Survival of the Fittest has a 13 km and 18 km option. I chose the 18 km distance! It was my first trail race and I had heard such great things about the Coast Mountain Trail Series. They did not disappoint!

First off, Squamish is beautiful and we lucked out with blue skies and sunshine! I got up there early with a friend who was volunteering. The did their first ever kids run before the race which was adorable! I also picked up my race bib and a free package of coffee. There are no t-shirts or medals with your race registration but the entry fee is very affordable and they give away tons of prizes after the race.

Everyone at these races are amazing and super friendly. I chatted with a random guy at the start line, a couple ladies during the race, and met a few Twitter people that I knew were going to be at the race.

I had run the route before so I was somewhat familiar with it. The course starts with a short descent followed by 8k uphill then a steep 3k downhill section. The remaining 7k has a couple little climbs, and downhill stint, and then a last short gruelling climb up to the finish line. You know you have to run the last hill hard … because people are watching! Most of the trails are shaded by trees but there is an open area where you really feel the heat on a hot day.

There is one aid station along the route which had coke, water, oranges, chips, and all that good stuff! They had a great spread at the finish line with all that plus watermelon and more!

I finished with a time of about 2:40 which put me near-ish the back of the pack. There were a lot of amazing and fast runners at the event but everyone is so supportive regardless of speed and time. Pretty much everyone receives a high five from the race director before crossing the finish line!

The finish line was a big hangout / party with everyone sprawled out on the grass relaxing as seemingly endless prizes were given to top finishers and random participants. They also have an amazing race photographer, Brian McCurdy Photography, that takes photos for the event which are posted online for everyone to view. It is such a fun atmosphere and a well-organized event! I recommend checking out the Coast Mountain Trail Series! I'll definitely be doing more of their races!

Read my full race recap here: http://briehemingway.com/blog/2015/06/race-recap-cmts-survival-of-the-fittest-2015/