relaxed as I made the turn into town. I began to focus on breathing as I knew that the end was coming. This is typically when I start to fall apart a bit and lose focus. A course marker seemed off (only 2k to go? thats not right!) and this threw me a little too. Still I knew I was having a good run and wanted to keep it together for the final stretch.
I was a little sad that I could not see the 8k specialist but oh, well - good 1st half for him-beginners luck! Then it was around the corner and I could see the finish line. Relax..finish strong for the cameras and.. done! I was given my finisher magnet-a piece of stone from the local quarry and then immediately carried on down to the ocean. All gear off and into the salt water-a fantastic way to finish!
I was pleased with my race-a 1:32 for 3rd overall with a 4:31 average pace. The course did measure short by Garmin-20.48 k but in this case, I usually trust the markers got it right!
Post-race food was fine-watermelon, bananas and oranges. I got to see the CVRRs finish and hear about the difficulty of the marathon course from Keith, Roger, Angela and Janet. Definitely not a good choice for one's first ever marathon as it was for some locals.
There was a little mix-up in picking up Supervan from the start line but we managed to make it to the ferry line in plenty of time (despite Roger's fearmongering) and back to PR for me to go to work and then meet the gang for Thai food.
It was a long day but fulfilling-way to host a run Avid Fitness and Texada Island!