By Brad Herron
The Eagle
Running a 160-kilometre race takes incredible determination and a touch of madness, admits a Cochrane runner.
Martin Parnell, a member of the Red Rock Runners, has entered in the 100-mile Lost Souls race in Lethbridge. After completing two shorter ultra-marathons this year, he isn’t sure what the extra distance will do to his legs.
When the race begins at 8 a.m. Sept. 12, Parnell will have 36 hours to complete the course. Even though he has his doubts, Parnell thinks he can complete the race in 32 hours.
“Will I need a sleep? Will I take a break? I have no idea. I am going to keep going and just see what happens,” Parnell said Sept. 4.
In May, Parnell started the 100-km Blackfoot Ultra Marathon in Cooking Lake, Alta., and more than 13 hours later, he “staggered across the finish line.”
Looking to extend himself even further, Parnell challenged the 125-km Canadian Death Race at Grande Cache. Out of the 171 solo entrants, 82 finished. Parnell was one of those that survived the “battle of attrition.”
“I had nothing left, nothing,” Parnell said. “My legs were done. I had to go to the car, which was probably 120 metres, and I could hardly do it. The bizarre thing is the last 100 metres I sprinted in, but then done, absolutely fried.”
The Death Race was the first time Parnell had tried his hand at night running — a “different world.” When the sun disappears and the course goes nearly silent outside the pounding of feet — unlike many long-distance runners, Parnell eschews I-pods — he finds solitude and joy. During a race, Parnell will often slow on hilltops to garner a glimpse of the scenery and connect with the nature that brought him from Ontario five years ago.
The 52-year-old’s strategy is simple: keep moving. He doesn’t plan to take a nap or remain unmoving or sit for very long — something that can prove difficult while eating or performing certain bodily functions.
“I’m trying to plan it, but it’s a long time, it’s 32 hours. Who knows if the body will hold up.”
To ready his body for the race and avoid hitting the “wall,” Parnell trains steadily. Although he doesn’t run the week before a race, he usually runs 100 km a week for three weeks, followed by a lighter, 40-km week.
Although he admits “when you first start, that first kilometre will kill you,” Parnell started with one-km and two-km runs, eventually progressing to the level he is at through encouragement from his wife, Sue, and the running group.

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