I have three kids, am married and have a demanding full time job. I don’t have much room in my schedule for running but I always make time to do it. I love to run – it’s very important to my overall well-being. I have been referring to running as my therapy for years. This is not far from the truth, running helps me clear my head, gives me a boost of energy and gives me some time to work through tough issues. There is clear scientific evidence that exercise helps with mental health by reducing stress and anxiety. Running is also great for boosting your self confidence. It feels great to know that I can lace up my shoes and go run without having to do any preparation. Finding time to run is always challenging but I have found a number of ways to make it work. 

Wake Up Early

Long runs are the key to distance training and I always do them on the weekend since I can’t take that time off work during the week. I get up at 5am or 6 am and run for two to five hours while my family is asleep. It sounds cruel to get up this early on the weekend but it works really well for me. I always feel great about running early in the day and not missing too much time with my family. I get a nagging feeling on the days that I sleep in – I’m constantly thinking about when I will run and feel anxious that I won’t have enough time. During the work week, I run for one hour in the morning or at lunch, at least three times per week. Keeping my run to one hour does not interfere with my work day and splits up my day nicely.

Split up your Run

Despite my best efforts there are weekends when I can’t run early in the morning. I will split up my long run when this happens so that I can still help out with the kids. For example, if I have a 4 hour run scheduled, I’ll run for two hours in the morning, come back to make lunch for the family and then run for another two hours so that I’m back for dinner.

Multi-task While Running

I have also learned to multi-task on my runs. I love to listen to audiobooks and have finished close to one hundred books. I have prepared for meetings and presentations by recording voice memos and listening to them while running. I am a big fan of meditating and practicing mindful running. I work on staying present in the run by clearing my head and focussing on the sights, smells and sounds of the trail. I also concentrate on the way my body feels while running – the motion of my legs and arms. I will often repeat the “so-hum” mantra which is very helpful in keeping my mind from wandering. 

Running Strollers

Running strollers are great for busy parents. Spouses can often feel resentful when you need to leave for your runs. You can avoid an argument by bringing the kids with you on your run. We have a Chariot (now Thule brand) stroller which holds two kids. The stroller was expensive but it was a great purchase, we use it all the time. I’ll often push my two youngest kids in the stroller while my oldest rides her bike. We’ll stop and play at the park to break up the run.

One of my favourite runners, Dean Karnasez keeps motivated by reminding himself that he always feels better after a run. Some days I feel like I’m too tired or that I don’t have enough time to run. I have never regretted going for a run on these days and have always felt better, just like Dean says.

The great thing about trail running is that you only need a pair of shoes to start. Some runners even run barefoot – which is not a great option for our Canadian winters. It is important to have a good trail shoe to keep you safe and stable on the trails. I evaluate trail running shoes on their outsoles, the body of the shoe and the weight.  

Outsoles:

Trail shoes have a more aggressive tread on the outsole compared to regular running shoes. The individual grips on the outsoles are called lugs. Longer lugs help with softer surfaces like mud and snow, while shorter lugs help with harder surface like hard packed dirt trails or gravel.

Many ultra distance runners wear Hoka brand shoes which have a very large amount of cushioning in the outsoles. Hoka’s philosophy is that your feet need extra cushioning for the long hours of an ultra-marathon. Hokas are popular among ultra-runners and a good number of my friends run in them. I ran in Hokas for a year and did not have a good experience. I bought two pairs of the Challenger ATR 2 and I got significant sized holes in the sides of the shoes after only two months. I also developed small knee strains and pains. 

There is another school of thought that you should run with the least amount of cushioning possible. As mentioned, some runners go as far as to run barefoot. Barefoot running is explored in depth in Christopher McDougall’s amazing book, Born to Run. McDougall recounts getting frequent injuries from long distance running in traditional running shoes. McDougall makes the switch to barefoot running which he credits for helping him run ultra-marathon distances. 

McDougall argues that most running shoes have too much padding which causes heel striking while running. Ideal running form has the middle of your foot striking the ground which evenly distributes impact absorption over your foot, ankle, knee and hip. Heel striking is problematic because you do not absorb impact correctly across your leg joints which can lead to common running injuries.

Heel striking is painful but traditional shoes have so much cushioning that you don’t feel it. You actually feel the pain from heel striking when you run barefoot and consequently, you correct to a mid-foot strike to alleviate the pain. Barefoot running is not the only way to control for heel striking. Most runners will be fine in trail shoes with a regular amount of cushioning in the sole. You can avoid heel striking by shortening your stride and by concentrating on your running form.

Foot protection is also very important when considering a trail shoe. Trail shoes with stiffer outsoles or rock plates are better suited for running rocky terrain. Shoes with softer outsoles are more suited for less technical trails where you won’t be running over hard edges.  

My shoe of choice is the Brooks Cascadia 13. I have been running in Cascadias for over two years with minimal strains and without any injuries. Brooks refers to the Cascadia as the SUV for your feet and that is an accurate description. The shoe is suitable for most terrain, ranging from hard packed to rocky and muddy. The Cascadia has a regular amount of cushioning and protection in the outsoles with medium sized lugs. I prefer to use one shoe for all types of terrain but some runners have different shoes for mud, mountains, snow, etc.

Body of Shoe:

I evaluate the body of a trail shoe by its resistance to wear, how fast it gets dry after getting wet and the size of its toe box. 

Trail shoes should be reinforced at the common wear points: the toe cap, the articulation point where the toes meet the foot and the heel collar. Good trail shoes stand up to the tough conditions of trail running and last for at least four months of heavy running. I like the Cascadia 13 because it is reinforced with a plastic covering on the toe cap and toe articulation point. This shoe wears out quickly at the heel collar but that does not affect its performance.

Getting wet shoes is very common on the trails. It’s important that your shoe drains well so that it doesn’t get too heavy. Your shoe should also dry in a reasonable amount of time. The longer you run with wet feet, the more likely that you will get blisters.

I always evaluate the size of the toe box of a shoe because your toes get pushed into the front of your shoe while running downhill. Your feet also swell by a significant amount during ultra-marathons. I have lost a good number of toenails while running in shoes with small toe boxes.

