This race was my first ever relay racing experience. This race goes from sea level to the top of Grouse Mountain, then down to the "chalet". It is not the kind of race I would ever consider doing on my own, but I thought it would be a fun one to build a team for. The first section is a fast and flat 4km run going from West Vancouver to North Vancouver. The second section goes from sea level in North Vancouver and slowly climbs up to the bottom of the Grouse Grind (about 300 meters above sea level): at 6km, it is the longest climb of the race. The third section is the steepest. It is a mix of trails and steps at 300 metres elevation and climbs to 1,100 metres over a distance of 2.9 kilometres. The final section is on trails and up a ski run to the top of the mountain and then down to the chalet. So to build the perfect team I needed a track or road speedster, a mentally tough endurance runner, a mountain goat or Grouse Grind addict, and a fearless trail runner. I asked a gym friend whom I knew was a really tough lady if she would be interested in doing the relay with me and she accepted. She was a strong energizer bunny who was always up for challenges and would bounce higher and longer than everybody else during the dance fitness class. She also had done some long races recently. A perfect fit for the 6km section of the race. I then asked a friend of mine whom I knew was doing the Grouse Grind hike at least once a week if she wanted to race with us. She first said yes, but then, closer to the race found out she would not be able to do it. So instead my boyfriend joined us: he had recently started doing the hike regularly to get back in shape for the soccer season. Finally, my gym friend said her own boyfriend was up for doing the last leg. I ended up with the first leg, which, as a track runner, was best adapted to my lack of hill running experience. But then, the day before the race, we found out that my friend's boyfriend would not end up coming. Because the other two members of my team were already doing quite tough sections of the race, I did not want to make them also do the final leg, so I decided to do it myself. I had done a few uphill and downhill running repeats as part of my track training and hoped that would be enough to stop me from falling on my face. The race was very well organized. We had little timing tags we had to hand off in special hand-off areas with timing mats and could then jump in shuttle buses that were perfectly timed to allow you to see your teammates finish their section and pass the tag to your other at the bottom of the Grind climb. The bib then allowed us to get in the gondola to the top of the Grind for free. That is where I waited for my boyfriend who told us he had managed to pass quite a few competitors during his section. I was so proud of him! I then started my section to the cheer of both of my teammates. It was a tough, but progressive climb up to the top of the mountain on rocky terrain followed by an exhilarating downhill run to the finish line. The rocks on the path made it a bit scary, but the adrenaline rush got me extra competitive and I just ran as fast as I could do pass as many people as possible. In the end, we were very pleasantly surprised to find out we had won the co-ed team category for the race! The prizes were great: big medals and a Columbia hiking backpack! The after-party food, music, and sponsor booths were also all quite good. We ended up hanging out quite a while after the race, until pretty much they were ready to pack up.