Notos 45K - Victoriaville, QC - June 2026

Summary

In June of 2026, we ran 29 miles in central Quebec participating in the Notos 45k. This was the highest vertical gain ultra race we had participated in, and also our first international event!

Where

The event took place in Victoriaville, QC in the Centre-du-Quebec region. Victoriaville sits about halfway between Montreal and Quebec City on the south side of the St. Lawrence River. The course travels through the countryside of the region, as well as, the Canadian Appalachian Mountains.

Logistics

We originally planned to fly to Montreal and base camp at Camping Lac des Cyprès, however flight costs were unusually high, so we decided to drive instead. We did end up staying at the Camping Lac des Cyprès campground, but first stayed a night at the Voyageur Provincial Park as well.

From our campsite, Victoriaville was 20-30 minutes away, which made for an easy time getting our bibs the day prior and our drive into the city the morning of the race. This race was a point to point style race, where we used buses as shuttles, so we needed to reach the finish line at around 6:00AM.

Trail Running

The race was set to start in Vianney, QC at 7:30AM. Before the gun went off, we loosened up and listened to the music blaring at the start line. It was a fun challenge for me to translate any announcements for my buddy, considering everything was in French! Before the race started, the race director went over race details. He also gave us a shoutout being one of the few international participants (the only from the US)! Not long after we took in the special call out, the gun went off and we were on our way!

Right before the race started!

The beginning of the race was a mix of road running, gravel roads, dirt paths, and open countryside views. It really was a unique start to the race and unlike any of the other ultra events we had participated in. Best of all, it was easy for us to get a good tempo started early in the race (which we would fall back on later!). The first 9 miles of the race was mostly downhill and flowing trails. This was also the longest section between Aid Stations. Thankfully, we felt pretty strong and confident at this point, so we could take in the views and experience around us!

Coming out of the first Aid Station in Trottier, I realized my food of choice was going to be sucre à la crème. Being in the heart of Quebec and known for their maple syrup production, this treat ended up being something I relied on heavily throughout the day! Fully recharged and excited for the upcoming challenge, we raced into the hardest section of the course, the two biggest mountain summits of the day!

Our enthusiasm and sugar high coming out of the Aid Station only lasted so long. We quickly realized the roughly 5,000ft of vertical gain was going to be a real test for us. In this middle section of the trail, we gained about 3,000ft in around 6 miles. Not only that, but the easy miles on gravel, dirt, or road were long gone at this point. We were not faced with more technical trails on more challenging terrain! This is what we signed up for!

One thing we had noticed throughout this section and something that persisted throughout the course was the magnitude of the maple syrup network throughout the region. We ran past a Sugar Shack at one point, but many times throughout the race, we had to duck and maneuver our way around an intricate network of pipes connecting all of the maple trees to a gravity-fed system for collection.

A Sugar Shack along the run

It wasn’t long before even an interesting maple syrup project couldn’t prevent us from thinking about the challenge that was setting in. The further we got, the more our legs ached and the more it seemed as if every step was going to be mud filled. We quickly realized the first half of the race and the second half would be notably different. Thankfully, we relied heavily on our trekking poles in this race, a decision that was critical to our success, although something we hadn’t done prior to this event!

While we started to struggle, we were really fortunate to have the help and encouragement of volunteers, more food and drinks, and some fans along the way. Aid Stations #2 and #3 really helped keep our morale up, and thankfully they were not quite as far apart as the start line and #1. Coming out of #3, we were excited to be road running, something we never thought we’d feel or say. It truly felt great to get out of the mud and technical terrain for a mile or so, as we were able to put together a couple of miles at a pace that felt like we were back to “running” again.

What we normally try to avoid felt like a reprieve during this race

As we entered the final stage of the race, our spirits were lifted and we felt we could relax a bit more. Fatigue had set in, but we had plenty of time on our side, and the profile for the last third of the race proved to be less daunting than the middle.

Throughout this section, there was one final climb that was set to push us to our limits. We had to gain about 500ft at once, at a time where we didn’t have much left in the tank. Fortunately, there were signs of civilization and our approach back into Victoriaville, which continued to motivate us. All throughout the race, we followed a trail called the Sentier des Cascade, with a destination of Mont Arthabaska. With a little under 2 miles to go, we approached the mountain top and got to see a view of Victoriaville from above.

A view from Mont Arthabaska into Victoriavalle

The last few miles of the race traversed the Mont Arthabaska Park and the Nicolet River. Thankfully, this was mostly downhill and on easy terrain. At this point, we knew we would finish the race, and were ready to be done. Thankfully, we didn’t need to wait too long, as we started to hear the sound of the finish line in the distance. In true ultra fashion, we had one last “mini” climb to get to the finish, but our adrenaline and interest in being done carried us forward. We finished the race in about 8 hours, a testament to the challenging terrain and trail conditions along the way!

After finishing the race, we enjoyed poutine and a few beers from a local brewery, L’Hermite. It was fun to reflect on our accomplishment, knowing this was yet another new challenge in our series of ultra adventures over the past 4 years. We both agreed training for elevation will be a must moving forward, and that it fits best with our aspirations to maintain great shape for our hiking and backpacking trips with the rest of our group!

Conclusion

The Notos 45K delivered on all aspects we were looking for this year. We got to challenge ourselves in a new way, pushing our limits for vertical gain. We also got to experience a new style of ultra, mixing in the countryside, trails, road, and everything in between. Lastly, it was fun to participate in a race that was not English-dominant. I think this certainly added to the adventure and gave us a feel for what it might be like to participate in future ultra races outside of the US!

Photos

All photos were taken with my phone at the time, the iPhone 15 Pro