Weight:

Shoe weight is an important consideration, especially for the 100 mile distance. In general, the more protection, the heavier the shoe. It’s important to find the right balance of weight and protection.

Winter Running:

I continue to run in Cascadias in the winter with a medium thickness sock. I recently ran a race at -9 degrees Celsius with a Smartwool sock. The sock didn’t bunch up and it kept my feet warm. The Cascadia’s medium sized lugs handled the snow packed trails well but longer lugs would have been helpful. I sometimes use Yaktrax for icy conditions. Yaktrax are traction devices that I pull over the bottom of my outsoles. I don’t like running in Yaktrax though since they feel clunky on my feet and change the way that I run. Some runners will even put small screws directly into their outsoles. I like to run in Gore-Tex lined shoes when the temperatures get really cold, -20 degrees Celsius or more. Gore-Tex is water proof and it keeps your feet dry and warm.

Trusted Brands:

Brooks is my brand of choice but Salomon and Altra have very good reputations. 

Salomon is the top trail running brand. I have a Salomon hydration pack and ski coat and both are top quality. Salomon sponsors most of the top trail runners and the company works closely with these athletes to develop shoes. The Salomon S-lab shoe is a top notch all around shoe. I would love to run in these shoes but they are too narrow for me.

Altra is another top brand. Altra is a relatively new brand with a good reputation – I see more and more runners wearing Altras. Altra shoes have large toe boxes and a zero drop outsole. Zero drop means that there is no difference in height between the heel and toe. Zero drop gives you similar benefits to running barefoot.

Conclusion:

If this all seems complicated, don’t worry there are some great resources to help you find the right trail shoe. The staff at Mountain Equipment Coop (MEC) are very helpful and MEC has a great selection of trail shoes. There are also some great online resources for trail shoe reviews like The Ginger Runner Youtube channel.

Expect some trial and error before finding the right trail shoe. I went through three different shoes before finding the Cascadia. I am now running in my fifth pair of Cascadias.

“I’m considering running the Fat Ass trail run in Batawa on Sunday morning. You have plans that day? ” I said. 

“What day?” said Chris.

“Sunday morning at 7:30am,”. 

“This Sunday?”.

Chris and I had this text conversation on the Friday morning before the race. It was not surprising when Chris responded that he was absolutely up for it, even after I explained that we would have to leave at 4:30am and that the race course was covered with snow. 

We arrived at the Batawa ski hill at around 6:45am on Sunday morning. Neither Chris nor I had ever heard of Batawa. Batawa is a small community in Quinte West, Ontario which is about twenty minutes West of Belleville. The Bata shoe company set up the community around a shoe factory in 1939. The factory closed in 2000 and is now being used as a condo complex. 

Chris and I had come to run the Bad Ass, 6 hour trail race. It is a 7.5km loop through the woods around a small ski hill. There are two aid stations, one mid-loop and one about 200m from the start/finish. You would not get credit for partial loops so it was important to be strategic with your time. The name Fat Ass is hilarious but is also used by the trail running community to describe large group runs. I found an interesting history on fat ass runs on OutThere Outdoors.

Chris and I were expecting to start in the dark and were glad to see the sun rise before the race. The race started with “okay, you can go,” from a race volunteer and we ran up the steep, snow-covered ski hill. Chris and I immediately noticed a runner named Jeffrey who charged out in front of the pack. Chris and I were doing the race as a training run but we also wanted to compete. We knew that we could not keep up with Jeffrey’s pace though. It’s not uncommon for runners to go out too fast during ultra-marathons. We decided to keep an eye on Jeffrey to see if he would slow down in the later loops. We were very pleased with the course, it was runnable with a good mix of climbs and descents. Blue skies and beautiful views greeted us as we ran in and out of the woods. It was a frosty -9 degrees Celsius but we were comfortable in our running gear. 

We finished our first loop in 46 minutes and our second loop in 47 minutes. We started our third loop at the same time as the 17.5km and 25km race was starting. We had to push hard to get to the front of this group of 180 runners. We didn’t want to be stuck behind slower runners on the narrow trails. We expended a lot of energy passing runners but we got to the front of the pack with the faster runners at the mid-way point of the loop. We finished loop 3 in just under 46 minutes, putting up our fastest loop so far. Chris and I were both feeling tired from working hard on passing the runners from the 17.5km and 25km races. We slowed down on loop 4 but still progressed well. We were about 200m from the start/finish line when Jeffrey came flying out of the woods. He called out “Aren’t these great conditions?” as he passed us. Chris and I knew that we were in the top 5 for this race but we had just been lapped by Jeffrey. It was clear that Jeffrey could easily hold his fast pace and that he was not going to blow up. We were both very impressed. Chris and I finished loop 4 in just under 52 minutes. 

We were running well on loop 5 when Chris mentioned that he wasn’t feeling great. We pressed on until we reached a good sized downhill, about a quarter of the way into the loop. Chris cramped up badly and had to stop and walk. We decided that I would go on while Chris dealt with the cramping. I was reluctant to leave but this sort of thing is common in ultra running. It’s good etiquette to ask the other person to go on if you can’t hold the pace. I finished loop 5 in 53 minutes which gave me around 2 hours to complete two more loops. Our goal was 7 loops or 52.5km and I was going to have to be mindful of my time to complete it. 

I was getting minor cramps in my hamstrings but kept them at bay by taking two salt pills every 45 minutes and Clifshot gels every 30 minutes. Loop 6 was tough and I started to do a lot of self-talk to keep myself going. “You got this – keep going,” was my mantra and I repeated it in my head, and even out loud when I was running alone. I pushed through the pain and finished this loop in just under 55 minutes. 

