PENHOLD – Jay Klause knows what it takes to push his physical limits and succeed.
The 45-year-old Penhold community peace officer recently competed in two gruelling ultra marathons, known as the Sinister 7 Ultra and the Canadian Death Race.
“For me at first it was just a matter of I’ll try this, and I just loved it so much that the next year I came back and wanted to beat my time and do better,” said Klause.
The two marathons take place every summer in the backcountry of Alberta, often through rugged, mountainous terrain. Sinister 7 takes place in July through Crowsnest Pass in the south, while the Canadian Death Race takes place every August long weekend near Grande Cache in the north.
Klause has competed in the ultra marathons, both solo and as part of a relay team for several years.
He’s attempted both the death race and the Sinister 7 Ultra solo three times, but finished each race just once. He said it’s a testament to the extreme conditions and difficulty of these events.
“They have a less than 50 per cent completion rate,” said Klause. “This is man versus nature. You come prepared.
“You’re out there all on your own,” he added. “It’s you and your preparation against the world.”
Klause said these ultra marathons are an "incredible" learning experience and teach more about yourself and what you are capable of under difficult and often dangerous circumstances.
“On Sinister 7 Ultra I’ve run into cougars, bears and deer,” he said.
“There’s a lot of mental preparation too. The mental portion of it is there as much as the physical.
“When you come to what you think is going to be the end of where you can push, you can still go further,” he added.
“I get to learn more about myself in that 30-hour period than I could ever learn any other way."
The Canadian Death Race is a 125-kilometres route and the Sinister 7 Ultra is now 160 kilometres in length, up from the previous 148-kilometre challenge. Participants in the death race are given 24 hours to complete it, while participants with Sinister 7 Ultra have a total of 30 hours to finish the race.
“I think the point of (ultra marathons) is just to see how far the human spirit can push itself,” explained Klause.
This year his relay team finished the Canadian Death Race in the top 10.
“We finished 10th overall in the mixed division out of 79 teams, which is really good,” said Klause.
Participants for both marathons come from all over the world, including the United States, France, Japan and Canada.
