North Face Endurance Challenge Championship 50 Miler – California

Sunrise at The North Face 50M in the Marin Headlands.  Photo courtesy of Hawkeye - via The North Face Endurance Challenge Facebook page (2011)
Sunrise at The North Face 50M in the Marin Headlands. Photo courtesy of Hawkeye – via The North Face Endurance Challenge Facebook page (2011)

Hey hey!  So I’ve been really quiet on the blogging front over the whole of November – despite being super busy doing very blog-worthy races in beautiful places.  To sum up, I amazed myself by placing 4th in the Catalina Eco Marathon (it amazed me because it fell just a few short days after a gnarly Grand Canyon Rim-to-Rim-to-Rim experience!), and on Thanksgiving I landed 10th in the XTERRA Topanga 15K up in the splendour of the Santa Monica mountains.

So this past weekend it was another amazing TNF 50 in San Francisco.  This stunning course never fails to destroy me – with it’s insane amount of relentlessly steep and consistent elevation change.  Yet it’s the course I return to year after year, and love with an absolute passion. Ask anyone who knows me, and at some point I’ve probably forced them to hear me out on why this place is such a must-visit, magical location.  Starting any race by torchlight under the stars is always amazing.  Couple that with the mind-blowing vistas looking out to the lights of the Golden Gate bridge beyond the silhouettes of the headlands, or peering down upon the sleepy streets of Sausalito as you wind your way up higher and higher on the thrill ride that is the Bobcat trail at 6am. Now throw in a splash of Pacific Ocean on your left – as the sun slowly rises and adds an element of colour into the mix. Even just looking ahead, or behind, is a sight to behold – as the only thing to take in is the massive stream of headtorches slowly weaving their way up the hill.  No phones, no headphones, no watches. no technology. OK, maybe a few hundred headtorches… No Twitter, no Facebook, no distractions. Nothing to peel your eyes away from the beauty that is the outdoors. Running in the tranquility of darkness here in the Marin Headlands never fails to remind me of all the things that are important in life…

[soundcloud url=”https://soundcloud.com/moby/the-perfect-life” params=”” width=” 100%” height=”100″ iframe=”true” /]
Song for the moment: The Perfect Life, by Moby

Race Report

Race Date:  Saturday 7th December 2013
Location: Marin Headlands, San Francisco, CA
Organizer: The North Face Endurance Challenge Series (Sponsored by GORE-TEX)
Summary: 50M trail race (50K, marathon & shorter distances available) | 1 loop – with out-and-back section at half-way for catching sight of the elites, some killer climbs, and more than a few quad-busting, agonizing descents (FUN!!) | ~19,300 ft elevation change | SUPER SCENIC | Technical singletrack and fast dirt trails | Aid every 3-6 miles
Winning Time: 6:21:10      My Time: 8:22:08 (46th place) | 10:04/M
Website:  http://www.thenorthface.com/en_US/endurance-challenge/san-francisco-championship

 

The North Face race village, with the Headlands looming behind
The North Face race village, with the Headlands looming behind

The Day I Beat Dakota!

OK, mark this date: Dec 7th 2013. For it is the date I beat the legend that is Dakota Jones! Granted, he had the flu, but nobody needs to know that 🙂  I really had my money on the 22 year-old wonderkid to get some timely revenge on 2013 nemesis Rob Krar – especially after Krar’s decision to run (and ultimately drop out of) the JFK 50 last month. More fool me. Krar absolutely nailed it once again this weekend, and walked away with the well-deserved $10K booty. What a way to end a phenomenal year for the king of the unkempt-bearded mountain men. A really great summary of his accomplishments in the ultra scene this year (including his utter destruction of Dakota’s very own fastest-known-time for the Grand Canyon double crossing) can be found on Ian Corless’s blog (consider subscribing to Ian’s Talk Ultra podcast too – if you like all things to do with running crazy far).

Well, aside from the huge field of elite athletes toeing the line at the North Face’s Championship event this weekend, there were also another 400 or so regular Joes like myself – battling away in the bitter cold to test our mettle and endure those 50 frickin’ hilly miles.

Weather was a wee bit on the nippy side (I could have done with my arm warmers for the entire race instead of tossing them to Allison at mile 9!), but perfectly clear weather and a bajillion times better than 2012’s mudfest.  This was my revenge race for last year, where I chose to bail at the end of loop 1 on what was a modified course because of the inclement weather.  No such thoughts this year.  I was finishing – regardless of weather – and was gonna smash my 2011 50 miler time of 9:16!  Oh yes.  That was the first 50 miler I ever ran by the way – so really I had to beat that time or else I’d be very sad 🙁

Meet the Crew!

I’m going to refer to my girlfriend Allison a lot in this post, as she was my solo support crew on Saturday. Not being from a running background, this was new territory, and she did an absolutely kick-ass job.  I really don’t ask for much in a race, but having someone there for me at those crucial crew-accessible aid stations gave me something to really look forward to – as the pain and negative thoughts started to creep in later on.  For Al to come all the way to this race was a total privilege for me, and giving her a big sweaty hug and a salty kiss every time we parted was the least I could do to repay her.  You are welcome!  But seriously, thank you.  You are amazing.  🙂

Al and me keeping warm at Mission Dolores Park, San Francisco
Al and me keeping warm at Mission Dolores Park, San Francisco

The Actual Race Report

OK I’m going to speed this blog along as I have a habit of over-embellishing as you can see.  The race got started a little late at 5:01am for the celebs, and a minute later for wave 1 elites, then wave 2 – where I was.  I was like a kid at a theme park when I saw all those superstars that I’d been following for so long, and was kind of bummed that I wouldn’t get to brush shoulders with them.  Once they were off, they were GONE!  Next time I’d see them would be at the out-and-back section just before halfway – where I’d need to jump out of their way as they came hurtling past in the other direction.

