Race report - 2024 Sudbury Rocks Marathon

I would consider this to have been my real first 'post-pandemic' race, as I kind of fell out of the racing mindset over the past few years.  I could chalk it up to getting older (and slower), but I would also say that I've been very discouraged by my inability to hold the pace at my last two attempts to serve as an official marathon pacer at The County Marathon (in Picton, ON).  For both of the last two years I volunteered to be the 3:30 pacer - and while I had successfully completed that task for six years prior to 2021, the efforts that I put in for the 2022 and 2023 ended up in DNFs for me (as I fell unrecoverably off the pace both times and finished the race without actually crossing the official timing mats).

 

As such this was to be a bit of a 'redemption attempt' for me ... and I'd eyeballed the Sudbury Rocks Marathon several times before but the timing of the event (plus it's relative distance from my house - about 3 hours' drive) never quite worked out.  However this year with my responsibilities as a volleyball coach together with rehearsals/performances in "Honeymoon In Vegas" meant that this was probably the best time to give this race a shot.

 

Pre-race

My training in a lead up to the race followed basically the Hanson‘s marathon method, and while I did feel quite sluggish through it I felt also that my conditioning was actually coming to a bit of a peak - so I had some real optimism heading into race weekend. I didn’t have any solid goals, but knowing that my friend David Thompson had broken 3:20 in his Las Vegas race I decided to also use that as a benchmark.


The other thing that really helped was seeing my friend Natalie post on Facebook that she had a free pair of Nike Vaporfly 4% shoes to give away! I quickly snatched them up even though they were two sizes larger than what I would normally wear, and I had in mind that I would MacGyver them into a racing flat that I might be able to actually put to use.  But when I slipped them on my feet I didn’t feel like they were entirely like clown shoes and wondered if I might be able to actually work with them as-is. The one thing that I really liked was how spacious it was in the forefoot because of how much bigger they were … I had actually just cut out the lateral side of the upper on my Saucony Endorphin Pro 3s because the curved last was pinching my pinky toes in the most uncomfortable way.

 

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You can see the Vaporfly 4% shoes (in size 12, my normal size is 10) that came courtesy of Nat & Dylan

 

Notice the cut-out section on the Endorphin Pro 3s that I loosely covered over with another piece of borrowed shoe-upper

The trip up to Sudbury was rainy and somewhat eventful as two hours into the three hour journey my car's dashboard decided to light up like a Christmas tree and the vehicle started slowing down on its own even though I had cruise control on. That lasted for about seven seconds, and then the dashboard returned to its normal status and I was able to carry on if nothing had happened (although I know that something is definitely up).


The other thing was that my GPS device ended up taking me to a gravel pit instead of the high school where the race expo was taking place. Last time I trust TomTom.


I checked in to the residence at Cambrian College (it was the cheapest of reasonable available options) and while it was nice to be able to spread out in two-suite room the lack of a TV made it difficult for me to try to watch the Prefontaine Classic which was taking place on Saturday. I went through all sorts of password gymnastics with my family trying to log into our different accounts to see if I could access our various subscription services but in the end found that CBC Sports actually had a free live stream on their website, so I was able to sit back and relax with pizza and enjoy the event. 

Race Day

I arrived at the start area with just over an hour before the starter's horn would sound, and while there was no indoor waiting space the conditions outside were pleasant enough (10°C but foggy) to sit on some concrete planters and wait for the crowds to assemble.  There was a row of about 15 porta-pottys at Tom Davies Square which made it convenient to enough to make any last dashes before the race began.

At 7:55am the marathon, half-marathon and marathon-relay runners started out together.  It wasn't quite a mass of humanity, but it did mean that we'd have people running all sorts of different paces because some were only going to be huffing it out for 5-7km in total.  And since we weren't going to be running on an entirely closed course it meant some close quarters in various sections as we were basically ushered into the roadways' bike lanes by pylon markers.  In fact during the first 2km I clipped a runner just ahead of me because we were so pressed in together - thankfully after a quick apology on my part we were all able to carry on none the worse for wear.

I must say that for the first 7km or so I felt remarkably good, running a solid 4:21/km (which was faster than my planned goal pace, and faster than any tempo run I'd put in during the training block).  I'll credit the Vaporflys for that as I was impressed at how light the size 12s were feeling and how little I had to worry about tripping myself up with the extra length.  The margin for forefoot splay was definitely pleasant and working in my favour.

The route was already proving to be quite undulating, and knowing that I'd have to navigate these hills over the next 35km I decided to take the climbs rather conservatively.  Up to around 11km I was steadily passing runners, but at 11km one of the guys that I'd gone by caught back up to me and we had a quick chat before he overtook me.  He'd run the full at Toronto just a few weeks back and was running the half-marathon this particular morning, noting "f*** this marathon!" as he happily confessed to already being into the home stretch.  Perhaps I should have clued in that the day ahead of me might offer more than I had bargained for.