I climbed the icy ski hill for the last time as I started my seventh and final loop. A painful groin cramp slowed me down to a walk when I was about 15 minutes into the loop. I knew from previous races that the cramp would get better if I walked for a little while. Sure enough the cramp went away after a few minutes of walking. I reminded myself that I was almost done and picked up the pace. I finally made it to the last aid station and ran past it without stopping. I was about 100m from the finish line when I heard “Hey buddy!”. Chris came sprinting out of the woods and we both whooped with joy. We ran through the finish line together to a small amount of applause. There were only three or four people at the finish line at this point but that didn’t bother us. We had finished in 3rd place (3rd and 4th officially) out of 30 runners with a distance of 52.5km and a time of 5:52.29. Better yet, we had started and finished the race together. Chris and I do a lot of our training together and it was really special to share this finish. Chris had run his last loop in an amazing 48 minutes, his fourth fastest loop which was a great feat of determination and will power. We were gathering the gear that we had left at the finish line when Jeffrey came bounding out of the woods. He ran through the finish line with only four minutes to spare. Jeffrey had completed an amazing nine loops for 67.5km in 5:55.58 (full results below). I felt great about my 3rd place finish but I was inspired and humbled by Jeffrey’s race. Racing is a great way to truly test your fitness and Jeffrey’s race showed me that there is always room to improve. 

We had a blast at the Fat Ass trail race and plan on running it next year. The Race Director, Erin McDougall is a very friendly guy and he did a great job organizing the race. All of the volunteers were very nice and helpful and the aid stations were well stocked and well placed on the course. Looking forward to Fat Ass 2020!

I was not expecting that the Quebec Mega Trail (QMT) would make me consider dropping out of a race for the first time ever, when I signed up for it in early 2019. I ran the QMT 110km race in Mont Ste. Anne, Quebec at the end of June, 2019. I spent a lot of time planning for QMT because I had heard from friends that the race was really tough. I planned on running the race in 16 hours since I ran the Sulphur Springs 50k race in 5h28m on May, 2019. I knew that QMT had a 24 hour cut off but thought that I would be done well before that. 

I had been listening to a book called You Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins while I was training for QMT. I have around 110 audio books and have listened to them while running and driving. I use the Audible app which is a great way to read on a busy schedule. Goggins talks a lot about using visualization before races. He spent a lot of time visualizing before he ran the famous Badwater 135 race. He visualized the start of the race, parts of the race where he would be feeling good, parts of the race where he would be feeling bad and the end of the race. He also researched the race as much as he could, which included watching all of the videos that he could find on Youtube. I took this advice to heart and did my own research for the QMT. I studied the race course in depth and wrote out detailed notes. I also watched a number of Youtube videos. I wrote out a detailed visualization about how I was going to approach the different sections of the course and how I was going to feel. I did all of this visualization with the 16 hour time frame that I had envisioned for the course. The visualization helped build confidence for the race and I was feeling good about the race when I left to Quebec. 

My friend Matt met me in Mont Ste. Anne late on Thursday night and we spent the next day scoping out the area and getting ready for the race. We went to bed early on Friday night and before I knew it, it was 4am and time to wake up. Matt was going to meet me at the half way mark aid station and then again at the 80k mark where he would pace me for the last 30km. 

We started the race in light rain on the water near le Massif, one of the largest ski mountains in Quebec in a town called Petit Rivière St Francois. The song Xanadu by Rush was played over the PA system and the race directors timed it perfectly so that the race started when the song reached a crescendo. The race director mentioned this song in the race briefing and I remember thinking that this sounded cheesy. Boy, was I wrong. It made an awesome impression and created excitement as all of the runners ran through the starting arch. We ran on road through the town for about 3km and then started climbing up the mountains. It was pretty easy going to the first aid station on the summit of le Massif. 

I ran another easy 10k to aid station 2. I was greeted at this aid station by a group of screaming volunteers. They were chanting “Joe, Joe, Joe” as I approached. I realized that they were making up names for all of the runners. I left aid station 2 thinking that I was in for more of the same terrain. I couldn’t have been more wrong. I immediately encountered super technical terrain with a ton of mud, rocks and roots. I had to hike most of this section of the course but I was still making good progress. I passed several racers on my way in to aid station 3. I overheard three runners who decided to drop out of the race at this aid station. Like me, these runners were feeling overwhelmed by the technical terrain. The race was taking me a lot longer than I had anticipated but I was still feeling pretty good.

I left the aid station and ran a technical descent for about 4k. I came out on to a dirt road and was so grateful to stretch my legs and to give my mind a break from the technical running. I had not trained on any technical terrain and this was taking its toll on me. I had to pay constant attention to every foot plant so that I didn’t fall. This was exhausting on my body and also on my mind. I was starting to realize that the race was going to take me a lot longer than 16 hours. 

I ran on dirt roads for another 4k and then reached a really funny water crossing to get to the Sainte Tite de Cap aid station, where Matt was waiting for me. I climbed down a small hill and then got up to my waist in water. I crossed through cool water beneath a bridge. I made it through the water crossing without falling and ran to the aid station. I felt beat up from the technical terrain but got re-energized from sitting down and talking with Matt. I reluctantly told Matt that the race would take over 20 hours and that we would have to run all night. Matt was super supportive and was ready to run all night with me. I left Matt and started the 20km that I had left before the Mont Ste. Anne aid station where Matt would join me as a pacer. 

I started the beautiful and difficult Mestachibo section. Mestachibo had tall cliffs on both sides, beautiful rapids and lush green forest. There was no denying that it was beautiful but is was also an absolute nightmare to navigate. The ascents and descents were never ending with super slick mud and huge rocks. Mestachibo was only around 10k but I spent well over 2 hours getting through it. 

I arrived at the Mont Ste Anne Aid Station at around 9pm and met Matt there. I was super glad to see Matt but I was completely spent from Mestachibo. I told Matt that I was considering dropping out of the race. Matt encouraged me to eat a burger and to think about it. I refused the burger at first but decided to eat it in the end. I started feeling better immediately. I had been eating gels and banana bread for the last 5 hours and it felt great to have something substantial in my stomach. Matt and I also heard from the race staff that the last 30k was not very technical which is exactly what I needed to hear.

Matt and I started by hiking straight uphill on a ski run called La Crête (the Ridge in english). I had skied this run as a kid – it’s super challenging and steep and my sister and I loved it. On a family ski trip, we brought my Dad to ski it with us. My sister and I were dare devils but my Dad was a conservative skier. He was pretty mad at us and my sister and I but we thought it was hilarious. I was struggling to move quickly up the hill and Matt suggested that I use smaller steps. It worked like a charm and we eventually summitted Mont Ste. Anne. We were greeted with a stunning view, the sun was setting and it gave a faint glow to the light fog along valley below. This view was definitely one of the highlights of the race.

