Kelowna runner reflects on 25-hour victory lap

In a display of endurance and commitment, Savannah Holmes has surmounted another athletic achievement.

She recently ran continuously for 25 hours straight at Ben Lee Park, all in support of the SA Foundation.

“It was literally the best feeling ever to come across the finish line. But the day after, it was super painful, worse than my barefoot 500 run,” Holmes told Kelowna10. “I tore my lungs while I was out there and dealt with a lot of pain and swelling in my knees and ankles. The day after the adrenaline crashed down, you're left with that pain, and it was horrible.”

Her run, which started Dec. 1 at 9 a.m., coincidently took place on the first real snowfall of the season. Challenging conditions started to take shape, including colder temperatures as it got darker and late into the night. To combat the cold, an outfit change would occur every two to three hours to help her stay warm.

In addition to that, Holmes began encountering some inner struggles around the 1 a.m. mark, discovering a new aspect of endurance that differed from her usual experiences running. Unlike regular ultramarathons where adjusting pace is an option, dealing with the constant element of time became a unique difficulty, demanding endurance, and adaptability.

During her run, Holmes also experienced hallucinations for the first time.

“I thought when my mom was putting my heat warmers in my hand that it was peanut butter at one point and I flipped out at her, because I don't eat peanut butter,” she said. “I thought there were deer, raccoons, and butterflies all over this park.”

Holmes’s journey was not done alone, as numerous friends joined in, running alongside her during different stages, completing laps, and showing unwavering support.

“The whole purpose of these things is to bring a community together and to initiate change and out of all the ones I've done in the past, this one definitely had the most impact,” she said. “We had the most people out. I wasn't running for a single hour alone, and that was huge.”

On Dec.2 at 10 a.m., Holmes triumphantly crossed the finish line greeted by a jubilant crowd of supporters, marking the completion of one of her most impressive accomplishments to go with her barefoot 500-kilometer run. Overwhelmed with emotion, she described the moment as pure relief, expressing thanks to the community that rallied behind her.

“When I turned around and saw this entire community cheering me on, [I just felt] gratitude, so much gratitude for each and every person that came out,” she said. “A few months ago, this was just an idea in my head. And with a lot of effort and a bunch of people, we really did shake things up.”

Holmes on her own raised $7,000 with that total being matched by an anonymous donor.

She said her focus for now will be moving into competitive athletics and other races but plans on doing one of these ultra-endurance challenges a year.