From Impossible to Possible
The following article was published as a part of a series of articles commemorating the 30th running of the Knee Knacker www.kneeknacker.com - a 30 mile ultra-marathon in the North Shore mountains near Vancouver, BC.
July 2018
“Knee Knacker gets in your blood”… I don’t know when I first said this, and I surely had no idea how true it was when I first heard about the Knee Knacker sometime in 1999… my husband Jeff was playing semi-pro hockey and was keeping fit in the off-season running the trails on the North Shore. I remember hearing from Scott, a Knee Knacker finisher + colleague at work, about some run that went across the mountains + my interest was piqued! Scott connected me with race founder, Enzo + the rest is history.
I encouraged Jeff to sign up in 2000 and whoah what a learning experience! Neither Jeff nor I had ever run any races before, we had no idea what this ‘ultra’ thing was and yet I found myself (somewhat compulsively) trying to find out what we needed to know through the only avenue at the time – Enzo’s regular web updates.
I volunteered that first year as a marshal at Grouse. I remember being surprised that there was such a range of people doing the run – not the ‘strictly super-fast elite type’ runners that somehow I had expected. I figured maybe I could even do this too + I signed up right after race day. I trained steadily for the year, did the Sunday training runs (literally hobbling to work the days after) and ran my first ever race of any sort in July 2001.
My strongest memory from that day was somewhere in the rolling stretch between Skyline + Mountain Hwy when I was on the verge of tears from the feeling of astonishment + elation. That was the point where I realized I was going to finish and that this crazy-ass goal that I wasn’t sure was possible for me was going to happen. It’s this feeling that the impossible is actually possible that sparks something in my heart. It’s easy to say it’s the community that keeps me coming back, but it’s a bit more subtle than that. I love seeing people go beyond what they think their potential is. I love knowing that what we do in sport makes us stronger and sometimes even better human beings. I love being in a sport that can rip away the superficial parts of life + leave us feeling connected to each other. Sometimes over our suffering. Sometimes over our joy. That feels very alive.
Fast forward to today… I’ve volunteered for 19 years, run the race 12 times, and have held the reins as Race Director for 14 years. I’ve had great years and terrible years. I’ve held it together with a steady hand when I’ve needed to and have relied on the council and support of my committee and friends when it feels like the ends are fraying. I’ve cried tears of joy and tears of sadness over this run. I’ve celebrated with friends and have shared sorrows on the trails. I am extremely lucky to have Knee Knacker in my life.
When I think of our ‘cheers to 30 years’, I am grateful to many and in particular, Enzo who pioneered this run, who encouraged (and still encourages) my running, who saw potential in me to shepherd his + Shane’s ‘little run’, and who continues to be my dear friend and mentor. Thank you, Enzo. The Knee Knacker is in my blood.