 

From km 11 through to 21 I was passed by two other runners, both of whom I'd seen at the one hairpin turn on the course (have I ever noted how much I dislike hairpin turns in races ...?).  I managed to reel in one other runner at 19k as he was struggling to finish up his half-marathon, but as I went by I kept turning around to yell encouragements to him over the next 2 km.  He managed to dig deep and crossed his finish line not long after I cruised over the half-way timing mat.

 

Halfway split - 1:34:59 (which would have been good enough for 12th place overall in the half-marathon, and 2nd place in my age category).

The second half of the race is where things really got interesting - with only 67 full-marathon entrants once I crossed the half-way point I was no longer able to see anyone ahead of me.  I was obviously well behind the next person in front, and all of a sudden it got very lonely and quiet.  Those of you who know something about the psychology of racing may have a sense of how this can be quite demotivating - especially since I couldn't detect anyone in reasonable distance behind me either, and I knew that I wasn't in first place.  Still I managed to hold my pace (now at about 4:29/km) thanks in large part to seeing some of the 10km runners coming back towards me on the opposite side of the road.  Their route was something of an out-and-back and so being able to applaud and cheer them on as they were wrapping up their race (and receiving some encouragements in return) gave me some energy to feed off of.

At this point between the escalating heat (it was a full-sun kind of day with effectively no shade on the course whatsoever), the roly-poly roads and what seemed to be a consistent headwind I watched as my pace steadily crept up.  Aside from thanking the volunteers and police officers along the way there was very little interaction with other people until 30km into the race, where I came upon another marathoner (Justin) who was battling hamstring spasms.  I checked to make sure that he was doing alright, and even though he was walking as I pressed on he would manage to pass me again in about another 4km.

The final 8km was a bit of a slugfest for me, and Justin and I was leapfrog each other (as he'd recover and then be halted by spasms) through to the end, and another three runners caught me from behind.  Still one of the things that I was perhaps most pleased about was how I managed my fueling ... this continues to be a challenge for me, but at least this time around I was able to stay on track with taking my gels on-schedule (even though the GU "Cola" liquid energy gel that I took at 35k was absolutely disgusting).  I could have done a better job of actually drinking the water/electrolytes that was being offered at the generously peppered aid stations, and perhaps in hindsight I was getting a bit dehydrated but I certainly didn't feel that way.  I may have also accidentally self-sabotaged a little bit as earlier this week I'd misread my training plan and put in a 6x1mi. workout on Monday instead of an easy 12km - but who's to say?

As I crested the hill where the 40km marker was I knew that I was not going to hit a sub-3:20 time, but I was determined to try to gut it out as best as I could.  In the final 300m I was caught once again from behind by another marathoner - but he reciprocated what I'd try to do for that half-marathon about two hours before as he cheered me on and urged me to do my best to catch him.  I wasn't able to do that, but still managed to finish upright and with a smile on my face.  As far as the shoes go, they performed admirably well - I was definitely feeling like there was still some 'bounce' in my step even late into the game, and the only thing that detracted from my experience in them was a small, sharp pebble that found its way into my left shoe at that 40km marker.  But at that point I wasn't going to stop to clear it out - so just a little reminder that sometimes you just gotta push through the pain.

Final gun time:  3:21:46

Post-race

I waited in the finishing chute area for Justin to cross the line, and he managed to run it out just about 2 min. after me.  I congratulated him and encouraged him that the marathon distance has to be respected, and that he did the best he could with what was presented to him this day.  

 

I wandered through to get my medal (presented by members of the Canadian Armed Forces), my banana and cookie and bottle of water, and then stopped to check in at the Chiptime results tent.  I chuckled as I saw that I'd finished first in my age-category ... but only because the official results showed me as "1/1" in the M50-59 group.  I'd realize a bit later that there were two others runners in my division, and that at that point they'd not yet crossed the finish line.

 

All in all it was pleasant day in the nickel belt, and I definitely give kudos to the Sudbury Rocks team for a well-organized and executed event.  Not sure I'd do it again (because of the profile of the race course itself) but I'd be happy to recommend it to anyone based off of the quality of the team hosting it!

Now it's time to recover and see what the rest of the 2024 racing calendar might hold ...

Thanks for reading (and watching)!

 

Race report - 2024 Sudbury Rocks Marathon

Belt-buckle breakdown: Run Woodstock Hallucination 100 mile race report

It was such an epic journey that it's hard to know where to begin.

So in an effort to make this more readable I'm going to break this report down not in terms of chronological sequence but rather by component parts - and hopefully those of you who are only interested in certain facets can scroll through to what catches your fancy.

Here are the areas that I'm going to focus in on:

• The course (including conditions)
• The equipment
• The (other) people
• The advice
• The runner
• The mistakes.

The course
While I'd told many people that I was going to go to Hell (Michigan) - with the hopes of also fulfilling the "and back" part - the actual address to punch into the GPS navigator had me heading to Pinckney, a little northeast of Hell and about halfway between Ann Arbor and Lansing.  I'd made the trek the night before the race to stay with my friends Chuck & Jan in Emeryville (just outside of Windsor) so that the day-of drive to Hell Creek Ranch Campground would only require 90 min. of travel time.

