After running the Klondike Road Relay this weekend, I have to say, the body truly is a mystery sometimes?! I went into this race having very little expectations, as I had been sick for over a week and really hadn't gotten in the miles since the Death Race. My longest run in the 5 weeks since the Death race was a 25k road run, so I was a little worried how the body was going to hold up over the 72km of punishment on the pavement. I went into it thinking my first goal was to just run the distance in a respectable time under 8 minutes miles, and come out feeling healthy with not too much recovery time needed, as it really was just a long training run for the World Championships, which is in Gibraltar November 7th.
The race started at 5am in Carcross. Similar to Haney to Harrison, which I ran last year in Vancouver, the KRR is a 10 person relay, which runs 180km from Skagway, Alaska and finishes in downtown Whitehorse. I woke up at 3:30 to eat a quick breakfast and my friend and support crew Kim and I left just before 4am for the start. I got there just after 4:30, which was enough time to get my things sorted and ready for the start at 5:00.
The race started at 5 and my friend Keith and I took off together. Temperature was 5 degrees, and was actually a little cool for the first bit in my long sleeve Merrell jersey and shorts, but I knew it would warmup once the sun came up a few hours later. I stopped for a quick pee break and Keith carried on. I chased him for over an hour and was still not catching him. I knew our pace was pretty fast, so I didn't want to push myself to go any faster and figured I'd catch him evenutally, and better to do my own thing.
Leg 7 and 8 which totalled 33km, seemed to fly by in no time, and I felt happy to feel strong and to have quite a bit of energy. I caught up to Keith finally early on in Leg 9 and asked him what pace we were running as I knew he was wearing a Garmin. He told me we were on 7:16 pace and thought to myself, I hope this isn`t going to be a problem later on. I felt really good and figured just keep running at that pace as long as it felt fine. My excellent support crew kept me well fed and hydrated and I made sure to eat a gel or something every 45 minutes at a minimum. As we hit the first of the hills on leg 9, I could feel Keith dropping off and after running together for a bit, I gradually put a little bit of distance on him. I grabbed my ipod partway through leg 9, and it seemed to provide me with a little extra zip, as I managed to average 7:11 min miles for leg 9, which surprised me in the end. Toward the last few km of Leg 9, I could feel things start to stiffen up. I carried on until the end of the leg, and when I looked back at the Transition I realized I was on my own.
I hit the Alaska highway with the remaining 19 km to go and a bit of a headwind. I forced some more food down and focused on just getting the 11km to the corner and off the highway knowing I`d be into Miles Canyon by then, which is one of my favorite places to run and on the home stretch. This section was definately the low point of the race, but I kept reminding myself that this was 28km shorter than the world champs was going to be, so better suck it up and try and maintain a good pace. I finally hit the turn off, Kimmie handed me a skor bar and that would be the last time I`d see my support crew until the finish line. I ran through the hills at a pretty good pace and was surprised I still felt pretty strong on the uphills, but was definately suffering some on the downhills. I crested the last of the hills, plodded down the backside and turned the corner onto Swatka Lake knowing it was all flat from there to the finish line.
I crossed the finish line in 5 hrs:28 minutes, in 1st place and with a new course record by 17 minutes, which was certainly more than I had expected from the day. I was thrilled to realize I had averaged 7:24 minute miles, which is 19 seconds per mile fast than my goal pace for Worlds. Im not sure that I could have maintained that pace for another 28 km, but hopefully with another 6 weeks of training, and a bit of speed work I still have some time to improve.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Death Race Survival!
I'm just home and pleased to say I not only survived the Canadian Death Race on the weekend, but managed a 3rd place overall and a pretty respectable finishing time. My hat goes off to Rockstars Hal Hoerner and Ellie Greenwood for both breaking the previous male and female records and finishing 1st/2nd respectabley. Impressive running - holy cow! Hal, I can say I never actually saw (how depressing is that!), but I did have the pleasure of running with Ellie and chatting for a wee bit the first 50km or so. We started at a pretty comfy, respectable pace for the first 2 legs - the time flew by and I really enjoyed that part of the course. Leg 2 had alot of climbing and some steep downhills, and technical terrain which is my favorite kind of running. I kept Ellie just in sight and came into the end of Leg 2 a minute or 2 behind her. I left the TA first and she quickly caught up to me and passed me, and I realized then that I needed to let her go, or I was going to pay for it later. I think this was a wise decision as this course is tough and early on in leg 3, I started to feel the heat getting to me, and was having a difficult time eating, and energy stores were waning considerably. I continued to putt along on leg 3, which seemed to go on forever! I struggled a wee bit through the end of leg 3, refueled at the aid station and was happy my excellent support crew had located some trekking poles for me for the climb up Mt. Hamel. (Thanks Greg and Phil!).
