Canadian Death Race Report 2010

I'm still in recovery mode from last week's Canadian Death Race.   Let's just way - WOW !  What a race.  This race was a great experience and one that any Ultra runner should add to their list.

It's hard to believe I was sitting and registering for it on Jan 1, 2010 just after celebrating the new year, but there I was registering for the race.   A fellow triathlete, here in Winnipeg, mentioned the race one day when out for a run and I had to check it out.    I saw the site and said - "I gotta do that".

I guess - On to the race.

For anyone who doesn't know, the Canadian Death Race is billed as the toughest foot race in Canada.   It consists of 125 km (about 78 mi) of remote trail running in Grande Cache, Alberta.   Grande Cache sits at about the same latitude as the southern part of Alaska.   The race is broken into 5 legs and crosses 3 mountains (Flood, Grande, and Hamel) with over 17,000 ft. of climbing.

My Dad traveled with me as my crew for the event.   We left Winnipeg and flew to Grande Prairie and drove down to Grande Cache.    My first hint of how remote things were was when we left Grande Prairie and the sign said - "No Services for the next 180 km".   There wasn't a house, road, person for about the entire 180 km.   Saw 3 bears on the drive down, so that was also pretty cool, though I was sure hoping I didn't run into those guys on the trail.    Grande Cache is a town of only about 5,000 people, and the race is about the largest event the city sees annually.

We spent the days leading up to the race lounging around and checking out the aid stations so Dad knew where to go and what to expect.

Race Day:

The race starts at 8AM on Saturday.   Seemed like a relatively late start.  I'm used to starting much earlier for IM and other races, so it seemed like I was sleeping in, when the alarm went off at 5AM.   It was nice to be able to get up and go to the hotel restaurant for breakfast and still have time to walk down to the start.   Had my usual breakfast of oatmeal, toast, and a banana - of course some coffee too.

Weather forecast for the day looked great !   It rained a bit the day before and ended up raining the day after, but race day was forecast for mid 20's Celsius and no rain.   Great news !  I hate running in the rain.

Dad and I walked down to the start and were about 45 min. early.   We were about the first people there.

As the race got closer, we had to check in with our timing stick to validate our race start.   I guess this should be inserted here - for the race you have to carry 2 things with you at all times.   You are given a timing stick and a coin that must be used at a few points.    The timing stick is a device that you must check in at all of the checkpoints to get your times and you must carry to coin to pay the toll to Charon the Ferryman (aka - Mr. Death) to allow you to cross the Sulphur river in leg 5.    Lose either of these and you're done, out, finished.

As the clock ticked down, I was pretty nervous to see what the day held for me.   Race started about 6 min. after 8AM, so just a little late, but not too bad.

Leg 1 - Downtown Jaunt - 19 km (12 mi)

This section is billed as the "easiest" section.  We started downtown with a quick loop and then around town toward the trails.   Once hitting the trails, this flat section seemed pretty hilly to my flatland Winnipeg legs.   The plan for the day was to walk the uphills and run as many flats and downhills that I could run.   I held to the plan pretty good.

My fastest mile was in this leg and was on the pavement in town.

For this leg, I used my Nathan pack and had a couple of Boost drinks plus some gummy bears.    I didn't drink as much as planned, but I was feeling good.

We had one of the strangest observations of the day on this leg.    We came upon a stream and there was a nice Dodge Caravan stuck down in that creek.   Everyone was pretty shocked and we all figured it must have been stolen and out for a joy-ride and they got stuck.   Had to pick our way around the van and then continued on.

The lakes were very nice toward the end of the leg and made for some great scenery.  Fortunately some of the low lying areas weren't too wet and I didn't get wet.

Made it to the aid station in 1:52:28, so time was right on for the day.   I added some extra time because I didn't see Dad right away.   I walked back to the start of the aid station and then back along the aid station one more time.   I was about to give up and head out, but I really didn't want to do that, as I wanted my other pack and poles.   Thankfully I found him and things were OK.   I would learn later that I'm glad I had those poles.


Leg 2 - Flood and Grande Slugfest - 27km (17mi)

Leg 2 is described as the most technical leg of the race, and includes swampy, steep hills plus the 2 mountain climbs.   There's an emergency aid station near the middle.

