Riding the Iron Horse

“Don’t forget to look up every now and then and check out the view.” Adam’s advice was well timed. I had just crested the lip of a gnarly hill. I took my eyes off my feet and twisted for a look at what I just climbed. A rippling tide of yellow leaves rolled through a shallow valley. The sun was momentarily unveiled from behind sailing clouds. The lake in the valley was a brilliant golden mirror. It took away what little breath I had left. The sight nearly rooted me to the ground, transfixed. No time to stop! I was nearly 50 kilometres in to this 100 kilometre race.

Adam and I stuck together through the brutal up and down pasture land of leg 3. We followed a barbed wire fence over uneven ground. I learned Adam was running the 100 mile race and that he’d run in the Iron Horse 100 every year since it began, 15 years ago. He is wild looking with a salt and pepper beard that comes clear to the middle of his chest. He would go on to win the 100 mile race with a time of 23 hours, 3 minutes.

I ran with the eventual winner of the 100k route earlier in the day. We were still in St. Paul making our way around town. Colin, it turns out, had been at the Canadian Death Race earlier this year. He finished that course in 16 hours and 40 minutes. As we talked I wondered if he’d emerge as the victor here. I nearly ruined his chances. As we ran along the boardwalk near the lake in St. Paul both my feet came out from under me. We were making a corner and the boards were slick with frost and who knows what. I had no chance. I came down swiftly and took Colin out with me for good measure. Thankfully, neither of us were hurt. My dramatic fall probably saved the half dozen runners behind us from a similar fate. Colin’s winning time would be 11 hours and 46 minutes.

I won’t bore you with a play-by-play of this race. 100 kilometers is a long way. I was in high spirits. I felt good. My nutrition was on point. I switched from GU gels to Sun River Honey and was pleased with the results. I don’t get the gag reflex with honey, and the variety of flavours was great. I try to take a gel/honey every 45 minutes. It seems to come out to one an hour by the end.

I spent very little time in transitions this race. I was less than a minute at TA 1. I spent 3 minutes at TA 2. I took my time after the third leg, 16 minutes. This allowed me to change my shirt and socks. I felt like a new man coming out of that transition. When you sit that long, though, you really begin seizing up. It takes a good kilometre before the blood is flowing again.

I can’t give enough praise to my crew. They were so great. Did they leave me hanging at a TA like last time? Well, yes. But only for about 5 minutes. This is serious improvement folks. I was moving quickly. I was secretly hoping for a time under 12 hours. I did it too! But for some reason, I was still out there. At kilometre 101, there is a nice encouraging sign letting you know there is just 5k more to go! Someone needs to teach these race directors math. How nice of them to throw in a little challenge right at the end.

I’ll admit that I was feeling pretty worn out by the end. About 400 meters from the finish you cross the highway at a light in St. Paul. As I approached, I worked hard to time the light just right… not so it would be green and I could run through, but so it would be red and I would have a great excuse to stop for 30 seconds. I timed it perfectly. I am over the moon pleased with my performance. I came in 5th overall with a time of 12 hours, 19 minutes and 14 seconds. It feels like the perfect ending to the racing season.

Lewis suffered some IT band issues and pulled out about halfway through. He is taking some good learnings from his first ultra-running season. I anticipate big things for him coming in 2024. He and I sat down a couple weeks later to talk ultra-marathoning for the first episode of his new podcast. You can check it out on Spotify.

Standing here at the end of this ultra season I am grateful for the chance to pause and look up. The view from here is breathtaking. I’ve come a long way in a year. I decided to get back to racing after I ran on a relay team in the Iron Horse 100 in 2022. It has been a long climb with its share of setbacks. I took a tumble on a mountain in Utah in late June (I still don’t have the full range of motion in my right thumb). My DNF at Sinister 7 was a low point. I did take 3rd place in the highly prestigious Malad, Idaho 4th of July 10k fun run. Jaron and I were a couple warriors at the Red Deer Spartan Race. As I reflect it occurs to me that for a solo-sport running is really about community. I love pushing the limits of my endurance but what makes it truly beautiful is the people at the starting and finishing lines. It is the angels that came to my rescue in the Canadian Death Race. It is running shoulder to shoulder with my son, hearing the cheers of my nieces and nephews, or doing my best not to choke on the dust of my running buddies who inevitably grow up to make me look slow. It is my crew, led by my better half, that makes running worth every step.

No time to stop and admire this view for long. I’m not even half way through this race yet.