The climb up Hamel took approx 1.5 hrs or so, and I met up with a solo racer from the US. He shared some water with me and we chatted back and forth for awhile. At one of the CP's on the way up, one of the volunteers told me that Ellie was approx 15 mins or so ahead of me. As I looked up, I could see her on one of the switch backs ahead of me. It was a good check to know that I was still in the race, and I reminded myself to stay focused as I've learned through experience, that anything can happen during these kind of races.
When I reached the top of Mt. Hamel, I took a few seconds to look around and noticed what a spectacular view it was. The sky was clear and sunny and there was an amazing 360 degree view. People often ask me, why I do these types of events. One would think that with the amount of time, I've spent racing over the years and the hours upon hours of introspective time out there, I'd have a brilliant answer..., but I'm not sure there is one...the summit of a mountain is part of it, the reward of looking back down and seeing how far you've travelled..., but I also think for me, there is something primal that I am drawn to about getting back to the basics of life and working through completing a physically demanding task. It may hurt to varying degree's while you are doing it, but I know the reward and sense of accomplishment in the end, will far outweigh the temporary sweat and tears which are just part of the process.
After a quick reward of admiring the view, I brought myself back to the reality of the task at hand and the fact that the end was still 50km away, but was happy with the fact, that the longest climb was complete. I ran the out and back to retrieve my prayer flag and on the way back, I saw Simon Donato on his way out to the prayer flag station. We exchanged a couple brief words of encouragement to each other, and I noticed he looked very strong. I had actually thought he was ahead of me at that point, so was a little motivator to pick up the pace as I knew he'd be chasing me down!
My new friend stopped to refill his camel back as I made my way down Mt. Hamel and he eventually caught up and passed me. We continued to run back and forth chatting periodically for another couple of hours. Eventaully after a very long down hill we made it to the ambler loop aid station where our drop bags were. As I was coming in I saw Ellie heading out, and she looked like she was on a mission. I asked the volunteer how long the loop was an he indicated it was about 5km. I knew at that point she was likely close to 30 mins ahead of me, and would be tough to catch her now as time was running out. I had been having a difficult time eating for several hours now and was happy to get my drop bag and to be able to chug some calories in a Boost drink. Nothing else in the drop bag was appealing, but I ate part of a banana and drank some coke. I took off for the loop and at this point had caught a relay runner for Leg 4. He was just ahead of me, and as I looked up, I saw a little black bear run across the road. He didn't seem to be interested in us, and I am very used to running in bear country, but always nice to have someone else around when there is a bear sighting. We traded some electrolyte tabs for some water, as he said he was having some cramping and ran together chatting for a wee bit. Finished the loop and wished I had put another Boost in my drop bag, as still not able to eat, but pushed on for the remaining 10km or so to the end of leg 4, which was a long gradual downhill run on the road.
I reached the final CP to see my support crew and tried to get in a few more calories for the final push to the finish. As I left the CP, the trail started to climb again and went deeper into the forest. I caught up with a relay runner and exchanged a few words and contined to climb. I continued up and up for 45 minutes or so. I realized at one point I hadn't remembered seeing any flagging for awhile, but also didn't remember passing and side trails. I took note of my watch and continued up for another 5 minutes or so until I came to an intersection. The trail continued on straight, or I could turn right or left. I went down both right and left sides of the trail for a minute or so in each direction and didn't see any flagging. I started to feel a sense of panic, in that surely this close to the finish I hadn't made a stupid mistake and missed following the flagging. The trail had been marked brilliantly up to this point, so seemed strange to not have any markings at a major trail junction. I figured by this point if I was going the right direction and hadn't missed a turn the girl that I had passed on my way up should be close behind. I yelled down the trail several time and listened to the empty void and the echoing of my own voice. I yelled a few more times and eventually heard a response back. As it turned out, the girls name was also Denise, and I asked her if she had seen flagging recently. She indicated that she hadn't but had done this leg last year and was pretty sure we were to go straight through the intersection. We continued on together and eventually she pointed out some white buttons placed on the trees. She said these were trail markers and they glow in the dark, so was sure we were on the correct trail. We ran together for awhile and evenutally came to the river crossing. I felt a huge sense of relief, knowing I had lost some time, but hadn't totally blown it and wasn't going to be wandering around in the dark all night.
We paid the grim reaper our token to cross the river and hopped on board for the short river crossing. I got my headlamp out and ready to go, as dusk was just approaching and figured I might as well get ready so I didn't have to stop in a bit to sort it out. I thanked the driver for the ride and Denise and I continued up the next hill, and I soon lost her. I carried on for awhile and tried to take in a gel and some fluids, and instantly felt nauseous. I began to throw up the little bit that was left in my system, and then started to dry heave. It was very strange, I've never thrown up in a race before and as quickly as it came on, it passed and I felt better and started running again. I was a bit afraid to eat and drink after that, and knew I only had about 11-12 km to go, so knew I should be fine to make it to the end without anymore fluids or calories. It seemed like night all of a sudden arrived and I turned on my headlamp. Was very quiet and errie out there and I was happy to have my AYUP headlight with me, which does an amazing job of lighting up the trail. I hit the 5km sign to go at 14hr:30 minutes exactly, and thought I could easily bring it in under 15 hours if I kicked it down. It's always amazing what the "kicking it down" pace is at that point, but it felt like I was going fast even though I was definately not breaking any speed records! I could see the lights of town and could hear music, and turned the corner to see the very welcome sight of the finish line. I crossed the line at 14 hrs: 56 mins:24 seconds. Greg was there waiting for me with hugs and a smile and I knew it was all worth it once again.
