Sinister Triple Race #2: "Canadian Death Race" - 125KM

CDR 2021 = my first DNF, my first case of the run pukies & a day I will not forget for a LONG time to come.
(P.S lots of pukies, run pukies, stand up straight pukies, on my knees pukies…. pukkkkkiesss!!!!)

The Canadian Death Race was my first 100+ km race back in 2019 & still my most memorable race to date. The kind of race that when you think back gives you the warm fuzzies with a heart/head full of nostalgia. A race that I felt very strong throughout from start to finish (despite ending up fainting and spending a night in hospital *eye roll* – it is called the ‘Death Race’ after all), one where I finished top 10 women in a time of 18:05 on a muddy, wet, miserable course after just 6 weeks of structured training. This race set one hell of a fire a light and it’s been burning brightly ever since. So I won’t lie, knowing exactly what I was in for, the fact it was going to be a lot dryer this year with zero rain/warmer temps and honestly, having just completed a 100 miler 3 weeks prior without giving it my all – I felt at ease going into this race. What I didn’t realize this time around though was that this course would test my limits and take me to some physical places of discomfort I’d only ever heard about…

The race takes place in Grand Cache, roughly a 6 hour drive from Canmore. I’m not one for ‘long drives’, anything over 3ish hours makes me sigh out loud, abruptly (I know, I know… a 3 hour drive in Canada is nothing!). My driving fatigue is the real deal though so I was not overly pumped that I was driving down to the race alone and I couldn’t quite comprehend the thought of driving back after the race too but, that was definitely ‘tomorrow’s problem’. So I tried to remain positive and not get hung up on the fact that I would probably be tired before I even set myself out to run 125 km’s. However, the drive actually went really well – it went by quickly, it was easy, traffic wasn’t too hectic for the start of August long in the mountains & I broke it up with lunch in Jasper so I was feeling pretty A-Okay when I rocked up to Grand Cache.

As soon as I arrived I picked up my race package which was a super duper easy process (Sinister Events are very well organized!) and I headed on over to Tent City – a paid camping area at the Baseball Diamonds where pretty much all Death Racers (& long weekenders in Grand Cache stay). It was an absolutely glorious day; blue skies, a little smoke/haze & 33 degrees Celsius. I set up my extra large tent in record time, hung out in the sun chatting to the other tenters and then headed off to find some dinner before attending the pre race meet.

Note – Grand Cache is seriously lacking any form of Pizza so I had to settle for a very bland Carbanara & a Poutine.  Remind me if I ever do this race again to somehow take a mini pizza oven, breaking pre-race traditions is a bad omen but, I still downed a beer before bed so there’s that! Just after dinner I got chatting to a really nice guy called Phil & we both realized we must have ran together or close by in 2019 as he finished not too long after me (small world!). After the pre race meet I headed back to my tent, fell asleep pretty quickly & woke up before my alarm bursting to pee.

Since I was awake 30 mins before my alarm I didn’t really see the point of trying to go back to sleep for half an hour so I started on brekky, trying to be as quiet as possible so I didn’t wake up any other racers. Breakfast went down but, not as smoothly as usual. It was forced and my body felt like it was rejecting eating (GREAT!) but, I managed to get down my cereal, banana, muffin & coffee – my usual go to before a long distance race.

After brekky, I headed to the gas station to grab some ice and made my way over to the start area to meet my crew. Originally Nichole, one of my closest gal friends was set to crew me for this race but, a month out she couldn’t get the time off work so I had to re-visit my crew. Next up I asked Bre another close chicky but, a week or so out she was a no-go too. Luckily I had met a rad runner from Canmore a month or so prior, Karen and she was keen on helping me out at Sinister but, when I already had a crew in place I asked if she’d be keen for the Death Race instead & she was eagerly available (Note: Karen moved to Edmonton the day prior, was also planning a month log trip to Squamish the following week and had family visiting from Belgium – for her to free up a very long day/night to crew was unreal. THANK YOU!). Prior to the race I met Karen to give her a low down on how I liked to be crewed (Laminated cards & all…) & I met her & Lachlan (her boyfriend) the morning of the race, off-loaded my race bins & basically said see ya at the Transition Area’s (TA’s). It was go time!!

