Running One of the Toughest Races in Canada - QUEBEC MEGA TRAIL 100

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On the other side of Canada from our home  in British Columbia, Quebec is the largest   province by area and the second largest by  population. My ancestors have called Quebec   home for generations since it was a french colony  and my girlfriend Audrée is herself Quebecoise. It's also the home of the Quebec Mega Trail.   New for 2021, the 100-mile course has over 6,500  meters of elevation gain, taking runners from the   banks of the St. Lawrence River to the top of Mont  Saint Anne, through beautiful boreal forests and   technical single track trails. And while Quebec  might be known for its extremely cold temperatures   in the winter, in the summer runners could expect  heat and humidity. Audrée and I couldn't pass   up the chance to run what would prove to be  one of the most challenging races in Canada. I wonder what the actual name of the  road is oh it's 'Boule de Neige'. Check in first? It's a huge suite! Big patio. Oh, check out the pool. - Oh  yeah, oh it's humid out here. We just finished unpacking and I'm just gonna  head out for a little shake out run here,   maybe 20 or 25 minutes, just to get the legs  moving after a long flight yesterday and sitting   in the car today for a couple of hours. It's  pretty warm, probably about 27 degrees celsius,   but it's really muggy. It's just really humid.  When it's humid, your sweat doesn't evaporate   and it's harder to cool down. So that's going to  be a different kind of challenge for me I think. After only 20 minutes of really easy running, I'm  just sweating buckets. The last time I felt this   kind of humidity was running in Hawaii I think,  so we're really going to have to stay on top of   our hydration during the race. But now it's time  to head back to the hotel to have a quick shower.   We're gonna hop back in the car and drive about 40  minutes back into Quebec City to pick up our bibs. Okay,   we got our numbers and a couple last minute  supplies. A little bit more lube. You can never   have too much lube. Alright, so we've just  finished preparing our race kit and our drop   bags here. There are three aid stations where  we can have drop bags. So three drop bags. But   one of them we're going to see twice. It's  roughly every 40 km. The last one we'll see   40 km from the end and then again 20 km from the  end. The most important one for me is this one at   the halfway point around 80 km. I'm gonna have a  spare change of clothes, like a shirt and a towel,   a hat, and another buff and socks. I'm also gonna  have a pair of shoes I'll probably change into.   I'm gonna wear my soft grounds for the first half  but I think I'll switch into my Salomon Sense Pro   4's for the back half. And then of course a  little bit of extra food that I'll resupply   at each point. There is food at the aid stations  but I want to have some of my own stuff as well   that I know I'm gonna I'm gonna like and be  craving. I also have a spare set of poles. It's   likely I would only break one if I do it all,  so I divided that up. I have one pole in each   of the two final drop bags. And then as far as my  race kit goes, as I said, I'm going to be starting   with my Salomon Soft Grounds for the first half  of the race before I change into the Sense Pros.   I'm going to be using the Salomon Sense Pro  5 litre pack with a couple of soft flasks. Of   course, I've got my Black Diamond Carbon Z poles.  And then as far as required kit, we are required   to carry a hard shell, a waterproof rain jacket  as well as a buff. And I'm going to bring some   arm warmers and gloves just in case it gets cold  at night with some of the rain that we might have.   We have to carry a space blanket.  We need masks and hand sanitizer.   I'm going to carry a little bit of extra  Squirrels Nut Butter so I can re-lube as needed.   I've got two headlamps. I'm going to use as a  primary one the Fenix HM65R-T which is a really   powerful headlamp. I'm going to use it on the 400  lumen mode. And then as a backup I have a slightly   smaller one, a really lightweight one from  Fenix, just as my emergency headlamp. As usual,   I'm going to use two watches. My primary one being  the Suunto 9 Baro and as a backup I'll have the   Coros Vertix, just to make sure I can get a really  solid track. We have to carry a disposable cup   to reduce waste. Of course, I've got my GoPro and  a few GoPro batteries, some nutrition to start,   along with a bag of electrolyte tablets,  Tums in case I get an upset stomach,   a couple of Advil and a couple of caffeine pills.  