Big Dog's Backyard Ultra - World Championships

It's been over a week now since I represented Team Canada at the Backyard Ultra in Kelowna and I admit to still being a little bewildered by how well the race went for me personally. Of course, it was by no means a solo effort, and that sense of teamwork was faultless throughout the entire weekend.

My original plan for October was to have a good race at the Grizzly Ultra 50km in Canmore and I was enjoying getting out on the trails in nearby Devon and the Edmonton river valley to get myself prepared. I knew I was being overly optimistic that the Grizzly would still go ahead, and it was inevitable that it too would become a victim of the Covid pandemic.  My training had been going well, I was starting to feel fit again, and when the announcement finally came that yet another race had been cancelled, I desperately needed something to fill that void.

It was then that I recalled a friend asking if I had considered putting my name forward for the Canadian Team at the Backyard Ultra. At the time, the Grizzly was still in my sights and the two events were too close together for me to even contemplate doing both, but with the cancellation and having a blank calendar stretching far out into the months ahead, I started to think that maybe this was exactly what I needed.

I had never done a backyard ultra before and the challenge of doing something completely different intrigued me. I had no idea how well I could do - all I knew was that I had ran just over 129 miles at Across the Years 24 hour race almost 3 years ago, whilst I had gone without sleep at the Mogollon Monster 100 miler for over 30 hours that same year. Combined with many years of ultra-running experience, this gave me the confidence to reach out to the race organisers and throw my name into the hat in the hope of being selected for the team.

A few days later I received the message - I would be heading to Kelowna in British Columbia and I would be wearing the Canadian shirt at Big's Backyard Ultra World Championship - whooohooo!

For those who are not familiar with the format of a backyard ultra, the race continues until only one person remains and that person must then complete one final solo lap to be crowned the winner. Everybody must run 4.17 miles every hour on the hour - if you are not in the starting corral by the time the bell rings, you are out. If you fail to complete the distance within the hour, you are out. The race isn't about who is the fastest, but rather who can last the longest. In that time between finishing one loop and starting the next, you are free to do whatever you like - eat, drink, go pee, change clothes, change shoes, or even sleep if you have the ability to power nap. It really is a unique type of event, and I have to say that I loved it! 

Unlike previous years, things would be a little different with the race this time, thanks to our dear friend Covid - instead of just the main event taking place in Tennessee, there would be events taking place in 21 countries around the world. Each country would be fielding their national team of 15 runners, and each event would be taking place simultaneously with each other, but remotely in their own country.  This format introduced the team element with each nation competing against each other to be crowned World Backyard Ultra Champions of 2020. The different time zones meant some countries would be starting in the early morning, others around lunch time, whilst the remaining would be starting later in the evening - Team Canada's event was scheduled to commence at 5am and we would be ready to roll!

In the days leading up to the race, we took part in some virtual team meetings, and I admit to feeling like a bit of an imposter. Although we left the UK 9 years ago and have been living in Canada as permanent residents for most of that time since, there has been a delay on our citizenship application due to the pandemic.  We consider ourselves more Canadian these days than British despite still having a Stokie accent that makes us stick out like sore thumbs - the last thing I wanted was somebody having a moan about me being on the team, so I did feel a little self-conscious. Thankfully all those concerns were completely unfounded, the team were absolutely brilliant, with both Andy and I  - and the pups - being  warmly welcomed by all, and I felt proud and honoured to be wearing the Canadian shirt alongside these folks.

Before heading out to Kelowna, I had chatted with Andy and my coach Paul about my expectations. Given my performances at ATY and Mogollon Monster, I suspected that if all went well, I could stretch things out to 30 hours and I vowed that I would try not to stop prior to this unless it was a medical emergency. If I made it to 32 hours, this would not only give me a distance PR but would also exceed the maximum amount of time I have ever gone without sleep. I didn't know how I would feel by then as I really would be in unknown territory, but I figured that if I could get to that point, I would find something inside of me to push for another 4 hours to reach my ultimate goal of 36 hours - 150 or so miles, or 241km. 

An early start on the Thursday morning saw Andy and I hit the road for the long drive out to BC, dogs in tow along with a ton of camping gear. The hardest part was deciding what to take for a race format I had never done before and ended up airing on the side of caution, preferring to take too much stuff rather than regretting leaving something at home. The car was jam packed - tents, blankets, sleeping bags, chairs, heaters, camp beds, cookers, food to feed any army, tons of warm clothing, spare shoes, spare rain jackets, hats, gloves, hundreds of pairs of socks - you name it, we had it. It seemed like we were overly prepared when in hindsight, we should have squeezed even more stuff into our car given the amount of rain and the chilly temperatures we encountered in the overnight period! 

