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David Larsen, Warren Fink and I decided to challenge ourselves to the epic Seven Summits Trail near Rossland, BC. This trail is known for its amazing views, challenging terrain and home to the Broken Goat Ultra Race. Here is our adventure played out... Roadtrip to the Kootenays Originally, we tried to do this trip in June, however the weather turned cold/rainy, so I was waiting for a new weather window to take on this ambitious hike. A few days ago, David indicated that he was on holidays and I had just finished my big summer race (Sinister 7), so we jumped at the chance on Wednesday/Thursday. To save money, we used Warren's camper van and set out on Wednesday morning to the Kootenays. I'm fairly familiar with the area and made sure we stopped at the Deadwood Junction bakery in Greenwood, BC. I highly recommend getting the Artsy Tartsy buttertart :)
Exploring Rossland and KC Ridge Trail After loading up on sugar, we had a few hours to kill so we walked around downtown Rossland. Unfortunately, fire smoke from New Port, Washington rolled into town and put us on guard that we may have to deal with smoke for our hike. I was also hoping to do a jog/hike up Red Mountain, however the air quality was so poor that we decided to look for somewhere in the trees. A friend of mine recommended the KC Ridge trail just outside of town.
Columbia River (Trail, BC) After eating and cleaning up, we found a relaxing spot to hang out near the Columbia River. At this point, I was starting to feel a bit nervous about the upcoming hike. My body was feeling a bit fatigued and beat up from previous workouts. A full night's rest was in order..
Thursday Morning - The Journey Begins... After a good night's rest, we loaded up at breakfast and made our way to the trailhead. Because the trail is a point to point course, we were gracious to have Sarah Larsen drop us off. Luckily, the smoke blew away and we had clear skies and warm weather!
About the Seven Summits Trail According to AllTrails.com, the official trail length is 29.1km with 1220m of elevation gain. We decided to alter our a bit so that we could include a summit climb of Old Glory Mountain, and then finish at Red Mountain Resort. This course is very similar to the Broken Goat 25km route, in fact, the flagging for the course was out for us to follow which made things easier for way-finding. The First 10km The first ten kilometers were made of single track switchbacks, which I found to be very runnable. We took turns leading so that no one was getting dropped or stressed. Along the way, we encountered numerous cyclists and hikers. At the round the 10km mark, we got out of the treeline for the first time and were able to see some nice views! The sun was still out, and we got a view of Old Glory Mountain.
Old Glory Mountain (10-15km) We temporarily got off the main trail and headed towards Old Glory Mountain. Before this trip, I didn't know anything about this mountain. It turned out to be the highlight of the trip for me. Old Glory Mountain is the highest peak in the Kootenay mountain range (2,376 meters elevation), and has a cool history to it. In the 1940s, there was a weather station that was manned for several years before it burned down. That weather station had to be manned by several workers year round while dealing with high winds, snow, lightning storms, and grizzly bear encounters! This is long before helicopters, so all materials had to be brought up manually (hiking up), and sometimes horseback.
As we began the big climb, the weather turned cloudy and cool. This is also where fatigue started to set in for all of us, and it was quite the grind up to the top! We climbed high enough that we were able to see the fire from the USA. Despite the tiring climb, it was definitely worth it. With it's rich history and iconic views, I highly recommend you hike up Old Glory if you get the chance. Kilometers 15-29 The ascent and descent of Old Glory beat up my legs pretty good. I was happy to get back on track and head towards Red Mountain Resort. The terrain was varied and we were blessed with an abundance of nice views. I found that the trail was never "easy", there were always rocks and turns to keep your legs on guard. The final 7-8 kilometers were a gentle descent via ski hill runs into Red Mountain Resort. After being out there for close to 5 hours, we were happy to see the van again, and call it a day. The Next Adventure Run Now that I've checked this hike off my list, I'll be looking for the next Pounders Adventure Trail run. Stay tuned for more details!
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Wow! 2024 was a spectacular year for the Pounders club. So many good memories and outstanding performances passed through our little club. We are very excited for 2025 and looking forward to new members and memorable experiences. Below are some worthy 2024 highlights and updates as we move into the new year. Year End Social Party Our year end party/potluck was a big success with over 23 attendees. During the celebration, we gave out the following awards:
 2024 Year End Party at the Skaha Shores Lounge
AGM Updates
There were a few minor changes to the Club Executive team for 2025.
