The music is Eddie Vedder's "Hard Sun" from the "Into the Wild"sountrack
Thursday, July 14, 2011
Week two slideshow..Tok, Alaska to Teslin, Yukon Territory
Here is another slideshow for you all...Tok,Alaska to Teslin,Yukon Territory
The music is Eddie Vedder's "Hard Sun" from the "Into the Wild"sountrack
The music is Eddie Vedder's "Hard Sun" from the "Into the Wild"sountrack
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Body image and perceptions..
I thought,while I had some down time, that I would touch on a subject that a lot of folks don't want to talk about but most likely affects a lot of poeple you know,if not you,yourself.Body image.
As a lot of you know I have been going through a process of getting myself back in shape after a few years of packing on the pudge.For me the weight gain was a result of being pretty miserable most of the time and resorting to comfort eating and too much time spent trying to dull the emotional pain by drinking red wine.The funny thing about getting back in shape is that while most people would think that it is all roses and happy days,the fact is that sometimes it brings with it a different kind of pain.The pain of living up to the new found body that you are uncovering.Let me explain by telling you a story.
Many years ago I worked as Fitness Consultant at Fitness World in Victoria on Vancouver Island.It was a great job and I had all kinds of fun helping people get themselves healthy and in particular really enjoyed the social aspects of working at an upbeat health club.We of course,had our fair share of really good looking and buff staff and clients who set the standard of what was "the ideal " body for all to aspire.It was a really positive environment or so one would think.I thought so until I started to notice a thing or two about the social interaction between some of our reguars and one of our staff,her name was Cara.
Cara worked as a receptionist on the desk and she also used to give tours to walk in clients before handing them off to one of the floor staff like myself.She was one of the few staff members who,unlike the rest of us, never took advantage of the free use of the gym .I though it odd because she was young and pretty and seemed to be totally involved with almost everybody who was anybody at the club.The thing about Cara was,she was overweight.I never could understand why.She was active,popular with all the guys and most of the girls and was one of the most enthusiastic fans of the members who lost weight but she refused to do so herself.
I watched,fascinated for the longest time until one day it dawned on me.I was at the desk and Cara was surrounded by all these cool,fit looking guys who were planning a social night with some of the staff and members that weekend.Cara was the girl everyone sought out to organise that kind of thing and was always going to the bars with the guys after work but she never had a boyfriend and was treated like one of the boys.That day though,as they were chatting one of the part-time aerobic instructors came skipping down the stairs from the floor above and all conversation stopped.The girl in question was Katherine,a hairdresser who worked at the gym four nights a week and was an absolute doll.Seriously,she was in amazing shape and was as cute as they come as well.The guys always loved it when she worked as she didn't wear much and was quiet the flirty little thing.She was my hairdresser and we were good friends so when she came over to talk to me all the guys lost interest and went back to talking to Cara.
Kath and I went into the clubs juice bar for a coffee and while we were chatting I asked her about Cara.I was told that a year or so earlier Cara had decided to get herself in shape but just as she was starting to look like she was losing the weight she had a few personal issues with a couple of guys after which time she gave up working out completely.I wondered why,until Kath then told me she had started getting a little bitchy toward some of the aerobic instructors and that there had been some nasty comments swapped between a few clients and her and some of the guys had been pretty mean to her.Then it hit me,I kew why she decided to stop working out and put the weight back on.It was body image and acceptance of her as a certain part of the social food chain,as it were.
You see for Cara to attract the kind of attention that Katherine recieved every day just by waking up and walking out her front door,Cara would have to work out like a demon and if she was very lucky,after a long time, begin to be in the same category as someone like Katherine or the other little hotties.During that time the public perception of her would change.It would go from Cara,everybody's friend,mate,gal you hung out with,life of the party to,hey she doesn't look too bad,if she lost a few pounds I'd ask her out.At that moment in her life Cara was everyones friend and that was it.She didn't register on anyones sexual radar so nobody judged her by her body they judged her by her great personality and they loved her for it.As soon as she started to lose the wieght and look a bit fit the judgements started.What are you doing?Why are you trying to compete with the other girls?You will never look like her and so on and so on.It was cruel but what was worse was that her male friends changed,they no longer treated her as their mate but as a potential night of sex and that is what crushed her spirit in the end.They had totally dismissed the great girl that had been there in front of them for all those years and started to treat her like a cheap easy lay,how devastating for her!
It was that experience that made her give up on trying to be the fit,skinnier girl that she so wanted to be and made her instead got back to the heavy girl who hid who she wanted to be behind a body that was safer for her.She again became the life of the party but I know that was just an act as the look in her eyes every time a girl like Katherine walked into the gym said it all.Inside she was miserable and didn't have the strength to change.It was very sad.
My recent struggle with weight gain and loss has taught me a lot.It has taught me just how hard it is for someone who is overweight and ashamed of how they look to physically get out the door to train.It is not just the physical stuff,because you can always run/walk your way to weight loss.It can be the emotional side too,just like a couple of years or so ago when I was trying to start running again in Cairns and a car full of young punks drove by and one of them yelled "Go back to "MacDonalds you fat bastard".I don't think I tried to run again for a about four months after that incident.For me to go to the pool was never going to happen as I was so disgusted in how I looked so I just didn't swim even though I love it.This has carried on for the last few years but nobody ever took me aside and said,Nick,mate,you are turning into a fat bastard and THAT IS NOT OKAY!!!I wish someone had summoned up the courage to tell me that.
Now as I am nearing Penticton and another stint at Ultraman I will be stuck in the middle .On one hand there will be those who know me and will be amazed at how much weight I've lost and then there will be those who don't know me,have never met me but only know me as the guy who won two Ultraman's.They will all be in great shape and ready to race at the end of the month and will no doubt be wondering of me,what is that fat guy doing in Ultraman?
Body image is a funny thing and sometimes you just can't win!
As a lot of you know I have been going through a process of getting myself back in shape after a few years of packing on the pudge.For me the weight gain was a result of being pretty miserable most of the time and resorting to comfort eating and too much time spent trying to dull the emotional pain by drinking red wine.The funny thing about getting back in shape is that while most people would think that it is all roses and happy days,the fact is that sometimes it brings with it a different kind of pain.The pain of living up to the new found body that you are uncovering.Let me explain by telling you a story.
Many years ago I worked as Fitness Consultant at Fitness World in Victoria on Vancouver Island.It was a great job and I had all kinds of fun helping people get themselves healthy and in particular really enjoyed the social aspects of working at an upbeat health club.We of course,had our fair share of really good looking and buff staff and clients who set the standard of what was "the ideal " body for all to aspire.It was a really positive environment or so one would think.I thought so until I started to notice a thing or two about the social interaction between some of our reguars and one of our staff,her name was Cara.
Cara worked as a receptionist on the desk and she also used to give tours to walk in clients before handing them off to one of the floor staff like myself.She was one of the few staff members who,unlike the rest of us, never took advantage of the free use of the gym .I though it odd because she was young and pretty and seemed to be totally involved with almost everybody who was anybody at the club.The thing about Cara was,she was overweight.I never could understand why.She was active,popular with all the guys and most of the girls and was one of the most enthusiastic fans of the members who lost weight but she refused to do so herself.
I watched,fascinated for the longest time until one day it dawned on me.I was at the desk and Cara was surrounded by all these cool,fit looking guys who were planning a social night with some of the staff and members that weekend.Cara was the girl everyone sought out to organise that kind of thing and was always going to the bars with the guys after work but she never had a boyfriend and was treated like one of the boys.That day though,as they were chatting one of the part-time aerobic instructors came skipping down the stairs from the floor above and all conversation stopped.The girl in question was Katherine,a hairdresser who worked at the gym four nights a week and was an absolute doll.Seriously,she was in amazing shape and was as cute as they come as well.The guys always loved it when she worked as she didn't wear much and was quiet the flirty little thing.She was my hairdresser and we were good friends so when she came over to talk to me all the guys lost interest and went back to talking to Cara.
Kath and I went into the clubs juice bar for a coffee and while we were chatting I asked her about Cara.I was told that a year or so earlier Cara had decided to get herself in shape but just as she was starting to look like she was losing the weight she had a few personal issues with a couple of guys after which time she gave up working out completely.I wondered why,until Kath then told me she had started getting a little bitchy toward some of the aerobic instructors and that there had been some nasty comments swapped between a few clients and her and some of the guys had been pretty mean to her.Then it hit me,I kew why she decided to stop working out and put the weight back on.It was body image and acceptance of her as a certain part of the social food chain,as it were.
You see for Cara to attract the kind of attention that Katherine recieved every day just by waking up and walking out her front door,Cara would have to work out like a demon and if she was very lucky,after a long time, begin to be in the same category as someone like Katherine or the other little hotties.During that time the public perception of her would change.It would go from Cara,everybody's friend,mate,gal you hung out with,life of the party to,hey she doesn't look too bad,if she lost a few pounds I'd ask her out.At that moment in her life Cara was everyones friend and that was it.She didn't register on anyones sexual radar so nobody judged her by her body they judged her by her great personality and they loved her for it.As soon as she started to lose the wieght and look a bit fit the judgements started.What are you doing?Why are you trying to compete with the other girls?You will never look like her and so on and so on.It was cruel but what was worse was that her male friends changed,they no longer treated her as their mate but as a potential night of sex and that is what crushed her spirit in the end.They had totally dismissed the great girl that had been there in front of them for all those years and started to treat her like a cheap easy lay,how devastating for her!
It was that experience that made her give up on trying to be the fit,skinnier girl that she so wanted to be and made her instead got back to the heavy girl who hid who she wanted to be behind a body that was safer for her.She again became the life of the party but I know that was just an act as the look in her eyes every time a girl like Katherine walked into the gym said it all.Inside she was miserable and didn't have the strength to change.It was very sad.
My recent struggle with weight gain and loss has taught me a lot.It has taught me just how hard it is for someone who is overweight and ashamed of how they look to physically get out the door to train.It is not just the physical stuff,because you can always run/walk your way to weight loss.It can be the emotional side too,just like a couple of years or so ago when I was trying to start running again in Cairns and a car full of young punks drove by and one of them yelled "Go back to "MacDonalds you fat bastard".I don't think I tried to run again for a about four months after that incident.For me to go to the pool was never going to happen as I was so disgusted in how I looked so I just didn't swim even though I love it.This has carried on for the last few years but nobody ever took me aside and said,Nick,mate,you are turning into a fat bastard and THAT IS NOT OKAY!!!I wish someone had summoned up the courage to tell me that.
Now as I am nearing Penticton and another stint at Ultraman I will be stuck in the middle .On one hand there will be those who know me and will be amazed at how much weight I've lost and then there will be those who don't know me,have never met me but only know me as the guy who won two Ultraman's.They will all be in great shape and ready to race at the end of the month and will no doubt be wondering of me,what is that fat guy doing in Ultraman?
Body image is a funny thing and sometimes you just can't win!
Holy flat tyres batman!!
The second night I spent in Johnsons Crossing was a bit of a sufferfest as the temperatures dropped to the low single digits and without a sleeping bag or a sleeping mat combined with the permafrost underground chilling be from below,it was a tough night.I had to put on almost every piece of clothing that I had with me,including my rain gear to keep warm.Needless to say that I didn't sleep very well and my morning didn't improve when I finally crawled out of my tent to get all my gear ready and found my rear tyre was flat.Not the way I wanted to start my day.
I figured that it was a good way to lighten my load and took the opportunity to throw out the old rear tyre,which had been torn apart my the gravel,and replace it with the spare tyre I had folded up in my trailer bag.It would give me a little more room for all the other crap I didn't need but was dragging along the highway anyway.It didn't take long to put the tyre on and was kind of looking forward to riding that day as the tyre was alittle wider and hopefully that would make it a little more comfortable and provide a little more purchase on the rougher sections of road.