We reached the summit aid station with excitement, we only had 21k left. We covered the 18 of the 21k fairly quickly but. We were surprised on the last 3k by a water crossing through a knee deep river. We finished this water crossing and were surprised by yet another water crossing. We ran on road for the last 2k and we could hear the music from the finish line. Matt and I ran through the finish together and were thrilled to be done, I finished in 22h59m. Matt and I decided to have the post-race meal and beer in the Mont Ste. Anne chalet. It was funny to be eating and drinking at 4am but we didn’t care.

I am often asked how I make time for my three small kids, my wife and my job while training for ultra-marathons. There is no doubt that training for 100 mile races is a big undertaking. You are preparing to run all day and all night and the race can be a very painful experience if you are not prepared. That being said, ultra-marathons are painful no matter what, but you don’t want to suffer more than you need to. Training for ultra-marathons demands a big time commitment but I have found that there is enough time to train if you are strategic with your time and make a good plan.

The plans that I discuss are applicable to runners who can already run 10km comfortably. This does not mean that you can run a 10km race comfortably. 10km races always hurt regardless of your experience level. I am referring to running a 10km training run at a comfortable pace. If you are interested in running ultra-marathons but have not built up the endurance to run 10km, I would suggest starting with a plan that gets you there. Once you are running 10km comfortably, you can start training for the longer distances. I would definitely recommend a progression for your distances. My progression was: 10km, marathon (42.2km), 50km, 50 mile (80km) and 100 mile (160km). 

Overview

I make a three to four month training plan for my ultra-marathons. I steadily increase the length of time that I run by around 10% every week until race weekend. A 10% increase is a good rule of thumb to avoid injury and I have had good experience with this rule. I’ve included my 2019 training plan for the Quebec Mega Trail 110km race below. 

Work week work outs:

I work out four times during the work week and twice on the weekend. During the work week, I do one hour work outs early in the morning or at lunch time. I am currently taking Monday off, doing one hour runs on Tuesday and Thursday, doing a 30 minute run and 30 minutes of weights on Wednesday and swimming for 45 minutes on Friday. I don’t have a distance or pace goal during these runs. I run at a comfortable pace for the amount of time that I have. Running for distance can be discouraging. There are many days when you are not feeling very well but you still have to go for your run. It is much easier to run at a slower pace for two hours and feel okay afterwards as opposed to feeling like crap from running hard. 

Weight work outs:

I am doing squats, deadlifts and core exercises for weight work outs. Weights are very important for joint health and for running hills. I have recently started to lift weights regularly and have seen a huge difference in my running. I can power up and down hills more easily and I am experiencing very few injuries or strains. In addition to these weight workouts, I have started doing fifteen to twenty minutes of weights first thing in the morning. This includes any combination of push-ups, pull-ups, planks, air squats, bicep curls and tricep dips. Small workouts first thing in the morning are a great way to give yourself a boost of energy in the morning. I got this idea from the 5am Club book by Robin Sharma, one of my favourite authors. 

Weekend work outs:

I do my long runs exclusively on the weekend when it is easier to take more time off from work. Long runs are the key to ultra training. You can miss most of your workouts during the week but still maintain your training if you complete your long runs. I train differently on Saturday and Sunday. I like to sleep in on Saturday and then do a 1 – 1.5 hour run later in the day. If you have small kids, it is great to bring them with you on these runs. We bought a two person running stroller over seven years ago and it is one of the best investments that we have ever made. My wife is always okay with me leaving the house for a run if I am bringing two or more of the kids with me. On Sundays, I will wake up early for my long runs of 2 hours or more. I am usually out the door at 6am because I want to be sure that I am around during the day to spend time with my family. 

I change my training plan and start doing back to back long runs on the weekend when it is one month out from the race. I will wake up early on Saturday in addition to waking up early on Sunday for a long run. Back to back long runs give you the benefit of running on tired legs without having to be out all day. I don’t like training runs that keep you out for more than 4-5 hours. Training runs that are longer than 4 hours can put you at a higher risk for injury and who has time for that! I schedule a taper period for two weeks prior to my race in which I only run 1 – 2 hours on Saturday and Sunday. This ensures that I have ample time to recover and to be in top shape for the race. 

Rest Weeks:

I will do a lighter training week every two weeks to give my body time to recover. During these rest weeks, I will do my regular runs during the work week but I will shorten my weekend runs to 1 – 1.5 hours long.

Terrain:

You should try to do most of your training runs on terrain similar to the terrain that you will be racing on. If you are going to be racing on hilly and muddy trails, you should train on hilly and muddy trails. I had a very tough time at the Quebec Mega Trail 110km because the terrain was very technical with a lot of mud, roots and rocks. I had done the right amount of training but I trained on terrain that was much less technical. 

Hiking:

It is also a very good idea to plan hiking into your training since you spend a lot of time hiking during ultra-marathons. I hike up all of the hills during races. There are always times when I need to hike for twenty minutes or longer so that I can rest or if I need to cover technical terrain that is too hard to run. The month before I ran the Midnight Moose 100 miler, I did half of my long runs as hiking and the other half as running. This worked out really well and I ended up placing second overall in the Midnight Moose. 

Training races:

I highly recommend planning a race into your training as a great way to stay motivated. I ran the Sulphur Springs 50km race this year in Waterdown, Ontario one month before the Quebec Mega Trail, 110km. It took me 5h28m to run the 50km which is an amount of time that fit well into my training plan. I felt great during the race and placed a solid 15th out of 184 runners. This was a great confidence booster and kept me motivated to complete my training for the Quebec Mega Trail. 

Conclusion:

Mike Tyson once said that everyone has a plan until you get punched in the mouth. I am not a Mike Tyson fan but there is a lot of truth in this statement. There is a lot of pressure to carry out 100% of your training plan but the reality is that even world-class athletes have a hard time doing all of their workouts. Life happens and there are always unforeseen events that can throw off your training. As previously mentioned, I have had success by prioritizing my long runs on the weekend even if I have not been able to work out most of the week. What’s more, there are always going to be days when you are feeling sick or you have developed an injury or a strain. It is absolutely okay to modify your training plan so that you are doing lighter workouts during these times. You can pick up your training once you are feeling better and there is a very good chance that you will still accomplish your goals. Don’t hesitate to reach out on Instagram @jordanwickett for any questions – I would love to hear from you.

