ATHABASCA — Growing up amongst the abundance of freshwater lakes and rivers in the Athabasca area, Kerri Kanuga considered herself a swimmer in her youth. Now, as a full-time resident of the Cayman Islands, surrounded by sea on all sides, Kanuga has made a name for herself by pounding ground.
“I never thought in a million years, or my entire life, I would run a marathon,” said Kanuga. She completed her first 26-mile race at the age of 40, and in addition to the new form of exercise, she picked up a book on a niche sect of the sport, too.
Dean Karnazes’ Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an all-night runner would be Kanuga’s first introduction to the world of ultra marathons, typically routed through challenging and oft-changing terrain.
“I had no idea people would even run farther than a marathon, so I thought this was absolutely crazy that people could actually run 100 miles,” she said.
Inspired and intrigued by the challenge, Kanuga signed up for the Keys 100 race in Florida, hoping to get started in the sport, but ongoing injuries prevented her from racing and relegated her back to the water.
But Kanuga wasn’t deterred from pushing herself athletically; after finishing a 20-kilometre swim around the island of Key West, she heard the story of a local family struggling to find cancer care for their young daughter.
“It was just this outpouring and heart-wrenching story of a father,” said Kanuga. “So I decided that what I would do for my 45th birthday was do a fundraising event.”
By way of a six-mile swim, followed by a 106-mile run across the island, she raised more than $50,000 for the cause, and forged a path she is still traversing today.
Fast forward to 2024, Kanuga, now 54, recently crossed the finish line of Badwater 135 — a 135-mile race through California’s Death Valley and widely considered one of the most difficult races in the world — for the seventh time, a feat less than 30 athletes in the world have accomplished.
Out of 2,000 annual applicants, only 100 athletes are selected to run the mid-July race, infamous for the extreme temperature conditions during the height of summer. Those 100 competitors are further divided into three categories: fast, faster, and fastest.
“This year was particularly challenging for a few reasons,” Kanuga told Athabasca Rotarians during an Aug. 14 presentation to the club. “I had a little bit of imposter syndrome — this was the first year I was actually chosen to compete with the elite athletes, these are the people I read books about.”
“I’m looking to my left, looking to my right, and thinking, ‘Oh my goodness, I’m about to be trampled.’”
The extreme heat combined with humidity from a rare rain in the valley to culminate in a heat index of 170 F — or a sweltering 76 C. In addition to the temperatures, runners had to face a swarm of bees at the top of a mountain pass after a truck hauling hives overturned in the area last November, leaving much of its live cargo behind.
Kanuga was one of 76 athletes to complete the race this year, coming in twelfth spot among the ladies and mid-pack overall. In all previous six marathons, she secured a top 10 spot amongst the women.
And little more than two months after finishing Badwater 135, Kanuga will be racing in another, even longer ultra marathon: the historic 153-mile Spartathalon across Greece, routed in the footsteps of Athenian runner Pheidippides, who sought Spartan help defending the city from the Persians in 490 BCE.
Kanuga will be one of 400 runners participating in the event, and one of two athletes representing Canada. In 2023, she completed the race under the Cayman Islands flag with 31 minutes to spare before the 36-hour cut off, and this year she hopes to make her own piece of history by being the first Canadian female finisher.
“I’m very excited to be waving the Canadian flag,” Kanuga told Rotarians in August. “They didn’t invite me to the Olympics, so I guess I’ll do this,” she added with a laugh.
Along with making Canadian history, Kanuga hopes her participation in the Spartathalon will further a good cause close to her heart and both of her homes. In addition to her training, she’s focused on raising funds for the Cayman Heart Foundation after being touched by another story of a child in need.
“When I was home last Christmas, one of my friend’s grandson’s is looking to get his second heart,” said Kanuga. “It obviously broke my heart, and I just started asking around (Cayman), and of course there’s a need here.”
She hopes to add to her fundraising total of more than $250,000 collected for different charitable organizations over her running career. Though she’s aiming to make a difference for Cayman Islanders dealing with heart health issues, she noted those in different parts of the world should consider donating to foundations or causes in their local areas.
“It’s awareness,” said Kanuga. “When you think about cancer, you think about breast cancer, and these other charities just don’t necessarily get the attention they need. Heart disease is the number one killer worldwide, full stop.”
After the Spartathalon, slated for September 28-29, Kanuga already has her sights set on more ultra marathons in 2025. In January, she hopes to complete a 150-mile race in Brazil, a continuation of her ‘Running from the Heart’ campaign with the Cayman Heart Foundation.
More than speed, Kanuga said her mental grit, a bit of stubbornness, and an appreciation for a challenge allows her to push through step after step, mile after mile, race after race.
“It’s a calling,” she said. “We’re made to do hard things, right? And life’s pretty cushy otherwise, I can go to the grocery store and get everything I need.”
In spite of dealing with common ultra running symptoms like hallucinations on the trail and never seeming to have all her toenails at once, the extreme athlete from Athabasca doesn’t have any plans to slow down in the near future.
“I’ll run as long as I can,” said Kanuga. “I’m running so well at the moment, I’m faster now than I’ve ever been — well, maybe last year was a little bit faster,” she added with a chuckle.
“I’m just going to exhaust this, and when I can’t run anymore, I’ll get back in the water.”