Once I packed all my gear I walked my rig over to the restaurant and sat down for my morning coffee and to catch up with the news of the day and more imporantly the Tour de France on my laptop.I had a chat to some biker guys about the condition of the roads that they were about to tackle and they filled me in on the roads heading east all the while shaking their heads at the amount of cyclists that they had seen during their trip.They all thought that they were doing it tough until they saw some cyclists riding in driving rain through southern British Columbia a week or so earlier.After that,they said,we cyclists had earned a lot of respect.I told them that if they ran into an Itallian chick out there on a mountain bike then they should give her all the respect and more and amazed them with the story of crazy Michelle's ride from Argentina.
I finished my chat and went outside ready to start the days ride only to find that my trailer tyre was flat.What,not another one?!So inside in went to get a take-out coffee and then unhitched my trailer and settled down at the petrol pumps and fixed the hole.As usual the offending culprit was a small bit of metal thread,no doubt picked up while riding past one of the many blown truck tyres on the highway.With the tyre fixed it was time to roll and I was soon pedalling up and down the rolling hills that followed the northern edge of the fifty mile long, Teslin Lake.It was a pretty great day to be out there as the sun had finally decided to hang around and I was cycling in shorts for the first time on my trip.I still had long sleeves and gloves on as the wind,which was blowing right into my face,was pretty chilly.
The whole mornings ride was one big photo opportuity and I stopped several times to take some happy snaps for posterity and was amazed that I had never heard of this beautiful part on the country.Seriously folks it is just beautiful up here in the Yukon.I could do without all the bloody mozzies but I guess you can't have it all.What I could also have done without was the second flat rear tyre for the day.I was rolling along happily and my tyre was great,then I stop to take a picture and the bloody thing goes flat under me.Now what the hell is that all about...and it was a brand new tyre for God's sake!!Oh well time to unhitch the trailer again,at least it was a beautiful place to stop so I took in the views as I changed tubes and patched the hole in the blown one.
The next 20 kilometers or so flew by and I was really starting to notice my bike fitness climbing pretty quickly.I was now climbing long hills at the same speed that I had been struggling to hit on the flats out of Anchorage not so long before,and it was into a headwind.That made me feel a bit better about Ultraman at the end of the month.At least I will be able to get through the two days of biking without suffering too much.Unlike the last two times I competed.Now if only my stupid knee would alow me to run for more tha twenty minutes at a time I would be a lot happier in general.I really started to wonder just what damage I had done to it during the marathon in June as it was not healing at all and every now and then the swelling gets pretty bad.I can still ride though so no point bitching too much I guess.
Just after mid-day I rode into the village of Teslin and was surprised at how busy the place was.There are two big gas stations occupying opposite sides of the highway with one of them also comprising of an hotel and RV park which sat near the shore of Teslin Lake.It was a really pretty place and I rode into the car park ,full of motorcycles to have a lunch break which ended up being a dinner break as well.
After having a small lunch and a chat with a few of the motorbike guys while enjoying the first summer-like conditions of my trip I went back to my bike to load up and head off.As I drew near I nticed my rear tyre was again,flat.Oh shit,not again!I had suffered a summer of flat tyres the year before in Penticton,when every ride,it seemed,involved dealing with flats.I didn't want to go through that again and kind of lots the plot for a minute and had a little internal tantrum before heading into the gas station office and asked about campsites.They lady told me that they had a really nice camping area and that did it for me and I rolled my gear,flat tyre and all down to the lakeside camping area where I had all the prime real-estate to myself.
A good portion of the rest of the day was spent taking my wheels off and relining the rims with new tape as well as ling the inside of each tyre with tape as well.I then did a bunch of other bike maintenance and generally fiddled around with all my gear.Being the inept mechanic that I am,this left me pretty frustrated and covered in grease and road grime and in combination with the hottest day of my trip thus far,dying for a swim.With the bike all fixed I wandered down through the trees and waded out into the firgid waters of Teslin Lake for my first actual swim of my trip.Three weeks before the start of Ultraman seemed a good time to start my swim training and would be a better preparation than I had for the two previous attempts combined.Luckily swimming is not an issue for me and I could get through a ten kilometer swim pretty much any time but still,it would be better if I actually got wet every now and then before the race.
That evening I tried to make it a three sport day and went for a run but my mood dropped when I only lasted around half and hour before realising the pain was coming back on the inside of my knee.I was reduced to a walk and even turning while walking on the damned thing felt weird.I wandered back down to the lake and stood there in the cold shallows wondering what the hell to do,so I went to the lounge in the restaurant and had a couple of beers.The next one hundred kilometers of my ride involved climbing up and over the continental divide and even though this is the lowest point that any highway in Nth America crosses that geological landmark,it meant a tough day on the bike.I wondered how my knee would feel about that once I started the long climb that begins directly after negotiating the scary steel-decked bridge that spans Teslin Lake to the east.
I didn't need to wait all that long to find out.When I awoke the next morning and crawled out of my tent the pressure on my knee sent a shooting pain through the joint and once outside the tent I saw that there was significant swelling going on.I was going nowhere that morning,time for drugs and some immersion in the cold lake before heading to the restaurant for coffee and some Facebook updates.
I must admit,I'm pretty dejected right now and as I sit here in the restaurant lounge at 9:45am,pissed off and pretty lonely,those beers in the fridge behind the bar are looking pretty damn inviting..
I figured that it was a good way to lighten my load and took the opportunity to throw out the old rear tyre,which had been torn apart my the gravel,and replace it with the spare tyre I had folded up in my trailer bag.It would give me a little more room for all the other crap I didn't need but was dragging along the highway anyway.It didn't take long to put the tyre on and was kind of looking forward to riding that day as the tyre was alittle wider and hopefully that would make it a little more comfortable and provide a little more purchase on the rougher sections of road.
Once I packed all my gear I walked my rig over to the restaurant and sat down for my morning coffee and to catch up with the news of the day and more imporantly the Tour de France on my laptop.I had a chat to some biker guys about the condition of the roads that they were about to tackle and they filled me in on the roads heading east all the while shaking their heads at the amount of cyclists that they had seen during their trip.They all thought that they were doing it tough until they saw some cyclists riding in driving rain through southern British Columbia a week or so earlier.After that,they said,we cyclists had earned a lot of respect.I told them that if they ran into an Itallian chick out there on a mountain bike then they should give her all the respect and more and amazed them with the story of crazy Michelle's ride from Argentina.
I finished my chat and went outside ready to start the days ride only to find that my trailer tyre was flat.What,not another one?!So inside in went to get a take-out coffee and then unhitched my trailer and settled down at the petrol pumps and fixed the hole.As usual the offending culprit was a small bit of metal thread,no doubt picked up while riding past one of the many blown truck tyres on the highway.With the tyre fixed it was time to roll and I was soon pedalling up and down the rolling hills that followed the northern edge of the fifty mile long, Teslin Lake.It was a pretty great day to be out there as the sun had finally decided to hang around and I was cycling in shorts for the first time on my trip.I still had long sleeves and gloves on as the wind,which was blowing right into my face,was pretty chilly.
The whole mornings ride was one big photo opportuity and I stopped several times to take some happy snaps for posterity and was amazed that I had never heard of this beautiful part on the country.Seriously folks it is just beautiful up here in the Yukon.I could do without all the bloody mozzies but I guess you can't have it all.What I could also have done without was the second flat rear tyre for the day.I was rolling along happily and my tyre was great,then I stop to take a picture and the bloody thing goes flat under me.Now what the hell is that all about...and it was a brand new tyre for God's sake!!Oh well time to unhitch the trailer again,at least it was a beautiful place to stop so I took in the views as I changed tubes and patched the hole in the blown one.
The next 20 kilometers or so flew by and I was really starting to notice my bike fitness climbing pretty quickly.I was now climbing long hills at the same speed that I had been struggling to hit on the flats out of Anchorage not so long before,and it was into a headwind.That made me feel a bit better about Ultraman at the end of the month.At least I will be able to get through the two days of biking without suffering too much.Unlike the last two times I competed.Now if only my stupid knee would alow me to run for more tha twenty minutes at a time I would be a lot happier in general.I really started to wonder just what damage I had done to it during the marathon in June as it was not healing at all and every now and then the swelling gets pretty bad.I can still ride though so no point bitching too much I guess.
Just after mid-day I rode into the village of Teslin and was surprised at how busy the place was.There are two big gas stations occupying opposite sides of the highway with one of them also comprising of an hotel and RV park which sat near the shore of Teslin Lake.It was a really pretty place and I rode into the car park ,full of motorcycles to have a lunch break which ended up being a dinner break as well.
After having a small lunch and a chat with a few of the motorbike guys while enjoying the first summer-like conditions of my trip I went back to my bike to load up and head off.As I drew near I nticed my rear tyre was again,flat.Oh shit,not again!I had suffered a summer of flat tyres the year before in Penticton,when every ride,it seemed,involved dealing with flats.I didn't want to go through that again and kind of lots the plot for a minute and had a little internal tantrum before heading into the gas station office and asked about campsites.They lady told me that they had a really nice camping area and that did it for me and I rolled my gear,flat tyre and all down to the lakeside camping area where I had all the prime real-estate to myself.
A good portion of the rest of the day was spent taking my wheels off and relining the rims with new tape as well as ling the inside of each tyre with tape as well.I then did a bunch of other bike maintenance and generally fiddled around with all my gear.Being the inept mechanic that I am,this left me pretty frustrated and covered in grease and road grime and in combination with the hottest day of my trip thus far,dying for a swim.With the bike all fixed I wandered down through the trees and waded out into the firgid waters of Teslin Lake for my first actual swim of my trip.Three weeks before the start of Ultraman seemed a good time to start my swim training and would be a better preparation than I had for the two previous attempts combined.Luckily swimming is not an issue for me and I could get through a ten kilometer swim pretty much any time but still,it would be better if I actually got wet every now and then before the race.
That evening I tried to make it a three sport day and went for a run but my mood dropped when I only lasted around half and hour before realising the pain was coming back on the inside of my knee.I was reduced to a walk and even turning while walking on the damned thing felt weird.I wandered back down to the lake and stood there in the cold shallows wondering what the hell to do,so I went to the lounge in the restaurant and had a couple of beers.The next one hundred kilometers of my ride involved climbing up and over the continental divide and even though this is the lowest point that any highway in Nth America crosses that geological landmark,it meant a tough day on the bike.I wondered how my knee would feel about that once I started the long climb that begins directly after negotiating the scary steel-decked bridge that spans Teslin Lake to the east.
I didn't need to wait all that long to find out.When I awoke the next morning and crawled out of my tent the pressure on my knee sent a shooting pain through the joint and once outside the tent I saw that there was significant swelling going on.I was going nowhere that morning,time for drugs and some immersion in the cold lake before heading to the restaurant for coffee and some Facebook updates.
I must admit,I'm pretty dejected right now and as I sit here in the restaurant lounge at 9:45am,pissed off and pretty lonely,those beers in the fridge behind the bar are looking pretty damn inviting..
Monday, July 11, 2011
A little Ultraman Canada history..UMC 1995.
