The Great Walk 63.5km Ultramarathon - June 6th

Where to begin...

Wednesday night before the race a few friends and I got together for a beach campfire down in telegraph bay. The night was enjoyable and I went home around 11pm to wake up the next morning to find my feet covered in Sand flea bites. Gross, I know. I panicked for a bit but nothing really happened. Friday morning, my feet were incredibly itchy and I had a race the next day. I got some medication for the bites but nothing was guaranteed to get rid of the problem by the next morning. Last year, two days before the Scorched Sole 50k I had my I.T. band flare up and I could barely bend my left leg while on the plane ride to Penticton. So I tried to keep positive and not think about the issue with my feet.

Jeff Hunt picked me up from Peninsula Runners and we left Victoria shortly after 2:30 on Friday and headed for Campbell River for dinner at Boston Pizza. After a quick dinner we left for Gold River. We arrived in Gold River shortly after 8pm and checked-in at race registration and headed out to check out the first major climb of the course which would comprise the first 13k. Jeff and I were both amazed by the steepness of the terrain and came up with a game plan. Run only the flat sections and walk the uphills to conserve our energy for the remaining sections of the race. After returning to the registration center to drop off our bags which would be forwarded to the finish line, Jeff and I got out gear ready for the morning and got ready for bed. We decided earlier to not bother with a hotel or tent since we would only be getting 3 to 5 hours of sleep anyway since the race started at 4am so we slept in the back of his car. We each got to spoon our own wheel well and neither of us got the greatest sleep. 2:30am came quick and we quickly got ready and caught the shuttle bus to the start line. I was amazed that I was not dying from waking up so early. We chilled out by the start line for about an hour, chatted with people and around 3:50am Jeff and I headed to the start line to be close to the front. We quickly chatted about our race strategy again and I wish several people good luck included Randy Duncan, Jacquie Farris and many others. The countdown began and the race started. I had joked earlier a bunch of times with people by saying, "what are we getting ourselves into," after the race started I gave an energetic cheer and ran off with Jeff, but I was reminded once again... What am I getting myself into.

0 to 13K: It was pitch black and the head lamps became our best friends. Many chose not to use them but I found them super useful. After running about 400m, we came to the first hill, and of course, we walked. People passed us and looked at us funny and one guy even said "walking already?" We knew people thought this was weird and probably stupid but it was for the best. Jeff and I kept cruising and walking and we could see people pass us and then we would catch them on the flat sections. By the time we got to the top it was pretty much light out and this is where the real race began for me. I asked the girls at the 13k aid station where the leaders were. 20 minutes ahead. My stomach sank.

13k to 35k: I immediately guzzled my gatorade and looked at Jeff and said "Sorry buddy, its business time." He smiled and said "get go 'em." The course continued to climb for another 2k to the Bull lake at around 1950ft above sea level. In the first 15k my altimeter told me we had climbed 1600ft. During this descent of treacherously steep grades, I had an amazing experience of being able to run through the clouds. Yes, through the clouds. We had climbed high enough that during the darkness of the night I didn't realize we had gone through the clouds. It was so thick I could only see about 20ft in front of me. Pretty amazing I thought. After the 13k aid station, we descended 1600ft to the next major aid station I can remember at 22k. I asked the guys there how far ahead the leaders were, they figured about 10 minutes for the first place and 5 for second. I quickly departed after giving my hamstrings and quads a quick stretch and headed for the next aid station. After reaching the next aid station, I figure these splits must have been wrong. I had no visual contact with anyone in front of me and began to lose a little hope of catching anybody. At 27k, I was still back and not making much time up, or at least I thought that. I got to the 34.5k aid station and was told I was about 1 minute back of 2nd and 5 minutes back of 1st.

