I had the great pleasure of taking part in one of B.C.'s new ultras this
past weekend. The Scorched Sole is a 50K & 25K trail run in Myra-Belleview
Provincial Park on the outskirts of Kelowna. Shirlee Ross and her Kelowna
Running Club crew did an increadible job with this event. The course was an
out-and-back of mostly single track with a short section on the historic
Kettle Valley Railway and included spectacular views of Lake Okanagan,
Kelowna and the sheer cliffs of Myra Canyon.

One of the neat things about doing an event for the first time is that you
don't know how long it will take. I was hoping to to get to the turn-around
at the summit of Little White Mountain in about three hrs. and return in
around two. Things were working out pretty much to plan until I hit the snow
with 3 km to go to the summit. The tricky footing was too much for my
running ability so a good hiking pace was the best I could hope for. Coming
down the snow provided little chance to make up lost time as the post-holing
possibilities demanded caution. The other thing I enjoy about out-and-backs
is seeing everyone else. It was great to see the other runners having a good
day and offer encouragment to those still heading up. As I got to the bottom
of the downhill just before the KVR Bruce Grant, with his superior
descending skills, caught up to me and it was a pleasure to run the rest of
the trail in together as we took turns setting the pace. Fortunatly for me
Bruce is tapering for the Grand Slam and wasn't in race mode.

At the finish we enjoyed the great food & drink while we waited for our
fellow Smart Asses to come in. Sally won the Women's with a 4th Overall
placing with Rob F., Mike, and Martha all finishing strongly. Lana also had
a great run with a 3rd in the 25K.

The trail was very well marked with lots of ribbon and even flouro orange
paint in the snow. The aid stations had plenty of water & food given out by
helpful and encouraging volunteers. I'd highly recommend this event to
anyone looking for a well organized tough trail ultra.

For info and results on the Scorched Sole go to:

http://members.shaw.ca/scorchedsole/index.htm

Rob Lang
r0885@...
rlang00@...