I have to start by thanking my partner in crime for spending yet another Canadian holiday supporting one of my running adventures. Without him, this effort simply wouldn't have happened. Beyond the driving, crewing, and encouragement, he also stepped into the role of strategist when things began to unravel later in the day.
I set out from the eastern end of the trail just shy of 5am under threatening skies, hoping the weather would hold long enough to give me a reasonable shot.
About an hour into the run, the heavens opened and I spent roughly an hour running through steady rain. The conditions eventually forced me to stop and tend to my feet and change into dry socks to stave off further damage to the skin.
A few hours into the run, a coyote crossed the trail directly in front of me, which inspired a slight uptick in pace on my part.
The day went largely to plan through the first 60km. I was targeting a 6:00/km average pace and was comfortably on track. Towards 70km, things began to shift. The rain had stopped by that point but left things muggy and humid. I had started to go off my food sometime around 55-60kms in and found it impossible to take on anything besides a few swigs of water or soft drink and with about 20 km remaining, I knew my pace was starting to suffer. Thankfully my partner is a lot better at math than I am, and he devised a walk/run strategy to bring me home inside the required time, revising it when needed to keep me on track. We gradually worked through the remaining kilometers with the occasional swig of Coke and a couple of electrolyte tablets to stave off the cramps.
Reaching the western terminus marked the end of the run, at which point we discovered the finish is not accessible by car. To complete the day, I added an unplanned 2 km walk through brush and along a railway line to reach my partner—an unconventional but fitting end to a long day on the trail.