Saint Peter's Run - 40 Km

With my wife, Olivia, driving the support vehicle, I was able to do a 40 km training run from Courtenay to Campbell River, B.C., Easter morning. I decided midway through the run that I would call it "Saint Peter's Run" in memory of how Peter and John ran to the tomb looking for Jesus on that first Easter morning two thousand years ago.

A good portion of the route we followed, wound along beside the eastern coastline of Vancouver Island offering amazing views on this Easter morning. Below is a video I made of the journey.

Departing from the Canadian Tire store at 5 a.m., wearing a head lamp and reflective running gear, I ran uphill following old highway 19A, taking the scenic route to Campbell River. Every now and then I could see the brake lights of our van far off in the distance. The first stop to refill my drinking bottle was 6 kms into the run. It worked out well to have the support vehicle stop every 6 - 7 kms so I could get more power gels and top up my drinking bottle with Gatorade. This made the adventure much easier.

After an hour and a half of running in darkness I was able to take off my headlamp and leave it in the van. Things went smoothly until the heat of the day started to wear on me. I hadn't taken enough S-Caps to compensate for my increased sweating, so my sodium levels dropped around 30 - 35km. This caused me to cramp sooner than I should've. We reached the 7-11 Store in Campbell River, my goal destination 5 hours and 10 minutes into the run. I was planning on turning around there, to run back another 10 km, but decided to take Olivia out for an Easter morning brunch instead at a riverside restaurant. Still dressed in my flashy running gear, I helped myself to the all you can eat brunch buffet. Eggs Benedict never tasted so good.