2013 END-TRAILS Ultra-marathon Race Recap

Less that a week before the race, I found out about the 12-hour ultra-marathon called END-TRAILS (run by North Dakota grassroots racing organization ENDRACING).  Since my longest run since my marathon in May has been 16 miles, with my highest mileage week between 45-50, I said “that’s crazy” and moved on.  But I love racing.  I’ve been wanting to fit in another race or two before the end of the year.  Ultra-marathons are less of a “race” than a test of endurance, and while my running mileage might be low, I had averaged at least an hour of cardio most days for as long as I can remember (circa five years).  Finally, this was a trail ultra, which meant much more technical terrain – less running, and more shuffling and walking.  I decided I could do it.

Really, though, I wanted to do it.  (Do as I say, not as I do – and without serious training, you should not do this)

Friday, at 7 pm, I signed up.

Sunday, at 7:45 am, I stood in the Turtle River Lodge and listened to the race directions.

These race directions were quite unfamiliar.  I can’t remember ever going to a pre-marathon race meeting (I think I’ve always run races big enough that those are sent via email – and the courses have always been roads, which requires fewer guidelines). In the pre-race meeting, we covered the basics of trail running (e.g. stay on the trail, pass off the trail, etc) as well as some trail-race specific guidelines such as the path (clearly marked with flags, orange tape and Halloween decorations).  Since this was a 12-hour race, the race was not about who could finish the course the fastest, but the number of laps one could complete in 12 hours.  My goal was a 50k, with any extra miles as a bonus (some had goals of a marathon, others of 50 miles).  This race was for single runners (e.g. me) and relay teams, with the total participants around 66.

I hate the pre-race waiting, so I arrived at the park around 7:30 – got my cold weather gear on (it was around 30 degrees Fahrenheit) just in time for the meeting which was quick and transitioned right to the race start.  One benefit of smaller races (I think) is the quick starts – and this one was very well organized by the ENDRACING team (some of whom also raced – talk about epic!).

It’s hard for me to explain my expectations for this race.  All day Saturday I went back and forth on actually participating in the race (vacillating like this is a complete waste of energy, by the way, since I ultimately knew I would show up).  A part of me knew that an ultra-marathon was something to take seriously, and while my running as of late had been amazing (and I’d done a majority of it outside, in cold weather, but on roads) – I did not, in any way, have the requisite mileage under my belt that I needed to be signing up for ultras.  The other part of me missed the running community – and wanted to be a part of something bigger, like racing.  I was pretty sure I could do it. No, I knew I could do it. I just didn’t know how fast I’d be, or how I’d feel the next day.

Waiting for the race to begin, then, was very different than my marathons.  I was relaxed and excited to see the trail.  Lately, I’ve only raced with certain time goals in mind (which I achieved in my half-marathon PR, but did not in my BQ attempt at Windermere) – and the goal of “finishing” was a new and rather liberating experience.  As the race started, I settled into a “long-run” pace, and followed the crowd on 200 yards of pavement before we hit the trails.

For the first mile, the trail had slight undulations, but no steep inclines.  It was beautiful, and the trees protected the runners from a majority of the North Dakota wind. I was averaging a 9 minute mile, which I knew was much too quick, but the course almost begged for a little speed at this point.

After a mile and a half, the trail turned into the mountains, and immediately became much more technical.  The undulations became mini-mountains with equally steep slopes and my pace slowed way down, almost to a walk in some places.  The exhilaration of running in such an amazing place kept my endurance high, though, and as I made my way through the six mile (or so) loop, I found my pace settling into a 11:30 average for the course. This was much slower, of course, than my road runs – but I knew that if I wanted to sustain myself throughout the race, I needed to keep things slow.  There would be no awards for speed today, especially not in the first lap.

At the end of the first lap, I was feeling pretty good.  I’d complete the lap in a little over an hour, and my legs still felt strong, despite the quad-busting hills.  I stopped at the lodge (no rushing through aid stations) to take a pit stop, drink four ounces of water, and grab a gel before heading out for the next lap. At this point, I was feeling pretty good, but the mental awareness that I had at least four more loops was starting to wear on me.

Could I do it?

I set off on lap two of five (at least).  My legs were feeling pretty good, but mentally I knew how much more I had to do to achieve my 50k goal.  I didn’t know if I could do it, but I was determined to try.

Fortuitously, just as I was setting off to lap two, I ran into a runner who I’d overheard talking about someone that I knew from a local university.  Since runners are a mostly friendly bunch, I introduced myself, thinking that it might be nice to talk to someone for a few miles (until they found my pace mindnumbing and set off).  Instead, I met the person who would stay with me for a majority of the rest of the race!

As we set off down the trail, we talked first about ultra-running, then triathlons, and, as a result, the second lap flew by.  It was just as tough as the first lap, but having someone to talk to (especially about my first love, running) made the miles fly by.

In fact, lap three flew by too.

Nutrition note:  I knew that a lack of water and nutrition would stop this ultra in it’s tracks.  I drank between four and eight ounces of water at every pit stop (I hate carrying water, it’s an immature and rather lazy habit), and made it a goal to take in a Vega gel or a Pure Organics bar every loop.  I didn’t have a single stomach issue on this run (maybe also because I simply wasn’t running fast enough too?) and I felt like my fueling and hydrating schedule was exactly right.

It wasn’t until lap four that I started to feel the effects of the technical running.  My feet were starting to hurt along the edges, I could tell I was losing a toenail (I’ll never have beach-ready feet), and my right quad was starting to suffer.  Laps one through three we had not taken many walking breaks, except for the when the trail was super steep, but we started needing them more frequently in lap four after we passed the marathon mark.  This was officially the farthest I had ever run.

Because the trail was so technical, I’d made him go ahead of me when we could not run side-by-side.  It made it harder to hear him, but I was able to focus on his footsteps, which helped me to navigate the terrain (I still managed some pretty epic falls)!  It also meant that he set the pace for me, which kept me from taking things too fast. I’m not sure that I could have completed the race if it hadn’t been for him; it would have been much longer and required way more mental strength.

Lap five began after a lengthier pit stop and some hip and quad stretching.  Both of my quads were feeling the hills (I read later that I needed to adopt a better hill posture so that my glutes took a majority of the pressure) and my feet were feeling pretty raw.  My new running partner had only come out for a marathon today, so I knew I’d lose the company half-way through the fifth lap. After the marathon mark (and some high fives), the trail seemed noticeably harder and both of us began to get fatigued.  Since he has an Ironman coming up, he took it easier, and at mile 28 (after some pictures) we separated so I could do my shuffle for the rest of the course.

As I’d run the first few laps, I’d played with the idea of trying to run all 12 hours (and possibly hitting a 50 mile milestone) but by the end of the fifth lap, I knew that would mean much more walking and less running.  Nevertheless, I set off on the sixth lap, afraid that if I stopped, I’d never start again.  This lap was much more painful, and without someone to take my mind off of the though of four more slow loops, I started to dread the thought of six more hours of racing.  In addition, every step uphill or downhill was shaky, and the idea of walking 14 miles became insurmountable.

50k plus six miles was still an amazing accomplishment (and 10 miles further than I’d ever run).

At the end of the sixth loop, I called it a day, more than seven hours after I’d started.

In retrospect, calling it good after 36 miles was exactly right – I was super sore for the rest of the night, and plagued by a headache that no amount of water or food could eliminate.  But none of that could outweigh the fact that I’d just completed by very first Ultra-marathon!

And I can’t wait for the next one.