Trail des Pionniers de Saint-Donat race report
My cousins, aunt and uncle proposed this family activity and a weekend at their places in Saint-Donat a few months ago. We ended up with a 25 people gathering and over half of us got bibs for the 5k - or 1k for two of the kids - races on September 14th, 2024.
We arrived the night before, enjoyed a relaxed morning, pinned our bibs at the house before walking to the start line. That was glorious, I recommend any race that is 5 minutes away from your bed or your toaster.
Weather wise we lucked out for this palooza, considering that there was near freezing temperatures the weekend before: We got the nicest, and maybe the warmest Summer days we could ask for.
I did a short warm-up and we took position at the start. DD, DH and I left with the first corral. DD in the lead pack, DH deciding after 3 seconds that he was better running his pace and I doing my best.
I had not done any speed or hill work in over four months but wanted to give all that I could for my first official trail race. Good thing that I did not have a set time objective. The course was a 5.55km loop on a wide path. We all got surprised by the hills in the first 2km. While I always said that DH is a goat (well he is also my GOAT but that is another story), I am the opposite: I lack the sprint qualities for the up-hills and the agility for the down-hills. I am proud to have kept running all the way. Besides, I had an extra motivation to place in my AG because, I wanted a medal for my hanger… Priorities
DD arrived first woman ( although awards were strictly by age group). On the second step of that podium was my cousins’ daughter, that was cool. DD said that this was more than a cross-country race in terms of hills. She got the chance to goof around by accompanying the 3y.o. later in the 1km.
DH arrived first in his AG. He enjoyed it more than a road 5k.
I guess trail times are irrelevant because too hard to compare between one another. I arrived second in my AG.
However , the person that I am the most impressed by is our other DD. She got an ACL reconstruction less than a year ago and is not particularly trained for running. She took her recovery very seriously and decided a few weeks prior to join the trail race party. She pushed herself without taking undue risk and finished smiling and proud of her accomplishment. It was her first official race, not an easy one. Bravo!
We hung around for another three hours. Snacks, temporary tattoos, kids 1km and podiums, all was well organized and pleasant.
The family after race was exceptional. We went boating and I discovered that I like Sea-doos (I am not much of a motor boat person). The Fall colours were starting to show. The lake water and the sun were warm to swim comfortably. We also collectively built a
Lego Titanic over the weekend. We had plenty of time to talk over delicious meals and catchup with one another. Fantastic
That probably concludes my 2024 racing. I hung up my medals and will contemplate what the future holds. Thank you for reading.
With just comeuppance for paper and string