As the name would indicate the property on which we'd be starting the race was a campground - and a funky-vibed one at that.

Can you dig the speed limit, sucka .....?!?!

The 100-mile race distance consists of six 16.6 mile loops (or 26.7 km), and as I was to find out upwards of 1/3 of the loop was either on crushed limestone rail-trail or rural sideroad.  Aid stations were situated approximately 4 miles apart, so we had the initial start/finish aid station (with drop bag tent), the "Grace" station (at 4 mi. and then crossed again at 12 mi.) and "Richie's Haven".  At each station there were plenty of friendly faces, loads of snacks/liquids/foods and rockin' tunage.

With respect to the trail conditions they were very well groomed and not particularly technical - for all intents and purposes the entire course was runnable (except perhaps for the steepest and longest incline at 13 mi.) and there was only really one notable patch of mud that required circumnavigation.  Aside from that the biggest hazard (and some were big) were the piles of horse droppings that greeted you from time to time ... easily dodged in the daylight, but almost indistinguishable from the regular trail footing at night (yuck).

There were boardwalks over ponds and creeks.

There was marshland with shoulder-height grass and weeds (which I was almost certain would send me home with at least a few ticks, but thankfully none were found).

There were extended sections of downhill bombing with 'death to the right' (aka a steep drop-off, but I like Rhonda-Marie's descriptor better).

There were next-to-no bugs (mosquitoes, deerflies or otherwise).  I think that during the entire race I might have swatted at bugs perhaps four times, and was never bitten.

And as for the conditions on the day (and night), you could hardly have asked for better.  There was a steady rain that lasted for maybe 30-40 min. at around 1pm on Friday afternoon (the race start time was at 4pm), but after that there was no precipitation that affected the run.  This meant that everything underfoot was relatively secure, and even when the nighttime temperatures cooled down to about 14°C (vs. the daytime high of about 24°C) there was nothing to make it miserable or even unenjoyable ... it was all-around pleasant.  I didn't need to don any of the extra layers (e.g. long-sleeved tech top, rain jacket or running pants) that I'd brought with me so that minimized the amount of extra time that might otherwise have been required for changing into different outfits.

Now I have to say something else about the vibe of the campground - when we looped back through the start/finish area it was hard not to feel encouraged.  With so many people camping out as part of the race weekend (families, crew members, racers tackling different distances) there was never a point - even in the dead of night) when there wasn't a cascade of applause lifting your spirits.  As well during the daylight hours there was music playing (live bands on the soundstage were a feature part of the camping experience), and just tons of colour to stimulate your visual senses.  It was - dare I say it? - groovy.

 [ Photo courtesy of Run Woodstock on Facebook ]

The equipment
This is just a basic rundown of what I used during the race:

• Shoes:  Reebok Floatride Forever Energy (although these are road shoes they did serve me well at the Sunburn Solstice Trail Run and the Limberlost Challenge - plus I was encouraged when there were a few other 100-mile runners that I spoke with pre-race who had competed in this event in previous years and chose to lace up road shoes as well)
• Apparel:  Reebok "Race Crew" ACTIVCHILL tee; Reebok 5-in. split shorts; Falke RU Energizing compression socks; Sugoi arm sleeves; Buff original headwear (as neck-warmer/sweat absorber)
• Pack: Ultimate Direction AK 2.0 Race Vest (with Platypus Big Zip LP 1.5L bladder, courtesy of superathlete extraordinaire Christina Blackley) 
• Headlamps:  Princeton Tec Remix (125 lumens) and Black Diamond Astro (150 lumens)
• Watch:  Epson RunSense SF-810 (which unfortunately ran out of battery partway through the fourth loop)
• Nutrition:  REKARB energy syrups; GU gels; PC Organics banana & raspberry strained baby food pouches (this stuff was like magic!); assorted Timbits; Ironman Ruth's homemade oat-cakes and rhubarb/banana/chocolate muffins; Salt Stick salt tablets; Pep-O-Mint Lifesavers

And then there was the extra stuff that I packed but never ended up actually using/needing (but was still glad that I had with me):

• Skechers GOTrail Ultra 3 (extra shoes)
• Dollar-store variety 'magic gloves'
• Reebok running performance cap
• Reebok run essentials s/s and l/s shirt
• Team Running Free fleece hoodie (at the advice of my friend Julius)
• Jar of pickles
• Trader Joe almonds  

A pretty decent haul in the race kit goody bag!

The people
This list go almost literally go on and on - prior to the race I deliberately sought the advice of a number of experienced ultrarunning friends, including Steph Hurtado, Keith Lascelles, Chad Dickinson, Steven Parke and Jim Willett.  I'd benefited so much as well from the comraderie and encouragment of my tribe the Barrie RunNinjas, and would be remiss if I didn't thank the Barrie Trail Running Club too.

