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From Marble Mountain to the Alps, this Steady Brook woman loves crushing a challenge

A woman from Steady Brook finished in the top 25 of the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc ultra-marathon in France this month.

Kelsey Hogan runs ultra-marathons professionally — and just conqured the Ultra-Trail do Mont-Blanc

Jenna Head · CBC News ·
A woman dressed in athletic clothing stands on a raceway with arms stretched high. People line the sides of the track.
Kelsey Hogan of Steady Brook, N.L., was the 25th woman to finish the Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc, a prestigious race through the mountainous terrains of Italy, Switzerland and France. (Submitted by Kelsey Hogan)

From Steady Brook, N.L., to France, one woman is making ultra-marathons look easy.

The Ultra-Trail du Mont-Blanc ultra-marathon stretches over 175 kilometres through the mountains, trails and valleys of the French Alps.

The race has a 46-hour cut-off time, but Kelsey Hogan finished the race with hours to spare, finishing in 25th place overall for female runners.

"This is an incredible race," Hogan told CBC News on Tuesday. 

Moving nearly the entire time, Hogan finished the race in 29½ hours with only a 30-minute break at the designated rest stops to refill her water and recharge.

"Other than that, it's just trying to move forward as steadily as possible," she said.

Hogan, an ultra-marathon veteran, knocked several hours of her time of 34½ hours in last year's race.

"I knew as soon as I crossed the finish line last year that it was a puzzle I wanted to keep working on and figure out," Hogan said. "I spent a lot of time preparing specifically for this to be able to cut five hours off of my time from last year."

Lots of training is required to compete in an ultra-marathon. Hogan said growing up a swimmer and a runner on Newfoundland's west coast helped prepare her.

Mountain with blue ski lift surrounded by grass and trees.
When visiting home, Hogan uses Marble Mountain to train for upcoming ultra-marathons. (Colleen Connors)

"I think growing up in Corner Brook, the idea of being a professional ultra-marathon athlete was never on my radar as something I even knew was possible," she said.

When she visits home, Hogan trains on Marble Mountain, using it as a frame of reference for the races she competes in. 

"From the bottom to the top of Marble Marble, it's about 500 metres. Running hills like that at home when I'm training is really important," she said. 

Grateful for the community that supports her, Hogan is already planning her ultra-marathon season for next year. 

"To be coming from Steady Brook, Newfoundland, and competing at this level on the world stage just is completely life-changing, and I'm so grateful to be able to do what I love," she said.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Jenna Head

Journalist

Jenna Head is a journalist working with the CBC bureau in St. John's. She can be reached by email at Jenna.Head@cbc.ca.

    With files from Newfoundland Morning

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