2016 was the 12th annual Kusam Klimb in Sayward, British Columbia. Sayward is a small town on Vancouver Island with a population of roughly 341 people, but on race weekend that number sky rockets when an additional 487 runners come to town!

The Kusam Klimb is 23km long with a strenuous 1496 meters of elevation gain in 8km. It starts off at the Heritage Hall, where you can also pick up your race package (bib, shirt, magnet and local honey snappers) either the morning of or night before the race. The race gives you a gentle 2km on the road to warm up and though trail runners often shudder at road running I truly appreciated the warm up. Then onto the trail for the next 6km to the top! There was 1 aid station about 4km in and after just 300m of elevation. The aid station was nicely stocked with water, electrolytes, and encouraging volunteers.

From the aid station it was up, up, and up above the snow line and over the saddle of Mt. H'Kusam. Not to be forgotten by the views at the top, there were multiple rock faces, the use of ropes, and technical root sections on the way up. Also on the ascent there is one false summit forgivable because of the beautiful alpine lake you wind around, but from there up one more time through the snow.

Once you reach the top it is a tricky and steep way down for the next few kilometers, again with multiple ropes. I chose for the most part to hold the rope loosely (gloves on for this) and use it as a guide, but let my feet do most of the work. The single track trail at this part takes the runners down alongside a rushing creek and out to an open old logging road. Here there was a 2nd and 3rd aid station. The 3rd aid station had the most plentiful selection of snacks and drinks including nanaimo bars and pre-portioned trailmix runners could grab to take along if they wanted. I thought this was an excellent idea!

From the 3rd aid station there was one more short downhill dash of single track, followed by an open winding, rocky road to the next aid station quite a ways down! With 6km to go runners could again grab electrolytes or water for the push to the finish. Back onto wide rocky road, a short jaunt down a single track and back onto the road for the last 2km to the finish.

The finish line was wonderful for many reasons (of course the main one being the great achievement it marked) but also the crowed of locals and races alike that cheered every person on from those who took just over 2 hours through to 8 plus hours to finish!

Many people take the Kusam Klimb as an opportunity to hit the trails with a group of people and set out with the intention to spend the day outside. The average time this year was just over 6 hours and in previous years it has been around 8 hours. It is a great 'race' if you are interested in checking out an otherwise quite remote trail, while challenging yourself to some serious, steep climbing!