Celeste Crosschild

Finally! One of the most requested guests is on the show. This is a great interview as Celeste has been running for years and has many great stories. From playing basketball and competing in cross country  at Medicine Hat College to her recent experience at the Canadian Death Race we cover it all. She is such a humble and wonderful human being so I know you will enjoy this episode.   

And to volunteer for the Step Up Run in Saskatoon email her here

getinvolved@prairieruncrew.com

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To get in touch with the podcast feel free to email Jason at jasontburns40@gmail.com

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Artwork by Gavin de Lint 

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Thank you to the Burning Hell for the use of their song Holidaymakers. Check them out at 

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Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:00

Celeste Crosschild is a runner from Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. I have had so many requests to have her on the podcast since we started this up last April, and I have finally gotten around to interviewing her. I had the pleasure of doing some camping and running with her in the mountains this past June, and ever since then I've been itching to interview her and get to know a little bit more about her running story and herself because she isn't one to talk about herself. She is one of the most humble people I have ever interviewed, and I hope you enjoy listening to her story. And shockingly, we both forgot to talk about the Reaster 50 and Beaver Flat 50, both races that Celeste says are her favorites.

SPEAKER_01 0:34

Enjoy the interview. Stopped in at the gas station. We walked along the train tracks. We didn't think about going back.

SPEAKER_03 0:50

You are listening to the Saskatchewan podcast with your host, Jason Burns, a podcast where we talk to Saskatchewan runners about the people and places that inspire them.

SPEAKER_01 0:59

Drink watery coffee with cream. The kind that comes in those little plastic things. I was wearing the wrong shoes that day.

SPEAKER_03 1:10

They were given today on the Saskatchewan Run podcast. We are joined by Celeste Crosschild from Saskatoon. How are you today, Celeste? I'm good. Thanks, Jason. Yeah, thanks so much for uh sharing your story with the listeners. I'm sure they'll appreciate it. You've been requested by a lot of people. So people will be excited to see your name pop up on the podcast feed.

SPEAKER_00 1:34

I'm surprised by that, but I'll take it.

SPEAKER_03 1:37

Oh, yeah. That's all right. Um, so why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?

SPEAKER_00 1:43

Okay. Well, first of all, um, my name is Celeste and I do not public sweep speak at all. So this is really stretching me because I have tried a few times and it has not gone well at all. So um, yeah, despite my husband doing a lot of public speaking, I do not ever take the mic. So this is gonna be an experience for me. Thank you for having me on.

SPEAKER_03 2:09

So you were obviously born in Saskatchewan, I if I remember right?

SPEAKER_00 2:14

Yeah, I'm from a small town kind of near Meadow Lake, between um Turtleford and Loon Lake. It's called St. Wahlberg. So I was born and raised there. My parents are still there. And yeah, it was a great little town to grow up in for sure. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_03 2:31

And is that when you uh got into running at a young age when you lived there, or was that something you found later in life?

SPEAKER_00 2:37

Um, I would say I started running more in grade seven. I joined the cross country team because being a small town, we all just did every single sport. Because the siblings you go one after the other. And I just love sports. So started with the first thing was cross country, and then that was to get you in shape for volleyball and then basketball. So I would say I had like about a month of cross country in grade seven, was my first running, and then in the spring of that year, we waited until the snow melted from our high school track, and then I started track and I would train for about two weeks before the track meet and just kind of run the events over and over every day. I thought that's how you trained, and that's what I thought was so. But I really enjoyed every sport, and running was more to train for. My main sport was basketball throughout high school and then into college a little bit.

SPEAKER_03 3:36

Okay, yeah, that's interesting. So many people of our vintage, I'll say, kind of running wasn't like the thing, but it was like a thing that helped them get better at whatever other sport that might involve a bit of running. So yeah, it's kind of interesting. I don't think it was quite as popular as it is now, that's for sure.

SPEAKER_00 3:52

No, there was no running boom. I don't remember anyway in my town. I was the only one out there.

SPEAKER_03 3:58

Yeah. So um, where did you go to college?

SPEAKER_00 4:02

Um, I actually went to Medicine Hat for my first year to go play basketball there. And then I joined the cross-country team on a whim, and then um, that's actually how I met my husband Tarant, was on the cross-country team there. And through that team, I learned kind of that running doesn't always have to be really fast and painful. So, and I fell in love with running probably at that time of my life.

SPEAKER_03 4:29

Okay, yeah, yeah. And then would you was there like um competitions and stuff that you would go to for yeah in college?

SPEAKER_00 4:38

Yeah, it was kind of I thought it was big back then, I guess, compared to what I came from. But um, we traveled all over Alberta to race, and then there was like a Western Canadian championship that I made it to. And I think that was might have been in Kelowna so long ago, it's hard to remember. But I think it was in BC somewhere. So okay, a lot of traveling and it was pretty exciting for like at the time I was 18 years old.