BEST WISHES TO YOU ALL IN 2025!  The finish line The first day of fall was a beauty as our club hosted the first Interior Association trail race of the year in Summerland. The day started out cool and cloudy, but quickly changed to warm and sunny as soon as the race started. Close to 200 runners completed the 7.4km and 3.4km course, one of the best turnouts we've ever had! It was also great to see people of all ages participate in the sport that we love. In addition, numerous run clubs and elite runners came out to compete. Our Pounders club had at least 7 runners racing, and provided countless volunteers, including race director Deb Dunham. Club Results 7.4km Race  Pounders Group Photo (Richard, Ben, Jordan, Sergio, Hillary)
Photo Gallery Food, Awards & Prizes One of the great things about this race are the prizes! For the first time this year, wine was given out in the awards. Congrats to all those who earned their placings! Numerous treats and refreshments were provided as well. Volunteers Of course, thank you to all the volunteers, we couldn't have done it without you! Our club looks forward to hosting next year's Summerland Sweets in September 2025. See you all next year! What's next?
The Penticton XC 7.5km Race is coming up quick on Sunday October 6th. Register here: https://raceroster.com/events/2024/85766/penticton-xc-75k-and-3k-fun-run Photo Credits Special thank you to Vlado Zamecnik for capturing the great photos! It was an eventful weekend for the Pounders and the town of Penticton as Ironman Canada took over town for the last time. Over the years, many members of the Pounders have competed, volunteered, and cheered at Ironman events. In this year’s event, Pounders members Rhys Spencer, Jeff Symonds and Kim Lerbekmo all competed in the Ironman and David Matheson competed in the 70.3. Almost 50 athletes from Penticton participated across the Ironman, 70.3 and relay events - a great turnout showing Penticton’s love of triathlon. As a spectator, it was amazing to see the great athletes and the energy of the spectators. It was also fun to see competitors zipping past familiar Penticton landmarks and working their way up the hills that local runners so familiar with from training. ~Emma Carter Event Photos
With over 400 competitors, the Peach Classic Triathlon is one of the more popular athletic events in the south Okanagen. A great feature of this event is that there is something for everyone (beginner, intermediate, advanced). The Peach Classic offers a variety of distances: Try-a-Tri, Sprint, and Olympic distance.
With many of our Pounders members also triathletes, we had a great participation rate in this event, including numerous volunteers! I myself enjoyed volunteering for this event and watching the race unfold from the beautiful Okanagen Lake Beach. For some of our members, this was their first triathlon, meaning that they had to learn to swim and bike in a race format. Below are some photos and video footage featuring our members. Pre-race Pounders members arriving for bib pickup: (Below: Emma, Warren, Morgan, Simon)
Swim (Try-a-Tri)
Bike (Try-a-Tri)
Morgan and Hillary are cycling close together, with Emma on the hunt.
Run (Try-a-Tri)
Pounders members leading the way in the run. A few placings were changed along the way!
Olympic Distance
Below are some photos of our members competing in the olympic distance and Pounders founder Steve King doing the announcing at the finish line. (Photos in order: David Matheson, Rhys Spencer, Steve King)
Thoughts on the Race...
We asked our members what they thought of doing their first triathlon (Try-a-tri). What was your favourite part of the triathlon?
What was your toughest event?
Would you do it again?
Post Race Festivities
Congrats to everyone that competed! After the race, we had a chance to relax, enjoy the post race meal, and of course collect the medal awards.
Results
Full results can be found here: https://sportstats.one/event/peach-classic-triathlon Pounder Member results: Try-a-Tri Distance:
What's next for the Pounders Interval Group? Training has begun for the Fast Days of Summer 5k race in Kelowna held on September 1, 2024. Come join us every Thursday for an interval workout! Check our Facebook Group for location and time.  It was a beautiful sunny day in the south Okanagan for the annual Peach City Runners Blossom 8 Miler race. Over 143 runners completed the rolling scenic course on Mother's Day here in Penticton, BC. The course begins at Marina Way park and immediately starts a long climb up to Naramata Road (Vancouver Hill) before turning back onto the KVR trail. Our club played a huge role in participating/organizing this Interior Road Race Series event. We were happy to so many smiles as the community came together to share this wonderful outdoor experience. In addition, we are already excited to begin planning for next year's 2025 race! Check out the Penticton's Herald article on the event: www.pentictonherald.ca/sports/article_7c663790-12e8-11ef-b373-6b586fbb49b8.html Gallery Many of our Pounders members came out in full force to participate in our signature race including Ben, Richard, Reid, Emma, Hillary, Maximilian, Sergio, and Gloria. Kids Race
Start Line
Race Results Congratulations to overall winners Ben Thistlewood (Pounders member) and Stephanie Brown from Kelowna. Full results can be found on the Interior Association Race Results page. This was the first year on the new, certified 8 mile course, so Ben and Stephanie now hold the course records.  Ben Thistlewood wins the male division in 45:30  Stephanie Brown wins female division in 53:21 Volunteers We would like to extend our gratitude to all those who volunteered and helped on this race. We couldn't have done it without you! Special thanks to race director Rob Breathet who has been volunteering with the race for many years.  What's next?
