My feet hurt. As I write this from the comfort of my home, they are bandaged up thanks to blisters on the soles of my feet. In the 20 or so ultras I’ve done – of which 5 have now been 100km – I have never really had problems with blisters - achy legs and an incessant need to sleep yes, but sore feet no.
Despite the usual post-race stiff, achy legs, the Fast Trax 100km Trail Race was awesome. I will be honest in saying that I’m not usually a big fan of Edmonton and I do much prefer Calgary, and yet the organisers did an excellent job in finding such a fantastic course just 10 minutes drive from the city centre.
In the winter months, Gold Bar Park is used for skiing, and needless to say there are lots of trails with plenty of steep, sharp ups and downs, as well as some flatter sections. It looks much different in mid-June and the 10km loop that formed the course around the park was proper trail running. My Garmin showed around 350ft of climbing on each lap – multiply that by 10, add some heavy rain showers from mid-morning onwards, along with steep hills and plenty of mud, and you’ll get an idea of what the course was like.
Although there had been heavy rain in Edmonton in the days preceding the race – along with tornado warnings and severe thunderstorms – at 7am on race day morning, things weren’t so bad. It was overcast with a brisk wind blowing, but it was still quite warm and the course had dried out considerably from what the race organisers had been telling us. With 4 race distances available ranging from 30km up to the full 100km, there were around 140 people lined up waiting to race but the atmosphere was relaxed and friendly with plenty of banter and chatting going on.
Having no idea what the course would be like, I had decided that my aim would be to run 5 min km pace, which if I maintained it, would give me a time of around 8.20. This of course was subject to change dependent on the course and conditions, which I wouldn’t know until I’d completed my first lap.
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| Relaxing before the start - cuddles with Brandy and Wilson |
There was no official start gun for the race. Instead, a song was played and at precisely 32 seconds into the song, we were given the wave to go. It was so strange starting a race at a jog , especially after recent races where I’ve been chasing a time, but today was more about staying the distance and getting around in one piece. There were plenty of other runners around me including ladies, but at such an early stage there was no point worrying about those things – experience has taught me that 100km is a long way and anything can happen on the journey to the finish – the winners are the ones that can battle through the pain, the fatigue, the mental challenges and anything else thrown at them over the next few hours. I personally didn’t think about the distance ahead of me – I just thought about getting through the next 10 laps and I knew I would be happy if I could do that.
Within 1km of the start, we encountered the first of the hills and on checking my Garmin, it was just over 400m long up a muddy, gravelly path. It wasn’t steep, but it was a long drag, and although I got to the top without too much effort, I knew that in a few laps time, it would feel like I was trying to scale the north face of the Eiger! A lovely rolling grassy section followed – too bumpy to get into a proper rhythm, but not so bad as to stop me in my tracks, and then the sharp ups and downs started. Tree roots, rocks, grassy sections and muddy patches made things a little more interesting and again I knew that later on in the race, even a small pebble or a tree root was likely to send me flat on my face if I tripped on tired legs. A peaceful stretch through a forested area alongside a small river then followed before the next climb which was much steeper but shorter than the one earlier. Again, I made it to the top without too much trouble before dropping sharply back down into the valley and then climbing once again, this time up a single grassy track back to the top of the hill. The remainder of this section was extremely twisty turny, with plenty of ups and downs on the trails and already I was starting to spot parts of the course that would become physically and mentally challenges as time went by. I was also realistic in thinking there is no way I would maintain 5 min km pace on this course – I was only managing to do that at this stage and I knew that the hills would take it out of me as the race progressed.
What was great about the course is that even though it was a 10km loop, it was almost like a figure of 8, so we passed the aid station at 6km and again at 4km. The section by the aid station was pretty flat on lovely soft grass and was where people speeded up a little – particularly with all the support centred around there! It was great for refueling and also for the support and it certainly helped me to cope better with the laps as in my mind, I’d split the course in to two sections.
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| Woodland Trails and lots of hills! Photo by Official Photograher with thanks |
Shortly after the aid station there came another short twisty section, this time up a single track trail through the trees, with the hill getting steeper towards the top. It was only about 20 metres in total, but even on the first attempt, folks were grabbing at tree roots to help pull themselves to the top before rejoining the main trail. Another couple of km following an undulating trail through the trees brought us close to the main entrance of the park, where the course returned to lush green soft grass and a slight downhill back down to the aid station.
I completed the first lap in just under 52 minutes so I knew that the 8.20 I had originally targeted needed to be adjusted. Ultra running has taught me to pace myself, and the next 4 laps were pretty much consistent, give or take a minute or two due to pit stops. I was also stopping to make sure I was taking on board sufficient fuel and fluids including Clif bars, bananas, water melon, oranges, energy gels and whatever else my stomach could handle in the latter stages of the race.
I went through the half way stage in 4.25, so figured that the best I could hope for would be around 9 hours 30 minutes as I would undoubtedly slow down over the next few laps. It had also started raining by now, and what started off as a nice, dry course was gradually becoming all churned up and somewhat slippy in places. The only bonus was that the faster runners in the shorter races were starting to finish so there were fewer people on the course to make conditions any worse.
