Chiggy Ultra - First 100 Miler

 I am now a couple days out from completing my first 100 miler, the brain fog has lifted (mostly), but I still feel weird putting this all down. I have never recapped any of my runs and quite honestly ultras are very new to me, so I haven’t had many opportunities.

First and foremost I need to say thank you. 

To my wonderful partner Erin (my crew chief), who has only ever believed and encouraged me through many ups and downs in the past few years. I could never express how grateful I am for you. 

Thank you to the rest of our crew, Colin, James and Sarah. It goes without saying that I wouldn’t have been able to push through this without you guys, anyone who saw you in the parking lot would say the same thing. BEST CREW EVER. 

To John and Deb of Wentworth Valley Trailrunners, thank you for giving me the opportunity to get this done. I can’t begin to know the hours and work it took for you guys to put this event together, especially in recent days with sweeping the course yourselves after Fiona and being without power. I am truly blessed to have met you both. Also need to point out, John is a fellow paramedic and sent out a call to participants for free registration for first responders, I hope you feel I earned my registration, it was an honour! 

Thank you to every volunteer that took part in this event, you made me look forward to every aid station and helped immensely in me completing this journey. 

The park staff at Cape Chignecto, you are all amazing for getting this place ready in such a short time and allowing all of us runners to have our time in your park. It meant everything to have a few of you waiting for me as I crossed the line, thank you.

 I need to give a shout out to all of my fellow hfx hares, I found this trail running group in 2021 when I bought my first pair of trail runners. Pete you have built something special in that group and it has motivated me to push my running to where it is today. I ran into many hares out there completing different distances and you all had the same vibes, it’s a pleasure to know and run with you all. 

My family, we have been through some tough times this last year and a bit. Losing my father to Cancer in August last year has been a hard adjustment for us all. I thought of you all often and seeing the pain my father went through in his last days helped me push through the most trying times of this event. I love you all so much. 

Lastly to my son Cooper, he can’t read yet but I hope someday he finds this and is proud of his old man. Part of the reason I started running in 2018 was to set a better example for him and show him he can do anything if he tries his hardest. 

That was a long winded thank you, but being thankful was a building block I focused in on when training for this race. The outpouring of love and support everyone has shown for me before, during and after this race has been extremely overwhelming, and humbling. You all mean so much to me and I hope you know that.

The Jackhammer

As stated above, I found trail running in 2021 through the Hfx hares running group. Seeing some of these folks running big km’s and different events, I have had a thirst for the same. 

Multiple books, YouTube videos and podcasts I’ve taken in along the way suggested if you are going to attempt a 100 miler, pick a race that you are emotionally invested in. Then pops up the Chiggy Ultra, the jackhammer x 3. On the race roster sign up page it offered to provide “the full jackhammering you’ve always wanted”….how could I pass that up.

 Cape Chignecto park has always been a special place for me. I started multi day hiking there years ago with a good friend Zach. I can remember seeing runners out there and thinking “what the fuck is wrong with these people, must be insane”. 

The race boasted 3 loops of the scenic Cape Chignecto park. 48ish km and approximately 2000 meters of vert per loop (ended with a total of 160.94 km and 6747 m vert as per my Garmin forerunner 955). I was signed up before I even had time to really consider what the hell I was getting myself into.

Pre Race

Erin and I dropped Cooper off at his babysitters in Halifax Friday morning and hit the road to Advocate Harbour. 

We enjoyed the drive down, as we always do. Something about the scenery on this 3ish hour drive always gets me a little excited for what’s in store at the end. 

Somewhere between Five Islands, Erin remarked “I love the province we live in” and I couldn’t agree more. 

As we pulled into the Parrsboro Irving for gas we ran into the rest of our crew who were driving down from New Brunswick to meet us. Together we convoyed the rest of the way to our Airbnb which overlooked Advocate Harbour and the very hills we would conquer in the coming days. I’ll admit, it was an eerie feeling watching the sun set over the bay that evening, knowing what was in store. 

Earlier that day we ventured down to the park parking lot and main building where I got to meet John, Deb, Jason and local legend Laurie. My good buddy Luc Doucet was there as well and we took a walk down to the Red Rocks in full tourist mode, taking pictures and enjoying the amazing view. 

We took a 20 minute drive out Eatonville Rd so Erin and crew would have an idea of where they could set up shop at the Bunkhouse (the first aid station along the trail, approx 16 km in). 

