It's St. Patrick's Day, a salute to the Irish, but Shanda Hill thanks the love of the red-and-white on her latest ultra athletic journey.
Hill is the only woman competing in the first South Africa Deca Ultra Triathlon in Gariep Dam, a resort town six hours south of Johannesburg. She had the lead in the event coming out of the water and held it until St. Patty's Day Monday, March 17, when she was passed by a male competitor from France.
Even though she's fought sunburn and every part of her body is currently wracked with pain, the Vernon ultra athlete has been buoyed by the non-stop show of love and support from friends and family in Canada.
The latest post on Facebook 鈥� a video of Hill walking along on St. Patrick's Day, sharing her thoughts on the race course 鈥� garnered more than 140 views, 33 comments and 12 shares in just half-an-hour.
"What can I say to everybody following my journey? Thank you. Thank you for coming with me, for being my spirit, for motivating and encouraging me to live my dreams," said Hill. "When my body is telling me to stop, I think about the bigger picture. If you let pain control you, you might as well have stopped a long time ago. You have to embrace it. Pain is part of the process."
Hill's partner, Jacs Spence, has been providing updates on social media. On Day 8 of the race Sunday, March 16, he wrote about what great spirits Shanda was in. But 24 hours later, Monday morning, March 17, Spence said Hill's body was "screaming with pain."
She talked about the challenges of switching from one discipline to another and how the body fights back as muscles try to adjust. Even waking up after a short rest is a battle; everything stiffens, and those first steps feel like breaking through cement.
"The first half-hour of getting my muscles moving again is the most painful experience ever, but you have to grind through it," said Hill. "There are so many highs and lows every day. The key is staying focused on the end game 鈥� the finish."
Hill also shared something that has tested her mentally.
Being in first place in both the swim and the bike is not a position she is used to. There is pressure from behind, knowing strong competitors are chasing.
"Psychologically, it's not a position I like to be in because there's so much pressure from behind," said Hill. You can feel them coming, and you know they are strong. But I have to block that out and focus on what I need to do, keep moving forward."
What started as a field of 11 competitors, was down to eight Monday following injuries and time cutoff disqualifications.
A South African competitor is about 80 kilometres behind Hill on the run.
"Several of the men I have spoken to have told me her performance has blown them away," Spence said on Facebook. "I don鈥檛 think anyone reasonably expected her to come in so strong and dominate most of the race. She told me she was doing her best and that it wouldn鈥檛 make a difference if the men passed her. She is just happy to be out there, living her best life."
With rain hammering down Monday, Hill put on her raincoat and kept moving forward.
"She does not slow down," Spence said. "But not everyone is making it through the race unscathed. This is a brutal test of endurance over massive distances, and anything can happen at any moment."
American Brad Kelly had a brutal crash on the bike, slamming his helmeted head into a tree, damaging an ear and suffering a concussion. He went down again, and withdrew from the race after completing five Ironman distances.
"Brad is an absolute warrior with a heart of gold, and his support for Shanda has been immeasurable," Spence said. "It is heartbreaking that he cannot continue."
Hill's longtime friend, Mike Ward from Guernsey, missed the time cutoff and has been disqualified from the race, as has Cameron Kiloh of South Africa.
"These are both elite athletes, proof of how brutal and demanding this race is," Spence said. "We applaud their incredible effort, something most would never even dare to attempt."
Hill plans to keep improving and will be racing the Brazil Ultra Tri Deca in just over a month.
"We are sending her all the good energy this morning as she keeps running and hoping things cool down," Spence said.