The 1995 edition of Ultraman Canada is quite a strange one .It is almost like it never happend because you never really hear anyone talking about it.That to me is a great oversight as on paper,even though there were only eight starters the top three men were by far and away the most talented threesome that had fronted Ultraman Canada to date.Sergio Cordiero from Brasil was already a worldwide legend in the International Ultra Triathlon Association circuit with several wins in multi-Iron distance races.Germany's Jochen Baumann had turned up for the race with an Ironman best time of around 9:08 and then there was local Penticton triathlete Richard Diamond who,at the time,was the fastest local in town with an Ironman best of around 9:12-9:16.It was promising to be a great race up front and with the race adopting the standard Ultraman distance as laid down by the powers at be in Kona all kinds of history was to be made with every win a new course record.Thankfully due to this change I will forever hold the swim,bike,combined day one and two,and the total overall race records for the old Ultraman Canada distances,something which the good folks at Ultraman Canada have seen fit to leave out of any historical records.Thank's guys!!!
That year I was part of the crew for local favourite Richard Diamond.I say local favourite with a tinge of sadness as to most people in the triathloncommunity Richard wasn't too popular.He had a hard time with what he percieved as the pressure of being the top Ironman in town and mixed wih his fiesty personality it didn't go down to well.I liked Richard though and always thought that he was a greatly misunderstood guy.The fact that the crew he had for the second two days were not from Penticton just showed how little support he had in the community.To be fair he did have the odd, very public confrontation from time to time but hey the guy had character.
I wasn't available to help Richard on day one and if memory serves me right the Bike Barn from Penticton had a crew out thier for him .They had always looked after Richard and he was rarely seen racing, or training for that matter, without some kind of Bike Barn gear on.They brought him home that day in first place overall but not by too much.He had won the 10k swim in a new record time of 3hr 26 minutes but only exited the water a mere 3:30ish in front of Jochen.It seemed that there was a race to be had.Sergio did his usual impersonation of a brick trying to swim and came out of the water about 50 minutes behind Jochem in fifth place,behind the top two women.If that guy could only swim!!On the bike the race continued but Richard managed to pull away from Jochen and take another 16 minutes lead by the end of the days proceedings.Sergio had a pretty average ride but still was able to face the finish line without shame as me managed to pass both women and finish in third overall.It didn't look good for Sergio though as he was now 1hr 21min behind Richard and just over an hour behind Jochen.He is a great runner but he would have to pull some time back on thse two during day two for his run to help him at all.
Day one also saw our little mate Tracey Preston set two womens records as she won the swim and the bike to place her a very healthy 45 minutes in front of Rebeca Wallick with Pat Rowles rounding out the womens placings a few hours further back.
Day two saw Richard with a crew change.I was available and showed up ready to help Richard win the damn thing,a friend of ours Derek Smith who was in town training for Ironman stepped up and the third guy was another Aussie in town training for Ironman and that was Kevin Cutjar.For those who are familiar with that name there is a reason.Later that year Kevin went on to win the Ultraman World Championships in Kona,Shortly afterward he turned pro and proceeded to become a multi-time-time top ten finisher in Ironman races around the world with an Ironman best time of around 8:38.He also went on to start his own extremly successful triathlon coaching business in Penticton,Impact Multisports.As the Ultraman Canada results page will show,he is also the current Ultraman Canada Champion having won in fine style in 2010.But those days were all in the future for Kev and that weekend all we really worried about was getting Richard to the finish line happy( a major problem) and in front.
Day two saw the only wet,miserable day that I have witnessed in the nine events I have been part of.Unfortunaely for Richard it didn't suit him at all and he suffered mightily.He and Jochen were riding pretty closely all day but Richard soon began to suffer with neck and back problems and he stopped a few times for me to give his neck a massage.he wasn't in much of a good mood either as demostrated when he lost it over the fact the Kiwi pro Brendon Downey was using a casual long Ironman training ride to spectate.He was riding not far behind Richard for quite some time and it really got to him.We had to very politely tell Brendon to bugger off,which isn't that hard for an Aussie to do to a Kiwi.Richard managed to turn it around near the end and as I remenber made up some great time on Jochen to finish in second place for the day only losing 13 minutes or so to the German.Sergio rolled in a further 28 minutes behind to give himself almost no chance of catching either f the two guys in front of him.
Tracey Preston managed to put to bed the demons of not making the bike cut-off the previous year by finishing under the 12hr time limit and with the other two females not finishing the stage she was now the clear favourite to be the first female Ultraman Canada Champion.She just had to finish day three in under 12 hrs.
Day three started as expected with Sergio taking off on his own and running beautifully into the distancce.You really havee to have seen him run to understand how he looks when running it is amazing.Richard and Jochen weren't at all interested in looks tey were in a solid battle to win the race.Richard was only 7 minutes in front of Jochen at the start of the day and he ran like a man posessed,until something happened,Richard changed.It was quite bizzare really but at some stage during the later portions of the run someone produced some blow-up animals,big ones and Richard was seen running down the fire-road with and inflateble penguin on his head.Now if ever there was a WTF moment that was it.This was one of the most uptight,hard to get along with triathletes in town,messing around during the middle of a double marathon run.It looked like the Ultraman Gods had claimed another one.It wa slike he released years of pressure and realised that it was okay to have fun.
The back half of the run wasn't too much fun for him when he found out that Jochen was closing in.The smile left Richards face and it was all about business again..Unfortunately when you let your focus go all the other stuff can follow and Richard started to melt down physically and mentally.About 70 kilometeres into the race he was in the middle of the road,down on his haunches,staring at the dirt.There was nothing anyone could do he just would not move.Steve "the voice of Ironman"King turned up and told us to wait and he would talk to Richard.now if you know Steve you will know that he is a vey spiritual guy and is a master motivator.He has all kinds of ways of talking people through things and I could only imagine him telling Richard to draw energy from the rocks and trees and birds and all that hippy guru stuff.The proobllem was Steve had to get to the finish line before Sergio so he couldn't spend the time to get Richard moving.In the meantime somene took a photo of the three crew members all sitting in a line together on the hood of the Bike Barn wagon lounging back on the windshield.Hey if Richard didn't want to play then neither did we.
I ended up walking over to him and saying that,I knew how much it hurt because I was the last guy to win this race and if he wanted to win the damn thing he needed to run,it was that simple.I helped him up and he started first to walk and then to run.Once he realised that he was getting close he was running well and continued all the way to the finish to beat Jochen by a mere two minutes that day and become the 1995 Ultraman Champion by eight and a half minutes,the closest finish to date.Sergio had smashed the run record with a 7:10 but it wasn't nearly enough to take anything but third.
Tracey Preston did manage to finish the run in a time that was faster than mine from the previous year and she became the first female to officially finish Ultraman Canada and the first ever Ultraman Canada Champion.We were all so happy for her and it was just the beggining of a long history between Tracey and Ultraman,both in Canada and at the World Championships in Kona.
I believe the Ultraman Canada experience changed Richard for the better.I think it allowed him to let go of a lot of what pissed him off in his life and we got to see the real Richard Diamond.I had never once had a beer with the guy,been to his house or even just done much more than socialising at races but now it was all different and I was very happy for him.Richard now lives in Whistler,Bristish Columbia and the rare occaisions we get to see him are always a treat.
Ultraman Canada results 1995
www.ultramancanada.com/race-results/1995-2
That year I was part of the crew for local favourite Richard Diamond.I say local favourite with a tinge of sadness as to most people in the triathloncommunity Richard wasn't too popular.He had a hard time with what he percieved as the pressure of being the top Ironman in town and mixed wih his fiesty personality it didn't go down to well.I liked Richard though and always thought that he was a greatly misunderstood guy.The fact that the crew he had for the second two days were not from Penticton just showed how little support he had in the community.To be fair he did have the odd, very public confrontation from time to time but hey the guy had character.
I wasn't available to help Richard on day one and if memory serves me right the Bike Barn from Penticton had a crew out thier for him .They had always looked after Richard and he was rarely seen racing, or training for that matter, without some kind of Bike Barn gear on.They brought him home that day in first place overall but not by too much.He had won the 10k swim in a new record time of 3hr 26 minutes but only exited the water a mere 3:30ish in front of Jochen.It seemed that there was a race to be had.Sergio did his usual impersonation of a brick trying to swim and came out of the water about 50 minutes behind Jochem in fifth place,behind the top two women.If that guy could only swim!!On the bike the race continued but Richard managed to pull away from Jochen and take another 16 minutes lead by the end of the days proceedings.Sergio had a pretty average ride but still was able to face the finish line without shame as me managed to pass both women and finish in third overall.It didn't look good for Sergio though as he was now 1hr 21min behind Richard and just over an hour behind Jochen.He is a great runner but he would have to pull some time back on thse two during day two for his run to help him at all.
Day one also saw our little mate Tracey Preston set two womens records as she won the swim and the bike to place her a very healthy 45 minutes in front of Rebeca Wallick with Pat Rowles rounding out the womens placings a few hours further back.
Day two saw Richard with a crew change.I was available and showed up ready to help Richard win the damn thing,a friend of ours Derek Smith who was in town training for Ironman stepped up and the third guy was another Aussie in town training for Ironman and that was Kevin Cutjar.For those who are familiar with that name there is a reason.Later that year Kevin went on to win the Ultraman World Championships in Kona,Shortly afterward he turned pro and proceeded to become a multi-time-time top ten finisher in Ironman races around the world with an Ironman best time of around 8:38.He also went on to start his own extremly successful triathlon coaching business in Penticton,Impact Multisports.As the Ultraman Canada results page will show,he is also the current Ultraman Canada Champion having won in fine style in 2010.But those days were all in the future for Kev and that weekend all we really worried about was getting Richard to the finish line happy( a major problem) and in front.
Day two saw the only wet,miserable day that I have witnessed in the nine events I have been part of.Unfortunaely for Richard it didn't suit him at all and he suffered mightily.He and Jochen were riding pretty closely all day but Richard soon began to suffer with neck and back problems and he stopped a few times for me to give his neck a massage.he wasn't in much of a good mood either as demostrated when he lost it over the fact the Kiwi pro Brendon Downey was using a casual long Ironman training ride to spectate.He was riding not far behind Richard for quite some time and it really got to him.We had to very politely tell Brendon to bugger off,which isn't that hard for an Aussie to do to a Kiwi.Richard managed to turn it around near the end and as I remenber made up some great time on Jochen to finish in second place for the day only losing 13 minutes or so to the German.Sergio rolled in a further 28 minutes behind to give himself almost no chance of catching either f the two guys in front of him.
Tracey Preston managed to put to bed the demons of not making the bike cut-off the previous year by finishing under the 12hr time limit and with the other two females not finishing the stage she was now the clear favourite to be the first female Ultraman Canada Champion.She just had to finish day three in under 12 hrs.
Day three started as expected with Sergio taking off on his own and running beautifully into the distancce.You really havee to have seen him run to understand how he looks when running it is amazing.Richard and Jochen weren't at all interested in looks tey were in a solid battle to win the race.Richard was only 7 minutes in front of Jochen at the start of the day and he ran like a man posessed,until something happened,Richard changed.It was quite bizzare really but at some stage during the later portions of the run someone produced some blow-up animals,big ones and Richard was seen running down the fire-road with and inflateble penguin on his head.Now if ever there was a WTF moment that was it.This was one of the most uptight,hard to get along with triathletes in town,messing around during the middle of a double marathon run.It looked like the Ultraman Gods had claimed another one.It wa slike he released years of pressure and realised that it was okay to have fun.
The back half of the run wasn't too much fun for him when he found out that Jochen was closing in.The smile left Richards face and it was all about business again..Unfortunately when you let your focus go all the other stuff can follow and Richard started to melt down physically and mentally.About 70 kilometeres into the race he was in the middle of the road,down on his haunches,staring at the dirt.There was nothing anyone could do he just would not move.Steve "the voice of Ironman"King turned up and told us to wait and he would talk to Richard.now if you know Steve you will know that he is a vey spiritual guy and is a master motivator.He has all kinds of ways of talking people through things and I could only imagine him telling Richard to draw energy from the rocks and trees and birds and all that hippy guru stuff.The proobllem was Steve had to get to the finish line before Sergio so he couldn't spend the time to get Richard moving.In the meantime somene took a photo of the three crew members all sitting in a line together on the hood of the Bike Barn wagon lounging back on the windshield.Hey if Richard didn't want to play then neither did we.