On our way back to our Airbnb we made a quick stop which turned into a whole event. To make a long story short someone backed into my driver side door as we were getting out to run into the local store, this was my first mental test of the weekend and now looking back is just a small blip in the chain of events that took place over the weekend. Somehow we all shrugged it off and set forward to accomplish what we originally came to this amazing little village to do…..go for a walk in the park.

Loop 1 

The alarm went off at 0430. 

I managed to get a decent sleep in a pretty uncomfortable bed. Meanwhile Sarah, James and Colin were all cuddled up on the pullout couch in our tiny cabin. 

The fire in the wood stove dwindled out hours ago and it was a crisp morning.

 We made the 10 minute drive to the parking lot and we were happy to see a few familiar faces getting ready at their cars. 

With headlamps on we made our way to the infamous green gate. 

Earlier in the summer after I dragged myself through a loop of Chiggy and slapped the gate, a park employee asked “why do all you runners hit that gate when you finish” I responded with “man, it doesn’t count if you don’t hit that gate.” I think I threw up shortly after that. 

John (the race director) said a few words and read the trail runners creed and shortly after we were off, running to the first hill, where we all started hiking, except a few lunatics who I’m sure wished later on they had.

 I gave a nice caress to the first 1 km placard on the side of the trail, and made sure to tap each and every marker along the way of every loop, for good luck of course. 

The first section of trail was a new one for myself, McGahey Brook trail. This trip through was dark and muddy. At this point I was still trying to keep my feet dry as long as I could.

 By now a few runners doing the double loop had broke off in front of the pack.

 I settled in to a group of about 5 or 6 runners (a couple hares Reid and Luc, James, Jody and Joel) who were keeping the pace I was looking for. It made me question whether I was going out too hot but I was able to keep my HR down and felt this was my cruising speed for the day. 

Eventually on the way to Eatonville the group spread out leaving James and I by ourselves.

 I learned early in the summer at QMT 80k, after a soul crushing DNF, that I need to race my own race, I dropped the ego and did just that Saturday. 

Eventually we linked up with Reid again at the Bunkhouse aid station and he stuck with us all the way through our first loop. 

Coming into that aid station I was feeling great and so stoked to see my crew as this would be the last time I saw them until we looped back to the main gate at the end of this go. 

Anthony and Eric who were running this station made it a hilarious stop I looked forward to each time around. Was great to see Mark of SJ trail running fame. 

Coming out of this aid station, I knew what I was in for. I believe it may have been Jodi Isenor who coined the term “torture chamber” for the section between seal cove and a few km before refugee cove. 

This stretch can be devastating for the best runners on their best days, a week after hurricane Fiona, I figured it would be an absolute shit show of mud and undulating hills. It was….but having the company of James and Reid really made it fly by. 

It was through this section a lot of the 1 loop runners were blazing through, at one point I counted 6 Hfx hares in a row, it was so much fun to see them out there crushing their day. 

Shout out also to Robyn who finished second place female and her partner Mike on his first ultra who blazed by us while I was refilling water in one of many streams. 

I made the comment to the boys how I was happy I wasn’t running the shorter distance as they all looked like they were putting in way more effort than us, each one huffing and puffing up hills as they blew past us. 

Eventually we made our way up a 4 wheeler path (a steep 4 wheeler path) to big bald aid station. 

I wish I got the name of the couple running this station but unfortunately I didn’t. If they are reading this, THANK YOU. I asked how long it had been since Luc Doucet had been through, at least 45 minutes was the reply. 

I took the time too eat a couple pickles and a handful of chips, hustled the boys outta there and hit the trail again. 

We were all moving really well at this point and I knew we were almost through the most gruelling section. A few mud bogs stood between us and our first really crazy climb, refugee cove. 

We met a lot of hikers coming out of Refugee Cove that morning, got all the looks you typically get from them when running the trail. 

We put one foot in front of the other and made our way up that climb easily. James, who is a first timer at Chiggy, couldn’t believe me when I said that one has nothing on Mill Brook’s climb. 

We then cruised through to Arch Gulch aid station, which surprised us as we thought that 13 km section between them went by extremely quick with no issues.

 We made another quick stop, I enjoyed seeing a lot of runners at this aid station. People on highs and people on lows, I handed one dude an antiemetic as we left, as I was feeling good and hoping I wouldn’t need them myself for this loop. I’m not sure if he finished or not but I thought of him a bunch on the next km’s hoping he was okay. 

I took a pickle for the road and we slammed it out until Mill Brook, we kept a steady pace, I targeted my HR under 140 all day and was able to do that at the pace we were going. Mill Brook was honestly fun this loop. We joked the whole way up. 

