I registered for the 50 kilometer point to point distance for the Summit 700 way back on January 15th. I have run one point to point race called Sehgahunda Trail Marathon in Letchworth State Park, New York back in 2018. I took the train down to Rochester. For the race, runners were bussed to the start line from the finish line and then they run the distance to the finish. I loved it so much. So when I heard about this 50k point to point inaugural 50k distance in nearby Blue Mountains at Summit 700, I was so excited. Having run the 10k in 2019, and again an 11k on a revised course in 2021 for the Summit 700, I had some knowledge of what I might expect. Though probably the 50k and 50 miler I ran of the discontinued North Face Endurance Challenge at Blue Mountains would have more of the trails in common. But the elevation gain of 2111m/6926ft for the 50k Summit 700 had me quite concerned. This elevation I would run for this 50k was almost identical to the 50 miler North Face 2120m/6955ft back in 2017.

My wife could sense both my excitement and my apprehension. She always has so much confidence in me (often more than I have in myself) and told me I could easily do this. To help stoke my confidence she said this would be her birthday present to me. She would drive me, and while I was running for up to 10 hours, she would visit people we know in Collingwood. Then go back to the race and drive me home from the finish. Unfortunately in Canada there are no train or bus connections to an event like this. Even though I now limit my drive to a race at no greater than 60 kilometers, the drive home after running a long distance race always concerns me. With tired legs after a long race they often start cramping out of the blue while my lanky 6’4″ body is confined in a car. I just don’t want to cause a crash if I am driving. My wife has supported me by driving me a few times including the 56k Limberlost Challenge that fell right on my 60th birthday and an Ontario stage for the 2019 Monarch Ultra. Being so grateful to have her support me again in this way once more, I registered on January 15th for the Summit 700 50k.

Leading up to my 50k Pick Your Poison the last Saturday of April, my training was just not adequate. But somehow, I pulled it off and finished that race. The following week after Pick Your Poison my dear wife Lynne flew to New Zealand. Her 90 year old mom’s health and mobility was quickly deteriorating. Aging is hard. Lynne’s mom has really pushed back hard to remain independent, while constantly refusing any help. With the family’s insistence she got one of those medical alert buttons. But he refused to wear it. It sat on the dresser. Living alone, Lynne’s mom has had a few falls. Which is always a concern for my wife Lynne, who lives so far away. But the most recent fall was alarming when her mom was on her back unable to get up for 7 hours until a neighbor (who randomly stopped by with some bananas) found her. Lynne flew down to try to find her some more care.

Through some help from my daughter in New Zealand, Lynne’s mom was admitted to hospital. She was very frail and weak, even needing 3 hospital staff just to get her from the hospital bed to the commode. When Lynne arrived in New Zealand, she was able to eventually get her mom out of the hospital and into a care home when one became available. Because of her mom’s very limited mobility, the doctor’s said said won’t be returning home. Lynne then had the monumental task of clearing the house and putting it on the market. Sadly, not long after, Lynne’s mom experienced a sudden medical emergency. Her mom was taken to hospital where it was determined she had a looped bowel, which is said to be incredibly excruciating. While Lynne was holding her hand in hospital, Lynne’s mom passed away a few hours later.

Lynne’s time in New Zealand would now include arranging a funeral and burial for her mom. Being executor of her mom’s will, her time in New Zealand would also now involve meeting with lawyers and many, many hours dealing with the estate. There is not a lot I can do for Lynne living so far from her. Even though my training has been reasonable these past couple of months, the closer I got to race day, the more uncomfortable I was becoming. You see, I had put Lynne down for my emergency contact on the waiver when I registered for that 50k back on January 15th. I know things can go wrong even during a 5k race. But there is a far, far greater risk with a race with the magnitude of that 50k with the seriously high elevation. I didn’t want to take that risk of a medical emergency on the course with Lynne up to her eyeballs with things to do in New Zealand. At least that could be one way I could support her. So on Wednesday July 2nd, just 2 hours before the deadline for transferring to another distance, I transferred down to the 21 kilometer distance.

As soon as I made the transfer, I had a feeling of peace flood over me. I had made the right choice. The week leading up to the race was very pleasant summer weather. Around 26c with very little humidity. But on race day the heat and humidity moved back in. Temperatures ended up reaching 33c with humidity indexes into the 40’s. I was so glad I made that transfer, as I’ve done very little heat training. With the oppressive heat, and what would end up being 3,146 feet of elevation over 21k was challenging enough.

From the start, the course starts traversing up the Blue Mountain ski hill which leads to a gnarly, single track trail up Blue Mountain on what is known as the Cascade Trail. The trail takes its name from the babbling brook it follows up the escarpment. Trailforks list this trail for the hiking community as “Climb Difficulty…Black Diamond” and “Physical Rating…Hard”. Seven hundred feet later (where the name Summit 700 comes from) you cross a timing mat. The fastest 3 runners in each gender and distance win an award. There were 2 waves of runners in the 21k. I started in the 2nd wave. As it was mostly single track, there was very little jockeying for position climbing the Cascade Trail. We all climbed single file. Even with a 9:00 start you could feel the heat escalating while I was climbing up the Blue Mountain summit. But it was nice to get just over 20% of the elevation out of the way before the hottest part of the day.

At the top, the course opens up, and with that the field of runners started to spread out, before returning to a challenging single track descent. There is very little flat ground on the course. You are either ascending or descending. Three kilometers into the race I was descending on another single track trail I don’t recall on my two shorter Summit 700 races or my two North Face Endurance Challenge races. The trail dropped down steeply and had serious muddy sections from springs flowing out of the side of the mountain. The soil is a red clay and is extremely slippery when wet. When I saw a runner go down further ahead of me, I made a mental note to be careful on that section ahead. As careful as I was, once I felt my feet going out from under me, I didn’t fight it. Down extremely hard I went. A female runner in her 20’s directly in front of me was very concerned for me that I was okay.

