{"id":2276,"date":"2017-07-20T11:55:21","date_gmt":"2017-07-20T15:55:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/raz-family.ca\/RunKristi\/?p=2276"},"modified":"2017-07-20T11:55:21","modified_gmt":"2017-07-20T15:55:21","slug":"endurance-challenge-ontario-my-first-50-mile-race","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/raz-family.ca\/RunKristi\/?p=2276","title":{"rendered":"Endurance Challenge Ontario – My First 50 Mile Race!"},"content":{"rendered":"

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“I did it!”<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

I have started so many emails and texts with this line over the last few days.<\/p>\n

I wasn’t fast, but I was steady, I was pretty strong and I had fun. \u00a0I made it to the start line (at 5 a.m.!) and then to the finish line with 43 minutes to spare before the cutoff. \u00a0I was one of only 15 – yes 15 – female finishers! I was right at the back but I have been told there were over 40 DNFs, so I am not going to complain about being back of the pack. \u00a0Not to mention the fact I am used to that positioning anyways!<\/p>\n

This was not an easy course. \u00a0It boasts the most vertical gain of any trail race in Ontario and due to this province’s unending rain this year, it also had some serious mud to deal with. \u00a0Not just mud, but clay mud. \u00a0If you have never been on wet clay I can tell you it is much like being on slippery snow. \u00a0If you are trying to go up a slope of wet clay there is a good chance you will slide back down. \u00a0As an added bonus, clay will cling to your shoes, making your treads useless and adding some significant weight to your feet. \u00a0Several times I had to stop to pull out a stick from the bottom of my shoe – you knew you had one when you were repeatedly hit on the inside of the opposite leg.<\/p>\n

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How’s this for some mud? Photo by Carl Wright<\/p><\/div>\n

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When you run a muddy course in compressions socks.<\/p><\/div>\n

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Being at a ski hill, there were also hills, plenty of hills. \u00a0Even on the road sections there was no relief – you were in full sun and once again climbing hills. \u00a0There were even some stairs, or rather blocks of wood jammed into what was now sloppy clay. \u00a0The toughest hills by far though for me were towards the end of the first 40km loop (2 loops for 50 miles or 80k). \u00a0In my head the last part of the loop would be the easiest considering we had to make it back down to the bottom of the ski hill before starting the process over again. \u00a0But instead of the easy winding trail down I envisioned, I was instead faced with a gruelling mental and physical challenge of going down the mountain a bit only to go back up. \u00a0Over and over again. \u00a0Every time I thought I would finally head to the bottom, the route took us back up yet again. \u00a0Finally there was the downhill stretch. \u00a0Except it was down a ski run that I would probably have difficulties skiing. \u00a0It was straight down and it hurt. \u00a0It hurt my feet, my knees, my back and my poor toes were screaming. \u00a0But once it was done I\u00a0arrived at another aid station and was ready to hit the “Grind Trail” back up.<\/p>\n

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Hills also mean beautiful views!<\/p><\/div>\n

I have to say I really enjoyed getting to repeat the loop. \u00a0Sometimes loops can be tough but I found this helped me out for the second half of the race. \u00a0I certainly couldn’t remember in detail the course, but I had an idea of what was coming up and could plan for it. \u00a0I distinctly remember a section where I didn’t feel like running but I also knew that I would be hitting a section of less runable trail soon so I pushed on.<\/p>\n

I have been asked by many as to what I think about when out on the trail for so long (13 hours and 17 minutes in this case). \u00a0Once again I can’t explain it but time kind of stands still out there. \u00a0I run in the moment and rarely look a lot at my watch. \u00a0I remember when I did look at my watch and being shocked that almost 6 hours had passed. \u00a0I couldn’t figure out how that was possible. \u00a0My sense of time is simply gone while on the trail. \u00a0I only become more aware of it towards the end of the run when I start to panic about making cutoffs. \u00a0I had no need or desire to listen to music so my iPod remained in my pack. \u00a0I chatted with some runners and also spent lots of time running quietly in my own space.<\/p>\n

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My first start line in the dark.<\/p><\/div>\n

Anyone who knows me knows I am not a morning person, nor a morning runner. \u00a0But I will say a 5 a.m. start time is beautiful. \u00a0We started under the moon and I loved seeing the snake of headlights climbing ahead of me up the trail. \u00a0As I rose higher the birds began to wake up and I felt surrounded by their sound. \u00a0Once up the ski hill the sun was coming up and the views opened to Georgian Bay. \u00a0What a lovely way to spend an early morning.<\/p>\n

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Even that nerve-wracking time before the race was enjoyable, starting with a cab ride and a friendly driver who couldn’t believe what I was about to do. \u00a0When I told him I was heading to a race of 80km there was a brief\u00a0silence and then he asked, “On what?” \u00a0I enjoyed telling him that this was an 80k journey by foot and asked him to think of me as he had his dinner Saturday evening.<\/p>\n

Once at the race I found my ultra running and blogging friend Carl from https:\/\/theoldfellowgoesrunning.com<\/a>\u00a0. \u00a0Last fall we were both at Run for the Toad and now we were getting ready for our first 50 milers. \u00a0Then I ran into Peeter; we had met the previous night at the panel discussion and he had shared with me his experiences having done the race two times before.<\/p>\n

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Really, this is Carl and I before the race.<\/p><\/div>\n

And finally, just before the start I ran into Tony, a local runner who I first met last year at my very first 50k in Niagara. \u00a0It was great to see him and wish him luck as well. \u00a0The trail running world is indeed a small one.<\/p>\n

Most interestingly I made a new friend when I “adopted” a pacer at the 52km mark. This race originally had the option of picking up a pacer at 52k aid station or for the last mile. \u00a0My plan had been for my 14-year-old to join me for that last mile, but a change in aid station location due to mud meant that there would only be the earlier option. \u00a0I had checked the night before though to confirm that my kids could run towards me and then run me through the finishing chute, so I knew I would have company across the line.<\/p>\n

I was quite comfortable with completing the rest of the race without a pacer but when I got to that aid station one of the volunteers immediately asked\u00a0if I wanted one to join me. \u00a0My first thought was that I must look awful and they thought I needed a pacer for survival. \u00a0Ends up though it was a man named Mario who for the second time had come to the race to be a pacer but ended up not needed due to his friend not making cutoffs. \u00a0He was very keen to go out with a runner but no one had taken him up on his offer. \u00a0He had even added in marker the words “For Hire” on his official pacer bib. \u00a0So Mario became my pacer and a great one he was! \u00a0We chatted on and off and that kept my mind busy. \u00a0He was great to slow down when I needed him to and he even checked a few times that I was lucid and in good form. \u00a0As a fast marathoner he must have felt like he was crawling at my pace but he never complained. \u00a0I think I was at my most tired somewhere just before 70k but focussing on his feet moving ahead of me kept me going. \u00a0That and a caffeine pill!!!<\/p>\n

Recalling all the details of an ultra is tough. \u00a0Like I said, time is different and somehow that affects what I remember. Certain things stand out but much of it is gone. \u00a0It happens in the moment and somehow stays in the moment. \u00a0It is what I find so special about ultra running. \u00a0The rest of life is such a rush, or at times too slow. \u00a0It is like utra running is the
\nGoldilocks moment of life – just right.<\/p>\n

Randomly, what I do remember:<\/p>\n