The climb up Hamel took approx 1.5 hrs or so, and I met up with a solo racer from the US. He shared some water with me and we chatted back and forth for awhile. At one of the CP's on the way up, one of the volunteers told me that Ellie was approx 15 mins or so ahead of me. As I looked up, I could see her on one of the switch backs ahead of me. It was a good check to know that I was still in the race, and I reminded myself to stay focused as I've learned through experience, that anything can happen during these kind of races.
When I reached the top of Mt. Hamel, I took a few seconds to look around and noticed what a spectacular view it was. The sky was clear and sunny and there was an amazing 360 degree view. People often ask me, why I do these types of events. One would think that with the amount of time, I've spent racing over the years and the hours upon hours of introspective time out there, I'd have a brilliant answer..., but I'm not sure there is one...the summit of a mountain is part of it, the reward of looking back down and seeing how far you've travelled..., but I also think for me, there is something primal that I am drawn to about getting back to the basics of life and working through completing a physically demanding task. It may hurt to varying degree's while you are doing it, but I know the reward and sense of accomplishment in the end, will far outweigh the temporary sweat and tears which are just part of the process.
After a quick reward of admiring the view, I brought myself back to the reality of the task at hand and the fact that the end was still 50km away, but was happy with the fact, that the longest climb was complete. I ran the out and back to retrieve my prayer flag and on the way back, I saw Simon Donato on his way out to the prayer flag station. We exchanged a couple brief words of encouragement to each other, and I noticed he looked very strong. I had actually thought he was ahead of me at that point, so was a little motivator to pick up the pace as I knew he'd be chasing me down!
My new friend stopped to refill his camel back as I made my way down Mt. Hamel and he eventually caught up and passed me. We continued to run back and forth chatting periodically for another couple of hours. Eventaully after a very long down hill we made it to the ambler loop aid station where our drop bags were. As I was coming in I saw Ellie heading out, and she looked like she was on a mission. I asked the volunteer how long the loop was an he indicated it was about 5km. I knew at that point she was likely close to 30 mins ahead of me, and would be tough to catch her now as time was running out. I had been having a difficult time eating for several hours now and was happy to get my drop bag and to be able to chug some calories in a Boost drink. Nothing else in the drop bag was appealing, but I ate part of a banana and drank some coke. I took off for the loop and at this point had caught a relay runner for Leg 4. He was just ahead of me, and as I looked up, I saw a little black bear run across the road. He didn't seem to be interested in us, and I am very used to running in bear country, but always nice to have someone else around when there is a bear sighting. We traded some electrolyte tabs for some water, as he said he was having some cramping and ran together chatting for a wee bit. Finished the loop and wished I had put another Boost in my drop bag, as still not able to eat, but pushed on for the remaining 10km or so to the end of leg 4, which was a long gradual downhill run on the road.
I reached the final CP to see my support crew and tried to get in a few more calories for the final push to the finish. As I left the CP, the trail started to climb again and went deeper into the forest. I caught up with a relay runner and exchanged a few words and contined to climb. I continued up and up for 45 minutes or so. I realized at one point I hadn't remembered seeing any flagging for awhile, but also didn't remember passing and side trails. I took note of my watch and continued up for another 5 minutes or so until I came to an intersection. The trail continued on straight, or I could turn right or left. I went down both right and left sides of the trail for a minute or so in each direction and didn't see any flagging. I started to feel a sense of panic, in that surely this close to the finish I hadn't made a stupid mistake and missed following the flagging. The trail had been marked brilliantly up to this point, so seemed strange to not have any markings at a major trail junction. I figured by this point if I was going the right direction and hadn't missed a turn the girl that I had passed on my way up should be close behind. I yelled down the trail several time and listened to the empty void and the echoing of my own voice. I yelled a few more times and eventually heard a response back. As it turned out, the girls name was also Denise, and I asked her if she had seen flagging recently. She indicated that she hadn't but had done this leg last year and was pretty sure we were to go straight through the intersection. We continued on together and eventually she pointed out some white buttons placed on the trees. She said these were trail markers and they glow in the dark, so was sure we were on the correct trail. We ran together for awhile and evenutally came to the river crossing. I felt a huge sense of relief, knowing I had lost some time, but hadn't totally blown it and wasn't going to be wandering around in the dark all night.