SPEAKER_03 5:02

So I found that super fun. Yeah, that would be. And that was um, is that like the Medicine Hat College? Is that like what that's called? Yeah, okay, yeah, yeah. Yeah. I always find the uh post-secondary athletics to be fascinating because it's kind of like a world I was never involved in. So other than I used to go watch the U of our Cougars hockey team or something, but yeah, I always find that neat that there's young adults who get to study and kind of travel around and do their sports, and it sounds awesome.

SPEAKER_00 5:31

Yeah, then um I moved to Saskatoon and started going to the U of S here and I one year on the Huskies, which is kind of fun because um when my kids three of them ran Huskies, and I like to say, I ran Huskies too, one year, woo.

SPEAKER_03 5:47

Yep, that's pretty cool. Yeah. And did Taryn did he go to the U of S as well? I forget.

SPEAKER_00 5:54

No, he moved here, but he didn't end up going to the university. He ended up starting working. Oh, okay.

unknown 5:59

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 6:00

Oh, okay, yeah, yeah. You think I would know that since I interviewed him before, but I can sometimes all the stories mix together. So you did the the one year, and then what would you um have like say once you were done college and stuff?

SPEAKER_00 6:12

Did you keep running and or did you kind of take a little break or um I kept running, but like those years I was busy, we had a lot of kids. So four kids, and they all happened pretty quick during that time. But I did running through that whole time, and um I think that was really good to be able to run through having kids and when they were little, and we went through a lot of jogging strollers, and so that was really neat. And then I don't know, it was good to keep active as a young mom at the time.

SPEAKER_03 6:45

Yeah, for sure. So when would have been like um, so you were kind of keeping active with the with the young family? Do you remember what your first say like non-college running event you would have participated in would have been?

SPEAKER_00 6:56

Oh, I did the Calgary Marathon, I think it was like in 1999 or so, and that was actually before kids. Um yeah, I did that, and then honestly, I lost count. I used to do one or two marathons a year, but um, I think that's even before Google, so I can't even how many I've done. Yeah, yeah, it used to just be my thing. I would do like one in the spring, one in the fall, or at least one a year.

SPEAKER_03 7:22

Oh, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 7:23

Yeah, it was before I knew about trail running and all that.

SPEAKER_03 7:26

Okay, and then do any of those um, did you kind of just stick around the the prairie provinces? And or did you ever travel to like some of the cooler, bigger, not cooler, but the bigger races?

SPEAKER_00 7:36

They're all cool, but um, well, we did lots of like Saskatchewan Marathon, of course, in Queen City, yeah, um, Vancouver, Victoria. Oh, I didn't do Victoria. Tarrant did that one. Um, Ottawa, Toronto, but that was more recent. Yep. Um, and I've gone down into the states like Sacramento and I've done New York, got to do that with Tarrent. And I think that's it for marathons.

SPEAKER_03 8:43

Okay, nice. Yeah. Is there one of those that stick out as like one? Say if someone lists things like has a bucket list. One, is there one that you would recommend that you enjoyed more than the others, or do they all have their specialties?

SPEAKER_00 8:56

I really enjoyed Toronto because that one's really uh good course to do a fast time on if you're into that. And like convenient and really well done. And then I also enjoyed Sacramento. I actually went there twice. Oh, and Eugene, I went there. But Sacramento was neat because it's like a point-to-point kind of rolling, the course never changes, and it was really cool because we got to meet um Terrence childhood friend Billy Mills while we were down there, which was a neat coincidence. So um, yeah, I would really like Sacramento, it was a cool place to go as well.

SPEAKER_03 9:30

Okay, yeah. And you've had some pretty big achievements in the marathon distance, if I remember right.

SPEAKER_00 9:37

Well, I don't know if I would call this that, but thank you. Yeah, um, I'm not sure. Like I guess recently, uh a couple years, maybe three years ago now, I ran a 305, which I was really happy with. Um, I didn't think I'd ever run that pace for a marathon.

SPEAKER_03 9:56

So I like awesome.

SPEAKER_00 9:58

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 9:59

Am I crazy or did are you and Tarrant like the only husband-wife team that's have ever won the Saskatchewan marathon?

SPEAKER_02 10:06

Yes, we just okay, okay, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 10:08

And what year would you have won that? 2019. Oh, okay. Well, that's pretty impressive. Yeah. So in your 40s or late 30s?

SPEAKER_00 10:17

Um, I guess we're 80s.

SPEAKER_03 10:20

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:20

Let me think. Yeah, that would be late 30s.

SPEAKER_03 10:22

Yeah, okay. Nice. For sure. I guess that is kind of the uh the the point. It's not like you have to be 20 to win a marathon. You can be nowadays, 30s, 40s, you're still still in it.