Leg Numero 1: The Downtown Jaunt, 16.5km, +430m gain, -538m loss 
So many people had asked me what my approach was for this race having just placed 3rd at Sinister 7 & in the lead for the Sinister Triple event (My overall goal for this summer’s racing). Hmmm, my approach? Run, run pain free (my calves had given me lots of issues 3 weeks ago at Sin) & well, if I am going to ‘race’ the only person I am racing is myself & my previous time of 18:05. So I guess that was my approach. To finish, to finish strong & to hopefully beat my 2019 time. I didn’t really have a strategy for this. 2 years prior I ran slow (sloth slow) off the start & increasingly got faster/stronger as the race went on. But, I am a stronger, more confident runner now and I genuinely don’t feel like I need to be as conservative when I race in terms of pace so in my mind it was to go out and just take each moment as it comes. Run fast if I feel like it, run slowly if I don’t but, whatever happens ‘don’t you everrrrr give up’. Easy, right?

The race was off to a quick start & I too was a part of that quick running hype. I was running 4:40’s and my HR was in Zone 4 – absolutely typical, especially as I said after Sinister I wouldn’t make that same mistake again (I seriously won’t for Blackspur *eyeroll*).

The first leg is pretty easy and shorter in distance than 2019 due to a couple of course changes. I wanted to run this leg pretty quickly, gain a good position off of the start and be ahead of my time from last year (even though that was hard to judge considering the leg distance was shorter). About 5km’s in I felt confident I had set myself up good despite the speed start line sprints. I noticed a couple of familiar faces in front (Svenja / RunHappy team mate Jen), Ali from Banff blasted past around 1 km in looking strong & I could see Marika not too far behind when the course took a turn. It’s always really nice to see familiar faces especially chicka’s getting after the same distance and race!

PC: Raveneye Photography

Honestly this leg was pretty smooth – nothing really to report other then the muddy boggy wet leg I remembered from 2 years ago was bone dry. I came into the TA, switched out my Tailwind & Electrolyte bottles but, kept with my current bladder as I hadn’t been drinking a lot of water (Is this where it started to go wrong?!…) Karen stuffed my poles into my bag and off I went onto Leg 2.

Leg Numero 2: Flood & Grande Mountain Slugfest, 29.5km, +1946m gain, -1841m loss
I knew what to expect with this leg. Vert. Lots of Vert. This leg intimidates me a lot more so then Leg #4 & with a dry dusty course & it already being hawt I knew the Powerline section was going to be an absolute soul-destroying-sweaty-quad-burner but, I still had to get up and down Flood first otherwise known as the ‘Slugfest’ (Note: this section was a little muddy but, NOTHING in comparison to 2019, easaaay peasssaaay…)

Going into Leg 2 my watch beeped at me (as it does every 45mins to eat). I opened a pack of Honey Stingers, put 1 in my mouth & instantly felt sick. Greaaaaaat. I’m not even 17km’s in and I’m already struggling to eat for the day. I managed to get the packet down with lots of liquid swishing around in my mouth but, I knew today was going to be hard a one with nutrition. When you know, you know…

Leg 2 is pretty flat off of the start and then after about 2km’s in the vert starts & it’s kind of relentless until the end. Once runners have gone over the flat train tracks (where the old Transition Area used to be) the course starts making it’s way uphill on a wide, gravel road and it’s here I started to power hike. I was only 19 km’s in and mentally I couldn’t believe I was already hiking (Not to brag but, I’ve trained hard to become quite the up-hill runner and I couldn’t believe I couldn’t keep a high cadence / low HR up a mild gradient on a non tech road). Mentally I’d started to fade but, I was trying to push all negativity away saying ‘if you slow it down now, you’ll savor energy for later on & the day is still SO young. Don’t be so hard on yourself’.

The climb kept climbing and everyone who I had blasted past out of the start line was now over taking me. LOL I felt like a weak ass POS. I kept justifying to everyone who passed that I wasn’t recovered from the 100 miles I had ran 3 weeks ago and that today was not my day but, “I’ll keep on keeping on”.

PC: Raveneye Photography

On one of the narrower climbs roughly 22ish km’s in I heard a familiar friendly voice behind me, Marika!!! (Looking strong & sustained) she asked how I was doing & I was blunt in the fact that I was not having the best time. She uplifted my mood by saying something on the lines of ‘Hey, you’re outside, you’re doing something you love, it’s a lovely day, you just ran 100 miles, just enjoy where you’re at today’ – that was EXACTLY what I needed to hear (Thanks Marika!!). As she continued on I still wasn’t out of my negative misery head space but, I was grinding on trying to enjoy the suck I was feeling. Another 45 minutes passed *beep* – Nah, I don’t feel like eating this time round.