However along the way in the race there were definitely a few folks who played a big part in the overall experience:

• Marilyn - we first met in the line for race kit pick-up.  I immediately took notice of her slight and diminutive frame which I interpreted to be 'fit and fast' - and sure enough as she engaged me in pleasant small talk while we waited together in line she told me that while being a first-timer at the Hallucination 100 like me (she was from the greater Boston area) she was "6 for 10" in 100 milers.  I would later pick her brain while setting up gear in the start/finish area drop-bag tent, covering everything from pacing to how much extra gear to bring on any given loop.  We started pretty much together but after about 3k I (foolishly?) sped ahead and didn't see her again until my 5th lap when I was really struggling with GI issues and she passed me looking strong.  I would only see her again after regaining some strength and obliviously saying "trying to pass on your left" at about mile 99.  My finishing time was only about two minutes ahead of hers, and when she crossed I wanted to be there to greet her and offer up my thanks.  She embraced me with the hugest bear-hug possible and tearfully congratulated me on my big accomplishment. 
• David - we had our stuff situated beside each other in the start/finish drop-bag tent, and got to chatting while waiting for the pre-race meeting.  David was a local runner and had finished a few hundos, including the Hallucination 100 several years back.  I immediately noticed his stars-and-stripes running shorts, and we connected not just on the fashion front but also as he is a dad to a few young-adult children.  I loved going through David's fueling plan with him, which included some niacin tablets which I learned can warm you up when feeling cold during a long race.  While a seasoned ultra-athlete, I saw David hurting during his third lap and he told me that his hamstrings were simply not having it that day ... and as such he had to drop out after about 45 miles.
• Doug - I connected with Doug as we started from the campground on the second loop.  From the campground the course narrows to single track, so I got to chatting with him and another younger runner (Jacob) and we ran together for the next 4km or so.  We were exchanging stories about how we got into running, and I found out that among other things Doug's nickname was "Goat" (apparently short for "Rancid Goat"!) and that he's been quite involved in charity races and helping execute races of various distances which are promoted as friendly to first-time racers.  A super-friendly guy, Doug and I would end up playing 'leap-frog' for pretty much the remainder of the race - he and his pacer (unlike me, Doug had a full crew there to help him with logistics, refueling and pacing) would often pass me out on the course but we'd see each other at the aid stations because Doug (who was nursing a bad hamstring issue himself) would spend more time resting while I tried to grab some food and keep moving.  Doug was 110% pure grit, and it was so inspiring and uplifting to my spirits to keep crossing paths with him all throughout the day and night and day again. 
• The border patrol/customs agents - obviously an unusual addition to a race report, but I found that both entering the USA and re-entering Canada the border guards were absolutely fascinated by the fact that my reason for travel was to run an ultramarathon, much less a 100 miler.  As soon as they caught wind that that was the focus of my trip they completely abandoned the normal array of questions (e.g. where do you live, are you bringing anything into the country, how long is your stay, etc.) and just peppered me with questions about the logistics of the race, what kind of training was required and what kind of plan I had in place to stay awake and moving.  I almost felt like I had to cut them off just so that I wouldn't tick off the other cars in line behind me.  

The advice
When I peruse through other people's race reports I admin to sometimes not reading through the entire narrative - not because its uninteresting, but because my sole purpose is try to walk away with a few nuggets of information that I can implement into my next comparable venture.  As such I thought that I would highlight some of the key pieces of advice that I received which I think are worth noting for anyone attempting an ultramarathon, and perhaps in particular a hundred-miler:

• Walk before you have to - I know that I voiced this myself after reflecting on the Sunburn Solstice Trail Run, but I've also read/heard this from multiple fronts.  At some point in an ultra you are most likely to have to walk - so incorporate them strategically instead of feeling that its a last resort.  When you choose an interval to walk you are almost certainly even going to carry that on at a more vigourous pace than if you are reduced to having to walk.
• Stay in the moment - a video that I'd recently come across was a TED talk by a gent named Ned Phillips and out of all the stories that he told the one little bit that stuck with me was about how important it is when running to just think about running.  Sounds simple, and it is - but profoundly so:  https://youtu.be/_tc4K5Zujqw?t=629
• Be careful of over-preparing - another video that proved immensely helpful was an interview with Anton Krupicka (won the Leadville 100 twice, and placed second in 2010 at Western States).  Besides reiterating the 'stay in the moment' approach Anton also shared some reassuring words about how ignorance leading into one's first 100-miler can be underrated.  It's not an excuse for negligence or laziness in making sure that you're well-trained and reasonably aware of what's in front of you, but that you can overthink your preparation.  I even read that you can over-pack, putting energy and $$ into bring far more stuff than you need, especially to races (like the Hallucination 100) that has fantastic aid stations that are not too too far apart.  Even the very small cooler of food/snacks that I brought was barely scratched because of how well stocked the race aid stations were.
• Brushing your teeth can feel as good as a shower - this was a tidbit advised by both my friends Steven and Steph.  I packed a toothbrush and toothpaste and pulled them out after lap #4 (approx. 9:00 am) in the hopes that having a fresh mouth would revitalize me.  It was no instant wake-up call, but I can say that I did have something to look forward to as I was plodding toward sunrise, and it was great to feel like my breath wouldn't melt metal.

