Introduction

It’s bright and sunny outside of my window in Fredericton, NB and it’s bright and sunny on the island of Gran Canaria, Spain (off the coast of Morocco in the Canary Islands) where Kelsey is resting before today’s Transgrancanaria Classic 125km. Despite the 18 degree difference in temperature, maybe, we really are just living under the same big sky! 

Last night, during my workout in Fredericton, I took a mental picture of the blues, greys, charcoals, and blacks of the late-evening skies and even snuck in a howl at the moon (last year, when I was feeling a bit of an altitude cough creep into my lungs during one of my races, Kelsey passed along a tip from her teammate Ethan Peters, and told me to howl at the moon). I was missing Kelsey, of course, but also feeling a sense of awe at getting to be together, on this planet, at the same, overlapping time. I’m grateful for what Kelsey and I have and also for the beautiful overlaps that we have with all of you. There’s so much that is hard about the world right now and maybe, somewhat in response to that, I’m trying to tune into a sense of gratitude for all of the people that I get to be with here, now, under this same big sky. 

A Message From Kelsey  

Click here for an exclusive, Crew Notes subscriber’s only, pre-race check-in from Kelsey as she takes a moment of reflection by the windy ocean shore. In our call, just now, she also said that she’s excited to approach this race with “beginner’s mind” because she has set foot on “0% of the course.” This is her favourite kind of race – one where curiosity and the thrill of being somewhere new leads her around the course. 

Follow Kelsey at Transgrancanaria 

The race starts at 11:59pm local time on March 6, 2026 —  7pm ET/8pm AT/8:30pm NT.

• 📋 Follow Kelsey’s progress through each aid station using Live Trail (Kelsey is Bib 25).  

• 📺  Watch live coverage of Transgrancanaria on Youtube. 

Kelsey is hoping to run the race in 15-17 hours, but as usual, has set layers of goals, and has the most amount of respect for the “anything can happen” nature of ultramarathon running (in other words, stay tuned for how long it actually takes!). The race directors have activated the cold weather kit because temperatures are expected to drop to between 10-14 degrees celsius with wind and rain in the forecast (10-14 degrees at the bottom of a mountain isn’t so bad, but if it’s 10-14 at the bottom, it might be a different story by the top). In the end, she’ll be grateful for a race that is an expression of herself and feels connected to her joy of running. 

Crew Appreciations

• George Hardwick, Kija Grant, and friends for crewing Kelsey at the race. Kelsey and George have done some of the same races, most recently this year’s UTMB. When George found out that he and Kelsey were off to run Transgrancanaria, he graciously offered to jump in as her race crew. George put in a great performance on the trails today, finishing the 47km Transgrancanaria Marathon in 9:08:55. 

• Hilary Swan, Emily Chaisson, and Sara Taffe who integrated pre-race support for Kelsey into their late-winter trip to the Canary Islands. 

• Kaylee Hopkins and the team at BackTrails by the Radical Edge for helping Kelsey out with gear to start off the year, including her new Osprey Dyna Pro 10L vest.  

• Kelsey’s coach (mine too!), Jonathan van Guens from Waybound Running for soulful, strategic, and steady advice in preparation for the race. Jonathan has been a friend and supporter for years and has recently stepped more fully into coaching. He puts his whole heart and mind into supporting the athletes that he coaches and we couldn’t be more proud to train in community with them.  

• Dr. Lori Dithurbide for providing invaluable Mental Performance Consulting and friendship. Lori has a way of delivering firm, but gentle nudges in a way that Kelsey is ready to hear. 

• Cedd and Milda at Milda’s Pizza and More in Fredericton for giving us both a place to work this offseason and for giving us the flexibility to do this running thing.  

Sharing Some Links

🫛 We sat down with the guys at the Chasing Trails podcast to talk about our experiences at UTMB and TDS.  

🐉 Our friend Brad Stewart spoke about his experience at the Dragon’s Back Race across Wales in this podcast episode with Liz Meyers. Also, we think the race-day recaps from Dragon’s Back are aspirational (for races everywhere) and inspirational — check out this one from Day One of the 2025 race.  

🥇Trail running is being considered for the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane. This website is tracking the campaign to have it included. 

⛰️ Friends of ours in Fredericton, led by Matt Baker, are organizing two new events this summer: Sundial Circuit and the Baker’s Dozen.  

📽️ On March 28th, Saint John Trail Running is hosting the only Canadian screening of “The Cutoff,” a feature length documentary set inside the Cocodona 250 ultramarathon across Arizona. Get details and tickets here. 

💨 Julia-Reid Howell from Fredericton, NB just set a Guinness World Record time of 03:17:37 for running one kilometer while pushing a stroller. 

🏁 On July 24th and 25th we’re directing our first trail race. It’s called Mines To Pines and it takes place in Minto, NB. Registration will go live in the next couple of weeks. Click here to send us a note and make sure that you get the link to register first. 

Sharing Some Love

We traveled to Kelsey’s hometown of Steady Brook, Newfoundland at the end of February to surprise her mom, Jane, for her 60th birthday. Over the course of two days, and much to Jane’s surprise, each of her children walked through the door to spend a few days together around her birthday. It was a joy to participate in the surprise and a nice reminder to take time to celebrate. At times, the weight of injustice and unfairness in the world can cause me to dampen my celebration, which, in fairness, isn't always the wrong choice. This month, we’re sharing our love with everyone who wants to celebrate but can’t quite do it, those that can’t bear to witness celebration for whatever reason, and to those that are finding celebration and joy in ways that make sense to them.