August 24, 2024 - our 5th Annual Gruesome Twosome Event.
Well that was a day! Who would have thought we would experience an atmospheric river in the blazen month of August. We are most excited and proud for all of the participants who showed up despite the weather. There was a smile on every single face!
photo: james burris
Among the river of rain falling we experienced a few other circumstances for our event that only made us stronger as a community! Power being out to the park, closing the washrooms for a period of time, our course markings being taken down and stolen and one of our aid stations not arriving.
- Update the Park Manager has confirmed with us that the reason the water was turned off to the park affecting the washrooms and the water taps (that we fill our aid station jugs with) was because someone or some people vandalized the water valve/system within the park. Perhaps the same people who took the course markings. Maybe.
Our events are community driven, community supported, raise funds for different nonprofit organizations, and are truly extensions of who we are and come from our hearts.
Mother Nature decided to challenge us with some very heavy rain in the 24hours leading up to the event but that was okay we are super tough, embraced the wet and became ones with the rain.
photo: james burris
The adversity only makes us stronger and better, so we wanted to shed light on other aspects of the event world, one in which set us up with a large hurdle on event morning, that together as a team and community we overcame.
On Friday Kristin our Event Director and myself, Courtney, spent a good 4+hours on course marking our 22k, 11k, 5k and 1k routes. Aldergrove Regional Park has lots of turns and intersections that take extra time and attention to mark right to ensure safe and proper passage for runners, as you can see in our video from Friday (Instagram).
What makes this course unique also in our marking is that we share these trails with the equestrian community. We mark in a specific way to ensure safety and comfortably for horses, with their sight and vision. We don’t hang any ribbon flags everything is low to the ground and secured with wooden stakes and pin flags.
When we arrived to set up the start/finish line on Saturday morning our wonderful pre-event sweeps headed out to check the course. With heavy rain we anticipated some signs had fallen over but that’s about it.
Off they went. Very shortly after I walk one of our wonderful course marshal volunteers over to our trickiest intersection to give an in person run down of what to expect when she was there. At first, I thought I had walked us to the wrong spot, but then was like no this is the right spot and as I looked around realized that all of the course markings were gone. Not moved, not switched around, gone. Then I headed down the trail a bit and it was just all gone.
Baffled. I went over to Kristin and said the course markings are gone. At the same time now communicating with our pre sweeps who are asking us if we marked the course.
They notified us that there were no course markings and then we were able to pinpoint exact locations from where they were running that needed to be fixed or redone.
Some of the heroes of the day Kristin and Kyle grabbed pin flags and a few of our laminated signs and raced out on course to re mark.
Photo: james burris
As an event director it’s a nightmare situation. 20 minutes from the start time and a course to remark. Our hearts sank. Our guts in knots. Our minds in disbelief.
Let's pause for a second and let me tell you the funny not funny part of this.
When I was camping, the first week of August, I had a dream that we ran out of time to mark the course. We had planned this event had everything in place but then on event morning didn't have a marked course.
I sometimes have odd dreams leading up to events, did we order the bib numbers, did the medals arrive etc. silly things, that so far have never come true. So, on Friday after we marked the course it felt great!
This is the first time for us to have this happen, we are not the first event it has happened to though. Removal or switching of course markings happens out there, its why we have volunteers pre sweep the race routes. Those who do not wish to share the trails with trail runners or those who have other intentions will go out and switch arrows or take down pin flags etc. we call them trail bandits. 99% of the time they grab markings and throw the stuff into a bush or something. Not often do they actually take the signage. What boggled our minds was the amount of effort that had to go into the removal of our stuff. We push around my BOB Stroller when we are marking. It’s loaded with wooden stakes, laminated directional markings, staplers and hammers etc.
It was as much work to take it down as it was to set up and who was out on a stormy very rainy Friday night in the dark carrying around wooden stakes with laminated sheets on them. Did they use a giant bag or have a wagon or stroller to? Were there like 4 people each with giant backpacks? So, they parked on a side street and walked on into the park, messed with the water system and took course markings?
Whether the water tampering, and the course markings are connected or not the course marking removal was intentional. It was to specific to just be someone messing around. The equestrian community would have made a complaint to the park, though we have been in this park for 5 years and have had a good respectful relationship with this community.
BUT it's okay and we wanted to shed a tiny bit of light on it only because of what comes from challenges.
Photo: James Burris
As I stood up in front of everyone and explained what had unfolded that morning, I felt very sorry and confused but I also felt proud to be transparent.
Along the bottom row of the 2024 event bibs it said “TOGETHER EVERYONE ACHIEVES MORE.” This was the perfect motto for Saturday. For those who intended to put a damper in our event, they actually just made us stronger. With each challenge we face, we grow.
We can embrace the challenges as they arrive as event organizers and us as runners! We don’t know what lay ahead and we can only focus our attention on what we can control and how we react in situations of adversity! We chose to have smiles, run, eat pancakes and drink smoothies from Stormy’s Food Truck.
photo: james burris
Our community is the best! You all are inspiring! Thank you for showing up!
Gruesome Twosome was created with families in mind! As mommas and Kristin a Grandmama, we do and have done the miles with strollers and kids carriers and all the things. We wanted to create a space for others to achieve their goals as a family!
This event was also created to support beyond ourselves by giving back and donating to BabyGoRound.
We donate $5.00 per registration to BabyGoRound. All together with registrations and additional donations that you made, we raised a total of CAD$1680.32 THANK YOU such a success!
We beat last year's event numbers with a total of 180 registrations, 21 of them for our 1k fun run! This event started in 2019 with 80 registrations. Let's keep growing!
Our next event is Live Love Run in Fort Langley, BC on October 5. Join us for a 21k, 10k, 5k or 1k in support of ABreast In A Boat Dragon Boat Team.
- Courtney McQueen
- Another event article written by the Aldergrove Star