When you’re a runner looking for practice running upward and downward, but live in a landscape geared towards running horizontally (for miles and miles), where do you go? Local runners have found one answer to be Bedford Ridge in the Sandilands. Off the beaten path of the “yellow” XC ski trail lies a little singletrack that weaves up and down the ridge, giving plenty of vertical challenge in a route known by mountain bikers as “the old race course”.

The ridge itself was formed centuries ago by the lapping waves of glacial Lake Agassiz, and now features breathtaking views of the prairies below, along with birch stands, cedar bogs, and fragrant spruces offering beautiful and changing scenery through each season.

Oh, and by “breathtaking”, I’m talking about the coughing and wheezing kind as you claw your way up eroded sand ruts and swear to never return. I’ve thrown in the towel many a time on this trail, but the cruel allure of Type 2 fun seems to keep me coming back.