Two runners this weekend completed a grueling 10-day, 550-mile race through the Vermont wilderness, including the event’s first-ever female finisher.
Runners Greg Salvesen and Helene Dumais each completed the Endurance Society’s Infinitus 888K, a more than 550-mile (888-kilometer) trail race held at Blueberry Hill Inn and Ski Center in Goshen, Vermont.
To complete the race, runners must repeatedly tackle two loops – a roughly 7-mile loop and roughly 20-mile loop – through heavily-forested terrain. The two loops have an elevation gain of around 4,200 feet, meaning runners of the 888K face a total elevation gain of roughly 84,000 feet.
For Salvesen, this was his second time finishing the Infinitus 888K. He also completed the inaugural running of the event in 2015.
This was Dumais’ third attempt at the Infinitus 888K and first finish. Her 2017 attempt is the subject of the upcoming film “Facing Infinitus.”
Her completion of the Infinitus 888K is one of several firsts the Canadian adventurer can claim. Among her other achievements is being the first and only woman to complete the Survival Run Australia, the Survival Run Nicaragua, and she was the first woman to complete an unsupported crossing of the Ko’olau Summit Ridge in Hawaii.
The Endurance Society’s Infinitus event is held annually in Vermont. It includes several other race distances in addition to the 888K, including a 250-mile race, a 100-mile race, an 88K, a marathon distance race and an 8K.
Canadian adventurer Helene Dumais running the 2017 Infinitus 888K. (Facing Infinitus Facebook Photo)