We crossed paths with a female runner (I believe Emily was her name) I recall Reid telling her to hop on the pain train as we all made “chugga chugga chugga chugga” noises and powered up the hill together. 

Stuff like this is why I love trail events. Everyone trying to help each other accomplish their goals. 

As we made our last big descent out of the woods I was feeling great, on a high from executing a pretty near perfect loop for what I was planning. Reid mentioned he was starting to hurt a bit and James was started to feel his quads on the downs (the guy signed up last minute and didn’t train specifically for this race), which sucked for them, but honestly made me feel better about how great I felt…..sorry guys. 

We walked up the last road hill to the main gate and I had my crew with a chair waiting. Erin had some AMAZING vegan stew, hot and ready. 

The crew had everything under control as I sat there and ate.

 I was happy to see Jason White there, a fellow hare and someone whom I really admire and currently shares the FKT of the Chiggy triple loop with another hare Lee (who I wish could have been there for the race as well). 

He made sure I took my headlamp when I stupidly thought I could get to Eatonville before dark, that would have been a pretty big error. 

I asked Jason how long it had been since Luc came through he said about 2 hours and he was looking strong, that absolutely blew my mind.

 I decided I needed to head out right away. Colin finished towelling off my feet, I threw my shoes on. Grabbed James and hit the road.

 On the way out, Reid said he would be taking a few more minutes, I thanked him for the great time spent together and wished him luck, he ended up getting a new distance PR and finished 2 loops, one through the night, which would prove to be too tough for many others trying for the double.

Loop 2

As quick as we took off for the first one, the second one began. 

It felt so odd to be going back out for this loop.

 I was reminiscing a lot about my first time ever running out here with a great friend David Bowman, which coincidentally fell on the same weekend one year ago. It was a night loop and I figured that would help me get through this one. 

James had only signed up for one loop but decided he wanted to try for a new distance PR and he would run out with me to Eatonville where he would meet up with my super crew and join their ranks from there. 

I almost felt better on this section than I did the first loop. My body and mind were warmed up and I was absolutely stoked with how great I felt. I had to slow myself down a few times and check myself, “keep it in gear if you want to finish this thing.” 

About an hour and a half in the sun was setting. We were running through a forest of think canopy in the gulley towards Eatonville. This section is so beautiful in the day but it got dark and chilly quick without the warmth of the sun. 

Luckily, I run hot and didn’t mind the cool breeze, I felt I was thriving and this climate would only help me in the long run. 

We yo-yo’d back and forth with a fella named Josh from Fredericton. He caught up every time I stopped to refill water.

 I managed to stay on top of my fuel and hydration better than any long run or race I’ve done in the past. Which meant I was also stopping to pee every 20-30 minutes. 

On the way in this loop we met a few runners finishing up their 1 loop. One to note was Matt, a fellow hare who had blown out his shoes, I made sure to tell him he needs speedgoats since we all know they are gods gift to trail runners. He did heed my pre race advice and shaved himself moustache so I’ll give him points for that. 

Another runner made sure to let us know we were “legends” as we made our way towards each other. 

I tried to make a point to encourage and send good vibes to every single person we came across all weekend and I really appreciated all the well wishes from everyone else. 

I learned at Capes earlier in the summer that sending out good vibes on your race will only benefit yourself and your mind in the long run. 

We made our way in to Eatonville, James and I embraced and I congratulated him on his big achievement. 

I was feeling really hungry at this point and the gels/waffles weren’t touching my hunger pains. Luckily Erin had prepped some quesadillas which I inhaled and took 2 or 3 or 4 for the road, just in case. 

I popped over to the aid station to grab some chips from Anthony and Eric. I contemplated beating them at Mario Kart when I noticed the switch and two controllers sitting on the table but they mentioned I may have gained a bit of time on Luc so I got out of there quickly. 

Said good bye to my crew and went out into the darkness in really good spirits. I wouldn’t see another runner for another few hours. 

Those few hours felt like days. As great as I felt through the torture chamber on the first loop, it punched me in the face this time. 

I couldn’t see the easy work around spots in the mud pits, it seemed like every other step was a wet one.

 I still managed to keep up a pretty good pace, hiking the hills and running the downs. 

I managed my way to Big Bald aid station, and boy did that turn my mood around. 

