Rainbow Mountain Trek - Peru

Started off getting picked up by a bus at 7am. There was a group of ~14 of us. The ride there took about 3 hours. We started our trek at ~4300m altitude. I already got used to the high altitude so I didn't have a problem. The hike was a low gradual incline the whole time, so there was some jogging potential :D. I was trekking with 2 other friends, but as soon as we got to higher elevations they were slowing down. The whole trek took 2 hours. Many people took donkeys , but it was like $30 rental fee. I was the first one on the rainbow mountain! It was pretty windy so we stayed there to take some pictures and sat near a wall where the wind was blocked. After an hour I tell my friends that I want to go to the Red Valley which is about 30min away. We are running low on time so I end up going by myself. The views were also really nice! The hieghest point of that mountain according to my Suunto was 5050m.
After an hour I made my way back to the Rainbow Mountain, most if not all of my group was gone. I started my jog all the way down. I ended up passing dozens of people on donkeys, and even more that were walking. I got all the way to the base camp where only 2 people were waiting. I caught up to everyone else. The jog back took ~1 hour. While waiting for the rest of the group, within the next 30 minutes there was a thunderstorm and hail for the remainder of the trip. Luckily we made it back before the wet weather. Had some snacks, and in no time we headed towards the bus, and back to cusco for 6pm.

Machu Picchu Hike

Machu Picchu! I ended up going for 2 days. Bus picked us up at noon and drove 4 hours. We got off at hydro electric and walked the 10km along the railroad tracks to Aguas Calientes where we stayed the night. It started to rain once we got to town. We woke up at 5am and it was still raining. We put on our headlamps and started to head towards Machu Picchu. It was only about 3km to the base of the mountain and then another 30 minute hike up the stairs. Some people took the busses but we all took the stairs :D.
We got to Machu Picchu at 7am and stayed there until about 12pm. Then we headed back on foot along the railroad tracks where the bus was waiting for us. Long day, we got back at 6pm. I was looking at doing the Salkantay Trail Trek. It was a 4 day camping trek but you could do it in 1 day! Total of just above 60km, I was prepared to hike for 14 hours. Maybe next time someone wants to do this 1 day trek with me! :)

Colca Canyon Trek - Peru

Located near Arequipa, Peru. ~3000m altitude. Woke up at 3am, a bus picked up a group of people. First we have 3 hour drive to see condors at ~5000m altitude. I got a fever and a little sick, not sure if its from the altitude or the perro that bit me the night before. A couple hours later we were at the destination to start our trek. Many people brought water, bananas, and some coca to deal with their altitude sickness.
The first hour of our trek I was with the group. Every now or then the guide stopped to describe some of the landscape and views. After a couple of stops i decided to go onward at a jogging pace. Reached the bottom of the valley in the next hour and waited for the group by a bridge, total distance would be less than 10km. This was only the half way point. Once the group caught up, we all started trekking towards our accommodations which would be another 5-8km. The terrain was mostly rocky with some of the trails being sandy. During this trek we also did a river crossing which was refreshing.
The place with our accommodations felt like a resort. It had multiple little cabins for people to sleep, also had multiple showers and toilets. There was a swimming pool built into the side of a natural boulder. We enjoyed our meals and got ready for the next morning trek.
Everyone woke up just before 5am and we started our trek with headlamps. The guides' best time to reach the top of the valley was under 1hour. I started off the trek with my 10kg backpack, and no walking sticks. I had a good pace even though I was really ill. A couple people surpassed me up the mountain. Most people either had walking sticks, or less/no baggage, and a few took donkeys up the mountain. The total elevation gain was 999m, and this took me just under 2 hours. It was a steady incline the entire way up, so little to no jogging was involved. Then we all met at the top, took a bus back which was a couple hours drive, and ended up back at the hostel around 7pm.

OCR 15k World Championships 2016

Saturday, standard length course was held. 48 obstacles. Fastest times were around 1 hour 30 minutes. 15km race with 1120m of elevation gain. The same rules were as the short course, must complete all obstacles in order to keep the OCR Band. Some memorable obstacles that were added are:
Skull Valley - Rock-climbing wall grips to 4 ropes to wall grips and hit a bell
Platinum Rig 2 - Dwarf sized rig where you had to cross - basically being positioned horizontally
Weaver - Over and under an A frame weaving through it without touching the ground
Warped Wall - 14 foot warped wall with a nunchuck hanging on the edge to grab

OCR 3k World Championships 2016

Friday October 14, 2016 held in Blue Mountain Village, Ontario. 3k course Elevation gain of 175m. Super fast race! Top finishers completed in 15min. The great thing about ocrwc was mandatory obstacle completion. If someone gave up on an obstacle, a time penalty was added on in addition to a list of DNF. Some memorable obstacles in this race to list are:
Dragon's Back - precision jumps over 6 feet onto a horizontal bar 10 feet above ground
The Samurai - bear hugging 5 vertical logs from one end to the other without touching the tops.
Platinum Rig 1 - mixture of ropes, bars, and rings
Floating Boards - 5 boards that hang from a chain with some good hand and foot holds
Urban Sky - weight adjusting wheels and weight adjusting rings where where you go from one end to another.

World Championship Race for Charity

Mission: Raise $300 or more money for the World Championships Charity race October 16, 2016 in Ontario, Canada; and donate the remainder money equally amongst Make-A-Wish Canada and Third World Projects.
Learn more here Help Mike Fundraise

Spartan Race: Red Deer Super Aug 3, 2016

The race weekend in Red Deer, Alberta. I raced in the Super on Saturday. I felt the course was well-marked. I enjoyed the race, completed all the obstacles, well sort of. On the multi-rig I kicked the bell, the volunteer said that wasn't allowed so I ended up doing those 30 burpees. As long as the volunteer was telling all the racers that you shouldn't kick the bell - that would be fine. I wish they told us before, or said you can't kick ANY bells on any obstacles hence a burpee penalty. Anyways, the race didn't go as planned. My foot injury really slowed me down and my knees were giving up. So many races this summer, i got Plantar fiscitis which is a pulled tendon on the bottom of my foot. My suunto watch recorded 12.5km and 550m of elevation. Next race will probably be a sprint, and aiming to get my Spartan Championship coin. No great photos.