Jason and I are about to take off for a crazy adventure... perhaps crazier than anything ever before. The kids will be cheering on our dot with Grandma at home as we take on a 100 HOUR ADVENTURE RACE called 'Expedition Canada'.
https://www.expeditionracecanada.ca/course-details-disciplines
Wait, what is adventure racing?
Adventure racing is a little bit like a triathlon, in that you move from one element to another with 'transitions' in between to change equipment, and then you keep going. Unlike a triathlon, you have to navigate your way from point A to point B without a marked course. You may have to search for checkpoints along the way that aren't necessarily easy to find. The "short" races are usually about 8 hours. The medium distance races are usually 12-36 hours. And the "expedition" length races are anywhere from 3-11 days. Perhaps you've watched Eco Challenge, or "The World's Toughest Race"? That's the idea.
Our race will be done in a team of 4, and the 4 of us will stay together the entire time and we cannot split apart from each other. The team consists of myself (Meggan), Jason, an old field hockey friend I grew up with named Kristal, and her friend Laurel that we have only met on zoom. 3 females and 1 male. Our team name: "Ignorance is Bliss".
Our race is approximately 400km long in total. The totals for each element are: 235km of mountain biking, 110km of hiking/running/orienteering, 59km of canoeing, 2km of stand up paddle boarding, a ropes section (some kind of rappell/rock climbing element), and a 1km swim. We don't actually get any race maps until the morning of the race, but we do have some idea of how far in we might see a drop bag so that we can pack the right gear.
Have you ever done this before?
Jason and I have done a few of the short courses before. In fact, when I (Meggan) stopped playing on the national field hockey team, the first thing I did was sign up for a solo Mind Over Matter Adventure Race in Duncan. I owned a hardtail commuter-style 'mountain' bike, and ran beside it for the majority of a bike course as other people raced past me. But I did pretty well at finding my way around and had a blast... I was hooked. Jason and I have done two other in-person and one virtual versions of this same race since. But we have never done one longer than 8 hours... and I wouldn't say that our performances in these shorter races were worthy of impressing anyone, but we had loads of fun doing them.
Jason is just the kind of guy who goes big on all that he does. He signed up for Ironman as his first triathlon as a weak swimmer, and then rocked the swim. He did 1x 100 mile mountain run before his second and third were the HardRock 100 miles races. Just last weekend, he finished his 4th 100 mile run at IMTUF.
Kristal and Laureal have never done an adventure race before... but they are pretty amazing women and I'm looking forward to trying to keep up with them. Kristal is a tough, smart, and talented woman. She's a nurse, with a background in geography. She played field hockey, mountain biked, and rode horses all at very high competitive levels. Most importantly, she makes me laugh and understands how to push me but make it fun at the same time. Laurel is an equestrian athlete and has stepped up to the challenge of training for and preparing for this event like a boss.
All 4 of us are parents. We all happen to have two female daughters.
Will you sleep?
Well, we hope so! But some teams will keep moving forward while others will stop to 'nap' on the side of the trail. The faster we go, the more chance we have to get some rest. But if we are slow and get lost often, we may only sleep a little. I'm guessing we will try to get 2-3 hours sleep per night. We do have to carry small sleeping bags and light tents with us the whole time. Our packs are decently heavy with mandatory gear, water, clothing, safety equipment, and food. Sleep deprivation is a huge part of the expectation and experience.
The idea of continuing onward at night, through any weather, and navigating through the dark, while being very sleepy, is really the amazing part of these long races. I'm terrified and excited and curious about this part.
Have you ever exercised all night before?
Nope! Jason has. He has run through the night during several of his ultras. I have paced him through the dark but then went to sleep at 3am when I was done my pacing duties. I did the Grand Traverse Ski Race and that started at midnight and then went through the night and into the next day and lasted almost 16 hours. Jason and I hiked to the summit of Kilimanjaro and we started that at midnight and then continued to hike throughout the day for about 14 hours total.
I remember the cold and sleep challenges and darkness during these events between 3-6am... but I also found this experiences deeply special... and sunrise each time has provided beauty and peace and renewed energy in a way I can't quite articulate.
Do you eat?
This is an 'unsupported' race. No crew. Nobody making you hot meals or hot cups of soup as you come into transition. I will be carrying dehyrdated food, a stove and a pot so that we can pull over and make some dinner at times... but that will also take up time and energy, and we won't want to do it too often.