I ended up walking over to him and saying that,I knew how much it hurt because I was the last guy to win this race and if he wanted to win the damn thing he needed to run,it was that simple.I helped him up and he started first to walk and then to run.Once he realised that he was getting close he was running well and continued all the way to the finish to beat Jochen by a mere two minutes that day and become the 1995 Ultraman Champion by eight and a half minutes,the closest finish to date.Sergio had smashed the run record with a 7:10 but it wasn't nearly enough to take anything but third.
Tracey Preston did manage to finish the run in a time that was faster than mine from the previous year and she became the first female to officially finish Ultraman Canada and the first ever Ultraman Canada Champion.We were all so happy for her and it was just the beggining of a long history between Tracey and Ultraman,both in Canada and at the World Championships in Kona.
I believe the Ultraman Canada experience changed Richard for the better.I think it allowed him to let go of a lot of what pissed him off in his life and we got to see the real Richard Diamond.I had never once had a beer with the guy,been to his house or even just done much more than socialising at races but now it was all different and I was very happy for him.Richard now lives in Whistler,Bristish Columbia and the rare occaisions we get to see him are always a treat.
Ultraman Canada results 1995
www.ultramancanada.com/race-results/1995-2
A dark day on the road..
I woke up super early the next morning for my ride out of Whitehorse but I just couldn't get motivated to actually leave.I had suffered two very cold nights and woke up feeling less than one hundred percent.I managed to start a fire to warm up and waited for the office to open so I could have a coffee.The sky didn't look at all like the previous days prediction of "partly cloudy"but there was nothing for it,I had to go but still stalled in front of the fire until around 8:30 am when I was coaxed into hitting the road by English Brian.He knew how easy it was to get stuck when things are tough so he sent me on my way down the road towards Teslin around 180 kilometers away.
The ride started pretty well and after a long climb out of Whitehorse I was cruising along the highway with relative ease.The day iself was pretty gloomy and I was hit several times my rain showers which did nothing but start to chill be even more than I already was.I tried everything I could but the hills made me hot and the descents froze me.I couldn't win and started to slow down significantly.I hit the town ( read gas station) of Jakes Corner at lunchtime having only covered 80 kilometers and went inside for a coffee and to warm up.Within five mintues I was asleep sitting in my chair and the lady who had served me was worried that I was not doing myself any favours by riding in the rain and wearing wet clothes all day.I sad that there was nothing I could do about it and that I would be okay after a rest.I sat there for about an hour before heading off into the drizzle again.
I lasted about 12 kilometers until my next stop which was at a rest area on the side of the road.I had made a turn into another valley and the sun had come out and started to warm me up.I stripped off all my top layers and lay them on the picnic table to dry while I had another nap on the bench.I tried to drink as much as I could but was feeling a bit off colour and seriously thought about campiing there for the night.That thought soon passed and after a chat with some passers-by I was out on the road again.
At around 100k I came across a government campground and went in for a look but decided to try and push on to the next town of Johnsons Crossing where my map had a service station and camground marked.By the time I reached it I had ridden a slow 125 kilometers with the last two hours right into a tough wind.I was done and rode up to the restaurant and booked a campsite.I really was a bit too out of it to notice but after setting up my tent and having a shower I realise that this was not a town at all but just a gas station in the middle of nowhere and at that moment I was one of only four people staying at the facility.
After my shower I went into the restaurant and went on something of a feeding frenzy.This place is apparently famous for it's baked goods and before I knew it I had eaten one chicken pie,two sausage rolls and a berry turnover.I was starting to feel normal again and got the laptop out to do some Facebooking.I hung out in the restaurnt until around 7pm and then with my arms full of goodies for the morning went back to my tent to go to sleep.
The next day I woke up at three,completely drenched in sweat and had to get up and start a fire to dry everything out.I was wearing all my cycling gear and most of everything else so I needed to dry it out for the days ride.As my clothes hung above the fire I tried to get some more sleep but it was no use.My head,throat and eyes hurt and I knew I was about to come down with something so I rethought my days plan and waited until after breakfast to decide what to do.Until then I lay on the picnic table in front of the fire and tried to keep warm.
A few hours later I was inside the restaurant nursing a hot coffee and staring at the maps of the route I had yet to conquer.My mind was torn between riding on that day and risk getting sick or missing out on some mileage and keeping myself from getting ill which may have a negative effect during Ultraman in three weeks time.I needed to stay healthy over the next two weeks and so if it meant missing out on riding some of the remainer of my trip then I would.I decided to take a day to recover,and for the first time,as luck would have it,that the sun shone bright and warm for the whole of my trip thus far.Bugger!
Not to worry though and although I didn't get very far from Whitehorse at all I was actually having an okay time of it and hung out for most of the day in the restaurant verandah writing in my blog.It was a productive day and I even managed to get sunburt but I had to wonder when I was going to have to make the inevitable decision to catch a ride south,deep into Bristish Cloumbia.I figured that I had a good twelve days left of riding in my legs before Ultraman but how far that would get me I had no idea.My running had suffered due to my dodgy knee but I had been diligent in my dry-land swim training.The problem was,I was losing interest in the race to the extent that I really needed some motivation to keep the event as my main focus.I did that by trying to write about my Ultraman Canada experiences,without anyone here to share them with though, it didn't really work and I found myself feeling a little flat.My old mate and crew chief for this year conacted me and said that if I wanted I could always ride to Calgary and hitch a lift with them to Penticton.I will give that some serious thought and even if I have to race to Lake Louise by the beginning of race week at least my crew can start their duties early and pick me up on the way through.That would shave abotu 500 kilometers of the end of the trip and give me some time to get some more running and swim stuff in.I'll have to seriously think about it.If he mentions beer,it will be a no-brainer.
The ride started pretty well and after a long climb out of Whitehorse I was cruising along the highway with relative ease.The day iself was pretty gloomy and I was hit several times my rain showers which did nothing but start to chill be even more than I already was.I tried everything I could but the hills made me hot and the descents froze me.I couldn't win and started to slow down significantly.I hit the town ( read gas station) of Jakes Corner at lunchtime having only covered 80 kilometers and went inside for a coffee and to warm up.Within five mintues I was asleep sitting in my chair and the lady who had served me was worried that I was not doing myself any favours by riding in the rain and wearing wet clothes all day.I sad that there was nothing I could do about it and that I would be okay after a rest.I sat there for about an hour before heading off into the drizzle again.
I lasted about 12 kilometers until my next stop which was at a rest area on the side of the road.I had made a turn into another valley and the sun had come out and started to warm me up.I stripped off all my top layers and lay them on the picnic table to dry while I had another nap on the bench.I tried to drink as much as I could but was feeling a bit off colour and seriously thought about campiing there for the night.That thought soon passed and after a chat with some passers-by I was out on the road again.
At around 100k I came across a government campground and went in for a look but decided to try and push on to the next town of Johnsons Crossing where my map had a service station and camground marked.By the time I reached it I had ridden a slow 125 kilometers with the last two hours right into a tough wind.I was done and rode up to the restaurant and booked a campsite.I really was a bit too out of it to notice but after setting up my tent and having a shower I realise that this was not a town at all but just a gas station in the middle of nowhere and at that moment I was one of only four people staying at the facility.
After my shower I went into the restaurant and went on something of a feeding frenzy.This place is apparently famous for it's baked goods and before I knew it I had eaten one chicken pie,two sausage rolls and a berry turnover.I was starting to feel normal again and got the laptop out to do some Facebooking.I hung out in the restaurnt until around 7pm and then with my arms full of goodies for the morning went back to my tent to go to sleep.
The next day I woke up at three,completely drenched in sweat and had to get up and start a fire to dry everything out.I was wearing all my cycling gear and most of everything else so I needed to dry it out for the days ride.As my clothes hung above the fire I tried to get some more sleep but it was no use.My head,throat and eyes hurt and I knew I was about to come down with something so I rethought my days plan and waited until after breakfast to decide what to do.Until then I lay on the picnic table in front of the fire and tried to keep warm.
A few hours later I was inside the restaurant nursing a hot coffee and staring at the maps of the route I had yet to conquer.My mind was torn between riding on that day and risk getting sick or missing out on some mileage and keeping myself from getting ill which may have a negative effect during Ultraman in three weeks time.I needed to stay healthy over the next two weeks and so if it meant missing out on riding some of the remainer of my trip then I would.I decided to take a day to recover,and for the first time,as luck would have it,that the sun shone bright and warm for the whole of my trip thus far.Bugger!
Not to worry though and although I didn't get very far from Whitehorse at all I was actually having an okay time of it and hung out for most of the day in the restaurant verandah writing in my blog.It was a productive day and I even managed to get sunburt but I had to wonder when I was going to have to make the inevitable decision to catch a ride south,deep into Bristish Cloumbia.I figured that I had a good twelve days left of riding in my legs before Ultraman but how far that would get me I had no idea.My running had suffered due to my dodgy knee but I had been diligent in my dry-land swim training.The problem was,I was losing interest in the race to the extent that I really needed some motivation to keep the event as my main focus.I did that by trying to write about my Ultraman Canada experiences,without anyone here to share them with though, it didn't really work and I found myself feeling a little flat.My old mate and crew chief for this year conacted me and said that if I wanted I could always ride to Calgary and hitch a lift with them to Penticton.I will give that some serious thought and even if I have to race to Lake Louise by the beginning of race week at least my crew can start their duties early and pick me up on the way through.That would shave abotu 500 kilometers of the end of the trip and give me some time to get some more running and swim stuff in.I'll have to seriously think about it.If he mentions beer,it will be a no-brainer.
Time for some Ultraman history:UMC 1994...
Ultraman Canada 1994 was the first time I participated in anything longer than an Ironman triathlon.I was living in Penticton at the time with my girlfriend Leisa,preparing for my third stint at Ironman at the end of August.My mate Mori,Leisa and I were preparing to crew for the second years running of Ultraman Canada for the same guy we had crewed for the year before,two time Irnman Canada winner and now Ultraman Canada Champion,Tom Price.It was going to be a great weekend out on the road and this time Mori had used his great skills marketing skills in obtaining,or should I say scanmming a full sponsorship for Tom from various local businesses.
We were all set for the weekend of crewing ,when,late on the Thusday night before the Saturday race start Leisa and I staggered home from another awesome maragrita Thursday at Cheers Pub (now Anthony's) and I saw that there was a message on our answering machine so I hit the button and heard Mori's voice.He told us that due to the huge forest fires that were blazing all around Penticton Tom would not be able to race this weekend and was pulling out of the event.I called Mori straight away and found out that Tom was an athsmatic and was worried about competeing with all the smoke in the air.Man what a bummer.Mori then told me that it was a shame to waste the entry as he had all this sponsorship for someone to do the race.He suggested that maybe I could do it and we could get my Aussie mate Lloyd who was also in town that month for Ironman to replace me as crew."No worries mate,I'll do it!"Stupid drunken Aussie entering Ultraman Canada 30hrs before the event started,what was I thinking!!
I rolled up to the start of the race at the Peach on Okanagan Lake on day one to hear the race briefing.We had to change the venue from Skaha Lake to Okanagan Lake because the Mars water bombers were using Skaha Lake to refill and fight the fires still raging around the town.Instead of swimming 11.8 kilometers the langth of Skaha we would swim six laps from the Peach around the line of big white bouys that stretched down the beach to the Sicamous,the beached paddlewheeler that is a Penticton landmark.We figured that it would be close enough to 11.8k's and we were all set to go.My mates all thought that I was nuts to enter a racce like this so late but I was fit for Ironman and would try to fill Tom's shoes as best I could.