We paid the grim reaper our token to cross the river and hopped on board for the short river crossing. I got my headlamp out and ready to go, as dusk was just approaching and figured I might as well get ready so I didn't have to stop in a bit to sort it out. I thanked the driver for the ride and Denise and I continued up the next hill, and I soon lost her. I carried on for awhile and tried to take in a gel and some fluids, and instantly felt nauseous. I began to throw up the little bit that was left in my system, and then started to dry heave. It was very strange, I've never thrown up in a race before and as quickly as it came on, it passed and I felt better and started running again. I was a bit afraid to eat and drink after that, and knew I only had about 11-12 km to go, so knew I should be fine to make it to the end without anymore fluids or calories. It seemed like night all of a sudden arrived and I turned on my headlamp. Was very quiet and errie out there and I was happy to have my AYUP headlight with me, which does an amazing job of lighting up the trail. I hit the 5km sign to go at 14hr:30 minutes exactly, and thought I could easily bring it in under 15 hours if I kicked it down. It's always amazing what the "kicking it down" pace is at that point, but it felt like I was going fast even though I was definately not breaking any speed records! I could see the lights of town and could hear music, and turned the corner to see the very welcome sight of the finish line. I crossed the line at 14 hrs: 56 mins:24 seconds. Greg was there waiting for me with hugs and a smile and I knew it was all worth it once again.
Monday, July 5, 2010
24 hrs - that's crazy!
I just wanted to take a few minutes and introduce you to my ultra running, ultra crazy 24 hour champ friend Sue Lucas. Sue logs more hours on the treadmill as a result of cold manitoba winters, than anyone I know and it seems to have translated into the creation of one bad-ass 24 hour running machine! Not even touching on the amazing physical accomplishment, to me running for 24 hours around a 1 km loop definately takes more mental strength than this running chic has!! Truly incredible!
I took a few minutes to ask Sue, as few questions about her training and racing, and here's what she had to say;
q: Congrats Sue on an amazing accomplishment at the 24 hr world championships in paris this past spring - 1st canadian woman, and 197km- impressive! Can you tell me what the experience was like?
a:The experience was amazing! Being selected as a member of the National 24 hour team has been a goal of mine on my todo list, so it was nice to accomplish that goal and run such a great race. I can't wait for the opportunity to go again to worlds and surpass my 197.68km!
q:What were your goals and expectations going into the race?
a:I always expect 110% from myself no matter what race I'm running. I hadn't run this type of race before, so I wasn't sure what to expect and what pace to run. I secretly wanted to run 200km, but i guess 197.68km will have to do this time.
q: You seem to just keep getting stronger over the years, what's your secret??
a:There's really no secret. I just seem to be able to pace myself well and get stronger as the race goes on. I watched a lot of people during the first few hours and they were running like they were running 10k - I knew I couldn't get caught up in that and that if I could maintain a slower pace for the first half of the race, thenI should be able to run the second half faster. The temps were also ideal for me, overcast and cool.
q: What are your plans for the remainder of 2010?
a:The Lost Sould 100 miler is next on my schedule on september 11th. I've been thinking about a couple of other races still this year, but we'll have to wait and see.
q:What events are on your top 3 "to do" list?
a:Hardrock, Badwater and the grand slam
q:What's your most memorable running experience to date?
a" I'd have to say the marathon des sables in 2008. I'd wanted to do that race since 1998, but had never had the courage to sign up for it until 2008, and then placing in the top 10 in the women's category was incredible.
q: I asked Sue to tell me a few things that would surprise people to know abut her....she decided to let me answer that question, which could be dangerous, considering I've known Sue for a long time, but we'll keep it professional...=)
What can I say...Sue actually does many other things than run and is the number one pet owner in the world. If I come back in another life as a dog, I want to be Sue's dog...she is a dog biscuit baking, master painter, house renovator, do-it all kinda gal...Sue and I met in 1998, when we were both just wee girlz doing our first marathons ever, and we instantly bonded...I think it may have been my chocolate lab puppy she was coveting and the fact that our last name's at the time were the same....strange, but true....=)
Look for Sue rocking the Lost Souls in september and definately breaking her 200km goal in switzerland next year at worlds!
Sunday, June 6, 2010
XPD - Australia
Well, we survived a crazy Aussie adventure, and despite numerous set backs managed to finish in 3rd place, securing a podium spot. I have to say this may have been the most difficult race we've done yet. Australia, and what we saw of North Queensland is amazing country, but extremely harsh and difficult terrain to say the least! The nasty plants and critters are numerous and definately keep you on your toes. Am working on a race story, which will post soon for anyone interested in hearing more.
Monday, April 5, 2010
2010 Update!
I guess it's a good thing I'm a better adventure racer/ultra runner than blogger!!
Nevertheless..., I'm back with a very late entry for 2010....Lots of adventures planned for this year (see 2010 race schedule!). The later half of the year is still tentative, but the next three months are going to be a whirlwind to say the least...China in April, Oz in May, and France in June - yikes!
