The easiest 100 miles.

My goal with the Oldman Backyard Ultra was to complete 24 yards. This would make it my first, and maybe my last, 100 miles. I attempted and failed a 100 mile race in 2023, the Sinister 7. It wasn’t the distance that ended that attempt but a mismanagement of my electrolytes over the notorious leg 3, appropriately monikered Satan’s Sac. I feel like I’ve conquered the 100k distance. 100 miles seems daunting. A backyard ultra may be the best way to attack this distance for the first time. Each loop (or yard as they call them) is 4 miles and 880 feet. The rules are fairly simple. The race starts at the bottom of the hour and you run as fast or slow as you like as long as you complete the yard within the hour and are at the start line for the bottom of the next hour. There is only one winner. The last person standing must complete one more lap than the next person. Technically everyone earns a DNF (did not finish) except the winner. If the last person standing can’t finish one more lap there is no winner. This year’s winner completed 36 laps for 145.95 miles. Legend. It was a pleasure to run with Matthew Shepard too. He was genuine, entertaining, humble, and encouraged everyone out there. Personality goals. Thanks Shep.

The Crew

If running 100 miles could ever be said to be easy, this is as easy as they come. I had a stellar crew. My wife Lisa and my sister Alison stuck it out the whole night. My running buddy Lewis also came out to support me as he could. I averaged about 15 minutes of down time after each lap. They doctored my feet, massaged my back, forced food and fluid into me. They cheered me on and generally made the experience better in every way. I felt I had a huge advantage over others without a crew like mine. 

The Course

This course was nearly perfect. It started out in the fantastic Pavan Park shelter. This facility has a full kitchen and flush toilets. At the end of every lap I used those flush toilets and was able to wash my hands with soap and warm water. This was very nice. You leave the starting coral on a gentle grassy downhill that spits you out on a paved path. The pavement lasts about 700 meters before entering the woods. The course is an out and back but nearly a full loop. This means the halfway turn around point is directly on the other side of the park shelter. There were always people there cheering you on and there were portable toilets there. They even had a portable toilet at the 2k mark. This was a very civilized race.

The course is a gentle climb for the first 2k and then a gentle decent to the turn around. There was one steep little hill on that back half. Had it been raining that section would have been miserable. They did have ropes on either side of it in case the weather did turn bad. They checked with the creators of this wicked form of masochism and got the go ahead on that little assist. Technically there can be no assistance on course. You can’t use trekking poles, for example. In the end it was a dry day and mostly blue skies. In fact, with a high temperature of 17 Celsius and a low of 5 the weather could not have been any better. Lethbridge is known for its wind but we only ever experienced gentle breezes. I found myself loving the last 2k of every yard, a gentle downhill grade made those “fast.” In future years if this course is wet it would be muddy and difficult. Thankfully this was not the case this year.

The Wildlife

I had some fun encounters on the course. In the dark I thought I was coming up on a raccoon in the middle of the path. Turns out it was a porcupine. I had visions of Lisa pulling barbs out of my legs. Thankfully that did not happen. I shared the trail with a beaver twice. It may have been the same beaver. The wildlife is clearly habituated to humans. There were large numbers of whitetail deer. They would come right up to the trail and often only dart off if you came within feet. I would not have been surprised if a runner collided with one in the dark. With head lamps shining in the dark their glowing eyes were an ever watchful presence.

The Race

I spent the majority of the race in the top 15 to 20 runners. There were many later laps when I led the pack and finished first. I wondered if this was a poor strategy. My fastest lap would have been about 42 minutes. This is pretty slow for just shy of 7 kilometres but possibly a little fast for 100 miles. A faster lap was often nice to get a little more doctoring in. In the end, I think the optimal time for me would have been about 46 to 48 minutes. An analysis of backyard ultra data I expect would show that winners average closer to 50 minutes or more.

When I left the start line on yard 7 I had a sharp pain in the top of my left ankle. It persisted as sharp through the short paved section when it settled into a tightness and throbbing. It would plague me for the remainder. I worried that it would force me out of the race earlier than expected. I did my best to ignore it. It got easier to do that as the yards kept going by as other parts of my body hurt more.

