Dr. Ferenc Stefani uses his love of running in his chiropractor and sports injury practice to teach others how to run long distances properly and safely. (submitted photo)

By Jordan Davidson

run Stefani run

Nanaimo chiropractor conquers 125 kilometre Canadian Death Race

Aug 10, 2022 | 5:23 AM

NANAIMO — He’s known locally as “The Running Doctor” and he’s living up to his name.

Dr. Ferenc Stefani is a chiropractor and sports therapy coach in Nanaimo and recently competed in a 125-kilometre trail race in late July around Grand Cache, AB, known as the Canadian Death Race.

Dr. Stefani said any marathon over 42 kilometres is considered an ultra-marathon, with the Grande Cache event being the most famous one in the country, taking place every summer for 22 years.

“It’s somewhat epic relative to the average person’s running history. It’s 125 kilometres of rough distance, three mountain summits, 17,000 vertical feet of elevation change and you have 24 hours to complete it.”

The 61-year-old Stefani finished with a time of 19:58:58, taking first place in his age category.

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He said he prefers long runs on trails like this as they are far more interesting and challenging than road marathons.

“It’s quite a different style of activity, it’s far more grassroots. I think it’s less competitive, people are far more cooperative…it’s super exciting to be in the forest, and the training is what most of us prepare for, it’s what brings most of us the most joy.”

To prepare for races like this, Stefani told NanaimoNewsNOW he would run the Mount Benson trail loop, which is about 7.1 kilometres with a 728 metre elevation gain.

Then he does it again, and again, and again…one after another, five times without stopping.

Stefani and companions on top of Grand Mountain east of Revelstoke (submitted photo)

During those eight to nine hours of training, he said you learn to develop the skills to get your mind settled and focus on keeping your body going.

“You think of all different kinds of things, but it’s a neat chance to draw in the surroundings and get a feel for what your body can do. It’s hard to explain to people who don’t do it.”

Amazingly, Stefani said he was only a “little bit sore” the day after completing the Canadian Death Race.

He’s been running marathons and ultra-marathons for decades, so it makes sense his practice specializes in teaching proper running form, training and recovery to help people can get the most out of their bodies while running.

“My calling is to take people who don’t normally like to run, and teach them the way running was designed to be so they actually feel really good about it and want to do it all the time.”

The next race for the Running Doctor is the Squamish 50 on Aug. 20-21, where he will run an 80 kilometre mountain race on the Saturday, and then a 50 kilometre mountain race the next day.

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jordan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow