To beat the 48-degree Celsius heat, Coquitlam's Lucy Ryan elected to take a dip in a swimming pool and suck down a popsicle.
It nearly stopped her from becoming only the ninth Canadian female to finish the 135-mile (217 km) AdventureCORPS Badwater Ultramarathon last week in eastern California.
Slight dehydration turned to shock when the 44-year-old Ryan cooled down too quickly about 67 kilometres and nine hours into the race, which featured 96 competitors, including 17 women, from 14 countries and crosses the Death Valley desert and 13,000 feet of cumulative ascent over three mountain ranges.
Dazed, shivering and stricken with a racing pulse, Ryan was treated by her crew -- husband Larry and Las Vegas residents Jason Henderson and Todd Hine -- for roughly one hour, sipping electrolyte drinks, resting in shade and nibbling on solid food until she was able to fully recover and continue on the trek that has gained the reputation as the world's toughest foot race.
The lone Canadian woman entered in the 35th annual invitation-only event, Ryan went on to finish ninth among females and 54th overall last Tuesday in a time of 38 hours, 35 minutes and 17 seconds.
It was the realization of 16-year dream for Ryan, who first read an article about Badwater in 1996 and always wanted to do it.
When she told some colleagues about some of the race's hurdles -- from melting shoes to participants having to cut the toe boxes out of their shoes to ease swelling -- they thought Ryan was crazy.
"I recall feeling sorry for my co-workers and the fact they wouldn't want to challenge themselves," Ryan said. "To me, that's living. I am just so happy to finally realize my dream come true. It is a very satisfying feeling." And there's plenty more in store for Ryan. Next month -- just 32 days after Badwater -- Ryan will compete in Ironman races on back-to-back weekends in Mt. Tremblant, Que., and Penticton.