I often get asked about what I eat during a 100 mile race and I like to respond that I eat pretty much whatever my stomach will let me. One of the reasons that I like ultra-marathons so much is that you get to eat a lot of delicious foods that you would not normally eat. Everything is fair game from butter tarts – my favourite, to burgers, potato chips, bacon, ice cream, gummies, donuts, you name it. The higher the calories, the better. A runner can burn up to 16,000 calories during a 100-mile race – assuming the race takes 27 hours to complete (reference). People typically get around 500 calories per meal. You would therefore have to eat 32 meals to replace the number of calories burned in a 100 miler. As you can imagine, you cannot replace all of these calories while you are running but food is still very important. 

One of the first things that I recommend to new ultra runners is to start training your body to run immediately after eating. When I first started running I would meticulously wait at least thirty minutes after eating or drinking so that I would not get a cramp while running. The beautiful thing is that you can train your body to get over this. Your body is set up to eat and run without making you uncomfortable. It takes a few weeks of practice until you can run easily with a full stomach. I first heard about this when reading Dean Karnasez’s book Ultra-Marathon Man. Dean is a well known ultra-runner and author. In 2005, Dean ran an incredible 350 miles straight without any sleep which took him just under 81 hours. He also won the famous Badwater 135 ultra-marathon in 2004. In Ultra-Marathon Man, Dean tells the story of ordering a pizza while on an all night run in his hometown of San Francisco. Dean told the pizza delivery guy his general vicinity and asked the delivery guy to meet him on his running route. The restaurant thought it was strange but decided to help Dean. Sure enough, Dean got his pizza and proceeded to fold up the pizza into a type of burrito and ate it while he was running. I have never ordered a pizza while running but similar to Dean, I can eat a full meal and then go for a hard run with minimal issues. Just recently, I finished Thanksgiving dinner with turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and pumpkin pie and went for a one hour run afterwards while feeling pretty comfortable. 

My favourite fuel during races is Clifshot energy gels. Energy gels do not taste bad but I do not particularly like them. In fact, towards the end of a long race, I hate energy gels. I will eat one energy gel every 30-45 minutes during a race and after 20 hours these energy gels start tasting terrible. You might be asking yourself how energy gels can be my favourite fuel source even if I hate the taste of them. The answer is that I know that energy gels work for me. I have been racing with energy gels for over 6 years and gels have always gotten me through races. Gels are easy to carry, you can easily store them in different compartments of your hydration vest, your shorts, etc.

I like to eat solid food every two hours or so and during meal times when I’m doing longer races. I have found that gels by themselves don’t give me enough energy. My body is used to eating breakfast, lunch and dinner at the same time everyday. I keep my body happy during races by sticking to those meal times. One of my favourite solid food options is peanut butter and jam wraps or sandwiches. I find wraps easier to carry since they don’t smooshed in your pack like sandwiches do. Homemade chocolate chip cookies, butter tarts and Timbits (small donuts) are other favourites. The higher the calories, the better. 

I usually take advantage of the food options at aid stations. I’ve found that you can only prepare so much with the food that you have brought. At the Midnight Moose 100 miler in September, 2019, I had brought six peanut butter and jam wraps and over twenty chocolate chip cookies. I was loving the peanut butter and jam wraps but the chocolate chip cookies started to make me feel sick about half way into the race. I compensated by eating the different foods at the aid stations. There were small potatoes that were cooked and cut in half. You’re instructed to dip the potatoes into a plate of salt and eat them. These potatoes helped calm my stomach and provided some great electrolytes. I also drank the soda that the aid stations had available. I would drink a full can of Coca-Cola or Ginger Ale every few hours. The carbonation and ginger in the Ginger Ale was helping my stomach feel better, the caffeine in the Coca-Cola gave me an energy boost and the huge amount of sugar was helping me fuel.

I have noticed that the farther I get into a race, the more important food becomes. After 20+ hours on the trail, the way that I feel is directly correlated with how much food is in my system. During my last two long races, I got an immediate boost of energy and well-being from eating something sugary. I would start feeling down and sluggish if I waited for more than a half an hour to eat again. 

I have always experienced some form of stomach discomfort during my longer races. It gets very hard to eat enough during the later stages of races. You are forcing a huge amount of calories through your stomach every hour and your stomach starts to rebel. I have found that stomach discomfort is a small price to pay for sustained energy during a race. It’s been helpful to remind myself that I am in charge of my body and that my stomach works for me. This sounds funny but it kept me from vomiting during my last race. 

I take notes after every race about which foods worked well for me and which foods did not. I don’t have a very sensitive stomach so I experiment with different foods during races. I ate grilled cheese sandwiches during the Midnight Moose 100 miler and a cheese burger during the Quebec Mega Trail. I had never eaten these foods during races but they made me feel great. That being said, if you have a sensitive stomach, it’s best to experiment with food while you are training so you don’t have a bad experience during a race. Like anything in life, practice makes perfect for race nutrition.

You never know what sort of experiences are going to change your life. Thinking back over the last 10 years, I had one of the biggest, life changing experiences when I hiked around Mont Blanc in Chamonix, France in 2008. I had gotten into the MBA degree program at the Richard Ivey School of Business (Ivey) with the University of Western Ontario. Ivey offered an optional, two week tutorial period before actual classes started. It was a fairly easy decision for me to use those two weeks to go on a vacation rather than use them for school. I had done well in my undergraduate studies and figured that it would be fairly easy for me to catch up. I was wrong, the first few weeks of school ended up being really tough and I can remember thinking that my vacation might not have been the best idea. Looking back now though, I realize that going on this vacation was one of the best decisions that I have ever made. This trip would have a huge positive influence on the next decade of my life. 

