The Shaugnessy 8K runs through the local neighbourhood in Vancouver, and I found it to be quite the tough race. I can't comment much on packet pickup since I picked my bib up the morning of (it was quite easy to do). The race is pretty small with a fast group of runners, and the atmosphere was lovely. I was happy that things started right on time as well.

Personally I found the course to be difficult. I'm still not great at hills (working on it), and this race was full on undulating hills, starting with a fairly steep one right out of the gate. I was pretty exhausted for the second half of the race and had to stop for a quick 20-second walk break up the last hill. Additionally, it was a beautiful day but super sunny and quite warm, which made things more difficult for me. I had a strong finish, however, with a nice downhill right at the end followed by a straight stretch.

Overall, a great challenge and a lovely local 8K. I'd do it again, though I clearly need to work on my hills.