Calgary Marathon 50th Anniversary 50km Ultra

A month or so ago, I was racing in the snow, 2 weeks ago, I raced a marathon in the pouring rain, and after yesterday’s 50k, I’m now sporting some fabulous sun burnt shoulders and a red nose! On reflection, maybe the heat affected me more than I realized yesterday, maybe I didn’t drink enough, or maybe I simply hadn’t recovered enough from the Red Deer Marathon 2 weeks earlier – whatever the reason, I felt a little frustrated by how I performed at the 50km, and I am now seeking redemption!

That being said, I still had a fantastic weekend, and it all started with the arrival of our guest elite athlete on Thursday evening, who would be staying with us until Sunday.

Dee is from the Democratic Republic of Congo and what a wonderful person he is – mild mannered, easy going, and with such a great outlook on life, especially when considering the troubles and strives still affecting his homeland. The civil war in Congo forced his family to flee to America when he was young boy, and they’ve now settled in Cleveland, Ohio although he still goes to the Congo when he can. He told us so much about his life there- growing up with 10 brothers and sisters, girls being married off with children when they are barely 15 themselves, the lack of wealth, the lack of opportunities, and the unrest that still exists over there – so much so that he had 4 guns held to his head when he recently visited the village where he grew up.  He showed us some pictures and it looks like such a beautiful country, but there are still so many social and political problems that visitors are advised not to go. Yet through all the adversity, Dee is doing something positive through his love of running. He has a dream to go to the Olympic Games in Rio in 2016 and run the marathon for the Congo – the country he still loves despite everything –  and he wants to help some young people in his village to do the same, by nurturing and encouraging them to follow their dreams to compete for their country. He is hoping to take some of them to the training camps in Kenya to give them every opportunity to succeed, even if it means funding it himself.  Dee came across as a truly inspirational person, so humble in what he does, not expecting any praise, and we found his whole attitude to life pretty amazing.

The following day, we attended the Calgary Marathon VIP event which gave a great opportunity to meet the organizers and other elite athletes, as well as the volunteers that would help the marathon to be a huge success. Dee was absolutely delighted to meet Lanni Marchant, the Canadian Ladies Marathon Record Holder and we did the obligatory photo  that comes with such fame. Lanni is such a diamond, and somehow managed to hold a smile all evening whilst people were asking for photographs with her.

Dee, Lanni Marchant and Del at the VIP Event

This year, the event was held in the Calgary Tower, and on such a beautiful sunny day, we had splendid views of downtown and the mountains in the distance. With free beer and wine, and a few nibbles, it was tempting to stay a little longer but we really did need to head back for a bit of rest.

Come Saturday, it was time to carbo load properly, and so we headed to Smitty's for a pancake breakfast before going to the expo at Stampede Park to collect our bibs and for me to attend the mandatory briefing for the ultra. 

The rest of the day was pretty relaxing, and after meeting with a good friend for a lovely evening meal (thanks Alan!), it was time to get some shut-eye ready for an early start the next day.

The worst thing about the weekend was the 4.30am wake-up call on race day, especially after only managing about 5 hours of decent sleep thanks to the usual pre-race restless night. 

I awoke feeling excited, relaxed and relatively confident of running the 50km in sub 3.40. I've always been told that nerves are a good sign that I'll have a good race, and yet that morning, there were no nerves whatsoever - I even managed to down a huge bowl of porridge along with a banana which was surprising as normally I can't stomach anything. I suppose I've done enough long distance events not to worry about things these days, and I was more concerned about making sure Dee had everything he wanted with it being his first ever marathon. I was also beginning to wish that I'd just stuck with the marathon and ran it for fun with Alan and Joanna like I'd originally intended, but it was too late to go back on things at this stage, so I guess I just went through the motions and didn't really think about things too much.

On arrival at the Stampede Park, we left Dee at the VIP Elite area and having wished him good luck, headed over to the start. The atmosphere was buzzing and everybody was in great spirits as I picked my way through the crowds to find my spot near to the front. Usually at this stage in a race, I get all emotional, especially with everybody singing along to the national anthem "Oh Canada" but today I wasn't feeling anything and figured that maybe things would change once I got going.

Feeling good at the start of Calgary Marathon 50km

Bang on 7am, we set off along the road leading out of Stampede Park - some several thousand people heading out on their journey of either 50k, a marathon or a half marathon, some of them experienced runners, others running the distance for the first time. 

It's amazing how quiet things seem to go after the start, the cheering of the crowd almost a distant sound and the only things I become aware of are the footfalls of those around me and the sound of my own breathing.

