Sulphur Springs 50miler

Saturday morning dawned dark and dreary.  Although it was race day, Mother Nature was not going to be kind to us.  Severe T-storms were scheduled and I hoped that I would be able to at least get warmed up and some mileage behind me before the storm hit.  I managed to pick up my race kit in the dark and dry conditions. 

With my bib on, and trail bag packed full of all the goodies I would need to last me a possible 12 hour day, I readied myself near the starting line for pre-race announcements. 

The 50milers and 100milers started at 6am.  I had to run 4laps of a 20km course for a total of 80km/50miles.  We made it about an hour into the race (~10km) when the storm hit. The thunder and lightening storms lasted for the first 3 hours of the race, and it quickly led to huge quantities of mud and super slick conditions.  It was impossible to stay dry and clean, so I was covered in mud up to my knees. The lightening was a little unnerving but we were fairly deep in the woods and not exposed so I supposed that was a small comfort.  Soon the wet clothes were leading to chafing and blistering as I would sorely find out by the end of the race... 

                                 (thanks to Heather Borsellino for the screen shot picture)

I always seem to meet so many nice people on the trail, and chatting with them always helps me along the way. I ran the first lap with a guy named Bill who I meet through another trail race buddy, Ryan Rogers (IG: @RunRunRogers).  We chatted about running, the crappy weather, course records and how we were running way too fast to start, of course.  Despite that, he ran on past me for lap number two, but that’s fine, because everybody has to take this trail race at their own pace.  I’ve left others when I needed to push and vice versa.  Everybody has their own race to run.  I was still feeling good anyway, despite the rain and hills. 

On the second lap I chatted with a guy named Dan, although he definitely did most of the talking.  He had some great sounding kids and he talked about them mostly.  I suppose he drew most of his inspiration from them and I was happy to be distracted by him during the constant climbing we had to do on this course.  There was about 600m of elevation per 20km lap.  I was dying with the elevation, and reduced to hiking many sections of the course on the second lap. The course was constantly up and down with very few level parts, and I am definitely a fast and flat runner.  About 15km into the second lap Dan slowed up with an old injury and I found myself on my own again.   

The third lap started out really promising.  I was more than halfway done (always a celebratory milestone!) and the T-storms had stopped.  I tucked my rain jacked into my trail bag and soon after my compression sleeves had to go, as the heat and humidity set in.  A big weather swing.  Despite my happy go lucky attitude of the first two laps, and celebrating the midway milestone at 40km, I soon found myself sinking into a darker mood.  This third lap (kms 40-60) was the most difficult of all the laps.  Even more than the final lap.  I’m not sure why, maybe it was because my legs and feet were really starting to hurt and fatigue was setting in.  I knew I was more than halfway there, but still had so far to go, e.g. 40-80km.  But I really struggled mentally.  

Never before in a race did I want to cry, but I got emotional on this lap and struggled with why the hell I was doing this.  I never doubted my ability to do the course, and I never wanted to stop, but it was emotionally really challenging to finish the third loop.  This was something I have heard about in so many of the ultra marathon distance videos I’ve seen (e.g. Billy Yang’s - Why 100 Miles. I highly recommend you check it out on YouTube) but this was the first time I ever experienced it myself. I felt awful the third time I climbed the dreaded section called the 3 sisters (a super hilly section of the course with 3 short steep intense climbs in quick succession, about 14km into the 20km loop that we had to do 4 times).  My legs burned with lactic acid, my mind screamed and everything fucking sucked.  But the last 5 km were quite runnable (with the exception of the last hill up to the turn around/finishing line) so you got over those feelings quickly.  All in all, lap #3 was like experiencing depression on a run and it was new and awful.  But I like to think that at least now I’ve been through it and know that I can work through it.  Like a real life depression in many ways. 

My fourth lap I started feeling better. The crowds cheered me on loudly with hoots & hollers & cowbells when I announced it was my last lap, and knowing I didn’t have to run the course anymore after this lap made me feel tremendously better.   Although my legs and feet still hurt and I was still caked in mud, both dried and new fresh layers with each lap, my spirits picked up tremendously.  The dread I felt in the third lap left me and I was on my home stretch. I started fuelling with salty pretzels and coca cola at the aid stations for that final push (the hydration, caffeine and sugar helps tremendously).

A girl I was going back and forth with all day (Lisa maybe? I forget her name to be sure) caught up with me and we chatted about the third lap dread loop.  It made me feel a little better knowing she also experienced the same mental struggles I did on lap #3.  We were both feeling much better at this point in the lap and we headed off down the course at our respective paces. 

  

Soon after, I had a great chat with Jeff Rowthorn (from Happy Trails Racing) about what 100K courses he might recommend for someone who prefers fast and flat (I swore I wouldn’t be doing Sulphur Springs again) and he planted the seed for Brazos Bend 100 in Texas and some other races in the southern US.  Maybe a destination race for a milestone running event, who knows?   

Talking to people really helps pass the distance. Now with only 10km left I felt so much better.  I climbed the dreaded 3 sisters the last time with a guy named Matt but ran in the last 5 km (75-80km) on my own, giving high fives to random runners I passed on the way back on the home stretch.   

I was so happy to be finished. So incredibly happy.  This event was the toughest race I have ever ran.  Even tougher mentally and physically than Ironman.  It had to be a combination of weather extremes, total elevation, total distance and the mental challenge of it all. During Ironman I never experienced the same dread and doubt that I did during lap 3 at this event, even though I did Ironman in 13:53:42 and this 50mile trail race in 10:28:51. 

Over the 80km/50miles I ran a total elevation of 1,753m (according to Strava).  That has to be my record for running elevation in one day. My legs are thoroughly trashed today and will be tomorrow, and probably the next.  

Overall I managed a top ten finish in my first 50mile trail ultra-marathon which I am quite pleased with, considering I couldn’t train on hills as much as I would have liked to considering the hip/glute tendinopathy I have been dealing with over the last few months.  I’ll take it as a victory despite the days literal and figurative highs and lows. 

I am also happy to report that the nutritional plan I had laid out worked well for me.  I definitely overpacked on the snacks, as the aid stations provided GU gels, so I didn’t need to bring as many as I packed.  I also did not eat the shot blocks, as I did not crave the sweetness as much as I thought I would like I did during the Ironman bike course.  The biggest thing I took advantage of at the aid station were the salty snacks like chips and pretzels (these are harder to pack so I trusted the aid stations for this).  I was really well fed but managed to have zero GI issues. I hydrated with Tailwind for the first 3 laps, then drank coke for the last lap.  I peed a few times (I really tried to stay hydrated especially when the heat set in) but experienced no emergency pooping issues. Just once pre-race. Perfect.  I also go vegetarian 48 hours before big races, and that helps me tremendously.  So I would definitely go with this plan again, only a little lighter on the bag.

So everybody has asked me if I still want to run 100k after this experience, the darkness and all.  And my answer is still yes, but terrain will definitely hold a huge impact in the decision I make where I will do it.  I most definitely want a flatter and less muddy geography for it.  So stay tuned for that decision later!