To start with, the big news for 2010 is, Greg and I are now both part of the Merrell/Akali Ambassador Team, and will be training and racing representing Merrell/Akali. Big thanks to Robyn Benicasa and Merrell/Akali for believing in us and inviting us to be part of their team! Check out the website at www.teammerrell.com/ambassadors
The season will start off with a training race April 26-29th, in Nanning China. We'll be racing with a couple of guys from Malaysia that we've never raced with before. Very much looking forward to experiencing the culture and taking a week to travel after wards - a vacation, how novel! The main thing will be to stay healthy and avoid any funky unidentifiable foods (could be a challenge for Greg, who generally will eat anything!), since we get home from China on the 6th of May, and back in the air on the 13th.
May 18-28 we'll be racing XPD Australia, 700km in the Australian outback with a new version of Team Merrell/Akali due to some injuries on the Team, and June will be a fast and furious 400km stage race in Graveline France to Lille, where we'll be back in the orange jersey's along side fellow Merrell/Akali ambassador Travis Macy and Jon Brown whom I raced with in Abu Dhabi in December.
So far, 2010 is shaping up to be a season of adventure and look forward to actually getting out on the race course, and getting into some warmer temps! Although we've had an amazing winter here, and are lucky to be having an early spring - I forgot how cold spring training can be! Friday we actually got out on some REAL, LIVE WATER - woohoo! .....as opposed to sitting in our basement on the indoor kayak machine. Felt great to get outside for about the first 30 mins, even though we were paddling the "TOMCAT" - (inflatable kayak), dodging ice bullets, temperature hovering around zero....a couple hours later, 4 frozen feet and 4 frozen hands, we were sitting in the truck in our gitch b/c our clothes were soaked through, heat cranked, and I had to laugh as it started to snow - I guess this is part of the toughening up period??? Let's hope it warms up for next weekend as we get out for a longer paddle, or I'll be wearing my winter boots....
Saturday followed with the first training ride on the road bikes outside. Biked to Starbucks, which is 41 km from my house, and just long enough for the feet to go numb.....a quick dark cherry mocha, and return home to a nice, hot sauna.....ahhhh......spring in the Yukon...What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, (or something like that!). Was very happy yesterday was a long run day - awesome run up pilot mountain behind our house...went earlier in the morning while the trail was still frozen - was welcomed by bright, beautiful, sunny skies....and a reminder why we live in this glorious place!
Nevertheless..., I'm back with a very late entry for 2010....Lots of adventures planned for this year (see 2010 race schedule!). The later half of the year is still tentative, but the next three months are going to be a whirlwind to say the least...China in April, Oz in May, and France in June - yikes!
To start with, the big news for 2010 is, Greg and I are now both part of the Merrell/Akali Ambassador Team, and will be training and racing representing Merrell/Akali. Big thanks to Robyn Benicasa and Merrell/Akali for believing in us and inviting us to be part of their team! Check out the website at www.teammerrell.com/ambassadors
The season will start off with a training race April 26-29th, in Nanning China. We'll be racing with a couple of guys from Malaysia that we've never raced with before. Very much looking forward to experiencing the culture and taking a week to travel after wards - a vacation, how novel! The main thing will be to stay healthy and avoid any funky unidentifiable foods (could be a challenge for Greg, who generally will eat anything!), since we get home from China on the 6th of May, and back in the air on the 13th.
May 18-28 we'll be racing XPD Australia, 700km in the Australian outback with a new version of Team Merrell/Akali due to some injuries on the Team, and June will be a fast and furious 400km stage race in Graveline France to Lille, where we'll be back in the orange jersey's along side fellow Merrell/Akali ambassador Travis Macy and Jon Brown whom I raced with in Abu Dhabi in December.
So far, 2010 is shaping up to be a season of adventure and look forward to actually getting out on the race course, and getting into some warmer temps! Although we've had an amazing winter here, and are lucky to be having an early spring - I forgot how cold spring training can be! Friday we actually got out on some REAL, LIVE WATER - woohoo! .....as opposed to sitting in our basement on the indoor kayak machine. Felt great to get outside for about the first 30 mins, even though we were paddling the "TOMCAT" - (inflatable kayak), dodging ice bullets, temperature hovering around zero....a couple hours later, 4 frozen feet and 4 frozen hands, we were sitting in the truck in our gitch b/c our clothes were soaked through, heat cranked, and I had to laugh as it started to snow - I guess this is part of the toughening up period??? Let's hope it warms up for next weekend as we get out for a longer paddle, or I'll be wearing my winter boots....
Saturday followed with the first training ride on the road bikes outside. Biked to Starbucks, which is 41 km from my house, and just long enough for the feet to go numb.....a quick dark cherry mocha, and return home to a nice, hot sauna.....ahhhh......spring in the Yukon...What doesn't kill us makes us stronger, (or something like that!). Was very happy yesterday was a long run day - awesome run up pilot mountain behind our house...went earlier in the morning while the trail was still frozen - was welcomed by bright, beautiful, sunny skies....and a reminder why we live in this glorious place!
Thursday, November 12, 2009
H2H update
Just returned home from the Canadian Championships in Vancouver. A big thanks to Darin and Carrie for their amazing hospitality and congrats to Darin on an impressive 7hr:49 min run, 1st place overall! Another huge accomplishment to add to your resume!
