Fredericton woman running 171-km race in Alps

A Fredericton woman is running across three European countries this week for a prestigious trail race in the Alps.

Kelsey Hogan, who is originally from Newfoundland, is taking on the Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc — a 171-kilometre race that crosses Italy, Switzerland and France. 

And it isn't Hogan's first crack at it either. Last year, she completed the race in 34½ hours.

"For a lot of people, this is a bucket list race and a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and I'm feeling very excited to be here for a second time," she told Information Morning the day before the race.

"The energy in town is just electric."

Hogan qualified for last year and this year's race at the same time when she ran in another event in Snowdonia, in northern Wales, so she used last year's experience as a "scouting" one. 

Last year, she tacked the race onto the end of a busy season, so she entered the race a bit more tired. This time around, she arrived in the mountains a week and a half before the race to acclimate and get over any jet lag. 

She also said she now knows that it's important to be patient and save some energy for the race's end, since the easiest and flattest part of the journey is in the first 30 kilometres.

Hogan said she likes to sprinkle other mountain races earlier into her racing season to prepare for this big one.

She did the Quebec Mega Trail ultra-marathon this summer and came second in the women's 100-mile race category. The year before, she won the same race. 

The race in Europe started Friday evening, so the first part of the run is done in the dark, said Hogan. 

For the sections she is running at night, Hogan ran some of them in the daytime earlier in her trip so she was still able to experience the views. 

The race will come with its tough moments — the trail itself is technical, said Hogan. But during difficult times, Hogan said she reminds herself just how much she loves exploring new places and the limits of what's possible. 

"I often talk about, you know, running an ultra-marathon is like living life in a day, and I get to choose to do this and put myself in those difficult, challenging moments," said Hogan.

"And I think that the skills that I learn when I'm out there on the trails are applicable to life outside of ultra-running, too.

"When I encounter those maybe more challenging moments … I get to take some of those skills and know that I've practised them on the trail, too."