Exotic Destination

Vancouver Island’s Edge to Edge Half-Marathon takes place concurrently with a full marathon and marathon relay in June. The full marathon, which runs between the tiny coastal villages of Tofino and Ucluelet (conveniently located about 42K apart), definitely has its moments – especially when the route veers out to wave-washed Chesterman’s Beach. But the half will take your breath away.

The half-marathon starts and finishes in the little village of Ucluelet (known to the locals as “Ukee”). The first few kilometres follow the waterfront, with its echoes of Ukee’s colourful past. Across the harbour sit the Ucluelet tribe’s ancient, still inhabited, village of Itatsoo, and the old Sutton Brothers timber mill. The commercial fishing boats, from which much of the town’s wealth was derived, are tied up at the dock. From here, runners head out of town for a hilly out-and-back section alongside the forest-edged Pacific Rim Highway. Around the 15K mark, the course angles abruptly into the bush, heading through the rainforest toward the coast along a well-groomed gravel track: Ukee’s gem, the Wild Pacific Trail.

This is not parkland, it’s the real thing: dark and foreboding, ancient, temperate rainforest. Giant Sitka spruce and western red cedar trees – some of them approaching a thousand years in age – form a canopy that protects the forest floor from the elements. Lush ferns and delicate mosses carpet spongy decaying trunks, and filaments of lichen dangling from branches testify to the cleanness of the air. It’s not only plants that flourish here. Bears frequent the coastline, and a photocopied sign tacked to a tree warns that a cougar was spotted here. 

The trail meanders a short way through the damp forest before it emerges onto the coast. “You come up this hill and round a corner with such a view of the ocean,” says Victoria runner Tara Taggart after the race. “I had to stop once, it was so beautiful.” From here, the trail turns and continues along the coast, perched high upon the rocks, tracing the delicate edge that divides the serene rainforest from the raging sea.

The Edge to Edge Half is not the race to do if you’re looking for a fast time or a PB. While the actual elevation gains are small, the up and down is pretty constant. “At first, driving in, I was overwhelmed to see all the hills in the middle part of the course,” says Taggart, “but once you get out there – yes, it’s challenging, but it’s not that bad.”  

If you’re looking for a good time, where the down-home atmosphere and hospitality of friendly volunteers at a small race combine with one of the prettiest running routes you’ll ever find, Ukee’s Edge to Edge is for you.

The Edge to Edge Half Marathon takes place each June, and follows about 4K of Ukee’s Wild Pacific Trail. If you don’t feel like racing, the Wild Pacific Trail is also a great place to train (you can run here year-round). Almost all of its 8.5K route hugs the rocky, surf-washed coast; so be sure to keep your eyes peeled for sea lions and whales. Trail maps are available at the local visitor’s centre.