52
MOUNTAINLIFEONTARIO
WINTER2016
I
n the depths of last winter’s prolonged freeze, I accompanied photographer Jason Van Bruggen on an early-morning shoot on top of Blue Mountain.
Where Maple Lane dead-ends, we met Jason’s friends—and photo subjects for the day—endurance runners Mindy Fleming andMatt Leduc. These
athletes boast some major endurance chops: Mindy won last year’s ENDURrun Ultimate (160km of mixed-terrain racing over eight days), while Matt
won the EdWhitlock Award for top Ontario finish in the Scotiabank TorontoWaterfront Marathon this year. Last year they also won The North Face
Endurance Challenge at Blue Mountain (50km race, topmen’s and women’s finishers).
Here where the Bruce Trail snakes along the high Escarpment, and later that day in the crevices of Metcalfe Rock, Jason shot these athletes amid some
gorgeous but punishingly cold winterscapes. Afterward, as we warmed up in a Thornbury restaurant, I talked toMindy, Matt and Jason about the polar
vortex and the all-season sport of endurance running.
–Ed.
