This is by far the best race I've ever done! The cost was about $80 (USD even though it's in Canada), which worked out to $94 CAD. This may seem like a lot but it's actually less than I paid for the BMO Vancouver Marathon. In addition to the actual race, they also organize four orientation runs which they only charge $5 which goes towards insurance and a donation to the group that maintains the trails. The orientation runs have an incredibly well-marked route and even included an aid station and post-run snacks. I feel like the orientation runs really added value to the registration fee as well. I feel like this added a lot of value to the event ... $94 + ($5 x 3 o-runs) = 4 organized runs for $109.

Now onto the actual race. First of all there are four options: the 50 miler is on the Saturday and the 50K and 23K are on the Sunday. OR you can opt to do the "50/50" which is BOTH the 50 milers and 50K, which three of my friends did (successfully, I might add).

Squamish is about an hour and a half drive from where I live and since the race started at 6am, I booked a hotel room near the finish line the night before and the night after. My husband (who did the 23K) and I arrived Saturday afternoon to catch our friends doing the 50 miler at one of the mid-way aid stations. We went to the finish line after where we picked up our race packages (which include an awesome t-shirt), bought a couple Squamish50 buffs, and then wandered around "downtown" Squamish. I went back to the finish line long enough to catch one of my friends come through but then scurried off to my hotel to get a good nights sleep.

The race offered a shuttle to take runners to the start line of the point to point course for $5 but the group of us ended up getting a ride. The 50K route starts near Alice Lake and ended back downtown. I had run pretty much all of the route during training. The scenery is beautiful, the race atmosphere was amazing, and the aid stations and volunteers were unbelievable! Even though it was one of the hardest things I've ever done, it was also so much fun!

It took me almost 10 hours (cut off is 11 hours) but making it to the finish line was awesome! That may seem like a long time, but there is quite a bit of elevation on the route and yes, I am slow. I got a sweet medal, a huge from the race director (every runner gets a hug!) and then helped myself to some post-race food and a beer. There were tons of racers and their friends and families hanging around the finish line to cheer people on, despite it being like 5 hours since the first runner came through.

I recommend doing this race if you are looking for a challenge and want to experience beautiful BC scenery! The 50K sells out fast, so sign up right away to avoid disappointment!

Read my full race recap here: http://briehemingway.com/blog/2015/10/race-recap-squamish-50-km/