Bromont 80k, fourth finish in 2025!

 

October 18, 2025 was my fourth 80 finish at the Bromont Ultra, my 6th attempt (2 DNFs, one in 2018, one in 2023, both on VERY rainy days). My first 55 was in 2016, and my second 55 was in 2019, after a training injury that required I cut back on the race distance.

 

This year's training was weird, I trained very hard from January to April for the Ile Ste. Helene Half, took a break in May for vacation, and then got back to work after that. It was a very hot summer which I find difficult, and then in August I got a flu/cold that made long runs or tough workouts difficult. I managed to get a few long trail efforts done, but nothing more than 28kms or 4 hours.

                                  

Honestly, after last year where the last 20kms were dragged down by some intense toe pain, I wasn't even sure if I wanted to race the 80 again. I didn't sign up until June! But better to have a spot than to be on the outside, right?

 

This year felt different from others. I was in pretty good shape, but I wasn't raring to go for big Back to Back weekends, and even a 10k on the road seemed like hard work. No matter, Bromont is a different energy, you take your gels and drink your water and go one step after the other.

 

 

 

I was experimenting in training with homemade gels. Commercial stuff has become so expensive, who really wants to spend 20-40 dollars for a several hour run? Doesn't make sense! Mixing your own is pretty easy but I never got quite the consistency I wanted in time for Bromont. I had tried the Naak hydrogels, with 25g of carbs and they are neutral flavoured  (a little sweet) and they go down easy, no need really for water. No caffeine also. This was something I really wanted to emphasize this year, as caffeine-free a run as possible. In previous years I'd be taking a GU Roctane or so every hour, so by the end of the race I've had anywhere between the equivalent of 20-25 Nespressos...by the end of the race I'd be wired, and my stomach would be a bit hollowed out. So a week before the race I ordered 24 of the Naak gels and decided that I'd take some solid food as well, where available.

Shoes!! Last year the ON Cloudsurfers were fun to run in but after 50 or so kilometres my second toes got so banged up they both turned blue and fell of exactly 30 days after the race. They were so painful when I picked up Sophie at 63kms that I couldn't run. So I knew I wanted to do the 80 again but I had to solve the shoe issue. I had tried on some New Balance Hierro v9 trail shoes in the summer, but I wasn't ready to commit. I wound up ordering the La Sportiva Prodigio Pro that EVERYONE was raving about and yes, they are a great shoe. I ordered one size up as is recommended, but I think that was a smidge too big. The arch of my foot hit in just the wrong place and the ball of my right foot was getting a little strained.

 

I also found a pair of Norda 001 on Facebook Marketplace half a size up ($75, great price!) that were actually very nice! But the pair I bought just didn't feel right for an 80k.

 

Finally I went back to Boutique Endurance where I had tried the New Balance, and I got a pair there. Sadly, they were BRIGHT NEON GREEN, not the muted olive shade of the original pair I had tried. Didn't matter, when a shoe "feels like home" get it!

The weather was looking good! We had experienced a very dry August and September, so I was worried that the rain would come and never stop for October, but that wasn't the case. There was a bit of rain preceding the 18th, but just enough to keep the dust down.

 

In the two weeks preceding the race I became VERY germ paranoid! I am normally pretty cavalier about germs but in 2018, that cold ruined my big day, and after the cold I got at our company Christmas party in 2024 which was no joke I wasn't going to take any chances! I stayed away from people as much as possible, rested and ate well.

On Thursday the 16th I decided to carb load! I never do that. So I ate little bowls of pasta all day long. By the end of Thursday I was sick of pasta, so on the Friday I turned to bagels, which I enjoy more. It's funny, overeating carbs which I typically try to avoid, made my head spin and made my sleep very troubled! But I was committed!

 

Friday afternoon, I drove to Bromont with my gear, my Nespresso machine and some pods, and a few bagels. I had somehow managed to get a one-night stay at Studiotel Bromont which is my all-time favorite place to stay in Bromont. Parking is right in front of your door, so efficient, and there is a little kitchen!

