As a 2:18 marathoner and BMO Vancouver Marathon champion, I wouldn’t actually take into account myself a path runner in any respect. So after I signed up for my first extremely, the 50K at 2025 Québec Mega Path (QMT), I knew I used to be venturing into utterly unfamiliar territory.
QMT is called one in all Canada’s most technical path races, and this yr, it additionally doubled because the Canadian Path Championships within the 50K and 80K distances. The humorous half? My path operating journey began after I got here third at Ontario’s Chilly Half Marathon (a highway race) in March and received a path operating vest as a prize. I figured if I had the gear, I would as properly discover a race to make use of it.
Residing in Mississauga, a Toronto suburb crammed with flat roads and gentle rolling hills, my prep was coaching on native trails, just like the Kelso Conservation Space in Milton and doing a single future on the Bruce Path. Don’t do something I simply informed you. It was my greatest remorse. I used to be utterly humbled by the elevation acquire and loss at QMT and realized too late how way more hill and mountain-specific coaching I wanted.
Regardless of that, I by some means survived, ending 18th general. Right here’s what I discovered.
It’s not all operating
One of the vital stunning issues? I used to be solely operating about 20 per cent of the time—the remainder was mountain climbing, scrambling and making an attempt to not fall. Path operating calls for fixed consideration to course markers, technical footing and sudden modifications in terrain. It’s much less about rhythm or tempo and extra about how properly you’ll be able to adapt to totally different terrains.
Early within the race, I used to be operating close to the entrance with two different runners who ended up taking a mistaken flip. That’s when the actual problem started. Round 7 km in, we hit the notorious Mestachibo part, the place the paths changed into vertical climbs and descents, generally utilizing ropes. It felt extra like mountaineering than operating. At one level, I bought rope burn on my wrist whereas climbing down a steep rock face. Later, I needed to cross two shaky suspension bridges and took a tough fall on my arms and knees after tripping on a root.
The mountain broke me
Round 18K, we reached Mont-Sainte-Anne. This was the place I started to see different runners round me drop. It was greater than only a climb—you’re mountain climbing via rocks, mud and steep ascents that felt countless. The actual punishment got here on the way in which down: steep, rocky descents that pressured my legs to brake exhausting, making the downhill pounding even worse than the climbs.
By 35K, my legs have been trashed, and I rolled my ankle after stepping awkwardly on one other root.
Hitting the wall
The final 15 km felt like a lifetime. My legs cramped on each small incline, and I needed to cease a number of instances to stretch or shake out my legs. After I reached the ultimate help station with 8 km to go, I used to be nonetheless within the prime 10, however the river crossings (sure, precise wading via water) and fixed uphill battles left me fading quick. My coaching in Mississauga’s Erindale Park actually didn’t minimize it—in the event you’re planning to tackle QMT, discover a mountain and practice on it. There’s no substitute.
But, regardless of the ache and undertraining, crossing the end line and formally changing into an ultramarathoner is one thing I’ll always remember. I’ve by no means been as sore after a race as I used to be after QMT. However the end line environment, filled with cheering spectators, stay music and runners from the 80K and 135K races coming in, made it one of the vital memorable race weekends of my life.
I’m unsure after I’ll run my subsequent extremely. However in the event you’re a highway runner trying to strive one thing totally different, QMT is the one to do. Simply be smarter than me and practice for it correctly.
Sergio Raez Villanueva is a Canadian-Peruvian long-distance runner, having represented Crew Canada internationally. He has been operating marathons since 2022 and is the 2024 BMO Vancouver Worldwide Marathon champion. He works as an oncology analysis supervisor at Toronto’s Princess Margaret Most cancers Centre and volunteers as an endurance coach on the Mississauga Monitor & Discipline Membership.