World-class ultramarathoner comes home

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This article was published 24/05/2024 (487 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Ihor Verys was looking for an outlet, a place to burn off some of his pent-up energy during a challenging time in his life.

Born in Ukraine, Verys was in the midst of a significant culture shock when the pandemic hit and the seclusion of feeling alone in a new country was difficult to deal with.

Verys was living in Brandon and attending school at Assiniboine Community College after moving to Canada nearly a decade ago.

A large Ukrainian population in the Westman region certainly helped the transition to living in a new country, but getting involved in the running scene was where Verys felt right at home.

Little did he know a solitary low-impact stroll in the great outdoors would change his life.

“To me, running was a mental-health tool to process challenges and deal with my own demons because I was a fairly young kid here in a new country, with a new culture and language,” Verys, 29, said this week.

“I started running on the roads, but when the pandemic arrived, it was not socially responsible to be on the pavement. That’s when I discovered trails, where I could escape self isolation. Brandon has some beautiful trails just outside the city and I never went back to road running after that.

“I ran into a few like-minded people on the trails who told me more about trail-running and ultra-running. Until then, I didn’t really know that people could run distances beyond marathon distance.”

Before long, Verys was hooked on the sport and going long distances, pushing himself to and eventually beyond his limits.

“It’s interesting because I find road-running harder. The whole idea of marathoning or half-marathoning is that you’re going to push as hard as possible to achieve the fastest time possible,” he said. “You’re basically red-lining for those 42km, which is incredibly hard. Ultra-running is different. You do go slow because if you want to cover a longer distance, you have to pace yourself so you conserve enough energy to complete the distance.

“I find it very enjoyable where your body is basically telling you to stop, but you persevere and you override all of those signals that your body is giving you in order to achieve your goal. The mental part is very important and I guess that’s what is appealing to me.”

Now living in Chilliwack, B.C., and working in the insurance industry after graduating from ACC with a diploma in business administration, Verys has made headlines for his abilities as an ultramarathoner.

He’s back in Manitoba this weekend to compete in the 100-km portion of the Suffer on Centennial! Race that is being held on Saturday in the Whiteshell region.

The event features roughly 400 runners and includes distances of: 8km, 25km, 50km, 100km relay and 100km over the Canadian shield, with less than one kilomtere of roads used, which means battling through some treacherous terrain is part of the process.

This is the third time the event has been held and it’s grown exponentially, with 65 racers in the initial foray and 225 last year.

“People are interested in doing hard things,” said Kristian Andres, who is the race organizer.

“You have a little bit more of a controlled environment being a race. These trails are here and usable for the vast majority of the summer, but it gives people a little more comfort knowing there are other people out there and there are aid stations to support people and such.

“Having more events like this available has sparked interest in people getting out and exploring essentially.”

Andres says it’s an opportunity to show off the beauty of the province to the racing community as well, noting runners are coming in from multiple provinces and states from across the border to round out the largely local field of competitors.

“We’re definitely showing off some areas to the local people who haven’t been on these particular trails and also highlighting the province to a degree, with some of the outdoor spaces that we have,” said Andres. “Honestly, I feel like Manitoba is viewed as a have-not (province) for outdoor things, everybody gravitates to the West Coast and the Rockies, which obviously are phenomenal. But we actually have a lot more locally than what most people know and these events are out there to help highlight that.”

Verys is quick to tell others about the beauty of where his running journey began.

“That’s where I fell in love with trail-running,” he said during the 20-minute conversation. “For me, it’s returning back to my roots. It’s been three years, so it’s sentimental and Manitoba always has a special place in my heart and in my mind. I’m excited to go back and actually race, because I’ve never raced in Manitoba before.

“It’s quite interesting because every time I tell that story here in B.C. or anywhere else in Canada, they laugh and say, ‘Well, where did you run in Manitoba?’ Because it’s flat. But that’s usually said by people who have never been to Manitoba. It’s a great place for trail running.