 

Bib pickup was super efficient, I got to visit with the directors, the coordinator and the co-founder. If I don't get a selfie with Gilles Poulin it's a bad year! Such a nice guy, and his ten years of running the race has done so much for so many. He was the only one at the finish in 2021 because of the pandemic. He retired from actively managing the race, which I'm sure is a huge relief for him, but he's still around. It wouldn't be the same without him!

 

I went to sleep just after 9pm, woke up a bit, then managed to sleep some more until about 6am. My race began at 9am. I was a little worried about getting parking at the base camp so I arrived around 730 which was perfect. Having Base Camp inside a real building is a nice change from the tents of yesteryear.

 

Honestly not much to say about the actual race. The carb loading seemed to make a big difference in my early race energy! Huge improvements in the flow of the racers this year. Only 80 and 160k racers on course on Saturday, which was GREAT. After the 27km water stop, I was jogging on the gravel road chatting with another fellow when all of a sudden my ankle turned inwards, sharply! It felt sprained! What?? On the road? I must have stepped on a rock or something...I stopped and tightened my laces A LOT, no way I was stopping for this!

The P7 aide station (36km) used to get two visits per runner and this year after climbing the ski hill and noodling around the the range up there, we were directed down to Lake Bromont and there was a full aide station at 50kms! This change really improved the logistics at P7, as it was kind of chaotic there last year. 

 

Because of my half marathon training and the strength training that I was more committed to this year, my posture and core were stronger than ever, and the road running sections (and some climbing sections) were faster than ever! I hit about 5 PBs for Strava segments, which I was trying to do on road sections, but I was surprised that I did better on climbs.

 

Once past Lake Bromont it's pretty straight ahead, cross the road, up the hill, up some more, into the forest, out onto the grassy ridge with the AMAZING night view and then back down to the pavilion through the dark forest. Then over to Bromont ski hill to pick up David, my very eager pacer and friend!

 

David has never participated in an ultra  and so was having a blast enjoying the vibe of the aide stations and base camp. He was super happy to drive to Bromont and accompany me on a 16.5km night run with some very difficult climbs in the dark! Off we went chatting like it was any other long run. He made sure to grab my poles from me when I was fueling, and I kept apologizing for walking so much, but he was just content to be out on the adventure!

 

We finally got to the base of Lieutenant Dan, formally known as La Pretensieuse. It is a very steep, long, technical climb that on the old course was somewhere around the 10km mark in the race. The last two years it has been at the 75km mark! So quite the challenge! My personal best for that in daylight is about 23 minutes. Last year was 36 minutes and this year was 40 minutes! I had no shame in taking lots of breathers! Once Dan was done, I breathed a sigh of relief..but wait! The course design made for a very technical descent for a lot of the last 5k! Wow, didn't remember that from previous years, but David and I gabbed our way down and ran to the finish line at 12:59:33am...it was very quiet but a few volunteers were cheering! I was very happy - I cut 44 minutes off last year. Mostly by not taking off my shoes or dawdling at aide stations. Also being faster everywhere (obviously).

So this year's Big Win was having the right shoes! One little blister on my second left toe (normal), but zero black toes, and the only sore spot was on top from Lace Bite, having cinched those suckers down big time.

I used my trekking poles A LOT, so my triceps were a bit sore for a day or three after the race.

 

My legs and ankles were swollen until about Thursday, pretty normal I guess.

 

So I am now super keen to go back at it next year, as a 65-year old! Bring it on!

 

Porchfest 2024

Hudson 5 Jazz Quintet

Musicians:

Geoff Mitchell - piano
Robert Burman - guitar
Nic DiLauro Trumpet
Andrew Skowronski - Tenor Saxophone
Stewart Gunyon - electric bass

Lady Bird (1939)

Lady Bird is a sixteen-bar jazz standard by Tadd Dameron. This "celebrated" composition, "one of the most performed in modern jazz", was written around 1939, and released in 1948.

Tadd Dameron was one of the most influential pianists and composers of the bebop jazz era spanning from the 1940s to 60s. 

