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She ran past rocks as big as houses, waded sticky mud holes and climbed up and down punishing mountains.
For 24 straight hours, Dawn Glover raced the Rockies’ most rugged, remote and beautiful terrain for the gruelling 161 kilometre Sinister 7 Ultra.
And she came out on top.
“Crossing the finish line, I was overwhelmed,” Glover said.
“It was very surreal.”
Glover was the first woman to finish the ultramarathon and 11th overall with a time of 24 hours, 19 minutes and 44 seconds.
“I had an amazing support crew,” she said.
“My parents came from Colorado and my husband and three daughters were there.
“They were the key to getting me through it.”
The Sinister 7 Ultra starts at Crowsnest Pass, has an elevation gain of 6,400 metres and is split into seven stages.
Glover said the hardest leg was the fifth, a cross-country style run alongside Mt. Tecumseh with big gnarly roots, water crossings, mud holes and repeated climbs and descents.
“It was mentally and physically challenging,” said Glover.
Darkness fell as she made her way into the sixth section, but it brought new beauty to the terrain.
“The stars were spectacular,” Glover said.
And as she finished the sixth leg the sun was rising over the mountains.
Glover said: “What kept me going was knowing that when I got off the course I could sleep, everybody could sleep.”
It was a tough 24 hours for the Jasper mom, but she had trained hard before the event.
Glover, 46, works at the Jasper Dental Clinic with her husband, Randal, and said she trains five to six days a week.
“We do snow-shoeing in the winter, a lot of hiking and climbing, long, long runs, short runs, everything,” she said.
“I have a really great trainer, Tracy Garneau, she made it really fun.”
Glover took part in the 125-kilometre Death Race at Grand Cache last year, but the Sinister 7 was her first 100-mile race.
Now, she is taking it easy.
“I’m good, I’m moving pretty well,” she said.
“I’m just resting and eating.”
