Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, and the Vernon ultra athlete dubbed the Human Garburator by her fellow athletes is thankful to still have her mind, if not her body.
But she won't be having any turkey.
Vernon's Shanda Hill is 39 kilometres away from becoming the first woman in history to conquer the Triple Deca Ultra Continuous Triathlon, being held in La Garda, Italy. She is hoping to complete the race at around 10 p.m. Pacific time.
If you're just tuning in, today (Friday) is Day 40 of the race and, so far, hill has swam 114 kilometres, biked 5,400 kms, and ran 1,227 kms. Hill is the Canadian woman who turned her greatest pain – being struck by a car 30 years ago on Silver Star Road, suffering traumatic brain and back injuries – into her greatest triumph.
Hill is the first person in history to complete three Double Deca triathlons. She is the soon-to-be record-holder of the most IUTA iron-distance triathlons completed by any woman. And as long as her mind and body hold out, Hill will be the first woman to conquer the Triple Deca Ultra Triathlon Continuous.
Through it all in Italy, Hill has not lost a single pound. Not one.
She is a lifelong vegetarian. She has never eaten meat. She's been fuelling her body in Italy with an astonishing array of food, said her partner, Jacs Spence, on the Shanda Hill Ultra Athlete Facebook page.
"Over the past weeks, she's consumed more than 30 pounds of Rancho Vignola's tropical mix and nuts, at least two chocolate bars a day, noodles, sandwiches, non-dairy pizza, lentils, vegetables, and a block of tofu every single day," said Spence. "On the bike, she ate couscous and wraps every half hour, and now, as she runs, she eats almost every kilometre."
The other athletes have jokingly dubbed Hill the "Human Garburator" because she always seems to have food in her mouth. It's become a running joke that no matter when they see her, she's eating – fuelling her body in this battle against unimaginable physical strain.
On the bike, she ate nearly 10,000 calories daily and still eats more than 5,000 while running. But it's not just the calories that keep her going — her strength comes from something much more profound.
"Shanda said this morning that her body is starting to give out, especially in her hips, and she's utterly exhausted," said Spence. "But as she puts it: 'My body gave out a day ago, but thankfully, my mind refuses to stop. It's what keeps me moving forward, step by step.'"
It's that unshakable mental strength, said Spence, that keeps her on this path. Every step is more brutal than the last, yet she's pushing forward.
Hill's ability to endure such physical strain is a testament to the power of the human mind.
"In these final hours, she's fighting more than just fatigue — she's pushing past the limits of human endurance," said Spence. "Let's cheer her on as she closes in on the finish line of this extraordinary journey."