Lady Bird is a very "happy" song, and one of my favorites - Stewart

Simone (1977)

Frank Foster (1928-2011)  (saxe, composer and arranger) wrote this tune. He was a mainstay in the Count Basie Orchestra during the 50s and 60s.Simone was written in 1977. It's our first of several tunes in 3/4.

Cheryl (1949)

Written by the great alto saxe player, bandleader and composer Charlie parker, Cheryl is a classic 12 bar bebop tune. Typical complex melody and rhythms! 

Parker was a highly influential soloist and leading figure in the development of  bebop, a form of jazz characterized by fast tempos, virtuosic technique, and advanced harmonies. He was a virtuoso and introduced revolutionary rhythmic and harmonic ideas into jazz, including rapid passing chords, new variants of altered chords, and chord substitutions.

Song 3 (2024)

Written by our very own Geoff Mitchell. Song 3 is a modal 3/4 tune.

Geoff has played piano most of his life, and some of us have had the honor of playing with him

for over 20 years.

Nica's Dream (1954)

"Nica's Dream" is a jazz standard composed by Horace Silver in 1954. It is one of many songs written in tribute to jazz patroness Pannonica de Koenigswarter.  The song was first recorded by the Jazz Messengers in 1956, and has since been recorded by many other artists. It features jazz melodic minor harmony with prominent minor-major 7th chords. Its first studio recording by Silver was on the Horace-Scope album.

Minor Threat (2024)

Another fun composition by Geoff Mitchell in A Minor in a 6/4 time signature!

Up Jumped Spring (1967)

Up Jumped Spring” is a tune written by the great trumpeter Freddie Hubbard. It’s a waltz with a beautiful melody and it’s a lot of fun to play! “Up Jumped Spring” is a fairly common jam session waltz so this is definitely a good one to know. This tune is most commonly played in the key of Bb major.

Sea Kayak repairs and upgrades

So it's 2024...I have owned my Impex Force Cat 5 since 2009. She is a solid boat and we have had a lot of fun together. I managed to develop a chronic heel injury last summer training for Bromont, and I have not run since January 1st. So my warm weather sport will pivot back to kayaking. That means repairs and upgrades for rhe old girl!

First, the skeg wire needs replacing. There are a handful of blogs out there from 10-25 years ago discussing this procedure.

I visited The Boathouse in Dorval, a sailing equipment store and purchased 2.5m of 1 x 19 Stainless 316 cable. Size was 3/32". The almost equivalent of the OEM of 3mm is 1/8", but I read that 1/8" is y fat and may have trouble travelling in the sheath.

Ordering this wire online is very expensive. Locally it cost me $2.75.

I removed the skeg with a rubber mallet and it popped out. I measured the wires together, and the replacement is notably thinner. At least that's how it looks. Hoping it works!

I got out my heat gun and applied it to the epoxy where the wire joins the skeg. Using a screwdriver I eventually removed the epoxy and original wire.

Then I backed the existing hole with duct tape.

Discussing this procedure with my friends at The Boathouse we agreed that G35 epoxy was the best choice. So I mixed a bit and applied it to the hole once I had slipped the wire in the top hole.

I also applied some G35 to the hole that the guide rod in the slider fits into. It has been annoyingly popping out...I'm not sure it's built that way! Hopefully that takes and my skeg toggle doesn't pull it out anymore.

 

Next day:

The G35 has set and I installed the wire and popped the skeg back on with my rubber mallet. I clipped a bit off the end of the wire at the toggle.

The glue on the rod held....I tightened the toiggle screw and my skeg is working like new!

Bromont Ultra 80 thoughts

 Do something long enough and there's a good chance your mind and body (if it involves that) will know what to do when faced with a major and unprecedented challenge.

Never give up. Never!

Eat every 40 minutes (or stick to whatever plan you made).

Don't be a negative thinker.

Assume you have successfully completed the challenge weeks, days and hours before you have even started.

When you're tired, eat and drink.

If you are cramping, stop and stretch and relax, that will pass.

Your loved ones, colleagues and friends want you to succeed!

Be kind and helpful to fellow runners (humans in general), it might make the difference not only in that moment, but in their day, and quite possibly their life.