SPEAKER_00 10:34

Yeah, that's the great thing about running, is you can as long as you stay uninjured, you can kind of just keep going and going. It's very inclusive for everyone.

SPEAKER_03 10:42

Yeah, so you kind of did all that. And then when when did you get into like the trail running part of it?

SPEAKER_00 10:48

Um, I started, I've always liked going on the trail, but I didn't really know it was its own thing. Um okay. But it's funny because we'll talk about how as a family we used to go like to the mountains and we would go for a run, and then we would go separately for a hike, and now we've just like merged the two together. But um okay, nice. Yeah, yeah. I guess I've started maybe on the single track around Saskatoon, and then like I went up to nut point with some friends. That was probably one of my first big trail runs on by Laurence. Yeah, yeah. And at first, we're gonna do a backpacking trip, and then they said, Well, why don't we just run it in one shot? And I thought, well, that's crazy, but we did it and we realized like, oh, I like this a lot better than backpacking. So that's my first dip into trail running, and then I think I did like the Grizzly Ultra as a relay years ago, and then saw the atmosphere and really enjoyed it.

SPEAKER_03 11:45

Yeah, yeah, yeah. That sounds awesome. And then what would have been your first um say 50k? When did you do that one?

SPEAKER_00 11:54

Um, the grizz I did the Grizzly Ultra, um, I can't remember what year that was, uh probably five years ago or so. And that was my 50K. Actually, I did 50k's in Saskatoon. They used to have some here for fun, and I did about two here. Oh, nice. Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 12:13

Long time ago. And then how did you find since you um once you kind of got into trail running, you had already had all that experience on the the roads? How did you feel your fitness transferred to the trails? Was it pretty seamless, or did you right away be like, oh, I gotta maybe work on this or that, or I'm lacking here? Was it uh you always hear that thing like fitness is fitness, but sometimes I wonder if that's a hundred percent true in all cases.

SPEAKER_00 12:35

I'm sure for you it probably was, but I think one thing I enjoy about the trail so much is you can throw pace out the window. Like all my years of road running, I'm not fast, but yet I always in my head wanted to go faster, faster and push harder and harder, and always have a certain race pace I was chasing, and I'd always be redlining for sure. But with trail running, I like you just out there enjoying it, and I'm never looking at my watch, like, oh, look at my pace, I'm way off. Yeah, that's probably the best thing I like about trail running compared to road running.

SPEAKER_03 13:10

Yeah, because yeah, I 100% get that. Because yeah, even if you're on the road, if you want to run like a 435 pace, and you you can you know exactly what that feels like, and you should be able to just like keep hammering at that pace if you're trained right. But on the trails, yeah, who knows? You're exactly slightly uphill, then you're going slower, and then you have to climb. And I always try to figure out what pace I should be running, like the flats or the downhills at, but it's just you almost just have to learn it by feel, don't you? Just kind of yeah, yeah. Yeah, so you did the the grizzly, you said was your first solo one.

SPEAKER_00 13:46

Right, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 13:46

And then then do you have you done a lot more than that one?

SPEAKER_00 13:49

Like um, I haven't done a lot. I've done two 50 milers at Sinister, 150k there, and then 50k at Squamish. And I and then I just did the death race. Oh, I did Black Spur 108, and then this year I did death race. So that was my first like longest one at 118, and then so yeah, I'm kind of still new to it. I I think compared to like everyone else that's doing it, it seems like, anyways.

SPEAKER_03 14:23

I feel like you're pretty similar to Melissa and I because we've been about that same timeline and almost done the same races, so yeah. Do you uh so far? Do you have a distance that you prefer?

SPEAKER_00 14:33

Like I know some people like the 50k, some like the 50 mile, but I think the 50k probably because I feel like I don't quite fall apart as badly.

SPEAKER_03 14:44

Yeah, fair enough. And then in Squamish, you said you did the 50k there too, or what is it the 50 mile? The 50k. Oh, 50k, yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. That what that's a beautiful course, I hear.

SPEAKER_00 14:56

Yeah, it is really nice.

SPEAKER_03 14:58

Yeah, I was out there in the in March, I think, running with some friends, and yeah, it was really that we did parts of the course, but it seemed like the whole area was beautiful, so can't miss there.

unknown 15:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 15:08

So what um, and then you said the sinister 50 miler a couple times. How do you feel about that race?

SPEAKER_00 15:15

Um, I really like that one. The first time, honestly, I kind of didn't know what I was in for. And when I was climbing on lake six, I might have sat down on a rock and shed some tears. Okay. So, but then I realized that going backwards or getting rescued was just as much work as going forward. So the next year I thought I trained and prepared so much better and I felt better, but I think I like only knocked like maybe 10 minutes off my time. So, but yeah, it was enjoyable. It's so beautiful out there. Anytime you get to just be out there, and I don't know, I'm just so thankful that uh my body can do that and I can enjoy just beautiful nature out there. It's just such an honor.

