Putting your body through an 80-kilometre trail run with 3,000 metres of elevation is hard enough, but to end the race in a full out sprint finish is simply unthinkable.
Putting your body through an 80-kilometre trail run with 3,000 metres of elevation is hard enough, but to end the race in a full out sprint finish is simply unthinkable.
However, that’s what Andy Reed endured to win the first Wild Mountain Fernie Ultra Marathon solo race on Saturday (June 29).
The Canmore physician completed the 80-km race in a time of 9:20:08, 37 seconds ahead of Mike Moore of Fernie. Moore led the race for 79 kilometres, only to be overtaken by Reed in the final 1,000 metres.
The glorious finish made up for some early mistakes. Reed took the long route to the finish line. As part of the lead group, he made a costly turn.
“I went the wrong way on the first leg. Everyone went tearing off from the start and the lead group missed the first turn. We ran two kilometres past it, then doubled back and were at the back of the pack, ” Reed said.
That put him at the back of a field of 56 solo runners, some of whom now had a 30-minute lead on Reed.
For the next eight hours, Reed picked off runners over the punishing course. The afternoon sun pushed the temperature above 30 C and the Canmore resident relied on a training base that took him up and down Ha Ling and East End of Rundle multiple times all year.
“In the middle part of the race, there was no cloud cover and it got quite hot. I had to keep on top of fluids. I slowed to a hike for the middle part of the race. Then started to feel better. ”
“Each leg has significant elevation on it, so there were no easy legs at all. Ninety-five per cent per cent of the race was on single track and pretty technical single track at that. ”
By the fifth leg, Reed had worked his way into second place, but thought first place was out of reach.
“By leg five, I had resigned myself to finishing second. But then I saw the other guy and tried to catch him in the last five kilometres, ” Reed said.
It took him until kilometre 79 to gain first place, and he held a 4:20 pace on the final push to clinch the win.
“I’ve never had a finish like that. It’s unusual over that distance; usually everyone gets spread out, ” said Reed, who usually finds 50-mile races ‘too fast’ as he prefers even longer distances.
In retrospect, Reed found he made up time on the downhills, which came as a surprise.
“Generally, I’m a better climber. The two guys who were ahead of me I found I was catching on the descents. Being able to train in Canmore makes you a good descender. ”
Reed’s parents flew in from England to watch the race, and he said having his family present at the aid stations really buoyed his spirits.
For Reed, the race was actually a training event for Reed’s big goal for the year, the infamous Race Across the Sky, the Leadville 100-mile trail run in Colorado.
“It’s all at altitude, so that’s another factor. I have six weeks to prepare for that now. ”
He had nothing but praise for the Fernie race and said he’ll be back to defend his title.
“If you enjoy running 50 miles of single track, this is the one to do, ” Reed said.
