Reflections on the Knee Knacker community

Now ~ 72 hrs post run, my Knee Knacker hangover is subsiding, and I’m left once again in a bit of awe at the impact of a ‘simple, grass-roots run’. I could go on about the insanely great competition at the front of the pack, or the mental and physical battles waged at the cutoff edges. But, I think the sweet spot for this run is somewhere in the ‘middle of the pack’ where – in a melting pot all together – people have their best days, their worst days, their best moments, and their worst moments. All compressed together on a rocky, rooty, technical trail and on a journey that’s hard to put into words.

A few reflections on the day… our volunteers are remarkable. Jose, the caretaker at Panorama Park was there at 3:30am on Saturday – before the busses – to open (and clean!) the washrooms before everyone arrived. Course markers spent the week before the run marking every section. The pre-sweeps left the start line just after 4am to ensure the marking was still up and runners would be safe. The aid station volunteers at Black Mountain hiked the water in several evenings before, and then hiked up pre-dawn to be our first crew. The volunteers in the first quarter and through Hollyburn battled bugs like nobody’s business. All to make sure we were safe, had fun, had food and drink, and great photos to capture the day.

There were cowbells, laughter, cheers, whistles, blood, sweat, tears, quiet words of encouragement, sponge baths, barbeques, beers, blankets, band-aids, ice, home-made chocolate chip cookies, freezies, ice-bandanas, water guns, signs on the trail, marshals, sweeps, banquet festivities, transport crews, helicopter moments, professional videos, slide shows, North Shore Rescue crews, timers, potato cookers, clean-up crews, massage therapists, photographers, friends, family, community and a whole lot of HEART.

Thank you to everyone involved!

Kelsy Trigg,
KKNSTR Race Director