The climb kept coming, runners kept passing “Faye, right?” Hmmmmmm… “Yes?” “I follow you on Instagram my name’s Megan….” Such a familiar face but, I couldn’t place her. I spent the next 20 min or so trying to and eventually it came ‘AHHHH Megan, the Brooks contest winner, awesome!!!!’ – Hope I get to see her again and not be so dazed/confused.

Despite Slugfest not being so sluggy & sloppy this year, the climb up still sucked balllz and I was still in a god damn awful mood. Being familiar with the course though I knew the climb would be over fairly soon & the downhill on this section is fun so it came & went pretty quickly. Finally, an Aid Station – one with some banter & lots of runners around. Spirits were high! I was instantly put into a good mood (Other people were finding it hot & sucky too, so knowing I wasn’t the only one feeling it already kind of perked me up, in a weird & wonderful way) and it reflected for the second half of Leg 2. Suddenly I was no longer Death Marching uphill but, power hiking with purpose & running. Yaaaay running. I started to pass people (including Megan) and I felt on fire. “Woah girl where did this come from?”, “No idea but for now I am rolling with it” *Weeeeeeeeeeeee – best day ever* ahahaha … ultras!

The next climb up started. The heat of the day was well & truly upon me. Every small creek crossing was a blessing. I was hot but, I was still feeling good. I managed to get some food into me too although my body was still not pumped up on any of my nutrition I had, making me feel queasy about eating the same sh*t for the rest of the day whilst out on course. I made a mental note to eat something substantial at the next TA before heading out onto Leg 3 incase my appetite for Honey Stingers & Xact bars didn’t get any more enthusiastic. On this climb I also came across a guy wobbling around, yelling out in pain, holding his thighs, clearly having a case of the crampies. I felt bad for him and had flashbacks of my calves acting up at Sin. I offered to massage his quads knowing how much that helped me when Kat did it but, he seemed to want to suffer instead so I gave him a salt pill & wished him luck. (Maybe I smelt really bad? I dunno ahahaha).

The steep power lines of Leg 2 were up there as my favorite part – no sarcasm, for real!!! My downhill training has really paid off over the years and despite mentally preparing myself for the worst time I was cruising down this section, running, flying? Giving it lots of umff whilst lots of people were side stepping, knees bent, taking it super easily, not wanting to fall or, to destroy their legs so early on in the race. I on the other hand definitely felt strong. After the looooooong stretch of techy, steep downs it was some dirt highway running into Transition #2 – Food!

Leg Numero 3: Old Mine Road, 19km, +689m gain, -952m loss

Coming into the Transition I couldn’t see Karen or Lachlan. I was calling their names and looking around frantically. Eventually another lady crewing said ‘Are you Faye?’ Your crew was just here, I don’t know where she went but, this is your stuff right? I think my look of ‘Oh, great! was slapped across my face’ Then Karen appeared – pheeeeeeeeew!!! (That lady turns out to be someone I’ve been put in touch with recently about a race I plan to do in 2022 – this ultra world is SO small!).

I mentioned to Karen how difficult Leg 2 was but, all up I was about 10 min ahead of my time last year *granted I was hoping to be 30 min ahead but, I was still ahead & doing okay despite my shitty mood*. I mentioned how my nutrition wasn’t going down too well but, I was still eating & that I was just SO bloody HOT! I opened up some Greek Pasta Salad and a Lemonade Kombucha (Kombucha doesn’t have any calories, I think 10 in total but, it clenches my thirst and it was exactly what I needed there & then). I swapped out all of my Honey Stingers to Xact bars (They seemed to go down better), and ran out of the TA with an orange in hand & a soaking wet body from head to toe (I made Karen pour my half empty bladder all over me to cool me down). It was soggy & I felt nasty but, within 5 minutes I was dry again. Onwards…

Leg 3 was my favorite runnable leg back in 2019 so I had set myself up for this to be a good leg & it really was. I still wasn’t feeling strong but, I was running and I was maintaining a decent pace too. I passed a couple of ladies who mentioned I looked strong which was a nice moral boost and I continued on. I went to sip on my water & noticed nothing was coming out of my hose (Note to self, check this at the TA before leaving) so I did have to stop and adjust my pack which took a little longer than expected (In reality it was probably like a minute tops lol).