And last but not least, I've got my laminated   chart here with elevation profiles and aid station  breakdown here that I can carry with me. So like   Jeff was saying, we'll have three different drop  bags. But I'm also relying on my Dad to crew   me. So I'm actually packing a fourth drop bag for  him to carry around along the course to bring me,   which is super convenient. So the only difference  is is that I'm packing the third drop bag fairly   heavy. I think for me this is where I'll want  to change shoes because I'll be starting with   my Sense Pros. But I find that after 100k or so  my feet start to hurt so I'm gonna switch into   something much cushier and roomier to finish the  race in. At least, I think that's what I'll do.   We'll see how it goes but that's kind of my plan.  So yeah, I've got a pair of spare shoes for very   late in the race as well as a change of clothes  for the halfway point and the very last eight   station just in case. Other than that, I've got  my race kit ready to go and a jacket for the end,   which is probably optimistic. It's still  going to be very warm when we finish.   Audrée used to race canoes growing up in  Quebec, so her dad is no stranger to crewing   for endurance events. But an ultra marathon  would be a completely new experience for him. So since I have the luxury of  having my Dad crewing me this time,   I bought some extra food for him to bring at eight  stations for me which I'm super stoked about.   Sushi, that's always a winner during an ultra,  so we found this big package and both Jeff and   I can have a few pieces here and there.  Got some cold pasta and some watermelon.   We know there'll be a lot of that stuff  at aid stations but, I don't know, I   always feel more secure having a little bit  extra. And of course, Coca-Cola. So that'll   be really nice to have that support. And Jeff's  not really counting on it but it's kind of like   if my Dad happens to be there like he'll help  himself but he's not like fully reliant on it. We did some last minute carbo  loading before walking over   to grab the shuttle to the start of the race. We're just walking over to the shuttle now.  We're going to grab the shuttle at 7:30   over to the start line at Baie - what is it? Baie  St Paul? - oui, Baie St. Paul. - à Baie St Paul. The race starts east of  Quebec City in Baie St Paul.   From there, the course will climb past Le  Massif de Charlevoix. It will then continue   high above the St Lawrence River, before crossing  the highway and dropping down into the canyon back   to Mont Saint-Anne. We'll then summit the mountain  twice, completing several loops on the back side,   before circling back around to the base of Mont  Saint-Anne for the finish. What do you think,   it kind of looks like Chamonix, hey? Yeah, just  like Europe. Just like Europe. Finish line shoot,   minus the crowds. Minus the crowds. Well, so far.  We'll see. There might be a little crowd. There   might be a little crowd, depending on what time  we finish. At two in the morning, I don't know. We're on the bus going to the starting line  and we're gonna get to mostly the middle of   the race. So here we follow the road for a while  and we're just getting to the middle of the race   and then we cross to the other side of the road.  So can't wait to start. That's the halfway point.   On the map, it looks like we were literally on  the road. We're not actually on the pavement. Medical checks were done to check our blood  pressure and weight. These numbers would be   used as benchmarks when we'd be checked  again at the halfway point of the race. We then had about a half hour to kill  before gathering at the start line. Am I going to get into Jeff Pelletier movie  here? You are if you run right - there you go,   now you're in it, now you're in it.  I'm going to watch that clip 30 times. - I'll put it in slow motion  for you. - Appreciate it. Okay, so I'm just over two and a half hours in.  We just passed the first aid station at the 20 km   mark. We've climbed about 1,000 meters so far.  Rolling terrain, a little bit of flat stuff,   but mostly it's been up. It's super humid. My  clothes, my shorts included, are just soaked   completely through. So I drank the the litre that  I started with and I kind of had to catch up with   my fluids there at the last aid station. I drank a  whole bunch of water, electrolytes, a bit of Coke,   took both some water and electrolytes in my  flasks, some watermelon, a handful of pretzels,   a couple other bits and pieces that I  grabbed on the way out, ate while I walk.   I'm kind of going out a little bit harder than I  normally would in the hopes of running some faster   miles here at night, knowing that I'm gonna be  forced to slow down in the heat of the day. It's   not usually the strategy that I would go for  but I also don't normally start at night so   we'll see how this goes. I made a real tactical  error in leaving my Salomon water filter at home.   It's something I've carried with me on all  my races the last couple of years and it   would have made such a huge difference  for me over the first half of this race   with temperatures reaching 40 degrees celsius with  humidity overnight. But Audrée was much better   prepared. Four and a half hours into the race.  