“There are a lot of great trails and they are very challenging. There’s not a lot of total elevation gained or lost, but it is very technical, especially where this race is going to be. Running on the rock is always challenging.”

Speaking of challenging, Verys recently won The Barkley Marathons, which is known as one of the most difficult ultramarathons in the world, with only 20 people completing the arduous trail in the nearly four decades the race has been held.

Verys became the first Canadian to complete the 160-km race in rural Tennessee that included massive elevation changes and roughly 17,000 metres of climbing.

He finished the course in a time of 58 hours, 44 minutes, 59 seconds.

“I don’t consider myself elite. I’m still new to this and am learning some things,” said Verys. “In ultra-runner, there are some more divisions where it gets more extreme, when you can go for days and nights and do some challenges that are exceptionally hard or almost impossible to complete, so I was drawn to those events. I was fairly successful in them.”

At the finish line, he posed with the flags of both Canada and Ukraine in what was more than just a symbolic gesture.

“It was pretty cool to represent Canada on the world arena and add Canada to the history books of ultra-running,” said Verys.

Verys is too humble to bask in his recent accomplishments, but in the long-distance community, what he’s doing in such a short amount of time is reminiscent of what Wayne Gretzky was doing in hockey.

Greg Penner, one of the co-race directors for the Suffer on Centennial! was out on a guided run and mentioned to the group Verys was coming for the race. The reaction was immediate.

“There were some people that were awestruck,” said Andres. “It definitely is one of those things where it’s neat to have him coming back to his roots in trail running.”

Oddly enough, Verys didn’t participate in a lot of sports growing up in Ukraine and running not only wasn’t his specialty, it wasn’t something he enjoyed doing all that much.

But after moving to Canada, getting into running was a natural fit since all he needed was shoes to get started.

His early times on the road running side of things weren’t a natural sign that he would come to excel in ultramarathons either.

“The funny thing is that his road running times are nothing that are overly impressive, so it’s interesting to see that he found his niche in the trails that he really loves and seeing all of the work that he’s put into has paid off in his results,” said Andres. “On top of that, he’s still just this down to earth, humble guy that likes to go and explore with people. He enjoys adventure and conversation and the social aspect of going out and running more than anything. He also just happens to be extremely good at it.

“In the trail community, it’s something we call a humble crusher.”

Verys is more than happy to share his experiences with fellow racers and to promote the sport in any way he can.

“The ultra world is still developing and growing, yet there are a lot of cool races and destinations that would be nice to travel to and explore,” said Verys. “The beauty of ultra running is you get to cover a lot of miles on foot and see beautiful views, meet people and discover countries. That’s another reason why I want to travel across Canada and explore the local races.

“These grassroots events are the backbone of the sport. Everyone starts with those races and then you progress.”

Verys is also an advocate for the country he left before the attacks on Ukraine began.

“Being a Ukrainian and being raised there, it’s my duty to remind people of what is happening there,” said Verys, whose parents are away from the front line but remain back home in Ukraine. “It’s the least I can do. The civilized world needs to keep supporting Ukraine and its fight for freedom. Canada has been one of the biggest supporters of Ukraine and I appreciate that so much.

“Sometimes, people carry on with their lives and forget there is actually war, and to prevent it from spreading and becoming even bigger, the civilized world needs to support Ukraine directly and indirectly.

“I feel like if I have this platform and this voice, even though this voice might not be especially big, it’s my duty as a Ukrainian to remind people about what is happening down there.”

Verys said he continues to deal with the deaths of several childhood friends during the war.

“It’s never easy to lose friends who you grew up with, went to school with or developed as a person with,” said Verys. “Seeing them gone defending their country, it is pretty hard to watch. With me being here safe and living in a peaceful world, the least that I can do is keep reminding people and lobbying the interests of Ukraine here.

“Very often, people defending Ukraine are my biggest inspiration. That’s what helps me push through those tough moments in my sport. I’m drawing a lot of inspiration from those brave men and women who are on the front lines right now.”

ken.wiebe@freeppress.mb.ca

X: @WiebesWorld