Lesson from the Canadian Death Race
125 km (77.5 miles).
17,000 feet up.
17,000 feet down.
3 mountain summits.
1 river crossing.
That’s what makes up the Canadian Death Race (CDR).
I’ve spent the last 7 months training for this ultramarathon.
At 3:30AM August 3, 2014 I completed the Canadian Death Race. 4.5 hours faster than anticipated.
For me, success was crossing that finish line under 24 hours. I smashed my estimated time of arrival.
Physically and mentally it was the hardest thing I have ever done.
In the weeks following I asked myself: “Through this insane experience I must have learned something!”
I learned many things, but what I believe to the be the most important reason for me crossing the finish line and the thing I learned that is most relevant to my life right now and the World Race is this:
“You won’t get to the finish if that’s what you have in mind.”
The Canadian Death Race is divided into 5 different legs ranging from 19km to 36km. I have been thinking about signing up for the race for the previous 3 years. The point when I decided that I could actually do the race is when I thought of the race length as 5 “short” legs where no leg was longer than a marathon, rather than thinking of it as one 125 kilometre race. This mentality followed me to the actual running of the race and was a huge part to my success.
Standing in the crowd of runners at 8am Saturday morning I did not recall thinking that I was about to run 125 kilometres. I do remember thinking that after I run 19 kilometres (the length of leg 1) I will see my parents ready and waiting with water, food, and encouragement. I don’t remember ever thinking about the finish line until I was running back into town after 124 kilometres of running. When the gun shot off I was focused on making one stride after the other. I was focused on making it to my crew who was situated at every leg transition. Each checkpoint, the end of an uphill section, the next mountain summit, the next peculiar looking tree along the trail was the furthest I ever looked ahead the whole race.
I am convinced that if I thought of it as one big 125 kilometre race rather than 5 “small” races and if I had not tried to enjoy and maximize (i.e. taking a step) the moment I found myself in I would not have finished. My mind would have succumbed to the overwhelming and seemingly insurmountable task of running for 19 hours straight.
When I re-sprained my ankle at kilometre 35 (I sprained my ankle at training camp 9 days previous, oops – my ankle was twice its normal size even before I started the race!) I never thought to myself “Oh shoot, I have to run another 90 kilometres on this thing!” Instead I focused my next step and the step after that and the step after that thinking to myself “Ok, can take another step? Yes.” on repeat until my ankle felt good enough to run on and eventually I didn’t even notice it.
I cannot help but to relate the mentality I held during CDR to one of the visions our World Race team (Boldly Present) is aspiring towards for the next 11 months. That is; being present. What I mean is that I don’t want to be longing for something to be over (i.e. longing for the finish line). I don’t want to be lost in my daydreams about what is to come and miss out on what God is doing today and what He has in store for me today. Tomorrow will come, but let’s use today because it’s all we have right now. I remember numerous times when I was running, when I was in pain, when I was dehydrated, when I was climbing up 5000 feet without any reprieve, and when my quads were so sore from “running” straight down the other side of the mountain and thinking to myself “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.” What a beautiful thought despite my circumstances. That’s a thought I never want to leave my mind on the Race or in life!
What I learned through running for 19 hours and 28 minutes is to just enjoy the moment you find yourself in and use that moment to maximize its potential.
Before the race.
At the transition between legs 2 and 3.
Coming in from the grueling leg 4.
Finished!
