It is not unreasonable for Slade McCormick to set a goal of cracking the top 10 or 20 per cent in an ultra race. Because if you look at his impressive finishes on UltraSignUp, the 51-year-old Ponoka runner usually gets the job done.
But when he read the list of the field of 70 runners at the mentally brutal Big’s Backyard Ultra, he thought to himself, “Oh boy.”
McCormick had no reason to second guess or to even doubt himself.
In the famed Big’s Backyard Ultra in Bell Buckle,Tenn., there is no prize for second place, or third for that matter. It’s simply a matter of bragging rights for the “last man or woman” running.
Seventy runners lined up to run a 4.167-mile loop every hour starting on Oct. 20th. Runners who were unable to make the one-hour cut were out.
McCormick came in “13th place” or was the 56th runner to drop out of the field of accomplished runners from around the world. He ran a total of 125 miles, the furthest distance he has ever run.
“I am really happy with how far I got because it was further than I have ever run before and I ended up doing really well in a really tough field,” said McCormick. “I just had this feeling I had a little left in me. But I think that’s the beauty of this race that it is designed to break you. That is the only way you reach the end. You run until you break. Then when something breaks, you are done.”
(For the record Johan Steene of Stockholm outlasted everyone running 283 miles over 68 hours.)
McCormick had applied to run in the quirky race “just for the heck of it” and was thrilled when he was selected to run. He ran this past race season with the Tennessee race in the back of his mind.
Related: Ponoka runner to run Big’s Backyard Ultra
The night before the race, the runners did a walk through of the courses (they switched to roads after the sun went down).
“As we were walking, I was beginning to think it was a lot tougher than I thought,” laughed McCormick.
“I wasn’t sure how I was going to pace myself on the course and where I would be in the course to be able to get back to get something to get something to eat. It turns out all those concerns weren’t really that important because we actually started running especially at the beginning we were a group of 70 people crashing through the trees and on the trail.”
After the first loop, he came in around 52 minutes. The father of five realized he could do this.
After three or four loops, you start to recognize certain parts of the trail, and where you need to be at a certain spot in order to finish within the time limit, said McCormick.
Runners started to break into groups according to speed.
Most runners made it through the day loop of 12 hours then they started to drop rapidly. The field began to get smaller with only 34 runners making it through the first 24 hours.
“Once I got through the night I knew it was just a matter of persevering. The night wasn’t as technical and not as difficult as the day one. By the time the sun came up the next day, we hit the trails again. I was feeling pretty strong.”
He never really felt drowsy or fatigued from the lack of sleep, as runners do in typical long ultra races. The focus was always on moving and making it to the next landmark on the course. Even on this 30th loop, he was running well but suddenly one kilometre from the end, it all became a lot more difficult.
“I was sore because at that time I had been running for almost 30 hours at that point,” he said. “Things are supposed to be sore.”
It turns out he had a minor tear in his left calf, and was unable to push off anymore. So he kept walking and turned in his race chip because he was unable to continue.
“I may have been able to hobble another two or three loops but at what risk? I didn’t want to risk making an injury that much worse.”
Dropping after 30 loops
While he has mixed feelings about dropping when he was feeling strong, McCormick said the experience is not one he will soon forget. He was able to compete in a field of highly successful runners and to meet runners from many countries.
“You never get a chance to meet people like this in a normal circumstances and how common all our approaches are to running – why we run,” he said. “We all run for the same reasons. It was pretty fascinating. We tend to look at these incredible runners and think I could never do what they are doing but here I was doing it.”
McCormick added the format of the race really allowed for runners to form bonds on the loop.
“It was a really interesting format of a race,” he said. “I never experienced anything like it.
As long as you are still in the race, you are tied for first place.
The rankings were pretty meaningless because it didn’t matter how fast you did a loop, as long as you finished it you start off at the same spot as everybody on the same loop, said McCormick.
“A race like this allows you to see how long you can preserve,” he said. It’s not about speed, it’s not about power. It’s just about preservation and how able you are to handle the physical pain and the mental pain. Until you actually experience it you don’t actually know what it feels like. This is an opportunity to do that.”
Mental game
In battling the mental aspects of running the same loop over and over again, McCormick said there was certain comfort in knowing where you were on the course at all times, and by the minute by using different landmarks as reference points.
“The biggest emotion I had was awe of what people are capable of doing when they put their mind to it and watching all the runners be so determined and so focused and social and friendly with the other runners,” he added
Running 125 miles was pretty impressive but McCormick wasn’t thinking about being the last runner.
He was only thinking about how far he could push his body.
“I was the last Canadian standing,” said McCormick. “It was neat feeling these last few loops knowing I was the last Canadian standing.”
