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A glance back, a look ahead

As we ease into 2013, I find it important to take some time to forecast what the next 12 months might look like for me, and reflect on the past year.

As we ease into 2013, I find it important to take some time to forecast what the next 12 months might look like for me, and reflect on the past year.

If you had asked me to predict what my 2012 would look like on Dec. 31, 2011, I would have said continuing in my job as an petroleum geologist, leading an adventure science project or two, racing a few ultras, and hopefully getting my oatmeal company (Stoked Oats) to market. The reality was that I cranked an adventure science project in Montana, quit my job, sold my house, moved over 7,000 containers of Stoked Oats, and created a TV show called Boundless with the Eady Bros. of Toronto (Series will debut in mid-Feb on the Travel and Escapes Channel in Canada).

The latter had me race over 1,000K from July 29 to Dec.2 and proved to be the hardest 18 weeks of my life. With my long-time buddy Paul Trebilcock (Turbo), we competed in eight endurance races around the globe. The first event was the 32-mile SUP race in Hawaii called the M2O — it’s legendary for its difficulty and now I know why. I can honestly say that if you have only SUP’d twice prior to getting out on the ocean, it’s probably not the best choice for your first race. The wave pool I grew up with at Wally’s World in London ON had nothing on the Channel of Bones. We were bath toys.

Three weeks later, I raced the Fire and Ice Ultra-Marathon in Iceland — a 7 day, 250K race from Europe’s largest glacier northwards to the coast. Challenged by unseasonably cold weather it was a brutal introduction to the world of stage ultra-running, and left me with a nasty case of patellar tendonitis in my left knee.

Nearly four weeks later and still recuperating from Iceland, I was “racing” a 75K ultra in Kenya (Amazing Maasai Marathon) — in searing temperatures that reached 40 C. I folded like a cheap suit; it was ugly. Knee pain coupled with the heat cracked me in a way I’d never experienced.

I'll finish anything if the incentives are right...
I'll finish anything if the incentives are right...

Less than a week later I was swimming/paddling down a wild river in South Africa for the famous Hansa Fish River canoe marathon. Badly out of my league, I was reduced to flotsam for most of the race – another hard lesson learned on the water, and beaten home through many collisions with rocks and branches.

All smiles at the end of another exhilarating day on the Fish River, Cradock South Africa!
All smiles at the end of another exhilarating day on the Fish River, Cradock South Africa!

Broken and battered I returned to Canada for 1 day before taking the long way (via Washington DC thanks to a missed early morning flight) to Vegas for a 6 hr MTB enduro in Hurricane Utah. The suffering continued on a great racecourse as I battled horrible leg-cramps.

By that point in the filming, I was about ready to throw the towel in and it was only early October. Broken in mind and body, I was looking down the barrel of three more races, including two more multiday stage running races worth nearly 500K of running, plus a 70.3 Ironman one week after our final stage race. I honestly didn’t think I had it in me. I told the producer of Boundless that he’d better work on some plan B’s, because I doubted I could take another running step for the series.

To be continued…

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