Being able to run alone on a trail on private property surrounded by forest with sun filtering through is possibly one of the greatest things God could give me. Hour after hour.

So those were a few thoughts that I had post race that I didn't want to forget. And now, looking ahead, the question is, do I repeat? I know I can do it now, and the fact that I'm a year older doesn't phase me in the least. In fact I think I can be stronger and faster in 2022. The best thing about an injury from overuse and unbalance is the reperative exercises that fix said injury and make one stronger.

The 80 isn't scary like it was before, because I have completed it once. The question now that I have completed it once is, what training aspect needs to be emphasized the most? Previously I was most terrified of the first 10kms, and it was all downhill after Lt. Dan, the ominous climb that takes me about 30 minutes every time. But now that is just a distant memory. The slowest and most difficult part of 2021 was the last 30kms. Mostly because they were all  in the dark. My headlamp gave up after three hours, at the 65km aide station, and I continued at a fast walk on technical trails, up and down for 3 1/2 more hours mostly holding my iPhone! The water my crew had put in my hydration bladder was local water and tasted horrible, so I ditched it. Little things like that had an impact.

So how to improve? Get strong so night RUNNING not power hiking is possible. Get a new headlamp.

Nutrition and hydration were perfect as far as I can tell. Shoes? Maybe a different shoe, one that doesn't make huge bubbly blisters on my fourth toes of each foot.

No chafing or other issues.

My core needs to get a lot stronger. So maybe 4-5 run days a week and 3 solid core workouts. Can I keep to that?

Strange, but I am now a Coureur des Bois Bronze!

Well the Canadian Ski Marathon was great! I missed the giant fireplace at the Chateau Montebello, and the 4:30 am school bus ride, and the beautiful scenery of the countryside rolling by me mile by mile. I missed the fiddle band playing next to the waxing station and the free chocolate milk being handed out by the milk producer. 

I also missed having to ski 80 kilometres on back to back days, which was kind of nice!

I showed up at the Sucrerie de la Montagne in Rigaud at 6:40am Saturday, February 6th, and began skiing the Escapade loop clockwise. I had brought hot honey water in a thermos, BBQ chips, Chips Ahoy cookies, granola bars, an apple and a Caramilk bar. And plenty of water.

I had waxed blue, as it was about -9, warming to -6C with overcast skies. I hoped the ski trails would have been freshly cut, but they weren't. It had snowed Thursday, and there was enough heavy loose snow that Rigaud didn't think they'd be able to set new tracks. Unfortunate, but there you go. I needed some kind of challenge!

The day was uneventful except for slipping on the ATV/Snowmobile track and landing on the arm I broke in 2015, one of the reasons I had hesitated to ski....I felt a small but sharp pain...hoped it wasn't anything serious, and continued skiing (it wasn't serious or painful later on!). I also fell much later on going downhill, some loose snow messed me up, but that fall was nothing also. Once I had completed 3 loops, I heard a voice in the parking lot. My friend Bryan, himself an accomplished ultra athlete had showed with his skis to accompany me on my last 8 kilometres! I was in no mood for being social but Bryan gets that, and a few silly remarks later I was grateful for his company, and off we went.

The Finish Line of day one, was Bryan way ahead of me, stopping to let me finish with him and telling me he was proud of me, which was kind of cool! At the "real" CSM, there is an announcer who calls your name. I missed that this year!

My time wasn't outstanding, but it was a finish, good enough for 2020! 7 hours, 10 minutes. Remember I have trained all of 35 kms for this event, and not been on skis since 2015 for a total 28kms.

It's funny, at the CSM your whole focus is recovery, wax, and the next day.  This year, I got home, went to the barn with my daughter, made dinner, waxed my skis and turned in at a decent hour!

Sucrerie Parking at 5:58am, Sunday morning.

Sunday morning I was able to start earlier, this time at 6am. I was tired, stiff, and the trail was dark, and cold, -14C. I plodded around the loop, this time counterclockwise (the big hill had destroyed me the day before...three times!).

