The backyard ultra

Kahnawake’s first backyard ultra, The Meltdown, generated $2,000 for the Purple Ribbon Walk over the past weekend.

The format of the run, a backyard ultra that took place outside Kahnawake Survival School, was that racers would run 6.7 KM every hour, trying to go as long as possible. The winner, Zack Powell, ran for 16 hours, totalling 107.2 KM. He ran from the start at 8 a.m. and lasted until midnight.

The 26-year-old is an endurance athlete and personal trainer who often works with the community.

“A lot of my friends and a lot of my clients were there supporting me. So, I feel like that helped a lot, because they already know who I am. They knew what I was training for and knew what I was preparing for,” said Powell.

Powell enjoyed all the congratulations he received from the community after winning The Meltdown. “I’ve been slowly building ever since 2021 again, starting with a half Ironman, going into full Ironman, going into the ultra Ironmans, and then going into 100-mile races. It feels like it’s just been kind of gradually building,” said Powell.

To Powell, his career has been building on him getting used to long endurance runs like these, to where finally in The Meltdown he could show his abilities. Along with his growing abilities, seeing the people he trains with cheer him on helped him run for 16 hours, he said.

“It was definitely a success, and I think what made it a success was, well, first of all, there’s so much hard work that goes into it,” said organizer Audrey Leborgne. Twenty-three people signed up for the race, with 20 ultimately taking part.

“We had a lot of interest around it. So, if we’re talking who was interested, it was probably a higher number than 23,” Leborgne continued.

The fundraising for the Purple Ribbon Walk foundation was accomplished through shirt sales and registration fees.

“It’s even deeper for my mom. She had breast cancer. It’s a very good cause and it meant a lot to all of us. So, it was really nice to be able to give the donations. We know that they were happy and it made us really happy to do that,” said Leborgne.

“We gave the donation to the Purple Ribbon Walk, but I feel like we also brought in this event that is just going to grow from here. This event itself encompasses health and wellness, and it’s something that’s going to grow for years now, and it’s really nice to be a part of this,” said Leborgne.

“A lot of hard work and time went into it, and it was a success,” said Leborgne.

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