| no longer stressed |
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I'll be in Vancouver soon and will have one day free for a long (2:30-5-hr) trail-running adventure. I'm looking for recommendations for a trail system that I can reach via public transportation from downtown. My first thought is the Baden Powell trail, and I welcome recommendations on nice sections to run. |
| Not An Expert |
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Stanley Park is beautiful, although I don't think it has enough trails for you to do a 30-miler without repeating yourself substantially. |
| not a chick |
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Vancouver is a great city, but the public transit actually kind of sucks, and downtown is a pretty long haul from places with lots of trails. But if you have a whole free day to get this run in, you should be able to get somewhere for a good long one. The easy thing would be to run around the waterfront around downtown. There is good running most of the way around, including the perimeter of Stanley Park, but wrapping around the other side to GM place, the Science museum etc. What I'd suggest is start at your hotel and run north-ish toward Burrard Inlet, then start counterclockwise along the seawall, through Stanley Park, then all the way around the perimeter of False Creek, then carry on out toward UBC. Turn around at 15k, then head back. Boom, it's a nice 30k run. Not on trails, I know. Unfortunately I don't know the area quite well enough to recommend the closest place to find a nice long trail run. Good luck, and enjoy! |
| no longer stressed |
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thanks for the ideas so far; keep 'em coming. my plan is to do a track workout at the oval in stanley park on a day i have limited time and the following day go long. for the latter, i definitely want to be on trails -- "real" trails, as opposed to tame park paths and definitely not the seawall, despite how lovely the views might be. looks like the bus system can get me out to a variety of trailheads in north vancouver, and i see that there is an ultra in july (knee knacker, 30 miles point-to-point from horseshoe bay to deep cove) held on the baden powell trail, but i don't know which sections or side trails might be most enjoyable or if there's any potable water along the way. |
| busted foot |
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i feel that this thread was made for this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGypLxI9gms |
| hooba dooba |
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The north shore is rife with the kind of trails you are looking for. Mt Seymour has a ton as does Cypress. Baden Powell is a good bet. The problem, as you note, is that there are a ton of trailheads to get there. I would maybe call Cove Bike shop in Deep Cove and ask them to recommend some of the tamer, broader mtn bike trails that would suitable for running. Alternatively there is a book called something like 30 hikes in BC that is great for giving you that info. I will see if I can dig it up and find a good run. |
| van man |
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How about the Iron Knee route Here is the course map http://www.runthenorthshore.com/qs/page/13267/13257/-1 Cleveland Dam and Deep Cove are on bus routes |
| no longer stressed |
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hey, everyone, thanks a ton. nice to see from the iron knee course that east from the cleveland bridge looks not so severe in terms of elevation change to make it unlikely to be runnable. thanks also for the lousy video -- really. while the cinematography and audio leave a lot to be desired, the scenery looks quite lovely. so my tentative plan is to take the 250 bus to the capilano pacific river trail, take that up to cleveland dam (with a detour to see the mammoth fir), and then head east on the baden powell, either as an out-and-back or to deep cove, where i can catch a bus back to the interchange with the 250. i won't be doing this until monday, so there's plenty of time for more ideas if this sounds less than ideal. if anyone is free and wants to join me, i'm definitely up for company. |
| PDXTrack |
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Oh, THAT other Vancouver. Ours (the Washington state version) was first. |
| no longer stressed |
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sorry, PDXTrack. i actually knew that, but the other is more populous, and anyway that's where my meeting is. if i come to your vancouver, i'll certainly check out the columbia gorge. |
| not a chick |
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What kind of business brings you to Vancouver, anyway? It's a beautiful day here today. I happen to be in town today/tomorrow, will run Stanley Park this evening after work. BTW, have you used that track before? It's a dirt track, and I wouldn't be surprised if it's some odd distance. I've used it only once, several years ago while on vacation, and found my splits weren't what I expected. There is a really nice track maybe 2.5 miles south of downtown, a little ways off Granville (west a couple block). Much better choice for a serious workout. But careful not to choose the crappy old track a couple blocks EAST of Granville in the same area. It's old, lumpy and short. Hey, that sounds like me! :-) |
| PDXTrack |
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Actually, I enjoy running in Vancouver, BC more than Vancouver, WA - they both have merits, but Stanley Park kinda pushes the BC version ahead for me. |
| no longer stressed |
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not a chick, i work for a company that puts on a series of technology conferences for senior executives, and my job is to write up the proceedings. this time we're fortunate to be meeting somewhere truly beautiful. i arrive friday night and was planning to hit the track either saturday or sunday morning. from what i've read, the brockton oval is 400 m, and i'm actually happy to hear that it's dirt. works for me. next up for me are a few xc races, so i don't need a high tech surface to get my legs moving at a pace that qualifies as fast for me. |
| not a chick |
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Forecast for Vncouver for the next few days: Saturday A mix of sun and cloud. Low 12. High 18. Sunday A mix of sun and cloud. Low 11. High 18. Monday Showers. Low 11. High 14. The weekend looks fantastic for a session on the oval. Monday maybe a bit grim for the trail run, but you should get a bit of rain on a west coast visit. :-) Enjoy! |
| no longer stressed |
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the forecast i saw shows only 30% chance of rain on monday, and, besides, a little water doesn't scare me. my local northeast (US) trails have turned to streams during my last few runs due to rain. still, i won't scoff at a bit of sunshine ;-) |
| I <3 Tacos More |
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Capilano Pacific trail sucks balls. Sure the scenery is nice but it's really hard unnatural rocky gravel/asphalt. Not fun to fly downhill landing on something that hard. Doesn't feel good after either. What a shame. |