Why would you do this?
I've been asking myself this a lot recently. I have it on my bucket list to do an adventure race longer than 23 hours, and this happens to be closer to our home and more accessible than any 36 hour races because this isn't that popular a thing in BC. So we just signed up and went for it... and for sure 100 hours is feeling WAY more overwhelming than 36 hours, which now feels like it would be 'easy'. Ha!
I am a very goal-oriented person. Ever since I stopped playing field hockey at a high level, I have dabbled in other athletic challenges. I've done a trail marathon. I've done several triathlons, including a half ironman. I've done some long distance backpacking.
I've watched high level adventure races with such awe and respect. I know two other women who are moms and professionals that are real people with real lives that have done this incredible races all over the world. I'm not at their athletic level at all... but they have inspired me to at least get out there and give it a shot.
Our 'A' goal is to complete the race and get an official finish. Our 'B' goal is to complete a shorter version of the race but still progress forward for 100 hours and get to the end, even if we miss a section because we were too slow for a cut off.
I really hope that the four of us can find that balance of having fun, making each other laugh, challenging ourselves and pushing, and continuing onward toward the finish. I love the idea that the 4 of us have to progress together. We will only be as successful as our slowest member of the team and our navigation skills... and I love working together with others toward a common goal. I love the idea that we have to find checkpoints like a giant scavenger hunt in the woods.
I grew up in the wilderness of a huge property (in the Highlands of Victoria) and I spend my childhood chasing my brothers around in the forest. I feel like I was made for this kind of a thing.
How has the training been?
Well... I guess that's all relative. First, when I signed up I wasn't in very good shape... and it makes no sense whatsoever on paper that I'd be up for this. I could maybe run 5km. I wasn't a very good mountain biker, and have done it on/off over the years but have never really been good at it or practiced or been courageous. I don't canoe. I enjoy SUP and swimming. I'm terrified of heights and being in a harness on a rock wall, but I can do the basics.
Mountain biking is a huge component of this sport, and of this specific event. So I've been focused on that this summer, biking 1-3 times per week over the last 4 months. I'm WAY better than I was, and I'm much fitter than I was. I recently did an xterra (off road) triathlon. When I first looked at the course 3 months ago, I cried and tried to quit the race because it was a really hard technical course. But I practiced a lot throughout the summer and I was really proud to have completed it (even if I walked several parts). So regardless of the outcome of the entire thing, I am really excited to have this be something I'm now capable of.
I've been running some, and I'm in decent shape for me, but my longest run this year has been 10km... which for 'expedition' length standards is pretty minimal. My longest hike was a very mountainous 23km and it was hard... so the one section of a 38km mountain hike up and down to altitude and possible snow seems like a really daunting section that I'll be happy to finish.
Still... it's been outstanding to have a fitness goal and improve my fitness so much this year. Especially during the pandemic, when so many other things in life feel very small and routine. I have enjoyed being so focused on this race. The fact that it's so scary has motivated me to push myself out the door far more often than I would go without this goal.
But it's been hard on our kids. We haven't done as much as a family in the last 4 months as I would normally choose to do. Perhaps after the previous 12 months of being together SO much during the pandemic, this was a welcomed change at first. Grandparents have been helping watch the kids more so that we can get out and train.
But many areas of my life have been shelved since May, and part of me is looking foward to re-connecting with the other elements of my world after the race.
How are you feeling?
Many people have been asking me that and I'm both excited and genuinely quite scared. I really cannot fathom going forward hour after hour after hour without sleep. I LOVE sleep. That's the part that I just can't wrap my head around and it feels gross to me.
Maybe next time I'll have to find a stage race: something where you do all the activities during the day but you come back to a real bed and a shower each night before you go out again hard the next day. Right now that feels like the better choice...
But I'm hoping that those majestic sunrises and some race adrenaline and my fun teammates will help us continue forward toward that finish.
Can others watch our progress?
We aren't allowed to communicate with the outside world or use GPS or anything like that for the entire race. We are hoping that the race website will post our tracking map publically so that you can cheer us on and send us energy toward the finish line. We start Wednesday Sept 29 at 7am in Penticton BC and the course closes on Sunday October 4 at 12:00noon.
There are some pretty hardcore, experienced teams that will probably clear the course in 2-3 days, but we will expect to be near the back of the course, moving forward with a slow and steady pace.
https://www.expeditionracecanada.ca/2020-teams
