Diane Chesla once ran from Toronto to her home in St. Catharines. Her purpose was not a drastic attempt to lose a few pounds or to indulge an obsessive thrill-seeking passion, but instead, Chesla, 41, is continually fuelled by her belief that running has the power to change one's mindset for the positive.

In this ongoing column, Why I Run, Diane explores why running, unlike any other sport, has the ability to free the mind, quiet the dramas in one's head and ultimately lead to fundamental change.

This week: The heat is on.

For a brief moment, while driving around in my car a few weeks ago, I thought to myself: "Ugh, it is too darn hot to go running tonight. The thought was gone almost as soon as it came as another, louder voice pushed it out of the way: "Suck it up, Sunshine! You've been in the desert for a week, this ain't nothing!"



The desert I speak of is Death Valley in California and the race I was there for was the prestigious Badwater Ultra Marathon, but this time I wasn't running. Instead, I was part of the six-member crew, or support team for runner Iris Cooper. The "Swiss Miss," as she calls herself, was one of only 90 runners accepted this year to run in the sick heat of the desert where temperatures reach 135F (that was the temperature on our visit!). Through this, runners travel 135 miles, non-stop over two mountains before finishing some 8000 feet up Mt. Whitney in California.

I've wanted to do this race ever since I saw the documentary, Running on the Sun. Why, I'm not totally sure. What many ultra runners say is that they want to see what they're capable of, both physically and mentally. Me, I want to bite off more than I can chew. I want to live large, taste, see, smell and feel all that life has to offer.

I've lived my life this way ever since I can remember. Before I took up running, a day of hiking and climbing in the Rocky Mountains would land me clinging to a limestone cliff, holding on for dear life. Another time while climbing in the Rockies, I lost my grip on a rock face, twice, and swung upside down like a fast-beating pendulum. Trekking in the Himalayas in 1995, I suffered such a bad case of dysentery I came close to saying my final prayers before leaving this earth.

No matter how crazy the adventure, I always learned something about myself. Running, albeit a heck of a lot safer than mountain climbing, also gives me the opportunity to learn something new about myself. And although I was only crewing for my friend Iris, not running in Badwater, I still feel that the experience taught me a few things.

For one, I realized that if I really want to run this prestigious race, I better take my nutritional needs a lot more seriously. Running up and down mountains in 130F temperatures requires a steady input of carbohydrates, proteins and electrolytes. Seeing a fellow Canadian runner go through the experience of ingesting too many liquids and ending up in emergency with a critical case of hyponatremia was a wake-up call for not taking my body's intricate needs seriously.

In this case, hyponatremia resulted in liquid in the lungs for the Canadian. The wrong treatment, and the runner would have died. Thanks to Badwater's top-notch and experienced medical crew, our Canadian friend recovered.

I know that I haven't quite figured out my own electrolyte needs in ultra distance races as I battle with swollen hands from time to time while running. This is one of the telltale signs that a runner's electrolyte balance is upset and hyponatremia is a concern. I know that I can also suffer from insufficient protein intake and the occasional bout of iron deficiency. None of these conditions, however, are life-threatening and I know that it is a matter of making conscious decisions in what I eat, every single day, to address the unique nutritional requirements of ultra distance running.

Another great lesson I learned while crewing Iris was about mental toughness. In Badwater, all the runners have to deal with the stinking hot temperatures, mountain climbs, lack of sleep and crazy long distance. Am I ready for this? Maybe not, as I have a tendency to become overly emotional when the going gets tough.

I actually had a little temper tantrum as a crew member in Badwater. Near the end of my second shift, and as midnight approached on the first night of the race, I felt myself becoming cranky. We were crewing Iris on the downside of a rather large mountain pass and I remember just craving to be out there running. Hands down, my absolute favourite type of running is downhill - even better if it's in the mountains. I was extremely tired and could only think of my own wants. I found myself trying to hold in my disappointment of having to sit in the crew vehicle and just pass time waiting for our runner, then packing up, driving down the mountain pass one more mile and waiting for our runner again.

Thankfully, there was a shift change and I got myself the heck out of there. It's embarrassing to look back on an episode where you know you acted like an unfulfilled child. I think part of the process of learning from an event, as I did with this one, is being able to look back objectively and view your actions. The next morning when we headed out to rejoin our crew, I returned with a clear mind and was able to refocus on Iris' needs, not my own.

I know that if I want to run a very tough race like Badwater, I will need to practice the art of mental toughness as I know I will hit points where my emotions will get the best of me and this could put me out of the race.

Sitting at the pool back in Vegas after the event, I couldn't help but leaf a little obsessively through our crew guidebook and begin to strategize my own Badwater experience. From planning my nutritional strategy to reflecting on what it means to be mentally tough, I know that I can do Badwater one day. I can't say when that will be as I think both of these components, nutrition and mental toughness, are not easy to learn. I do know that my next step is to complete my first 100-mile race. This fall it will be attempt number three and, perhaps, with the lessons of Badwater, I can now complete it.