A guy called Evan came up shortly behind me and was like ‘Hey. You’re Faye right? you absolutely killed the 100 miler – huge congrats’ – again moral boosting & a note to look up who Evan was because I wasn’t familiar & didn’t know if he was a local or not – now I know who Evan is & he crushed the Death Race, way to go buddy! Evan, myself & a relay runner had a little runner train going for pretty much all of Leg 3. Every single creek crossing, we would all stop & splash ourselves. It was so hot and we all seemed to be feeling it but, we were all moving and we were making good time.

Half way through Leg 3 it was crazy to see a landslide that had ripped through the area. It created a nice little muddy / soft up hill & a little birds eye view of the crazy river that honestly I just wanted to submerge myself in fully.

Towards the end of Leg 3 the course crosses over a bridge, straight over the highway for a km or so of single track / bush whacking before a few km of highway ditch running straight into the next TA. I still felt strong and came into this TA running and feeling good. I was still 10 mins ahead of my previous time but, I genuinely didn’t care about beating my own time or race placements at this point. I just wanted to get through this race and even though the day had been really up and down so far I felt confident that I would get it done.

Leg Numero 4: Hamell Assault: 38km, +2465m gain, -2476m loss

I could see Karen cheering me on as I ran into the TA. I headed over to sit down and I mentioned I wasn’t eating and it was really hard for me to get food down. I didn’t want ANYTHING except for some water melon, orange and a Budda Coconut Water – Holy sh*t those things are LIFE. Thanks for introducing them to me Karen!! After grabbing my head lamp and heading out on trail I knew exactly what lay ahead of me in terms of the climb and with little fuel in my already depleted body I could feel the lows of Leg 2 I’d experienced earlier on in the day starting to creep up on me again. I also really needed to pee. I hadn’t gone all day and I was bursting. Before starting the climb I ducked off into a bush and surprised a bunch of runners when I popped out of the opposite side of the trail like ‘Heyyyyy!’ ahaha.

The climb was just as I remembered it a couple of years ago, long, steep and through the forest. I let a few people pass and I passed a few people. I then caught up to a guy who seemed to be taking his time and instead of wanting to push on by I fell into a rhythm of his step and asked if I could tag along closely. We got chatting, Etienne from Vancouver! I honestly can’t remember what we were chatting about but, the climb seemed to go a little quicker with someone else’s company. About 100m from a Check Point, Etienne kind of stopped on trail, took one step towards the bush and started vomiting. I too was starting to feel a little queasy and hearing him vomit was actually making me feel a little worse off so I asked him if he needed anything from me, to which he said no so, I mentioned I was continuing on and if he got bad & needed help to shout for me & I’d turn around instantly.

Once I reached the check point there were about 5 other people sat there all drinking cups of Ginger Ale due to nausea. I sat down and joined the hype. 2 min later Etienne appeared & he too joined the club. Dang what a bunch of sicko’s. ahah. Etienne & I carried on once we had our Ginger Ale fix and continued grinding our way up Mt Hamel. I was starting to feel really sickly so another runner provided a Pepto Bismal which honestly made me feel a little better after. I’m not one for trying new products or meds especially on race day but, I was feeling shitty so I felt like it couldn’t possibly make me feel any worse. Phil who I’d chatted to the previous day after dinner was running the relay and tapped me on the shoulder giving me a couple of words of encouragement as he passed by followed by another runner  Jase (from Alaska but, lives in Leeds, UK. Such a small world). We got chatting about a few UK ultras & I was getting stoked listening to someone who was familiar with the UK ultra scene, already planning up 2022’s races in my head.

Soon enough we were at the next Check Point before the final few switch backs to the summit of Mt Hammell. This was where I came across Ali from Banff sat in a chair sobbing. I don’t really know Ali but, I instantly crouched down and asked if she was okay and to talk to me. I tried to convince her to leave with me, to take it nice and easy but, she was firm through her sobs that she’d had enough & that this was the end of her Death Race experience. I sat with her for a little while whilst eating a super refreshing fruit salad that one of the volunteers had provided to me out of his own lunch. Fruit seemed to be the only thing I had an appy for & I remembered Karen mentioned she’d put fruit in my pack (Unfortunately, it wasn’t in there when I went looking for it later on *Sob*). Soon Marika was at this check point – I didn’t realize I must have passed her earlier on at a TA & she was still looking strong and fresh as ever. Marika also tried to get Ali to get up on 2 feet but no luck! Etienne told me he was leaving & I said I was shortly too. After another few mins I said my well wishes and carried on.

