This race was one of my first after the birth of my first baby and I was planning on running it as a long run vs. racing it. A friend of mine from the West Van Run Crew was also coming back from a break in running so we made plan to run it together with the only goal being to start very slowly and, if feeling good, speeding up just a little bit every km. After falling on my chin when slipping on black ice when shuffling around my neighbourhood and hearing of race cancellations because of the snow, I was worried this race might be a bit risky. It was not at all: the City of Richmond staff did an amazing job of completely clearing the race course of any snow or ice. The day was beautiful and the race started early enough for the runners to get to enjoy the breathtaking sunrise on the majestic Fraser River. The course was a flat and fast out and back on road and gravel with just a few turns. I really enjoyed that most of it was along the river and, because I was not really racing, I even took a few pictures and videos during the race. In the end, my friend and I achieved our race goal quite comfortably and I could say this race was a great morale booster for us. The post-race celebrations included warm comfort food and massage treatments from Life Mark. There were many draw prizes and age group awards, so we got to cheer a lot, which is always fun.