IF Four Seasons Member – Kelly Ogilvie’s ‘Death Race’ Experience
As we all know, the best way to challenge yourself and jump outside of your comfort zone is to select a destination that you never thought you could truly complete. With only a couple months to vigorously train, Innovative Fitness Four Seasons Member Kelly Ogilvie signed up for the Canadian Death Race – a 125 km relay race in Grand Cache Alberta with over 17, 000 feet of elevation.
Kelly faithfully followed her training program, went above & beyond to prepare, and wanted to share her experience running the 38km leg of the relay.
At the very beginning, I felt fit, strong, and overall super ready for the race! I started my 48 km leg at 3:30 pm, so it was incredibly hot. The first hour flew by and I climbed the steady uphill to the first check-in point. At this point, I had sweat dripping off of the tip of my visor, so I was a bit worried about my hydration! From there, I could see the summit which looked alarmingly far away! I calmed myself down as it flattened out and I started to run – a few minutes later, I passed a runner who I knew was the lead female soloist – she was feeling badly, so I walked with her for a few minutes. She told me to get my butt moving and keep running! The climb turned into a very steady switchback slope which was a scramble for about 15 minutes – at this point I had passed two more runners. I saw an official who told me I was about 50 minutes from the top! I headed down and 30 minutes later, I was on top! Totally unexpected! I ran down the ridge to the check point and was told that I was the first female to the summit all day! It took 1 hour and 54 minutes for me to get to the top! I was SO excited, this was a great boost for me, and I felt amazing! I ran across the top and started down. The next 1hr 20 minutes was up and down, I ran and navigated myself through the wet and humid trail – it was like running in an oven.
There was another huge exposed uphill ridge in the sun and I felt a bit nauseated and short on water, my legs felt achy and tired. I was extremely relieved to get to the aid station at kilometer 22. Here I got water and ditched my bag for the 5km ambler loop. I downed about half a litre of water when I got there and since I had ditched my bag, I felt like I was flying again. Ambler was downhill for 2km and then straight uphill on a single track for the last 3km; split about 30 minutes, so that was fine for me. After the loop, I retrieved my bag and started on an 8km section along a mining road. I left with refilled water and a bag of chips in my hand. I had finished the ambler with no one behind me, meaning I was at least 30 minutes ahead of the people I had passed. I finally relaxed again and I felt like I was floating – it was just awesome! I kind of got lost in my thoughts, eating my chips, when I saw some people in the distance – it was my team! They started going nuts! I was almost done! There were high fives and crazy screaming and yelling as I ran by – only 2km left! They had been tracking my race and had to leave their dinner in a hurry because I was going way faster than they had thought! They jumped in the car and met me at the transition and before I knew it – DONE!! I was the 9th person to cross the finish at leg 4 (soloists and relay runners); and the guy that had passed me was about a minute ahead, I nearly caught him! I was pretty happy to have done well for the team! The guys were so excited!
Kelly’s Official Results:
Goal: Complete her leg in 6 hours
Actual Time: 4:44 (4th of 66 females and 17th of 217 racers)
Team: 6th of 217 teams (2nd for the co-ed teams)
After a couple days of rest, Kelly is back and training for the Goodlife Victoria Marathon on October 12. She has also signed up for next year’s Whistler Ironman. Way to go Kelly!
To find out more information concerning the above or to come try out the services at Innovative Fitness contact us at
Brian McGrath,
Facility Manager
Innovative Fitness – Four Seasons