Pretty soon I ran into my friend Olaf Knutson, doing his second day of Gold Bar #1, with his pack on. He was going the other way, and I was dedicated to my direction, so we moved on alone, instead of skiing together. Olaf had skied his first day at Whitlock Golf in Hudson, starting with 15kms with his 10-year old son! He slept out in his backyard. Tough!

As I completed my first loop, my running friend Donalda showed up, followed by Bryan. She had brought her famous homemade cookies, and a McDonald's Apple Turnover...what a treat! 

She was dressed to run, so off we went, the three of us. Almost as soon as we left the parking we came across another Gold Camper, none other than CSM President, Sylvain Parent! So cool, we chatted with him for a bit and kept going. 

Then we crossed Olaf again. I was starting to get a little frustrated, all this socializing...I needed to ski! At the beginning of my third loop, Bryan and Donalda left me and my friend Andrew showed up. He and I had done the CSM touring together in 2014 (2x50kms) and play jazz together as well (he's an amazing tenor sax player!). So off we went, chatting and skiing.

It seems the new trend in these shared use areas is to set ONE pair of ski tracks and leave the other side groomed for walking, snowshoes and fat biking. That's okay with me, except it's hard to chat. Used to be we'd have parallel tracks and we could chat while we skied.

Oh well. The 14kms went quickly enough, although I was getting slow and the ski tracks were getting really bad after a weekend of very heavy use. 

Andrew left me after his loop, and I hit the trail for my last 8kms, which went quickly enough...turned my watch off at 50.1kms, good enough for bronze...this year!

Funny, I have run so many kilometres since 2015, ultras, half marathons, thousands of kms in training, so the cumulative effect on my body of 100kms of Nordic skiing was very minor. Slightly sore elbow extensors (the left one creaks!), and two "almost" blisters on my big toes. That's it. I slept great, ate like a horse, and of course enjoyed the warming up process!

Someone started a Facebook group for the Virtual Canadian Ski Marathon and it has been like a fireside chat as skier after skier posts their photos and stories from the day. People from Quebec, Ontario, Alberta, and Vermont so far! Better than nothing, I'd say, the CSM is successful in large part because of that sense of community.

Will I attempt the Silver next year? If the snow is as good as it was this year, sure! 

Back to the Canadian Ski Marathon - 2021 Virtual Edition

 I haven't cross-country skied since 2015. Or so my Garmin tells me. All I remember is doing the 2014 CSM Touring with friend Andrew (2x50km days) in absolutely perfect conditions, and completing the 51km Gatineau Loppet the week after. No Chateau Montebello, no 3am wakeup, standing in the cold for hours waiting for the Bronze start, no fretting about whether the snow would be intact for the event. I think I was mildly traumatized from my two Bronze attempts. Cold weather, tough weeks in advance of the event trying to find time to train, it was all too much. 

Finishing day 1, CSM 2013

I decided to focus on running, which has been a lot of fun. I broke my arm in 2015, tripping on a trail run in August. So the thought of slipping my wrist into a ski pole and then busting it all up again falling scared the crap out of me. So all my skis, gear, wax etc rested in the basement.

Fast forward to 2021. Two of my running friends (Olaf Knutson, CdB Gold and Bryan Amyot, local athletic legend)  started skiing almost every morning at 6am. The Town of Hudson started laying real x-country tracks at Whitlock Golf. So one afternoon in January I found a pair of skis that appeared to be in decent shape in my basement and drove over to a little park near my house that accesses the golf course. 

I had fun! My technique isn't horrible, and my fitness is better than it was in 2012-14. A lot better, even though I was 52 years old then and I'm 59 now.

I forgot how to connect my boots to the bindings. Yes. AND, I spread grip wax in the glide zone. They still worked!

It was brought to my attention that the Canadian Ski Marathon is going virtual this year (like every other outdoor race!), and I could get a Bronze Coureur des Bois medal by skiing two 50 kilometre days back to back. For $79. Any day within a one month window, as long as the days are subsequent. Well, I took the bait (while drinking alcohol!).

