Catch the Elves

The weather in Calgary changes quickly, and although we've been enjoying a mild fall, we got hit with a blizzard and a deep freeze the week before the race. I was following the forecast closely, hoping things would improve before the race. Unfortunately it was not to be. Due to the forecast, they shortened the race to about a 5K, with the option of doing two loops if you wanted to do 10K.

With the weather, I knew it wasn't going to be a good time trial for the marathon anyway, so opted for the shorter route and just went out with the goal of having fun. We picked up balaclavas and new gloves just for the race. The temperature at the start was -28C with a wind chill of -32C. We were actually well dressed for the weather - even a little warm at times. As you can see, we looked like snowmen at the finish! During this race, they have "elves" running as well and when you catch an elf you get a draw coupon from them. All the coupons go into a draw for about 100 prizes, and if they draw one of yours you get to pick your prize out of what is left. We actually won a prize and I picked a golf shirt. The course was a little long (I measured it on mapmyrun at about 5.5km), and we finished in 33:34. I was happy with that considering the conditions.