Big Easter Run – Being a Beach Bunny

As a Modo Ambassador, I was grateful to receive a free entry to this year’s virtual Big Easter Run, organized by Sea2Sky Events as part of the Big Fun Run Series. Since I haven’t run anywhere off the North Shore since the pandemic began, I elected to take a Modo car share over a bridge (or two) to Kitsilano and run the *actual* race route from Jericho Beach. Join me on my Easter morning adventure!

As many of you may know, I’m not particularly a fan of costumes (much to the disappointment of my running buddy, Debra – who somehow gets me decorated on occasion!). In the spirit of the season, however, I gave in and wore the pink shirt I got at the Kumagaya Sakura Marathon and donned the bunny ears that came with my race package.

Now I wear them all the time!!

You know what else was included in my Big Easter Run race kit? A personalized bib – with the befitting bunny name: Bubbly Sparkle Pants. Describes me to a ‘T’, don’t you think?

I sprinted from my Modo to the ‘start line’ at the Jericho Beach concession, and my bunny ears promptly blew right off. It was a gorgeous, sunny morning but the wind was fierce. I turned around and tossed them right back into the car, otherwise I would have ended up carrying them, which kind of defeats the purpose!

Similar to the Dash for Dogs, the Big Easter Run is powered by RunGo, which provides turn-by-turn directions along the course. I headed east into the pummeling headwinds…but I must have been too fast for the GPS to keep up: within minutes, my course guide told me I was ‘off route’ – and moments later told me I had rejoined the course at 3.5km! Ooops…I was meant to have done some loops through the park before heading out along the beach but never mind, I forged ahead.

While nothing compared to the wind tunnel that was the 2018 Icebreaker 8K, I was struggling to make headway along Locarno Beach and out to the end of Spanish Banks. Fortunately, the RunGo commentary included some fun facts about Easter, such as:

76% of people eat their chocolate Easter bunnies ears first!

Distracted by both the trivia and the views, and finally buffeted by a tailwind once I reached the turnaround – things started to look up! That is, until my watch told me I was at 7km while the app told me I had one kilometre to go.

I improvised

By making my own route through the trails around Jericho Beach, I added on some distance. I even had to bushwack briefly when the trail gave way to a huge puddle, reminiscent of the iconic Gunner Shaw Cross Country Race!

I reached the final kilometre of the Big Easter Run with a quick loop around the duck pond, and finished up where I had started with another 10k under my belt.

The greatest gift from the Big Easter Run – an edible medal!
White chocolate as a reward for an Easter fun run!

You can still register for the Virtual Big Easter Run, as it continues through until April 25. We don’t know for sure when we’ll be back to running races ‘in person’ – but keep an eye on the Big Fun Run Series for their upcoming Big Virtual Canada Day Run and future events!