I decided that I wanted to do a vacation where I could be active. I did some research online and I found a hiking trip in Chamonix, France. The hike was called the Tour du Mont Blanc and it started in France, brought you to Italy, then to Switzerland and then you finished back at Chamonix in France. It was a seven day, guided hike and you got to stay the night in mountain refuges which are small Inns that are high up in the mountains. I’m not sure what inspired me as I had never really been interested in hiking. I was immediately taken with the idea though, and decided to sign up for the trip.

I flew into Geneva and the tour company arranged for a small van to take me to Chamonix. I met with my tour group at our hotel that evening. Our group was mostly young Canadians who all had interesting careers and backgrounds. There were around ten of us in total and I could tell that we had a great group. 

The Midnight Moose 100 mile race took place on Friday, September 20th and started at 10pm. Most 100 milers start at around 5 am on Saturday morning which makes the Midnight Moose unique. It was located in Gatineau Park and started at the ski hill, Camp Fortune.

I drove to my sister’s house in Ottawa on Thursday and I arrived in time to get a nice dinner and a glass of wine. I had an excellent sleep of around 10 hours that night which I knew would pay dividends. I spent Friday laying around, hydrating and getting ready for the race. 

I arrived at the race start line at around 6:45pm for a 10pm start. The organizers arrived within a few minutes and I had a nice chat with them. Ray Zahab was one of the race directors and Ray is a well known ultra-runner and adventurer. He starred in the movie Running the Sahara which was narrated by Matt Damon. Ray took about five minutes to chat with me and I appreciated getting the time with him. 

It got dark pretty quickly and it made for a festive scene as all of the racers gathered around the start line. There was a row of candles set up near the start and many of the racers were wearing glow bands. I ended up lining up mid-pack which is different from my usual start at the front of the pack. We were starting with 25km racers and I decided that I didn’t want to have to run hard at the beginning. I stood beside another 100 mile racer named Steve who I recognized from his ultra-running race reviews on Youtube.

The race started and we were off climbing up the Camp Fortune ski hill which was around 150m. This isn’t huge elevation by Quebec Mega Trail standards, a race in Mont Ste. Anne, Quebec that I ran in June. I knew however that I was going to climb this ski hill at least three times and that was going to add up to some significant elevation. We came off the ski hill and onto some mountain bike single track. I’m not a huge fan of running mountain bike trails since they’re technical with roots, rocks and bridges. We came off the single track at the bottom of the hill and got onto the road. The road was a welcome change from the technical trails and I picked up the pace. There was a mix of road and easy trails for about 10km and then we got back into the trails. We were sent back up the mountain on a large set of stairs. I was racing with hiking poles and they really came in handy when going up stairs. We were on Mount King and we got a beautiful view of the surrounding area once we reached the top of the stairs. We could see Ottawa’s lights in the distance. We came off the summit, descended a little bit on technical trails and then made our way on to flat gravel trails. This was another runnable section and I sped up to take advantage. I was making great time when I came up to another racer, it was around 1am at this point. He asked me if he was close to the finish at Camp Fortune and I told him that he had about 25km to go for the loop. He told me that he was running the 25km race! I had to let him know that he had missed the turn for the 25km route and that he’d have to go back 5km to get on the trail. In this runner’s defense, the turn off the 25km turn off was not very well marked and I was fortunate to notice it. I left the disappointed runner and continued on for another 10km on easy trails. I was moving well when I started the last 12km of this first loop. This stretch sent us way up the mountain to enjoy some more views. The trails were technical on this stretch and they were hard to navigate in the dark. I was running on trails when I caught a rock with my toe and started to go down. Fortunately, my brain had registered that I couldn’t fall exactly where I was because there were too many rocks. I was somehow able to manage a sustained fall for another 5 metres to a relatively safe place to fall. I fell in the dirt and scraped my knee on a rock but I was okay. I got up, dusted myself off and continued to finish my first 50k loop.

I came through the finish line at around 6am and was very happy to have completed my first loop in 8 hours. An 8 hour first loop was part of my aspirational plan. I knew that I was going fast but I felt like I had a lot of energy left so I decided to continue pushing. I got a coffee which tasted fantastic and went to my car to get changed into dry clothes and to replenish supplies.

It took me about twenty minutes to get back out on the course. It felt good to have had a rest but I don’t like to spend more than 5-10 minutes at aid stations. I decided that I would try to speed up my transition at the end of my next loop. I got back on the course and took a wrong turn at the spot where I had taken a wrong turn the previous loop. The course wasn’t very well marked around the ski hill and I burned up a good 10-15 minutes finding my way.

When I finally got back on the trail, I met up with a racer named Eric who was in good spirits and who was moving at a good pace. The sun had come up around this time which filled me with renewed energy. I had some coffee in my system and I was running with two other racers, things were going well. Jay pulled ahead of Eric and I after ten minutes and Eric and I kept together for another hour. I had been looking forward to the sun coming up so that I could listen to music or an audio book. I thought that it would have been too distracting to listen to music while I was running through the night. I didn’t want to put my music on while I was running with Eric though as I thought that it would be rude. I was slightly annoyed that I couldn’t listen to music but I started to realize that it was great to have some company after running alone. Eric and I kept up a good pace of running and fast hiking for about a half an hour until the trail started to get more technical. Eric explained that he was primarily a road runner and was fairly new to trail running. As a result, Eric was fast on the easier parts of the course and slow on the technical parts. I pulled away from Eric on the technical section of the trail and was glad that I could finally listen to music. 

I came back on to one of the road sections of the course after coming off the ski hill. I was told that there was a cross country ski race happening and that I should stay off the road when the racers came by. I was confused that there was a ski race happening in the middle of the summer but then I saw some skiers go by on long roller blades with poles. I had seen people on these types of roller blades before and it made sense that they would mimic cross country skis. I could tell by the looks on the ski racers’ faces that they were pushing hard. They would sprint up hills and then tuck going downhill. At one point, I saw a team of racers in a human train, descending the hills. There was a group of six racers in single file and they were all grasping each other’s poles as they zoomed down the hill.

