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| Starting line - 5AM |
Last Saturday June 4rd with a high of 84 degrees I ran the North Face Endurance Challenge Washington DC – 50 miles in eleven hours twenty nine minutes and finished 163/239 (250 started the race).
The cut off time was 13 hours but my personal goal was to do it in less than 12 hours.
My previous 50 miler time was 10:05 but it was a much easier course and in perfect 60ish degree weather. In my limited experience, in most cases the marathon course can change your time by minutes, may be even ½ hour but in an ultra or trail race it can mean hours. It is not easy to compare your performance because of the differences in technical difficulty, elevation, etc; except you run the same race or one with very similar ratings. My previous 50 miler was on a hilly course but on the road; it was a totally different experience.
The race runs through the Algonkian Regional Park, the Great Falls Park woods and along the cliffs of the Potomac river in Sterling, VA.
The course has difficulty ratings as follows: 3 out of 5 stars for “elevation change,” 2 out of 5 starts for “technical terrain,” and 3 out of 5 stars for “overall difficulty.”
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| Potomac River - 3 loops in this cliff |
Overall, it consists of 50% single track, 30% dirt or gravel double track, 10% gravel carriage road and 10% paved road. The Great Falls sections are highlighted by some intense elevation changes, with steep-but-run-able climbs up to 300 feet. The River Trail covers what is widely held as the marquee section the event: up to three miles of tip-toeing and hopping along bluffs high above the Potomac River.
This race featured 50 miles of some of the prettiest trails I’ve ran.
The event started pretty early for the 50 miler group, it was dark and we were required to wear a headlamp for the first 2 hours. Failure to carry it could automatically disqualify you.
While getting ready to start I looked at the other runners wondering who will be the winner. I am not that familiar with all the Ultra athletes so I couldn’t recognize any face other than Dean Karnazes who was a guest. He didn’t run but he was there all day to host the event. I noticed that many runners were his friends and also many others seemed to know each other. I felt like a baby runner in between all those ultra marathoners and I wished there were some Flyers there with me!!
Miles 1-15: Dark and little chilly at first but soaked after just 30 minutes!!
When I stepped out of my hotel at 3:20 AM it wasn’t really very hot or humid; actually it was a little chilly. By 5:30, having been running for only half an hour in the dark, I was drenched in sweat.
In previous ultras my strategy has always been to start at the end of the pack, I am always the last one and in general I start passing people in the last 20 miles. This time I wanted to try something different and I went out faster. The first section of the race was easier than the rest and that was one of the reasons why I changed my strategy. Also, I noticed there were very fit and competitive athletes doing this race and I needed to push hard if I didn’t want to be the last one!
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| Headlamps for the first 2 hours |
The first 2 hours were fairly quick, in a narrow single path with hundreds of runners that were all in line. You could see all the headlamps aligned on the path. Soon after this section the trail opened up to a wide gravel path, I was running a little faster than my marathon pace but I knew I was going to slow down in the more technical section. At this point some of the runners in the back started to pass me. I can’t lie…I didn’t like that feeling at all!! I knew this was going to happen but still I didn’t like it. I have to admit that I like the other strategy more as passing people is much more fun than being passed!!
I tried to keep my pace and didn’t let the anxiety to trick me!! it was just mile 8 and there were 42 more miles to go!!
These miles were uneventful, with the exception of a blister that I felt developing on my right foot and 1 crash just after the 5:00 am start when I tripped on a root while trying to take a picture for this post and landed hard resulting in a bruised arm! (Lesson learned: take pictures just when you can see where you are running and in flat safe sections of the race!)
We ran some quiet trails along the river and every runner were just trying to get into their pace before arriving to mile 15 were the difficult part of the race was awaiting for us.
Miles 16-35: 7 miles loop - Breathtaking, challenging and fun- the first time.
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| Some of the rocks :) and girls motivation! |
The most difficult part of the race was a seven-mile loop that took us right along the Potomac river, where we literally had to jump from rock to rock, about five feet from the edge of a hundred-foot cliff that dropped straight down to the Potomac river. When we were not in the cliff we were running through huge rocks, hills and stairs!!! Yes, there were some wooden stairs on the way!! Anyway, the first time was fun and unexpected.
By the second time you started to think “ a single false step could quite literally kill me” and the cute stairs became “ Oh god, the stairs are coming soon!!”.
Some people were even too much aggressive when passing you in this section. Hello!!! Let’s try to survive first!! You can pass me after the cliff!!!
The third time around was done in survival mode!! The cliff wasn’t that breathtaking anymore and you couldn’t mind not to see the waterfall never again in your life!!
The only good thing about the third loop was that we were close to be just 15 miles away and back to the shaded part of the trail!!
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| The Cliff!!! |
I was feeling really good and I was now passing people that have passed me before!! PACE YOURSELF!! That is the key to run ultras. I am slow but I ran steady and I don’t do much walking on my ultras.