I ran out of water about half an hour before the   the last aid station which is a little annoying  but luckily I have a filter. I just passed a creek   and I was able to chug a bunch of water and fill  up again which was a huge relief because there's   no way I would have made it with just the one  litre to the next aid station which will be   just past the 40k mark. It's  already getting lonely out here.   I haven't seen anyone in a little bit. But  this section of trail is actually quite nice   in the trees. Not too technical. No rain yet and  still very hot but so far things are going well. Okay, so we're four and a half hours in. Just  over 32k down and I'm officially out of water.   I'm on some really fun single track here. We  were doing a lot of downhill running for a bit.   We're just climbing again but these first two  legs are pretty tough. There's about 20k between   aid stations. From there on in it gets easier  though, it drops down to like 13k and i think even   shorter in some sections, which is good because  during the day I'll be drinking even more water.   I would have liked to have  an extra half litre at least.   This next aid station cannot come soon enough. So I drank a lot of that last aid station and  managed to catch up on my hydration. I took some   salt pills, I had some coke, a whole bunch  of watermelons, some banana bread, and I   replenished my run food for my drop bag. I grabbed  another flask as well so I've got three flasks,   a litre and a half. I should be well set up now  for the next 13k until the next aid station. We're back into a pretty, I'm not sure I'd call  this a technical section, it's kind of more like a   marshy non-trail trail section. Gotta keep an eye  out for these black arrows and orange QC flags.   There we go. Here's someone else.  I haven't seen anybody for a while. It's 5am now. I just turned off my headlamp which  might be a bit ambitious. It's still kind of dark   but it's getting lighter and lighter. I forgot  how much I love running at night! I went through   the second aid station at 40k feeling good but  definitely hungry. I did not pack enough food   for that first section but I ate a lot and I had  a drop bag. So I picked up a lot of my nutrition.   So I feel much better now and I'm  still moving fairly well. I also   met with our two friends Stéphane and Danny,  so we ran a few km together which was fun, and   met this guy Drew who was sitting on the  side of the trail having a bit of a hard time   about half hour before the aid station, but  he kind of rallied and kept me company for   a bit which made the last couple  hours of night time go by quick. Well I just hit 50k, which doesn't mean much other  than the fact that I've still got 110k to go. I do find that it helps to kind of break down  a 100 miler into these smaller increments and   to celebrate these smaller wins along the  way. You know, 50k or even thinking about   it as two 50 milers, or even four marathons.  Same thing with aid stations. I find that sort   of counting the miles to the next aid station  and celebrating when you get there helps to   give you some short-term goals. Because otherwise,  100 miles can feel like a pretty daunting task. Snickers bar for breakfast? Don't mind if I do. Daytime is here. I put the headlamp away.  Feels good. It was kind of digging into my   forehead by the end there, so it was about  time. I am on the Sentier des Caps I believe   and it is beautiful. Definitely my favorite  section so far. It's very green under the canopy.   It has a very east coast forest feel which  is great. And I am making my way up to   the next aid station which is called Cap Gribane. Almost fell! Looks like our view is mostly fogged in today. Just quick in and out. Refilled my bottles,  my usual, got some coke a bunch of watermelon,   a few things for the road,  some other sugary snacks.   Got rid of my buff and my headlamp. Wait, am I  going the right way? Yeah. And put on my hat here. It's quite technical here. We're always either  going up or down. You can really see where the   elevation gain comes in - in small increments.  So it's quite tough to to get a rhythm. So it is eight in the morning  now and I've got 60k covered.   Still feeling pretty good. It's still beautiful  out here but the trail got a fair bit more   technical. So I am moving a bit slower. There  were just a couple of short but steep drops which   I didn't love, I never do love those, but  that's okay. I'm still in a very good mood   and I got some snacks and I'm good  for water. So yeah, can't complain. Wow. Look at this. It's so nice here. What a treat. That was a funny stretch. I felt really good for  the first half, climbing really strong, in good   spirits. Then I sort of hit the wall a little bit  in the second half. Maybe I'm hungry for some real   food. I might take a few extra minutes here at  this aid station and eat some soup or something. Whoa. Porcupine. Hey. That's cool. That was a good stop at that aid station. I  had half a banana, a few pieces of watermelon,   a couple of small boiled potatoes with  salt, and those went down really well,   a piece of pita bread, a cup of  soup, and some homemade fudge,   along with some coke, a bit of water, and of  course I refilled my bottles for the road.   