After a great pre-race evening, getting to meet the other competitors and hearing about the races to come, it was time to get down to business with stage 1. The night before was spent preparing my belt pack, figuring out what clothes to wear, and getting things in order for tomorrow.
My alarm went off at 5:30am, otherwise known as “stupid o’clock”. I hit snooze once, but then got up. The race started at 8am, and I like to be at the start around an hour before that.
This day has crept up, slowly, but steadily, all year. I’ve thought about it almost every day, and especially through all those stupidly cold and dark winter runs, and the boring treadmill tempos I did in the warehouse gym at work. At times I thought this day would never come. But come it has. It’s time, once again, for the ENDURrun.
This year is the 6th time I’ve participated in the ENDURrun, and the 5th time doing the whole week, which is affectionately called “The Ultimate”.
My final race of the year was the Boxing Day 10 Miler. This will be the 6th time I’ve run this race. It’s become a tradition with the group of runners I train with, the Flying Fartleks. For me, it’s also a way to burn off some of the turkey and chocolate and beer I’ve consumed over the previous two days.
Personally, I love running this race. The distance is perfect; not too long, and not too short.
The human body is capable of amazing physical deeds. If we could just free ourselves from our perceived limitations and tap into our internal fire, the possibilities are endless. – Dean Karnazes
Today’s stage is the 10km time trial. Unlike the rest of the ENDURrun stages, this one is very flat, and a net downhill race. It starts in the town of Elmira, and runs along country roads back to the race director’s house.
Running, much like life, has it’s hills and valleys. On any given run, and particularly in most marathons, we come across easy stretches and seemingly impossible challenges. I have learned to just keep going. The tough moments never last, and the easy stretches are always a joy. The same is clearly true in life, if we just keep going we’ll get to that finish line with water, massages, and bananas! – Will Starr, RW Challenger
Often, when I’m running out in the country, or even on paths by the lake, I’ll encounter a hill. It could be a nice roller, or a steep SOB, and depending on where I am in my run, I’ll be huffing and puffing up the hill and wishing the path was more flat. Have you ever wished that you could do a race that was perfectly flat? Well the Pearson Runway Run is just that.
No matter where we live, what we do, how fast we are, what our dreams are, what we are running from, or where our miles lead - we are a running family. We mark miles, we ache, we try, we fail, we triumph and we endure. – Kristin Armstrong
Finally, after 4 months, and not nearly enough training, race day was here. I’d stayed up a bit too late the night before running around and getting everything ready.
I’ve learned that finishing a marathon isn’t just an athletic achievement. It’s a state of mind; a state of mind that says anything is possible. – John Hanc
After 117.8km and 12 hours, 44 minutes, and 22 seconds of running, it’s come down to this. The final stage, which starts where it all began a mere week ago. The marathon. The longest distance covered in a stage in the ENDURrun, but arguably not the hardest.
Champions aren’t made in the gyms. Champions are made from something they have deep inside them; a desire, a dream, a vision.
– Muhammad Ali
A short run. A net downhill course. More or less flat. Piece of cake. These are all things that I’d heard people saying about Stage 6. Sure, when looking at it on paper, it is the shortest, and easiest stage of the ENDURrun. However, considering that we are running it with legs that have seen 107.
When the guy says go, you start to suffer - or you might as well not be out there. It’s a small piece of your life, make it hurt. – Aaron Cox, US Mountain Biking Champion
After a relaxing day off running on Thursday, it’s back at it on Friday, and this next stage is the toughest stage of the whole competition. This is where the training (or lack thereof) becomes evident for all to see.