Ultrarunning stars.  Rickey Gates on left, Rob Krar right of center, blocked by the massive Cameron Clayton
Ultrarunning stars. Rickey Gates on left, the bearded Rob Krar right of center, blocked by the massive Cameron Clayton in red jacket

After a couple of miles of solitary running and reflecting and stargazing and staring at the snaking parade of headtorches on the hillside, I quickly found a buddy as we cruised up the initial “baby” climb of 800ft up the Rodeo Valley Trail.  Just two years prior I recall finding this to be an absolute monster!  Not this year.  It was relatively effortless in fact.  That maybe elevated my ego a little – making me think this could be a very good day.  No harm in that right?  Confidence?  So I rolled with it – taking care not to get too carried away, and trying to control the heart rate as best I could.  The guy I was running with for these few miles was Alex Kurt of Minnesota.  I thought I was brave in my shorts, t-shirt, armwarmers and gloves.  This guy was in a friggin’ racing singlet!  At 5am, in 30-something degree temps!  Crazy Midwesterners.  It was his first North Face event, his second 50M, but he was clearly gunning it.  We spoke of past ultras, and I learned that last year he ran one of the toughest trail ultras out there – the Superior 50M, at Lake Superior’s north shore (I’ve since researched and found they do a 100M next September – on my birthday!  Destiny?  Perhaps…).  We’d cross paths again many times during the race, and never got separated by more than a mile I’d say.  We worked off each other a lot.

I got a little ahead of Alex on the downhill into Tennessee Valley aid station (he was running a wise race – saving those quads for later; he’d be back).  At the aid station, I grabbed a few potatoes, handed over my gloves and armwarmers to my trusty crew member Al, then trotted on down the section of road leading towards the Pacific, and the Coastal Trail.  Here I met yet another chap I’d be seeing a lot of over the next 6 or 7 hours: a German chap named Stefan, from NY.  This was his birthday!  And his first 50 miler.  What an absolutely perfect way to spend your birthday.  We chatted for a bit then I pressed on, but I never really got much ahead of him.  He’d later pass me and ultimately beat me by just 19 seconds.  Same with Alex.  In fact, we all finished within 2 and a half minutes of each other.

By the Muir Beach aid station a few miles later, the sun was up and we could ditch our headtorches.  That reminds me, I never did get that headtorch back…   Anyhoo, now the real running/climbing began.  I always find running in the dark almost seems effortless.  And sure enough, once the light kicked in, everything seemed way harder!  I think it’s that sense of sight – where you can actually see what’s ahead of you.  And when that thing ahead of you is the seemingly endless 1600 ft climb to Cardiac, that can really start to bear down on you.  Having those breathtaking views of the ocean on our left was more than a consolation though 🙂  It was a real hard slog getting up that longest climb of the day, but we managed it, and sure enough Stefan, Alex and I were all fuelling up at Cardiac aid station (mile 18) together.  We were a third of the way!

From Cardiac, the 50 milers leave the shared 50K course and head off along the Matt Davis Trail – a technical singletrack section looking down towards Stinson Beach, where we’d be heading soon.  This leads onto the Coastal Trail again where a 2.8 mile out-and-back section begins – where some lucky folk get to see the leaders face-to-face as they make their way back along the tight, winding trail.  I saw the lead pack of about 10 runners (with Rob Krar hanging out at the back) thunder past me with about 2 miles til the turnaround – meaning they were 4 miles ahead after 22 miles.  That equates to about 40 minutes at my pace.  By the time I reached the turnaround aid station, I’d counted 50 people ahead of me.  That’s when it hit home that I wouldn’t be winning 10 grand that day 😉

I also saw the lead women, including Magdalena Boulet, Michelle Yates and my personal high point – Emelie Forsberg!  Woulda been nice to see Killian Jornet in the flesh, but he didn’t start pacing Emelie til Stinson beach…  (I asked Al and she didn’t recall seeing him.  I should have briefed her and had her take photos!)  No sign of Rory Bosio at all 🙁    Tough day for her.

After the turnaround, and the brutally steep descent into Stinson Beach, I got to see Al again at the aid station – where I refilled, grabbed a few glugs of some Hammer Nutrition Sustained Energy (mixed with 3 Berry Nuun to make it semi-palatable), pocketed some hummus wraps, and hugged her farewell for what would be a long, long time til Tennessee Valley (almost 20 more miles!).  I was thankful for the immediate ascent that faced me, as it felt like a fine excuse to walk and nosh down on some good solid food.  I typically get sick at mile 30 – with all the energy gels and sugars I take in.  I could feel it coming on, so I skipped a round of gels and just sipped water and forced some solids down my neck.  That seemed to work, so that was a little victory for me.

I don’t even want to talk about the next few miles.  They were horrible.  That climb back up to Cardiac is awful.  The famous Dipsea Trail steps make you question how anyone could possibly run up there!  Powerhiking’s the best I could muster, and even then my legs were feeling pretty done in.  Getting out of those trees and into the open air reminded me I was close to Cardiac (the aid station, as opposed to “arrest”).  I saw Alex up ahead (he was dominating those hills, but even that one took it’s toll on him) and I got a jog on.  At the aid station I saw Bryan Powell who was doing his live broadcast for irunfar.com.  I asked who was leading, and sure enough he gave the 3 names of the ultimate podium winners – Rob Krar, Cameron Clayton and Chris Vargo.  I was sad that Dakota wasn’t mentioned.

I sped through Cardiac aid station (mile 30) with just a few cups of cola and a much needed water refill – and set off on what was to be another quad-destroying descent into the Muir Woods National Park.  The 50M course meets up with the 50K course here, so there was a lot of passing to be done.  It’s nice to get all the “good job”s from the folk you pass.  Makes you feel much faster than you know you actually are, and those positive vibes were always reciprocated right back.  50K is no mean feat either!