The rest of the trail up to the summit was easy, the pink Fireweed was so vibrant against the hazy smoky skies and looked absolutely beautiful. I came up quick behind Etienne who mentioned I was looking strong and I honestly think it had something to do with the fruit I’d consumed, I felt full of life again. At the top of Hamel I forgot we had to run a small stretch on the ridge to grab a prayer flag before giving it to a volunteer and starting the run down the backside of the mountain towards the Ambler Aid Station. This went well and I felt I was moving with purpose.

I started the descent strong and I could see Jase so I had my eyes fixated on him to keep him in sight and to hopefully pass. I was nearly catching him when all of a sudden I had a wave of nausea like no other. I literally wanted to vomit there and there so I stopped running and took my pace down to a power hike. Marika came up behind me and asked if I was okay to which I told her ‘I feel like sh*t and I just want to embrace the sh*t for a bit’. She offered to walk / run with me but, I just wanted to be in silence & off she went. I didn’t see Marika again but she finished the race strong & I can’t wait to see what else is in store for her over the next years (Huge congrats gal!!!).

I continued walking / sucking / feeling like sh*t but also knowing my mental game and body felt strong & it was just nausea holding me back. A few Search & Rescue vehicles were coming up the trail carrying out their routine checks and I felt the need to stop the last one asking if they had anything stronger than Pepto for nausea. I felt really off and I am a fainter so it felt like an appropriate time to acknowledge that I felt terrible so that if I at least passed out I’d have someone qualified right in front of me to help. He offered some Gatorade which I downed and kind of felt better but, then out of nowhere I was projectile vomiting. The S&R guy said something a long the lines of ‘Look, I know you’re an ultra runner & you enjoy this but, I think you’re done’. I probably would have agreed with him & called it quits out of the pure misery of vomiting but, Etienne appeared right in the nick of time and was like ‘Hold up, this is her first vomit episode, she isn’t done, not yet’. Etienne kindly agreed to run the remainder of this leg to the Amber Aid Station roughly 1.8 km away. He promised he wouldn’t leave me and would walk the whole way if needed. I couldn’t believe the kindness of this stranger and how selfless his attitude towards me was. What a rad human! Much to my surprise I pretty much ran the next 1.8km right into the Aid Station.

From here I tried to eat some crackers & drink some pickle juice. YUK. Pickle juice is NOT my jam when I feel so depleted so that was a hard no from me. Etienne got me out on the Ambler Loop (another 5 km that brings runners back to that same aid station). As I was running out of the aid area I started vomiting again so I told Etienne to head on without me and that I’d continue at my own slow pace. In my mind I was still scared I was going to pass out so I tried to keep Etienne within my sight which honestly made me move a lot quicker. I vomited a few more times on this loop but, somehow managed to stay up right on 2 feet. I arrived back at the Aid Station and by this point it was dark. I remembered in 2019 I arrived at the next TA as it got dark so I knew I was now well behind my 2019 time and honestly my fucks were not existent. I basically had 10 km’s of downhill running left to the next TA where my crew awaited followed by the final leg. The end was within sight and I still had 10 hours to go to cover 31 km’s – even if I walked the remainder of the race I could totally finish in 24 hours and not DNF or be OTL.

As I rocked up to the TA I decided to give myself 60 minutes. 60 minutes of sitting there, sipping away on liquids, eating anything that my stomach could handle and basically allowing myself a re-set. I tried. I tried everything. Nothing stayed down & I found myself vomiting the contents of my stomach, followed by bile, followed by absolutely nothing on repeat for that whole 60 minutes. I even attempted leaving the Aid Station on 3 occasions just to see if movement took my mind off of it. But, in reality I knew I didn’t have anything left in my reserves, that I had literally left everything out there and that I was just becoming my own hazard. As I was sat there trying to figure it out if I should give it one last shot I look up to the food area & see Ali. I literally couldn’t believe my eyes, she was looking fresh, strong and in good spirits. I honestly thought I was hallucinating LOL. I looked over & called out to Ali & I don’t think she could quite believe I was now the one sat there, feeling like the biggest bag of poop. In a quick flash of ‘oh how the roles have reversed’ Ali tried to get me moving and to get me out of the Aid Station but, I had already completed my 5km loop. Ali set off for her loop and once she had completed and could see me still sat there she offered to run to the next TA with me too but, as I attempted to leave once more I just knew I didn’t have it in me. Ali left and also continued on to the finish line – ATTA GIRL! So impressive & what a come back from Hamel – You go girl!!!!… I gave myself 1 more attempt, made it 20 meters down the road, felt lightheaded and knew my time was up. I texted Karen from Ali’s phone prior to Ali leaving mentioning I was likely calling it quits and that I’d reached my limit.

