I’ve been looking forward to the 2103 12-HR Adventure Trail Run for quite some time. I really enjoyed the event in 2011, but last year picked up an injury just a week or so before the race, forcing me to drop after just a quarter of a mile. Looking back, it was foolish to even take my place on the start line, but it was just one of those things I had to do, even though deep down I knew it was a pointless exercise.
Anyway, on to this year’s race. With several months of early-season Leadville training in the bank, I still felt like I was in pretty decent shape. Recovery from the gruelling 100 Miler had gone well, and I’d even managed to knock out a fairly solid half marathon in early September.
I logged some confidence-boosting runs on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday of race week, then took things real easy on Thursday/Friday with just a couple of short runs. The Friday night pre-race meal was my traditional burger and fries with a pint of Guinness, which always seems to sit well. Back at the hotel it was time to organize and lay out the race gear, then turn in fairly early for a good night of sleep.
After recently watching an excellent video on fueling and nutrition for athletic performance, I’d decided to exclusively use Hammer Nutrition products on race day. Taking Steve Born’s advice of not consuming any food 3 hours before the race, I skipped breakfast and made do with drinking several ounces of water instead. My stomach did feel empty, but I trusted in Steve’s wisdom that “you should complete your pre-workout/race fueling three or more hours prior to the start to allow adequate time for insulin and blood glucose to normalize.” You can read more about this on Page 99/100 of the Endurance Athlete’s Guide.
After the standard pre-race briefing and 1st time ultra runners welcome from Race Directors Alex & Scott, we were soon off and running. Part of the 1st loop would be run in darkness, but with my Petzl Nao Headlamp lighting the way, there was no real difficulty in navigating the trail. I settled in quickly to a good pace and enjoyed chatting with the experienced marathon/ultra runner Michael Campbell. A few guys had set off at a brisk pace and were soon out of sight after just a couple of miles. Michael dropped off at some point, but his place was quickly filled by The Flying Frenchman, Olivier LeBlond. Olivier is a super talented ultra runner with an impressive 100 mile best of 14:33:25. We’ve run several of the same races in the past 2 or 3 years, and he always has a knack of making things look easy.
We ran pretty much the first 4 loops together. Conversation was good and the pace was comfortable, although we both knew it was probably a bit too swift for a 12 hour race. I distinctly remember saying “We never learn, do we?” as we clicked off several miles in the low-8:00s. There were a few guys ahead of us that we’d kind of labelled with nicknames – Beard, 125, Green, Black & Team. We were happy to let them do their own thing, and I thought of world class ultra runner, Karl Meltzer, and his typical race strategy of running his own race and not worrying about the opposition. 12 hours is a long time to race, and so much can change along the way.
Loop 1 – 57:27
Loop 2 – 56:54
Loop 3 – 54:49 (probably a little fast…)
Loop 4 – 55:22
Fuelling was going well. At the end of each loop I’d run up the slope to the start/finish timing mat, shout out my race number to Alex, before breezing through the official picnic shelter aid station and down the slope to my own little aid station at the back of my MINI. Servings of Perpetuem were arranged neatly in small ziploc bags which I dumped into my handheld and topped off with water. I grabbed a gel to take out on the course and also popped a couple of Endurolytes before heading back out for another loop. Olivier did his thing at the aid station and we were able to set off together at a similar pace.
I think it was early in Loop 5 where Olivier stopped for a bathroom break. I carried on running at the same pace, expecting him to catch up pretty quickly. However, it was at the end of the loop where I was refueling that Olivier came into the aid station as I was just leaving. A mile or so later on North Orenda Road I heard the “crunch, crunch” of footsteps behind and just like that we were back together. I was going through a bit of a rough patch with my groin at that time, and Olivier was running strong. He breezed by easily and started to gap me. I maintained the same pace up the gradual incline and by the time we reached Scenic Drive a half mile later, Olivier had opened up a nice little lead. Sportingly, he glanced around as I was sidestepping through the gate-opening, and slowed his pace allowing me to catch up.
Loop 5 – 55:38
It felt good to run down Pyrite Mine Road with company again, even if the conversation had started to peter out due to us both feeling a little tired. I felt Olivier was running stronger than me on the gravel fire road, and it was definitely an effort to keep up with him on this downhill stretch of the race. We made the right turn onto the trail along the river, and if I remember correctly, I think Olivier said his legs were starting to get tired. Mine were too, but at least the pace still felt manageable. I went ahead on the single track and enjoyed the slight climb, then the descent, then the numerous twists and turns before reaching the suspension bridge. For the first time in the race I felt like I was in the zone and cruising nicely, and it was good boost to finish off the loop strongly.
Loop 6 – 56:34
After almost 6 hours of racing, the taste of Perpetuem started to lose its appeal. Also, my stomach also felt a little bloated, so to refresh the system I decided to run a loop with just water and an espresso gel to keep the calorie intake going. Just past the halfway mark of the race, I remember experiencing a bit of a low spot. My groin was acting up, and the inclines were definitely getting tougher. The urge to walk the more challenging sections of the course got stronger, but I told myself to hang in there and keep things ticking over for as long as possible. In 2011 I succumbed to too much walking, and looking back, I think that was more due to me being soft than actually needing to slow down to a walk. Gotta stay tough. I closed out the loop in good spirits, despite it being my slowest of the day to date.