SPEAKER_03 15:57

Yeah, it is pretty cool when you're up, you know, like 15, 20 kilometers from an aid station, and you're like, wow, not everybody could come see this, like like you're getting to experience it. So exactly. Yeah. So you had mentioned your most recent race was the uh Canadian death race up in Grand Cache. So what when did you decide to uh tackle that distance?

SPEAKER_00 16:18

I can't remember when I registered, but I kind of figured it was my like the next natural progression, but in hindsight, I may have figured wrong. We'll see. But yeah, it was quite humbling. I I really well, I can't say I really enjoyed it. That'd be complete lying. Um I looking back, I see that it could have been enjoyed had things been done differently on my part, but it was for sure.

SPEAKER_03 16:46

For sure. So did you um how long do you would you say you kind of specifically trained for death race?

SPEAKER_00 16:54

Um through the winter and then like the summer up to it, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:58

Okay, and do you train yourself or do you get coached?

SPEAKER_00 17:02

Um, I kind of train myself, but I do get help from coach Daniel Block. He gives like okay if I'm training for something like a specific time, like in the spring, I wanted to get a personal desk for the half marathon. So he gave me workouts for that. But for the ultras, he kind of gives me more guidance on like what kind of mileage or help me with my taper and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_03 17:24

Okay, yeah, yeah, that's kind of nice. Just bounce some ideas off and then yeah.

SPEAKER_00 17:28

Yeah, for sure. He's got so much knowledge, and especially if you want to get fast, he's the guy to help you do so. Uh-huh. And you did you get your half marathon best? I did, yeah. Yeah, okay. Really happy about that because I actually had some pressure on that one because I thought I had a personal best when I was younger, and I was way wrong. I was telling everyone a lie, so I had to go make myself not a liar.

SPEAKER_03 17:52

Yeah, redeem yourself. Exactly. Yeah, for sure. So, how did the um I've never been to the death race, so why don't you tell us a little bit about how I don't know, where it is, how the start line feels, and kind of go through the legs and break it down a bit if you want. I know people are probably excited to hear about it.

SPEAKER_00 18:10

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 18:11

Um, I saw I was I was at a wedding, so I was checking um well, all my friends, but I was specifically checking for you because I knew I wanted to have you on the podcast, and yeah, I was just during the wedding, I'm hitting refresh on the zone four thing, and I'm like, oh, Celeste is through here, and like obviously we had other friends there as well. But yeah, it was exciting to watch you progress. So, yeah, tell us a little bit about it.

SPEAKER_00 18:30

Sure, my dot was moving quite slowly, but um, so it's in Grand Cache. And one thing I've really noticed about this race, um, I actually kind of mentioned to Taryn, it seems like the town really embraces it and the neat atmosphere there, like all the restaurants, they have specials for the weekend, and um, it seems to be a lot of the volunteers are local, which is really cool. The aid stations were amazing, like those volunteers at the aid stations, and they were out there in like really bad weather. And as a person who does a lot of volunteering at races, I know that there's a lot more that goes on to putting into putting on a race than what we see when we're runners going through.

SPEAKER_02 19:10

Oh, for sure.

SPEAKER_00 19:10

So I was like really so thankful that there's such good support out there, and I can't even imagine like how some of them were out there in such bad weather and just freezing, and yet there they were for us. So it's I don't know, I was just so thankful. But um, yeah, it started out great, and my first 40k were I felt really strong. It's a really hard course, lots of elevation, very technical. But um, yeah, the first 40k, I was thinking like, wow, if I was doing this near-death marathon, I'd be happy to be done. Like this was tough. That was enough. Yeah, exactly. And then I you run through town to get onto this next, so to get on to leg three. Okay. And I was feeling okay then. And it's funny because you're you have to run through the start line again or the finish line, I guess. And you have kids like high fiving you, but in your head, you're doing the math and you're like, man, I still have like so many kilometers left. Like this is hard. Like, so then I left town and I made the mistake of following a fresh set of legs, someone who was doing the relay, and she was really peppy. And I was following her, and she took me off course. And I can't blame her because I'm an adult and I should be doing my own thing, but they took me off course. So we started on lake one again. So I we ran back and forth trying to find it, ran into other people who also were making the same mistake. So I ended up running an extra like 3K, which I think is a lot when you're running 118. So at that point, I was starting to feel pretty tired, and I was almost gonna just call Terrence and say, you know what, this is it. I'm done. I can't even get out of town here. But just in time, I followed their course and I got back on and I headed out. And then it was about 50 or 60k into the race that I almost felt like a wagon with my wheels falling off. I couldn't run like I wanted to on, and this part of the course was quite runnable. Like, okay, if I was feeling good, it would have been just great, like flowy trails, like so nice along a river, like because it should have been so enjoyable. But I was like power hiking most of it and kind of beating myself up. Like I should be running, I should be running, but I just couldn't. Like my leg would not lift properly. So then I got to the aid station before leg four, and they really help you. They like serve you like you're in a restaurant, you know, like filling your bottles, asking you what you need, blah, blah, blah, blah. And so I was putting on, they warned you that there was a storm coming in and you're about to climb this mountain called Mount Hamill. So I put my wind coat on, thinking, oh, this will be enough, you know, over top of a wet t-shirt and a wind coat, just perfect.