This 6 mile section of the course – to the Old Inn aid station – seemed to go on forever, but it was certainly a gorgeous run through those giant redwoods, and had a lot of fun, runnable, rooty sections where a lot of passing could be done.  I briefly bumped into Erica Teicheira – who I’d met at the Coastal Series 50 Miler just a few months prior.  She was doing the 50K, and had it not been for her, I’m fairly sure I’d have taken a wrong turn down there in the woods 🙂   After reaching a road crossing, I was dejected (you do turn into a bit of an over-emotional drama queen after 35 miles) to find there was no aid station there.  A little Englishman advised me it was another mile (argh!), as he ushered me back into the woods.  I was so certain there’d be aid at that road, that I’d tanked all my water.  Thankfully the Old Inn aid station came pretty quickly and I was replenished.

Alex and I hooked up again here, chowed down on some spuds, and set off on a 3.5 mile trot along nice flat terrain – through some crazy high grass on the Redwood Creek Trail – back to Muir Beach.  Cramps were starting to kick in big time in my calves.  I felt like my compression sleeves were literally holding my muscles back from bursting out my skin!  Not pleasant.  I worked through it though by running in a style that can only be likened to running on hot coals.  I wasn’t looking forward to the hills I knew were about to come upon us…

From Muir Beach, you are sent back up the steep hill you came down hours earlier.  At the “top”, you now turn left onto a fire road that takes you even higher.  This was a complete walkathon.  Everyone was walking here.  Mainly 50K runners, since the 50M field was so fragmented by this point.  Alex was a godsend.  We each took turns to run ahead for a bit, then walk – while the other would catch up and repeat.  It wasn’t pretty, but it was a system.  And we were passing people.

That relentless climb takes you to a crest with amazing views across the entire Headlands, and dumps you out on the super-fast, steep, winding Miwok Trail back down to Tennessee Valley.  I snuck past Stefan and his pacer again here, as his quads were really hurting him.

I was so pleased to get here and see Al again.  And not just because I got to dump all my gear with her and run light and free for the last 6 miles to the finish 🙂   Having her there raised my spirits so much.  And the crowds here were phenomenal – giving a ton of much appreciated support to all the runners (apart from one arrogant a-hole I would hear about later).

I got back on the road and straight into the big climb up to the Bobcat Trail that would take us to Alta and home.  I was running maybe 100 yards then walking 50 – for this long uphill.  Once it opened up, then I got to open up too.  Word has it that Rob Krar was hammering out 5 minute mile pace at this point!  Me – more like 10.  But it was all good forward progress.  At the Alta aid station I learned it was 2.8 miles home.  I knew the last 0.8 was on the road, so that was just 2 more miles to go in my eyes!  And I didn’t walk any of it.  I could almost taste the cold beer that was waiting…

Seeing the finishing village as I turned the corner to the Headlands Hostel was just the best!  The magnificent red North Face arch was there waiting for little old me to come and pass under it.  I clapped for all the supporters who were out there cheering us all on, and crossed the line with a smile in 8 hours 22 minutes and 8 seconds – close to an hour faster than the first time I ran these 50 incredible miles.

Another day, another North Face medal :)  That red arch just gets me so excited every time I see it!
Another day, another North Face medal. That red arch just gets me so excited every time I see it!  Maybe it’s cos it looks like a bouncy castle
Birthday boy Stefan finished seconds ahead of me, so this merited a manlove photo
Birthday boy Stefan finished seconds ahead of me, so this merited a manlove photo

Much beer was to follow!  And a fun weekend all round 🙂   Cheers!

North Face Endurance Challenge 50 Mile Trail Race – Wisconsin

An awesome shot taken by Sally at the start of the 50K
An awesome shot taken by Sally at the start of the 50K

Fun times in picturesque Wisconsin!  Thanks for checking out blog post number 2!  Tis another long one I’m afraid!  I’m still learning!

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Song for the moment: Recover (Cid Rim Remix), by CHVRCHES

Race Report

Race Date:  Saturday 14th September 2013
Location: Kettle Moraine State Park, Eagle, WI
Organizer: The North Face Endurance Challenge Series (Sponsored by GORE-TEX)
Summary: 50M trail race (50K, marathon & shorter distances available) | 1 loop – with long, arduous out-and-back extension for 50M course | ~6,300 ft Elevation Gain | Scenic | Non-technical singletrack and sandy trails | Aid every 3.5-7 miles
Winning Time: 5:38:49      My Time: 7:02:41 (5th place) | 8:28/M
Website:  http://www.thenorthface.com/en_US/endurance-challenge/madison-wi

Why Wisconsin of All Places??

Well, not just for the cheese.  My friend Lauren – having already ran the nearby Ice Age 50K back in 2012 – decided that she was ready for the big step up to the 50 mile distance, and this one seemed like the perfect choice.  The North Face Wisconsin race is coined as being an ideal introduction to the distance – with it having the least technical terrain and having the lowest elevation change of all the Endurance Challenge Series races.  After I  learned that Lauren, along with Heather (also her first 50M), Sally (doing the 50K) and Kyle (doing the marathon) were all flying out from NJ for the event, I figured it’d be another great destination race weekend – so I got on board too for the 50M. 

And since I ran it back in 2012, I figured it’d be a perfect “benchmark” race – where I could see how much improvement (if any) I’d made over the last year.  Trail races are not like your typical races where you can take your time from one race and try to compare it to another.  The trail technicality and elevation change makes each course very very different.  So running the same race again can give you a really tangible way of assessing your progress. 

Setting the Target and Training for Battle!

