A gem of a race

The BHP Billiton Rock and Ice Ultra took me more than 22 hours to finish, but by some miracle, I made it. For the second year in a row, Yellowknifer Ewan Affleck took home the half-carat EKATI diamond for first place in the 135K K-Rock Ultra. Conditions were nasty for runners. It seemed like the faster you tried to run, the slower you went, as your feet sunk into quicksand-like sugar snow with every step. On the bright side, the race was a wild adventure and a great way to experience the vast beauty of the Northwest Territories.

Rock and Ice Ultra

It’s a rough life being the editor of a national running magazine. On March 22, I’ll embark on my first field assignment for Canadian Running Magazine by competing in the Rock and Ice Ultra in the Northwest Territories.

The main event is the Diamond Ultra, a six-day stage race of about 45K a day across ungroomed, snow-covered tundra, but I’ve chosen the comparatively easy (ha!) three-day K-Rock Ultra, which covers a total distance of 135K. If you’re curious to find out if I survive, I’ll be posting race updates on the Canadian Running website: www.runningmagazine.ca.

And no, I will not be joggling the whole thing. I will, however, bring along a set of Joggler Sportballs, and plan to do a token amount of joggling – maybe for the last few minutes of each stage.