Time to enjoy what France has to offer for a bit.
Vernon ultra athlete Shanda Hill successfully completed the Bretzel Ultra Tri Quintuple Consecutive Champonship race in Colmar, six hours east of Paris, Friday, June 28.
Wearing her Canada race top, draped in a Canadian flag, and blowing kisses to her support crew as she crossed the finish line, Hill completed the event in 106 hours and 44 minutes, beating her personal best record set in 2016 of 117 hours.
She completed the 19 kilometre swim, 900 km bike ride, and 211 km run to place 21st out of 44 competitors, and sixth out of 11 women.
All competitors had to complete the week-long race by Sunday, June 30.
On her Facebook page (Shanda Hill Ultra Athlete), her support team wrote that Hill's energy levels were high on Thursday, despite blistering sun with some cool rain sprinkled in. She was sustaining herself with water and fruit, and every 10 to 12 laps, she would stop and cool her feet to avoid blisters.
On Wednesday evening, Hill accidentally fell asleep for three hours while putting on her socks from sheer exhaustion.
"That sleep must have lit a fire in her because she's hammering out the kilometres and feels confident that she will finish...," wrote her crew.
Hill also expressed through her team her extreme gratitude for the mega-support from home.
"This race is far out of her comfort zone, as she has been conditioned to run up to two-to-four times the distance of this race," wrote the crew. "We are all very proud of her hard work in accomplishing this esteemed race with a brilliant roster of athletes — the best in the world."
Hill will take the summer off from competing, and for good reason. She will prepare to return to Europe in September for the Triple Deca in Italy, the longest triathlon ever held by the International Ultra Triathlon Association.
Hill will swim 114 km (Vernon to Penticton), bike 5,400 km (Vernon to Halifax), and run 1,266 km (Vernon to Moose Jaw).