Last year, I finished 8th overall on this course with a time of 7 hours and 30 mins.  So, this year, the main target was to get as close to 7 hours as possible (I wont lie – I wanted to beat 7 hours!).  Looking at previous years’ results, I figured sub-7 would maybe even earn me a top 5 place.  And I knew from last year I’d done A LOT of walking – on hills that I’d happily scamper up these days.  A lot of that was down to my living and training environment at the time.  I worked (and effectively lived) for a year (Feb 2012 – Feb 2013) in a Chicago suburb called Naperville.  It’s flat there.  Extremely – and excruciatingly – flat.  I recall posting on a forum to ask where any good hills were nearby, and people suggested things like multi-storey car parks, or pedestrian overpasses!  I did a little bit of car park running out there, but it was a bit sketchy to say the least.  Runners are few and far between in Naperville – in general – so most drivers don’t really look out for them as any sort of force of habit.  Now imagine the attentiveness of said drivers in a multi-storey car park – far from the domain of any sane runner.  I think I did that twice before succumbing to the grumpy, horn-tooting buggers hiding behind their tinted-windowed SUVs. My training was all distance back then – with hills only being a luxury of my occasional weekend trips back to New Jersey or elsewhere.  

Compare that to now – where I reside predominantly in San Diego and can run up and down hills to my heart’s content!  And that’s what I’ve been doing pretty much on a daily basis out here.  Mileage has varied between 40 and 55 miles per week, with a little 50 mile race in San Francisco thrown in there too back in August.  And the America’s Finest City Half Marathon – also in August – where I got to test out my speed!

In the buildup to the 2012 Wisconsin race, I was also coming off of a long period of recovery from an earlier back injury that had ruined my winter season (including my snowboarding trip to Whistler!).  So all in all (and to cut a long story short!), with there was clearly scope for some improvement on last year’s time.

Veggie Powerrrrr!

Diet has also been a big changing factor with the move – but that’s definitely for another post (when I get around to writing it!).  I’ll just say that I’ve been heavily invested in a healthy plant-based, organic  diet – after being inspired by the recent “Eat & Run”, by Scott Jurek, and also “Finding Ultra”, by Rich Roll.  In the latter, a man in his forties transforms from a lethargic, sedentary, obese, downward-spiraling lifestyle – to competing (with success) in double marathon distance races and ultramarathons.  All through a plant-based, whole food, vegan diet.  And of course – lots of physical training.  

Pretty much every day of the working week I’ll make myself a power smoothie of kale, beetroot, spirulina, apple, carrots, mangos, limes, or whatever else comes to hand.  And then there’s the usual hipster foodstuffs – like quinoa, brown rice, sprouted-grain bread, almond milk, miso, lentils, beans, edamame and such.  I actually love my diet right now, and have never enjoyed eating more.  I can’t say I’ll ever be truly vegan (I literally just ate a boiled egg with Tabasco!), but I am near enough off of animal products – and I feel healthier, more alert, and stronger for it.  Stay tuned for another article on my veggie habits!

5am: Headlamps On.. It’s Race Time!

30 seconds til race start!  Cool as cucumbers.  Where's the rush?  It's 50 miles!
30 seconds til race start! Cool as cucumbers. Where’s the rush? It’s 50 miles!

The race – like all North Face 50M races – set off at an ungodly 5am.  Thankfully Heather managed to locate Lauren and Kyle (Kyle who was out supporting 4 hours before his own race!) and we got to sneak in a quick team photo (above) 30 seconds before the start.  I then shuffled my may down to the start line – where ultramarathon man Dean Karnazes was finishing off addressing the athletes – as he likes to do at these things.  As the announcer gave the 10 second warning, headlamps were switched on, watches were readied (not for me thanks; I don’t need that distraction!) and we set off on our merry march into the darkness.

From the start, I wanted to remain in the top 10 – so that I could keep track of my position (single digits are much easier to remember!).  It’s always easy to get carried away and think that you can go a bit faster in those earlier miles.  But today, I definitely took heed of previous experiences of burnt out legs come halfway, and tried to control my pace in the hope my body would thank me later (as it turned out though, my quads were still on fire by mile 25!!).

Running in the dark, in the middle of absolute nowhere, is just the most tranquil experience ever.  It’s just you and that single cone of illumination in front of you.  For that little hour and a half , you are alone with your thoughts – with no external distractions.  It’s definitely got a meditative feel to it, and is always my favourite, most memorable part of any ultra that I start with a headlamp.

Somewhere between 5am and 6:30!
Somewhere between 5am and 6:30.  I would befriend the guy behind me and hang with him for another 15 miles.

Run Rabbit, Run!

At the first aid station at Scupernong (6.9 miles in), I had hoped to dump my headlamp.  But unfortunately it was still dark out, so I had to carry on with it.  I knew my next drop bag wasn’t til mile 21, so I’d have to wear that big bulky device for another 2 hours of running.  It was here that I paired up with the then 6th place runner Alex Leon for what would be another 15 miles of running together.  Well actually we got talking when we both found ourselves off course after missing a right hand turn in the darkness.  He was clearly a fast guy, with a half marathon PR of 1:18 and a 2:50 marathon under his belt (compare with 1:22 and 2:52 for me) and a second place in his first and only other 50 miler (6:35).  I told him I’d happily try and stick with him for the whole race.  He modestly branded himself as the rookie and said he’d be happy to finish in 7:30.  I knew from the pace we were going, we were well on for a 7hr pace though.  And so we continued to work off each other – taking alternate turns as the rabbit.  This kept us on a pretty fast, but still comfortable pace all the way through dawn and beyond, and I don’t think I would have ran as good a race as I did if it weren’t for Alex’s help.

After about 15 miles, you emerge from the forest into a prairie section of the park.  This place was just mind-blowingly scenic as the sun rose – showing off the thin layer of mist above the fields of wild grass that we carved through on our little singletrack trail.  My feet got wet pretty quickly – thanks to all the morning dew over the trail.  Alex and I continued to take turns to rabbit, with me eventually feeling the need to pull away and build up a gap (not so much because I wanted to get ahead, but because I knew I needed to poo!! And I didn’t want to lose my valuable friend and rabbit!).