Big thanks also to Greg for his stellar support crewing! I know it is tough as an athlete to crew and not be out there competing...and let's face it watching someone run for hours and hours has got to be pretty flippin' boring! The force feeding and extra motivation was exactly what I needed.
Haney 2 Harrison was the host of the Canadian 100km Championships this year. The week before leaving, the competitor list was sent out and I immediately went, oh crap...Suzanne Evans, yikes! I am definately not a 2hr;44 min marathon runner, so I knew I was going to have my work cut out for me...I figured my only hope, given her speed, was that the weather would be miserable, as I figured I likely have more experience suffering in miserable conditions...a bit sadistic perhaps, but I am an adventure racer after all, which is all about prolonged suffering...
The race started at 4:00am, and we were given about a 20 minute reprieve on the rain as in was coming down in buckets minutes before the start of the race. My plan was to run 8 minute miles, or a little faster and maintain that as long as I could. I was hoping to beat my time of 8hr:32 from the World Championships, and my ultimate lining up of the stars and moon goal, was to run a 8hr:16 min 100km, which would average 8 minute mile pace. I had run that pace in italy until about 75 km, at which point I just couldn't maintain it any longer and the wheels slowly fell off the bus. The tough thing about running this distance is the pace is fairly easy for the first half, starts to hurt a bit shortly there after, and then starts to really hurt around 80km, hence the slowing down....
I ran the first couple of hours with Gary and Tim from Edmonton and we chatted a bit on and off. These first few hours in the dark were very peaceful and I just enjoyed the easy pace and conversation. Suzanne started out pretty slow and passed me at the end of the 1st leg at a pace that I knew was too fast for me. I watched her go and thought, hopefully I'll see her again late in the race. That's the other thing I've learned about ultra running - stick to your game plan and be patient...Greg gave me periodic updates and I knew she was putting time on me. I felt the urge to speed up, but kept reminding myself it was still early and to run my own race and hope that she slowed down. By the end of leg 3, she had 9 minutes on me. I knew that was going to be tough to make up, but also knew this was only her second attempt at the 100km distance and there was a good chance she would slow down. I was starting to feel the first low spot around the middle of Leg 4...one marathon down and my legs were starting to feel heavy and sluggish....oh oh...I focused on pushing through and trying to maintain my pace. I put my ipod on near the beginning of Leg 5 and immediately felt a surge of energy. Close to the end of leg 5 I had lost the other guys I was running with and caught two more guys. One of the volunteers told me I was now in 3rd place overall, and Greg reported I was making up some time on her and was now just 5 minutes down. This gave me a huge boost and early on in leg 6 I could see her in the distance. I started battling some stomach problems, but managed to work through it and saw I was very slowly gaining on her. As we approached end of Leg 6, and I ran through the Check point, I saw her pull off to the side. I ran through and figured this would be a good chance to make up a minute or so. Greg continued his race reports and I soon had 2 minutes on her, 3 minutes, 4 minutes. I focused on just maintaining my focus and keeping my pace. I still had 20 tough km to go and knew I was on my goal pace, but was starting to feel pretty knackered.
A few gradual uphills, and some level points and I crested the top of a hill, and looked down to to see a huge downhill. I knew I had about 10km to go, and this downhill was going to hurt. I felt like I was running on 2 stumps of wood down that hill, and that it was never going to end.., give me an uphill anytime at that point in the race over a quad smashing downhill...
The came into the last CP and knew I had only 8 more km...40 minutes if I could keep my pace...piece of cake..right?? It's amazing sometimes just how long 8km can seem to take some times! Somewhere through the midway of the last leg, the first relay team caught me..the guy passed me like I was standing still...I thought how badly I'd like to be that guy and how badly I'd like to be Darin, as I knew he'd be done by now! Just keep running, one foot in front of the other...Greg told me at that point, that the finish line was on the other side of the mountain in front of me. I came into town and finally started to think about the finish line. I don't like to give myself that luxury until the race is over, as I've certainly learned over the years, that anything can happen. I looked at my watch and realized I was going to be really close in making my goal of 8 hr:16 mins if I could keep this pace the last couple kilometers. I finally rounded a corner and asked one of the volunteers, how much farther. ...he answered, 300m! I felt a surge of energy and ran hard into the finish....I could hear the announcer calling my name as the new women's 100km Champion, and crossed the line in 8hr:15 min:56 seconds, which was apparently a new womens course record, which was a nice surprise. Greg was there to meet me and give me a big hug. Darin was there to congratulate me as well looking like he'd jogged an easy 5km that day...I'd like to say I looked and felt the same, but it didn't really matter at that point, I was done and had averaged 7:59 miles.....some days it comes together and this was one of those days. I changed and waited at the finish for Suzanne to come in shortly after. She ran an impressive race, and will definately be a force to watch in the ultra world.
