Cody Lind (2nd), Myself (3rd), Morgan Elliot (1st) There's something to be said about training in the conditions you plan to race in. In this instance, the race conditions were set to be hot and humid. The Quest for the Crest 50k runs through the black mountains of North Carolina not far from the outdoor town of Asheville. The weather on race day was at or above 80 degrees with high humidity and sun early in the day. What was the month of training before the race like? Wet, cold, and muddy... it was an odd spring in Boulder, CO.
Unlike the morning weather in Colorado, at the start of the race I was already feeling comfortable warm. Not a good sign at the beginning of an ultra before the sun comes up. Not to mention we would be climbing the Vertical K course from the gun. Knowing it was going to be hot, remote, and the frequency of water stops questionable I took along an extra 20 oz UD handheld for good measure. Good thing I did, I needed all of what I could carry and then some.
The races started out on a road literally in the middle of nowhere. Within a half mile we hit trail, then the trail went up, and up, and up. Soon after the race started Morgan Elliot took off out front and I eventually settled into 2nd. I had the plan of sticking to my HR and for the most part executed it just how I had imagined. The climb actually ticked by pretty quickly and soon we were descending the long mellow trail down to the first real aid station. I hit the aid a few minutes (4 or 5) behind Morgan, topped off my water and was out. This was an out & back section and I could see that we had a descent gap on the rest of the field.
I climbed back up the gradual trail at a steady pace, and at the top was informed that Morgan had opened up a couple more minutes on me and was now ahead by 7. Knowing that I was pushing about as hard as I wanted to I hoped that he would come back to me later on. Sticking to the plan, I kept to my own pace and cruised along the technical ridge section of the course. It wasn't long before I heard and then saw a glimpse of another runner behind me. Damn I though, I'm not going that slow am I? Rather than wait and see who it was I let myself get into race mode and picked up the pace, holding him off. As I hit the second long descent, I noticed he was still not too far behind me and as a result I picked it up even more. Before I realized it, I was hammering down the descent and when I hit the aid station at mile 17 I had closed the entire 7 minute lead. Wow.. that was unexpected. Adrenaline from a gnarly and fast descent, nearly getting impaled after getting tripped up by a root, and catching up to Morgan so quickly left me slightly dazed and I neglected to take the time to douse myself with water.
Unlike the morning weather in Colorado, at the start of the race I was already feeling comfortable warm. Not a good sign at the beginning of an ultra before the sun comes up. Not to mention we would be climbing the Vertical K course from the gun. Knowing it was going to be hot, remote, and the frequency of water stops questionable I took along an extra 20 oz UD handheld for good measure. Good thing I did, I needed all of what I could carry and then some.
The races started out on a road literally in the middle of nowhere. Within a half mile we hit trail, then the trail went up, and up, and up. Soon after the race started Morgan Elliot took off out front and I eventually settled into 2nd. I had the plan of sticking to my HR and for the most part executed it just how I had imagined. The climb actually ticked by pretty quickly and soon we were descending the long mellow trail down to the first real aid station. I hit the aid a few minutes (4 or 5) behind Morgan, topped off my water and was out. This was an out & back section and I could see that we had a descent gap on the rest of the field.
I climbed back up the gradual trail at a steady pace, and at the top was informed that Morgan had opened up a couple more minutes on me and was now ahead by 7. Knowing that I was pushing about as hard as I wanted to I hoped that he would come back to me later on. Sticking to the plan, I kept to my own pace and cruised along the technical ridge section of the course. It wasn't long before I heard and then saw a glimpse of another runner behind me. Damn I though, I'm not going that slow am I? Rather than wait and see who it was I let myself get into race mode and picked up the pace, holding him off. As I hit the second long descent, I noticed he was still not too far behind me and as a result I picked it up even more. Before I realized it, I was hammering down the descent and when I hit the aid station at mile 17 I had closed the entire 7 minute lead. Wow.. that was unexpected. Adrenaline from a gnarly and fast descent, nearly getting impaled after getting tripped up by a root, and catching up to Morgan so quickly left me slightly dazed and I neglected to take the time to douse myself with water.
Mile 17 Aid Station - Surprised & Rushing I quickly realized my mistake a minute or so after leaving the aid station. Now that I had caught Morgan, the race was on. I neglected to follow my HR completely and let myself continue to push a few beats beyond my threshold hoping that I could sustain it long enough to re-group and make a move. As soon as we got back onto the trails and started up we both began hiking. The grade wasn't even steep... we were both in a low. As much as I tried to play off my fatigue, I am sure Morgan soon realized I was also hurting when I didn't take off as we walked on the near flats. We exchanged pulls at the front, each trying to show a little strength but I soon realized that I didn't have it. My head started to feel dizzy and as soon as we hit a creek crossing I had to take a minute and soak myself. I was on the verge of overheating and the last thing I needed was to pass out on the trail with a heat stroke. At the same moment, Morgan started to run and took advantage of my stop to reclaim the lead.
