Completing a 50K ultra marathon after wildfire forces race cancellation

Executive overview

Dan Martell trained for months for the Squamish 50K Ultra, only to have wildfires force an evacuation and make the race unsafe. Rather than accept a cancelled year, he designed his own 54K unsupported route a week later and ran it alone.

The race became a lesson in self-imposed commitment and what suffering reveals about character.

If you said you'd do something, you have to do it — find another way, not an exit.

The road to race day

• Trained through vacations, weekends, and days without motivation — consistency was non-negotiable
• The Squamish race was his masogi: one defining event to test his limits for the year
• Kelowna wildfire forced a family evacuation the Thursday before the race
• Arrived in Squamish to air quality rated 6–7 out of 10 (unhealthy); many competitors withdrew
• Decided the lung risk on a remote mountain range wasn't worth it — but felt the decision eating at him
• The following Monday, texted his coach: "I'm doing a 50 on Sunday"

Race design and execution

• Designed a custom 54K unsupported route through the mountains above Kelowna
• No support crew; if injured, nearest help was roughly a kilometer away
• Friend Dave surprised him with an aid station at the 20K mark and ran 12K alongside him
• The challenge didn't hit until kilometer 30–32: legs stopped responding after four hours on mountain terrain
• Left knee pain set in; faced a real decision about whether to walk the remaining 15K
• Chose to race, not walk

The final climb

• Kilometer 47: 300 meters of near-vertical elevation gain with 3K remaining
• Kept repeating one phrase to get through it: "I get to" — framing movement as privilege, not obligation
• Family appeared unexpectedly in the woods at kilometer 49, cheering him on; he broke down
• Sons Max and Noah ran the final kilometer with him
• Described it as the best race he'd ever run — not because of performance, but because of that moment

The takeaway for everyday life

• Self-knowledge only comes from the last 10% of any hard effort — that's where growth lives
• Don't compare someone else's chapter 25 to your chapter 3
• Start small: if you've been going 45 minutes, go an hour; if you've been lifting 60 pounds, go to 65
• If you haven't exercised in a while, start with a walk outside today
• Kids don't listen to what you say — they watch what you do