Being a mountain man hurts, according to Kurt Grimsrud.
Grimsrud, 32, sits barefoot in the grass at Edmonton's Forest Heights Park while munching on a plate of fruit. He's just run, portaged, and canoed 50 kilometres in a little over five hours, and barely looks winded.
He was a lot worse when he crossed the finish line half an hour ago, he says.
"I was in the hurt locker. I wasn't feeling anything except suffering … I'm going to be sore for a week or two."
Grimsrud, a captain with 1 Combat Engineer Regiment, was one of 265 Edmonton and Shilo-based soldiers that took on the Edmonton Garrison's 13th annual Mountain Man triathlon. The gruelling race asks soldiers to run, portage, and canoe 50.4 kilometres through Edmonton's river valley while carrying a 15-kilogram pack.
Grimsrud came in first with a total time of 5:02:13, earning him a T-shirt and serious bragging rights. He had already won acclaim the previous weekend at the garrison's Logger Sports Day, where his team came in first. "It's been a big week for me."
One long day
The Mountain Man is a way for soldiers to test themselves, says Lt.-Col. Peter Dawe, the first senior officer across the finish line at this year's event. "They want to live the adventure, but more importantly they want to challenge themselves, push themselves, and excel."
Master Cpl. Donovan Ball has run it four times. "The first year I did it because I was naive and stupid," he jokes. He finished in 136th place, so he ran again for a better time. "Most people do the race once and never want to do it again."
Grimsrud and the others set off from Hawrelak Park at about 5 a.m. "It was pretty much pitch black until 6 a.m.," he says — he had to use a headlamp. "[They were] beautiful conditions; just dark."
Cool temperatures and a slight breeze made for perfect race weather, Ball says — much better than last year's 33 C scorch-fest. "That's every runner's nightmare."
After a leisurely 32-km run to Capilano Park, the troops shouldered 34-kg aluminium canoes and crawled three km to the boat launch.
That's by far the toughest moment of the race, Dawe says. "You've just completed 32 km with a 30-pound rucksack," he says, and now you add 74 pounds of canoe. "That's gruelling."
Everyone really slows down at that point, Ball says. "It's like throwing down 10 snails and watching them race." It's relaxing, but it's also a serious gut-check. "That's when you make up and prove what and who you really are."
The enormity of the task can crush you if you're not careful, Dawe says. "If you allow yourself to focus on the pain, you'll never get through it." He's learned to break the race into bite-sized pieces to stay sane. "I know the portage is 4,000 steps, and I was counting every single step."
Big accomplishment
You're pretty much home free when you hit the water, Dawe says — you get to rest your legs, and the current pushes you along. Ten km of river later, and all you have left is a six-km sprint to the finish.
Crossing that line gives you a huge sense of accomplishment, Dawe says. "For the young guys who've never run more than 10 km, now all of a sudden they've successfully completed this 50-km race."
Anyone who doubts they can finish a race like this is full of it, Ball says. "I never thought I could do 51 km, and now me and my buddy are training to do the [Canadian] Death Race next year," he says, referring to the 125-km event held in Grande Cache.
This race is nothing compared to Afghanistan, Dawe notes, where you're usually carrying 45 kg of bullets and body armour for days in 45 C weather. "In terms of discipline and general pain, we get far worse when we're overseas."