As I walked up the hill surrounded by glow sticks, I thought I was walking into a rave, it put a smile on my face. And then I was greeted by an absolute hares legend, Nick Richards. This guy gutted out one of the craziest 100 mile finishes at Capes earlier this summer and was a big inspiration for me through this run. 

I sat for a few minutes and warmed up in the cabin, he told me Luc was looking good and was about an hour ahead of me. 

I was worried about him since I hadn’t seen him and I know he is terrified of the woods in the dark (haha sorry Luc, you know I joke) but I was surprised I was gaining some ground on him at this point. 

I ate some more pickles and chips and hit the trail again, Refugee and Mill Brook loomed in my future and I knew they wouldn’t be as much fun this time around. 

Although I was running this stretch between aid stations seemed to go on forever.

 I run alone more often than not and am comfortable with my thoughts, but the wind picked up and it got really cold.

 I kept myself on track by singing to myself, the same song over and over and over. Adam Baldwin - Lighthouse in Little Lorraine.

 I was able to distract myself enough to not worry about how cold and windy it was on the coast. 

When I did get out onto the barren coastal areas, which are absolutely beautiful in the day time and by night, I could hear the crashing of waves as the tide must have been in. 

I knew exactly where my crew was on the hillside across the harbour and I often wondered if they could see my headlight bopping around in the darkness. I thought about thanking them in Morse code, then thought “dude, you have no idea how to Morse code”.

 I trudged on up refugee and into Arch Gulch. 

At this point all the pickles were catching up with me and I urgently needed to use the outhouse. It was around 0130 and I ran straight to the door, only to be greeted by “HEY! I’m in here!” I thought to myself “of all hours you had to use the bathroom now?” 

As I went to fill my water while I waited, the gentleman at the aid station (I’m sorry I never caught your name but really enjoyed your company) came up behind me, I’m sure he could see me shaking in the cold when he said “come on in young fella there’s a fire on inside, let’s warm you up”. 

I got inside and Roy woke up and came around the corner to greet me.

 The other gentleman remarked on how my mental game must be on point to get me this far. 

They said Luc came through not too long ago with a small group and mentioned how they drove a few people out who didn’t fare so well through the night. I don’t blame them and they are warriors for getting that far in the cold darkness. 

At this point I had a little less than 9 km to go and all I wanted was to see my crew. I thanked them for their hospitality and took off. 

Knowing I would see faces at the aid stations is what got me through that night and I want to thank you all so much if you are reading this. 

My headlamp died not long after leaving this aid station, sometime before I hit Mill Brook ascent. My head was somewhere else at this point and the rest of this loop seemed like a blur. 

As I made my way through the hardwood stands I could hear a few dead fall dropping from the tree tops, “probably remnants of Fiona” I thought. 

As I was cruising down the path towards red rocks and the main gate, I caught a glimpse of two bright eyes in the woods on my right. Instantly I knew it was a bear. I’m not necessarily afraid of them while running, but I after that night, I was happy to be almost out of the woods. 

I knew I just needed to get to my crew, pick up my pacer Sarah and she could pull me through the last loop. It was 0400ish something in the morning when I walked up towards the main gate, and I could here cheering when I let out a big “yessssssir”. 

Once again my crew jumped into action as I sat down in my foldout chair. Jason excitedly told me that Luke was in his car and I had gained a lot of time on him. 

Luc was wanting to join me if I was ready to go in decent time.

 I was really cold at this point, my crew wrapped me in blankets, sweaters and whatever else they could find. 

Erin helped me change my shorts, Colin changed my socks and shoes, James was giving me a shoulder rub and Sarah kept warm in the car, waiting for her time to pace as I was getting ready to roll. 

I crushed some stew and quesadilla’s. this was the first time I felt a bit nauseated during the whole run, but it subsided quickly and didn’t return. 

Jason came back and said Luc’s ready to go. 

We joined forces, hugged, I was stoked to be heading out with him. Luc was lucky enough to grab A runner named Mark who was there to pace our friend Stu, unfortunately Stu wasn’t able to make it out for a third loop (Stu just recently crushed his own 100 miler at Capes in August, he is an absolute animal for doing two loops of this race so close to Capes) so Mark was a free agent. 

I said good bye and thanked my crew. I was able to run the whole second loop so I told them expect me in 3ish hours again in Eatonville, but my body was going to say otherwise in a few minutes. 

Off we went one last time into the darkness, exactly how we started it off 23 hours prior.

Loop 3

I had high hopes of being able to run at least the downhill sections of this one. 

