I love the River's Edge Ultra, and yet for some reason, I never seem to have it in my race schedule, and taking part is usually a last minute decision, where I register just a month or so before the actual race. This year was no exception, and I found myself registering for the 50k just before the t-shirt deadline and approximately 6 weeks before the race.
I suppose I'm lucky in that I can decide to take part in an ultra without worrying about whether I will be ready for it - I run approximately 80km/50 miles a week in training, and my longer weekend runs always seem sufficient enough to build the endurance needed to help me to run long. I was in the midst of training for the backyard ultra world team championships this time, so my mileage had been a little higher and closer to 100km per week and a 50km trail run at the REU fitted in perfectly with my plans.
Another thing that is appealing about this particular race is that you really can make a weekend of it, with free camping provided for both the Friday and Saturday nights, hot showers for post race, food on-site, a huge communal campfire on the Saturday evening, and of course, the pancake breakfast that is provided for all crew, runners, volunteers and hangers on, on the Sunday morning. I also had a friend visiting from the UK this year, and with her being a runner and also enjoying the camping lifestyle, I registered her for the 12k race whilst I would again be doing the 50k.
I went into the race not really wanting to be competitive but rather to just use things as a good, solid training run ready for the backyard ultra a few weeks later. The weather was beautiful - nice and warm and sunny, and I was looking forward to spending a few hours out on the gorgeous trails in Devon, and enjoying those autumn colours.
I deliberately started at the back of the pack and took my time running the first couple of miles, which are on single track and pretty hilly. I wasn't particularly pushing the pace, but I found myself moving swiftly through the field as some of the runners hesitated at the muddy sections or when there were a few tree roots to slow us down. I was climbing the hills much more strongly that I had previously despite my intentional slower start, and I somehow found myself at the front of the field by the time I'd completed the first lap.
I didn't bother having Andy crewing me this year, so I just grabbed a few nibbles, refilled my drinks bottles, and set off on the longer Homestead Loop, where I anticipated being out there for a good 2 or 3 hours.
I had a feeling that I was leading the ladies race at this point, or I was certainly in the top 2 or 3 ladies, and yet I still wasn't exactly pushing the pace. The climbs didn't seem to be as long this year, and I was running smoothly which really was surprising me. The views of the North Saskatchewan River from the higher sections of the course were just a gorgeous as I remembered, and I found myself running solo for the most part, wtih very few runners around me. This was great for me as I just settled into my own rhythm and thoughts, with no distractions from others. I was refuelling well, I'd had no vomiting nor queasiness, and I was feeling extremely strong - much, much better than I thought I would on such a tough course.
As I came into the aid station by the house, I need the toilet for a quick pee which delayed me by about 5 minutes. In that time, another lady had caught me who was also doing the 50k, and as we continued on our way, I let her go ahead and held back as much as possible to give us space, After around 10 minutes of running and not really concentrating, I ended up catching her up, so I sat in behind her for a short while. She was running a good pace, but wasn't going fast enough to pull away from me, and I really didn't want to go any slower. I made my move on a climb as we passed through the disk gold area, and I quickly made ground and opened up a gap over her. I don't recall seeing her again after that until I had completed my loop of the island much later on, and I was actually surprised that I'd gained so much ground on her by that point.
I still hadn't seen any other ladies either ahead of me, nor had any others come past me, but as I headed down a section of woodland trail, there was a lady that I recognised from the campsite that appeared to be ahead of me. It completely confused me as I definitely hadn't seen her pass me at any point, and I began to wonder whether one of us had actually gone the wrong way. I guided her back on course and she followed, but once again, a few minutes later I was running solo and couldn't see anybody else nearby.
I made the steep decent down to the river's edge and near the nudist beach, and was running strongly along the out and back section, slightly ahead of my time from the previous year. I was around 20 miles and had been running for 3 hours or something, but as I ran along the trail, other runners were coming towards me, and all of them had a 50k bib on their front. I was confused. Knowing that I still had a good 5k or so before the 50k turnaround, I couldn't understand how these runners could be so far ahead of me. They must have been running 6 or 7 minute miles to be 10k ahead of me at just 3 into the race, and with the greatest of respect, that seemed very doubtful. My only conclusion was that they had turned too soon and not completed the full distance, or else they had taken a wrong turn and made the course much, much shorter.
I tried not to dwell on it too much, and kept myself going by thinking that if they had indeed gone the wrong way, they would likely be disqualified, so I just needed to keep going and maybe I would make the podium after all.
The next few miles saw me almost breezing the climbs and the descents, and I was actually having a pretty good race given that I hadn't really got a plan except to have a good training run. I was still passing some of the other runners, and very few were passing me, but there was still that niggling doubt about whether some had actually gone the right way.
As I was approaching the end of the homestead loop, I saw one of the race organisers who asked me how things were going. I said everything was great, but something just didn't seem right, and I explained how I had seen runners heading back along the far section and me thinking there was no way they could be that far ahead in the time given. He confirmed my suspicions - several runners had indeed missed a turn, they had ended up missing a good chunk of the course, and they would now finish with around 40k rather that the 50k as stated.
It made me feel so much better but I still had no idea whether I was now the leading lady or not, so I had everything to run for. The island loop is only around 8 or 10k, it was probably the easiest of the loops, so I did actually push the pace for the last few miles. I also hoped to catch my friend from teh UK as she would now be out on the island loop as she competed in the 12k race. Unfortunately I didn't catch her, but the Island Loop whizzed by, and once again I was surprised at how quickly the time went, and how much shorter some sections seemed compared to previous years, despite it being exactly teh same course.
Before I knew it, I was heading into the finish, over half an hour faster than last year, no trips or falls, and no vomiting. I was also very surprised despite my thoughts earlier, that I had indeed won the ladies race, and I once again came away with two solid wood awards to add to my collection. I was feeling great and not too tired in the legs at all - it had indeed been a great day on the trails.
I didn't get to see my friend Julia until she had finished. She's not a trail runner and had fallen twice, but she still came away as the winning lady in her age group category, and she too would be heading home with a splendid wooden award from the organisers which made her efforts even more worthwhile.
We spent the night just chilling out, cooking our supper over the open fire whilst watching the other runners completing their races as the night drew in. The following morning, we enjoyed the pancake breakfast and were reminded once again as to why we love this event! What was nice this year was that more people had camped, more people had stayed late, and more people came for the breakfast which was great to see.
This was my third REU 50k completed, and I've volunteered at teh event too, and every year it gets better and better. It's not on my race plans for next year as yet, but I'm pretty sure that come July or August time, I'll be signing up to join the team once again, whether it be in a volunteer or racer capacity. That feeling of FOMO is just too strong!