On the road to BC :)

Fantastic views on the road to BC :)

Sleepy pups and a long drive to BC! :)

By Friday afternoon, the team had finally met in person and spirits were high and having set up our individual crew areas, some of us headed out to do a reccie of the course. I personally thought it was an excellent choice of course and I knew it would suit me perfectly - mainly flat with crushed gravel underfoot, a couple of inclines to give those leg muscles a break, and a very picturesque pathway along side the river, followed by some pavement at the end of each loop, which would take us back to the transition area. I was excited as I went to bed that night and was looking forward to pushing my limits and seeing just how far my body could take me over the next couple of days.

Friday afternoon set up and lovely sunshine :)

My crew area for Andy and the pups :)

Saturday morning soon came around and I was already wide awake well before my 4am alarm call. I had my usual bowl of porridge and a cup of coffee, and 20 minutes later we were at the start area ready to go. It was still dark and wouldn't be light for another couple of hours, and there was a distinct chill in the air that made me undecided about what to wear for the first few hours. Thankfully, the rain we had been expecting overnight hadn't arrived, but I think this lulled us into a false sense of security as to what we would face later on.

4.30am Saturday morning - almost go time!

I really can't recall all the details from the 36 hours that I spent out there at the race, but there are some things that do stick in my mind. I remember team captain Dave P having a team chat with us all and the words he used resounded with me: "I am because you are"  and "ubuntu". That speech got me quite emotional as it embodied the spirit of team work, and I felt so humbled to be amongst such incredible athletes and being able to call them teammates.

I also remember Race Director Ryan saying at the very beginning that no matter what you are doing, when you hear that one-minute whistle, stand up and make your way to the starting corral. I followed this advice and after the first few hours, I was already behaving like one of Pavlov's dogs and was conditioned to stand up as soon as I heard the 3 minute whistle, let alone one minute. It was valuable advice and it definitely worked for me later on in the night when I was soaking wet and freezing cold, snuggled up under a toasty warm sleeping bag by the heater and not wanting to move because I was so sick and tired of the rain - yet when that whistle blew, I jumped up without any hesitation and was ready to go,

As we all started the first lap, I really didn't know what pace I should be doing. Too fast and I would fade, too slow and I would find that harder and more tiring than running a quicker pace. It took a couple of laps to find my groove, and I settled into a comfortable 10.40 to 11 minute-mile which seemed to be working for me. I was consistently averaging 46-47 minute laps which was giving me plenty of time to go to the bathroom and to eat and drink properly, and oh my goodness, did I eat! I usually struggle with my nutrition, and yet I ran every single step of that 36 hours without feeling queasy or being sick. I was eating mac 'n' cheese, I had chicken noodle soup, I was eating broccoli and humus, I had turkey breast, crisps, cookies, energy gels, cups of tea, cups of coffee, coke, donuts, breakfast sandwiches from Tim's, more porridge, jelly beans, Tailwind - it was crazy how healthy my appetite was, even if the food I was eating would give a nutritionist cause for concern! I was peeing every hour so I knew I wasn't dehydrated, and I was even pooping throughout the day which of course meant the food was digesting. It felt so good to do a race where I was properly fuelled and I can't recall any point where I felt my energy levels dropping off.

The hours were also flying by and I recall looking at my watch and thinking how quickly those 8 hours had gone! Even as darkness started to fall, everybody was still in such good spirits, being supportive, being encouraging, and working as a team. I know I used my headphones for one of the laps, but Robbie Williams blasting out "Let Me Entertain You!" in my ears had me speeding up far too much, so I dropped the headphones and allowed myself to be entertained by my surroundings instead.

Sometime during the day :)

Getting ready for the bell for "one more lap"

Feeling gooood!

Around about 10pm - 17 hours in - Andy mentioned to me that rain was on the way and we could expect it to arrive within the next couple of hours. I was still running well and feeling great but there was a good 10 hours of darkness ahead of us, and I remember thinking that a bit of rain would provide some distractions and mix things up a bit - I was looking forward to having a couple of showers just to make some of those laps a little different. 

Sometimes I really wish those weather gods didn't listen to me. By midnight, steady rain was falling, everybody was sopping wet, it went extremely cold, and the heaters we were using in the tent weren't giving off enough heat to warm us up nor dry out the wet clothes that I was changing out of pretty much every other lap. Some members of the team had flown in from out east and had been limited on what they could bring - they were borrowing clothes from crew members to keep warm and using plastic bags in their shoes due to being so wet. I had 4 pair of shoes with me and every single pair was sopping wet and covered in mud, my thermal running tights were steaming at the end of each loop as I stood in front of the heater trying to dry them a little before heading out again, and all the rain jackets I had taken with persistent rain and freezing temperatures that lasted for hours and hours and hours, was really affecting us physically and mentally, but we persevered through the long, dark, wet and cold night. It wasn't until several hours later that we got any reprieve and even then, we encountered spotty showers throughout the day as the start and finish area transcended into a mud bath.