The first bit of trail is always a hike so we started there. Hit Mcgahey Brook again and we’re able to shuffle along on the downs. 

I had forgot how muddy it was in this section as it was easier to avoid in the light of day on the second loop.

 I could tell from the start this loop would be different.

 I wasn’t sure if I sat too long at the aid station or if all the vert from the past 24 hours was finally catching up with me. 

To be honest with you all, I hadn’t been able to get in as much training as I would have liked between Capes and Chiggy.

 My legs took a beating at Capes after a 6th place finish in the 88k and I felt guilty putting so much time into training after a solid summer of time spent on trails. But my confidence was high after that race and I felt I had a pretty good base, it was able to carry me too this point but I think it caught up with me here. 

Luc was hurting in the first few km’s of this loop and so was I. Every step for him seemed excruciating as he stated “my foot lifty muscles aren’t working right”. I could tell it would be a long day for both of us. 

At this point I was still able to run/shuffle a bit downhill and was actually feeling pretty strong power hiking the uphill. 

At some point, I think about 4 km in, it’s a bit fuzzy, I looked back and didn’t see Luc or Mark’s headlamp light. Sarah encouraged me to keep moving. 

I felt bad leaving Luc behind but figured he would catch up to me at the Eatonville aid station. 

We plugged away. 

We ran into Josh, who I mentioned on the last loop. I was super happy to see he made it through the night and would finish off his second loop. 

We pushed on to Eatonville. My shuffle at this point looked like a cross between a bear salsa dancing and an excited dog wagging their butt. I’m sure Sarah was laughing behind me, actually I know she was because we joked about it the whole time. 

There was a bridge I had to cross right before the aid station. I thought I saw it about 4 times as we ran a section that followed the river for a couple km’s. My mind wasn’t working right, but I was still focused on the goal. 

I can say with full honesty I never once questioned if I would finish this thing or not, I may have thought “how the hell am I going to do this” on more than a few occasions, but stopping never crossed my mind once. 

When we finally found the actual bridge and crossed it to find my crew, they were stoked. 

I had been 55 minutes past my normal pace for this section and think they were starting to worry. 

They made a point of telling me how great I looked…..afterwards they all told me how my face was puffed up like the Michelin man or as David Bowman, who saw a picture of me, so eloquently put, “he looks like he got stung by a bunch of bees”…..I may have went a bit overboard on the salt tabs/electrolytes. 

I went in to the aid station one last time to thank the boys for all their work. I told them Luc shouldn’t be far behind me and I left them one last time. 

The crew loaded me up with water and quesadillas and I told them I would see them when this was done. 

Heading down the stretch of road, my legs really started to cramp, my right quad specifically. I couldn’t help but think back to that first loop, bragging to Reid and James about how great my quads felt and how much I loved running downhill, was this trail karma hitting me in the face? 

The next section, you should know by now…..the torture chamber…..was truly torture. I have never felt pain like that in my life, not even close. 

I felt pretty good climbing up, my steps were strong. Descending was a whole other story, it almost brought me to tears when I’d ascend a hill and see what awaited me on the other side. “How would I make it down there?”

 My poles saved me through this loop, I saved them for this specific reason and I was sure glad I did. 

I figured this was the pain cave everyone talks about. I had never entered it before now and all I could think about was how long I would be in it. 

The km’s were going so slow, the time between those km placards seemed to get longer and longer, but I still tapped each and every one as I limped by them, I’m superstitious and I hadn’t missed one yet. 

It was a perfect day for Sarah to get a tour of the park. As I was suffering she was taking pics at all the quintessential Chiggy look offs, meanwhile I was ahead, cursing the three sisters.

 In my misery I tried to reflect and appreciate what I had done so far, it did help a bit. 

Sarah was great with keeping conversation going and letting me stew in misery when I needed too. When things got nearly unbearable I reverted back to thoughts of my father and Erin. Just a year ago Cancer took my Dad and it took him quick. His last few days were painful and horrible, I learned so much from him about life and how to appreciate it in those few days and I thought of how proud he would be of me out here, slugging it out. I also laughed at hearing his voice saying “you stupid idiot” in the absolutely loving way he used to do. 

The week before he passed, Erin was in a pretty horrible accident where she fractured her pelvis in two places and compressed a vertebrae, the pain I’m feeling now couldn’t compare to what she went through, yet here she was crewing me and waiting for me to embrace her at the end of this adventure, I couldn’t stop now, no way. 

I’m sure Sarah knew I was crying but I tried to compose myself and pushed on. 

