The Ageless Athlete - Ultras and Beyond

The Ageless Athlete: Chapter 4: Ultras and Beyond……………….

Martin

Things were busy at the start of 2017. The 7th Annual Run/Walk fundraiser had gone well and this time we were supporting Free to Run in their efforts to introduce figure skating to the Afghan women and girls. My second book, Running to the Edge, had been released in November 2016 and I had a number of book signings in January and February. At the end of February Sue and I headed over to England and Wales to spend time with Calum and members of my family. In April it was time for the first race of the season, the 10-km Glencoe Icebreaker. I was injury free and the race went well.

At the beginning of May 2017, I was feeling pretty good about myself and the progress I was making in my training. But then, on May 16, I felt a twinge in my right thigh. Experience has taught me that there are some things you can run off, others you must rest up and ice or heat, and others still for which you have to seek professional treatment. Once again I found myself lying on the table in my chiropractor’s treatment room having deep-tissue therapy and manipulation. This really helped, and after a few days of rest my thigh was feeling much better and I felt sure it would get me through to the race. On Saturday, May 27, the big day arrived. The Calgary 150 Ultra.?

The start line was at the Olympic arch at Eau Claire Market in Calgary. I had arranged to meet a friend, Malc Kent, and prepare for the race. Some time back, I had met Malc through my local running club. He had joined us for our regular Saturday morning run. He explained that he was part of a start-up company that was developing technology able to monitor athletes’ key running outputs like power, heart rate and efficiency of running motion. Malc told me he was interested in fitting me with data-collection modules to monitor my progress during races.?

So he put a pod on each foot, taped modules to my shins and fitted a data collector on my lower back. I hoped these items wouldn’t weigh me down. At 6 p.m., as it began to drizzle, the gun went off and so did I. As usual, my biggest nemesis was the cut-off time. I knew this one would be tough. The first 100 km had to be completed in 13 hours, and you had to get to the start line of the 50-km ultra by 7 a.m. The remaining 50 km had to be completed in 6.5 hours, a very big ask. Things went well for the first six 10-km loops, but as darkness fell I started to feel pressure……………………?

Click here to see the rest of Blog 5/25: Chapter 4

Stay Tuned………………….Blog 6/25: Chapter 5: Malc Kent – The Early Years (Part 1 of 2) comes out on Wednesday March 20th 2024.