And it rained and rained and rained ....

Nice weather for erm ... ducks?!

The arrival of daylight made such a huge difference to our mood and it gave me a huge mental boost and cheered me up, We had now been going for over 24 hours, we had passed the 100-mile mark, and whilst we had had a couple of people drop, most of the team were still smiling, still battling on, still moving forwards. The results were showing that Canada was holding its own, and for a long while we held on to second place in the team championship - "one more lap for the team" became my mantra ...

As we approached the 30-hour mark, there was no doubt that I was going to exceed my minimum goal and I was buzzing! I was still eating and moving well and I knew I still had a few more hours in me. As we all made it through to the 32 hour mark, I was even more ecstatic - we had now ran around 133 miles and for me, I had set a new distance PR. From here onwards, I was in unchartered waters but I was still holding a decent 11 minute mile and was doing good which instilled some confidence that I could keep on going.

By 34 hours, I was starting to feel a bit of tightness in my left knee and my left hip was starting to give me a bit of gip. I had taken some painkillers an hour or so earlier so it was too soon to take any more. I decided to tackle the next lap a little differently, opting to run for 5 minutes and then walk for 1 minute - the lap would be slower, but it would hopefully provide my knee and hip with some relief. It seemed to help and I completed the lap in around 47 minutes although my body was now starting to feel the miles and the fatigue was setting in.

Lap 35 I fell behind everybody else for the first time since we had started. There were just 5 of us left at this point and due to the out and back part of the course, I could see how far behind I was. Since I had started, I had been setting time limits on how quickly I was to arrive at different landmarks on course. This had really helped with my pacing, but now I was a good 3 or 4 minutes behind target and I knew it was getting tight to finish in the hour if I didn't pick things up a bit.

I started to run again,as much as possible and I gradually caught up with Kevin. He looked to be in far more pain than what I was probably feeling, and I was so inspired by how he was still pushing forward, We ended up running/walking together which as a huge help to me, and as we finally hit the pavement section, we knew we'd make it back in plenty of time.

I finished lap 35 and without even thinking, I said to Andy that this next lap would be my last, My body was starting to complain, it had already been pushed beyond what it was used to doing, and I think subconsciously I was ready to stop because I knew I would hit my A goal. It was starting to spot with rain again and my clothes still hadn't dried out from the earlier downpours - things were terribly muddy in the transition area and all I could think is that I didn't want to go through another night like last night  - the thought of putting on cold, wet clothing again just was not appealing.

I dragged myself out for lap 36 knowing that just finishing this lap would make me very happy.  I positioned myself at the back of our little group again, but this time they opened up a much larger gap and I seriously began to wonder whether I would make the cut off. But if I'm nothing else, I'm a determined and stubborn runner, and as I reached the turnaround point in just under 30 minutes, I knew I needed to get my ass in gear to make it back on-time.  Digging deep, I managed to drag my body back to life and somehow put out a couple of 9-minute miles - my heart rate was climbing, my breathing was becoming more laboured, and my knee and hip were causing me considerable discomfort, causing me to limp quite badly. I was fighting with everything I had to break through the mental and physical barriers that were appearing before me, the limping now causing me to change my gait, and with that, I started to feel some friction on my toes and knew that a blister was now starting to form. I gritted my teeth knowing that if I could just keep going, I could get Andy to deal with it for me once I got back.

Lap 36 was of course the hardest but I finished in around 51 minutes which would still have given time to refuel and prepare myself for the next hour. Sadly, I felt done. The extra burst of speed had sapped the energy out of me, and as I flopped in the chair back in the tent, I just closed my eyes wanting desperately to rest and sleep. I didn't drink anything, I didn't eat anything as I had no intentions of going out again. Andy tried desperately to get me to move but I really couldn't, but then Ryan came over and tried to convince me to go out for "one more lap". My emotions were high - I was spent but I really didn't want to let the team down, and after a battle of wills within myself, I reluctantly dragged my lazy ass out of that chair and made it to the starting corral for one last time, with just seconds to spare. The bell rang to signal the start of the 37th hour, and off I went.

Oh my goodness, what a shuffle it was. My brain had now appeared to have lost communication with my legs and they steadfastly refused to move faster and do as they were told. I remember thinking that if I could just shuffle fast enough to the first bridge, I would see the others and I knew they would give me the encouragement that I so desperately needed to keep me going. It took me 10 minutes to do just one kilometer - I still had nearly 6km to go and try as I might, I could not conjure up anything to move me any faster. I knew I was going to time out. I debated with myself again whether I should just carry on and hope for a miracle, or whether to turn around and head back. I started to get upset again, feeling tired and cold, and it was then that I sent a message to my good friend Dennene to let her know I was done. Even in my tired daze, I think I knew that Dennene would either message straight away or call me in an effort to keep me going. Maybe that's what I subconsciously wanted, and when Dee did call, she did her utmost best to move me, telling me to just walk whilst we talked, telling me to just get to that bridge and keep moving. She really believed in me and I desperately didn't want to let her, nor Andy nor the team, but I knew I had nothing more to give - whilst the will was there, my body had other ideas and had gone into shutdown.

