Vernon resident and ultra endurance athlete Shanda Hill is seen running in the rain at a race in Italy in October.

Image Credit: FACEBOOK/Shanda Hill Ultra Athlete

Vernon’s Shanda Hill is battling physical injuries and pain, loneliness, sleep deprivation and pouring rain as she nears the end of a Triple Deca Ultra Triathlon, but despite the pain, she's determined to cross the finish line.

“She’ll finish it, she told me if she has to crawl across the finish line she’ll get there,” said her partner in Vernon Jacs Spence who has been connecting on the phone with her twice a day and providing regular updates for the community on social media.

Hill is a world-renowned ultra endurance athlete who began the elite race on Sept. 1 in Lake Garda, Italy, and has since powered through a 114-kilometre swim in 96 hours and a 5,400 km of cycling in 19 days.

She is nearing the end of a 1,266 km run and the end of the race, holding her position in first place among female opponents and fifth place overall, with 150 km separating her from the second-place female for the United States.

“She wants to keep maintaining that lead and she makes sure at the end of each day she doesn’t quit unless she has 150 km between them,” Spence said.

He said it has been raining heavily on the course for over a day straight, which is slowing Hill’s progress and causing her feet to tear while she covers a distance of two marathons per day.

“When you have wet feet and running for that long the skin will get soggy and loose and it’ll tear right off her feet,” he said. “She’s constantly taping her feet up, it’s extremely painful. Right now, every step she takes is like stepping on glass, but she isn't going to stop." 

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Hill recently slipped in the mud and pulled her groin, and has been running with a hip injury from another a slip at the start of the run.

“She’s been struggling with that every day and is in constant pain that makes it hard for her to nap,” Spence said.

The rain is also affecting Hill mentally and adding to the loneliness she is already facing.

“If you could imagine just never being dry and being more tired than you’ve ever been and its raining and miserable,” Spence said. “You’re out there by yourself, struggling with your thoughts. It’s dark and you’re lonely, and you’ve been going for almost 40 days, it’s a constant mental struggle.”

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Hill is also battling sleep deprivation, having a couple of 15 minute naps and a roughly five hour rest per day. During the swimming part of the race, she was sleeping one or two hours per day, and during the cycling roughly three hours. Spence said the rests also include cleaning the tent, getting supplies ready and ensuring her equipment is good order.

During the entire race she has to consume between 5,000 and 10,000 calories per day.

Spence said there aren’t a lot of athletes, volunteers and support crews left around the race to cheer as the athletes reach the finish line. Three men have completed the race with the fourth and last one just about to finish, and four female athletes are still powering through the course.

“As more people leave the handful of people left over clapping at the finish line can be anticlimactic and adds to the loneliness, so she is going to stay there to cheer on the others.”

Upon completing the race, Hill will be the first female in history to complete a Triple Deca, a distance of 30 Iron distance triathlons put together.  

In Vernon, a group of community sponsors, supporters and friends plan to host a gathering to celebrate Hill’s achievements when she returns.

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Hill is the first person to complete three Double Deca triathlons, and also completed the Bretzel Ultra Tri Quintuple in France.

Spence is grateful to sponsors Iron Heart Gym, Rancho Vignola, Hot Bread Shoppe and Monashee Outdoors, and said Hill would like to thank Brad Kelly and Kyla Schleppe, two of her biggest supporters during the race.

“I miss her a lot, it’s a long time to not have her at home, so all of her family can’t wait to see her,” Spence said.

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