The runner
What can I say?  I spent an entire season only racing ultras in the hopes of being fit enough to complete the Hallucination 100 in the allotted time (30-hour cut-off, which would give me a Western States qualifying ballot).  In addition to plenty of time logged on my feet I also took Steven's advice of trying to put in a few run streaks to try to help bolster my mental preparation - for me this meant running every day for the month of January (no mean feat during the polar vortex-type winters here in Barrie, ON) and the month of March.   I figured that if I could get out there when I was not only tired but the conditions were certainly prohibitive that perhaps I would be ready for pushing through those proverbial 'walls' when I felt like running was the last thing that I wanted to do.

And the walls, they came.

I think that there were at least five distinct occasions during my 100-mile run when I effectively thought that I was done.  The earliest occurrence was at around kilometre 32 when I was walking up a hill and couldn't even maintain a straight path.  Now I confess to have been battling light-headedness and vertigo for the five days leading up the Hallucination 100 - I think that it may have been a result of a sinus infection - and wasn't even sure that I would make it to the start line.  However I felt like I could give it a go with my only real fear being that if/when I fell on the trails that the world might start spinning out-of-control.  Thankfully that didn't end up happening (maybe in part due to the fact that when I did fall I went full-out Superman diving instead of my normal tuck-and-roll strategy).

Then there was the GI (gastro-intestinal) stuff.

As much as I have tried to learn from the assortment of ultras that I managed to complete this year, I still do not have a handle on how to fuel in a way that doesn't upset my stomach.  By the time that I was going around on loop #5 (about 85km in) I was finding it very difficult to get in the calories that I needed without having my stomach reject it altogether.  I was grateful that aid station #1/#3 (we passed by it twice) had plain cheese pizza, but the only way that I could get it down was to walk slowly and try to eat it in the smallest of nibble-sizes.  I couldn't handle anything sweet - so no more gels, no candy, not enough peanut butter & jam sandwiches.  And even chicken noodle soup threatened to make a reappearance after swallowing it if I tried to consume it in modestly-full spoonfuls.  This made for a recipe of near-disaster as I went into a serious calorie-deficit position and pretty much walked the entire fifth lap.

About 27km of watching people look good while I felt like a zombie. 

27km of hearing "on your left".

27km of thinking about how I was going to draft my 'DNF' race report.

Oh, and did I mention that my watch had run out of battery life during the fourth loop?

I'd told myself that I was pretty much spent, and that there would be no way that after the fifth lap that I would have enough time (at my current pace) to make the cut-off.  That decision to bail was also made psychologically a bit easier given that the organizers give anyone who completes more than 100km the option to back down and receive a time for the "Happening 100k" (instead of a DNF in the 100 miler) as well as a medal for that distance.

Coming back into the campground at the end of lap 5 I sat down (and I really hadn't sat down all race long - I tried to keep moving at all times, even if it was just at a slow walk) convinced that I was done.  The senior volunteer who was tracking bib numbers as we came through the aid station asked me how long before I'd set out for the last go-round, and I told her I was pretty much finished.  Her response was "but you still have lots of time" ... and not knowing what time it was exactly I still had no designs on pressing on.  I was pretty sure that it was past 4pm, and that would leave me a total of six hours or less to complete another 27km of feeling downright nasty.

"It's 3:31 pm", she said.

Moment of truth time.

With more than six hours left I somehow convinced myself that I could give it a go and pull out at one of the aid stations if/when things got extraordinarily ugly.  So I (figuratively) girded my loins, and went to ring the bell that hung in the aid tent - it was explained to us during the pre-race meeting that on the final lap runners had to ring the bell to signal that they were only going round once more (much like you would hear at a track-and-field event).  Once I gave it a good ring I planted my right foot forward to try to muster something of a jog ...

And guess what?

I actually found myself running.  Faster than I had for the previous 5-7 hours.  Not sure if it was the bell that mentally woke me up, or the prospect of potentially being able to earn my first belt buckle - whatever it was, I managed to make my last loop my third fastest of the race:

• Loop 1 - 3:10
• Loop 2 - 3:53
• Loop 3 - 5:01
• Loop 4 - 5:10
• Loop 5 - 6:17
• Loop 6 - 4:23

As a last note on this section I'll say that even though I did not have any crew or pacers with me (and honestly I think that this event was well set-up to not need any additional help) I did use the setting sun as my 'unofficial' pacer for the final loop.  The last thing that I wanted to have to do is to pull out my headlamp again to run in the dark - so my cadence picked up with the lengthening shadows.  There's nothing quite like desperation to keep your feet moving.