I had been running on this road section for about an hour when Eric caught up to me. As mentioned, Eric was fast on the road and it was nice to see him again. We made good time on this road section and then got back on to the trails. It was time to climb the stairs again to the top of Mount King. We covered the stairs fairly easily although I was starting to feel the exertion from climbs. I was winded when we made it to the top. It was a beautiful Saturday and there were quite a few people out enjoying the park. We got to enjoy the view from the top of the stairs in daylight and the view didn’t disappoint. The sky was a clear blue and the sun was full in the sky. We could see green rolling hills in the distance, blue lakes and rivers and we could glimpse the beautiful Parliament buildings in Ottawa. We took a short time to enjoy the view and it did a lot to boost our spirits. We ran for a few kilometres to an aid station and I decided that I was going to have to eat something substantial. I felt good on the climbs as I had mentioned but I knew that the exertion had burned up a lot of my energy and that I needed to replenish. This is a common occurrence for me in later stages of ultra races. The way that I feel becomes very dependant on how much food I’ve eaten. The big problem is that my stomach starts to feel bad during the later stages of races but I decided to ignore my stomach pains as I had done in previous raced. I was very happy to see that the aid station had a big box of Timbits or small donuts. I ate about six Timbits and had a full peanut butter and jam sandwich which is one of my favourite things to eat while racing. I got an immediate stomach ache as I left the aid station with Eric but I knew that I would be okay as long as I kept moving. Sure enough, my stomach started to feel better after fifteen minutes and I got a good boost of energy. 

We started the last 20k section of our 50k loop. This last section was technical with good sized climbs. Eric started to have a bit of a low at this point and mentioned that he didn’t want to push himself too hard for fear that he wouldn’t finish the race, it was Eric’s first 100 miler. I still had a lot of energy left and I was eager to see my family who was coming to visit me at the start / finish area. I love seeing my family during races, it always gives a huge boost to my morale. I pushed on past Eric and told him that I hoped to see him at the next aid station. I covered the last 20k of the loop in decent time and came through the finish line to some applause. I had completed this 50k loop in 9h24m which was very close to my aspirational goal for this race. I was thrilled to be hitting my pace and glad to know that I wouldn’t have to be out on the course for the full 36 hours if things continued to go well for me.

I didn’t see my family right away. They had been waiting for me for a while and the kids had gone into the forest to play. I started walking to the aid station to reload my supplies when I saw my nine year old daughter come running from the forest. She was followed by my two sons and two nephews. My wife Lindsay came out to give me a hug and my sister Jacquie had come with my six month old niece. It was so nice to see my family after being on the trails for seventeen and a half hours. The kids saw all of the chips and candy at the aid station table and started helping themselves. They saw the other racers doing it so they figured it was like a party. I spoke up to tell the kids that the food was only for the racers but the race organizers were there and said that it was okay. I was filling up my water bottles when both of my sons asked me if they could have a drink. I had been running in the woods for over 17 hours and desperately needed this water but my boys had been playing in the woods and they were thirsty! I let the boys drink from my water bottles and filled them up again after. I started to get emotional as I headed back on the course for my last loop. I was feeling the wave of emotion that I often get from racing and was almost drawn to tears as my family sent me off and waved goodbye as I got back on the trails.

I made the long climb back up the ski hill and noticed that the sun was starting to go down again. It was surreal to be starting another night out on the trails. This was the first time that I had ever stayed up two nights in a row. To add to this, I had been running for close to 18 hours. I didn’t know how my body would react to this lack of sleep which had me feeling slightly worried. I helped calm my worries by reminding myself that Navy SEALs go a full week without sleep or with very little sleep during hell week, the first week of their training. If SEALs could do a full week without sleep, I could certainly do two days. Fortunately I wasn’t feeling sleepy but I was having a tough time making this first climb. I had to switch to a shorter stride to avoid exhaustion which made for slow progress. The shorter stride technique had been shown to me by my friend Matt during the Quebec Mega Trail and it was proving to be very useful again. I climbed slowly up the ski hill and progressed onto the more technical trails. I was pleased to be moving well on the flats and downhills. I had been doing weight workouts every week to prepare my legs for these downhill descents. Running downhill really engages your quads and it can be extremely painful if you aren’t prepared for it. I had experienced beat up quads during my last 100 miler in 2018 and I knew the importance of being ready. The sun went down and I reluctantly turned on my headlamp for another night on the trails. 

To my surprise, I started to feel better after sunset. I could pick up the pace on the uphills and was making good progress. I passed three aid stations which were all unmanned. There were only 16 people running the 100 mile race so the race directors figured that we were okay with fewer aid stations. Fewer aid stations meant that I spent hours on the trail in the dark without seeing anyone. Luckily, Gatineau Park had a number of hikers and runners on the trails after dark and it was great to have small chats with these hikers. I passed two beautiful ladies who were out hiking with head lamps. They saw my race bib and asked me about my run. It was around 9:30pm and I told them that I had been on the trails since 10pm the previous night. They told me how impressed they were and encouraged me to keep going. These words of encouragement did a lot to lift my mood. 

I was about eight hours into my third loop when I spotted a cute looking critter ahead of me on the trail. It was the size of a mole and looked like something you’d see from Pokémon. I noticed that the critter wasn’t scared by my approach and was holding its position on the trail. I was disappointed and slightly alarmed when I got close enough to realize that my critter was a plain old rock. I realized that I was hallucinating which was a common occurrence among ultra runners who go a long time without sleep. I made a mental note that I’d have to be careful to monitor my hallucinations so that I didn’t hurt myself. 

I finally reached a manned aid station at around the 20k mark and was very happy to chat with someone. There was a nice lady running the station and she told me that I was in fourth place. I knew that I was somewhere towards the front of the pack but I was surprised to hear that I was in fourth place, I thought I was closer to fifth or sixth. I left the aid station feeling good and covered the next 10k quickly to reach the next aid station.

There was another nice lady running this aid station and I was glad for another chat. She told me that I was looking fresh despite being on the trail for so long. She confided in me that the 3rd place runner had left her aid station only 10 minutes ago and that he could no longer run. I had never finished an ultra in the top 10 and the thought of finishing in 3rd place energized me. I started back out on the trails and I was moving fast. I was running the flats and descents and hiking hard up the climbs. I was amazed to find that I could run at around 9.5 minutes per mile, the same pace at which I do my training runs. I had been on the course for around 26 hours and I was running fast and free, it felt amazing. My training partner Chris had been in this situation before and he had told me about how great it feels to be running fast when you are far into an ultra. Chris described this as feeling like you are invincible and that nothing can break you. I was experiencing this for the first time and I did feel like nothing could break me. 