The gun went off and I was in the lead from the start.I enjoy swimming and was having fun in the lake with all the other ultradudes and at the end of each lap I treaded water to grab a bite to eat and try to find out how I was going.Apparently pretty well as I was in the lead by quite a margin.After what felt like a pretty short 2hrs and 42 minutes I exited the water with a new swim record and a lead over pre-race favourite Berend Henkle of about 23 minutes.Holy cow, just like Tom the year before,I was leading Ultraman Canada and I couldn't believe it!
After everyone got out of the water I decided to hang out with fellow competitor Ean "action"Jackson who was an Ultra-veteran and member of the Canadian National 100k Running Team.My mate Dave Bullock (who'se house we were living in) was on Eans crew aalong with his wife Sybille.We all went down to the Pasta Factory on Front Street to celebrate our day and soon,Ean and I were downing beers and a couple of shooters to induct me into the Ultraman Hall of Shame.Sybille began to worry about me and she told Ean to stop encouraging me as I had never ridden 200 miles before and to do it for the first time not only hungover but hungover in Ultraman wasn't a smart move.I believe his response was to buy me another beer.It was a fun night.
The next day we all lined up at the start of the 200 mile ride and I remembe joking with a mate of mine,Lee Crocket that for fun I would go out hard and see what eveyone would do.Instead,I was dropped like a bad habit as the racers took off at a stupid pace.they were just nuts and rode the 55 kilometers down to Osooyos at around 39 kph leaving me way back in the process.Stupid move guys,what arre you thinking!!I rolled down quietly doing my thing and as we made the trip back toward Oliver I started to pass a few people.Lee drove by me and I asked him if that guy way in the distance was Berend.He didn't know and I told him that if the guy was wearing an orange Banesto jersey then could he flash his brake lights for me.He did and I knew something was wrong with one of the favourites.I mean Berend had won the bike the previous year.I rolled up next to Berend and asked him if he was okay and he told me that instead of following him to Osoyoos and feeding him they had gone for breakfast and he hadn't seen tham yet.He had gone 80 kilometeres with onyl one bottle of nutrition.His day was done,he would never recover.It was saddeneing for me to see such a great athlete and nice guy resigning himself to his fate and I rode past him feeling uneasy about beating him that way.
My crew on the other hand were a comedy of errors as Mori and Lloyd argued like an old married couple for the duration of the weekend.Putting them in the front seat of a car together was a huge mistake but it was all in good fun and even if they didn't really know what was going on some of the time at least they did keep me fed and watered,Luckily I knew the course backward after crewing for Tom the year before.
I rode on to Okanagan Falls and the to the infamous Wall which is a 2 kilometer climb that on its's own isn't a huge problem but at 100 k'ds into a 320 kilometer ride it is worrying and an important point in the course.i was very surprised to find myself catching the whole field and at the top of the wall caught the two leaders who were our male model from the previous year Jim Brazil and the voice of Ironman himself Steve King.I remember pulling up to them and asking if they would give me a second to pull ahead just so I could say that I actually lead the field on day two.They obliged but what I didn't expect was to continue to pull away over the hill that took us to Twin Lakes.I was just hammering along and as I approached Keremeous I was caught by Jim and for the next few hours we played cat-and-mouse for around 80 kilometers all the way to Princeton.
I nearly lost a crew member in Keremeous as the boys decided to stop and grab some food for themselves.My girlfriend Leisa had worked until 5am that morning and had been asleep in the back of the vehicle for the first 150k but woke up at Keremeous.She saw that the boys were shopping so got out of the car and went t the toilet.While she was gone the boys got back in the car and drove off.It wasn't until some time later one of them mentioned how quietly Leisa slept and turned to look at her and realised that she wasn't there.WTF!!!!They hit the brakes,turned the car around and sped bakc toward penticton too try and find her.They did find her chatting to another crew at the Bears Fruit Stand where they left her.Idiots!
I had no clue this was going on at the time and was busily trying to put time into Jim who just refused to let me go.It wasn't until we started the climb out of Princeton that I began to pull away and once I realised it I went even harder.It was hell and the hardest 60 kilometers Inhad ever ridden.Once I hit the turn I realsied how much my feet hurt and it was agony pushing that bike down the long undulating drop into Princeton.I coasted as often as I could to relieve the pain but nothing worked.I did make it to the finish fiirst though in a time of 10hrs 33 minutes but more importantly had taken 27 minuts off Tom Prices record from the previous year.I was over the moon!The pain and swelling of both feet made me think that there was no way I could run the next day but I didn't care,I had won two stages,set three records and was sitting 54 minutes in front of the other pre-race favourite Jimmy Brazil.Totally awesome!!
My crew and I hung out for the longest time cheering on all those who finished behind me but the time came to get to our motel and change for the dinnner that was to be hsted in our honour by the mayor of Princeton at the Bromley Station Pub.Unfortunately for him.TThere was a pub between the finish line and our motel and with three thirsty Auatralians on board there was never any chance of us driving by.We went in and Team Mallett got toally shitfaced.Thankfully Lloyd decided to stay sober enough to drive us to the pub where the mayors dinner was,the only problem was that we had missed it.We met up with the mayor at the bar and he looked at Lloyd,being pretty fit looking and the only sober one,and asked how he was doing in the race .He told him that he wasn't doing it and pointed to a very drunk guy next to him.Me!The mayors mate asked jokingly if I thought i would win and I said "I dunno,maybe,I'm 54 mintues in front" and then we all cracked up and they gave us the run of the kitchen to made ourselves some dinner.it was a priceless experience indeed.
My hangover didn't last long the next day and I figured that all that beer was just replacing the lost nutrition from the previous days effort.At the start line all eyes were on Steve King and Ean Jackson both of who were noted Ultra-runners and both on the national 100k Running team.I just wanted to defend my 54 minutes over Jim and figured that if I ran with him for as long a possible there was a chance that steve and Ean would not be able to make up the 90 minute of so lead I had on them both.Jim and I ran together and I told him of my plan,he didn't like it but agreed that it was a good one as I culd just counter each move he made knowing he would run me to a win.Steve and Ean vaniished from the start and Jim and I held oon t each other for about 60k when the course hits Trout Creek and the massive 11k climb to the top of the range above Faulder.It wa during this stretch that Jims achilles gave out and he had to slow down.I felt bad leaving him as he had helped me so much over days two and three but I had a run to finish so off I went dwon the long hills into Faulder and within strike of the finish at Summerland.
I was really starting to hurt with about 8k to go and wanted to know if Steve and Ean had finished.As if on command a vehicle drove out from the finish to meet me and it was a local friend jerry Feenstra who told me that Steve had beaten Ean by about five minutes and even though they had been in the finish fr nearly an hour I was so close that I culdn't lose.I sarted to walk right there and then.I was in so much painand the bottom of my feet were on fire but my crew insisted that I run it in and I hobbled my way to the finish line and thrird place for the day.
I was truly amazed.I had managed to win Ultraman Canada and set all kinds of records along the way.Steve and Ean had tried valiantly but in the end I still had 37 minutes up my sleeve.Incredible!!To this day I don't know how I did it and I've stopped asking myself how.I just use it as an example to all that if you put your mind to it and have the right attitude then almost anything is possible.
I would,before I forget,like to put some thanks out to my awesome,if not dysfunctional crew.Most people would just fall apart from dealing with a bunch of crazy nutters who seem to have their mind on everything
but their job but that is what I loved about those three.Mori, Lloyd and Leisa,thank you so much for stepping up and being there to help me achieve what was an amazing ahievement.I wouldn't have wanted to share it with anyone else..
www.ultramancanada.com/race-results/1994-2
We were all set for the weekend of crewing ,when,late on the Thusday night before the Saturday race start Leisa and I staggered home from another awesome maragrita Thursday at Cheers Pub (now Anthony's) and I saw that there was a message on our answering machine so I hit the button and heard Mori's voice.He told us that due to the huge forest fires that were blazing all around Penticton Tom would not be able to race this weekend and was pulling out of the event.I called Mori straight away and found out that Tom was an athsmatic and was worried about competeing with all the smoke in the air.Man what a bummer.Mori then told me that it was a shame to waste the entry as he had all this sponsorship for someone to do the race.He suggested that maybe I could do it and we could get my Aussie mate Lloyd who was also in town that month for Ironman to replace me as crew."No worries mate,I'll do it!"Stupid drunken Aussie entering Ultraman Canada 30hrs before the event started,what was I thinking!!
I rolled up to the start of the race at the Peach on Okanagan Lake on day one to hear the race briefing.We had to change the venue from Skaha Lake to Okanagan Lake because the Mars water bombers were using Skaha Lake to refill and fight the fires still raging around the town.Instead of swimming 11.8 kilometers the langth of Skaha we would swim six laps from the Peach around the line of big white bouys that stretched down the beach to the Sicamous,the beached paddlewheeler that is a Penticton landmark.We figured that it would be close enough to 11.8k's and we were all set to go.My mates all thought that I was nuts to enter a racce like this so late but I was fit for Ironman and would try to fill Tom's shoes as best I could.
The gun went off and I was in the lead from the start.I enjoy swimming and was having fun in the lake with all the other ultradudes and at the end of each lap I treaded water to grab a bite to eat and try to find out how I was going.Apparently pretty well as I was in the lead by quite a margin.After what felt like a pretty short 2hrs and 42 minutes I exited the water with a new swim record and a lead over pre-race favourite Berend Henkle of about 23 minutes.Holy cow, just like Tom the year before,I was leading Ultraman Canada and I couldn't believe it!
After everyone got out of the water I decided to hang out with fellow competitor Ean "action"Jackson who was an Ultra-veteran and member of the Canadian National 100k Running Team.My mate Dave Bullock (who'se house we were living in) was on Eans crew aalong with his wife Sybille.We all went down to the Pasta Factory on Front Street to celebrate our day and soon,Ean and I were downing beers and a couple of shooters to induct me into the Ultraman Hall of Shame.Sybille began to worry about me and she told Ean to stop encouraging me as I had never ridden 200 miles before and to do it for the first time not only hungover but hungover in Ultraman wasn't a smart move.I believe his response was to buy me another beer.It was a fun night.
The next day we all lined up at the start of the 200 mile ride and I remembe joking with a mate of mine,Lee Crocket that for fun I would go out hard and see what eveyone would do.Instead,I was dropped like a bad habit as the racers took off at a stupid pace.they were just nuts and rode the 55 kilometers down to Osooyos at around 39 kph leaving me way back in the process.Stupid move guys,what arre you thinking!!I rolled down quietly doing my thing and as we made the trip back toward Oliver I started to pass a few people.Lee drove by me and I asked him if that guy way in the distance was Berend.He didn't know and I told him that if the guy was wearing an orange Banesto jersey then could he flash his brake lights for me.He did and I knew something was wrong with one of the favourites.I mean Berend had won the bike the previous year.I rolled up next to Berend and asked him if he was okay and he told me that instead of following him to Osoyoos and feeding him they had gone for breakfast and he hadn't seen tham yet.He had gone 80 kilometeres with onyl one bottle of nutrition.His day was done,he would never recover.It was saddeneing for me to see such a great athlete and nice guy resigning himself to his fate and I rode past him feeling uneasy about beating him that way.
My crew on the other hand were a comedy of errors as Mori and Lloyd argued like an old married couple for the duration of the weekend.Putting them in the front seat of a car together was a huge mistake but it was all in good fun and even if they didn't really know what was going on some of the time at least they did keep me fed and watered,Luckily I knew the course backward after crewing for Tom the year before.
