| Since
first stepping foot on the course (or more appropriately
into a canoe) in 2001 as a member of a four person team
and on through her first solo effort at the Beaton in
2009, McIlraith has remained committed to a path of continuous
athletic self-discovery - age be damned.
“Three years ago, I fell in love
with mountain biking,” noted the warrior who has
now Conquered the Crater on three different occasions,
garnering two gold medals and a silver as she morphed
her way over to off-road adventure triathlons. “I
had been riding (mountain bike) for over a decade but
it always felt like I was in a battle with the trails.”
“Shifting my perspective allowed
me to see the trails as an opportunity to challenge my
skills. Mountain biking opened up a whole new world of
racing to me.”
We are talking, after all, about a competitor
who hurtled herself at a 50km trail race to “celebrate”
turning fifty, bypassing the need to perhaps complete
a conventional marathon completely. “This was one
of my most cherished races,” exclaimed McIlraith.
“It was a rare day where I felt strong the entire
race (and finished first overall).”
Crowned as Miss-Fit Sudbury on multiple
occasions, the partner of Beaton race director Neil Phipps
and mother of fellow Beaton competitor Kate Richards is
gradually recognizing that the landscape of athleticism
will shift, at least to some extent, as one enters their
second half-century on earth.
“I can no longer solely rely on
hard training,” she conceded, perhaps with a touch
of sadness. “I’m embracing the science that
thankfully is now emerging for “mature” athletes.
Endless mileage is now balanced with strength training,
short speed sessions and a lot more cross-training.”
“It is also motivating to know that
my primary sport sees many older athletes reach their
prime in their fifties or beyond.”
For as much as McIlraith is something
of a machine when it comes to pushing herself through
an incredibly demanding calendar of events during the
summers, it is once the snow flies that she excels even
more.
“My first love will always be nordic
skiing,” noted the woman who was again in attendance
at the 2023 Canadian Masters Cross-Country Ski Championships,
besting a former Olympic medal winner in capturing her
division in the process. “Skiing has given me my
proudest achievements and my deepest soul-crushing moments.”
“Only a true love of sport will
bring you to tears at the finish line.” |
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