Run Report - 100 km run to End Kids Cancer

The Sears Great Canadian Run was an amazing experience.  I lost a battle but won the war.

The night before I got all my gear ready.

Fuel: Vega bars, oranges, watermelon, salted potatoes, salty chips, fuzzy peaches, skittles, raisins, dates, and electrolyte tabs.

Liquids: water.  Beer for after.

Gear: socks (x3), shorts (x2), pants, shirts (x2), long-sleeve top, buff,  running jacket, gloves, camelback, handheld water bottle, rain jacket, change of clothes, and shoes (x3).

First aid: Gin Gins for tummy trouble, moleskin for blisters, chamois butt'r for chaffing, Tylenol 8 hour for pain

Woke up at 4 am and was at the Aviation Museum by 5:30 am.  We picked up our kits and I got to put on my GoodGuysTri shirt.  I am proud to be part of that team.  We raised $74K between the 19 of us to End Kids Cancer!!  We sang Oh Canada together and had some motivational speeches and stories that had tears streaming down all the faces in the room.

 We started running at 7 am and did the first 5 km as a team.  After that we picked up the pace and our team spread out.  I felt strong for the first 40 km.  

At that point I got stopped by a red light.  When I tried to start up again, my right leg seized with incredible pain.  I limped along and tried to run again but it wouldn't happen.  I hobbled into the rest station and right onto a massage table where I received Active Release Therapy for my IT band.  The therapist's elbow in my leg drew a few grunts of pain.  I got up but still couldn't walk without a painful limp.  I was done.  I was going to be a cheerleader for the rest of the event.

At each stop after, I was walking and cheering, hoping that I could possibly continue.  I spoke to my parents, who had brought my boys to cheer, and suggested they go home where it was dry.  I wasn't going to be running any more. 

Then I got advice from a teammate who was also having trouble.  She would start out a race segment before the others arrived and when the team caught up, she would be swept up by the support vehicle and brought to the next rest stop to start again.  I decided to do the same.

I started out limping, and then I was hobbling, still in excruciating pain.  At some point, my hobble turned to a slow jog and then, amazingly, a run, albeit slow, and eventually the pain diminished.  I kept that up and arrived at the next rest stop, without my team catching up with me.  

I took some water, food, and started off the next segment - limp, hobble, jog, run.  I was joined by another runner whose injury had slowed him down earlier in the race.  I learned that my mind could overcome the pain signals my body was screaming at me and keep moving forward. 

In the end, I added another 23 km for a total of 63 km (1.5 marathons!) of the planned 100 km. [Edited: I initially thought I'd completed 70 km but I recounted]. I'm very proud of this accomplishment.

Different than any other run I've completed, I was supported by my wife the whole way.  I'd run into a rest stop and she had water, salt pills, food, change of clothes, plenty of words of encouragement, a hug and send me on my way to the next rest stop.  That was extremely important.  Nathalie, you are incredible.

My family provided so much support and cheering along the way - my sister and family at the starting line, my cousin and family during the first 40 km, then my parents and my boys through the difficult time when I couldn't run, then some words of encouragement from my daughter on Facebook, and then my sisters and their families at the end.  Wow.  Thank you for being amazing.  

We also had the support of  an amazing ultramarathon runner and running coach.  He would drive by us with rock music blasting from his van.  He would park and when we ran by he'd hand us goodies - fruit skewers, gelato, chicken noodle soup, ginger tea.  And always with encouragement - "you're looking amazing out there". 

I can't say enough about my teammates.  They are an amazing and inspiring group.  Always encouraging each other.  No matter the goals for the day, we were working together to achieve and surpass them.  One Team!!!

The weather, at one point a deluge of rain, was a challenge but one I'm familiar with.  Mother Nature has challenged me before and I generally come out victorious.

At the last checkpoint, we met up as a team and all of us ran the last 800m into the Chateau Montebello, right into the hall, where everyone was on their feet cheering as we walked in.  A very moving experience.  

It was an epic day that I'll remember forever.