Northwest Dirt Churners are committed to advancing the trail running community for all types of trail runners with races, group runs, volunteering, and media.
The group is committed to this all across the Pacific Northwest. Shane Darden is a Northwest Dirt Churner and he reached out to me recently to see if I’d share some information about a favourite place to run. I suggested Galiano Island, because we featured it here at length last year:
Shane loved all the information in the article but was hoping to do something fresh, and so I suggested Mt. Seymour, my favourite local mountain. He has posted the feature on their website and there are plenty of clickable links within it that go into even more detail about the mountain. I’m including an excerpt here from the feature and I highly suggest you click over there to check out the rest:
“There are so many options to take up and down the mountain that you can spend as much time as you like here without doing anything twice,” exclaims Adam. “The tough and technical trails are incredibly fun. It’s a more ‘old-school’ vibe as this mountain features trails that are mostly rugged rather than flowy. It also has some very ‘old-school’ trail names that will cause you some double-takes. It’s easy to hammer out a run with 1000m of elevation and not even hit any crazy viewpoints while doing so!”
Many of the trails are multi-use, and you can expect to see mountain bikers out enjoying the singletrack as well. “The mountain biking features along many of the trails are what makes them so fun,” confesses Adam. “It’s awesome to run along these fun features or even take a break to watch a mountain biker tackle a difficult line. There is good camaraderie between all trail users on Mt. Seymour, and that is another easy reason to love this mountain. Seymour provides fun no matter the weather. The trails are tough and wonderful. You won’t regret making the trip!”
Mt. Seymour Trail Runs
“There is not a single trail on Mt. Seymour I avoid at this point,” declares Adam. “They all have fun qualities, and each one is worth your time. Having said that, I do have some favourite routes from over the years.”
Quarry Rock Backdoor– “This is one of the first trail runs I did on Mt. Seymour. It’s a short one and absolutely gorgeous,” states Adam. “The lookout at Quarry Rock is a fun reward, and I love the elevation packed in.” The Quarry Rock Trail is actually the Baden Powell Trail (BP), which is over 40km long and travels the length of the entire north shore. Simply going past the overcrowded lookout for another 100m or so brings you to another lookout where typically nobody is around.”
Mt. Seymour Trail Races
The Bucking Hell 35km, 50km, and 50km relay from Coast Mountain Trail Running starts and finishes at the Mount Seymour Resort atop Mount Seymour, and runners begin by running straight up the mountain from there.
Mt. Seymour 5.8k and 10.6 k are one of five races in the 5 Peaks Trail Running Series of British Columbia.
The feature on the NW Dirt Churners website has way more than this so make sure you get over there and check it all out!
As a fit and outdoorsy 80 year old woman I have an idea!!!!! How about a Dirt Walkers???? Add in a little plant and animal check book? Just saying!