It seemed like a lifetime had passed when we finally hit Big Bald aid station. This place, once again turned me around. 

John was there this time and greeted me with a speaker blasting music at the road leading to the aid station. He and Deb were both there welcoming me with open arms. 

My pal Nick was still there and I could see the joy on his face. He didn’t tell me he had taken a picture of my puffy ass and sent it to our hares group chat where everyone was having a good laugh about it. 

He did show me a video message from a good friend Bruce Guitard. All these things combined, lifted me so much I knew I’d get to Arch Gulch soon enough.

 Deb managed to dig out the one remaining loaf of vegan banana bread and I chugged a shitload of pickle juice. 

When I realized they were packing up all the aid station gear, I mentioned Luc should be somewhere behind me, John informed me he had hiked back out due to injury. I was really bummed for him at that point but he had a huge weekend and set a distance PR for himself, gutted out that crazy night and I know he will be back for unfinished business, I hope I can support him somehow when he does. 

At that point Sarah let me know how “badass” it was that I was the only one out here still running that started on Saturday morning. The weight of that set in and I had mixed emotions. I was on top of the world knowing I would be the only finisher, but I also felt very selfish that everyone was out here working and waiting on me.

 In his message Bruce had mentioned an analogy that resonated deeply at the time. Running 100 miles is like a book, break it down into chapters and paragraphs, take it one paragraph at a time. The only chapters I had left were Arch Gulch aid station and that green gate at the finish line, the paragraphs were Refugee Cove and Mill Brook. The sentences were every little climb and descent in between. 

John said he was going to be at Arch Gulch, so we set out. Although I still hurt, I was able to maintain a pretty good attitude. We saw a lot of hikers that I had passed on the first day. Normally I love saying hi or chatting on the way by, Sarah took charge of that this time. She was filling our water before Refugee Cove ascent when two fellas came by asking about the legend of the guy running 3 loops of this place. They found me as I stumbled my way out of the outhouse by the campsites, I humbly thanked them for their words and wished them a good night and we climbed that hill. 

We marched through the hardwood stands and onto Arch Gulch where we met up with John and Deb again. 

I could hear Queen blasting on the speaker as we approached the cabin. 

We didn’t stay very long. I expressed my thanks again, I felt I couldn’t do it enough. I told them we will be out before dark and hit the trail again.

 As we started out Sarah stopped me, she had a video to show me. It was a video Erin had prepared with Cooper the week before, telling me how proud they are how much they believed I could do this. I got emotional but acted tough and started to run down the trail with an extra pep in my step. Sarah promptly reminded me that I should not be running right now and we can power hike this thing out, she was right. 

We laughed and joked our way out of that trail. 

We knew I would be just shy of 100 miles when Sarah googled how many km’s it was. I would be about .8 km short. We decided to double back to get a bit extra, there was no way I’d come this far and not make it officially 100 miles. 

We descended the 4 wheeler trail one last time, it felt like a victory lap at this point.

 I showed her where I saw the bear eyes on the second loop.

 We hit the field, finally. I could smell the ocean and victory. I knew that my crew would be waiting anxiously at the green gate. 

I let my hair down and gave Sarah my poles so I would look cool when I crossed the line.

 I could hear music in the distance and started running up that last hill. 

John and Deb standing with a ribbon to run through, Erin ran to meet me. I gave Dad a double Shaka salute, I know he was there with me and I ran through the finish. 

I dreamed of kissing the infamous green gate all day and I was finally doing it. I went to stop my watch as we all do so neurotically when we stop running, I wasn’t at 100 miles….so naturally, I ran around the picnic area until I got that 160.93 km total distance and returned to all my people. It was over.  36 hours, 6747 meters vert and 100 miles.

A few people stuck around until the end, I am so thankful for everyone that was able to and those that weren’t but sent their congrats in many other ways. 

There was even a crew of women from PEI who call themselves the wolf pack, who enjoyed the wolf socks I was wearing, I heard they were emotional as I was coming up and asked for a picture with me. The park staff who stuck around to congratulate me. I felt like a celebrity for a brief moment when all I wanted to do was thank everyone for believing in me and supporting me on my way through this journey. I couldn’t have done any of it on my own.

 I know this recap is a bit long winded but I had such a great, emotional and life changing experience, I had to let all of it out.

Thank you all for taking the time to read this, I can’t wait for the next adventure and look forward to seeing all of your achievements in the future, I hope I can help you along as much you all have helped me.

Ps: bucket hats and moustaches are a powerful combo.