The final tale of the tape

The mistakes
I'm sure that there are many more errors in judgment, preparation and execution but I think that I'll just note two of them here:

1. Driving home right after finishing - yep, I waddled my way from the finishing to collect my drop-bag stuff and headed straight out of the campground to my car.  I then launched headlong into the 5+ hour drive home, which included a late-night stop at McDonald's to grab a caffeine jolt and numerous overpass bridges that seemingly became Transformers before my eyes.  Apparently the hallucinations for me were kept on hold until after the run.  Still, I managed to get home safely somehow, grabbed a shower and hit the hay in my own bed.  This all despite numerous recommendations not to extend my streak of 34 awake hours to 39 (including my wife telling me to just nab a hotel room).  Don't try this at home, kids.
2. Giving myself very little recovery time - I took two days off of running after getting home.  I thought that my legs actually felt pretty good, and since I had already committed to pacing the County Marathon again this year I didn't want to dive into off-season mode quite yet.  And while I didn't launch into a hardcore training week, I did help my friend Jeremy move the following weekend and promptly threw my back out completely.  I was shelved for about three days with radiating lower-back pain, and after that subsided my neck seized up for another three days.  I felt like I was physically falling to pieces, but I suspect that that was just my body telling me "what - you didn't think that I just did the most strenuous workout in 49 years of life?".

-----

So there it is - the Hallucination 100 as I best remember it.  Where we go from here is to submit my single ballot into the 2020 Western States Endurance Run lottery - and even if I don't see my name drawn (which is almost guaranteed) I may think about hitting up another belt buckle adventure.  It was an excellent time all in all, and I still believe that I could finish one in under 24 hours.

But first, some donuts and a decent off-season ...! :)

Sign me up for another rodeo, cowboy!

Belt-buckle breakdown: Run Woodstock Hallucination 100 mile race report

The Sunburn Solstice Trail Run (Full) - race report

Yes sir, the definition of insanity is indeed doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result ...

That was the kind of feeling that I had during this race.

I'd signed up to compete in the inaugural edition of Happy Trails Racing's "The Sunburn Solstice Trail Run" in the hopes of attacking it as a training run in advance of the planned 100-mile attempt later on this September.  I thought that both in terms of time on my feet (as the event was scheduled to cover the entire period between sunrise and sunset - 15h23m - on June 22, the longest day of the summer) and projected distance this would be a solid test of my physical fitness and mental fortitude.

Admittedly I did come into the race with my stores still somewhat depleted - not to make excuses or diminish my effort (or anyone else's for that matter), but I know that having participated in a 50 miler, a 300+ km relay and a 10km push-chair event in the month leading up to it that I'd done a delicate, or perhaps not-so-delicate dance with the overtraining monster.  Still I'd scaled back significantly in the mid-June weeks to try to rest up and not be a ticking time-bomb standing at the start line.

One of the other very cool things about this event was that the Happy Trails Racing (HTR) team structured this race as a fundraiser for Camp Marydale's "One-to-One" program.  As we were running on the trails of Camp Marydale it seemed fitting to give back to them, and the "One-to-One" program is intended to help provide resources so that kids with exceptional needs could be given the opportunity to experience summer camp just like their peers.  I decided to put some energy into this as a way of leveraging my running for the benefit of others, but also (just being honest here) because HTR offered to refund entry fees for anyone bringing in more than $200 in donations.

Gotta say that I was blown away by the support of friends both newer and older, far and near who responded to my call for support - they all helped me to surpass my individual goal of $500, and the event's overall goal of raising $4000.

Highlights

1.  The Happy Trails Racing team - this was my first time participating in an HTR event although I'd known of Jeff (Rowthorn) and Heather (Borsellino) and always heard amazing things about them.  A number of my friends have also been ambassadors for HTR and spoke highly of the great vibe at their races as well as about the high degree of excellence with which they are executed.  The Sunburn Solstice Trail Run certainly delivered on all counts, from an amazing race kit including sunglasses, a metal whistle and a white pine sapling to the start/finish aid station which was fully staffed and fully stocked (e.g. protein balls, M&Ms, veggie dogs, pickles, grilled cheese sandwiches, watermelon, oh my!).  The course was super-clearly marked, the photog was all over the course (thanks to the irrepressible Sue Sitki Photography) and the venue pretty much ideal.  Can't think of a negative thing to say about the day from the organizational perspective!

2.  So many amazing new friends made - While there were all sorts of familiar faces that I was so pleased to have bumped into (K, Sandi, Tyler, Steve, Spencer, Rebecca, April and Melanie to name a few) it was also a tremendous privilege to have shared the course with a whole bunch of new-to-me friends.  From starting the day with Anna (choosing to celebrate her 21st anniversary with her husband at the race), Coffee (yup, that's his name!) and Reza (the eventual full-solstice winner) to meeting Jason (hiking the whole day with a 50-lb. rucksack), Brian, Jeff, Sheila, Craig, Mary, Renate, James, David and Julius (who helped drag my butt through the entire day), they were the ones who helped me to maintain a smile across the miles.