SPEAKER_02 21:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 21:51

My skinny little thin gloves I had, had my headlamp ready because they warned us it would be dark. And then I got to see Tarrant there, and he um kind of gave me like, you know, when you see someone at the aid station, and then like it gives you a boost. So he gave me a boost and I headed out for sure. Like, yeah, I got this, I can do this. I only have like 50k left, no big deal. So I'm climbing up this mountain, and as I head up, the thunder and the lightning starts, and then the wind, and then I'm so cold suddenly that I found I had to like breathe into my coat to like to stay alive. And then as I'm getting up this mountain, there's more and more people just Down on the side of the trail with like emergency blankets around them, waiting for rescue. And I think there was 196 people didn't finish. The storm was so bad. So I get to the top, and it's 100 kilometer winds, and you have to go along the bridge line to get this special coin. And because you have to have this coin to cross the river. So you grab your coin, and I was sure I was gonna get blown off the mountain that day, or there's gonna be some bad ending. Honestly, I was like hoping to be maybe like just get my pole accidentally like cuts me a bit, so I have to quit like some good reason. So then I start heading down this mountain and still doing the math, and it's like the kilometers are not they're not going away. Like I still have 40k or 50k, you know, 45k. So I get down the mountain, and then I'm all of a sudden it's just not all of a sudden, it's pitch black. So of course you get your headlamp out, right? But the problem was I wasn't smart enough to pack two headlamps, and I didn't think I'd be out there that long. So I'm running in the dark, and that's all fine, you know. I if if you call it running, and going and going and going and going, everything is chafing because I'm wet and I'm miserable, and I'm at that point. I don't know if you've ever done this where you're like mad at yourself that you pay to do this. Why are you out here? But then you know what? As every race about to quit. I have a friend right now, and she used we used to run together a lot, and she's really a fast runner and very fast, and she's struggling, she's fighting cancer right now. And she had texted me before the race and she had said, you know what, Celeste, um, good luck, have fun. I would love to try that. I wish I still had the chance. And then it kind of put it in perspective for me that I was just lucky to be out there. Like, really, some people just wish to be out there, they wish that their bodies could work. And I chose this battle, whereas like she has no choice, like she has to fight this. She's fighting for her life, and I'm whining because I'm cold and wet on a mountain that I chose and paid to do this. So then that kind of gave me like the kick in the pants to stop like crying to myself. And I just kept going and going and going till my headlamp died, and then I was in the black trying to use a phone light. And it's funny because I've heard other people who have said, like, oh, my headlamp died in the race. And in my mind, I'm like, that's so silly. Why wouldn't you have an extra or spare batteries? Like, who gets brought on a mountain with no headlamp? Well, I did. So I'm not proud of it. It's so silly. I shouldn't have been in that situation, but I was. So I was running holding up my phone, and I tell you, the phone phone headlight or whatever flashlight, it's not as bright as you think it is. When you're in your house looking with a flashlight, it's fine. But when you're on the mountain, it's not bright enough. So then um again, a wonderful volunteer. She lent me a toque with a headlamp in it, so that helped. And you cross the river on this jet boat, so that's amazing. And you think you just have to run to town, but you actually have to climb up the mount another mountain, it seems like, and run forever and ever and ever and ever. And then, of course, this headlamp died. So then another runner lent me a headlamp. Like, people were just so amazing on a course. So, anyways, I eventually made it into town. I was not expecting to like run until 4 a.m. Ever did I expect to be that long, but um, now I know I think I know what I need to do if I wanted to do it better. So I guess there's always room for improvement, and that's the best part about ultra running or any running at all.

SPEAKER_03 26:22

Yeah, for sure. Yeah, if you don't uh learn from your mistakes and it's not you're not not playing the game right, I guess. I I like because I'm like I mentioned I was watching all the updates and I'm just being a slob at a wedding, eating a bunch of squares and like it's super hot where I am, and you just hit refresh, and you're like, Well, it seems like it's taking people a long time to get to this next checkpoint, but it's you have no cont no context because you're kind of in the middle of nowhere, and but yeah, so it's not bad because I didn't want to use my phone at all because I knew I had to use it as a backup flashlight.