The Twist…

It was all going so well!  And then the hurt began.  This started pretty much when the hills started.  And that was after the McMiller aid station (21.3 miles in).  I got rid of the headlamp finally and grabbed a big swig of Hammer Sustained Energy from my drop bag.  Alex and I hit this aid station at the same time, and when I saw him darting off, I finished rummaging around in my bag and grabbed a water refill from the aid station (7.1 miles til the next aid station – is a long time when you’ve just ran 21!).  As I got back into the forest, I was baffled as to why i couldn’t see Alex ahead.  I got myself quite demoralised actually.  First of all, I’d lost my running buddy – leaving me wide open to all those pesky desires to just stop and walk when things get tough (machoism reigns supreme when you have a running buddy!).  Secondly, I felt like I’d slowed ridiculously, if I could let Alex get so far ahead of me so quickly.  7th place was not where I wanted to be!  This was definitely the lowest point of the day.  Well, as it turned out, Alex had actually went to the toilet at McMiller – which was why he was nowhere to be seen!  And all the time I thought I was falling further behind, I was actually building a gap!

The rolling hills of the out and back section between McMiller and Road Z (28.4 miles in) were torturous.  I forced myself to run as much as I could, but I knew I had to do it all in reverse on the way back to McMiller, and that prospect wasn’t an exciting one.  I got to see the leaders though, which was nice (they were sooo frickin’ far ahead of me!).  When I asked at Road Z what place I was in, they said 5th.  Eh… Whit??!  I argued that they must be mistaken.  I was certain I was 7th.  I was definitely confused why I hadn’t seen Alex, and that’s when it dawned on me that he must’ve got behind me somehow.  Still, that only put me in 6th.  As it turned out, the 5th place guy had taken a bit of a fall and had to bail or slow right down before the halfway point, and that’s what had led to my surprise place improvement.  Suddenly I was rejuvenated!  It was GAME ON AGAIN!

Leaving Road Z, I saw Alex coming in, and suddenly it all made sense!  I also saw 2 more guys close behind him and figured I’d better get motoring for the remaining flat section before the hills began again.

Don’t Forget to be Sick!

So I seem to have this thing where I’m sick in every 50 miler I do – at around 30 miles in.  I don’t know if it’s the gels or what, but my stomach just does not like all the sugariness that I typically ingest during these races.  I tried my best to fight it and look strong as the other racers cheered me on as I passed them during the return leg of the out-and-back, but eventually it was really starting to affect my pace.  So I pulled up and let loose by the side of the trail, twice.  A passing runner (she was cute!) was kind enough to ask if I needed them to get help from the nearby aid station, but I assured them this was standard and par-for-the-course for me!  As in previous races, I felt a lot better after this, and I proceeded to just eat basic solids (like potatoes and, well, that’s pretty much it) for the remainder – along with drinking plenty of water.  I really need to stop with these gels and see if I can get over it.

Despite my smiles, I was feeling pretty sicky!
Despite my smiles, I was feeling pretty sicky!

After returning to McMiller, and seeing Lauren and Heather (for a second time actually!), it was finally time to escape the 50 miler course extension and get back onto the shared course (where the 50K and marathon runners were now evenly spread).  Just before emerging from the woods and rejoining the road, I remember feeling pretty whacked.  I actually lay down on my back and did some inversion and some stretches to try and remedy the now useless quads.  All I managed to do though was cover myself in pesky little prickly things off the ground!  They took miles to get rid of!  Upon reaching the road, I saw the now 6th place guy emerge about 100 yards behind me, and I thought “Sheeeeit!”.  I figured he had to be gaining fast and my 5th place hope was now rapidly fading.

I soldiered on, running every hill I came to – apart from the monsters.  And it was during these monster hikes that I’d look back and see him coming at me.  One time I even heard some 50K runners behind say “50 miler!  Good job!” and I looked back and he was 50 yards down the hill from me (I bet he was pissed off they’d given him away)!  Those were not pleasant miles at all.  I remember thinking it’s much easier mentally to be the chaser than to be the chased…   But somehow I kept him behind me.  I guess he was hurting just as bad.

The Final Push

Somewhere between the complete mental abyss that was mile 40 through to the final aid station at 45.6, I recall thinking that I was actually going to make it – and potentially even hold off the guy behind – if I could just keep making any sort of forward, non-walking progress.  That’s when I started thinking about beer, and visualising the finish area – specifically crossing the line under the big red inflatable North Face arch.  I thought BRIEFLY about pulling some sort of finish line move.  Anything even mildly gymnastic was clearly off the table.  And that’s when Miley Cyrus crept into my mind.  Right when my brain’s usually robust teeny pop defence systems were down, in she crawled.  So I thought – can I twerk my way across the finish line?  Do I even know what a “twerk” looks like?  Picture me grabbing my crotch MJ-style, and grabbing the back of my head – whilst running, on sand, with water bottle in hand – and trying to make some sort of bizarre sexual grunting expression.  Yeah – not pretty.  I shelved the idea instantly, but had a wee chuckle.  (I later learned from my more pop-culturally-aware friends that I needed to stick my tongue out – kind of like a really thirsty dog – for it to be a truly recognisable Miley; bullet dodged!).  Well anyway, that little mind wander inevitably left me with Robin Thicke’s “Blurred Lines” playing away incessantly on repeat in my head (it took me about 10 minutes to even notice that something seemed a bit samey…).

