This morning, Jen Segger set out from Cape Scott Lighthouse to start her 750 km non-stop expedition.<br />
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Jen believes that, when setting a goal, it is important to make it “bigâ€Â? goal. So in designing the route and timing for her Vancouver Island Quest, she did not pick the easiest or more direct route. <br />
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Her 750 km expedition will travel the length of Vancouver Island by a combination of running the island’s most scenic trails, and linking up those foot-routes by mountain bike along logging roads. Her goal with this expedition is to showcase Vancouver Island’s natural beauty, as well as to inspire youth through her Impossible2Possible project.<br />
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Her planned route is:<br />
START - Cape Scott Lighthouse (most Northern point on Vancouver Island)<br />
Run - 23km Cape Scott Trail<br />
Bike - 320km Cape Scott Trailhead to Strathcona Provincial Park (via logging roads)<br />
Run - 38km Flower Ridge Trail & Red Pillar Trail (through Strathcona)<br />
Bike - 150km Oshinow Lake Trailhead to Bamfield<br />
Run - 75km West Coast Trail<br />
Bike - 20km West Coast Trail to Juan de Fuca Trailhead<br />
Run - 47km Juan de Fuca Trail (north)<br />
Bike - 60km Juan de Fuca Trailhead (south) to Victoria mile 0 FINISH<br />
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The weather forecast is, unfortunately, less than ideal. Her second-day run/hike, through the mountains of Strathcona, is not only on marked trails, but also includes some route-finding - so this leg is the most sensitive one to inclement weather. Unfortunately, tomorrow is the one day that overcast and rain are forecast - hopefully it will not keep her from doing her planned route (although she did tell me she has an alternative route up her sleeve if the weather is not cooperative).<br />
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Jen’s support crew reads like an honour roll of the who’s who of BC endurance athletes: Garth Cameron, Rumon Carter, Donald Peterson, and SleepMonsters’s Doug Doyle among others. They will be travelling in a support vehicle, as well as running and biking some segments with her. <br />
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I plan to intercept Jen and crew as they pass through Port Alberni, in the wee hours of Tuesday night/Wednesday morning, in the middle of the bike leg out to Bamfield, and then to run the first part of the West Coast Trail with her (hoping that my 20k pace is fast enough to stick with her at her sleep-deprived 750k pace!). I will file a report after that from Bamfield. <br />
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Until then, check out Jen’s website: <a href="#" onClick="javascript:newsitewindow('http://www.challengebychoice.ca')" class="main">www.challengebychoice.ca</a><br />
Her blog: <a href="#" onClick="javascript:newsitewindow('http://www.challenge-by-choice.blogspot.com')" class="main">www.challenge-by-choice.blogspot.com</a><br />
Or follow her progess online by SPOT: <a href="#" onClick="javascript:newsitewindow('http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0m1oL5bgiKigW4Qx9jjSarBy037H0o13h')" class="main">http://share.findmespot.com/shared/faces/viewspots.jsp?glId=0m1oL5bgiKigW4Qx9jjSarBy037H0o13h</a><br /> (you may have to paste this link in - I can't seem to get it to click through directly)
SleepMonsters
