After a disappointing performance at the event in Okotoks, I was determined to train so hard to be in the best possible shape I could be, ready to represent Canada at the Backyard Ultra Team World Championships out in BC in October.
There is no denying that my training had gone extremely well. I'd mixed things up this time, and instead of doing 6 hour long runs, I'd asked my coach to schedule timed runs instead, and to give me multiple runs throughout the day on the weekends. This saw me running close to 100km on several weekends, where I would complete something like 2 hours in the morning, an hour in the afternoon, and another 90 minutes later in the evening. One weekend, I did 5 x 10km runs in one day, followed by a 2 hour and an hour the following day, and this seemed to prepare me both physically and mentally for the race.
I had also been sure to get some trail running into my schedule. The course out in BC was going to be quite hilly and technical, and the city in which I live is extremely flat which meant regular visits to the nearby river valley trails was a requirement, to ensure I got some hills in my legs and it didn't come as such a shock on race day.
Fifteen athletes were selected to represent Canada which included myself, and we had a very strong team with high hopes of making the podium as we had done back in 2021. The location was going to be different this time, there would be a lot of new faces, but also some old timers which would make it like a bit of a reunion.
In terms of our goals, we were all aiming high, and my initial goal of 40+ hours seemed so small when considering what the others were aiming for. If I DID get to 40 hours and I ended up being the first person to drop, it would mean that Team Canada was on for a phenomenal team performance!
We spent a night in Kelowna, arriving on the Thursday night, and then Friday morning, we headed down to Summerland to set things up and to do a reccie of the course. The 10 x 10 went up quickly, and whilst Andy sorted all the food stuffs for the duration of the race, I headed off on the loop with Wilson. I'd left April and Tillie at home as they get quite nervous and vocal at these kind of events and I really didn't want a repeat of the Okotoks event which almost had me walking away far earlier than expected! So it was just Wilson who had travelled with us, whilst the girls were having a great time back home with the pet sitter.
I had already seen a flyby of the course thanks to the team management checking things out a couple of weeks before the event, but I was still surprised at just how hilly and technical the second half of the course would be. The first couple of miles felt gently downhill and I knew that other than the couple of sandy sections possibly causing some blisters if I let sand build up in my shoes, this really wouldn't be a problem. But after the turnaround point, the route became far more rocky, covered in pine cones, and definitely more technical than I would have liked for a backyard ultra!
I used my Garmin to see just how much of a climb the first hill was - it lasted around about 200 metres and then the trail became more twisty turny, with a few ups and downs. The second hill though was a good half mile long, the footing wasn't brilliant, and I decided that this section would be my walking break on each lap. At the top of this hill, things flattened out and became quite sandy for approximately 100 yards or so, and then the downhill started. Normally I would take advantage of the downhill as I am a very good downhill runner, even on technical trails, and the downhill here was undoubtedly technical with lots of large rocks and steeper sections! However, as we would be running this section over and over again, there was a risk that we could fall as the event progressed, especially if hoping to run for almost two days and through the night hours. I was a little concerned that with the climbing, I could potentially lose too much time as the fatigue crept in, and that even with the downhill section, it might be too technical for me to gain any time and get back within the hour.
There wasn't a great deal I could do except see how things panned out after the first few laps, by which time I would know how long I needed to complete the course when things got tougher later on. We were all in the same boat and would just need to work together to help each other get around.
We spent the night before race day sleeping in the tent at the rodeo grounds, and despite some ATVs making a racket until around midnight, and a member of the team keeping me awake with their coughing, I actually didn't sleep too badly and woke up feeling relatively refreshed and ready to go. I'd tried to bank sleep leading up to the race and had been getting a good 8 or 9 hours a night for the past week - last night I probably had 6 hours of decent sleep which would be ok.
We were up at around 4am with the race due to start at 5, and it was still quite chilly. I had my usual porridge and a cup of tea, but I wasn't too concerned about having too much more as I'd have plenty of time for eating every hour for as long as I kept heading out for that one more loop. We had a team photo before we started, and then as the clock struck 5, we headed off for our first lap without any idea as to when we would end our race.
I'm not going to give an hour by hour account of how things went as that would be terribly boring, but in short, I didn't hit my 40 hour goal, nor did I match my PR, and in hindsight I am kind of happy with my run, but also disappointed and frustrated.
