Ten runners from Prince Rupert made the trip to Mount Robson Provincial Park to participate in its annual marathon event on Saturday, Sept. 9, 10. True to Prince Rupert form, they brought the rain with them, but it did not stop them from competing hard and finishing their races.
“We all just agreed that it was a cool experience to be a part of,” said Mary Denton, one of the runners who completed the race in 5:48:00.00. “Just the fitness level on some of the people was inspiring.”
Denton, along with Samantha Kasdorf, Caitlin DuBiel, Judson Rouse and Tammy Palmer competed in the Mount Robson 50 kilometre ultramarathon while Cody Scheuerman, Lea Scheuerman, Ellen Christison, Hayden Many and Nicole Walker completed the half-marathon. Rouse eventually placed 3rd in the over-40 category and 7th overall, finishing with a time of 4:26:06.00.
“For me personally it went really well,” he said. “It was just a solid paced run from start to finish and just got stronger as the run went on, and started to reel a few guys in and that’s always a good feeling.”
While some members of the group have experience competing in long distance and trail running events, it was uncharted territory for some of the runners, such as Palmer, who went the ultramarathon distance for the first time. For other runners like Scheuerman, being able to participate in a run of any distance was a victory.
Scheuerman — who had not raced in an official event in nearly three years — completed the half-marathon despite an ongoing, 18-month battle with non-hodgkins lymphoma. As recently as April, Scheuerman was in hospital battling the illness, but was released thanks to an experimental treatment he was able to receive.
In the months and weeks leading up to the Mount Robson event, Scheuerman said he felt that he could run the distance, but was not sure if he could register in time. On the day of the run, some of the registered participants dropped out due to the poor weather, and Scheuerman was able to participate. He said was not sure how long the race would take him to complete, but he found an experienced runner to help pace him through the event. He eventually finished with a time of 1:53:38.00.
“When I was in hospital, I was hoping I could just make it there to watch the run let alone try to run it,” he said. “But it was just one of those things where I thought ‘if I can, I can’.”