Continuing on my thirst for adventure in 2026, I embraced the world of trail running and set my winter training goals to take on my first 100km race. If I tried to tell a prior version of myself that I was running a 100km race, I likely would have slapped myself or at least tried to kick my knees out from under me.
Regardless of the hypothetical and existential nonsense, I locked in my training block on this back in January as I was recovering from SI joint issues that plagued the end of my 2025 season. Taking cues from friends who are strong trail runners, I shifted my focus to include a significant amount more heavy lifting and strength days into my training block. The training went well enough and focused on time-on-feet and incorporated a lot more incline than I have trained in the past.
Course: The course is a 20km looping trail through the Dundas Valley Conservation Area within Ancaster, starting and finishing at the top of Martin Road Hill, in the parking lot and adjacent tent-city for all those runners with their own personal station/crew. The trail is very well marked during the race, as many competitors will be running overnight, for the varying distances involved. While staggered starts are involved, the course will include competitors in the 100mile, 100km, 50mile, 50km and relays of those distances, so in the early laps, it can become crowded, especially at the trailhead. New for 2026, they begin with a “parade” start, looping around the tent-city section to break up the starting groups, to avoid bottleneck starts on Martin Road Hill and the transition to the trail at the bottom. The course includes some road crossings and looped sections with marshals aiding competitors with traffic where needed. It is also an open trail, so you could encounter other users, such as people walking their dogs, however with the volume of competitors, you could miss them if you blinked. All race distances follow the same loop, except the 50km, which includes a lap of the 10km section before following the same route as all the other races.
On-course Support: Including the primary one at the start/finish line, there was a total of 4 aid stations however, you will pass by the last one at the start and finish of the lollipop portion at the end of the 20km loop. These aid stations were all staffed with wonderful people willing and able to help with most of the ridiculous questions that your trail-addled brain could churn out, whether nutrition, course or gear-related. The chicken noodle soup definitely hit the spot, as did well-timed caffeine and of course some music to spread their infectious cheer. Amazing people all around and we could all do with more aid station energy in life.
Additional Support: As this course loops back every 20km, it is ideal for a base tent and race crew to help keep your race on track. If you are running the 100-mile distance, you have the opportunity for a pacer as well. I was fortunate enough to have a seasoned trail athlete help to crew me along with two others in the 100-mile distance. Selene Mallone, Matt Freeborough and their pup Henry, kept me in this race and kept my spirits up in light of what was to come.
Surface: Initially starting on gravel and transitioning to a combination double-wide trail, some crushed stone, dirt, well-placed roots and thankfully very few rocks for the first two laps, this took a significant turn after 40km, as the rains turned everything into either greasy mud, flowing rivers or standing pools of water creeping above ankles.
Weather: This is truly what anyone who ran, crewed or volunteered this race will talk about. While rain was in the forecast for the day, no one was truly ready for the volume of rain (between 25-30mm of accumulation) and the effect this had on the course or the competitors. The temperatures were cool ranging between 7-9 degrees, however with the persistent rain, there were a lot of competitors who were underprepared for the temperatures, with hypothermia being a recurrent theme. If you had planned for the rain, you likely burned through every piece of dry clothing you had, either from the rain, puddles or slips and falls in the mud claiming any ounce of dry fabric.
Atmosphere: Regardless of the weather, this was a celebration of trail racing in Ontario, both before and during the event, with faces and friends reconnecting, smiles, cheers, hugs and of course nervous energy found in any race day. As previously mentioned, the aid station volunteers truly are marvellous, keeping everyone’s spirits up and taking care of you whether you just need to grab-and-go or have to stop to adjust gear. On course, as there are looping sections and competitors coming both ways, there are ample opportunities for cheers and smiles along the way, and chances to check in on friends as they go. Especially with the relay teams, as you’d see fresh legs flying through when you are struggling with the endless mud.
As the conditions deteriorated and DNF rate rose, those runners still on course seemed more positive than ever, vocalising every pass and trying to keep one another’s spirits up. If anyone was struggling, whether from a bad fall or hypothermia, you knew someone would check-in with you before moving on, though as the dark rolls in, the crowds on the course dwindled significantly.
Overall: I was ready for this race, as training went well, my hydration and nutrition was dialed in and I was excited for the event. A pinched nerve in post-tib/sciatic chain that appeared during taper threatened to upset my day but everything felt good at pace.
The first two laps were primarily an exercise in restraint, as I didn’t want to blow my pace up too early and ensure that I was strong for the untested later mileage. Finishing each lap, you hit the gauntlet of cheers at the top of the hill and were announced crossing the line, so anyone who knew you within earshot would call and wave, which was a nice boost.
In the second lap, I chatted with a number of fellow 100km competitors as we all settled into a similar pace towards the end of the 2nd lap and started the 3rd lap alongside Paul Langendoen, trading some fun stories as we went.
