The Canadian Death Race: What A Day For A Run

It’s hard to describe the exhilaration of getting ready for an event like the Canadian Death Race. After running two legs of the relay in 2012, I knew I wanted to do it solo in 2013. It was all I thought about for the months leading up to registration and continued right up to the day of the race.

The Death Race is not just a run – it’s a serious undertaking. It’s a total change in your thought process, where there must be a complete commitment to push yourself beyond your limit. The Death Race cannot be taken lightly.

Registering can be a stressful ordeal in its own right. Many runners hover over their computers, waiting for it to open – then the mad scramble begins to get your information in and secure your place to meet and hopefully beat Death.

Living in Manitoba, training for a mountain terrain event can be challenging. Throw in the fact that I am a barefoot runner and I have to work extra hard to prove I belong and can handle the path that will be laid before me.

When I completed legs one and four in 2012, I ran both barefoot. The looks of confusion and disbelief on some of the other runners have stuck with me. Usually things like that don’t bother me but for some reason it did. I don’t like being told I cannot do something; it spurs me on to prove them wrong. Most were supportive and in awe with something that comes so naturally to me, plus I liked the challenge of trying something that most see as impossible. This confirmed my decision to run as much of this year’s race utilizing only the soles of my feet.

The race started with the normal fanfare, the gathering of the racers, the count down to the starting gun, and, of course, the escorted runner’s parade by the cheering crowd. This is the perfect way to get the racer’s adrenaline going, one thing that the race director, Dale Tuck, and his team have mastered during the 13 years this race has been gracing the normally quiet town of Grande Cache, Alta.

The weather plays a big part in how the day goes, last year, I was able to run the top of Mount Hamel (Leg 4) in a pair of shorts and a t-shirt. This year, I got caught on top of Grande Mountain in the middle of a hail storm with thunder and lighting crashing all around me – not the best place to be with a set of metal running poles.

The weather wreaked havoc on the finishing expectations of a number of runners, including mine. Even though I gained a lot of time on the first half of leg two (up Flood and through Slugfest), once the storm hit, it turned my race into one of just trying to survive the power line descent. With all the slick mud, it literally took me longer to get down the power line and back into town then it did for me to complete the rest of the race up to that point. The conditions were nasty. If you were lucky enough to get off the mountain in one piece, your chances of finishing were good. If not… you were in a tough spot.That was where I found myself. I ended up timing out on leg 3.  I know I gave it my all but it was not enough on this day. Such is the life of the ultrarunner.

I would be doing the Death Race a big disservice if I did not also mention that it is not just an epic running event but a community of fantastic people that are some of the most genuine and supportive out there. I have gained some fantastic new friends and running partners through this race and for that I will be forever grateful.

I will be returning in 2014.  How about you?