I was hoping that I was going to catch up to third place soon since I was moving so quickly and I kept looking for headlamps ahead. I made a plan that I would run past third place as fast as I could when I spotted them. I had just finished a book called You Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins, a former Navy SEAL who runs ultra-marathons. He described a technique called taking souls in his book. Taking souls, like it sounds it designed to take away any hope that your competitors might have of beating you. I really wanted to finish on the podium and I was going to show third place that there was no use in trying to keep up with me because I was moving too fast. I was quickly running down a hill when I spotted third place sitting on a bench. 

“Whoa, you’re flying!” he said when he saw me. 

“Thanks, I feel good.” I said as I continued running fast up a hill. 

I realized that third place was Steve, the same runner who I had lined up beside at the beginning of the race. I felt a great sense of satisfaction as I blew past Steve. I did feel sorry that Steve was not feeling good. There’s a sense of camaraderie among runners and as Steve was a fellow runner, I wanted to make sure that he was okay. This wasn’t just a friendly trail run though, this was a race and I was feeling very serious about racing.

“How are you doing?” I said.

“Oh, I’m okay,” said Steve. 

“Okay, have a good one,” I said.

I continued moving fast for at least a half an hour after I left Steve. I wanted to ensure that Steve wasn’t going to catch up. I had finished climbing one of the more technical sections of the loop and was starting to go downhill when I heard a voice in the darkness.

“Hello!” the voice said.

“Hello,” I said as looked around in the darkness. I didn’t know if I was hallucinating again. It took about 30 seconds before I saw a headlamp come on up ahead of me. Krista, who I had met before starting the race was lying up on a stone ledge off from the side of the trail. Krista had kept at the head of the pack for most of the race. She had her teenage son Reese with her who was helping as her crew. I had a nice conversation with Reese and Krista before we started our race. 

“How are you doing?” I said.

“Not very good. I fell and sprained my ankle. I went off to the side of the trail to sit down to see if it would get better. I got really cold though and my ankle seized,” said Krista.

“Can you walk? I can help you down,” I said.

“No, I can’t walk, I need someone to come get me. I’ve been calling the emergency numbers that the race directors gave us but I can’t get a hold of anyone,” said Krista.

I was concerned about Krista but I was also burning up a lot of time. It was around 2am and we all had a strong urge to be done the race. Krista and I decided that I would keep going to the next aid station and that I would send back some help for her. I wasn’t sure that the next aid station was manned though and I let Krista know as much.

I made it to the aid station about 30 minutes later and luckily there were two ladies manning the station. I approached the aid station and was greeted by light cheers and then some surprised questions.

“I don’t know you. Who are you?” the volunteer said.

“I’m Jordan,” I said.

“Where’s Steve?” the volunteer said.

“I passed Steve a little while back, he wasn’t feeling well. I just passed Krista as well. It turns out that she sprained her ankle and she’s about 2k back,” I said.

It turned out that my volunteer was Steve’s wife and she was obviously concerned about him. Steve came into the aid station while I was still there, much to Steve’s wife’s relief. The sight of Steve gave me a lot of anxiety though. I had moved into second place by passing Krista and I didn’t want to give that up. I conferred with Steve and his wife and it was clear that Steve’s wife was contacting the first aid staff to come get Krista. Knowing that Krista would be helped, I decided to fill up my water and get out of there as fast as I could. I had a brief conversation with Steve as I was leaving.

“You had legs of fire out there,” said Steve.

“I was feeling really good,” I said.

“I was not feeling good but I’ve started running again since you passed me,” said Steve.

“Glad to hear it,” I said.

I left the aid station as fast as I could and was feeling very anxious that Steve was going to catch me. Steve did not seem to be in much of a hurry though and had been sitting down at the aid station while I was leaving. I wasn’t moving as fast as before and I kept looking over my shoulder for the next hour. Steve never materialized though and I started to relax as I made it through the last hour until the start finish line. I ran through the finish line for the third time to light applause from the skeleton crew of volunteers who were up at 3am. I was given directions back out on to the course for my final 10k loop. I wasn’t happy to learn that I needed to climb the ski hill again but I knew that the race would be over soon and that I might as well get it over with. 

I started climbing up the hill and looked over at the Camp Fortune ski chalet. It had all of the inside lights on and I could see men, women and children in white cotton clothes coming out of the chalet. There was also a group of men throwing a white sheet into the air. It looked like a festive atmosphere and I figured that it was a wedding that had gone late. I thought it was strange that these people were out so late but I didn’t pay it any mind. I got to the top of the hill and followed the course markers on familiar trails. I was close to the finish when I passed by the Camp Fortune ski chalet again where I had seen the wedding earlier. Once again, I saw the the wedding guests in white clothes, outside of the chalet. I was glad that I was getting close enough to the chalet to see exactly what was going on. I was shocked to realize that the wedding goers were only long reeds that were waving in the wind. I was starting to have some significant hallucinations which worried me but also made me laugh. 

Hallucinations from sleep deprivation are a right of passage for trail runners. Accomplished ultra runner Charlie Engle wrote about having a hallucination of seeing his mom on the side of the road while he was running the Bad Water ultra marathon in Death Valley. Courtney Dauwalter, the top female ultra-runner thought that she saw a friendly leopard lounging in a hammock during the second night of the 2017 Moab 240 mile endurance run. 

I shook my head and ran into the finish line. I had finished in 30 hours and 7 minutes which was good for second place. This is the first time that I had ever broken the top 10 in an ultra-marathon and it felt amazing. What’s more, I had raised $2,600 for Leukemia and felt great to have followed through on my pledge to finish the race. I had a nice chat with the volunteer crew at the finish line, I could tell that they were impressed with my performance. You definitely get a different reaction from volunteers when you finish in the top 3 as opposed to finishing in the mid to end of the pack which is what I’m used to. I got my belt buckle and headed over to my tent for some much needed sleep. I closed my eyes in my tent and woke up with the sun, about 3 hours later. I don’t think that I moved an inch while I slept.