3.  The weather - It was a totally suitable day for an outing called "The Sunburn Solstice" as the conditions included almost full sun with temperatures peaking at around 25°C and only light breezes - a pretty glorious environment all in all.

4.  The course - Despite it being 'only' a 4km loop, there was sufficient variation in terrain to keep things interesting - from a short paved pathway to grassy tracks to, dusty trails to short wooden bridge crossings, and one hairpin turn in a parking lot around a small monument.  The mud was almost negligible (woo hoo!) with only a short 4 ft. patch that actually threatened to encompass shoes.

5.  No tripping or blisters - I'd elected to go full Reebok-kit on the day, including wearing the Floatride Forever Energy on my feet.  Even with road shoes I managed to not stumble or fall, and my feet held up well with no hot spots, rubbing or soreness.  #feelthefloatride !

Lowlights
Alas, it can't all be fun and games ...

1.  Poor fueling - Even though I'd loaded up my handheld with a GU electrolyte drink mix and stored an extra bottle's worth plus a tub of drink mix powder in my cooler at the start/finish pavilion area I somehow managed to neglect to consume enough calories through the first half of the day.  By the time that I hit 42km (around 10:30 am) I was STARVING!!  I'd been up since 2:00 am and really not had much to eat until that point, only sipping on my bottle maybe a handful of times ... so I decided to take a full-blown lunch break at the conclusion of that loop (maybe 20 min.) and downed some grilled cheese sandwiches, several pickles, some coke and a few cupcakes.  I had to then spend the next 30 min. or so just walking the course so that I gave myself sufficient time to digest, and then started up running once more.  And you know what?  After eating I felt like a million bucks!  -1000 points for not having a smart race-fueling strategy.

2.  The heat - Despite my best efforts to dump water on my head regularly, take salt tabs and stay hydrated I think that I fell victim to a moderate form of heat stress.  The course was about 50-60% canopied so it wasn't like we were constantly baked in the sun, but somewhere around 80km into the race my gut was feeling off ... like, waaaayyyy off.  After departing the start/finish aid station at 88km I almost immediately threw up in the grass beside the paved pathway leading into the woods - I then recovered enough to walk/jog for another km before repeating my oh-so-lovely display of wretching.  This continued for the pretty much the last 12km of my day, and thankfully I managed to not compound my situation by becoming seriously dehydrated.  I'm glad that none of the photos captured these moments for posterity.

3.  Only 100km - As ridiculous as it sounds, this was the minimum threshold of what I'd hoped to accomplish on this day, even considering that (a) I'd never run this long or (b) I'd never run this far in one session.  Plus I barely made to this point.  I limped away from the day seriously thinking that I need to bail on the Hallucination 100 miler because there'd be no way that I could pack in another 60km.  However, after a short and slow 8km recovery run the next morning I was back to my ridiculously deluded self and am still planning on making the trip to Hell, Michigan in September.

Lessons Learned
1.  Eat, man, eat! - I've gotta get better at pounding down the necessary calories, especially early in a race.

2.  Walk more - Again this is something that I need to do before I need to do it.

3.  Pacers and crew can make a difference - I'm grateful to Spencer (whom I first met a couple of years ago while pacing at The County Marathon) who jumped in to keep me going at around the halfway point when I just wasn't feeling it anymore.  And there were folks like Anna and Sandi and Julius who lifted my spirits just when things were looking bleak ... in these distances running is definitely a team sport.

4.  Even my hurt can be someone else's hope - The HTR team was gracious enough to recognize me as one of their "Wolf Patch" recipients, stating that "The Wolf Patch is for the runner who exhibits a 'pack mentality' by showing an abundance of compassion and camaraderie on the course to the other runners, staff, and volunteers."  I'm not sure how I was even considered for this as most of my race was focused on trying to keep myself upright and moving forward, but there must have been something in my grimacing and muttering that was perceived as helpful to my fellow competitors.

- - - - - - -

I'll definitely have to add another HTR event to my calendar sometime soon, if even just to be blessed by the amazing energy of the folks who are a part of this tribe!

Next up is another attempt at redemption at The Limberlost Challenge 56k this Saturday - let's see if I'm actually any wiser (if not better) this time around!

The Sunburn Solstice Trail Run (Full) - race report

Taking a thrashing at the 2019 Sulphur Springs Trail Run (50 mile race report)

I contemplated titling this post "Confessions of a Perpetual Overtrainer".

Whatever you want to call it, this year's edition of the Sulphur Springs Trail Run was nothing short of ridiculously awful.  Still, I lived to tell the tale, and would recommend it to anyone who'd care to give it a shot.

My second ultramarathon-distance race of the year turned out (yet again!) to be not just a test of endurance but an environmental challenge ... last month it was the snow and wind, and this time around it was the thunder, lightning, copious amounts of rain and subsequent pits of mud.  As my friend Tyler (who finished 3rd overall for the 50-mile distance) described it, the course offered up 1/3 of its trail as an experience of running through glue.  I would amend that and say that it was some devious combination of glue and Crisco.  Imagine combining an ultramarathon with mud-wrestling, and you'll understand how I (and about 1200 other people) spent our Saturday.