So I'm feeling a lot better now.  I think I was just really hungry.   And after that long climb to get there it sounds  like we now have a bunch of descending to do here. Can you hear that? It's the sweet, sweet sound  of rain. Cool, refreshing rain. I'm hoping   with this rain goes a little bit of the  humidity and that later I can feel a bit cooler.   For now, this is quite nice  and I'm not getting too too wet   because I'm still under the  canopy here. But yeah, this is   very lovely. There have been thundershowers in the  forecast and I think they've arrived. The sky's   opening up and I can hear thunder in  the distance. So we'll see if that helps   or hurts us. Either way, we're gonna get more  wet than we already are, if that's possible. I just left Cap Gribane or Brigade, I don't  know. I can never get it right. Anyways, next up   Saint-Tite-Des-Caps which is going to  be the halfway point. Unfortunately now   the second place female has caught up to me. She  arrived at the aid station there as I was leaving.   But I'm not surprised that she made some ground  because I was moving pretty slow through that   part. Lots of descent that I didn't like. So  I think maybe she's stronger on the downhill   than I am. It's all good. Still a long race.  I'm feeling good, although I was very thirsty   when I got there. I ran out of water again,  also very hungry, fairly low on calories.   So I took some time to replenish. I  also took some salt pills because,   I don't know, maybe I'm sweating more than  usual. My left toes have been cramping   which is not so fun when you're trying  to run. But I'm in a very good mood and,   at the halfway point coming up  here in another 14 km, I will see   my parents for the first time since I left  last night. So something to look forward to. It's   really coming down. Nice and cool at least,  but we're gonna have some pretty bad chafing. So here's the real rain that we've been expecting  all night. It's been pouring down on me for a good   20 minutes with no signs of stopping anytime soon.  For now, no complaints. It feels very refreshing.   Later, I might get uncomfortable though.  And the trails are getting slick and muddy. This last stretch to the aid station at  the halfway point is just taking forever.   Just when I think I'm going  down, the trail turns back up. Tt starts taking us along a technical ridge and  starts dropping down again, before going back up!   I've got six km to go but I'm just watching the  clock tick and tick, and of course I'm doing   math in my head about what this might mean for  my finishing times, which I shouldn't be doing   at this point. It's too early for that. But man,  I cannot wait to get to the 81 km aid station. Okay, so I just made it to the halfway aid  station. Did my medical check to make sure   I didn't lose any weight. Apparently, I lost  none, so I've been drinking lots of water.   Now I've just got to go do my mandatory  gear check. Okay, now time to eat. Finally made it back to the 138 at the  halfway point. That was a long stretch   again. Almost missed the trail there. I see,  we're going under the highway this time. I was lucky to catch Audrée's Dad there and get  some support from him. But the biggest surprise   is that Audrée came in right as I was leaving  there. She's having a great day, I think a   better day than I am. I think she's second female  and she's looking really good. So that's awesome! Back at that aid station I took  care of two important things. First,   I changed my shoes. The Salomon Soft Grounds had  been serving me well in those muddy conditions.   Now that it's drying up and really just because  we're at the 50 mile mark and the Soft Grounds   aren't really designed for 100 miles. So I  changed into my trusty Salomon Sense Pro 4's   along with some clean socks. It feels pretty good.  The other thing I did was spend a few minutes with   those Porta Potties. I know what some of you  are thinking - way too much information. But   others are probably curious if we go to the  bathroom in 100 milers, and the answer is yes. So that was a pretty good break. So nice to have  my parents there to help me with everything.   Feeding me, cleaning my feet, helping  me change my bra, lube my butt crack. I feel pretty good now. A little stiff, like  my heels of all places. Changed my socks,   cleared out the rocks in my shoes, changed my bra,  but kept the same shirt and shorts for now because   I don't think we're done getting wet. I might  do a full change at the next eighth station,   I don't know. Also, Renée got there a few minutes  after me, the second place woman. But she left   a few minutes ahead of me and she's  right there up the hill right now.   