There were many (mostly men) that ran each yard in under 40 minutes. It was interesting to watch them degrade over time. I wish I had everyone’s average yard times. I’d be surprised to see anyone with an average yard time under 40 minutes go much farther than 100 kilometres. There was a young man, Carter, that generally led the pack for the first 15 yards (100k). He demonstrated serious athleticism. He also showed his youth with a sunburn and the lack of a head lamp on yard 15. His goal was 100k having never run an ultra distance, I believe. Lap 15 was a good lap for me and I found myself at the front of the pack with Carter. He needed my headlamp. I’m not sure he could have gone much faster had he had one. I was excited to dial in the 100k distance. My bad ankle had me worried that I wouldn’t make 100 miles but 100k is a nice consolation price. It turned out I was feeling fantastic. This probably had something to do with the 200mg of caffeine and 500mg of Tylenol I took at the end of lap 13 (lap 13 was all around the worst). I enjoyed getting to know Carter a little as we ran. With a 100 meters to go I challenged him to a race and we sprinted it in. I came flying over the finish line with a jump and a guttural victory yell. It felt awesome. If you ever read this Carter, thanks for a great yard 15! I hope to see you at future ultra events. 

I found myself running regularly with Marc. He is a kinesiologist with a specialty in nutrition at the University of Lethbridge. I really enjoyed picking his brain. He has some serious grit. He was self supported. The longer the race went the more impressed I became. We both had goals of 24 yards. I’m happy to report that he made that goal. We talked about the need to force yourself in to the starting coral. On more than one occasion this proved vital. I would have a tough yard and have to force myself into the starting coral to then find that the next yard was very enjoyable. The body does weird things.

When I run longer than about 30k my body starts locking up in the lower back and pelvic region. Stopping for any period of time leads to muscle spasms and the feeling that if I turn the wrong direction I’ll just collapse. I was fighting this feeling from about yard 7 through 13. Then it suddenly just went away. Normally I’d be heating my lower back after a race, courtesy of two back surgeries I think, but not this time. Maybe something has been misaligned in that area since 2019 and it fixed itself? Whatever the reason I am grateful for that relief even if it turns out not to be permanent.

The last 4 yards were a decent into hell. I had to force myself to the starting coral every time. My nutrition was falling apart. I’d lost the ability to force the fluids and foods in. I was taking in less and less and I knew this was spelling the end. I was feeling like I might not make another yard when I got a call from racing legend Jeremy Palmer. 

He gave me just the motivation I needed. Thanks buddy. Check out his adventures on Jermeyinfinland.com. My left knee started hurting around yard 20. On yard 23 it was excruciating. I generally do not have problems with my knees. The only other time I recall having knee pain was 90k into a 100k backcountry backpacking trip. I ascribed that to the weight of the pack I was carrying. This was much worse than that. In fact, both knees were in trouble but the left made it possible to ignore the pain in the right. It was bad enough that I thought I’d be done on lap 23. I was ready to throw in the towel but I couldn’t stomach the defeat so close. I told myself I was going out for yard 24 and if I didn’t make it in the hour I’d still have travelled the 100 miles.

Lisa is a rock star. She taped my left knee and sent me back out for the final lap. It is important for me to have a goal. I had no real aspiration that I could win this race. Last year’s winner only needed 21 yards but it was obvious the field was much deeper this year. About half way through the race I gave myself a limit. I’d only run a 25th lap if I was the last person standing. This seemed wise. I am quite capable of running myself to death. This race format is interesting. I’ve run for nearly 24 hours before but covering the same 7k over and over again is mind numbing. It is possible that I was having micro sleeps while running. On one yard I was expecting to approach the mudslide when I realized I’d already passed it. I ran down that hill and had no memory of it. This happened maybe three or four times. It was a bit disconcerting.

The race started at 7 am on Saturday morning. I’d just run through the night. Sunrise was at 6:01 am. The sky was a beautiful dappled purple. I considered walking but told myself to stay steady for as long as I was capable. I was near the back of the pack with eight runners remaining. I remained near the back until the turn around. I started gathering speed here. Having walked the ugly little hill that is bound to catch the name mudslide in future races, the knee pain shot up and running proved to dissipate some of that pain. So I held steady. I started catching and passing opponents and the closer I got to the finish the more determined I became. In that last 50 meters to the finish line I gave it my all to come over the line in a replay of my 100k finish. I was elated… but as I review the video of that finish I come across angry. I had the race in my teeth. I finished that final yard in just over 50 minutes.

The Aftermath

The marathon after the marathon can be nearly as uncomfortable. Lisa and Alison took great care of me. They packed up our aid station. 

I collected my DNF beer, which will find its way into an Irish stew at some point, and pulled my card from the wall to signify my dropping out. That was the most satisfying DNF ever. Sunday was a blur. We headed back to Alison and Dave’s where I found a bed. I was only out a couple hours before I came down to chat with them. At 2 pm I got up to puke after dry heaving for 15 minutes. I’d been feeling like puking since about 4 am so this was something of a relief. I remained awake until about 8 pm and spent some time chatting with Alison, Dave and the family. It seems I only visit them for ultras and spend the majority of the time broken. 