SPEAKER_00 26:54

So I finally texted Tarrant at one of the like when I was heading on on to the last leg because I knew he was worried because I was taking a heck of a lot longer than I said I would. So um, yeah, it was I finally texted and said, I'm heading out onto lake five. And then he told me, Yeah, Mandy says that's only 16k. And I'm like, Oh my gosh, Mandy's been done for so long. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 27:16

Yeah, it's interesting that headlamp thing, how um much that gets people. I don't know if you listened to the last episode of Andrew Shanks, he did Sinister Seven, and yeah, he had this same problem. His he had an extra one, but then his crew forgot to put the battery in it. So yeah, on the top of the mountain on leg six, he was just like, I think he said he just laid down in the middle of the trail and he's just like, now what do I do? I guess I think his idea was he was gonna wait for it to get light out and then try to like sprint down and hopefully finish under the 30 hours. But again, some trail angel came by and said, Hey, I have a spare one and tossed it to you. And I, when I did my hundred miler, I had a a spare lamp and a spare battery, but you're just like so stu I was being so stubborn. I'm like, oh, it's fine. I could see it getting dim, see it getting dim, and all of a sudden it shuts off. And yeah, like you said, it's absolutely pitch black, and then I'm sitting there in the middle of these trees trying to put a new battery in my thing. I drop the battery, and it's just like a whole I don't know what the mind and headlamps and ultras for for lots of us is a real struggle.

SPEAKER_00 28:12

Yeah, panic kind of sets in a bit when you when it's just black and you're on a mountain, that's for sure.

SPEAKER_03 28:17

Yeah, for sure. And then you also mentioned um kind of how you were thinking you should run, but your legs weren't working. I also have this problem quite often in ultras. Have you uh done any research or figured out what that might be caused from or what you maybe could fix on that end of it?

SPEAKER_00 28:33

I'm not sure about this one. I did have to like cut down my mileage a lot, though, in like the month leading up because I had some foot issues.

SPEAKER_02 28:39

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 28:40

So I'm gonna maybe blame that. Um, maybe a lack of strength. I need to do some more strength, maybe more mileage. Maybe I didn't respect the distance enough. I'm not sure. But I'll have to definitely look up into that why I was so poor on the one side.

SPEAKER_03 28:56

I'm sure we have some listeners who might have some advice because I know lots of them who seem to be able to run the whole time. So yeah. I think I've heard from well, people whose opinions I respect it, just kind of uh kind of that muscular endurance that you just build up over time.

SPEAKER_00 29:11

So, like if you have just maybe I don't have enough miles in the bank yet, we'll see.

SPEAKER_03 29:14

Yeah, that's what that's kind of what I was thinking. That's that's what I'm hoping to correct myself. So yeah, yeah. We figured out we'll help each other out. Yeah. Yeah. So would you say um obviously that was a fairly big not a big struggle, but uh you had you had your struggles on the death race as well. Is there a moment also that kind of stood out where you were like like maybe earlier in the race where you're like, oh, this is so beautiful and I'm having a great time?

SPEAKER_00 29:41

Um, I think there's a part in the first, in the second leg, or maybe as the first leg, um, where Tarant and I were running together for a bit, and that was really good because it's always fun when we're running together. And then I eventually told him, You better get going because he's running a lot shorter than me, and he's also a lot faster, so he shouldn't be running back with me. But then it's neat to watch him go ahead. And it was also neat too because um right from the start, I could see Mandy take off, and I just knew she was gonna kill this race. And so um when I found out that she finished like five hours ahead of me, I was very happy that she like just killed it so well because um I've seen her train and I know what her mileage is, and it's really neat to see like someone's hard work really pay off. So I was proud to be not a part of it because I was like still way back on the mountain, but I was there in spirit when she crossed the finish line first.

SPEAKER_03 30:40

I feel like she moved up throughout the day too, didn't she? Like she was maybe like she was always high up, but I I feel like every time I looked at a checkpoint, she was moving up, and then I think like was fourth overall, right? First female, and I think she was, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 30:53

I think she was from what I can tell from again, way back on the mountain, it seems like she led for females the whole race.

SPEAKER_03 31:00

Yeah, that makes sense.

SPEAKER_00 31:01

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because I don't think anyone was close to her at all for females.

SPEAKER_03 31:05

Yeah, and then I feel like I heard that she just ran right through the hail, maybe like just didn't even stop for the storm. Did I confirm that with her, but someone told me that.

SPEAKER_00 31:14

You'll have to ask her about her hail damage, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 31:17

Yeah, on on her body, yeah. That's that's probably worse than getting it on the vehicle. Yeah, for sure. And then um, what do you have? You have anything else coming up for 2026?

SPEAKER_00 31:31

Um, yeah, I get to actually go up to Churchill this year to do the polar bear marathon.

SPEAKER_03 31:36

Um awesome. And you've been there before, right? No, I didn't. Last year do that.