I have decided to do my loops at l'Escapade in Rigaud, to at least have some semblance of a challenge. Refuelling will be easy out of the trunk of my car, every 14kms. 

Since returning to the sport I have gone out 5 times so far, for a total of only 35kms, but I'm running also, and stretching a lot.

Here is my Strava page:  https://www.strava.com/athletes/6235221

Installing a Bumfortable Kayak Seat Part 1

I have owned and Paddled an 18' Impex Force Cat 5 sea kayak since 2009. The seat has been a never ending source of discomfort and dissatisfaction for me the entire time. The built-in, screwed in seat tilts my lower back downwards, and the ridge under my thighs cuts off my blood and my left leg is usually numb after twenty minutes.

The control I get from this seat is great, the balance is perfect and the kayak is a joy to paddle in any conditions.

I have tried many different ideas to get comfortable. Different backbands, seat pads, cushions behind my lower back and even an inflated thermarest pad under my thighs. I tried carving a seat from minicell a few years ago but that was horrible.  What to do?

I had read about the Bumfortable seat, made in New Zealand. I finally ordered one, but at $230 shipped I'm thinking this is it - if this doesn't fix it the kayak has to go.

It arrived very quickly from New Zealand, I was surprised how quickly it arrived.


The instructions call for cleaning your hull with alcohol and sanding it a bit. Easy enough. The instructions recommend gluing the seat to the hull with either "No More Nails" or Contact Cement.

In order to get the seat placement correct you have to determine where your sit bones land in the original seat by putting water on the original seat, and marking where the middle of the puddle is (as close as possible). Then you put the Bumfortable seat in the boat, put some water in it and try to match the middle of the puddles to where you measured before.

I took great pains to measure exactly where the seat would rest. There are water channels underneath it,  so you want to glue where the seat makes contact. I tried lots of positions in the boat, keeping in mind that the amazing control I have in the boat has a lot to do with the overall design, especially where my butt rests!


I started with No More Nails ($10). I glued the seat to the hull, and left it overnight in my warm garage.

Next day I took the boat out for a paddle and about 5 seconds after I sat in the boat the seat came loose and slid to the back, It was also very unstable. I beached the kayak, moved the seat forward a bit, and gingerly paddled back to the parking.

I scraped the No More Nails off the bottom of the seat (it's very slippery, that was easy) and out of the boat. It came out quite easily.

Next was the Contact Cement (another $10). This is a bit trickier, as the bond is instant and there is apparently a right and wrong time to press the items together for gluing. So when I was ready, I applied glue to both the seat and the hull (cleaned up, of course). I waited about 15 minutes, then pressed the seat in.

I left it, and went for a paddle a day or two later. Once again, the seat peeled out when I was done!

The contact cement was a lot harder to remove from the hull. I had to buy Acetone ($13). Even with that, it was quite a chore to scrape out the cement.

It occurred to me (and I had read somewhere) that thigh support is critical in keeping the seat in place. I bought two yoga blocks ($20), as recommended by a member of a Facebook Kayaking group I'm in. I haven't used them yet. Meanwhile, I took the foam thigh supports off the OEM seat, and glued them to the Bumfortable. One stayed on, one didn't. I used screws and washers to hold that one on, with more glue.

Next, I tried what the manufacturer of the Bumfortable doesn't recommend. Velcro!

I bought a few boxes of 15lb 1" thick Velcro. I laid two strips on the hull, and put their matching halves on the seat.

I figured out that the only way to squeeze the seat into place is by placing paper over the bottom Velcro, sliding the seat on it, then pulling out the paper so the seat makes contact in the right place. This is powerful Velcro!

I took it for a paddle, and with the thigh support, the boat handles well, but for this test paddle I had placed the seat too far back. But it stayed in place, and I had better contact with the boat thanks to the thigh supports.

I think the seat is higher than the OEM seat, I should be more stable just sitting in the water. They say one can shave foam off the bottom, but that scares me. Once you take foam off, you can't replace it!

More to come, as I must perfect the thigh braces and fit the seat in eactly the right place. I'm thinking of taking the OEM seat out for a paddle, just to remember how the boat SHOULD feel!