The first few kilometers went really well. I was feeling strong and was bang on pace, knocking out a pace of around 4.20's which would bring in at around 3.40 assuming I could keep it going. But then the climbs started, things were warming up quickly and I suddenly felt quite tired and a little worn out. I was also starting to get a stitch and my glutes were going extremely tight again, so much so that even on the downhill sections, I couldn't stride out properly to make any gains. I wasn't really thinking of how far I'd gone, nor how far there was still to go, and I have to say that the km were whizzing by. However, the heat and the hills were taking their toll, and whilst I went through half way at my target pace, I knew that I would start to slow before too long.

One of the things I've learnt about ultra running is that every race can be so different and that you can't take it for granted that every ultra you run will be the dream race - no matter how much experience you have. When I ran my 3 hours 24 minute PR for 50k back in 2007, everything was perfect and I over the moon at the unexpected result at the time. The same was true about my first 100 mile race last year - everything was spot on and I couldn't believe that things had gone so smoothly. But I've also raced some ultras where despite my experience over the years, things haven't gone to plan and I've felt like burying my head in the sand in an attempt to wipe them from my memory - the 78km Swiss alpine Mountain Marathon and the 100km world Champs in Italy are certainly 2 races I would rather forget. 

Whilst the Calgary 50k on Sunday was in no way anywhere near my disappointment of Italy and Switzerland, by the time I reached 30km, I knew that I was going to feel somewhat frustrated with my performance. I was enjoying the running and I was loving the crowds and the encouragement we were all getting - I was actually amazed at how many people I have got to know since living in Calgary that were either giving me a shout by the roadside or running in the race and giving encouragement as we passed eachother. Yet with around 20km to go, it almost felt like I had gone into training run mode and I was starting to feel that I really couldn't be bothered racing. Maybe that was why, when I saw my good friend Dawn at sitting on the grass at the side of the road clearly in pain, I made my way over to her o see if I could help. I wasn't racing as well as I would have liked, although I was in 2nd place up until that point, but I personally felt that Dawn's welfare was far more important that carrying on with a race that at that particular moment in time I really couldn't give two hoots about. I'd already missed my target time by a long shot, so it really didn't matter if I lost any more time.

After stopping to check on Dawn, I got passed by another 2 ladies, my friend Jess who was running her first ultra and went on to have an outstanding run to finish 2nd lady in 3.50, and Nadiya Fry an awesome ultra runner that has won many races and holds several course records but has been injured recently and is only just getting back into things. Once I got going again, I was still running at a steady pace, but I really hadn't got it in me to go any faster and didn't even try giving chase, my main goal now just to get to the finish line in under 4 hours.

Arriving in Stampede Park and heading to the finish

I finally ran in to Stampede Park in a shade over 3 hours 53 minutes, some half hour off my best and 13 mins off my goal time. I wasn't disappointed in the slightest, but I did feel a sense of frustration that I had been unable to stick to my plan and run a good race. I have no excuses - my mind just wasn't on the race - and I am already looking for redemption elsewhere. I've got the Banff Marathon in 3 weeks time and maybe that's where I'll do it although having just entered the Edmonton Marathon for the 3rd year in a row, maybe I'll chase away some ghosts up north instead.

I did say a couple of weeks ago that this weekend wasn't going to be just about me me me. Our house guest had a superb run to finish 4th in his debut marathon in 2.34 and I was so pleased for him and proud to say that he'd been staying with us. He had such a wonderful smile on his face, and the nicest thing about it is that he is going to take home some wonderful memories of Calgary.

Prize winners in the Marathon and Dee getting his 4th place award :-)

I'd be pretty selfish to go sulky just because I'd not raced how I'd hoped, especially given how well Dee and my other friends had ran. Dawn had managed to finish the marathon despite being in pain with her Achilles - foolish or brave it doesn't really matter, she made it to that finish line despite everything. Don won his age group in an amazing 2.53 - who says we slow down when we become masters? Jess was 2nd lady in her first ever ultra and ran a perfect race to finish in 3.50, Alan finished the marathon in a little under 4 hours off just 4 days of marathon training (yes, seriously - not recommended but still!), Anne ran an amazing PR in the marathon whilst Joanna helped to pace somebody in to the record books and looked like she had fun all the way around.

So whilst we run races for ourselves and we face disappointments, we also need to remember to celebrate the success of others. It was still a marvellous weekend, and despite everything, I can honestly say that yep, I'm still feeling good and I will be back :-) 

A happy camper really - beer, medal and a smile :-)