Being angelic does not come naturally to me. My personality falls more in the opposite direction…

However, when asked by Ironman Mont- Tremblant’s race director Pauline Alix to be an Ironman Angel for the final event this past August, I could not refuse.

An angelic tradition

Originated by Ironman Mont-Tremblant’s run course coordinator Jacynthe Martin for the first Ironman event in 2012, guardian angels pace in the final finishers.

With fresh legs and whispered words of encouragement, the angels accompany tired athletes as they push to finish a marathon run after a day that has included a 3.9K swim and a 180.2K bike ride.

Closing the decade-long tradition, Arlene Ayoub, Jennifer Laframboise, thirteenyear-old Charlie May Britten and I donned our angel wings. We hovered near the Saint Bernard Chapel, about one kilometre from the finish line.

Athletes’ friends and family members lined the dark run path beside us. Each hoped their loved one would arrive in time to make that last kilometre.

Orchestrating the final angel run, Jacynthe stayed tight to her radio as Trish O’Keeffe closed the course and provided updates on athlete positions.

Carried in on angel wings

With fifteen minutes remaining on the clock, Jacynthe signaled. Two athletes we could see walking in the distance would likely be the last to make it. We slid in beside them. Picked up the pace. And brought them to the finish line. With time to spare, we circled back…

We flew up and down the finisher chute repeatedly that night. Over a dozen athletes found a second wind on the wings of angels. Each time, the crowd roared and Jacques Galarneau shouted out into the darkness: “You. Are. An. Ironman!” Each time, we all got goosebumps.

Being angelic is definitely outside my comfort zone. But that’s where the magic is.

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