ST. PAUL – The annual Iron Horse Ultra 100 brought runners from across the province and Canada to St. Paul on Sept. 30 and Oct. 1. Of the 200 athletes who registered, 32 came from communities within the Lakeland, including St. Paul, Bonnyville, and Elk Point.
Athletes ran the ultra race either solo or as part of a team. Racers had the option of tackling a 100 km route, or 100 miles of continuous trails in the St. Paul and Elk Point areas. Many new runners were present at this year’s event.
Among the newest participants was Kyle Lentz from St. Albert. Lentz ran the 100 km solo for his first ever Ultra event. While he’s not new to the running scene, he has done Spartan obstacle course races in the past. Lentz also participated in the Spartan World Championships in Abu Dhab.
Lentz said the colder temperatures experienced over the weekend helped him get into “the groove,” and he was thankful it didn’t rain during the race.
“The scenery was awesome too... lots of nice views... so it was really good,” said Lentz.
Overall, he finished second clocking a time of 11 hours and 51 minutes, tailing Colin Amyotte of Cochrane, who finished with a time of 11 hours and 46 minutes. When asked about his finish, Lentz said he wasn’t concerned with his time.
“Going into this, my goal was just to race myself and I just wanted to finish."
Lentz thanked his wife, Kayla Potvin, who was in charge of his nutrition during the race. “I’m too stubborn. I would just try to run the whole 100 km without anything on my back, but she was persistent. I stopped and ate and hydrated.”
He also thanked his pacer, Steven Najera who supported and pushed him on the last leg. Without the support, Lentz said he may not have made it to the finish line.
Lentz encourages others interested in running to get involved in events like the Iron Horse Ultra.
“Take the time to try and do things like this... so that one day, you’re going to look back and you’ll not regret doing it.”
Lentz said his fondest memories come from being part of the running community.
Madison Malech from Cold Lake was also a first time Ultra runner, and shared Lentz’ sentiments.
“The best out here was the camaraderie and how well everybody treated us,” said Malech, reflecting on the race. “I missed a couple of turns and everybody behind me told me... so that was very helpful,”
He said the reason he participated was to see if he could push himself beyond his limits.
Malech believed his limit was 80 km - at best. But, Malech finished the 100-km trek in sixth place with a time of 12 hours and 50 minutes .
“It was a great event. Everybody was super friendly here... super supportive... and overall, a very positive event,” said Malech.
Monique Poulin, the race director, said she’s thankful for how the event has grown over the years.
The goal was always to have 200 runners, which is the maximum capacity that race organizers can control, and to finally meet that goal “feels really great,” said Poulin.
She thanked all the sponsors for the event, as well as all the volunteers. She also thanked St. Paul and Cold Lake search and rescue teams who volunteered to be on the trails, ensuring the runners stayed safe.
