Starting on Tuesday, September 12, 100 courageous runners tackled Western Canada’s first 200-mile race, The Divide 200. The tales that emerged have been gritty, inspiring, and highly effective, whether or not the runners accomplished the race or left unfinished enterprise within the Rocky Mountains. By means of chilly nights and heat days, hallucinations and filth naps, folks moved their our bodies a seemingly unattainable distance. Here’s a glimpse right into a 200-mile journey.
“It’s a privilege to decide on your individual struggling,” Toronto-based athlete Leo Vitelli shared. Vitelli didn’t end the race, but it surely’s clear he didn’t lack any enthusiasm for the expertise. “There isn’t a lot to be realized in success. Failing at one thing guides you to the next move,” he stated, including that he couldn’t be extra stoked to get again to coaching.
Calgary’s Joanna Ford was tackling the 200-mile distance for the primary time, and was stunned by the way in which her physique rose to the problem. “My physique tailored and responded over the course of these 81 hours in a means that appeared unattainable,” she shared on Instagram. “Operating throughout that end line, I felt gentle, clean and free–as if a brand new energy had awoken in my physique.”
Washington’s Selina Danko and Edmonton’s Matthew Prineas completed within the nick of time, supporting each other by way of the ultimate stretches of the race and making the ultimate cutoff.
Whereas it might appear unbelievable to perform 200 miles in underneath 50 hours, like winner Scott Cooper, it’s equally wonderful to be out on the paths for 100 hours: for days and nights of highs and lows and repeatedly selecting to proceed.
First-place girl Mika Thewes was no stranger to the 200-mile distance, but it surely was her first race in Canada (she’s primarily based in Colorado), and she or he rose to the problem. She stated that she ran for nearly 100 kilometres in a single part with out seeing anybody.
“Positively the loneliest I’ve been in a race,” she stated, highlighting one other problem runners deal with in an extended race like this, the place athletes get very spaced out alongside the path.
Hubbard, N.S., native Lee Alonzo Murphy didn’t have a lot in the way in which of mountains to prep for this race–he ran repeats of a 90-metre hill close to his residence. Many, many repeats. Murphy informed volunteers on the 200K mark that his objective was to be within the scorching tub by dinner time–and he made it.
Ultras may be unpredictable and stunning, difficult runners each bodily and mentally. Alberta’s Dave Proctor, identified for his cross-Canadian file set in 2022, shared candidly about what led him to go away the race at 192K, regardless of feeling bodily OK. “The primary half of an extremely is run together with your legs. The again half is run together with your coronary heart and head,” shared Proctor on social media. “I dropped at 192kms and a few soul looking out is so as.”
Signing up, coaching, and making it to the beginning line of a 200-mile race is a wild accomplishment, and whether or not they nailed their objectives or made the robust choice to bow out, these runners gained knowledge and a lifetime of expertise over a 100-hour stretch.
