麻豆社国产endurance athlete Jen Segger continued her strong 2011 season with a third-place finish at The North Face 100 ultra marathon in Australia on Saturday and Sunday (May 14 and 15).
Segger and her Salomon team arrived in the Land Down Under the week prior to adjust to the time difference but a nagging ankle injury she suffered at the Capital Peaks 55-kilometre ultra marathon on April 30 was still on her mind.
"The Capital Peaks was a great race for me," she said. "I broke the women's record by about 10 minutes but I did have issues with my right ankle. A few weeks of it getting worked on and taped was good and I had no issues heading into The North Face."
But perhaps going a little softer on her right ankle proved to be costly as early on into The North Face race, she rolled her left ankle.
"I think I probably overcompensated too much for my earlier injury," she said. "I was second as we got to the second checkpoint but I was in a lot of pain and wasn't really saying much."
Shortly after checkpoint two, Segger captured the lead and managed to fight through the searing pain.
"It was really a case of mind over matter," she said. "I just put my head down and kept running. But when we got to a big stair climbing portion just before the fourth checkpoint, my teammate caught up to me and I dropped to second."
It was after the climb before checkpoint four that Segger was forced to push herself through the pain as she tweaked her left ankle yet again.
"I couldn't really run at that point. I was basically hobbling," she said. "But I realized that I just need to keep my head into the game. In ultra marathons, sometimes it seems like your mind is playing a million tricks on you during a race."
During another long section of elevation gain, Segger dropped to third place and upon reaching checkpoint seven was 14 minutes out of first place and seven minutes behind second.
The final portion of the race was in sight for Segger but she admitted it was a struggle to make it because of her tender ankles.
"I think it might have been the slowest 11 kilometres I've ever run," she joked. "But I hung on and finished third."
Despite the minor setbacks she faced in the race, Segger said she was pleased with how the race went overall.
"It was my goal to get on the podium so I'm happy with that," she said, noting that more than 100 females took part in the race. "It went about as good as I can hope -- so many things can go wrong in a race. I thought for a while that this would be mine but it's still been a great season so far for me."
She finished the race with a time of 12:01:08, a little over 20 minutes out of first place.
Segger will have a busy summer as she plans to compete in the Ultimate XC in Quebec at the end of June and also the Sinister 7, which takes place in Crowsnest Pass, Alta., in July. She will also keep busy in the meantime with her new Challenge by Choice training centre in Squamish.
"I want to keep the athlete Jen and the business Jen separate," she said. "I want to keep racing because that's what I love doing, but the business is going well."
She also wanted to thank the community of 麻豆社国产and her sponsors for their support during her travels. For more information on Segger, visit www.challengebychoice.ca.