I walked over to the food area, handed in my timing chip & my death race coin and was surprised to see Megan also there calling it a day (Megan had really terrible blisters & lost a bunch of toenails that day! Such a trooper) I honestly thought handing in my timing chip would sting. I thought the tears would come or, that it would hit me hard the following days or weeks. But 3 weeks have passed and I still feel like I made the right decision, I have zero regrets or a heavy heart in fact I am proud of my first DNF & pushing my body to it’s own physical limits of that day. I truly believe this was a consequence of poor nutritional choices throughout the day combined with heat and maybe it wouldn’t have got to this point if I forced fed myself but, every race is a lesson and this is just another experience to add to my ultra resume.

Post Race

I did end up in hospital for the night (& no, not because I was passed out). Karen was genuinely worried about leaving me and wanted me to get checked over ‘just incase’. I still couldn’t keep anything down including water & I was even vomiting at the car when I was putting my crew bins back in my own vehicle so, getting checked out was probably the most sensible thing to do (despite me wanting to just put warm clothes on and sleep!). I promised I’d have the first aid check me over at the race finish. They did & my vitals were fine. They did try to put an IV in me too just to get some fluids into me quickly but, with a dehydrated body it was hard finding a vein and after seeing a bunch of blood literally pouring out of my arm I’d had enough. Karen took me to hospital where I spent the night hooked up to fluids consuming 5-6 bags. I guess I was a little dehydrated after all….

After leaving the hospital I made my way over to A&W for a couple of well deserved brekky’s I was starving & now able to keep food down so this gal had an appetite (Great! Only a couple of hours too late). I then showered, took down my tent & hit the road to come back to Canmore. I only needed 1×20 min power nap along the Parkway and made it home in the evening, straight to bed!!

The week following was a little testing. You know when people have a sore body, maybe sore legs? a sore butt? you know, the usual things you feel after running 94 km’s & a shit tone of vert. Well, I was actually feeling sore on my insides. I had experienced this in 2019 after the same race and it ended up being an inflamed Gall Bladder… LOL After a blood test & an ultra sound I had the same thing going on but, my liver was also inflamed (This was really sad as I was kind of craving a beer!!) ahaha After a solid week of recovery, sleep & light spinning I was back to feeling myself again both physically & mentally.

People have asked if I will be running Blackspur – errrr YES? Ultra running / ultra racing is something I absolutely love and have the heart & soul for. There’s going to be good days, there’s going to be bad days & there’s going to be everything in-between. For some, this experience might sound terrible, awful in fact and maybe a little scary? why on earth would someone get enjoyment from pushing themselves to what appears to be their limit. Is that healthy? Is it sustainable? Perhaps they are mentally unstable? (LOL) Don’t worry – I ask myself theses questions often but, I seriously LOVE this sport. It’s not meant to be easy and it’s not meant to be all fun & games. If it was, everyone would do it. I think it’s real and raw to be vulnerable and to share experiences. The 2021 Canadian Dearth Race was an experience I am genuinely proud of and one I can truly learn from so yes, I will be toeing the start line of Blackspur fueled with even more knowledge about myself and my body. I might have set out to finish the Sinister Triple event and a DNF at CDR falls short of this goal but, I did just find out I am coming 2nd in Triple event despite my DNF so yeaaaaaaah, it’s game on for this gal. Let’s end this summer with even more passion for this sport then it began with <3

Huge THANKS to Karen & Lachlan for giving up their time & crewing me. Despite the result of the day I am so grateful you guys took time out during your busy schedules to help and support a new friend. I appreciate you both and will return the favor at a future race!! To all of the volunteers (especially those at Ambler who wouldn’t let me hang up my race timing chip & coin until I felt completely depleted) You guys wanted to see me keep on keeping on – the support and vibes were welcoming. To Sinister 7 for putting on yet again another class event! & to each & every runner out there especially Etienne. The ultra community is one I am stoked to be a part of. I learnt some beautiful lessons in kindness and friendships out on this course & my heart is even more fuller than ever. Thank you!