I rode on to Okanagan Falls and the to the infamous Wall which is a 2 kilometer climb that on its's own isn't a huge problem but at 100 k'ds into a 320 kilometer ride it is worrying and an important point in the course.i was very surprised to find myself catching the whole field and at the top of the wall caught the two leaders who were our male model from the previous year Jim Brazil and the voice of Ironman himself Steve King.I remember pulling up to them and asking if they would give me a second to pull ahead just so I could say that I actually lead the field on day two.They obliged but what I didn't expect was to continue to pull away over the hill that took us to Twin Lakes.I was just hammering along and as I approached Keremeous I was caught by Jim and for the next few hours we played cat-and-mouse for around 80 kilometers all the way to Princeton.
I nearly lost a crew member in Keremeous as the boys decided to stop and grab some food for themselves.My girlfriend Leisa had worked until 5am that morning and had been asleep in the back of the vehicle for the first 150k but woke up at Keremeous.She saw that the boys were shopping so got out of the car and went t the toilet.While she was gone the boys got back in the car and drove off.It wasn't until some time later one of them mentioned how quietly Leisa slept and turned to look at her and realised that she wasn't there.WTF!!!!They hit the brakes,turned the car around and sped bakc toward penticton too try and find her.They did find her chatting to another crew at the Bears Fruit Stand where they left her.Idiots!
I had no clue this was going on at the time and was busily trying to put time into Jim who just refused to let me go.It wasn't until we started the climb out of Princeton that I began to pull away and once I realised it I went even harder.It was hell and the hardest 60 kilometers Inhad ever ridden.Once I hit the turn I realsied how much my feet hurt and it was agony pushing that bike down the long undulating drop into Princeton.I coasted as often as I could to relieve the pain but nothing worked.I did make it to the finish fiirst though in a time of 10hrs 33 minutes but more importantly had taken 27 minuts off Tom Prices record from the previous year.I was over the moon!The pain and swelling of both feet made me think that there was no way I could run the next day but I didn't care,I had won two stages,set three records and was sitting 54 minutes in front of the other pre-race favourite Jimmy Brazil.Totally awesome!!
My crew and I hung out for the longest time cheering on all those who finished behind me but the time came to get to our motel and change for the dinnner that was to be hsted in our honour by the mayor of Princeton at the Bromley Station Pub.Unfortunately for him.TThere was a pub between the finish line and our motel and with three thirsty Auatralians on board there was never any chance of us driving by.We went in and Team Mallett got toally shitfaced.Thankfully Lloyd decided to stay sober enough to drive us to the pub where the mayors dinner was,the only problem was that we had missed it.We met up with the mayor at the bar and he looked at Lloyd,being pretty fit looking and the only sober one,and asked how he was doing in the race .He told him that he wasn't doing it and pointed to a very drunk guy next to him.Me!The mayors mate asked jokingly if I thought i would win and I said "I dunno,maybe,I'm 54 mintues in front" and then we all cracked up and they gave us the run of the kitchen to made ourselves some dinner.it was a priceless experience indeed.
My hangover didn't last long the next day and I figured that all that beer was just replacing the lost nutrition from the previous days effort.At the start line all eyes were on Steve King and Ean Jackson both of who were noted Ultra-runners and both on the national 100k Running team.I just wanted to defend my 54 minutes over Jim and figured that if I ran with him for as long a possible there was a chance that steve and Ean would not be able to make up the 90 minute of so lead I had on them both.Jim and I ran together and I told him of my plan,he didn't like it but agreed that it was a good one as I culd just counter each move he made knowing he would run me to a win.Steve and Ean vaniished from the start and Jim and I held oon t each other for about 60k when the course hits Trout Creek and the massive 11k climb to the top of the range above Faulder.It wa during this stretch that Jims achilles gave out and he had to slow down.I felt bad leaving him as he had helped me so much over days two and three but I had a run to finish so off I went dwon the long hills into Faulder and within strike of the finish at Summerland.
I was really starting to hurt with about 8k to go and wanted to know if Steve and Ean had finished.As if on command a vehicle drove out from the finish to meet me and it was a local friend jerry Feenstra who told me that Steve had beaten Ean by about five minutes and even though they had been in the finish fr nearly an hour I was so close that I culdn't lose.I sarted to walk right there and then.I was in so much painand the bottom of my feet were on fire but my crew insisted that I run it in and I hobbled my way to the finish line and thrird place for the day.
I was truly amazed.I had managed to win Ultraman Canada and set all kinds of records along the way.Steve and Ean had tried valiantly but in the end I still had 37 minutes up my sleeve.Incredible!!To this day I don't know how I did it and I've stopped asking myself how.I just use it as an example to all that if you put your mind to it and have the right attitude then almost anything is possible.
I would,before I forget,like to put some thanks out to my awesome,if not dysfunctional crew.Most people would just fall apart from dealing with a bunch of crazy nutters who seem to have their mind on everything
but their job but that is what I loved about those three.Mori, Lloyd and Leisa,thank you so much for stepping up and being there to help me achieve what was an amazing ahievement.I wouldn't have wanted to share it with anyone else..
www.ultramancanada.com/race-results/1994-2
Time for some Ultraman Canada history: UMC-1993
So,as part of this blog deals with my history and association with all things Ultraman Canada I figured that I should include some history on my participation in the event.Given that of the ten times it has been held I have competed in six and crewed for three,you can imagine there are some stories to be told.
ULTRAMAN CANADA 1993:11.8k swim--320k ride--84k run
In the summer of 1993 I had flown to Penticton from my home in Cairns,Australia to spend the summer(which would be the start of a full year) in Penticton to get ready for Ironman Canada at the end of August.I had arrived during early July and was joined after three weeks by my girlfriend Leisa who was interested in finally seeing what all the fuss there was about this Ironman thing.She had seen me head off to two other Ironman races before,one in Penticton in 1991 and one in Sydney in 1992 but had limited her triathlon spectating to local events in Cairns.Personally I think she,and my other two female housemates only came to races to check out local tri stud and international triathlon superstar Brad Beven.They denied of course but I knew better!
During late July we got a call from a local mate of mine Mori LaChappelle who told us that he had been asked to be on a crew for an athlete in a new race in town called Ultraman Canada.I didn't know anything about it but when told that we would get a chance to drive around the district looking aftter an athlete and that the guy who we would be crewing for was two-time Ironman Canada Champion,Tom Price,I was in.Leisa was up for it so we agreed and Mori had his crew.
Tom was driving from his home near Seattle and wouldn't arrive in town until the night before the race which I thought odd but who was I to question a guy with Tom's background.We met up with him when he arrived and he was a nice enough guy but it was tough to tell as he was very focussed on what he was doing which wasn't at all in character to the three people he was trusting his race to that weekend.He had lists for this and instructions for that and we were not allowed to deviate in any way from what he had listed.We had recepies for sports drinks to mix,lists of clothing he might need,list for this and that and were pretty much told to do what he said and when.Oh crap,so much for a casual weekend driving around enjoying the views,this was sounding like it was going to be hard work.
Unlike todays Ultraman Canada,back then the race had an 11.8k swim on day one ( in conjunction with the Skaha Lake Ultra Swim) day two was an imperial double century or 320 kilometers for those nations who have joined the 21st century and day three was a double marathon 84kilometer run.We weren't needed for day one as Tom had a paddler,Chris, who steered him to an easy victory in 3hrs and 15 minutes some 10 minutes in front of Georg Peters in second and a massive 53 minutes in front of Scot, Ed Bell.Great,now we had a guy who was winning the damn thing so there would be no room for goofing off!!!
Day two dawned and we were there at the start line pretending that we knew what the hell we were doing and as the race started we all piled in the vehicle and chased after Tom as best we could.It has been so long that some recollections may be a but hazy( and I'm sure Mori,Tom or Steve Brown will correct me if need be) it seemed to me that it didn't take long for us to get into the groove and get stuff to Tom when he needed it.Calgary based Dutchman Berend Henkle was the star of the day but the racing was actually pretty damn exciting as Tom,Ed and male model Jim Brazil all swapped spots in the chase which kept us on our toes and had me taking a crash course in how to(and how not to) crew for Ultraman.I learned so much that day watching Tom do his thing and also started to "get" the whole hippy-happy-clappy,we are one big family crap that Ultraman is famous for.
The 320 kilometer day two was a long one and I remember thinking "how the hell do these guys do it", many times during the day.The guys had been swapping places all day and we were there for all of them giving splits and shouting encouragement. When we hit the final turn at Aspen Grove (some 30 kilometers past todays day two turn) Tom was in a bad way with really sore feet.He had been doing really well but the long climb up from Princeton had got to him and his mood was turning pretty badly.He was pretty much just barking orders at us and at the turn suddenly stopped and demanded a shoe change.Now,we are a pretty casual bunch,Mori,Leisa and I and are quite prone to playing practical jokes and generally being disrespectful at the most in-opportune times but Tom kind of scared us a bit towards the end of the day and we turned very quiet for the duration of the ride.Leisa,who was a tiny,shy girl,hid in the back seat not wanting to get involved at all past that point.Tom brought it home pretty strongly and even though he sruggled toward the end, still managed second place in a time of 11 hrs and a few seconds.Berend had ridden 10hrs 48 min for the days win and Ed bell had stayed with Tom to finish in third place only 8 minutes adrift of Tom's time.The ladies all waitied to Jimmy Brazil to finish which he did looking as male-modellish as ever less than half an hour after Ed.So after two days of combat,Tom had managed to generate a huge 61 minute lead over Ed with the rest of the field way back in another time zone.It seemed Toms race to lose....and he tried.
Day three was the first time I got the chance to see one of the most beautiful run courses you could imagine(well,except for the last bit) and we had a great time standing on the side of the road handing nutrition to Tom as he ran confidently,swapping places with with Ed,Georg and Jim,(whom I may recall wore speedos on the day)Tom was doing really well and was keeping his nemesis Ed Bell within his site while Jim Brazil started to try pull away.We wren't concerned about Jim as he was too far back timewise to worry about.It was all about Ed,who was,let's face it was pretty miserable to everyone concerned.At the time we didn't like him at all.
It was during the start of the second marathon that Tom requested some continued help pacing and as I was Ironman fit I joined him again and ran with him while handing him nutrition.I'd already done some running with him but he wanted somene there the whole time.No worries.It was also a chance for me to finally get to know they guy.We started chatting away and he wanted to know all about Mori,Leisa and myself and I think ttha whole Ulraman family thing started to take hold.His driven,focussed attitude changed and he mellowed out a lot,maybe too much.During the last half marathon his condition really started to deteriorate and he struggled.Jim was nowhere to be seen and as Tom hit the highway(we finished in the southern end of Penticton back then unlike in Summerland where we finish today)he started to walk.Mori was pacing him at the time and he didn't know what to do so I got out and swapped with Mori.I tried to get him to run but he wouldn't have any of it and now we were in trouble of losing the huge lead Tom had built over Ed.
Mori and Leisa drove past us when we hit Trout Creek just as I spied a gas station and I called for them to stop and get coke for Tom while trying to keep him mvoing forward.He was a mess and was now losing serious time to Ed as we slowly got closer to town.I fed Tom a bunch of coke but his condition got worse and he started to cry.It was the single most amazing thing I had ever witnessed in a race,The guy who had won two Ironman races and who had been so strong and so in control all weekend simply went to pieces right in front of me.I had to do something!