Loop 7 – 1:00:02
Here’s me finishing up Loop 7 – still smiling, but ready for some Tylenol to help ease the sore groin. Video courtesy Andy O.
The next loop was meant to be another water-and-gel loop, but chatting to Andy at my aid station distracted me, and I set off with no gel – a silly mistake which I hoped wouldn’t come back to haunt me. About a third of a mile from the trailhead, Olivier and I crossed paths. His shout of “You’re on fire!” was a nice boost and I headed on up the trail feeling pretty good. The solo loop was a tough one, but I hung on quite well to close it out in just over an hour.
Loop 8 – 1:01:48
At this stage in the race, I knew I’d be able to comfortably match the 10 loops from 2011. My pre-race goal of 11 loops was also on the cards, but the thought of another 20 miles of running was tough on the mind. It really is so easy to get defeated by the big picture in these ultra races, so I just tried to focus on breaking up each loop into small, runnable sections. Sure enough, in no time at all, I was back at the main aid station. However, the lack of fuel in the previous loop had definitely caught up with me, so I decided to chug down some Coke and Mountain Dew while Craig (the aid station volunteer) filled up my handheld with icy water. I grabbed a couple of gels at the car before setting off on the next loop.
Loop 9 – 1:03:27
This was a weird loop. Less and less people seemed to be out on the trail now, and with the sky getting gloomier by the minute, I figured the late afternoon rain prediction would soon become a reality. I’d found out at the aid station that Olivier had dropped from the race after his 8th loop, so my thoughts turned to the clock and potentially beating the old course record (thanks, Scott Crabb for putting that little worm into my mind). The only problem… what was the record? I thought Olivier had completed his 71.5 miles from 2011 in 11:15ish, but wasn’t 100% sure. Maybe I could shoot for finishing in 11 hours and hope that was enough? A couple of 70 minute loops should do the trick, right? Who knows? Let’s just run and hope for the best, I said to myself.
With half the loop done and my legs getting heavier by the minute, I stopped at the Scenic Drive water stop to take in some extra fluids and down another gel. I also took a minute to stretch out my calves before setting off again like an old man hobbling down the street. A short way down Pyrite Mine Road the heavens opened and the rain came down. Hard. I glanced at my Garmin and realized I’d need to pick up the pace if I wanted to close out the loop in 70 minutes. Maybe the gel kicked in early, but somehow I managed to find some speed on the gravely fire road, and before I knew it, was making the sharp right turn onto the single track alongside the river – my favorite section of the race. The rain felt fantastic and once again I was bouncing along, big smile on my face, reveling in the conditions. Somewhere on the tedious Birch Bluff Trail I passed daughter, Shannon, who was was closing out her last loop on the way to an amazing ultra debut of 39 miles. I finished out my loop absolutely soaked but in fairly good spirits. I downed more Coke and Mountain Dew at the aid station, exchanged a few words with Olivier and Andy, then set off on my final loop.
Loop 10 – 1:06:11 (slowest of the day)
Once again I forgot to pick up a gel, but figured I could get through the final 6.5 miles with water alone. The rain was still pelting down and by now there were hardly any runners left on the trail, although numerous turtles, snakes and frogs all came out of hiding to join in the fun. Just after crossing the ever-bouncy suspension bridge, I spotted Ally and her running companion heading towards the bridge with just a couple of miles left to run. Despite the rain, both were in good spirits and still looking strong.
Me? I was purely on a mission, driven on by the possibility of a course record, but more importantly, just enjoying the buzz of running at my absolute limit. I’ve experienced this before in the final loop at the 2011 24-HR Adventure Trail Race, and more recently in the final miles of the Rocky Raccoon 100. It’s hard to explain; the mind and body are absolutely exhausted, but somehow you can keep pushing, pushing, pushing to the finish. It’s a surreal feeling that I definitely want to experience again in the future.
Loop 11 – 1:02:49
I closed out the loop with 10 hours 51 minutes on the clock. Alex and Scott tried to get me out for another loop, but I’d paced myself to be done after 11, and to be honest, 11 was more than enough. Pre-race goal achieved with plenty of time to spare.
Here’s the Garmin details. Not quite the official 71.5 miles (11 x 6.5 miles), but if you zoom in a bit you can see how spotty the GPS tracks are.
So, all in all a very enjoyable event, with many positives to be taken away.
- Fueling was good, despite a bit of a sour stomach mid-way through the race.
- Shoes and socks were a good choice on the day.
- RockTape is a great product.
- Rough patches during the race can be worked through.
- You’re stronger than you think you are.
Gear
- Shoes – Saucony Kinvara TR2
- Socks – Injinji Original Weight Mini Crew
- Shorts – Nike Tempo
- Top – Saucony Hydralite Sleeveless
- Headlamp – Petzl Nao
- Handheld – Ultimate Direction Fastdraw Plus
- Groin Support – Rocktape Kinesiology Tape
Fuel
