Quantcast

My First Year as a Fat Ass

Registration for 2013 Club membership is open and I thought it might help some people to decide whether joining might be for them if I share some of my experiences after approximately one year of membership.

Up until a year ago I was checking out the website on and of for a little while and I was going through a bit of a funk in my running and exercising routine. In November I finally made the decision to join Club Fat Ass. I wasn't sure how it would go since I knew none of the members and I joined alone.

Being a value minded individual I figured: "Even if I just make it out to 3 events the membership pretty much pays of".

My first race was Craig's Pure Satisfaction (http://www.clubfatass.com/events/puresatisfaction).

It's a great first run, especially if you are not sure about your trail shape since it is an out and back so you can just turn around once you are half knackered.

I made it through and as one of the newbies I got a free Trailrunner subscription. Talk about a good value. I had a really good time chatting with a few people out on the trails and  at Delany's where we headed for some coffee and treats after the run.

Encouraged by Ean to post some of my training runs as Flash events on the club page I started hosting Seymour Sundays in my neighbourhood and got to know a few more people in the process.

The New Year's Resolution Contest (http://www.clubfatass.com/contests/new-years-resolution-contest) encouraged me to be ambitious and come up with a few concrete goals for improving my running resume, my fitness and my trail karma for 2012 (http://www.clubfatass.com/blog/marc/new-years-resolutions-marc-schmitz).

I ran my first two Ultra Marathons this year, met some great people and learned a lot about gear, nutrition on the run and other topics.

I think my favourite Club event of the year must have been the Marathon Shuffle in Powell River (http://www.clubfatass.com/club-events/marathon-shuffle). Also one of the only events on the calendar with plenty of aid stations and a well marked course. I made a weekend of it and thoroughly enjoyed it.

Another phenomenal event is the Bagger Challenge (http://www.clubfatass.com/events/bagger-challenge-2012). It is obvious that a tremendous amount of work went into creating the information on the page and sort out the stories, results and tracks over the years. My nine mainly front row peaks may pale in comparisson to the accomplishments of more veteran baggers, but they are about 7 to 9 peaks more than I would have otherwise conquered.

My projected three events will probably have turned into ten by year's end and my running funk is long forgotten. There are a few events which I was sad to miss this year and I am already looking forward to participating next year.

I recently committed to becoming the host of the well established and popular North Shore Enduro (http://www.clubfatass.com/events/enduro) and joining the Club Fat Ass steering committee as the Membership and Event Host committee chair. What can I say? I guess I kinda got sucked in.

So should you join the Club?

Well, it's up to you, but I sure am glad I did.

And who knows. You wouldn't be the first to ascend to ultramarathon greatness after becoming a member.