So she seems to be having a good race as well  which is good. I might see her again in a bit.   I ate lots, grilled cheese, sushi, watermelon,  Pringles, drank some Coke. So I feel pretty full   now which is good. I haven't felt that satiated  in a long time. And I think we're about to hit the   famous Mestechibo Trail. I think it will be a  slow going section which is okay because the   last bit was a lot of running, so I'm okay  if I have to walk on big rocks for a bit,   take it easy, and make it back  to Mont-Saint-Anne in good shape. This little section is really  quite pretty so far - and muddy. The sun is really coming out now. It was nice to  have cloud cover because it was much cooler but   this forest is so pretty with the  sun now. I love it in here, wow. I was feeling so good coming out of that halfway  aid station. Then as soon as we started climbing   out of the river valley here, the wheels kind of  fell off again. I think it's the humidity here   near the river. There's no breeze like  there was up there. I just can't seem to   handle the humidity. I don't know if I should  be drinking more water, maybe taking more salt,   or if it's just that it is what  it is and I need to slow down.   But i'll feel good for a few km and  push the pace and all of a sudden   I just hit a wall and have to slow down and  almost stop. So looking forward to getting   out of the river valley here even though it  means getting exposed to the sun climbing up M Good morning. Walking on those bridges kind of  makes you feel like you're drunk.   It's very wobbly. It kind  of goes all over the place. So I have passed the Mestechibo aid  station now and I'm making my way   on this very technical section back to MSA.  So Mont-Saint-Anne is the next stop in about   9 or 10k now. So I will see my crew  there one more time and looking forward   to it. All I can say is that was a really earned five km. I'm just at the Mont-Saint-Anne aid station.  I'm just going to take a few minutes   and   rehydrate. Because   next I've got to climb the mountain and  it's going to be totally exposed. So   I've got to be mentally and  physically prepared for this. I just left the aid station,  we're at about 103-104 km.   So I still have a 50k and some change to run. I just passed the Mont-Saint-Anne aid station.  I got a good help from my crew. My mom and my   dad are still here, and now my older sister  Gabrielle with her two kids Florence and Louis,   and my younger sister Rose with her cute  little dog Pumpkin. I'm not used to having   my family crew like this. I could definitely  get used to it! But I think I did end up   lingering there a little bit longer.  But that's okay. I also got a medic to   cover up my blisters very nicely  because they were really starting   to bother me on the last descent to the base of  Mont-Saint-Anne. It's quite hot. I've started the   big climb straight up to the top of  Mont-Saint-Anne which I think is like 900 meters   straight up the ski hill. So should be  interesting. So I made it to the top. Stopped   for a quick bite at the aid station. Now we have  to drop back down for a second lap, although   not quite all the way, about halfway down, and  then we'll go back up to that same aid station. It's much cooler now. There's a  nice breeze. The sun's going down   so hopefully it'll get a little  bit easier here as we go. Not a person in sight. Where is everybody? This climb is very gnarly. Maybe I'm just tired. I think I'm almost there. It's so nice up here!  It's very windy. You can barely feel the humidity   that I've been dealing with for the past 20  hours. Look at the St. Lawrence River behind me.   It's quite nice. Looks like I've got a few  hundred meters more to go, but I can see it.   And then drop down halfway the mountain  and then I go back up to the summit. Summit one of two of Mont-Sainte-Anne  this evening. It's beautiful. I really, really hate running down ski  hills and this one so steep it just hurts. So I just hit 120 km which means I have 40k  left, or four 10k's. Just four increments 10 km,   even if they do take two hours each. So I actually got lucky at that last aid station.  With Audrée being so close behind me here,   her parents were there and still had some  of the sushi and pasta and things that   we had bought for them to hang on to.  So I was able to actually eat something.   I was so hungry for some real solid food  that isn't sweet so I feel much better now. Now we're just on to the cross country trails  I think for most of the rest of the race here.   It's actually quite runnable. And just like that, it's night time again. I'm  pretty happy with how those two Mont-Sainte-Anne   summits went. Now i'm making my way to the  Berge de Fondeur to the 126 or 128 km mark.   I'm not sure. I'm a bit confused now. Gonna  see my crew just one more time there at the   Fondeur. I also have my last  drop bag there waiting for me.   