35k to 50k: I began to charge ahead, I was really starting to feel all the downhill running in my legs but all I could think about was catching these guys. I passed 2nd place pretty quick after the 35k aid station and wished him well but kept charging forward. I got to the next aid station at almost 39k and saw 1st place about 300m ahead of me. This was perfect I thought. I didn't really need to push much harder to catch him now but the pace I had been going at for the last 2 hours was now entrenched in my legs and they felt the need to maintain that pace. After all, it still hurts just as bad no matter what speed you go, so you might as well run fast (right Coach Noa!). So I kept moving forward and caught the 1st place runner Jesse from Coombs, who is 28 years old and had only run as much as 24k as his longest run before the event. Good on him for being to maintain the lead for that long. I continued to surge forward not wanting to deal with a battle towards the end of the race for the win. I got to the 44k aid station and re-filled my hydropack with water and drank some gatorade. One of the guys at the aid station said to me "well I hope you have enough your legs for the next 700ft." Sweet, this should be fun... not. All the pavement and the downhill running had really thrashed up my legs at this point. I began my walk/run assault on the hill. I had some how managed to avoid any treacherous emotional and mental lows by this point, but this was most likely the most challenging section of the race for me. I had a hard time getting gels, water and salt caps down during this next section and felt like I might barf for most of the way up the climb. I didn't think it would be a problem but I had filled my hydropack with bottled water the night before and at the aid station had filled it with tap water (its what they had and I couldn't be too picky). Its amazing the sensitivity you can have during an event like this. The taste of tap water didn't bode well with my stomach, but I had to keep drinking or risk dehydrating myself. I got to the top and was given a warm welcome to the un-opened aid station at 50k. The worst of the race was behind me... or at least I thought.

50k to Finish: I knew the remainder of the course was downhill with the final 4k being flat. However, topographic maps lie as did the one on the website. It would technically be downhill but not downhill enough to really give tired and beaten legs any chance to function without severe pain. The next few sections became run/walk for survival sections. 3 to 4 minutes of running followed by 30 to 40 seconds of walking was all my legs could handle. My stomach had stabilized itself and my energy levels were fine, but my legs were toast. I struggled through this next section and began to think, maybe someone is starting to sneak up on me from behind. I got to the final aid station at 59.9k where I grabbed some gatorade and the aid station volunteer kindly gave me some coke which I was so greatful for. I continued on realizing I had only a short 3.6k to the finish. After leaving the aid station there was a section about 1k long which was straight and covered by tree canopy, pretty neat section I thought. It felt like an eternity to complete this section and once I got to the end of the straight, I took a quick glance behind me... I saw someone. Crap. I realized I had be caught. I began to push hard forward, but I was in brutal agony. I looked behind me again and saw someone in a dark grey or blue shirt. I figured it was either Randy Duncan or Jeff. I kept pushing and now was just barely outside of Tahsis. I took the left hand turn into Tahsis and got a warm welcome from the fire department, RCMP and paramedics with lights and sirens going off. I took another right hand turn figuring I was done but continued down the street for 200m, running for my life and the win figuring someone was close behind. I took the final right hand turn to the rec center and pushed it to the finish in hopes not to be caught. I finished in 1st. I was destroyed and exhausted but extremely happy with my win. After leaving Gold River at 4am, climbing 3250ft and descent another 3500ft, covering 63.5k I had arrived in Tahsis in 5 hours and 13 minutes and 59 seconds.

Post Race: After finished I still figured some one was right behind me. I waited at the finish, talked to the local reporter quickly, rang the bell to signify your personal finish, and awaited the individual who had pushed me to the edge of my pain threshold to win the race. 5 minutes had passed, no one. 10 minutes, again no one. 20 minutes after I had finished 2nd place came in. The irony is there was no one behind me, I just thought there was..... After the race, I waited to see Jeff come in at 5hrs and 55mins which in any other year would likely have given him the win. It was a perfect day for a race and the strategy we had was bullet proof. Both Jeff and I were ecstatic with our performances. It was truly memorable.

During the race this is what I managed to consume: 12 gels (GU and Carbboom), 8 Succeed S!Caps sodium pills, 1.5 litres of gatorade and probably about 100ml of coca cola.

As I sit on my couch with my quads still smashed up I can only think about those who got me to the win that day. My coach Noa, Dr. Jamie Grimes, my family, friends and Brooks running and of course Peninsula runners. Without these people, I would not have been able to accomplish this. As for the Sand flea bites, they never bothered me on race day. I had told Coach Noa on thursday, that something seems to always happen to me a few days before a big race. I called it fate.

The Great Walk: I would highly recommend this race as a good ultra for first timers and veterans. The Aid stations were definitely geared towards the walkers, but they had the basics (water and gatorade) all you really need. They were great to those faster people and got us on a 15 passenger van at 1pm back to Gold River (they close the highway between Gold River and Tahsis the day of the race) which was greatly appreciated. The question of whether I will go back next year... well I will have to wait and see...