After running nearly 300
kilometres over a span of some 43 hours, Michael Rouleau
was feeling a little uncomfortable - and it had nothing
to do with the physical pounding his body had taken over
the course of the Persistence Backyard Ultra in London
(ON) last summer.
A devotee of the race format
that sees athletes covering a 6.71 kms loop - and are
given one hour to do so, unable to start the ensuing loop
(referred to as a "yard" on this circuit) until
the clock strikes twelve to begin the next hour, Rouleau
was holding down one of the at-large positions with the
Canadian team that would be competing in the Big Backyard
Ultra World Team Championships this August.
(The brainchild of American
Gary Cantrell, the format of the backyard ultra was designed
to allow participants to cover 100 miles over the course
of a 24-hour period, with the miles divided evenly over
the course of that particular stretch of time.)
"I knew that number
(43 yards recorded in London) would not suffice; I knew
I would get bumped off," said Rouleau, having captured
first place at the Old Man Backyard Ultra in Lethbridge
(AB) in early May, one of six events for which the first
place finisher was rewarded with an automatic berth on
the 15-runner national team alluded to earlier.
"The advantage was this
was a qualifying race - which also means all of the best
talent typically flock to qualifying races," noted
Rouleau, the field in Lethbridge attracting some 200 competitors.
For as much as the 32 year-old
member of the Greater Sudbury Police Services needed to
extend his personal best by just two loops in Alberta
in order to eliminate hometown favourite Austin Sedgwick
(race format limits to race winner to completing one more
lap than the second to last man / woman standing), Rouleau
has more to build on than simply his fourth victory in
the six Backyard Ultras he has raced.
"I still feel like I
have lots more in the tank and I am super excited to see
what that may look like in a field where it is going to
go very, very far," opined the local man who heads
to Sicamous (B.C.) on October 17th to join the balance
of his teammates from across the country, with the goal
simply to accumulate as many total team yards as possible
prior to your last racer dropping out (likely around hour
80).
Subject to a diverging range
of emotions in the weeks leading up to the completion
of a backyard ultra, Rouleau delved into both sides as
we chatted about his latest accomplishment. "Going
in, I had self belief that I could win it - and I also
had some doubt based on the number of runniners and their
resumés."
Additionally, the longer
than usual winter made for a great deal of time spent
training on a treadmill, not the ideal scenario to replicate
the race environment.
"With this running,
there is so much that we don't control," suggested
Rouleay. "If the uncontrollables went my way and
things went well, I felt comfortable I would win that
race. But if I run that same race against the same people,
I understand the results could be very different, just
for all of the variable that we have taked about."
"To win an event like
that, you have to have things go your way; it's a must,"
added the former "AAA" hockey talent who was
drafted by the Sudbury Wolves back in 2010.
"There will be problems,
sure, but are the problems managable? I had issues, but
they were minor and were issues that me and my crew could
resolve and manage."
With Jeremy Thielmann unable
to complete his 38th lap, it was down to just Rouleau
and Sedgwick in Lethbridge.
"The last couple is
a very unique dynamic," suggested Rouleau. "Over
eight hours, we spent a decent amount of time together
- but not always. Two people may just run at different
paces or have different pacing strategies."
"There were times when
he was struggling and I would stop and offer help. It
was a friendly competition."
But one from which Rouleau
was intent on emerging victorious.
"Really, you just focus
on doing one more lap," he said. "If the bi-product
of that is you end of winning, that's great - but it truly
is a race with yourself."
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