OK, so I signed up for the 50k run, my first Ultra-marathon. This is a very challenging course with 4500 ft elevation gain overall, or something like that. I’d been fighting chronic fatigue symptoms for the past two weeks, but I wanted to attempt the distance anyway, and besides, I’d gotten my friends to run it with me!
My desire for a super challenging run was answered pretty quickly with that first climb up to the ridge, where I promptly enjoyed a bout of exercise-induced-asthma, which continued throughout the day. the climbing continued, peppered with some steep descents. An element of adventure I did not expect, was the horse endurance race that was happening on the very same trails that day! Horses are big. We spent a lot of time stepping aside for them, and having heart attacks when they galloped past. One horse tripped on a root right as it passed me. I must have jumped two feet in the air! But no horsey-catastrophes happened and we were free to continue our arduous journey.
By the first hour that passed we were enjoying the flatter part of the trail, and were able to really run, rather than hike, and this part of the event was glorious indeed. It was a beautiful day, with fog and drizzle in the morning, which lifted as we were rounding the single track trail (with eyeball height poison oak, but no matter) off of West Ridge. A sweeping view was revealed to us of the forest, hills and a single shaft of sunbeam lighted a field in the center, just like one of those ‘picturesque’-style 19th century paintings. Ahhhh! And then around the corner, up down and around again. The first loop is 20k, and it took us 3:15 (hours) to complete, after which we got our bibs checked off, re-filled water bottles and then it was off to the 10k loop, after which we’d repeat the 20k.
Oh, the 10k loop.
Normally, a 10k for me is about 1:03, 1:10 in time it takes to finish. This was not your normal 10k course! It included the lovely French Trail, which loops around in the redwood part of the forest. It goes straight up, up some more, and then down, then straight up and then up. “this seems somewhat extreme”, understated Helen. There was one point where we looked up at the trail marker flags sidelining the trail and it really looked just like a ski lift in summer. “where is the dog with the brandy?” I asked. I used all of my refilled bottles (30oz) on the first part of this climb, a good two thirds of the 10k loop was traveled with nothing but drops. The Trail does eventually descend, and I eventually arrived back at the 30k checkpoint, drained but steady, and ready to refill again and head out for third loop.
Except the water stop had been dismantled. Apparently there was a time cut-off to begin the third loop which I missed by 10 minutes. 10 minutes!!!! No 50k for me. I’d have to accept a 30k finish in about 5:40.
I was really really really disappointed not to complete my distance, but to be fair, they probably did me a favor in having me stop then, as I was approaching that certain lack of perspective that heralds the bonk. Growing increasingly agitated while waiting to collect my T-shirt, I asked Jill if she could get me a soda because “I’m about to kill someone over a T-shirt”. So yeah, it was probably a good thing I stopped!
We technically had time to complete the third loop before the entire race time cut-off but I really didn’t want to risk having the aid stations shut down before I was done. And you know, in the last six years of doing these endurance events that push the boundaries of what I can physically handle, this was my very first one where I missed the cut-off! So I am happy with my effort; I had started out feeling under 100% and not knowing if I would crash in the first 15 miles, and I made a strong, steady effort to 18 miles! It’s not the longest run I’ve ever done, but easily the most difficult. I’d say those 18 miles were harder than the Wildflower Long course triathlon (half ironman distance, super challenging terrain) and the Olympic distance triathlon at Auburn, which is billed as the “world’s toughest” and may very well be for those distances. Lori cracked me up with her assertion that the 10k course was “harder than giving birth”.
And it was super fun to have this adventure with everyone who ran with me. I did the best that I could for that day and don’t regret a bit of it! Besides, there are plenty of 50k events I can still enter this year- my chance to become an “Ultra-runner” is not over! Um, if I want to!
Oh yeah, and they had pumpkin pie at the water stops. Need I say more?