After I cooled off, I continued hiking up the trail and thinking back to all the stupid mistakes I had made that day. I should have took the first climb easier, should have let whoever it was (Cody Lind) just catch up and go by on the ridge if he wanted, I should have actually taken the time to cool off at the aid station... now if only I could get my legs back under me and start running again. The climb seemed to be unending. Normally I would have loved it, a long, steady grinder that suited my strengths at that stage of the race. Instead I ended up getting dehydrated near the top, ran out of water, and began cramping. Looking back I think they were a result of effort rather than dehydration but either way I was wiped.
After hitting the short out & back at the top I saw that I was still just a couple minutes behind Morgan, but the next few guys were within 5 minutes of me now and I was hurting. I tried my best to keep running but the cramps kept coming. Calves, quads, and the thirst from being without water for a few miles now was catching up with me. Eventually I caved and dipped my bottle in a creek.. "I'll pay for this in a couple weeks... I thought". Gulped that down and pushed on. There was only about 6 miles left in the race.
Then I heard footsteps behind me, it was Cody and he was charging. Literally as he passed my quad seized again. A quick exchange of words and he was gone. Finally I hit the "aid station" at the top of the descent.. it was a couple miles past where I was told it would be and consisted of a bladder of water with a small jar of chlorine next to it. Yum.. another bout of Giardia was surely about to go down the hatch. I stopped long enough to pound a bottle and re-fill it for the descent. That helped and I gave it my all to try and catch back up but it was no use. I hit the final turn and cruised along the flat trail to the finish, holding on to 3rd.
The course was tough and the trails were much different than the mountains of CO, but still very familiar to my east coast upbringing. Looking back over my race stats from my Garmin I definitely pushed the pace a little to much early on and I made a few key tactical mistakes. Not to mention I was ill prepared for the heat and humidity. All in all I can't complain though, all of the mistakes were my own and I should know better by now. Kudos to Morgan for winning his debut ultra and to Cody for rallying at the end and making it an exciting race. And thanks to Sean for putting on the event, the "toughest 50k in the world". I'm definitely a bit sore from it and going to need a solid week of recovery.
After I cooled off, I continued hiking up the trail and thinking back to all the stupid mistakes I had made that day. I should have took the first climb easier, should have let whoever it was (Cody Lind) just catch up and go by on the ridge if he wanted, I should have actually taken the time to cool off at the aid station... now if only I could get my legs back under me and start running again. The climb seemed to be unending. Normally I would have loved it, a long, steady grinder that suited my strengths at that stage of the race. Instead I ended up getting dehydrated near the top, ran out of water, and began cramping. Looking back I think they were a result of effort rather than dehydration but either way I was wiped.
After hitting the short out & back at the top I saw that I was still just a couple minutes behind Morgan, but the next few guys were within 5 minutes of me now and I was hurting. I tried my best to keep running but the cramps kept coming. Calves, quads, and the thirst from being without water for a few miles now was catching up with me. Eventually I caved and dipped my bottle in a creek.. "I'll pay for this in a couple weeks... I thought". Gulped that down and pushed on. There was only about 6 miles left in the race.
Then I heard footsteps behind me, it was Cody and he was charging. Literally as he passed my quad seized again. A quick exchange of words and he was gone. Finally I hit the "aid station" at the top of the descent.. it was a couple miles past where I was told it would be and consisted of a bladder of water with a small jar of chlorine next to it. Yum.. another bout of Giardia was surely about to go down the hatch. I stopped long enough to pound a bottle and re-fill it for the descent. That helped and I gave it my all to try and catch back up but it was no use. I hit the final turn and cruised along the flat trail to the finish, holding on to 3rd.
The course was tough and the trails were much different than the mountains of CO, but still very familiar to my east coast upbringing. Looking back over my race stats from my Garmin I definitely pushed the pace a little to much early on and I made a few key tactical mistakes. Not to mention I was ill prepared for the heat and humidity. All in all I can't complain though, all of the mistakes were my own and I should know better by now. Kudos to Morgan for winning his debut ultra and to Cody for rallying at the end and making it an exciting race. And thanks to Sean for putting on the event, the "toughest 50k in the world". I'm definitely a bit sore from it and going to need a solid week of recovery.
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