I made my way back to the start with mixed emotions - happy that I had hit my goal but gutted that I hadn't got more in me to help the team. With 36 yards completed, I accepted my DNF.

The elusive medal  .... :)

It seems like such a long time ago now that we did the Backyard Ultra, and I know for sure that I want to do it all over again. The team was awesome, and I think we all pulled together tremendously which helped us to finish on the podium in 3rd placed team behind the US and Belgium. Our Canadian Champion Stephanie went on to win with an outstanding 43 yards and I am so proud of both her and the team for what we all achieved that weekend. I have never been a part of such an amazing team, and the love I've felt from complete strangers across this wonderful country since my race ended has been overwhelming, It's hard to express how this has made me feel and how proud I am to have worn the Canadian shirt and represented this country that we call home.

From a personal point of view, I know I had a good race, but as with everything, I found myself wondering whether I really could have done more. I really don't think I could have done more, but I do think that I could have been better prepared. Looking back, it was my body that let me down. I know that I have weak glutes and hips, and I know that this leads to me having knee trouble when running these longer distances after a given length of time. For the past couple of years, I've been receiving physio for that very reason and I've been told time and time again to keep working on building the strength in these areas by doing the assigned exercises. I also very, very rarely do routine strength work  or stretching even though I know I should. I firmly believe that had I gone into the event being stronger, I could have gone longer. 

I also thought I was well prepared with all the wet weather gear - crikey, I'd even prepared for snow! But I was not prepared for 12 hours of continuous rain, we didn't have enough heat in the tent to dry things out, and I now know that it was my mental strength on the day that let me down, just as much as the physical. I love running at night, I love running in the rain, but I did not want to contend with another night of being wet and cold, I did not want Andy having to stand there looking after me for potentially another 12 hours as he too was having to deal with those conditions. I personally think I got too far ahead myself and should have stayed in the moment and focused on how good things were going, rather than thinking ahead and dreading the conditions before they had even occurred.  

But then hindsight is a wonderful thing, and we can always look back and say we could have done  things better. I know for sure that my expectations have already risen since last weekend, and I know that when I do my next Backyard Ultra, I will be hoping for that 40-hour mark. Of course, if  I make it to 40 hours, I may as well go the whole hog and do the full 2 days. That really IS a stretch target for me, but never say never eh?!

Before I close, there are of course thanks to be given to so many people. To Ryan and Dustin, thank you for organising such a superb event. You did such a fantastic job and everything really did go like clockwork, and you made us feel safe in our Team Canada bubble for the entire weekend. To Greg, thank you for coming up with such a fantastic course - it suited me perfectly! To Dave - thank you for being such a motivational team captain. I have so much respect for you and what you have achieved - maybe leave the speedos at home next time though, eh?! To Terri, Dave, Scott, Jeremy, Myron, Wayne, Greg, Mike, Viktoria, Dave S, Kevin, Chelsey, Matt and of course our Champion Stephanie - thank you so much for your smiles, your encouragement, your support, for just being yourselves, and for making me feel like a huge part of the team. You are without doubt the most humble people I have ever met, and you are tremendous athletes that have earned my utmost respect. Thank you also to the support crews that were onsite, who sat waiting for us all to come in at the end of each lap, who stood in that rain both day and night, to offer us all that encouragement and support we sometimes so desperately needed to just keep on moving - we all know that we couldn't have achieved what we did without you.

Closer to home, thank you Julie for suggesting I put my name into the mix, thank you Dennene for being the awesome friend I turned to when I needed that push at the end, and for being "on call" and offering support and advice in the middle of the night. Thank you to all my other friends both at home and overseas - I am always humbled by how many of you still follow me on this crazy running journey and I have and always will appreciate your words of support.

To my coach and sports massage therapist Paul - thank you for getting my training right, for pushing me when I think I can't do things, and for believing in me. It is greatly appreciated and makes the team work.

And finally, the biggest thanks of course must go to my husband Andy and my three little pups, who are always at my races, standing by me and never letting me down. When things go downhill at these races, when I'm truly in that dark place and ready to throw in the towel, Andy is always there to pick me up, telling me he believes in me and I can do it. He's not only there during the race, he's there during the planning stage, making sure I have everything I need before I even start. He's also there in the aftermath, consoling me or celebrating with me, listening patiently to the same stories over and over again when I reminisce about races gone by. He truly is one in a million, and I really couldn't - and probably wouldn't - do many of these things if it weren't for him - saying thank you just never seems enough 💖