Overall, H2H was an excellent, well run event, and is clear the organizers have done this a time or two before. The awards were later that night, followed by a post race dance. Would love to say I danced the night away and that we celebrated in style, but I think I had left it all out on the course.
Am home now and on my way to recovering. Next up for me is Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge, which is a 6 day Stage race in the United Emerites. I leave November 30th and will be racing with Salomon/Crested Butte. Time to hit the paddling machine and pool for the week and ease back onto the bike.
Big thanks also to Greg for his stellar support crewing! I know it is tough as an athlete to crew and not be out there competing...and let's face it watching someone run for hours and hours has got to be pretty flippin' boring! The force feeding and extra motivation was exactly what I needed.
Haney 2 Harrison was the host of the Canadian 100km Championships this year. The week before leaving, the competitor list was sent out and I immediately went, oh crap...Suzanne Evans, yikes! I am definately not a 2hr;44 min marathon runner, so I knew I was going to have my work cut out for me...I figured my only hope, given her speed, was that the weather would be miserable, as I figured I likely have more experience suffering in miserable conditions...a bit sadistic perhaps, but I am an adventure racer after all, which is all about prolonged suffering...
The race started at 4:00am, and we were given about a 20 minute reprieve on the rain as in was coming down in buckets minutes before the start of the race. My plan was to run 8 minute miles, or a little faster and maintain that as long as I could. I was hoping to beat my time of 8hr:32 from the World Championships, and my ultimate lining up of the stars and moon goal, was to run a 8hr:16 min 100km, which would average 8 minute mile pace. I had run that pace in italy until about 75 km, at which point I just couldn't maintain it any longer and the wheels slowly fell off the bus. The tough thing about running this distance is the pace is fairly easy for the first half, starts to hurt a bit shortly there after, and then starts to really hurt around 80km, hence the slowing down....
I ran the first couple of hours with Gary and Tim from Edmonton and we chatted a bit on and off. These first few hours in the dark were very peaceful and I just enjoyed the easy pace and conversation. Suzanne started out pretty slow and passed me at the end of the 1st leg at a pace that I knew was too fast for me. I watched her go and thought, hopefully I'll see her again late in the race. That's the other thing I've learned about ultra running - stick to your game plan and be patient...Greg gave me periodic updates and I knew she was putting time on me. I felt the urge to speed up, but kept reminding myself it was still early and to run my own race and hope that she slowed down. By the end of leg 3, she had 9 minutes on me. I knew that was going to be tough to make up, but also knew this was only her second attempt at the 100km distance and there was a good chance she would slow down. I was starting to feel the first low spot around the middle of Leg 4...one marathon down and my legs were starting to feel heavy and sluggish....oh oh...I focused on pushing through and trying to maintain my pace. I put my ipod on near the beginning of Leg 5 and immediately felt a surge of energy. Close to the end of leg 5 I had lost the other guys I was running with and caught two more guys. One of the volunteers told me I was now in 3rd place overall, and Greg reported I was making up some time on her and was now just 5 minutes down. This gave me a huge boost and early on in leg 6 I could see her in the distance. I started battling some stomach problems, but managed to work through it and saw I was very slowly gaining on her. As we approached end of Leg 6, and I ran through the Check point, I saw her pull off to the side. I ran through and figured this would be a good chance to make up a minute or so. Greg continued his race reports and I soon had 2 minutes on her, 3 minutes, 4 minutes. I focused on just maintaining my focus and keeping my pace. I still had 20 tough km to go and knew I was on my goal pace, but was starting to feel pretty knackered.
A few gradual uphills, and some level points and I crested the top of a hill, and looked down to to see a huge downhill. I knew I had about 10km to go, and this downhill was going to hurt. I felt like I was running on 2 stumps of wood down that hill, and that it was never going to end.., give me an uphill anytime at that point in the race over a quad smashing downhill...
The came into the last CP and knew I had only 8 more km...40 minutes if I could keep my pace...piece of cake..right?? It's amazing sometimes just how long 8km can seem to take some times! Somewhere through the midway of the last leg, the first relay team caught me..the guy passed me like I was standing still...I thought how badly I'd like to be that guy and how badly I'd like to be Darin, as I knew he'd be done by now! Just keep running, one foot in front of the other...Greg told me at that point, that the finish line was on the other side of the mountain in front of me. I came into town and finally started to think about the finish line. I don't like to give myself that luxury until the race is over, as I've certainly learned over the years, that anything can happen. I looked at my watch and realized I was going to be really close in making my goal of 8 hr:16 mins if I could keep this pace the last couple kilometers. I finally rounded a corner and asked one of the volunteers, how much farther. ...he answered, 300m! I felt a surge of energy and ran hard into the finish....I could hear the announcer calling my name as the new women's 100km Champion, and crossed the line in 8hr:15 min:56 seconds, which was apparently a new womens course record, which was a nice surprise. Greg was there to meet me and give me a big hug. Darin was there to congratulate me as well looking like he'd jogged an easy 5km that day...I'd like to say I looked and felt the same, but it didn't really matter at that point, I was done and had averaged 7:59 miles.....some days it comes together and this was one of those days. I changed and waited at the finish for Suzanne to come in shortly after. She ran an impressive race, and will definately be a force to watch in the ultra world.