To be fair, I had a great first loop running with my friend Nick Wagner whom I hadn't seen since the 2016 EndurRUN.  Back in 2016 Nick hadn't yet run anything beyond a half-marathon in terms of distance, but now he was an experienced ultramarathoner with at least one 100k race under his belt.  I remember how strong a runner he was a few years ago, and he's only become fitter and more durable since then.  We had a great 25k or so chatting it up and busting along not-yet-damp footing until I got a pebble in my shoe and had to stop to extricate it - I insisted that he continue forward, and while I was able to keep him within visual distance after starting up again I was never able to catch back up.

It wasn't long after that that the monsoon rains hit in the midst of what may well have been a severe thunderstorm warning.  Of course this transformed the softer ground into tarpits, and while I was able to continue to stubbornly plug away it was at about 35k that I weebled-and-wobbled my way into a groin pull while trying to maintain my balance on one particularly greasy section.  I knew pretty quickly that this didn't bode well.

During the third loop my knees felt wrecked, my inner thighs overdone, and I was walking a significant portion of the loop.  I seriously wanted to pull the plug after 60k but told myself that if I did that then there'd be no way that I'd have any hope of making it through a 100-miler ... so I resolved that even if it meant walking through the entire final 20k I'd finish this race.  Two things helped me to see this resolution through:  (1) the spring roll at aid station #3 was an out-of-body experience at 53k, and (2) the thought that if I could get done by 6pm I'd have a hope of making it back in time for the game 6 tip-off between the Toronto Raptors and the Milwaukee Bucks.

I have to say that having given myself that bit of margin was a real relief, and even though I saw many people passing me by (even the 50-mile winner lapped me with about 50 metres left to the start/finish line) I was content to just to try to pack the training miles in.  I approached each long tract of mud with trepidation as I was concerned about doing any kind of serious damage that might jeopardize the next couple months' worth of running and racing.  Plodding my way along I was also grateful to cross paths with Sherman Lam (a former Running Free teammate) at 73k - his positive attitude and trekking poles helped pace me through the next 5k or so, and I finally finished a shade over 11 hours.

Half-baked ramblings after hobbling my way to the car post-race

The long car ride home was made even longer by torrential rains that brought Hwy. 403 to a crawl between Hamilton and Oakville, so a 90 min. drive had an extra hour tacked on to that because of the weather.  So running or automobiling, the environmental conditions had my number that day.

I've now given myself a few days off of running this week to try to be ready to contribute to the Team Reebok effort at the Ragnar Relay - Niagara event starting tomorrow.  I'll be running as part of the 'ultra' team, so each of our 6 members will have 6 legs of the course to do (ballpark of about 50 km as the total distance from Cobourg to Niagara Falls is 306 km).  The only snag in this whole 'week of recovery' plan was going out last night for an easy trail run with the RunNinjas only to have turned my ankle for the first time all year leading to what quite possibly is a moderate strain of the extensor digitorum brevis muscle.  

Pain cave, once again here I come.

Taking a thrashing at the 2019 Sulphur Springs Trail Run (50 mile race report)

From PYP 2019 (50k) to Sulphur Springs 2019 (50 miler)

It's T-minus 20 hours until the start of my second-ever 50 mile race ... and boy, do I ever feel underpowered.

Just about a month ago I completed the first ultra on my race calendar for 2019, the Pick Your Poison Trail Run. There's so much to like about it - a hometown race, early enough in the year to keep you motivated for winter training, plenty of elevation changes, scenic trails and fabulous goodies (the jar of honey at packet pick-up and the pair of socks at the finish line) - but this year it proved to be a doozie of a day with wicked winds and snow greeting competitors first thing in the morning.

Feeling like I've pulled into the base camp for an ascent of Mt. Everest!

 

Yup ... I could just stay cozy inside the chalet all morning ...

Knowing that I was approaching this event as a 'training day' (with my long-term preparation for the Hallucination 100 mile run in view) I wanted to do my best to exercise restraint and hold a controlled and manageable pace throughout this run.  However, the formula of snowy trails + 375 runners equalled major mud + packed ice by the time that loops 3 and 4 (each loop being 12.5k) came around, so it felt more like a "how can I get through this uninjured" type of day.  All in all though it turned out to be quite survivable, even enjoyable given the company along the route, great encouragement from spectating crowds and unbelievable support from the folks who willingly braved the elements to staff the aid stations.  I was happy to walk away with a 6:09 finish time, and four reasonably even split times for each loop.

A quick post-event video rundown!

Now I get to stretch out my trail running legs a bit longer - the last time that I took on Sulphur Springs was four years ago for the 50k distance, so this will definitely be a tougher test distance-wise, compounded by the forecast of thunderstorms.

Got my gels, pizza, cupcakes and cinnamon buns packed - let's do this thing!

From PYP 2019 (50k) to Sulphur Springs 2019 (50 miler)