Marathon
Strides Against MS
Join
the Adventure of our Midnight Sun Marathoner - John
Huisman
JOHN’S
MIDNIGHT SUN ADVENTURE
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John
Huisman / Age: 59 / Time: 4hrs. 55 min. /
Placed 2nd in men / Placed 4th overall
Midnight Sun Marathon Run, Arctic Bay, Nunavut -
June 30, 2003.
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To
say it simply – it
was a “blast!”
The
Midnight Sun Marathon was held in Artic Bay, Nunavut, on
June 30, 2003. Artic Bay
is a small town at the top of Baffin Island, location some
750 kilometres north of the Arctic Circle (3,000 – 3,500
kilometres north of Toronto). This marathon is described
as one of the most challenging in the world because of its
hills. And while that is true, those hills also make it one
of the most scenic marathons with views of distant snow covered
rock massifs, cliffs, tundra-type landscapes and ice covered
bays.
The weather was cool but
nice, with temperatures ranging from 0 degrees C to +10 degrees
C. It was especially nice to see the Arctic wildflowers bloom
for a couple of days while I was there. With the difficult
growing conditions each plant blooms once every six years.
There was a total of only
eleven runners participant in this marathon, two of whom
were ultra-runners who did the marathon distance twice! The
United States runners came from California, Texas, Virginia
and the Canadian runners from Nunavut, Quebec, Ontario and
British Columbia. One of the runners had completed 150 marathons!
This one was my second.
Shorter distance races
for the local adults and children were also held on July
1st, 2003, as part of Canada Day celebrations. They included
a fish derby for scalpins (a catfish/blowfish-type fish caught
in the cracks of the ice) and other games.
I
climbed a mountain the day before the marathon with one of
the other runners. Not
such a smart thing to do, but we didn’t have much time
there and we just had to see the view from the top! It was
worth the risk – the view was unforgettable.
The day after the marathon
I took a walk over the ice to cliffs two hundred meters high,
rising straight out of Adams Sound. Magnificent!
By the way, I finished
fourth in ta time of four hours and 55 minutes. The time
was good for such a challenging run, but a rather unimportant
part of the whole experience.
The idea for this trip
started ten years ago. It was well worth the wait. What a
different life style to experience! What a thrill to visit
yet another part of the splendid country we live in! What
a pleasure to be part of such a special group of people,
the organizers, the runners and the small community of Artic
Bay.
In
closing I would like to express my thanks to the good people
in Toronto at the
Bank of Montreal (SAMU), Chaitons and Torkin Manes Cohen & Arbus
law firms, who kindly contributed to my fund raising efforts.
Not only did your support help me raise over $1,000 for multiple
sclerosis – Marathon Strides Against MS, it has
added an extra incentive to keep me going and complete the
run of a lifetime.
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Runners
plus a few local runners and
Mountie just prior to start of run
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Formal
group shot of runners
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View
from mountain of the Hamlet of Arctic Bay, Nunavut
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