I started to yell at him to run from one post to the next but that din't work then I told him about the people back at home who had supported him during his training and were waiting for news of the race finish.That didn't work.Finally I'd had enough of the blubbering and did what I do best,I told him like it is,no touchy feely shit.I said " Look mate,I know you are hurting but so am I.I've run over 50 kilometers with you today and I don't want to be here either so you either start running and try to win this thing or we can get in the fucking car and go home".Well, he turned and looked down on me and smiled,he said okay and started to run.
What we didn't know was that up ahead,Ed Bell was really running hard for the win but had taken a wrong turn up the river channel bikepath and wasn't on the road like he was supposed to be.He had run a long way down the path before he was told of his mistake and to his credit,turned around and ran back to where he went off course and started down the highway.That mistake may have cost him the race,we will never know.
Our crew meanwhile had taken off to the finish to report in on Tom who they said was near death and had no chance of winning let alone finishing the day.Four kilometeres behind though Tom was having one last pee break and chatting with me as he prepared his head for the charge to the finish and what a charge it was.He had put all the bad attitude away and whatever demons he had in him were left behind on that highway.He ran down the road like it was a 10k race.I could barely keep up and the reaction of the folks assembled
at the finish was priceless as we ran past and made ready for he final 200 meters.
He jogged into finish and had held on to his first place position to become the innuagural winner of the Ultraman Canada Triathlon Championships, beating out a classy Ed Bell by around 32minutes and Georg Peters by and hour and a half.
It was an amazing weekend and I learned so much about what can be achieved by us if we just get our heads in the right place.I also learned that sometimes it is that strangest of things that lifts ones spirits.Tom and I had done battle with each other out there and Mori had done a great job keeping the crew together but it was one comment but my quiet,shy, little girlfriend Liesa that had Tom share just how much he needed us all.At the awards she was telling me that she didn't feel like she did anything at all to help and that she had been pretty useless to Tom.When Tom heard that he said she couldn't be more wrong as everytime he felt tiered or down and wanted to quit during the whole weekend all he did was look at her and think why would this girl put herself through two days of hell on the road helping some guy she had never met.He said that it was that beautiful smile on her sweet little face that he looked for every time he felt like he wanted to stop.It reminded him of the girl he had at home and that was all the motivation he needed.
Tom,Mori and I are still very good friends all these years later ( Mori is crewing for me this year) and I know that we will always have a special conection as when you go through the hell Tom did that third day it is impossible not to give something of yourself to those who helped you through it.That is how it is with family,that is how it is with friends and that is how it is in Ultraman!
Ultraman Canada Race results 1993
www.ultramancanada.com/race-results/1993-2
ULTRAMAN CANADA 1993:11.8k swim--320k ride--84k run
In the summer of 1993 I had flown to Penticton from my home in Cairns,Australia to spend the summer(which would be the start of a full year) in Penticton to get ready for Ironman Canada at the end of August.I had arrived during early July and was joined after three weeks by my girlfriend Leisa who was interested in finally seeing what all the fuss there was about this Ironman thing.She had seen me head off to two other Ironman races before,one in Penticton in 1991 and one in Sydney in 1992 but had limited her triathlon spectating to local events in Cairns.Personally I think she,and my other two female housemates only came to races to check out local tri stud and international triathlon superstar Brad Beven.They denied of course but I knew better!
During late July we got a call from a local mate of mine Mori LaChappelle who told us that he had been asked to be on a crew for an athlete in a new race in town called Ultraman Canada.I didn't know anything about it but when told that we would get a chance to drive around the district looking aftter an athlete and that the guy who we would be crewing for was two-time Ironman Canada Champion,Tom Price,I was in.Leisa was up for it so we agreed and Mori had his crew.
Tom was driving from his home near Seattle and wouldn't arrive in town until the night before the race which I thought odd but who was I to question a guy with Tom's background.We met up with him when he arrived and he was a nice enough guy but it was tough to tell as he was very focussed on what he was doing which wasn't at all in character to the three people he was trusting his race to that weekend.He had lists for this and instructions for that and we were not allowed to deviate in any way from what he had listed.We had recepies for sports drinks to mix,lists of clothing he might need,list for this and that and were pretty much told to do what he said and when.Oh crap,so much for a casual weekend driving around enjoying the views,this was sounding like it was going to be hard work.
Unlike todays Ultraman Canada,back then the race had an 11.8k swim on day one ( in conjunction with the Skaha Lake Ultra Swim) day two was an imperial double century or 320 kilometers for those nations who have joined the 21st century and day three was a double marathon 84kilometer run.We weren't needed for day one as Tom had a paddler,Chris, who steered him to an easy victory in 3hrs and 15 minutes some 10 minutes in front of Georg Peters in second and a massive 53 minutes in front of Scot, Ed Bell.Great,now we had a guy who was winning the damn thing so there would be no room for goofing off!!!
Day two dawned and we were there at the start line pretending that we knew what the hell we were doing and as the race started we all piled in the vehicle and chased after Tom as best we could.It has been so long that some recollections may be a but hazy( and I'm sure Mori,Tom or Steve Brown will correct me if need be) it seemed to me that it didn't take long for us to get into the groove and get stuff to Tom when he needed it.Calgary based Dutchman Berend Henkle was the star of the day but the racing was actually pretty damn exciting as Tom,Ed and male model Jim Brazil all swapped spots in the chase which kept us on our toes and had me taking a crash course in how to(and how not to) crew for Ultraman.I learned so much that day watching Tom do his thing and also started to "get" the whole hippy-happy-clappy,we are one big family crap that Ultraman is famous for.
The 320 kilometer day two was a long one and I remember thinking "how the hell do these guys do it", many times during the day.The guys had been swapping places all day and we were there for all of them giving splits and shouting encouragement. When we hit the final turn at Aspen Grove (some 30 kilometers past todays day two turn) Tom was in a bad way with really sore feet.He had been doing really well but the long climb up from Princeton had got to him and his mood was turning pretty badly.He was pretty much just barking orders at us and at the turn suddenly stopped and demanded a shoe change.Now,we are a pretty casual bunch,Mori,Leisa and I and are quite prone to playing practical jokes and generally being disrespectful at the most in-opportune times but Tom kind of scared us a bit towards the end of the day and we turned very quiet for the duration of the ride.Leisa,who was a tiny,shy girl,hid in the back seat not wanting to get involved at all past that point.Tom brought it home pretty strongly and even though he sruggled toward the end, still managed second place in a time of 11 hrs and a few seconds.Berend had ridden 10hrs 48 min for the days win and Ed bell had stayed with Tom to finish in third place only 8 minutes adrift of Tom's time.The ladies all waitied to Jimmy Brazil to finish which he did looking as male-modellish as ever less than half an hour after Ed.So after two days of combat,Tom had managed to generate a huge 61 minute lead over Ed with the rest of the field way back in another time zone.It seemed Toms race to lose....and he tried.
Day three was the first time I got the chance to see one of the most beautiful run courses you could imagine(well,except for the last bit) and we had a great time standing on the side of the road handing nutrition to Tom as he ran confidently,swapping places with with Ed,Georg and Jim,(whom I may recall wore speedos on the day)Tom was doing really well and was keeping his nemesis Ed Bell within his site while Jim Brazil started to try pull away.We wren't concerned about Jim as he was too far back timewise to worry about.It was all about Ed,who was,let's face it was pretty miserable to everyone concerned.At the time we didn't like him at all.
It was during the start of the second marathon that Tom requested some continued help pacing and as I was Ironman fit I joined him again and ran with him while handing him nutrition.I'd already done some running with him but he wanted somene there the whole time.No worries.It was also a chance for me to finally get to know they guy.We started chatting away and he wanted to know all about Mori,Leisa and myself and I think ttha whole Ulraman family thing started to take hold.His driven,focussed attitude changed and he mellowed out a lot,maybe too much.During the last half marathon his condition really started to deteriorate and he struggled.Jim was nowhere to be seen and as Tom hit the highway(we finished in the southern end of Penticton back then unlike in Summerland where we finish today)he started to walk.Mori was pacing him at the time and he didn't know what to do so I got out and swapped with Mori.I tried to get him to run but he wouldn't have any of it and now we were in trouble of losing the huge lead Tom had built over Ed.
Mori and Leisa drove past us when we hit Trout Creek just as I spied a gas station and I called for them to stop and get coke for Tom while trying to keep him mvoing forward.He was a mess and was now losing serious time to Ed as we slowly got closer to town.I fed Tom a bunch of coke but his condition got worse and he started to cry.It was the single most amazing thing I had ever witnessed in a race,The guy who had won two Ironman races and who had been so strong and so in control all weekend simply went to pieces right in front of me.I had to do something!
I started to yell at him to run from one post to the next but that din't work then I told him about the people back at home who had supported him during his training and were waiting for news of the race finish.That didn't work.Finally I'd had enough of the blubbering and did what I do best,I told him like it is,no touchy feely shit.I said " Look mate,I know you are hurting but so am I.I've run over 50 kilometers with you today and I don't want to be here either so you either start running and try to win this thing or we can get in the fucking car and go home".Well, he turned and looked down on me and smiled,he said okay and started to run.
What we didn't know was that up ahead,Ed Bell was really running hard for the win but had taken a wrong turn up the river channel bikepath and wasn't on the road like he was supposed to be.He had run a long way down the path before he was told of his mistake and to his credit,turned around and ran back to where he went off course and started down the highway.That mistake may have cost him the race,we will never know.
Our crew meanwhile had taken off to the finish to report in on Tom who they said was near death and had no chance of winning let alone finishing the day.Four kilometeres behind though Tom was having one last pee break and chatting with me as he prepared his head for the charge to the finish and what a charge it was.He had put all the bad attitude away and whatever demons he had in him were left behind on that highway.He ran down the road like it was a 10k race.I could barely keep up and the reaction of the folks assembled
at the finish was priceless as we ran past and made ready for he final 200 meters.
He jogged into finish and had held on to his first place position to become the innuagural winner of the Ultraman Canada Triathlon Championships, beating out a classy Ed Bell by around 32minutes and Georg Peters by and hour and a half.
It was an amazing weekend and I learned so much about what can be achieved by us if we just get our heads in the right place.I also learned that sometimes it is that strangest of things that lifts ones spirits.Tom and I had done battle with each other out there and Mori had done a great job keeping the crew together but it was one comment but my quiet,shy, little girlfriend Liesa that had Tom share just how much he needed us all.At the awards she was telling me that she didn't feel like she did anything at all to help and that she had been pretty useless to Tom.When Tom heard that he said she couldn't be more wrong as everytime he felt tiered or down and wanted to quit during the whole weekend all he did was look at her and think why would this girl put herself through two days of hell on the road helping some guy she had never met.He said that it was that beautiful smile on her sweet little face that he looked for every time he felt like he wanted to stop.It reminded him of the girl he had at home and that was all the motivation he needed.
Tom,Mori and I are still very good friends all these years later ( Mori is crewing for me this year) and I know that we will always have a special conection as when you go through the hell Tom did that third day it is impossible not to give something of yourself to those who helped you through it.That is how it is with family,that is how it is with friends and that is how it is in Ultraman!
Ultraman Canada Race results 1993
www.ultramancanada.com/race-results/1993-2
Whitehorse..
After being stuck in Beaver Creek for the fourth day I finally got a confirmation that I would be able to put all my gear on the tiny bus watch the scenery roll by for the next 400 kilometers.I still had to wait though as the bus was held up by the roadworks between Beaver Creek and Whitehorse and it wasn't until around 7:45pm that it had made the trip into Alaska and return to pick myself and two local girls up for the rip to the big city.The two young girls couldn't have been older than sixteen and and they were just so excited to be heading out of town and were dressed like they were off to a nightclub in Sydney.It was pretty funny watching practically every truck driver stop and do a double take checking out these two glamour girls as they filled up their trucks or wandered in for Friday night drinks at the motel where were waiting to be picked up.Small town girls are just plain dangreous!!