Although I’d had a good stint of training leading up to this particular race, in all honesty I had only done a couple of 4 hour training runs and they were back in March. I felt fairly confident that unless I had an injury or health concerns whilst out on the course, I would definitely finish the race, but what I didn’t know is how far I would get before I really started to struggle although I suspected it would be around the 70km mark.
Sure enough, midway through the 7th lap, I started to tire and by 75km, I had succumbed to walking up the hills and running in between – although the run had now become more of a jog. The battery in my Garmin had already fizzled out, so I had no idea how fast I was running nor how much time I was losing, and just decided to aim for a sub 10 hour finish. Thanks to the steep hills and the mud, my feet were also getting quite soggy and my socks were starting to slide around, and I figured that before long I would be getting one or two blisters. Sure enough, I felt something go pop and although I was conscious of a burning sensation on both of my feet, I decided to just keep going and not look at the damage. To compensate, I was trying to run on my heels on the downhills to prevent any further friction and to stop my toe nails taking a hammering, although on the uphills I had no choice but to push off the balls of my feet which just aggravated the blisters. The odd thing was that although I was tired, I was still able to keep running and yet in previous 100km races I’ve walked far more.
The rain was coming and going, the brisk wind was still blowing, and the trail was gradually becoming my own as other racers were finishing their events. Having the trail to myself somehow eased things as I became absorbed in my surroundings – I wasn’t even thinking about the running now - my body was just going through the motions. With 2 laps to go, it was less than a half marathon, and I knew that even though I could be out for another couple of hours, I was going to finish.
Finally thelast lap came and I sensed that I must have won the ladies race as nobody had come past me for absolutely ages. What I didn’t know was how long I’d been going, but somehow I knew it would be very close to 10 hours by the time I finished. It’s funny how starting that final lap puts a spring in your step – 90km done, 10km to go, and yet it was probably my 7th fastest lap of the day! I even tried to run up more of the hills as I knew I only had to endure the fatigue and pain for another hour maximum. The 6km section of the course flew by, and as I passed through the aid station with just 4km to go, I didn’t even stop and just kept going, lifted by all the cheering spectators and of course my most loyal supporter Andy.
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| The finish line looms - 1st lady in 9.58.44 - phew :o) |
Running down the final track towards the finish, I was getting quite emotional – not because I knew I had won, but more because of the journey I’ve been on to get here. A couple of years ago, I had a foot injury for a considerable amount of time. I had some poor race performances and my ultra running took a back seat as my confidence hit rock bottom. I avoided the longer stuff for a very long time and felt a little bitter about things, and I guess I’d just given up and become a recreational runner. However, since moving to Calgary, I have met so many inspiring people that have done 100 mile races or more, or have done adventure races , along with folks that are firm road runners but have such fantastic stories to tell and have been so supportive. All of those people have given me the motivation to get out and run and helped me to get back in to the racing and ultra running, and it was those people that I was thinking of as I approached the finish line on Saturday, grateful that I have had the opportunity to meet them.
The first thing I did on crossing the finish was give Andy a huge hug and asked what time it was – it had just gone 5pm and although I was on a high, I was also a little frustrated that it looked like I had missed out on my sub 10 hours by a mere 2 minutes or so. It didn’t really matter as I had still set a new course record for the ladies and the race has certainly helped to boost my confidence for Iron Legs 50 miler in mid-August and my 100 miler in October.
A post-race BBQ and chatting with new friends was a great way to end the day – along with a huge puppy cuddle off my most avid fan, Wilson, and new pup Brandy.
On reflection, I loved the race and it was the furthest I’ve ever run on trails. Yes my feet took a battering and my legs were a little achy for a couple of days after, but I still feel on a high and I know that I have rekindled that addiction to ultra running. I love that feeling of panic when I wake up on race morning and the first thing that comes into my head is how far I’m racing that day, that feeling of disbelief, I love planning what fuel I need for the duration of the run, I love the unknown – of wondering will I make it or not but deep down knowing I’m too stubborn to quit for anything other than health concerns in a race, I love that satisfaction at the end when no matter how much pain I’ve gone through, no matter what mush has been going around in my head for several hours, no matter how bruised or battered my feet are, I still get a sense of satisfaction and achievement, of knowing that I can push myself and go beyond what I thought I’m capable of. For me, there is no greater feeling and that’s what makes ultra running so addictive.
Finally, whilst I know I go out and do all the training, I couldn’t do it without the support of friends and family – and especially Andy. To stand around in the rain for 10 hours, handing me drinks and food, taking abuse from me because I’ve changed my mind and he’s given me the wrong thing, and just waiting for me to finish a race is not easy, and I am so grateful for all his help and support over the years. He got a “waiting time” PB in Saturday, but I’m sure he’ll break it again later this year, if not at Iron Legs then almost certainly at Iron Horse, where I suspect I will be out on the trails for at least double that length of time. For now though, we can both relax for a wee while before plans kick in for the next one.
By the way, did I mention that I did get my sub 10 hours after all? The official results show 9.58.44 – get in!
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