The Runner Who Cried Wolf

This weekend I ran a couple of short five milers in the Whiteshell. Surviving a run along Highway 44 is an accomplishment in itself. The 44 is so narrow, and winds so much that going for a run there makes about as much sense as offering swimming lessons to inmates at Alcatraz.

Earlier this summer I went for a run along the 44 before Church. I had 16 miles on the To Do list that morning, which meant hitting the pavement around 6:30 am. Running that early has its pros and cons; on the one hand there is much less traffic, but that can also work against you because of potential wildlife still brave enough to walk the highway.

I was about five miles into my run when I spot a four legged creature walking my way on the highway. It took me about two seconds to register that this was the infamous wolf, whose photo had been making its rounds on social media. But it took me only a split second to stop in my tracks, do a 180 and retrace my steps I had just taken. I quickly spotted another runner, who confirmed that that was indeed a wolf heading our way, maybe 100 metres to the rear. He opted to rather take a trail through the forest, while I made it very clear that I would not be leaving the pavement.

At this point I pulled out my cell phone and sent a voice text to Tracy, whom I knew would still be sleeping. My message was brief, “Wolf. Running back.” Her response, “No way.”

From that point, without realizing, my leisure jog turned into a dead sprint. Every few seconds I turned around to see the wolf still following me until eventually he either lost interest or could no longer keep up with Usain Bolt. After about a mile of continuously looking over my shoulder, it was no longer in sight and I had returned to my goal pace.

Needless to say, I made it home safely. I’d like to think my heroics that day should make headlines in the West Hawk Gazette, and that National Geographic should want to interview me for their next segment. But I stopped believing either one of those would happen about the time my boss told me that his brother is a guide in Churchill and has told him it is extremely rare that a wolf will ever harm a human (I’ll probably leave out the part about wolves not harming humans, when I feel my nieces and nephews are old enough to hear about the time their Uncle Shannon cried wolf.)