Thankfully I was able to switch out of worst DJ ever-mode and back into competitive race-mode with the arrival of the final aid station.  I grabbed a final salty potato (stomach was not accepting anything else after the barfing) and exited swiftly without the 6th place man catching up (he was close though – I could see him approaching and really hoped he didn’t have a final kick left in him!). 3.8 miles to go?  That’s a 5K and change.  Easy (I say now!).  As I left the aid station, I asked the girl at the aid station for the time.  “What he say?” is what I heard back.  “Ya got the time?” I shouted back in my best American accent. “11:32am”.  OK… math time!  That left me 28 mins to complete a 5K plus 0.7 extra.  I figured I could squeeze out a 22 minute 5K, leaving a comfy 6 minutes to hammer it home.  In retrospect, that was pretty bad math.  At my pace at that point (8:30 min/mile), 26 mins would have been more on the money – just for 5K – and 32 mins for the full 3.8.  So, realistically, the damage had already been done – in terms of finishing sub-7 hours – from all the hill-walking (and flat-walking!) I’d done earlier on.  Nonetheless, that little mental miscalculation gave me all the drive I needed to beast out those last miles and see it home.  It was flat.  Very.  But I quickly realised I had precious little left in me, and I opted to carry on with the current pace – just to make sure I didn’t balls it up completely.  Coming out of the forest after a seemingly endless 5K and seeing the cops (or park rangers?) gave me a massive lift!  I knew from this point on it was paved road all the way to the end.  You quickly hear the din of the finish area festival and the finisher announcements and it’s just a simple matter of digging in for what is a pretty negligible distance given how far you’ve just came.  Turning the final corner – off of the road and onto the grass of the finishing chute – the crowd seemed to be going crazy (turns out they hadn’t seen a 50 miler come through in almost 40 minutes!).  I clapped them and felt that uncontrollable grin come on.  I glanced at the clock and saw the time of 12:02:something-or-other.  “That’ll do me fine!”, I thought.  With total elation, I crossed the line as they announced my name.  “Let’s hear it for our 5th place runner: Lindsay Hamoudi, from Highland Park New Jersey!”.  Naturally, the only appropriate thing for me to do was to pump my fist!  All thoughts of Miley Cyrus completely eradicated – thank god.

Fist pump at the finish.  Andy Murray would have been proud!
Fist pump at the finish. Andy Murray would have been proud!

Looking Back

I was delighted with my performance on the day.  Winning my age group and finishing top 5 in a North Face race is a huge deal for me.  I know there’s still scope for improvement (less pooping, less barfing, less wandering off course, less lying down, less walking, less twerking, etc), so I will no doubt return again next year (hopefully with another entourage of friends!) and see if I can get under that elusive 7 hours!

Nutrition wise, I’ll probably start running with whole foods – like dates, raisins, nuts, seeds, etc.  Or even pita and hummus – a la Scott Jurek.  My body just doesn’t like these sugary processed products, and I need to start listening to it.  One thing that did help though I’m sure was the Salt Stick caps.  As tired as my legs were, they were able to keep motoring on thanks to these little babies.

As for shoes, my trusty New Balance MT110s were fantastic as always.  I can’t see me switching to Hokas any time soon!

And as for the company, well, see picture below.  You guys are awesome!  We need to do more of these destination races methinks.

A collective 207 miles between us all.  It shows right?
A collective 207 miles between us all. It shows right?

And they all lived happily ever after.

The End.

Thanks for reading!

San Francisco 50 Mile Endurance Run

Well here it is – my first proper blog post!  I just wanted to capture the awesomeness of this trail race I ran last Saturday.  Hopefully it helps paint a good picture, and maybe attract some fellow runners to add this – or another Marin Headlands (and/or Coastal Trail Runs) race – to their calendar.  This is my third year running these trails in some shape or form.  That’s how much I love it here.  I’m even on the waitlist to come back in December for The North Face 50!  Here’s hoping…

Song for the moment: California Sunrise, by Dirty Gold
[soundcloud url=”http://api.soundcloud.com/tracks/10960668″ params=”” width=” 100%” height=”166″ iframe=”true” /]

Race Report

Race Date:  Saturday 3rd August 2013    Location: Marin Headlands, San Francisco, CA
Organizer: Wendell Doman, Coastal Trail Runs
Summary: 50M trail race (100M also available) | 2 x 25M loop | ~10,000 ft Elevation Gain | Scenic | Non-technical singletrack and dirt roads | Aid every 3-5 miles
Winning Time: 7:45:07      My Time: 8:26:15 (3rd place) | 10:08/M
Website:  http://www.coastaltrailruns.com/sf100.html

Intro

This was the inaugural year for this event in the spectacularly scenic – and rather hilly (10,000 ft for the 50M; 20,000 for the 100M) – Marin Headlands, just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco. It was a reasonably small field – with possibly sixty to seventy 50-milers, and maybe twelve or so badass 100-milers (some of which are still out there as I begin writing this the following day – from the pub!).

Race director, Wendell Doman – formerly of Pacific Coast Trail Runs and rescuer of the 2012 Sea to Skyline 50k – definitely pulled out all the stops and made this a fun, friendly and memorable event from start to finish. Everything just exuded quality throughout – from the awesome Salomon race jerseys (seriously, Salomon!!), to the fantastic course markings (the “blue is bad” ribbons at every conceivable junction were a stroke of genius sir!), to the well-stocked and frequent aid stations, and a finish area so packed with good food (Jesse on the grill, and Jenni on the soup kitchen!) and “suitable refreshments” – that kept many of us hanging around for hours afterwards.  Add in those unbeatable views of the rugged Pacific coastline, of Sausalito from high up in the hills, and even some little glimpses of the majestic Golden Gate Bridge (bay area fog-permitting!), plus a bit of sunshine (well I definitely got sunburnt!) – and you have a recipe for a perfect day in the outdoors.  Which it most definitely was!

