In 2011, I followed along on facebook as my friend Heather crewed for our friend Ingrid in something called Ultraman Canada. I'd never heard of it, but I had a blast reading the updates and looking at the pictures. In 2012 Ingrid did UMC again, then went on to do the Ultraman World Championships in Hawaii, again with Heather sharing updates, pictures and videos along the entire journey. They looked like they were having so much fun, I had to look up what this event was, because I wanted to be part of it.

Of course, when I looked it up, I discovered it's a 3-day stage race.

Day 1: 10k (6.2 mile) swim and 90 mile bike
Day 2: 171 mile bike
Day 3: Double marathon (52.4 mile run)

And you have 12 hours each day to get across that finish line.

Why in the WORLD would anyone do that? HOW could anyone do that? I shelved the whole thing.

Then in early 2013, I found myself on the Ultraman Canada website. I don't remember how I ended up there. But I was looking to see what one had to do to do the race.

It turns out it's an invite-only event. You apply, you send a resume, and 6 months before the race, they choose 30 people from their pool of applicants to invite.

You have to have done a sub-14:30 Ironman-distance race in the previous 12 months, so I figured it was a moot point until after Ironman Florida in November. Then I did Florida, came in sub-14:30, and had a decision to make. And I figured it couldn't hurt to apply. They probably wouldn't accept me, and if they did, I could always change my mind and get most of my money back.


Uhoh. That's one less excuse I have for not applying.

So I applied. I went into full off-season mode at that point, only doing the workouts I felt like doing, sleeping in, and just generally enjoying myself, because I knew if I DID get invited, and I accepted, this would take over my life completely. Much more than Ironman training ever had.

Then two days before my birthday, February 1st, while sitting in the middle of the forest in Huntsville, TX, crewing for Matt's trail run, coincidentally hanging out with the Ingrid who had started this whole thing, I got an email with my invitation.

Which I obviously accepted.


Hanging out with UltraIngrid at Huntsville State Park, shortly after finding out I was accepted into Ultraman. She found out before Matt did, since he was still out running at the time.

The next 6 months were just as ridiculous as I had anticipated. I trained more than I ever had for any event, I woke up before 5am every day, often before 4am, and usually went to bed between 7 and 8:30. I stopped drinking (okay, I barely drank before, anyway). I cut out caffeine almost entirely. I ate annoyingly well. And just generally committed to this training with all my heart.

And the training went well. I joined UT Masters and swam faster than I ever had. I managed to maintain my running speed even with the higher volume of training and the heat and humidity of Texas summer.


One of the many, many, many multi-hour swims I did in Quarry Lake with Matt paddling at my side.

Aaaand (this 'and' happens in every race report) then there's the bike.

I knew if I didn't become an Ultraman, it would probably be because of the bike. The bike is my weakest sport by far, and while I had a couple rides in training that were confidence-building, I also had a few that were less inspiring, and one that was incredibly confidence-destroying. And unfortunately that really bad one came on my peak weekend, right before I started tapering. The last big thing I'd do before the big event.


This wasn't that ride. This was a good, fun ride with Karen and Matt, practicing some big hill climbs.

It really shook my confidence, and I honestly wasn't sure anymore that I could do it. I was relatively sure I could make it through day 1, since, if everything went well, I'd not take 6 hours for the swim, so I'd have a cushion for the day 1 bike. And if I could make it to day 3, I was pretty sure I could pull off the run in under 12 hours. So my goal in this event was just to make it through day 2. And that meant constant forward motion, minimal stopping. I spent the last few weeks doing a lot of Positive Mental Attitude exercises and telling myself I was more awesome than I gave myself credit for.

The first few days we were in Canada helped to calm me down a bit. Ultraman Canada starts with a hug from Steve Brown, whether or not you've ever met him before, and you just continue to build new family with every person you meet.


Meeting Sarah, Sheryl, Jean and Jane at packet pickup.

My crew all assembled in our amazing house outside of town: Matt was my crew chief, paddler and run pacer. Karen was my chief medical officer, happy-maker and run pacer. Ryan was crew photographer, chef, driver, general errand boy and back-up run pacer. I had everything I needed, and they were excited to help me achieve my goals.


Me and my crew at the crew meeting, cleaner and better-smelling than we'd be for many days to come.


Getting baseline values for my weight, blood pressure, pulse and blood sugar, to be rechecked at the end of each day.

We had our pre-race medical check, our crew meeting, group breakfast and photo-op, and kayak overview. I got in a few short pre-race workouts to keep me sane and active. And I decided that I could do it. And if I didn't, it wouldn't be for lack of trying my ass off.


Me and the 28 members of my new Ultraman family.


The athletes, crews, volunteers, race officials, race directors and possibly some people who just snuck in off the street.

I went to bed early the night before day 1, wanting to get as much sleep as possible. I laid in bed, but couldn't sleep. And I couldn't sleep. And I couldn't sleep. And.. I didn't sleep. Not a single hour. Or minute. Or second. I just lay there all night. Fretting at first. Then relaxed, but still not sleeping. Then just sorta comatose. But not asleep. Evidently I was going into the Ultraman Canada, the hardest event I'd ever tackled, on no sleep.

Administrative note:
Many photos contained here were taken by Rick Kent, the official Ultraman Canada photographer, and are watermarked indicating that.
The remaining photos were mostly taken by my crew photographer, Ryan Smith, with one or two taken by the rest of my crew.
You can click any photo to embiggen it.