To help raise money for MS research a local man plans to run…and run…and run.
Lee Nunnenmacher of Gravenhurst is set to tackle the Ultra-Trail Harricana 125 km race in La Malbaie, QC on Sept. 8.
For Nunnenmache the goal is twofold – push himself to the limit and raise funds for a worthy cause.
“My goal this year is to finish what I started last year,” he says. “I was training all through the winter to attempt a 100-mile ultra. The day before my race I got Covid and just like that, after seven months of training, I was done before I even started. Fast forward to now. I’m ready to try it again. This time it’s a 125 km trail race in beautiful Quebec.”
The scenery might be beautiful but the scenario can only be described as gruelling.
To successfully be considered a finisher, a Nunnenmacher must complete the run in under 29 hours, which means virtually no time for breaks and eating on the go while tackling winding trails along an elevation of some 4,000 m.
This will be Nunnemacher’s seventh ultramarathon (50 km or more). His first taste of running an ultra marathon on a trail route was in 2018 at the 56k distance of the Limberlost Challenge in Limberlost Forest and Wildlife Reserve in Huntsville.
“I do an ultramarathon in June in Niagara which goes from Niagara-on-the-Lake to Niagara Falls and back but it’s mostly flat. I had never done anything like Limberlost before and it was a big learning experience,” he says. “With other runs you can sort of shut off your brain and just run but you can’t do that on a trail or you’re going to eat dirt. Limberlost was a single track with roots and hills to worry about. It was extremely hard.”
Luckily Nunnenmacher has the support of his son William and his wife Kathy Janelle (who is from Quebec) to lean back on as he prepares for his September run.
Nunnenmacher, who works in the Town of Gravenhurst Parks Department, says he began running in 1999 to become a better version of himself.
“I was overweight, completely out of shape and living an unhealthy lifestyle. Having to put in effort, sweat and dedication allowed me to run myself out of misery,” he says. “ It gave me focus and the ability to take myself to places I never thought possible mentally and physically.”
Giving back to a cause like MS research just seemed like a natural fit. Nunnenmacher set a modest goal of raising $1,000 to put towards the cause and within a couple of hours of starting to raise funds he had already hit his target.
“I was absolutely overwhelmed by the generosity,” he says. “I feel like there are a lot of people who have a personal connection with MS. I’m extremely thankful to the community. As soon as I put it out there, people ready to help.”
If you’d like to contribute visit the fundraising page here.
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