Overall, H2H was an excellent, well run event, and is clear the organizers have done this a time or two before. The awards were later that night, followed by a post race dance. Would love to say I danced the night away and that we celebrated in style, but I think I had left it all out on the course.
Am home now and on my way to recovering. Next up for me is Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge, which is a 6 day Stage race in the United Emerites. I leave November 30th and will be racing with Salomon/Crested Butte. Time to hit the paddling machine and pool for the week and ease back onto the bike.
Whitehorse star article
Denise McHale to defend Canadian 100-km Champion title
Whitehorse’s Denise McHale is off to Vancouver for the Canadian 100 kilometre Championships on Nov. 7.
LOOKING FOR ADVENTURE – Denise McHale of Whitehorse is heading to Vancouver on Nov. 3 for the Canadian 100 kilometre Championships to defend her title.
Whitehorse’s Denise McHale is off to Vancouver for the Canadian 100 kilometre Championships on Nov. 7.
The race, called the Haney 2 Harrison is a 100 kilometre course and McHale is expecting the worst weather conditions – not that that’s a bad thing.
I expect rain, rain and more rain,” said McHale. “I expect conditions to be somewhat miserable, which is fine with me.”
McHale’s adventure racing experience has provided her with the ability to get through any conditions a race has to offer.
“I think my experience in adventure racing tends to lend itself to dealing relatively well with adverse weather conditions and things that are out of my control,” she said.
Even with her experience, McHale says the course won’t be a walk in the park.
“I expect a tough race because of the weather conditions, and because the course is rather hilly,” she said. “It really all comes down to proper training and a little bit of luck that things come together on the day.”
McHale hopes to keep her title of Canadian 100 kilometre Champion.
“I am going with the hope of defending my title and running a personal best,” she said.
McHale began racing in 1996, when she joined a learn to run group at Better Bodies, where she worked.
Her first run with the group was three-kilometres.
“I still remember being thrilled with that accomplishment,” said McHale.
After a few years running, she ran her first marathon.
“ I ran my first marathon a couple of years later and was hooked from there,” said McHale.
There is no formal ranking system for adventure racing, but fellow marathon runner Keith Thaxter says she is one of the top competitors in Canada.
“She’s a pretty amazing runner,” he said.
McHale says Canada’s running team has had success nationally and internationally in recent years.
“We’ve had some success adventure racing in Canada and internationally and have had a really good 2009 so far,” she said.
The team has also joined up with members from other countries.
“We’ve expanded our team over the past year and have been racing with a couple American based teams with some team mates from Australia, New Zealand, Spain and France,” said McHale.
Racing against her teammates is what McHale is looking forward to the most for her upcoming race.
After the Haney 2 Harrison in Vancouver, she is heading to Abu Dhabi, United Emerites, for the Abu Dhabi Adventure Challenge with team Salomon from the U.S. for her final event of the season.
Racing has brought McHale all over the world.
“I’ve the opportunity to travel to some amazing places and race with some incredible athletes,” she said.
McHale has found that her participation in adventure racing has proved beneficial in other areas of her life.
“Adventure racing especially is so complex both physically and mentally that I find the experience I have gained flows out to so many other areas of my life and has helped me become a stronger person,” she said. “I love the challenges that endurance sports brings.”
While travel internationally could be a strain on an athlete’s personal life, McHale travels and competes with her husband Greg.
“I’m lucky in the fact that my husband and I race together and have been able to share so many of these experiences together,” she said.
McHale has been running for almost 13 years, and the thrill she felt when she completed her first three-kilometre run is still alive and well.
“There’s nothing better than when things come together and you cross a finish line after days of racing knowing you’ve left it all out on the race course,” said McHale.
– – –
Denise McHale’s career highlights
August 2009: Primal Quest, in South Dakota, U.S. 1,000 kilometre expedition – third place.
June 2009: Best of the West, in Alberta, 600 kilometre expedition, – first place.
May 2009: 50 mile Canadian Championships, in Victoria,BC – first female and new course record.
March 2009: Rock and Ice Ultra, in NWT. 225 kilometre run – 1st female
November 2008: 100km World Championships, in Italy – first Canadian Women and 23rd female.
August 2007: Raid the North Extreme, in Prince Rupert, B.C. 600 kilometre expedition – third place.
May 2007:100km Canadian Championships, in Edmonton – first female and new course record.
December 2006: Nuevo Leon Outdoor Challenge, in Mexico – third place team.
October 2006: Extreme Adventure Hidalgo, in Mexico – second place team.
August 2006: Primal Quest, in Utah, U.S. 700 kilometre expedition – fourth place team.
May 2006: Mississauga Marathon – third place female.
2004: Calgary Marathon – 1st place female.
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