Having
run 3 100K’s and 3 100 milers, I was feeling relatively confident in my
abilities, but trying to break 11 hours would mean besting by PR by more than 45
minutes. So, just days before the race,
a friend volunteered to help me out – no pacing, just crewing to get me through
the aid stations quicker. That was a
welcomed surprise, but she wasn’t satisfied with my 11 hour goal. “No, you need
to break 10 hours” she said.
Dropping
my 100K time from 11:48 to under 10:00 in 7 months, with temperatures almost 30
degrees warmer, and only 2 weeks after Run Rabbit Run (the longest, toughest
race I have ever run) was beyond crazy.
It was borderline stupid. The
last time someone planted such a crazy idea in my head was at the Coldwater Rumble, where I got too cocky and suffered my first DNF. Should I really risk a “good” race for the
minute chance that I could have a “great” race, only to crumble and end up with
a “miserable” race?
Runners
gathered in the pre-dawn darkness at Bear Creek Lake Park. 4 years ago, at the inaugural race, before
running the half-marathon, I stood by and watched in awe as the 50 milers took
off into the graying light. That would
inspire me to run the Bear Chase 50K the following year, the start of my ultra
running “career”. Now, I was toeing the
line as a seasoned ultra runner, about to …
I
still wasn’t sure what I was going to attempt, let alone what I would actually
accomplish.
The
clock struck 6:30, and we were off. I
was about a third of the way back and within a few hundred yards, the
front-runners were already off-course, though luckily by only a bit. I had walked this part of the course the
previous night, so I yelled out to them and we all regrouped.
The
100K and 50 milers started together, as we were all running the same
course. The 100K’ers would just run an
additional 12.5 mile lap. The two
distances had different bibs on, but they were difficult to differentiate while
running. I kept my cool and let the
speedsters run up ahead.
I peeked
at my Garmin more than I should have and I was a bit slower in the first few
miles than I had hoped, but I was surprisingly smart enough to stick to my
comfortable pace and not chase a goal time.
It turned out that the climb over Mt. Carbon wasn’t nearly as slow as I
had hoped, so my overall timing wasn’t off by that much.
After
two years as the race’s “poster boy”, lots of runners commented, mostly as they
were passing me. It was kind of fun to
be the “celebrity”, though I didn’t much like being passed by so many, and they
all seemed to take extra pleasure from passing “that guy”. Oh well, I kept my cool and continued on with
my comfortable pace.
On
the first climb up Mt. Carbon, everyone was still in a hurry and ran on past
me, as I fast-hiked my way up. My theory
is; if you’re not going to be able to run this on the last lap, don’t run it on
the first lap. I try to approach all of
my races like this, and it usually works out well. There was a day when I would have run up that
hill, only to suffer, head bowed, later in the race.
I
made up some time and positions on the other side, as I don’t hold much back on
the downhills. Soon, we came to the
first creek crossing. This early in the
morning, with the sun barely up, the water was more than a little refreshing. I knew that by the next lap, the cold water
would be welcomed. Two more crossings,
and I sloshed onto the pavement for a short section, leaving a trail of wet
prints behind.
Soon
after the aid station, we hit the trail along the irrigation ditch. Though only slightly uphill, I felt like I
was crawling along at a snail’s pace.
The sun was now up and the heat was already starting to build. I wasn’t thrilled with my performance on this
section, but I remained calm and patient, knowing that there were many miles to
go.
I
hadn’t checked my watch in a while, so I was quite surprised to see 1:58 on the
clock as I went through the Start/Finish, especially since I wasn’t really
pushing. I swapped bottles of Shaklee Performance, grabbed some chips and Honey Stinger waffles, going through the
aid station pretty quickly and felt even better heading into the second
lap. From then on, I don’t think I was
passed by anyone, though we now had a mixture of 100K, 50 mile, and 50K runners
on the course.
I
felt pretty good throughout the race. My
stomach felt like it was on the verge of getting unsettled a few times, but I
just made minor adjustments to my eating and drinking, as well as taking lots
of S-Caps, and it never got any worse.
My friend also gave me an ice bandana to use. It’s basically just a bandana, folded over
into a triangle with the edges sewn, and a zippered opening to put ice
into. When I would first put it on with
fresh ice, it was so cold that my neck and shoulders almost cramped up, but man
did it cool me down. Much of this race
course is out in the open, with no shelter from the sweltering sun. With a high in the mid 80’s, the ice bandana
allowed me to work hard, without overheating my core.
I
completed the fourth lap (50 miles) in 7:58 – half an hour off my previous 50 mile
PR! I was stoked!
I
had asked to know my position before the last lap and through the chaos of the
aid station, I think I heard that I was second and the leading woman was 25
minutes ahead. I must have miss-heard,
as she was way further up than that.
I
tried not to focus on my placement. My
goal was to run that last lap in under 2:02 so that I could break 10 hours. It was far from a sure thing, as my 4th
lap had taken almost 2:03. The fatigue
of 50+ miles was starting to take its toll, but at the same time, I no longer
had to hold back. I tried to keep up a
reasonable pace in the first 10 miles or so, then gradually picked it up as the
finish got closer. With two to go, I
knew 10 hours was within my grasp (though not by much) and I just gave it all I
had, running an 8:15 for mile 62 and a 6:55 pace for the last half mile.
I
crossed the line in 9:58:02! First place male, second place overall.
The
winner, Kaci Lickteig, beat me by 1:17:17, but I didn’t care. I beat my initial goal of 11 hours by over an
hour, set a new 50 mile PR by over half an hour, on my way to setting a new
100K PR by 1:50:22. And, other than
being exhausted, I felt great.
This
was probably the best race I’ve had to date.
I ran smart and hard, maintaining pretty even splits the whole way:
1:58:36
1:56:20
2:00:17
2:02:48
1:59:59
The
Bear Chase has been exceptionally well managed since the very first race in
2010. For a fast, relatively easy,
ultra, right here in the metro area, it can’t be beat. I also love the fact that they partner with
Running Guru to provide lots of high resolution photos, for FREE! All the photos here are courtesy of Running Guru - THANK YOU!