SPEAKER_00 31:40

Yeah, last year Tarrant did it, and um, it's actually kind of cool because he does travel a lot, and um, I don't ever feel jealous. I'm always very happy for him. But this was fun that I always wanted to go up there, and I've always wanted to see the polar bears. And I've read a lot of books about the north as a kid. I'm an avid reader, so um, it was always a dream of mine. And so when I found out I got to go this year, like I'm so excited about it. I can't wait. It's gonna be so fun.

SPEAKER_03 32:07

That's awesome. And then how do you how are you getting up there?

SPEAKER_00 32:13

Yeah, not the train on a plane.

SPEAKER_03 32:15

Yeah, yeah, that that train I feel like would be cool till it isn't. It would be like two hours in, you'd be like, Well, that was kind of fun, but now we have 12 more hours of this, but yeah, for sure. And and what's the date on that one?

SPEAKER_00 32:28

That's in November, like I think May 1st. And then so before that, though, the next month or so, I still have a I would like to just um enjoy, like, we're gonna go to the mountains and do some trails that we've been wanting to run. Okay. I want to just run and enjoy the scenery and not be in a race, so that'll be really good. Yeah, yeah. So and then um I'd like to run a fast 10K just as a time trial for fun.

SPEAKER_03 32:57

Okay, yeah, that sounds fun. Would you do that in a yeah, would you do that in a race or just kind of a on your own?

SPEAKER_00 33:03

I think probably just a time trial because uh most of the races, like the step up, I'll be helping with race marshals. So like rounding them up and setting them up and everything. So I won't be able to run that, but um, yeah, so probably just a time trial.

SPEAKER_03 33:18

Okay, yeah, that sounds sounds like fun. Yeah, and then we should also mention that you you mentioned that you volunteer a lot. What are your uh what kind of duties? I know you guys kind of do a lot of running events. So, what kind of uh things do you get involved in when volunteering?

SPEAKER_00 33:34

Um, usually I get to do lots of the race marshalling, which is really I really enjoy that actually more than running sometimes. It's really fun to cheer people on and make sure that the traffic isn't hitting our runners. But for step up for mental health, um, me, sorry, two friends and I were like rounding up all the marshals. So if anyone that is listening to this, if you want to help Marshall for the step up for mental health, you can email me. That would be great. I get involved at prairuncrew.com because we need like I think 60 marshals per day at least. So geez. Yeah, it's a lot.

SPEAKER_03 34:12

So and that's at the end of September, the step up for mental health.

SPEAKER_00 34:15

Yeah, I think it's the weekend after beaver flat. So if you're running beaver flat, you're not gonna feel like running the step up. So you should come race marshal.

SPEAKER_03 34:22

You can bring a launch. That sounds that sounds good. Yeah, and then I'll share a link too if people want to sign up.

SPEAKER_00 34:28

It's really neat because um to see like it's our biggest race in Saskatchewan, like 8,000 people last year. And I think there's gonna be more this year. So I find when I'm marshalling, I don't know, I get find emotional watching everyone run by and all for such a good cause. And you know, all the money stays local in Saskatchewan. And I don't know. I just it's very touching to see everyone come together for that day.

SPEAKER_03 34:52

Yeah, for sure. Um, why don't you uh tell us a little bit about the step up in case people don't necessarily know 100% what we're talking about, like what how it was founded and um all this stuff.

SPEAKER_00 35:04

I'd be the last one you should ask facts, but it's I can't remember what year we're in, but it's growing every year. And on the Saturday, there's a half marathon, and then on the Sunday there's a 5k, then a 10K, or vice versa. And so we wait for the one race to finish before the other begins. So it's really neat. And um, all the money raised goes to foundations in Saskatchewan, like people can apply for the step up for mental health grants. So I last year I think, and you'd have to check my numbers. I hope I'm not getting it wrong, but I think it was like 21 organizations, organizations got um funding through the step up for mental health, the money raised by like all the people running. So that's really, really great. And we all we see it, it's such an important cause nowadays. Well, any day it was, but it's really important right now.

SPEAKER_03 35:57

Yeah, no, that sounds sounds amazing. So, yeah, I'll share the share the link for with your email and hopefully you get some more Marshalls. That'd be awesome. Thank you, everyone. Yeah. So going forward, you have uh, are you gonna put a hundred miler on the bucket list? Or are you good with your 118 kilometers?

SPEAKER_00 36:13

Or you know how it is when you're in the middle of the race, like I said, and you're really upset with yourself for doing such a thing. Um, well, it took a few days, but now I'm like kind of trying to figure out hmm, how can I make that actually go well and do better? I think I could knock a lot of time off if I did this or this or this. So I might take another crack at it next year, or they're also changing the near death marathon. It's gonna be a 50k. Oh, right, yeah. My favorite distance. So maybe I would do that one. Um, I'm not sure, but I think that would likely get on my list for sure.

