Joey Payeur
For many people, the thought of racing five or 10 km is a bit beyond their grasp.
To do it in the middle of January, in a place reputed as the coldest spot in the lower 48 states during winter, is way beyond their concept of rational behaviour.
But the 31st-annual Freeze Yer Gizzard Blizzard Run, which features five- and 10-km races in conjunction with “Icebox Days” celebrations over in International Falls, continued to defy the odds and grow in popularity all at the same time.
“I took part in the first one in 1980 and it was a small field,” recalled Fort Frances resident Ted Brockie, who at the tender age of 63 braved the elements for roughly the 10th time in the 10-km portion of the event when the runners departed the starting line on Saturday.
“Now there’s several hundred taking part each year.
“People travel from all over the continental U.S. to take part in it because of the reputation International Falls has as the ‘icebox of the nation,’” Brockie added.
A number of Fort Frances and district residents have participated in the event and did so again Saturday.
Their motivation to put themselves through the challenge of loping their way through Mother Nature’s most bitter time of the year varies from person to person. But for Brockie, dealing with the cold isn’t even the biggest issue.
“If you get warmed up pretty good and are dressed properly for it, the cold isn’t even that bad,” he remarked.
“For me, keeping my footing on the icy surfaces is more of a problem.”
That being said, Old Man Winter has put a damper on the event in the past by unleashing his savage fury.
“About 20 years ago, it was minus-40 the morning of the race,” recalled Brockie. “There was no five-km race at that time, but the organizers abbreviated the 10-km run to five kilometres for safety reasons.”
It wasn’t that vicious outside this year, although temperatures were hovering around the minus-20 C mark for the better part of Saturday morning.
Brockie said preparing for the event has become easier throughout the years, thanks to increased training regimens combined with modern technology.
“You can work out hard throughout the spring, summer, and fall,” he noted. “And if you go to that trouble, you’re not going to let things slide in the wintertime.
“With things like treadmills today, you can get in the work to stay in shape and you don’t have to go outside if you don’t want to.”
One of Brockie’s favourite memories is of Fort Frances resident Bill Michl, who pulled off an amazing double effort during the event several years ago.
“Bill went out and ran the five-km race and won it,” noted Brockie. “Then he turned around and went right out and did the 10-km race, and ended up finishing in the top five.”
In this year’s two races, which featured almost 300 runners combined, Serena Sullivan of Hibbing, Mn. proved to be the queen of speed.
Sullivan captured the women’s title in the five-km race in a time of 21:59, then pulled off the impressive double by taking the same honours in the 10-km event in a clocking of 43:38.
Kyle Smith of Wright, Mn. was the overall winner of the 10-km race (35:03) while 15-year-old Cameron Economy of Victoria, Mn. surprised the five-km field with a winning time of 21:03.
