Two Nova Scotia men conquer Cape Wrath ultramarathon
Two Nova Scotia men have successfully completed one of the most challenging races in the world: the Cape Wrath Ultramarathon.
Last month, Cameron Campbell and Matt Hardy ran 400 kilometres over eight days through the highlands of Scotland.
“I love the idea of doing endurance and trail running because it’s about using your mental toughness and stubbornness to do something really challenging,” says Campbell.
The long-time friends signed up for the race in 2020, but had to wait until this year to participate due to COVID-19.
The race has a reputation for being the toughest ultramarathon in the United Kingdom, but this year, the unusually cold and wet weather made the event especially treacherous.
“It was rainy and cold and just really rough,” says Hardy. “The race director said it was the toughest Cape Wrath to date.”
This year, 270 people lined up on the start line, but only 104 crossed the finish line on day eight at the Cape Wrath lighthouse.
Organizers say the finishing rate is usually about 60 per cent, but this year, about 40 per cent of the runners finished. Cameron and Hardy, both age 35, were among the successful participants, but they both admit they were tempted to give up on more than one occasion.
“You're out there for 10 to 14 hours and there were a lot of times when I was like, ‘when I get to camp tonight, I'm going to quit, I can't do this again tomorrow,’” says Hardy.
After each day of competition, participants sleep in tents. They carry their own gear, water and food while running. The daily routes vary in length from 26 km to 72 km, all over treacherous terrain ranging from beaches to bogs to mountains.
“On some days, we were doing the equivalent of climbing a quarter or a half of Mount Everest back to back. It meant you really had to dig deep, mentally more so than physically,” says Campbell.
Both men say they were pushed harder than they ever imagined, but they are already training for their next ultramarathon in Cape Breton this August.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Leafs star Auston Matthews finishes season with 69 goals
Auston Matthews won't be joining the NHL's 70-goal club this season.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
Doug Ford calls on Ontario Speaker to reverse Queen's Park keffiyeh ban
Ontario Premier Doug Ford is calling on Speaker Ted Arnott to reverse a ban on keffiyehs at Queen's Park, describing the move as “needlessly” divisive.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.