From the get-go, I was running very consistent laps - running most of the first half, then walking the hills and running the downs when I could. My laps were coming in at around 47 minutes give or take, and I was refuelling extremely well, with absolutely no nausea for the entire duration of my race. I was also feeling energised for pretty much the entire time, which meant I was getting the right amount of calories to keep me moving and alert. Even my legs were feeling strong, I was feeling fantastic, and I was really enjoying the course, despite how tough it actually was. At the end of every lap, my little pup Wilson was there to greet me, wagging his tail and wrinkling his nose as he smiled at me, and I was loving it! He was so well behaved, and it really helped Andy to keep things in check for me. My choice of shoe was spot on - the Hoka Speedgoat trail shoe, which provided comfort and cushioning for the challenging course, and whilst there were a couple of hot spots developing as the race progressed, I didn't really get any unsightly blisters nor bruised toe nails. I didn't even fall over once, which surprised me given that I'm normally flat on my face during trail races at some point. I wasn't the first person to drop, and the whole of the team made it beyond 24 hours, which was the 100 mile mark. Whilst the morning started quite chilly and cool, by midday, the sun was quite warm and a good hydration strategy was required. With a mix of tea, water, Skatach and Tailwind, I was doing pretty well, although I probably should have drank more through the night hours as I started to feel a little dehydration kicking in. There was wildlife on the course including a black bear which made an appearance the dark night, and the local coyotes were certainly vocalising their presence throughout the night, before being taken over by the birds with their dawn chorus.
So what happened that I ended up stopping at 30 hours, despite feeling like I could have gone for much, much longer? On this occasion, it was a mental weakness that stopped me. My training clearly showed that I could have gone much, much longer, but there was something that held me back that day. If I'm honest, one of the things I struggled with more than anything was the lack of teamwork. Unlike in Kelowna two years previously, I personally don't think there was the same level of unity that we had back then. People seemed to pair off and run together, there wasn't the same chatter that we had before, and rather than one or two groups of us running together and encouraging each other, there were groups of two or three sticking together, and for the most part, I was running solo. Crazy as it sounds, there were some members of the team that I didn't even have a conversation with when out on the course, and I left at the end of the weekend not even knowing their names which is such a shame, given that this was meant to be a team effort. I did run a few laps with a few of the tail enders, but I ended up abandoning that as I was concerned that I wasn't as strong as them on the climbs and the lap times were just too close for comfort for me - I needed to hit my landmarks on the course within a specific time to be confident that I would arrive back at the coral within the hour, and not be sprinting through the sand at the end and timing out.
I managed to get through the first night without any problems, but by mid-afternoon the following day, I just was not prepared to go through another night, trudging up that flaming hill and worrying about cutoffs. At the end of the 30th hour, I really needed the loo, and I said to Andy that I was done. I headed straight to the loos, and he was unable to follow me and talk me back into doing another loop. I missed the start and of course I was annoyed and disappointed with myself, but I had had enough of things mentally and wanted out. I DNF'd with 30 yards which amounted to around 125 miles.
I was the third member of the team to drop, but the others went on to have some amazing performances, many exceeding 40 hours, and the eventual Canadian Champion running a remarkable 55 hours or something. They all have my utmost respect and I was so proud to have been a member of such an awesome team, where the standard and level of competition is continually improving and getting ever stronger.
We stayed the following night to cheer on those that were still churning out those laps through another long night, but by the Monday, we needed to make tracks back home. We packed up our things and said our goodbyes, and as we hit the road to head back to Alberta, a feeling of sadness crept in. I'd had a most amazing weekend with some incredible athletes, and yet the magic I had felt after my first BYU with Team Canada just wasn't there, and I was a little disappointed. These opportunities don't come around very often, especially as you get older, and next year I turn 50 - I may not be able to run at the same level as I do now as my body starts to slow down and takes longer to recover. But then if I don't try, how do I know? Needless to say, on May 13th next year, I will be doing my 4th backyard ultra, with the hopes of going long and making the national team for a third time. Who knows, I may have somebody that is able to run the 40 or 50 hours needed to make the team, and we'll both be ready to compete at the world team championships again in 2024!
