The Try Events Chilly Chase has something for everyone: a 5k, 10k, 15k, and a half marathon. Runners of all abilities are able to join this mostly flat and scenic course. For the second year in a row, I ran the 15k distance. You start at Olympic Village and run along the seawall to English Bay, where you branch off and run towards Lost Lagoon. You then get to do a little bit of mild trail running (mostly packed gravel) as you do a loop of Lost Lagoon and then head back to Olympic Village the same way you came from. The hills were by the Granville and Burrard bridges (slight incline) and when you branch off the seawall towards Lost Lagoon… and also on the way back from Lost Lagoon. You get to see an urban landscape and lots of natural beauty (False Creek, the beach at English Bay, Lost Lagoon, and maybe you’ll even see some ducks and Canada geese). All distances were pretty much an out and back of the same course. There’s a part where the 15k and the half branch off in different directions but later on, the half also heads back to Lost Lagoon and uses the same way back.

Review

This race is great, obviously since this is my 3rd year doing it. The course is awesome, especially on a nice day like today. Running the Vancouver seawall is always a joy. You get a pair of socks with your registration and it just so happens that the socks, logo, and medals were designed by fellow BibRave Pro Brie like the Cheese. Well done, Brie! Package Pickup was at two different shops on Friday (Kitsilano) & Saturday (Burnaby). It was a little inconvenient for me to get to but that’s because I had no car and I had to plan to get out of work early and catch some buses. Besides that, it was a quick pickup. They give you the bib, timing chip (which you had to return at the end of the race, but there were volunteers waiting with scissors at the end), the socks, safety pins & zip ties. For an additional couple bucks (I think) you can get a bag, but it’s best if you brought your own. I wish the bib was printed on higher quality paper. One corner ripped before I even left the house. Luckily, the bib stayed on the whole race. The start/finish line was conveniently located in Olympic Village which meant that good restaurants were only a short hobble away. We ended up going to Terra Breads for a croissant and a coffee. The medal is nice and smaller than the previous two years. I like that it’s a different shape. I have enough round medals lol.

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