This 3rd lap is where the race changed for many, as the rain had already been steady for 4-5hrs and the accumulation was pooling in every low-level section and turning every downhill into slick grease traps. I went down once and had a good slide in the mud, having a few laughs as I tried to peel my mud-soaked gloves off. This move proved to be in error however, as another downhill section a few kilometers later had me slide right off the trail and the only thing I could catch myself with was a thorny bush. I’d have probably laughed if I saw this happen, as I just disappeared for a few seconds and swung myself back into the mud, though now looking like I had lost a fight with a wildcat. Thankfully, the cool temperatures and rain clotted the blood quickly and washed it away. Running through the lollipop, Paul wrenched his knee and after coming across a few of his friends who were all trying to decide whether to DNF or not, he ultimately ended his day while I went to my tent to lick my wounds, change and warm up.
My crew helped warm me up and seeing as I was wavering on continuing (bemoaning the conditions, safety, wanting to avoid injury and continue my season), they dropped a surprise on me that a few good friends from my local running group were just a few minutes out from coming to cheer me on. More hot soup combined with the jokes of the arriving hooligans brought me right back up and back out for more punishment (thanks Ryan Shea, Michael Prates and Brandon Near).
Starting the 4th lap, I knew it was just going to get worse and to just embrace the mud and laugh my way through every slip and fall. Early in, I came across Alejandro Gonzalez and shared a nice chat, losing him for a bit after a string of 4 falls in one particularly deep mud section. For those runners around me though, they entertained with a particularly long fall I took on my backside (8-10m), where I exclaimed I should have brought my thermal blanket to ride down on (I heard some agreement behind me on this). I caught Alejandro shortly after the next aid station, with more laughs through the three sisters back to the staging area, before sloshing to my tent to swap gear once again, knowing I was only 20km from the finish. My cheerleaders and crew were all still laughing it up in my tent and I was surprised they had stuck around with the miserable weather.
Donning my last dry jacket, pair of socks and dry shoes, I did it all with a smile as the jokes continued to flow, restocked and reassured by my crew that this rainforest nonsense was almost over. The whole group chased me out and back to the course where I got at it again for the last time in lap 5.
Running down Martin Hill Road was a slow effort, as while the quads were holding up well, my knee and ankle stabiliser muscles were overtaxed and wanted nothing to do with speed. I came upon Jeff Budeng and Kalil Magtoto, who were exactly what I need on that final lap, as they were equally on the final lap of their 50mile race. Infectious energy and positivity just flowed from this pair and while they both had wildly different approaches to downhill segments, I landed right in the middle. Jeff would take the Fell approach and just bomb down each segment, while Kalil cautiously used his poles to work down. I aimed for Jeff’s line but took a slower pace as both my core and my knees/ankles struggled to keep me upright. I truly had a blast running alongside them but said farewell at the final aid station, as I wanted to ensure I was under the 18 hour limit for the WSER lottery ticket and picked up the pace heading into the lollipop and powering up and down the sisters as the darkness started to really roll in.
The field was a lot lighter at this point, with a larger group of finishers in the 15-16 hour groups and this was likely the longest I had run solo in this race. Being in the dark made it extra surreal, though I caught up to a pair in Alyson Coolen and Katie Mackenzie as we started the final long downhill with only a few kilometers to go. They were doing a pace that my legs liked and I finished the race alongside with them, chatting and laughing our way through the darkness and sharing the combined lighting of 3 runners in the woods.
Finishing later into the evening, I had forgotten that my phone switches to do-not-disturb mode and I had missed a few calls from my crew, checking for proof of life. As such, I finished this race without any fanfare but to be honest, I only needed my own validation that I had stuck it out and persevered over a distance I had previously scoffed at and in conditions that would (and did) sideline many. I later found out that the race only had a 58% finish rate (the 100mile only had a 24% finish rate!).
I found Selene a few minutes later and we managed to snap a few fun pictures at the finish, before I needed to go sit in the tent and warm up. I wish I had gotten more photos along the way but with the constant rain and mud, my phone screen did not want to cooperate for most of the day.
Patrick: 16:51:56 – 98/264
Take aways:
- Body: The training held up to the distance, the nutrition and hydration kept me energised the entire race and only the lateral, slipping and sliding in the mud wore me down. I will need to focus on strengthening my stabilizers further for future poor weather efforts.
- Poles: I had never trained with poles, as I didn’t consider it necessary for the course, however when the course deteriorated into the swamp it became, I wished I planned for the added stability on the downhills (I bought poles the following day).
- Grip / Traction: I need to work on my running technique in messy and slippery conditions to maximise the grip in the mud.
- Mental: I was ready for the effort but not truly prepared for the effect that the weather would take on my inner voice. I was worried about injury after a few of those early falls and potentially ending my season with injury but thankfully the drive to complete what I started persevered. The comradery and general sense of community out there kept my spirits up when they started to slide.
Thank you to everyone who helped make this the adventure it truly was. The race directors (Straw Dog racing), the BRC, all the volunteers who truly braved the elements, my crew, my friends and of course Sue Sitki for the photos taken during this event.
The question then becomes: “would I do it again?“
Seeing as I felt good with the distance and it was only the weather that had a hold on my results that day, I think I have unfinished business at this distance and will be back for another attempt in the future.
As for Soggy Springs 2026, let’s hope for better weather in 2027 😁