Those “Washing Machine” Loops

The course design – two 25 mile loops – initially had me concerned I have to say. When The North Face shortened their own 50-miler in December 2012, due to torrential rain and subsequent National Park restrictions (check out this weather.com slidedeck), they came up with a similar two-loop replacement course. I was already in town when the bad weather hit, so I enthusiastically took it on (many did not even start). However, I decided to bail at the halfway point, with the excuse that it was just too dangerous out there with all that mud and fog – and on such steep descents – with hidden cliff-edges lurking everywhere. That said, I do feel that had it been a single, one-way, 50-mile course, I’d have most likely seen it through – just out of sheer necessity! I mean what choice do you have when you’re 25 miles from where your car is? And this is where my concern lay with Wendell’s course, since loops always introduce that tormenting mental dilemma for me, where a cold beer and a hot shower are within reach and seem irresistibly appealing – especially after twenty-five or so grueling miles. And so it was that this admittedly lame DNF (in case my Mum’s reading – that means “Did Not Finish”) in December ultimately led me to register for this particular race – purely to defeat that nemesis of a course that had been niggling away at me for 8 months! Job done I think.

Anyhoo, where was I?  Oh aye, the course design… The loopy layout definitely surpassed my expectations and then some. These were not your standard loops. Oh noooo. This was the first time I’d heard the term “washing machine loops” coined – where you effectively run a loop to the finish line, then repeat – only in reverse. Smart that! The course does actually seem completely different in the other direction – which really spices things up – and I think is something many race directors could learn from. I loved it!  So much so I’m going to subject you to this recollection of it…

Loop 1 – Clockwise

As you can see from the course map, you start from Rodeo Beach and immediately head up and along the Coastal Trail (little do you know that this long initial uphill will cause you a world of pain when you come back down it at the end!) – with the Pacific Ocean constantly vying for your attention (and winning!  I tripped a few times!) on the left – and then back down to Tennessee Valley and the first aid station. You then get a mile or so of flat, then it’s up, up, up – until you overlook the awesome Pirates Cove.  A steep, technical descent (well.. there’s steps – so not that technical really, but who’s writing this – me or you?!) pops you out into a lush green valley – a pleasant change from the dusty dirt trails – then a short traverse takes you along to begin a long series of switchbacks leading back up the other side. This is one of those excellent spots for gauging where the rest of the racers are, as you get a huge window of visibility from one side of the valley to the other. This was handy on the way out – where you could see who was ahead and take comfort from seeing them walking any hills, but terrifying on the way back – where you could look back and see who was chasing you down and looking for signs of weakness in you!

Once you get back up out of the valley, and have the ocean by your side again, you get to open up the legs with a fun and fast downhill into Muir Beach area and some much needed aid (I was blown away when they told me I was only 7.9 miles in at this point!). Load up on salts and bananas here to replenish those hammered quads as best you can. At this point you switch over from orange to pink ribbons for the remainder of the loop. These will guide you back up the hill you just flew down (definitely a walker!) until you eventually reach the crest (or so you think…) and turn inland to leave the orange ribbons behind. Another long and steep hill is instantly placed in front of you, and you begin to feel like you’ve maybe overdone it and might need to walk the remaining 40 miles. Eventually, the gods show a bit of mercy, and present you with a wonderful flowing downhill to Tennessee Valley again – via the awesome Miwok trail (I recall chatting to then 5th place runner about how much we were looking forward to running back up there… not!).

Mile 11ish - flying down the Miwok trail to Tennessee Valley
Mile 11ish – flying down the Miwok trail to Tennessee Valley.  Thanks Nate D for the snap!

After the aid station, the pink ribbons lead you up a super long ascent – and it almost feels pleasant to engage the glutes after relentlessly hammering the quads on Miwok. Follow the similarly non-flat Bobcat trail onwards to Rodeo Valley and another aid station checkpoint. At this point you can savour that one-third-of-the-way milestone.  It contented me to think that – due to the mirrored loop design – the next time I passed this point, I’d only have a third to go.  The only immediate challenge in my mind was to just get through that middle third – whatever it chose to throw at me – and get myself back to this point.  That’s how my mind chose to look at the situation: I figured I’d be in a much happier mood knowing there was just 13.x miles to go, and so that’s all I cared about – getting there!  That’s one of the most liberating and fulfilling things about running crazy races like this – for those many hours on the trail, you have no option but to shut out all extraneous sources of stress, worry or concern, and just focus on getting through those individual, self-imposed, nothing-else-matters challenges.  And each one you tick off feels even better than the last – right through to crossing that finish line.

After a couple of oddly flat miles in Rodeo Valley, you then start the hard slog up and down the SCA trail.  Watch out for mountain bikers, bobcats, and snakes! I watched a snake slither across the trail just 10 feet ahead of me!  I was so physically drained, I didn’t even have the energy to jump out my skin as I would have liked.  I spoke to someone at the end and they showed me a picture of a bobcat on their iPhone!  (Looked a bit like a fat house cat to me though!).  After bottoming out in yet another valley (so many valleys… ), it’s then straight back up (the Coastal trail this time – past the best aid station ever for getting inside info! See later!) to the eventual heights of the southern Headlands – where you get some mighty fine views of the bridge (I really wished I had my smartphone at this point – it was that impressive!  And I’ve seen that bridge a bajillion times before).  You then get to hurtle down the tarmac roads past the visitor centre and back to Rodeo Beach.  It was nice to say hello to the race leaders as they set off on their return – not a hint of discomfort on their faces.  Dammit!

Pat yourself on the back, fill your water bottle, and get some tasty eats! That’s you half way! Many confused tourists will stare at you like you’re a maniac (hard to really argue with that at this point), but some will see you have a race number on and give you a cheer and maybe a clap. Oh you wonderful people – if only you knew how much that helped!

Had to be reminded to cross the timing mat at half way.  I went straight to a bench and sat down!
Had to be reminded to cross the timing mat at half way. I went straight to a bench and sat down!

