On May 22, 2022, Scott McDermott, Ultra Endurance Athlete, completed Woody’s RV Half Marathon in Alberta, Canada, posting a time that was 10 minutes faster than he had been in 2016, just seven months after what has simply become known to everyone as the accident that nearly claimed his life. Everyone who has witnessed the resurgence of Scott McDermott in the worldwide family of “Ultra” has been amazed. As his friend Darren Thompson put it, “We weren’t sure that our Superman was going to make it, honestly.”
At the scene of the accident where Scott’s bike had slipped from underneath him at a high rate of speed, it was Scott’s slight finger squeeze that told his friends and fellow athletes Huddo and Foxy that he was still alive. Nobody at the scene could believe this could possibly be true, after witnessing the wreckage of his bike and their close friend laying there in a pool of his own blood with a mangled neck.
Once word was getting out among the race participants about the wreck, Scott’s wife Hilary was informed at the Day 2 finish line that Scott had an accident during his race. In the months of prior preparation, Scott could have never imagined waking up in a hospital bed with his best friend Lyle telling him what happened. Hilary was forced to stay behind to care for their three year old son Kaden as his Daddy was being air lifted to an Oahu hospital.
After three years of rehab from the accident and two subsequent freak injuries, Scott completed the 2018 Ultraman World Championships—the same race and same place of his accident. Prior to the race, he purposefully traveled to the site of the accident to prepare himself psychologically.
Another Ultra athlete, Joe Jaffe, known by his peers as a legend of the sport in spite of his love of junk food, was also injured in November of 2021 when hit by a car. He suffered multiple injuries including a fractured sacrum. Jaffe, an anesthesiologist in New York, took only 5 weeks off work to rehab in order to return to his job and ultimately the sport he loves, against all odds. He had to undergo cognitive therapy to prove job-readiness before being cleared by a neurosurgeon. All was going well until he suffered a knee fracture while training for his comeback. Currently, he is planning on biking across New York State in July and doing the Florida Extreme Triathlon in November.
These athletes have at least one thing in common. They are addicted to the thrill. Australian Ultraman Peter “Huddo” Hudson, who was on the scene at Scott’s accident, was unknowingly entered by a mate of his into his very first triathlon. He became hooked immediately and enjoyed the challenge for its health benefits. When he was 26 and his mother Dianne passed away of cancer, he begin to race for her. Sixteen years later, Huddo is still racing for the legacy of his Mum.
“I love seeing how hard I can push myself. But, I don’t think I could do it if it was not for the pain from losing Mum. It’s amazing how high a percentage of Ultraman competitors, probably Ironman, too, have trauma.”
Scott McDermott agrees with him, stating that athletes have sundry reasons motivating them to race, though he points out that there are as many athletes that have unhealthy reasons as healthy ones to pursue this painful passion. He admits to having been one of them prior to his 2015 accident.
“Having grown up seeking approval and wanting to be loved, I never realized that the subconscious mind will do anything for attention.” This is a concept that he picked up under the tutelage of Jarl Clausen of Bayern, Germany. Jarl is a vegetative training expert who takes clients not only back to childhood, but back to basic deep breathing techniques.
According to Clausen, when he initially met Scott, his brain was in tremendous shock. “He was totally in protective chaos. Instead of normal healing, the system stood in freeze, protection.”
Together the two began working on inner freedom without touch, medicine, technology, and very little talking. It was a build-up of the whole system not from the basis of the brain injury, but reaching back into the subconscious mind.
In the sport known for extreme endurance, the road is all too often where pain comes to die. Pain is part of the triathlon process with an array of choices available to either punish oneself, to achieve the impossible, or both. McDermott points out that the body can go further and do more than imagined. He proved his own theory after the accident he should have never survived.
Athletes may choose to participate in events like an Ultra Triathlon or Ironman, such as two that were recently held this spring in Texas (Galveston and The Woodlands). Joe Jaffe points out one of the recent Ultra endurance adventures is the EPICDeca which consists of ten 140.6 distance triathlons on six Hawaiian Islands in ten days. Scott McDermott and Joe Jaffe have both said it is about more than the painful process of a few long days of racing.
“Whereas the other races are known to cause pain, the EPICDeca is one that is known for suffering,” Scott noted, speaking of his familiarity with what Joe Jaffe was willing to endure by taking on this challenge at age 57.
Jaffe was initially credentialed for this race before he was involved in his accident and was unable to participate. Forfeiting his $10,000 entrance fee and his spot in the race before relinquishing it to another athlete, he only partially recouped his investment. Jaffe’s new goal was to be able to get his body poised to work and race once again. This is currently happening, but not in timeframe required for the race he so badly wanted to conquer long before the 2020 cancelation.
The world of triathlon endurance adventure sports is pregnant with stories of ordinary people who do extraordinary feats. Huddo, who chuckled about the occasional use of subtitles for his Aussie English during on camera interviews, says that nearly every athlete has an underlying reason that propels them to do something superhuman, whether it be losing a loved one, divorce, addictions, or prior abuse. Other reasons might be inflicting self-harm due to mental illness or proving self-worth to overcome depression.
Drew Kenworthy of Shoelace Media was originally filming www.WarriorCodeFilm.com which was supposed to be a documentary about an athlete named Scott McDermott from Sylvan Lake, Alberta, and his anticipated great finish of the 2015 Ultraman World Championships in Hawaii. His documentary turned out to be so much more.
Thankfully, this is a story that saw a victory the likes of which could have never been predicted. Today, Scott is not only an athlete, he is a speaker, author, coach, and trainer with a story to tell. He is beloved by the entire Ultra family and everyone who gets to know him, his wife and son, and his incredible tale of perseverance.
Some athletes never do anything more than continue to live in the cycle of buried pain, while others find God or come to grips with a new healed life. McDermott says that by the time he ran the 2018 race, he no longer ran for approval of anyone; he did it for himself. He took the time, mid-race, to stop and kiss his family, knowing that his old pain had died in the accident, but he had lived. He plans to do it again in 2023.
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