30 U 30: Sebastian Salas, 22
Sebastian Salas finished the BMO Grouse Grind Mountain Run in 25:24, smashing the reigning Grind record by over a minute.
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Updated: October 14, 2009 2:46 PM
When Sebastian Salas hit the three-quarter mark in the grueling BMO Grouse Grind Mountain Run this fall, his vision started to blur. “There was just burning pain through my legs,” the 22-year-old says. “There was a bit of panic because I felt myself slowing down quite a bit.” So he went harder to the finish line of the nasty three-kilometre trail race and secured a two-minute lead over second place. Finishing in 25:24, he smashed the reigning Grind record by over a minute.
Salas says he does most of his training on the local mountains.
In a typical day, he’ll ride up Cypress three times on his bike or run up the Grind trail, past the lodge and on to mountain trails toward the peak.
But his sights are set on triathlons and eventually the body-busting Ironman.
The BCIT student says he loves the long-distance-burn and he’s getting used to that vision-blurring agony of races like the Grind mountain run.
In fact, the more he hurts, the better the result.
“Even though the pain hurts, it’s also a motivator because if you suffer more than the next person you’re probably doing better than they are,” he explains.
Grouse Mountain Resort reports that less than one percent of the people who race the Grind every year crack the 30-minute-mark. Of the 509 people who ran this year’s race, about one-quarter finished under 50 minutes.
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