Loop 2 – Counter-clockwise

Wendell squeezes a hell of a lot of action, and hills, into those 25 miles. And then you get to do it all over again in reverse. Well not literally – although there were times when I tried running backwards (and even sideways – crab-style) just to give my poor quads some brief respite.  There was definitely a lot of walking in the second half – with my split for that half being a full 40 mins slower than the first. That said, I was fortunate to be in 5th at the half way point, with a decent ten minute gap back to 6th, so for me it was really all about just hanging in there.  5th place would have rocked my world – I’m not going to lie – but to my amazement, I was able to gain a couple of spots and finish 3rd overall. It was not without it’s fair share of drama though.

There was definitely a really nervous moment back at Muir Beach – with eight miles to go – and 4th and 5th and 6th all literally entering the aid station as I left (I was guilty of spending A LOT of time at those final aid stations – chatting, and scoffing potatoes and drinking them out of coke – in the hope that maybe my legs might mend themselves soon).

Those last eight miles were far and away the most nerve-wracking eight miles ever, with me looking over my shoulder constantly, and scanning the switchbacks at every vantage point. Despite thinking I could see Rick – the 4th place finisher and pretty much my shadow for the first half of the race (until sadly his hamstring slowed him down) – in the distance every time I looked back, I was actually building up a bigger gap. I made it home nearly twenty minutes before the next runner – so clearly fear and panic are what’s needed in these types of affairs!

The End is Nigh…

I have to take you through the last part of this race.  What a fantastic feeling to crest after your last ascent out of Tennessee Valley – via the really unfairly steep Wolf Ridge trail – and to be able to look down and actually see the frothy swells of Rodeo Beach and the finishing festival already underway (the winner came through a cool forty minutes ahead of me!). It seems so close, and you just want to make a beeline for it – and get to that coveted ice-cold IPA – but no. Hell no! That would be way too easy. Instead, as one final act of torment, the course sends you weaving your way round a series of switchbacks – forcing those already fiery quads to take even more downhill abuse. You kind of already knew this would be how it would end, because – well – it’s a mirror image of how you started the race (just 8 hours earlier!).  But I think the mind can be forgiven for letting go of this little memory after 50 miles, and instead perhaps romanticizing a gleeful trot (and maybe a roly-poly or two – a bit like this) down to those very welcoming looking tents!

That last mile and a half was seriously nothing but pain, bearable only by the promise of beer! And when you reach the car park, and that cute little ad-hoc finishing chute of baby traffic cones, and get your little moment of applause and cheers, and find yourself grinning wildly as you cross the finish line – you realize once again why you do this to yourself: to endure everything that course can throw at you, and to overcome it. To prove to yourself what’s possible – if you just choose to get out there and bloody well get it done. And – most crucially of course – to get to that precious cold beer! Ohhh yes!  And who can really complain at spending the best part of a day scampering around some of the most beautiful stretches of trails in America?  Not I.

Tops off!  Soaked 2 t shirts in this race.  Then the old chafing of the nips kicked in bad at mile 35
Sun’s out – guns out! I soaked two t shirts in this race. Then the old chafing of the nips kicked in bad at mile 35.  Ouchy!

Thanks Volunteers!  For the Heads Up!

Like any top-notch ultra, there was no shortage of goodwill and very welcome comic relief exuding from the many aid and stations along the way. It’s always an amazing sight to come bursting out from the bushes – with no water left, after an hour or so battling with various hilly obstacles – and see the oasis that is the aid station up ahead. Even better when they are staffed by fun and friendly, knowledgeable folks – as was the case on Saturday. I couldn’t help but spend a few minutes at each stop, drinking as much ice cold Coca-Cola and ramming as many potatoes and Goldfish down my neck as possible. Well done volunteers – you truly were the lifeblood of the whole event. And with the looping nature of the course, there was that familiarity of encountering the same faces on your return leg – which was nice!

What’s even nicer is when you’ve leapfrogged a couple of positions and they’re like, “Whoa dude, you are cruising! And 3rd place is only two minutes ahead!”. To which I ask, “How’s 3rd place looking?”.  And they tell me, “He’s pretty beat up man.  Says he’s crawling up every hill”. Which leads me onto a big lesson I took away from this event: never ever tell aid station crew how you are really feeling! Just tell them you feel awesome – always! As a racer, it was so useful to get the inside scoop on how the race ahead was developing. This was a first for me – being truly competitive like this. As regretful as it is to say this, it really helps motivate that extra push when you know the guy ahead is close by, and – even better – is on a total death march (sorry Luke!). I’ll definitely be asking a lot more questions at aid stations from now on!

The whole situation immediately reminded me of the section in Scott Jurek’s “Eat and Run” book where he talks about how ultra racers who are competing at night time would turn off their headlamps when they saw another runner ahead, just so that they could sneak up behind them undetected then switch on their full beam and blaze past them – leaving them absolutely bewildered and mentally dejected. I tried to be a little more courteous though as I passed my runner – just in case the tables turned later in the race!

Final Salute

Thanks so much to Wendell for putting such a sweet event together, and to all the volunteers – especially the fun couple at Conzelman aid station who gave me the drive to run those hills and snatch that 3rd place. And to Jesse for lending me your hoody whilst I rummaged around in in search of my car keys (note to self: don’t “stash” your keys in the bushes; you’re not fifteen anymore!). And to your lovely wife Jenni for providing the tasty organic soup. What I give no thanks for is the drunken little man who snored like a champion ALL NIGHT in the hostel and kept me awake way longer than I cared to be awake. But still, I came 3rd in a race!!! Wheeeeeeeeee!

Chumpionee!  1st in age group, 3rd overall!  My first top 3 finish - in a proper race - that didn't involve chugging lots of beer!
Chumpionee! 1st in age group, 3rd overall! My first top 3 finish – in a proper race – that didn’t involve chugging lots of beer!