I need to change shoes. My feet are killing me.  I think my toes need a bit more room. I'm still   in a fairly good mood ,although the energy level  certainly has dropped. But yeah, I'm just trying   to keep moving consistently, not taking too many  unnecessary breaks, and I am forcing myself to   also keep eating enough because it's easy at this  point to feel like you're on the home stretch and   neglect your calories, and the next thing you know  the last 10 or 15k could really hurt me. I know   that Renée, the second place female, is still  not very far behind. I don't know how far, but   not far enough for comfort. So the plan  is to keep moving through the night   as consistently as possible and make it to the  finish in one piece. Finally, it's nice and   cool! There's a nice breeze. I'm climbing like a  champ! Man, I wish I felt like this last night. This is what all those hill repeats have  been for! I feel like I could climb all   night but this is our last climb, then it's  pretty much all downhill to the finish. I'm just finishing up a loop  here. It's about an 8k loop   back to the aid station I just  left about 45 minutes ago. I'm on my way back to the other aid station  we were at before doing this loop. It's 6k,   mostly downhill, with a couple of little  climbs, and then there's just 10k to the finish. That wasn't so bad. It gets much harder to film in these  later stages of a race when you're not   only extremely tired but are just so focused  on one thing. Getting to the finish line. 100 miles. I managed to finish feeling  surprisingly fresh despite,   or maybe because of, a very difficult  50-mile stretch earlier in the race. While I may have been a few  hours off my own time goal,   Audrée executed her first 100 miler perfectly. Only 45 of the 89 runners who started  the race would make it to the finish,   thanks in no small part to the extremely  difficult conditions we faced early on. We're just in old Quebec City, taking in the  sights and doing a little recovery walking. Quebec was originally settled by  french immigrants. My ancestors   arrived in 1641, long before Canada was a country,   having left their home in France for what was  then called New France in search of a better life. Of course, New France, like  the rest of the new world, was   only new to Europeans. Indigenous  Peoples had long lived in the area. By the time that Canada had  become a country in 1867,   the Pelletier lineage had already  lived within its borders for 226 years. Maple ice cream. Audrée, how are the legs feeling? - Pretty  sore actually. I'm not loving these stairs. I grew up in Vancouver, in British Columbia,   and my grandfather on the Pelletier side moved to  British Columbia. My dad was born there as well.   But I've increasingly felt a connection to  my french heritage. It's why I love spending   time in France so much. But since  being with Audrée, I've also felt   a connection to my Quebec heritage as well.  Not to mention, a much deeper love for poutine. We were just up there. -  Oh yeah, Mont-Sainte-Anne. We just found this cool museum. We're going to   pop in here and see if they have  any information on my ancestors.   Shortly after arriving in Quebec, the Pelletiers  farmed a parcel of land here on the island,   before eventually settling on the  southern bank of the St Lawrence River. I'm lucky in that my Dad actually  wrote a book on our family history   tracing our ancestry back  over 500 years to France. So after immigrating here from France  my family lived on the island here,   somewhere around here, but only for I  think about four years from 1663 to 1667.   This map was made in 1709 so  unfortunately it's not listed on here. You find something? So we found a record here. This is my great,  great, great ,great, great, great, great,   great, grandparents who moved here from  France. Yeah, it says here they arrived   1641. And then there's Jean who came with them  and then here it shows all of his kids as well. Our trip to Quebec was an amazing experience and  the event is definitely one I would recommend.   Audrée couldn't be happier with her race and she's  looking forward to a few weeks off from running.   I didn't quite have the race that  I'd hoped or had trained for but   I should be able to recover a little  quicker than I might have otherwise.   It's a good thing too because my racing  season is not quite over just yet.
Info
Channel: Jeff Pelletier
Views: 48,432
Rating: 4.9629874 out of 5
Keywords: trail running, ultra running, trail running documentary, ginger runner, gary robbins, utmb, western states, hardrock 100, salomon running, kilian jornet, backpacking, fastpacking, running, running inspiration, 100 miles, quebec, quebec mega trail, quebec mega trail 100, quebec city, old quebec city, audree lafreniere, salomon, coros
Id: sBAeqpSpzz0
Channel Id: undefined
Length: 68min 34sec (4114 seconds)
Published: Fri Sep 10 2021
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