As challenging as this technical single track was, it was a relief from not being in the intense sun. Out in the open, while climbing those steep ski hills felt like I was being baked. Further in the race, after one particularly long, stifling hot climb there was a sight to behold at the top. Chilling, while sitting under a beautiful shade tree was over a half dozen runners. The way I was feeling at that point, I couldn’t wait to join them. All those runners I had connected with several times on the course up to that point. All appearing to be in their 20’s and 30’s. I was the old fellow. A major, major mistake I made is I never packed my salt/electrolyte capsules. Being “only a 21k race” I didn’t think I needed to. I had underestimated the heat. One of the young female runners very kindly gave me a couple of her chewable salt/electrolyte tablets. It was huge for me and very humbling. I was so grateful. Sweating is important. With it the body pores open up and release fluid so we can cool off by evaporation. However, sweat also depletes the body of vital substances like sodium, potassium, magnesium and calcium. Which are crucial for body functions. These lost fluids and electrolytes need to be restored.

That impromptu “shade station” was at 15k mark. Looking at our watches we all decided we had better get going. Amazing how good that cool down was though. We had a half hour to spare before the 16k cut-off at the next aid station a kilometer away. After the aid station there was another brutal climb. My salt/electrolyte balances still felt out of whack. I made it up part way, but had no more energy to finish the climb. So I retreated to the shade once again off to the side. A couple minutes later a beautiful couple named Chris and Dana stopped and waited with me until I was ready to go. That was extremely selfless of them to give up a better finishing time to make sure I was okay.

This dear couple has only been married for 6 weeks. Over the course of the day we ran together a lot. So much so, over the course of the day we thought it would be fun to give out little “run club” a name. At first we came up with “Heatstrokers Run Club”. Many of the runners were dealing with heat exhaustion that day, and were taking the steps to address it. Because you don’t want it to become heat stroke, which is a medical emergency. Then we decided to call ourselves “Mud Slickers Run Crew” which was changed to “Muddy Slickers Run Crew” (MSRC). A play on words off of the movie, City Slickers. You see, two out of us three runners went down in that same patch of slick mud. Chris also went down hard, and has the wounds on his left arm to show for it.

We were on our final descent to the finish. An official race photographer was on the course taking photos as we ran towards him. As we ran past him he called out “Look back and wave”. It turned out to be a pretty good picture of our little run crew. You can see in the photo some of the grazing and bruising on Chris’s left arm from his fall.

Our final few kilometers our little run crew ran together. Different, but similar to the two North Face races I ran, which had a different start/finish location, those final two kilometers was a very runnable non-technical downhill. Such a wonderful way to finish the day. Before we knew it the Muddy Slickers Run Crew was crossing the finish line as the announcer was calling out our names and hometowns. It was a great way to cap a very challenging day. The one thought that kept going through my mind not only at the finish, but throughout the day was that I was so glad I transferred down to the 21k distance. Ironically, Chris and Dana had also registered for the 50k. But transferred to the 21k, mostly because of the busyness around their wedding.

Lots of photos were taken by Chris at the finish line. Then our new running club crew sought a location where there was some shade. Runners were continuing to finish, a mix of 21k runners and front of the pack 50k runners (who started 2 hours earlier). We redeemed our bib coupons for a non-alcohol beer which was offered for race participants and had a wonderful visit. Chris and Dana shared pictures of their wedding just six weeks ago in Wales. The photos were incredibly stunning.

Somewhere along the way our conversation switched to the environment and our fragile planet. Chris and Dana both have jobs that involve the environment. Dana (who originally hails from Coastal British Columbia) spearheaded a cleanup and remediation at an abandoned mine at Stewart BC. Only when I did research on typical abandoned mine sites did I realize how serious a problem abandoned mine pollution really is. Companies would move in, then extract, pollute recklessly and abandon the mine leaving all the pollution and mess behind. With many of these mines abandoned decades ago, no one is around to be liable for the clean-up.

Even regulations on current operating mines are allowing for a lot of environmental damage. The website BC Mining Law Reform has a map (pictured above) which displays 173 coal and metal mines across B.C., including all major current operating mines as well as historic mines where a significant amount of ore was extracted. Only 2 of the 173 sites on the map are demonstrated to pose no current water contamination threat. We really need the same kind of laws for mines as there is for backcountry campers. Leave no trace. Leave the site as pristine as you found it. Obviously with mining this would be practically impossible. But mining companies should use proper due diligence and do everything possible to leave as little environmental damage.

In reality, it really boils down to the consumer. If there wasn’t a insatiable demand for products, including those that involve mined minerals, there would be no need for mining. And yes, whether it is rare earth minerals found in a cell phone or an aluminum pop can, minerals can and should be recycled. Not only is that aluminum pop or beer can that’s carelessly tossed out the car window trashing our planet, it requires the mining of new aluminum (involving more pollution and more energy) to replace it. An excellent article on recycling and that big question “Is what we’re recycling actually getting recycled?” can be found at “How Stuff Works.”

I shared with Chris and Dana about my passion of combining running and the environment. Plus I shared about being a member of The Green Runners, co-founded by ultrarunners and climate activists Damian Hall and Jasmine Paris. At races I will wear their badge pinned to my cap. The badge is made from recycled t-shirts. I also shared my involvement and being a committee member of the Monarch Ultra. An amazing organization. The documentary based on the 47 day, 4,300 kilometer running relay in 2019 to raise awareness of the endangered monarch butterfly is now completed and is currently being shown at film festivals. Chris and Dana were so amazed hearing about it and are now really looking forward to seeing the documentary movie themselves. 🦋

https://vimeo.com/988432000