A Quebec ultra-marathon runner is preparing for a nearly 8,000-kilometre run from the most southern point of the United States to Quebec鈥檚 Gasp茅 Peninsula.
Joan Roch, 49, is known for running more than 1,000 kilometres from Perc茅, Que., on the eastern tip of Gasp茅, to Montreal in 2020.
Roch, who lives in the Montreal suburb of Longueuil, Que., said he plans to leave for Key West, Fla. on Feb. 23.
From there, he plans to follow the Appalachian mountain range to in Forillon National Park.
He said he plans to run an average of 52 kilometres a day in order to finish the run in five months.
The planned route, which will take him along the Florida Trail, the Appalachian Trail and the International Appalachian Trail, is 7,745 kilometres long, he said, 鈥渂ut I鈥檒l probably get lost enough to reach 8,000 kilometres.鈥�
While some parts of Gasp茅 are particularly arduous, Roch said he鈥檚 more worried about Florida.
鈥淚t鈥檚 flat, there鈥檚 going to be heat, humidity, it will be swampy,鈥� said Roch, who has never been to the U.S. state. 鈥淎ll these particularities don鈥檛 make the route reassuring, because I don鈥檛 know it at all.鈥�
And that鈥檚 without mentioning the alligators, which he said worry him more than black bears.
Food will be the biggest challenge for Roch, who plans to travel lightly, using a tactic called fastpacking.
鈥淚鈥檓 going to have to eat 6,000 to 8,000 calories a day, and that鈥檚 something I handled very poorly during the Perc茅-Montreal (run), I didn鈥檛 eat enough,鈥� he said.
Another challenge is not knowing how his body will adapt to running for such a long time.
鈥淭he big difficulty is that there鈥檚 no way to train for this, you have to do it, because the adaptations will take place over several weeks,鈥� he said.
Roch, who turned 49 last month, said he wants to show that people can take on wild projects no matter their age.
鈥淵ou might think that I鈥檓 training non-stop. Yes, I train more than average, but I鈥檓 not an Olympic athlete, I have a full-time job, I have three children,鈥� said Roch, who works in information technology.
He said he believes that anyone could reach his level if they want.
鈥淚t鈥檚 clearly not age that鈥檚 a factor, it鈥檚 the will, the discipline to train every day,鈥� he said.
That鈥檚 the message of his two books, 鈥淯ltra-ordinaire: Journal d鈥檜n coureur鈥� and 鈥淯ltra-ordinaire 2: Odyss茅e d鈥檜n coureur.鈥�
鈥淒espite an ordinary life, you can still add the extraordinary, the ultra, to your daily life,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n my case, it鈥檚 running, but it doesn鈥檛 matter what you set out to accomplish.鈥�
Roch鈥檚 spouse, Anne Genest, a well-known Quebec author, said she鈥檚 an enthusiastic supporter of the run.
鈥淚 was immediately drawn to his project,鈥� said Genest, who is also an ultra-marathon runner and plans to join Roch for his first week in Florida.
鈥淥ur relationship works like that,鈥� she said. 鈥淓ach of us is fuelled by projects.鈥�
Johanna Pellus, The Canadian Press
