“I had a lot of turkey sandwiches. I ate about eight or nine of them.”
Alongside a few other things, that’s what it takes to run 141 kilometres in less than a day – a niche sport at which Yellowknife’s Eman Lamvu is quickly becoming a pro.
Before last September, Lamvu was a former collegiate soccer player who had never done anything like this. Then he took on the Somba K’e Backyard Ultra at Yellowknife’s ski club and became hooked.
The format of this kind of race is simple, if exhausting: run a set loop once per hour. If you finish within the hour, rest for the remainder of that hour and then run the loop again. As long as you keep beating the hour cut-off, you can keep running. Last one running wins.
Despite virtually no experience – Lamvu did also run Yellowknife’s Frostbite 55 this spring, an unusual feat as it’s a 55-km skiing event – he just came second at the Sunshine Shuffle backyard ultra in Whitehorse, breaking a record in the process.
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He completed 21 laps of the 6.7-km loop, meaning more than 21 consecutive hours of running. For the last four laps, he pushed Whitehorse runner Lindsay Knezevich all the way before she eventually took the title, adding an extra lap for 147.4 km to Lamvu’s 140.7.
Race director Brad Heron confirmed the race started at 10am on Saturday, May 30 and ended at 8am on Sunday, May 31, describing the battle between the final two contenders as “incredible to watch” in terms of who would drop out first.
“To be able to push Lindsay and also break the record on the course was definitely a really cool experience,” said Lamvu, who understands the Sunshine Shuffle record to have stood at around 122 km before this year.
“I ran that first race in September and it was a lot of fun, then saw this one and thought I might as well give it a go. Friends and family have been supporting me throughout and telling me I should think of making a career out of this, especially since my results have only been running since September.”
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Lamvu sees this form of ultra running as an outlet for his competitive drive that he has missed since his college soccer career ended.
While he’s not sure which event is next, he’s excited to keep refining his approach to an unusual race format.
“People go about it very differently. As soon as I sat down [each hour], I would start chugging electrolytes,” he said.
“Throughout it, I told myself the race would really start at the 100-km mark. I had goals and then, once I hit that goal, I had a different thought process to try to get to each marker, because every loop is a battle.
“Unfortunately, I didn’t have any caffeine – and I think I might try that next time.”
Jasmine Nasogaluak and Dieselle Ford contributed reporting.