When I left Station #1, we ran along the tracks and then started the long climb up Flood Mountain.   I had my larger 3L pack plus a waist pack that included a variety of food.   Had all of my required gear in the pack and included the hiking poles.    The climb up Flood wasn't bad, but there was a lot of power-hiking to keep a good pace going.

We hit a spot where the Flood mountain descent comes back on the trail and we had to take a sharp right.   I looked at that ascent and thought "Where's the trail ?".   It was super-steep heading up this small, barely recognizable trail.   Went up, up, and then up some more.   Made it to the top, checked in and then down the other side.

The area between Flood and Grande mountain is called the slugfest, for good reason........   I saw the videos of this section and I thought for sure I was going to get soaked.   It was dry, thankfully, and I never did get wet.   The descents were amazingly steep, and people were turned backward walking down on all fours.  AMAZING !   Made it down and up and down and up and then finally climbed back up to Grande Mountain.     The descent from Grande mountain is called the Power Line trail and again, was super-steep, but this time there was gravel.   I slipped once and cut my right knee / leg pretty good.   Had to stop and clean the blood off and make sure things weren't too bad.    It looked much worse that it felt and I continued on.
Leg 2 total time - 5:07:26

Leg 3  - Old Mine Road - 19 km (12 mi)

The Old Mine Road is called the 2nd easiest leg and the brochure says it's mostly downhill.   I would find out though, that this was still a pretty hilly section.   Ran a small section through town eating a turkey sandwich with my smaller 2L pack and small waist-pack.  

Just as I was leaving the pavement, some kids had me worried when they were biking along and commented - "there's a grizzly bear sighting up the trail".   I was on the lookout but never did see anything.   Crossed the highway and the the most "scenic" (read not-scenic) section that included a run though the Grande Cache Landfill......   Down many long descents and we were at the low spot of the race.   This was "guaranteed" to be a 25m knee deep creek crossing, but the area was so dry that it was just an easy step over, so no wet feet still.

The heat was blazing pretty good, and I forgot to bring my hand bottle and I was getting a little worried I might run out of fluid.  Stopped on this section to tend to a hot spot on my toes and things were feeling much better after that.  

The final sections of the section included some pretty boring portions along the mine roads, crossed the river, and then a run along the railroad bed.    Leg 3 was extended about 1 km this year vs. prior years and it seemed like it would never end, but I finally made it to Aid Station #3.

Aid Station #3 was where the time cut-offs began getting tight, and I figured if I made it here, I was doing good.   Made it here with about 1.5 hours to go prior to the cutoff, so things were good.    There was some controversy about the cutoff with others, as the cutoff was 15 min earlier than last year plus they extended Leg 3, so many didn't make it for those reasons.

Found Dad quickly and changed packs and had some snacks.  Changed shoes and was ready to go.    I also threw a fleece pullover around my waist, as it would be dark by the time I was off of Leg 4.

Leg 3 Total Time - 2:44:13


Leg 4 - Hamel Assault - 38km (24 mi)

Mount Hamel is the hardest leg of the race.   At just short of a marathon distance, and the long climb of the mountain make it very tough.   The race hits the high point at Mount Hamel - 6986 ft.

The climbing started almost immediately and was a never-ending trail leading up.    Talked to many people on the ascent and it just seemed to go on forever.   Hit the Hamel Escape station with about 1.5 hours still to go before the cutoff.   Once passing the escape station, we began the switch-backs leading up above treeline to the summit.   The mountain looks so smooth from the road, but there were very large rocks all over the trail that made the switch-backs grueling.   Add in the altitude and it was pretty tough going.   Saw many people sitting along the trail and also a guy throwing up at the side.  Every time I stopped I was also surprised that the mosquitoes were terrible up there and about ate me alive.

After 3 hours of climbing, I finally hit the summit.   It was great to summit in the daylight and see the surrounding valleys.   Once I hit the summit, I was able to drop my pack before heading along the ridge to get my prayer flag.   We had to head down about 1/2 mile along the ridge to the very edge of the mountain, pick up a prayer flag, and return to the summit to prove we made the turnaround.   Checked in and was feeling good.   Took some pics, loaded back up, and was ready to go.    The volunteer at the top said - 3km to the next aid station, but I figured that couldn't be correct - he indeed, was wrong....... much further.

