67-year-old smashes four Canadian ultrarunning records

The 2024 edition of Survivorfest, a fixed-time race held on a 400m track at Edmonton’s Strathcona Athletic Park, once again saw some of Canada’s top ultrarunners performing at their best, this time amid some wild weather. Exshaw, Alta.’s Wayne Gaudet, 67, managed a solid sweep of the Canadian men’s 65-70 category and captured four records in total (pending ratification by the ACU): the 100K (10 hours, 35 minutes, 57 seconds), 12-hour (111 km), 100-mile (17 hours, 44 minutes) and 24-hour records (202.892 km).

 

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A late bloomer

Gaudet, who was born in Victoria, told Canadian Running he wasn’t always a runner.”I had a couch potato stage in my 20s and a cycling phase in my 30s,” he explains.”I started running when I was about 40, as I just couldn’t find the large time slots needed for my bike.” While Gaudet initially struggled to run around the block, a friend challenged him to run the 1997 Victoria Marathon. “I thought it went pretty well and that was that,” he says, but he was far from finished.

“There was one fellow there who was running his 25th marathon, and I imagined he was a bit daffy and couldn’t fathom that would ever be me,” Gaudet says. “But somehow, one marathon led to another, which led to ultramarathons, which led to trails, and ultimately an offer of a position to run something called a 24-hour race.”

Gaudet completed his first 24-hour event representing Team Canada at the 2011 Commonwealth Championship in Llandudno, Wales. “I somehow managed to lead the Canadian team in mileage that year, so I was asked to the World Championships in Katowice, Poland in September 2012, and I guess I just never stopped.”

Gaudet initially competed at Survivorfest in 2021, and has returned every year, this time with the hopes of breaking the 24-hour men’s 65-70 record. As he hit the 100K mark, Gaudet says he was astonished to learn he had broken a record; two hours later he was surprised again when he surpassed the previous 12-hour mileage. After capturing the 100-mile and 24-hour records, Gaudet began to struggle with a severe lean to the left, making running in a straight line challenging.”I managed 202 km and was grateful for how my body performed for the final five hours,” he says.

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Record results at 2024 Survivorfest

The first edition of Survivorfest, dubbed “a celebration of strength, sacrifice and survival” kicked off in Edmonton in 2018. The race raises funds for Saffron Centre, a non-profit organization based in Sherwood Park, Alta., that supports those affected by sexual violence; race director Laura Sherrer-Townsend says that her commitment to preventing sexual violence is the main reason she started Survivorfest Running Event in 2018.

Since Survivorfest began, it has been a qualifier for athletes wanting a spot at the International Association of Ultrarunners (IAU) World Championships, and regularly hosts some of the most accomplished ultrarunners from across Canada.

“This year’s race will be known for the weather, for sure,” Sherrer-Townsend told Canadian Running, explaining that Saturday’s weather included rain, wind and even some hail. “Thankfully, Sunday we were rewarded with a beautiful sunrise, and no more rain and cold–a pure example of why athletes need to train in every condition and prepare themselves for whatever their race day will bring,” she added.

Along with the M65 records broken by Gaudet, the event saw Carla Rodriguez Dimitrescu breaking the women’s 12-hour Mexican record. (In 2023, Dimitrescu also set a new women’s 6-hour Mexican record in 2023, with 66.268 km.) Four Canadian athletes also qualified for the 2024 Canadian 24-hour team: Gaudet, Etienne Durocher, Mallory Richard and Adela Salt (a new Canadian, as of April 18).

As for Gaudet: he may be hitting the track again next year. “I thought I might retire, but now I’m thinking I can do better, and heck, I can run 100K faster than 10:35!” he says. “So, undecided yet, but I likely will be at Survivorfest 2025.”