When it comes to every day sports coverage, trail running is not one of those sports that is high up on the headlines.
But if events like the one that Roberts Creek's Roger Handling recently took part in are any indication, trail running will be getting those top headlines right alongside football and baseball.
Handling said he was proud to represent Canada at the World Masters Mountain Running Championships in Dolni Morava, Czech Republic. Handling was the lone master's athlete to compete for Canada at the event on Sept. 6. A master is anyone over 35-years of age. Handling is 55-years-old and has been in the sport for several years now, but just recently got into the serious nature of the sport.
"Trail running has picked up from where is was not really a sport many followed to a serious, competitive sport featuring top athletes at their peak of their sport," Handling said. "You're doing marathon and half-marathon distances but just not on roads. I love running, but the pounding on the pavement was just too hard on me. I talked with a few people who were into trail running and I gave it a go at some of the events in North Vancouver. I instantly fell in love with it and started training pretty hard. Soon I was finding myself pretty competitive and I was winning a lot of the events in the master's category."
The Canadian championships were held earlier this year on Mount Seymour. Handling qualified and finished second behind another competititor from Alberta earning both a spot on Team Canada for the worlds.
"He couldn't go, so I ended up being the only masters athlete on the Canadian team," he said. "The whole event was a real eye-opener for me. I figured I would do really well at the event, maybe even crack the top 10. I was winning pretty much every race here in the 55 to 59 age group, but I didn't realize the level of competition until I got there. The field was loaded with ex-Olympians and world champions. I was completely blown away by that and I kind of changed my goals to make sure I didn't finish last."
Handling didn't finish last, in fact, he put in a great showing finishing 26th out of 80 competitiors in the men's 55 to 59 category.
"My result was extreamly satisfying for me," he said. "The competition was just so good. To elevate to the next level I would have to get a coach and really sit down and get a game plan in place. To tell you the truth, it's something I've contemplated doing. It would be a lot of hard work - lots of training, but it would also be interesting to see how I could stack up against the best in the world on a consistent basis."
Handling said the experince was tremendous and something he will always remember.
"Meeting all the people from so many countries, hearing their stories is totally inspiring," he said. "To be able to represent ones country internationally is very uplifting."