SPEAKER_03 36:48

Yeah, awesome. So just to have a kind of a redo at that one.

SPEAKER_00 36:51

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_03 36:52

Second, I like I like that theory when I think when we were done our first hundred K too. I was like, like three quarters of the way. I'm like, you know what? This is good. I don't I don't need to do any more. This is I've I've gotten my fill of this, and then yeah, on the way home, Melissa's like, maybe we should do a hundred miler. And I'm just like, okay. And then she Googled like flattest hundred miler in in Western Canada. So we signed up for that, and then yeah, same thing. You're like, Well, this is good, but then it yeah, just keeps planting that seed and you want to try to grow and be better. It's kind of I guess that's kind of what ultra running is, or all running for that matter.

SPEAKER_00 37:22

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_03 37:23

Yeah, for sure. And then are you gonna be out at lost souls too in a couple weeks?

SPEAKER_00 37:28

Yeah, I'm gonna be there watching and cheering, so that's gonna be fun. Can't wait to nice be there. That'll be really great. I love those trails there in Lethbridge too. So are you crewing as well? Yeah, I don't like I'll do more cheering because um, yeah, and crewing, but I think with the way it's set up, you don't need as much crew as other races because it's not very remote.

SPEAKER_03 37:53

So that's right, yeah, and you have a pretty good there, they're so awesome at last soul with the uh with their aid stations and the volunteers there, and you're all never too far away from one. So yeah, that's awesome.

SPEAKER_00 38:03

Yeah, and Tarant's very easygoing. He doesn't he's likes to keep it simple, so it's not like he'll need a lot from me.

SPEAKER_03 38:09

Yep, maybe some some Dr. Pepper, and he'll be set. I'll have his TVD treat ready. That's right. Oh, yeah, he likes that one too. So probably the uh number one question people would like to know what is what it's like being married to such a famous run fluencer like Tarrant. Is it a lot of a lot of hassle on the streets? Do you get get fans coming up, or is it all um no?

SPEAKER_00 38:32

I wouldn't say it's any hassle. Um sometimes though, if we're trying, if I want to just walk through somewhere and he has to stop and say hi to everyone. And I'm like I said, I'm not very social and I don't speak in public. So um yeah, we're different that way. But um, yeah, that it's a lot of fun, and I like to be able to help with all the prey run crew stuff as much as I can. And it's neat because um there was a long time when he wasn't running and I was the only one running, but he always supported me, even when he wasn't running and you know, would be at my races and help with the kids and whatnot. So it's neat now that um we can all do it as a family together. Um, it's fun to run with the kids. I like sometimes it just feels like an honor when like Javen wanted to go camping with me. We did lots of running in grasslands, and I don't know, it's really nice when your kid slows down to stick with mom. It's so for sure. Well, it gets harder now. Like um, trips don't involve the kids anymore, they're doing their own thing.

SPEAKER_03 39:38

That's right, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 39:39

Um, one's married, one has a girlfriend, quite serious. So um funny, they just don't want to be in with mom and dad on their trips as much anymore. Yeah. So like we don't even have like the family van anymore, which is weird. Like our son Javen took it over and he camps out of it now. So, like, even if we want to go on a trip altogether, like we went to a funeral together and it was like three vehicles, three hotel rooms, like it's just crazy. So, yeah, so in July, we were all together in Waterton for Jared's wedding. So, we got to do runs together, and I don't know, it was like old times, so that was really fun.

SPEAKER_03 40:21

Yeah, that would be pretty special.

SPEAKER_00 40:23

Yeah, exactly.

SPEAKER_03 40:24

Yeah, that's awesome. All right, was there anything else you wanted to add, or do you think we got it all covered?

SPEAKER_00 40:30

I think we got it covered pretty good.

SPEAKER_03 40:33

Thank you. Thanks. Yeah, you did fantastically like I knew you would. Thanks. Super great stories, and really, really enjoyed uh getting to know you a little better.

SPEAKER_00 40:42

Well, I'm glad I didn't have to come on here and tell you what I learned from my DNF. So thankful for that.

SPEAKER_03 40:48

Yeah. All right, well, take care and we'll uh see you soon.

SPEAKER_00 40:51

Okay, take care. Yep, bye bye.

SPEAKER_01 40:53

Bye on my stories.

SPEAKER_03 40:58

You have been listening to the Saskatchewan podcast. Please subscribe and leave a review wherever you listen to pods, and remember to get in touch at jason tburns40 at gmail.com for suggestions of who you think may make a great guest on this podcast or for comments in general. And as always, thanks to this wonderful Canadian band, The Burning Hell, for the use of this song, Holidaymakers. Check them out at theburninghell.com. And until next time, keep putting in the work.