Local runner climbs equivalent of Mount Everest twice in seven days

For some people, going for a run would be the furthest thing from fun. For Nick Brash, the idea of running the height of Mount Everest was something he saw as not only fun, but exciting and challenging.  

Two weeks ago, Brash competed in a virtual race called the Limitless Vertical Challenge, run by a well-respected running promoter out of Arizona. 

“Run Steep Get High (Aravaipa Running) decided to put together a race like I had never seen,” he said. “With many races around the world getting cancelled due to COVID-19, so many companies were putting together their ‘virtual events’.”

He said that many of the races were similar to what you would expect on a regular race day in person: judging who is the fastest at a selected distance. But this race was different. 

“They give you seven days to accomplish as much vertical elevation climbing in this time period. This resonated with me as I am not a fast runner. I’m usually decent at long distances but the best part of my running game is hill climbing. I seem to have a talent for this. In this contest there were six levels of achievement but all I saw was that the race ends at level six. Climbing the equivalent of Mount Everest two times over seven days. I had a conversation with my legs about how we could ration this out and not kill ourselves and decided we would sign up and try to prove that Northern Ontario could compete with mountain runners in Europe, British Columbia and the Rocky Ranges of the USA. Ontario is not flat. It was my goal to prove that,” he said. 

Brash ran the challenge on the Old Landslide Ski Hill. “It’s the only place that could facilitate the kind of elevation gain required to reach the finish line. A 0.92 km loop with a sharp descent and a near 70 per cent incline climbing up the old chair lift back up to the top. I calculated it would take 273 total loops of this route, just over 36 km and 2,550 meters of elevation gain per day to achieve the double Everest goal by Sunday’s contest end.”

According to Brash, the hardest part of the challenge was trying to beat the intolerable heat of that week, and the black flies. The only way to avoid these was to do the majority of his running in the dark with a head lamp into the early morning.

“It was an incredibly cathartic experience watching the sun come up inch by inch for seven straight days. Transformative even. Your head tends to wander on challenges like this and maybe I was going a little bit crazy but I swear I could feel the earth moving under my feet,” he said. 

The 41-year-old decided to start taking running seriously when he had his first physical in 2014 and weighed in at 275 lbs. 

“The doctor told me I had two choices. Get diabetes, or make a significant life change to avoid that fate. I decided to start running a little bit each day and developing a new healthy routine to ‘outrun’ the diabetes was my new purpose in life,” he said. 

Brash says that running has allowed him to form a new partnership with his body. 

“I made a promise to my body to take care of it and in turn it has rewarded me with some of the greatest sights I have ever seen in my life. When you accomplish difficult challenges in running, it prepares you for dealing with life challenges with more confidence,” he explained.

“There is a meditative state you go into while running, some call it ‘the zone’ where at times you can feel like a finely tuned machine. Other times you feel like a broken down ‘95 Nissan Sentra, but with running, it’s always about the pursuit of the zone. Sometimes you get there, sometimes you don’t but at the end of the run, you’ve accomplished something difficult. I like to do hard things to make others seem easier.”

There were 973 runners in the Limitless Vertical Challenge, inclusive of runners all across the world doing this challenge on a treadmill, on trail and a combination of both. With 42 hours moving time, 255 kilometres covered and 18,243 metres climbed (59,872 feet), Brash managed to place 24th overall amongst all runners, and 13th amongst runners who ran only on trail. 

Brash would like to thank his friend Jon for making several batches of his world famous vegan beans and for being a constant motivator for him. He would also like to thank Jules, Steve, Mark and Ken for their contributions all week. 

“This was the hardest challenge I have ever attempted and at times it was more the mental than the physical challenge that was the most difficult. Representing the Sault and competing amongst runners from all over mountainous areas of the world was an absolute honour for me. I am very proud to have put Northern Ontario in the conversation as an elevation destination,” he said. 

The results of the race can be viewed here:  https://www.aravaiparunning.com/limitless-2020-virtual-results/