Medicine Hat's own Keith Harder completed a 200-mile ultramarathon in less than 61 hours, earning the win at the Divide 200 this week in the Crowsnest Pass.--SUBMITTED PHOTO
zmason@medicinehatnews.com
Keith Harder, a dedicated runner from Medicine Hat, took top spot in a 200-mile ultramarathon race in Crowsnest Pass this week.
The Divide 200 race spanned several days starting Sept. 12, and saw runners gain more than 12,000 metres of elevation over 322 kilometres.
Harder, a father to two daughters aged 6 and 8, began running in 2017 while recovering from back surgery.
“I started with walking, and then I just started jogging a little bit, and over the next year or two I worked my way up to the Red Deer marathon in 2019,” Harder told the News on Wednesday.
After his first marathon, Harder discovered trail running, completing his first 50-kilometre race near Swift Current in 2021.
He ran several more 50-kilometre races before moving up to 100 km in 2024 and then a 100-mile – or 160-kilometre – race after that.
“Every year I’ve taken one step forward in distances, and seen if I could still do it.”
Harder began last week’s race on Friday morning at 8 a.m. He ran through the first night, stopping for his first wink of sleep at 2 a.m. Sunday. He slept for about an hour before continuing for another 17 hours to complete the race Sunday night.
He was the first to cross the finish line, just under 61 hours after the race began.
“It’s hard to believe that I could finish it, let alone win it,” said Harder. “More than anything, I was just happy that I ran it successfully and did my best out there.
“Winning is always nice. But you only win because nobody was faster than you on that day, so it’s a little bit of luck.”
Living here in Medicine Hat, Harder has to be creative to train for mountain races like this one.
“Most of the time, I’m just running out the front door and over to Kin Coulee, and up and down all the different paths that lead in and out of the park,” he said. “Just using what we have to practice. Running up and down the hills to get in that elevation gain.”
He ran seven days a week, averaging roughly 550 kilometres each month, to prepare. He said the payoff is about more than just a race, but an experience as well.
“I saw the sun go down three times while I was out there running. It was an adventure, more like an expedition than just a race,” he said. “At the end of it, I had to ask my wife how the Blue Jays played the last three days – so much had happened since starting the race that it didn’t even seem real. I had been out there so long I had to shave again.”
Harder has another race lined up for the spring – a “backyard ultra,” a type of race where competitors must run 7 km every hour for as many consecutive hours as they can handle. The last one standing wins. It’s a category he’s won once before.
As for whether he’ll do another 200-mile race in the future, Harder says it’s on the table. One adventure, he says, leaves you wanting another.
