My first ultra was never about time. It was about learning to run when everything in your body is telling you to stop.
The course
Six loops of an 8.3K trail circuit through the Dundas Valley Conservation Area. Rolling singletrack, creek crossings, and a soul-crushing climb that got harder with every loop.
The experience
Loops 1–3 felt like a long trail run. Loop 4 was where the race really began. By loop 5, I was walking the hills and running the flats. Loop 6 was pure stubbornness.
The lesson: Ultras are eating competitions with a running problem. I didn’t fuel enough in the first half and paid for it dearly in the second.
Would I do it again?
Already signed up for next year.