Two weeks ago I had to go to Oakville for work. Nothing really remarkable there, but, if you want to go out for dinner, I recommend Tabule, they have the best falafels I have had in a long time. On Friday, following my usual travel itinerary, I flew from Toronto to Edmonton, then took the SunDog shuttle from the Edmonton airport to Jasper. It was a snowy drive leaving Edmonton, but luckily we drove out of it as we approached Jasper.

Adam picked me up in Jasper and we made it back to Valemount at around 9:00pm. We had an early morning the next day because the VALE 24 started at 6:00am on Saturday morning.

The VALE 24 was organized by a local ultramarathoner, Tracy Garneau. At 6am we met at Vale Coffee. The route followed the Swift Creek Trail up to the picnic table lookout, which was the turnaround point. Out and back to the picnic table from the coffee shop was 4.5km. It was called VALE 24 because the plan was to do the route at: 6:00am, 10:00am, 2:00pm, 6:00pm, 10:00pm, 2:00am and 6:00am. Many people ran the route, but we walked it each time.

We could not have had better weather.

It was chilly in the morning (-5C), but as the day progressed, the sun came out and it was not windy at all.

The largest group was the group for the 10:00am lap, 19 people, 4 dogs, and 2 kids in strollers.

The groups got smaller as the day progressed, with 13 people participating in the 10:00pm lap. We took a photo at the turn-around point during each lap. During the 10:00pm lap, I looked at the photo and was surprised to see the Northern Lights.

It was not visible with the naked eye, but there it was in the photo. It was such a treat to see.

The smallest group of people was for the 2:00am lap.

There were 8 of us that showed up for the 2:00am lap. Head lamps in place we headed out with two other woman deciding to walk the lap with us.

The final lap was 6:00am on Sunday. There were fourteen of us, three dogs, and one child in a stroller for the last lap. Vale Coffee, which usually opens at 7:00am opened early for the runners. But, since we were walking, we made it back to Vale Coffee in one hour and ten minutes, so we were there just after they usually open.

It was definitely a challenge. The middle of the trail has quite a steep section to it, and that definitely did not get any easier the more times we did it.

This was the first time that the VALE 24 was held, and they were quite happy with how many people showed up throughout the 24hrs. There is already talk about possibly doing it again in the fall.