The bus did finally arrive and we were soon rocking and rolling down the worst road I have ever been on in my life.Holy crap,there was no way I was going to be able to survive that ride on my skinny tyres and the pilot truck had three touring bikes piled on the back as he led us through the worst and longest stretch of dirt.The asphalt wasn't much better and the heaves(caused by the permafrost buckling the highway) were insane.I could only describe some of that trip as being similar to flying through a massive storm in a light aircraft.I swear,some of the dips in the road had us airbourne as the bus driver tried to make up time.I do not know how we didn't break and axle or ruin his suspention.
It was a very pretty trip though and I enjoyed the views immensely.The terrain had changed from the endlessly dull black spruce forests and rolling hills to spectacular lakes and huge,snow-capped mountain ranges.I was pretty bummed not to have ridden it and for the first time wished I had one of my other bikes with me so I could have experienced it at a more sedate pace.There is definately something different about experiencing the world from a bike and I guess experiencing is the right word.You are doing more than just passing through when you are on a bicycle,you are becoming part of the countryside and for a brief moment,part of each place through which you ride.
With the sun "almost" setting just before 2am we rolled into Whitehorse and four of us were dropped off at the local campground on the river a short distance from the city.I had started to talk to a 20 year old German backpacker during our rest stop in Destruction Bay earlier on our crazy ride and way decided to share a camping spot to cut down on some costs.Clealry at 2am the office was closed so we wandered around the large campground looking for a vacant spot.It was dark enough at last for me to finally turn on the six flashing glowsticks that I have mounted to my trailer and bike ( anyone who ran the night trail runs in Penticton or was down in Mexico at the Ultra-triathlon festival will know which ones I mean).I had been dying to turn them on and got all kinds of cheers from the few, still partying campers that we passed.I can be such a kid sometimes!!
Anyway Andreas and I found a vacant spot and set about pitching our tents and starting a fire which ended up providing welcome relief from the early morning chills that were creeping into my clothes.I swear I was really starting to get sick of constantly being cold on this trip.I had ridden each day with three layers on (at least) and was yet to ride any of it without tights and gloves.All I wanted at this stage was to get to British Columbia and warm the hell up.I read every day of how warm it was in Penticton and craved a day when sweating on and uphill didn't bring with it the pain of freezing down the other side.I was still as white a a ghost as well,so the image of a tanned and weathered traveller was one that beared no resemblance to the pasty white guy in my photos. We chatted around the fire for the longest time and it wasn't until around 5:30 am that I finally crawled into my tent and tried to get some sleep.It had been a long day and I was looking forward to checking out downtown Whitehorse as well as tending to some chorse that I had been waiting to do for a week or so.
My sleep only lasted about three hours and was just too cold to try anymore so up I got and revived the dying embers still flickering in the bottom of out fire pit.The office had opened by that stage and so I went over,bought a huge coffee and spent a little time chatting to the half-asleep hippy-chick working the campground desk.I entertained her enough that she charged me half the price that she was supposed to for our two night stay and didn't change us at all for the $5/per day campfire fee.The internet fee,she wouldn't be able to budge on and so decided to wait until I got to town to connect with the rest of the planet.With that I went back to our camp-site and unloaded everything I wanted to keep for the rest of my trip and sat by the fire figuring out which stuff I was going to post to Penticton to help lighten my load.
Half an hour or so later I was off on the short ride to town and firmly planted in a comfy chair in Starbucks but frustrated as hell because their internet connection wouldn't work.Holy hell,if a tiny little motel in friggin,middle of nowhere Beaver Creek could have great internet coverage why couldn't Starbucks in the provincial capital has some.Bloody silly if you ask me!If drank my coffee,went to the post office and mailed 4 kilos of stuff south to Penticton and then finished my days chores off with buying a new bike pump from the local outdoor store and doing some shopping in Shoppers Drug Mart.Exiting the store I noticed that it had started to drizzle and yet again the temperature dropped as a result,great!
While I was trying to figure out what to do next I spied a couple of bikes totally laden with gear parked on the sidewalk a block or so away and I figured I'd go check them out.Turns out that there were three bikes there and they were parked outside a funky coffee shop that,due to the amount of laptops I could see in action,they clearly had the whole internet connection thing worked out.In I went and was soon chatting away with a young German couple and an English guy who were,like me, on their way south to destinations way fruther south than mine.The English guy,Brian, was actually on his way to Ushuaia,Argentina and had also met up with Itallian Michelle and had shared horror stories with her about his ride from Prudoe Bay down to Fairbanks,the road that she would have to take to finish off her epic ride.He had also met Jack the overweight old guy and we laughed as he recounted the same ramblings to me that I had heard some 600 kilometers earlier.Jack was supposed to be in town but I never did see him.
The four of us braved the inceasing rain and wandered over to the Abriginal Cultural Festival that was being held in the downtown area that day.It was awesome and apart from the great entertainment provided and the awesome artwork that was on display,the food was free and we travellers just love it when we find free food on offer.Don't really care what it is.This stuff was great with all kinds of stews,breads and pastries that more than did the trick of filling up four hungry,cheap-ass,cyclo-tourists.I check out some more of the downtown activities but not before saying my goodbyes to the Germans,who were camping in someones back-yard,and inviting Brian to join us at our campsite.After that it was back to the campground for me and as I was starting to get tired after only three hours sleep,a well earned nap.
The rest of the day and evening was left up to clothes washing and socialising around our campfire. Brian came to join us and I set about collecting enough wood for the evenings fire.The rain had stopped and the sun appeared which was a blessing as it allowed us to dry all our gear out.Between Brians and my bike touring stories and Andreas'stories of his time as a boy scout guide in Germany,the conversation was never dull and flowed freely until around 10pm when I finally called a halt to my campfire yarns and turned in.I had some riding to do the next morning and wanted to be as fresh as possible for an early morning start.
The bus did finally arrive and we were soon rocking and rolling down the worst road I have ever been on in my life.Holy crap,there was no way I was going to be able to survive that ride on my skinny tyres and the pilot truck had three touring bikes piled on the back as he led us through the worst and longest stretch of dirt.The asphalt wasn't much better and the heaves(caused by the permafrost buckling the highway) were insane.I could only describe some of that trip as being similar to flying through a massive storm in a light aircraft.I swear,some of the dips in the road had us airbourne as the bus driver tried to make up time.I do not know how we didn't break and axle or ruin his suspention.
It was a very pretty trip though and I enjoyed the views immensely.The terrain had changed from the endlessly dull black spruce forests and rolling hills to spectacular lakes and huge,snow-capped mountain ranges.I was pretty bummed not to have ridden it and for the first time wished I had one of my other bikes with me so I could have experienced it at a more sedate pace.There is definately something different about experiencing the world from a bike and I guess experiencing is the right word.You are doing more than just passing through when you are on a bicycle,you are becoming part of the countryside and for a brief moment,part of each place through which you ride.
With the sun "almost" setting just before 2am we rolled into Whitehorse and four of us were dropped off at the local campground on the river a short distance from the city.I had started to talk to a 20 year old German backpacker during our rest stop in Destruction Bay earlier on our crazy ride and way decided to share a camping spot to cut down on some costs.Clealry at 2am the office was closed so we wandered around the large campground looking for a vacant spot.It was dark enough at last for me to finally turn on the six flashing glowsticks that I have mounted to my trailer and bike ( anyone who ran the night trail runs in Penticton or was down in Mexico at the Ultra-triathlon festival will know which ones I mean).I had been dying to turn them on and got all kinds of cheers from the few, still partying campers that we passed.I can be such a kid sometimes!!
Anyway Andreas and I found a vacant spot and set about pitching our tents and starting a fire which ended up providing welcome relief from the early morning chills that were creeping into my clothes.I swear I was really starting to get sick of constantly being cold on this trip.I had ridden each day with three layers on (at least) and was yet to ride any of it without tights and gloves.All I wanted at this stage was to get to British Columbia and warm the hell up.I read every day of how warm it was in Penticton and craved a day when sweating on and uphill didn't bring with it the pain of freezing down the other side.I was still as white a a ghost as well,so the image of a tanned and weathered traveller was one that beared no resemblance to the pasty white guy in my photos. We chatted around the fire for the longest time and it wasn't until around 5:30 am that I finally crawled into my tent and tried to get some sleep.It had been a long day and I was looking forward to checking out downtown Whitehorse as well as tending to some chorse that I had been waiting to do for a week or so.
My sleep only lasted about three hours and was just too cold to try anymore so up I got and revived the dying embers still flickering in the bottom of out fire pit.The office had opened by that stage and so I went over,bought a huge coffee and spent a little time chatting to the half-asleep hippy-chick working the campground desk.I entertained her enough that she charged me half the price that she was supposed to for our two night stay and didn't change us at all for the $5/per day campfire fee.The internet fee,she wouldn't be able to budge on and so decided to wait until I got to town to connect with the rest of the planet.With that I went back to our camp-site and unloaded everything I wanted to keep for the rest of my trip and sat by the fire figuring out which stuff I was going to post to Penticton to help lighten my load.
Half an hour or so later I was off on the short ride to town and firmly planted in a comfy chair in Starbucks but frustrated as hell because their internet connection wouldn't work.Holy hell,if a tiny little motel in friggin,middle of nowhere Beaver Creek could have great internet coverage why couldn't Starbucks in the provincial capital has some.Bloody silly if you ask me!If drank my coffee,went to the post office and mailed 4 kilos of stuff south to Penticton and then finished my days chores off with buying a new bike pump from the local outdoor store and doing some shopping in Shoppers Drug Mart.Exiting the store I noticed that it had started to drizzle and yet again the temperature dropped as a result,great!
While I was trying to figure out what to do next I spied a couple of bikes totally laden with gear parked on the sidewalk a block or so away and I figured I'd go check them out.Turns out that there were three bikes there and they were parked outside a funky coffee shop that,due to the amount of laptops I could see in action,they clearly had the whole internet connection thing worked out.In I went and was soon chatting away with a young German couple and an English guy who were,like me, on their way south to destinations way fruther south than mine.The English guy,Brian, was actually on his way to Ushuaia,Argentina and had also met up with Itallian Michelle and had shared horror stories with her about his ride from Prudoe Bay down to Fairbanks,the road that she would have to take to finish off her epic ride.He had also met Jack the overweight old guy and we laughed as he recounted the same ramblings to me that I had heard some 600 kilometers earlier.Jack was supposed to be in town but I never did see him.
The four of us braved the inceasing rain and wandered over to the Abriginal Cultural Festival that was being held in the downtown area that day.It was awesome and apart from the great entertainment provided and the awesome artwork that was on display,the food was free and we travellers just love it when we find free food on offer.Don't really care what it is.This stuff was great with all kinds of stews,breads and pastries that more than did the trick of filling up four hungry,cheap-ass,cyclo-tourists.I check out some more of the downtown activities but not before saying my goodbyes to the Germans,who were camping in someones back-yard,and inviting Brian to join us at our campsite.After that it was back to the campground for me and as I was starting to get tired after only three hours sleep,a well earned nap.
The rest of the day and evening was left up to clothes washing and socialising around our campfire. Brian came to join us and I set about collecting enough wood for the evenings fire.The rain had stopped and the sun appeared which was a blessing as it allowed us to dry all our gear out.Between Brians and my bike touring stories and Andreas'stories of his time as a boy scout guide in Germany,the conversation was never dull and flowed freely until around 10pm when I finally called a halt to my campfire yarns and turned in.I had some riding to do the next morning and wanted to be as fresh as possible for an early morning start.
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