Heading down Hamel was a continual pounding on the legs.  I went for long periods and didn't see anyone and considered that I was on the wrong trail, but would eventually see someone.   On this long descent, I was beginning to feel some hot spots on my heels.  Stopped to tend to them, but they would plague me for the rest of the race.

Met some familiar faces on the trip to Ambler Emergency station and enjoyed the chatting, hiking, and running.   It was getting dark on the final kms leading to Ambler, but we didn't turn on the head lamps.   Hit Ambler at about 11PM.   Ran the Ambler loop and made it back to the aid station.   The next section was about 10km downhill and should have been a nice trot downill, but those heel blisters were beginning to really hurt and I was pretty well walking downhill.   Began to calculate that if I walked the remaining distance I should still finish, so I wasn't too worried.

After a long descent, I finally made it to Aid Station #4 and the last section before the finish.

Found Dad quickly, as the aid stations were pretty thinned out by now.   I had to tend to my blisters and added some duct tape and moleskin to the areas and changed shoes socks in hopes it would help.   It did help, but only marginally.   Only 22km to go, so I figured unless my foot fell off, I'd be OK for those final 22km.  Changed packs again and had my supplies ready go go.

Leg 4 Total Time - 7:41:18


Leg 5 - Hell's Gate and River Crossing - 22km (14 mi)

This leg involved heading down to a river, crossing that river in the boat and then climbing back up to the FINISH at Grande Cache.  

Those first few km's were hillier than I expected.  With my newly taped foot, I was able to jog some of the flat sections, but those were few and far between.   It was very dark down in the trees and many roots everywhere, so it was a tough go.   Nothing too exciting on this section other than it just seemed I'd never make it to the river, but eventually I made it.

Once I got to the river, I was met by Charon the Ferryman and had to pay my toll to get across the river.   I'd carried that coin all day and it was nice to know I didn't lose it.   Timed in and before and after crossing the river - this time was deducted from the overall race time.   We had 4 people in the boat and all were Solo racers.   Fortunately I was still about 2 hours ahead of the cutoff, so things were doing good.

Got across the river and the course took some very steep uphills to get out of the river canyon.   The hills were pretty tough on the legs.   Very monotonous, but it was over 1500 ft. of climbing to get back up to Grande Cache.   The course was marked great with small reflectors and I never felt like I was going to get lost.   As I hit the 120 km marker, I thought maybe it was misplaced.  I didn't feel like I had traveled that far.    It was shortly after that where the sun was finally getting high enough that I could take off the headlamp.   It was nice to get rid of that lamp because my batteries were beginning to get low and it was getting tough to see things.   I really didn't want to take the time to change batteries.

We finally came out of the trail and ran on a gravel road - uphill of course - continuing on to Grande Cache.   Once we hit the town streets, it was only a couple of blocks back up toward the start area.   When I made the left turn onto the finish, I thought I'd go straight through the chute, but we had to do a downhill, make a turnaround and then head back to the finish.   Approaching the finish, I was really surprised at the small crowd out there, but I guess it was 6AM on a Sunday morning.   I'm so used to the huge crowds out for Ironman finishes that it seemed so quiet with only about 50 people out at the finish.  

Leg 5 Total Time - 4:27:06

It was AWESOME to come up that last hill and cross the finish - 21:52:31 (or very close to it).   Checked in and then I was off to just sit down and get off of my feet.  

I was amazed when looking at the results for the race.   There were about 400 people who started in the solo division and 150 finished - about a 38% finish rate.    I finished 86th overall.   With the low finish percentage, I feel very fortunate to have had things go right, on my first attempt, to finish the race.   Congratulations to everyone out there racing - GO DEATH RACERS !

Post Race -

Went back to the hotel - thankfully I didn't have to walk back - Dad was there and we drove back.   Showered and then tried to sleep.   I felt like I slept for a very long time, but it was actually only about 2 hours and I was awake again.  

Monday was the awards ceremony and it was pretty cool to see many people I talked to throughout the day and discuss the race.   All of the Solo finishers were called up and had a chance to walk across the stage to receive their finisher's award.  

I was very sore with those heel blisters for about 3 days and could hardly walk, but I'm finally beginning to recover and trying to figure out the next race........  To anyone looking to find a great race to do - give the Death Race a try - outstanding event !