Runners focus on the journey
RED DEER, Alta. - Long-distance running definitely has its lonely moments, but when you are into races of well over 100 kilometres in length, there are a surprising number of opportunities to socialize.
Red Deer runner Annie Rogoschewsky, who recently made the leap from marathons to ultra-marathons, made the 135-kilometre Sinister-7 in July in southern Alberta her first.
The Sinister-7 takes in the Seven Sisters Mountain in the Crowsnest range and is billed by its organizers as the toughest in Canada, incorporating as it does sharp climbs and steep descents, road, gravel roads, trails, rock, bogs and more.
Competitors, who typically take about 24 hours to complete the course, find themselves running in the heat of the day and in the dark of the night.
The run was divided into seven legs. Rogoschewsky said she thought the fourth leg was where she found the going the hardest.
"There were some long lonely stretches from about halfway through. Then I seemed to bounce back once that was over. I was quite fatigued."
After that, she says, she met up with another runner who, like her, was doing the entire 135-kilometre run solo rather than as a member of a relay team.
The two ran together for a while and chatted, and that was quite a tonic, says Rogoschewsky.
That's the way it goes with ultra-marathons, she says.
Since people run at different speeds, competitors find themselves running beside various people on different parts of the course for varying amounts of time.
And since it's an ultra-marathon - meaning it must at least be longer than the standard 42.2-kilometre marathon - people pace themselves accordingly and run much more slowly, even walking at times, particularly when the terrain is rough.
"In a road marathon you put blinders on and you are focused on the finish," says Bill Kossmann, a fellow runner.
"But in an ultra-marathon, you are focused on the journey rather than the finish."
Kossmann has about 10 ultra-marathons under his belt and was one of 14 representatives of the Red Deer Runners Club at the Sinister-7.
Like the rest of the group, he is very proud of Rogoschewsky, who was the first woman to cross the finish, despite it being her first ultra-marathon.
Her time was 22 hours, 23 minutes which made her fourth overall.
The winning time, logged by Darren Froese of Victoria, was 17 hours 13 minutes.
Kossmann finished ninth overall with a time of 25 hours and 21 minutes.
Rogoschewsky had no idea she was the first woman to finish until she was told.
Her initial disbelief was quickly replaced with surprise and emotion.
"And the best part was hearing it with my friends standing there and seeing their faces."
The $1,000 cheque she received was the icing on the cake.
Listening to Rogoschewsky, it is clear the run itself was the real thrill.
Asked what the best moment of the experience was, she doesn't hesitate.
"It was when the sun rose and the mountains were pink and I knew I was going to make it."
"That happened on leg six for me."
To prepare for the event, Rogoschewsky, Kossmann and the others worked hard.
They ran hilly cross-country ski trails and made trips to Nordegg in the foothills of the Rockies to get up to speed for the brutal mountain ascents and descents that are a big part of the Sinister-7.
Cross-training is part of the preparation program, too, says Rogoschewsky.
That included such pursuits as cycling.
During the actual event, competitors must carry a minimum of two litres of liquid to replace what they lose as they run. Rogoschewsky uses a mix of Gatorade and water.
Food, too, is important during such an epic. Easily digestible foods high in carbs are preferred.
The competitors' food and drinks are delivered to the various stages for them to replenish their supplies.
They also have to complete each leg within a specified time, with 27 hours being the maximum time allowed for the entire course.
Of course, ultra-marathons are hard on the human body no matter how much preparation is done.
There is a healing period afterward that includes tissue rebuilding, immune system recovery and hormones getting back in balance.
Rogoschewsky is a nurse and understands the physical implications as well as anybody.
"A trainer told me that metabolically an Ironman takes eight weeks (to recover)," she says.
Ironman competitions are gruelling long-distance events that encompass running, swimming and cycling.
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