Many people run ultras as fast as they run marathons but I am not fast running marathons neither!! I hope to get faster as I get more experienced on runner ultras, for now I try to be realistic about my time goals and the main objective is to finish STRONG!! I couldn’t like crossing the finish line walking!! I like to finish strong and smiling. I love running ultras and I want to push myself but I also want to enjoy it. I don’t want to say “never again” after finishing!!!
The terrain was difficult, rocky and with many ups and downs. At this point I started to feel pain in my ankles for all the jumping in the rocks and the down hills. Anyway, with 15 miles to go I was really having fun!
When I run shortest races and even marathons I always feel I will be able to finish it and the biggest concern is whether I will get a personal best or not. In an ultra my biggest doubt is whether I will finish or not. I don’t want to say that this is the same for everyone but I could think so.
There is a point where you know you will make it. Mine was around mile 32. There is not a logical explanation as still so many things can go wrong but you feel excited, energized and unstoppable!! This is the moment when you said out loud…” Yes, I am having a great race and I have no doubts I will finish this!!”. You don’t think that much about your time yet, this comes later.
Miles 36-50: Sometime things are not as you remember. The down-hills are now up-hills
At the aid station in mile 35, we started our way back to the finish line. It was a nice feeling to know that there were only 15 miles ahead and that I already knew the course or at least that was what I thought.
I remembered some nice flats and downhill trails from the morning. I guess there are so many things going on your head when you are running for so many hours that you can’t think straight!! ……now we were going uphill!!...nice!!
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| Finishing the 50 miler!! |
At this point I started to think about the 13 hours cut off time, my pace and how many miles per hour I was going to be able to run. GPS watches die after 5 or 6 hours so this time I decided to use my Garmin just as a watch.
When you have been running in 80 degrees for more than 8 hours even the most simple equation became impossible without a calculator!! I panic!!
I started to think I was not going to be able to cross the finish line on time, that I was running to slow, that I didn’t have my headlamp and I was going to be in the woods at night etc….your mind can trick you!! I had plenty of time and there was no way I was going to be in the woods at night. I told another runner about this and he laughed …“ OMG, you have plenty of time!! Look how you are running at mile 35 while others are walking!!” I guess he was right, I was running, I was feeling well and I just had 15 miles to go!!
A little more than 2 loops in the park…come on I know I can run two loops in the park..I kept telling myself.
By mile 37 I had no water as there were a huge gap between the 35 miles aid station and the next one at mile 42. It was a hot day to run all these miles without water. In this case 5 miles it is not 1 hour running!! And it was pretty hot!!
I was dying for water and I had no idea how far I was from the next station. In ultras there are not miles markers on the course as in a marathon. The aid stations are your reference for the miles. I think this was the worst part of the ultra, not only for me but for other runners too. It was here where I saw many people walking for miles! Many runners that looked really “fit” were not running anymore and we were all asking each other the same question “ Do you know how far are we from next station?”
When I got to the aid station, I was the happiest person in the world!! One of the volunteers filled up my bottle with iced water!!! It was the best thing ever!! So fresh, so cool, so …water!!!! It was like a boost of energy!!! I didn’t even eat anything and just started running again …happy with my cold water…I could hear the tick tick of the ice cubes while running and felt refreshed!!
With only eight miles to go I was decided to keep running without stopping. I was certain that I was going to finish this thing. I ran almost the entire remaining distance, stopping only two times in the aid stations at mile 5 and 1.7 for more water.
It was at the 45 miles aid station where this couple told me that they were dying and couldn’t run anymore until they saw me passing by….they said I inspired them to run again. It is nice to inspire people and I felt good that they said that. We ran together for one mile and them I left them behind. Later I saw them finishing just 10 minutes behind me.
Mile 48.5 - The moments just before you achieve something pretty spectacular that you've been working for a long time it's surreal and indescribable. I looked at my watch and I knew that even if I had to crawl to the finish line I was going to make it before the cut off time. I started to run faster.
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| I did it!!!! |
Another runner approached me. We passed each other several times during the day and he finally started to speak with me. It was an Asian man in his 50ish. He told me that he had run the race 5 times already and that he was training for his fifth 100 miler. I told him about my dream of one day be able to run a 100 miler too and he told me he was sure I will, that he saw me running very strong all day. He said “You should go for it!!” As if I need more people encouraging me to do crazy things!!! LOL
As we approached the final quarter mile I could hear the music and the crowd cheering. I cried. He looked at me and said…let’s go!! Keep up!! Run faster!!!
After 50 miles running in silent, there were people cheering, clapping and screaming to us.
I cried again and felt a knot in my throat. I was going to make it. I was going to catch my dream again.
When people ask me why I like to run ultras I always wish they would feel what I fell the few seconds before crossing the finish line. I cannot find the words to describe it.
After 4 months of hard training I crossed the finish line and it was over.
I have also started to do more cycling this week and hopefully I will keep doing it at least 2 times per week. My goal is to do a short ride during the week (@ 15 miles) and a long one on the weekends. It is a great cross training and I am also hoping to do a Duathlon sometime soon.
