I’ve always told myself that I’m not one of those ‘running club people’.
I don’t wear a watch when I run. I like to go whatever pace my body tells me to without keeping up with or slowing down for other people. And I run to clear my head, not to chat with strangers.
Besides, I live in Whistler—most people here hit the single-track trails on bikes, not by foot.
And yet, somehow I found myself running through the trails of Cut Yer Bars, placing each foot with care lest I eat it on a tree root in front of the others in my group. This group includes a mountain biking enthusiast who claims she doesn’t run (yet seems to be hot on my tail), an upbeat guy who knows more about my shoes than I do, and the quiet group leader who does a casual run up and down Blackcomb every Sunday. Oh, and I’m wearing a watch—a $400 Suunto number on loan, no less.
Welcome to the underground world of Whistler’s trail running clubs.
As it happens, trail running is a pretty popular sport in Whistler—I was just late to the scene. Given the vast network of cross-country mountain biking trails and the more-athletic-than-average population, it seems to be a natural fit. This town hosts trail running races like 5Peaks, the Comfortably Numb Trail Running Race, and Meet Your Maker—and, as it happens, Whistler has a fair number of trail running clubs.
The Arc’teryx store in Whistler, for instance, hosts a bi-weekly running club on Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 9:00 AM (the setting of the Cut Yet Bars run I mentioned earlier). Lululemon hosts a long run on Saturday mornings at 8:00 AM and humbling training runs Tuesday evenings at 5:30 PM, and Helly Hansen guides its club through the mountains on Tuesday evenings at 6:15 PM.
There’s even a Facebook group: Whistler Running Club. I spent one Lululemon Saturday run traipsing through the Zappa trails with the Facebook page’s moderator, Jim, a man probably twice my age who can, without a doubt, run twice as fast and twice as far as I can. Despite its name, the Facebook club is not a club per se; it’s more of a message board coordinating the events, clubs, and clinics going on around Whistler and posting photos of sweaty, grinning run club attendees.
Jim tells me that he created the group to connect Whistler runners with one another. He posts photos to dispel the myth that all runners in Whistler are uberfit young men that, well, run up and down Blackcomb every Sunday. The posted photos attest to the fact that Whistler’s trail runners come in all shapes, sizes, and ages.
After tackling more than a few run club sessions, I have to admit that I’ve changed my “solo run or no run” attitude. With the various run clubs, I’ve discovered countless new trails. I’ve pushed myself to do drills. I’ve connected with some pretty incredible Whistlerites and have been inspired by visitors who can’t get enough of Whistler’s beauty. Plus, I’ve become a better runner.
Whether you live in town or are up just for the week, lace those shoes, head to the Village, and come check out one of the local running clubs. We don’t bite—and you might actually have some fun.