Our Pounders Interval crew is currently looking at training options for the next big race. However, we will be forming a team for the BC Cross Country Championships to be held in Vernon, BC on October 26th 2024. Stay tuned for more information! Special thank you to Vlado Zamecnik for providing the photos and to all our sponsors! Twisted Blisters Workout Leader Gwyn Pociluyko shares her race experience at the prestigious Boston Marathon.... The 128th Boston Marathon was held on Monday 15th April 2024. Among many marathon runners, the Boston event is seen as the epitome of marathons, because strict qualifying standards must be met. It appears the standards were particularly tough this year: due to the numbers of entries, only those who had achieved 5 minutes 30 seconds faster than their original qualifying time were accepted. 32,000 runners were accepted.  The whole event is a logistical miracle – the administration, how they move that many runners out to the town of Hopkinton for the start, how they ensure each runner starts in their assigned corral, how there appears to be endless supplies of water, Gatorade etc. at each mile water station. As a runner there is a lot of walking, queueing, sometimes in giant serpentine queues, and security checkpoints – but the mood was always light and good humoured from the volunteers, the Police and the runners.  Monday April 15th – race day - was a particularly beautiful weather day (last year the race had torrential rain and was very cold). Hot sunshine is not every runner’s dream, but it certainly brought out the crowds. There was no part of the course that wasn’t attended by throngs of cheering supporters, the screaming students at Wellesley college, the many kids along the route high-fiving, and the offers of free beer. Oh, and my cheering husband too! All the encouragement helps you to the finish line even when your body says differently. I was very lucky to accompany Hillary W., a fellow Penticton Pounder on her first Boston marathon. To see an experience through someone else’s eyes can give you a new perspective and I thank her for the incentive to return for my 4th Boston. I may have fallen a little short of the target time I wanted, but I took some photos, high-fived many hands, ran 43.14km on my watch, and yes had some beer along the way!   
The Penticton Pounders ran away with the podium this weekend at the Oliver 10km, taking both 1st place in the male and female divisions. Congratulations to workout leader Lauren Prufer for winning the female division in (38:15) and Ben Thistlewood winning the male division in (34:50).
Weather conditions were near ideal with cooler temperatures, slight winds, and sunshine as runners ran along the Okanagen River channel in Oliver. Over 15+ Pounders members attended the race, and this was the first time the new singlets were worn in a race.
RESULTS Results can be found here: www.interiorrunningassociation.com/race/2024/oliver_10k/
View more photos at: https://www.pentictonpounders.com/2024-gallery.html
Photo Credit: Thank you to Neil Macdonald, Hillary Ward, and Emma Carter for providing photos. Other notable results:
What's next? Next up is the Peach City Runner Blossom 8 MIler Race on May 12, 2024. We are hoping for a great turnout for our favourite local race. If you're looking for help training for your next event, come join one of our weekly runs!
Note: We are looking for more volunteers for the Blossom race. Without volunteers, this race cannot happen. Please sign up now to volunteer.
 hey friends! Good news, the Penticton Pounders are now on Instragram!
https://www.instagram.com/pentictonpounders1/ With so many beautiful runs, social events, and races, Instagram provides us a great way to share those experiences with all of you. Please give us a follow @pentictonpounders1 Stay tuned for more photos and stories as race season and summer begins! Happy new year to everyone! The Penticton Pounders club is happy to have completed our annual AGM and are looking forward to 2024 with numerous races and social events. A friendly reminder that we meet weekly for road and trail runs (see Weekly Runs page).  The first event in the Interior race series for 2024 is the Vernon Winter Carnival Mile race on February 3, 2024. You can register here or learn more about the winter carnival on their website: https://vernonwintercarnival.com/
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About Us
Established in 1981, the Penticton Pounders Running Club's mandate is to assist and encourage interested members of the community to good health and fitness through running. We host weekly runs, several races (road and trail), as well as a number of social events. |