OK, I know we promised SUN and WARMER weather a month ago…this time for sure!

First off CONGRATS to the over 500 participants in this past weekend’s Iron Knee and Tender Knee trail races. We somehow managed the nicest weather in weeks and although the skies were still gray, the ear to ear smiles managed to keep the rains at bay!

Results: Iron / Tender

Online Picture Gallery

Featured Races

Summer Solstice

25k / 42.2k

June 20th

Join us for a challenging yet beautiful run over some of the best terrain our local trails have to offer. The timing is absolutely perfect for the Knee Knacker runner who is looking for a final long run that just happens to be fully supported!

Fat Dog 100

100 Miles / 100k / Relay

July 23rd

Stunning alpine views, very runnable trails, point to point, challenging profile, sumptuous aid stations, great organization, enthusiastic volunteers, and a lake at the end for soaking...NEED WE SAY MORE!

Featured Gear

North Face Reaxion Crew Shirt

$39.98

THE FINE PRINT (15% off with a mention of this wonderful newsletter!)

Why do we love it? Because it fits and looks like a cotton T, but it's a technical moisture wicking garment! Perfect for everything from your gym session to your speed session!

Running Tip Of The Month

Injuries / Over Training / Taking Time Off

Feeling a little sluggish on those runs lately? Alarm bells going off a bit early these days? Legs hurting more than reading the extended weather forecast? YOU might need to start listening to your body. YOU might just need a few days rest.

Everyone here at RTNS LOVES to run, that goes without saying, but our primary goal is to ensure YOU love to run with us. It's hard to do this if you're injured or completely exhausted from doing too much, so take it from the pros, when your body speaks to you, LISTEN TO IT! 

Rest, sleep, downtime, however you slice it, whatever you call it, it's just as important as the distance you put under your feet.  Listening to your own body reads like one of the easiest things imaginable, yet so many of us never truly figure this out. Listen when your body speaks, take the down time if/when you need it, and we promise you'll be a better runner because of it!

After all the last thing we want is for you to fall flat on your face out there...

Featured Athlete Of The Month

Adam Campbell

RTNS: You seem to have a pretty lengthy race resume, could you recap some of the highlights for us?

AC: Yeah, I started with endurance sports in high school and was hooked. I was on the varsity x-country, Nordic and swim teams at Queen’s University and qualified for the Junior national triathlon team too.

Some of my highlights to date are winning the Canadian Duathlon Championships, being named to the Canadian National Triathlon Development Team and competing internationally for Canada in both sports. Finishing 3^rd at the Royal Victoria Marathon and 2^nd at last year’s BMO Vancouver Marathon and 11^th at the World Long Distance Mountain Running Championships and a hard fought 3^rd overall with 2 stage wins at the Trans Rockies Run last year with  Aaron Heidt of Vernon.

RTNS: You normally live in Victoria but are in Vancouver for the summer. What events can we look forward to seeing you attend this year?

AC: Yes, I decided to skip out on the ferry crossings and spend more time playing on the North Shore. I am working as a summer articling student for Harris & Co., a labour and employment law firm and am really enjoying getting to know the city better. 

Right now I am planning on racing as many of the 5 Peaks races as I can, as well as the Iron Knee, the Summer Solstice Marathon, the Seek the Peak and the Knee Knacker. After that I will either be heading over to Europe to run a Mountain Marathon, or I will be trying my hand at a 50 mile race.

RTNS: I know you were recently wed to Olympian Lauren Groves (Campbell) and you sometimes train with Simon Whitfield, can you give us some insights into the level of dedication needed to pursue sport at an Olympic level?

AC: I have been incredibly lucky through my sports career to have been able to train, learn and live with some of the best endurance athletes in Canada.

On top of an obvious natural gift for sports, they have a true passion for what they do and an obsession with finding every possible detail to help their performance. It is quite interesting to be so involved with their process, because every choice they make, from where they go out to dinner, what they do on their vacations and obviously their training, has a direct impact on their performance and therefore their career. For instance, if they were to go skiing on a weekend and hurt themselves, it could jeopardize a season. So they end up not doing a lot of activities that people take for granted. It is this quality of decision making that a lot of very talented athletes struggle with and what often separates the good from the great.

Although they have to make some hard choices, they get to train and compete for a living and they definitely appreciate how lucky they are and do not take it for granted. They are amazing ambassadors for sport and healthy living and I am really lucky to be able to call them friends and am very proud of my wife Lauren. I am definitely her biggest fan.

RTNS: You recently ran your first ever ultra marathon. What motivated you to try the distance and how did it go for you? Any interest in further ultras?

AC: I have wanted to toe the line at an ultra for a long time, but was always afraid to commit. It just seemed like a whole other sport and to be honest, I was a bit scared. I know how badly it can hurt just running 10k, or a marathon and wasn’t sure if I had it in me to push through the pain and fatigue that I knew would come.

I guess my motivation to finally have a go at the distance was watching Canadians like Gary Robbins and Aaron Heidt having success and I wanted to be a part of that.  After teaming up with Aaron at the Trans Rockies Run last summer and being competitive with some of the big names in the ultra scene, I decided to suck up my fears and sign up for the race. I find that signing up can be the hardest part, because once I have committed, I feel like I owe it to myself to work hard for it.

I chose the Chuckanut race because it was close and I knew it would have good competition  and the timing worked well with school. The race went quite well, I had a good little battle at the front end of the race and had to face some of the inevitable lows that come with ultra endurance events and I feel like I managed them well.  I lost a battle with Erik Skaggs, a well respected US runner and ended up 3^rd, finishing ahead of some ultra veterans, so I was pleased with that. Most importantly, I quite enjoyed the experience and the overall atmosphere at the race and I left there motivated to toe the line again.

I made a few rookie mistakes on the day, mostly around nutrition and pacing, so I’ll put that new knowledge to the test at the Knee Knacker and perhaps some longer events, up to 50 milers for now!

RTNS: What’s your favorite RTNS event?

AC: I have only run one RTNS event, the Hallow’s Eve a few years ago and to be honest, all I remember is that it was really cold and I didn’t race all that well.  I do remember that the race was well organized, with the course well marked and a lot of people out enjoying the trails on a miserable day.

The North Shore is a unique and beautiful spot to run. It is the great equalizer, where runners with good technical ability can compete with the more road/speed oriented runners. I am really looking forward to trying out the Tender Knee and Summer Solstice this summer and perhaps I’ll come back for the Hallow’s Eve race again to erase some memories.

RTNS: What are your future running goals?

AC: Running goals are a hard one. I absolutely love running, so my main goal is always to just get out there and run as much and as hard as I can and to experience new trails.