It was a rough night. I was up every hour to pee and my left ankle got progressively worse. Thankfully the bathroom wasn’t far, but have you ever tried to hop on one foot after running 100 miles? It goes about as well as you might expect. The last couple hours I just held my bladder until I could ask someone for a walking stick. Before bed I was able to put down a piece of buttered toast and half a grilled cheese sandwich. I also managed 1200 millilitres of gatorade over night. Besides the hourly trips to the bathroom I vacillated between shivering and boiling. One piece of essential aftercare for me is an electric heating pad. It is wonderful. It is now 2 pm on Monday. I am writing this in the car as Lisa drives us north to Athabasca County where I have a board meeting tonight. I’ve managed to eat half a breakfast and half a lunch. The appetite is there, but it almost feels like the muscles around my diaphragm are fatigued leading to something akin to the feeling of acid reflux. I expect this will rectify itself by tomorrow. My brother in-law is a pharmacist. He provided me with some Graval yesterday (which I likely threw up), but he also bought me a cane this morning on our way out of town. Lisa will put some vinyl flames on it for me. Thanks Dave, it’s going to come in handy.

My feet made out alright. It does not look like I’ll lose any toenails. I do have a pretty nasty looking blister on my left big toe. It looks way worse than it is. I have a less serious one on the left foot. I thought I’d cracked the toenail on my big toe. There was blood there but it washed away nicely and I can’t actually determine where the blood came from. 

Nutrition

I took in nearly 14 litres of fluids over the run. This had me urinating every yard and sometimes twice a yard. I was nervous about my fluid intake and might have overdone it a little. It was not particularly hot out, but I am a heavy sweater. I am glad we kept data on what I was eating and drinking. This gives me some opportunity to think about what was working and what was not. I wonder if I would not feel quite so ill after the race if I could restrict the Tylenol intake. 3000mg of Tylenol seems extreme. It probably made the difference in toughing things out though. The Caffeine had a significant impact. The two laps directly after the first 3 doses were some of the best yards. Since I stopped drinking caffeine January 1st, and this was the first I’ve had it since then, it likely had an outsized impact. Yard 20 was the last yard I felt good, but you can see the drop in fluid and nutrition intake at this point. The instances where I was taking in 485ml of water (yards 12-18) was when I was carrying my hand bottle on the yards. I should have continued to force myself to take this with me but possibly moved to an electrolyte drink for variety. The race aid station was great for its variety of foods.

Oldman Backyard Ultra

The organizers of this race need to be applauded. They ran one of the most stellar running events I’ve ever participated in. The volunteers were amazing too. I wish I had a picture and the name of the lady passing out high 5s at the 2k mark. You were awesome. The logistics were well thought out. The race swag was excellent. The atmosphere was upbeat and encouraging. I believe it is their goal to become a top-tier backyard ultra. This was just year two and they pumped up participation from about 40 to about 135. I can’t say enough about how well this race was executed. The parking is tight at the venue and an increase in participation would likely require them to run a shuttle or a fleet of golf carts to bring racers in. However, I think they should consider a cap at 150 to 200. The space is about perfect to accommodate that. I won’t be surprised if future years required a lottery to get in or a fundraising minimum. 5 stars, would recommend. Amazing job!

They’ve partnered with a commendable charitable organization, Youth One. I’m not sure how long the fundraising will be available but I’ll leave this link to Donorbox here if you’d like to contribute. At the time of this writing they’d raised $38,030.97 of their $50,000 goal. Thank you to those that donated in support me and anyone that donated, you are part of something special.

Final Thoughts

I seem to forget that running is about people when I’m out training, and putting in long runs with nothing but me and the pavement or trail. Racing events remind me that there is an entire community of decent people dedicated to the sport. It reminds me that I’m loved and supported by all my favourite people. From David holding down the fort overnight as his wife waited on her brother to make one more hour, to Jeremy calling in support at the eleventh hour, Lewis showing up with Subway, and to Lisa’s attention to every detail ensuring I could run the best race within my power, I felt a lot of love this weekend. If I had an illness or a tragedy in my life I think I might expect a little of this love freely given. When I stop to really think about it, the fact that I keep doing this to myself and my favourite people step up over and over is a bit overwhelming. I am reminded of the scripture to: 

Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, shall men give into your bosom.

Luke 6:38

I hope all this love might be at least partially attributable to my desire and striving to give, to love. It may also just be that I’ve surrounded myself with a bunch of bad behaviour enablers… 🙂