Eastern Divide 50k Race Report

"How'd you do?" I've heard that question many times in the past few days from friends on facebook as well as those standing face-to-face. There are always quantifiable dimensions of a race like a 50 kilometer; one's time and place and the number of aching muscles. But there are also answers to "How'd you do?" that take a bit more time to think through: I recall wanting to vomit at one part; my quads nearly rebelled at mile 25; and I really, really wanted to bail at mile 29.5 when I could smell BBQ as the course ran within 100 yards of the grill at the finish line (who thought that was a good idea?!?) Asking "How'd you do?" is more akin to saying "How was last month?" or "How did the semester go?" than "How was your day at work, honey?" Even though a 50k only takes up a few hours over the course of a single day, the range of physical and emotional sensations one goes through can vary tremendously over 31 mountainous miles. 

Pre-race dinner near the finish, at beautiful Mountain Lake Virginia

By quantitative measures, I did really well in the Eastern Divide 50k. I ran my best 50k by over 15 minutes (5 hr 9 min) and placed 16th overall out of 180 starters. I was also able to run the race with much, much less training when compared to other 50ks I've done. Overall, the course was very generous--lots of fire roads, very little circuitious single track, and a length just a touch shorter than 50 kilometers. All of this helped shorten race times. Volunteers at the aid stations were awesome and my family (especially my daughter) were waiting about 1.5 miles from the finish to give me a final and very necessary push to the end!

A few things went awry as well, which is too be expected. One rule I always try to keep in mind is that a 50k is not equal to a marathon plus 5 miles. While the equation "50k = marthon + 5 miles" is technically correct, you're out on your feet nearly twice as long as a road marathon. You climb-and-descend vertical miles in addition to the horizontal ones you run. And you're on your own in the woods for long, long stretches rather than surrounded by people in a city, like most marathons.

When doing final preparations the night before the race I realized that I had left my fizzy electrolyte tablets back home. This usually isn't a big deal except that I have a strong aversion to Heed, the power drink at all the aid stations for this course. After my first gulp of the stuff at mile 4 I had a queasy stomach for the next 18 miles. While my minimal training strategy was great in some respects (it really wasn't a strategy at all--I just didn't make enough time to train for this race), but I definitely hadn't run enough hills. After finishing almost all of the course's front-loaded uphill by mile 18, I found that I couldn't run up even the smallest hills. My inner-most quad--the vastus medialis I think--tightened into a ball (the only time I've ever been aware of these muscles is when running the Mt Disappointment 50k, which includes a 2000' climb in the final 3 miles!) I was forced to walk sections of supremely runnable forest roads. Attempts to convince myself that slight-uphills were actually slight-downhills-plus-visual-perspective failed multiple times. The mind might be willing, but the body is not so easily fooled.

One big boost for me was at mile 22. I was on a long forest road between aid stations. Reduced to walking tiny uphills. Sick of Heed. Thinking I was only at 19 miles. And then, I crested a small knoll and saw a party! It was aid station 5, complete with humus and chips (you crave weird things in ultra races). Somehow I had covered the previous 5 miles much faster than I thought and the words "downhill just ahead and only 8 miles to the finish" renewed my strength. I even appeared to be on pace to break 5 hours, a threshold I never thought I could get to without tons of training. 

Smells from grill (unhelpfully) emanated onto the course with several miles to go

But the last 4 miles were where my minimal training took its toll. I walked a lot. I quickly fell off the sub-5 hour mark. I was passed by 5 or 6 people where I hadn't been passed in the previous 10 miles. But my 3-year daughter Eden's cry "DADDY!" in the ferns at mile 29.5 strengthened my resole to finish. She's bound to be a runner when she gets older and probably could have hung with me for the last stretch if I had let her. One more downhill; one more uphill; and one final flat section and I was done.

Coming down the home-stretch!

In the end it was a great race on a fantastic course. Yeah, there may have been ill moments or miles, but on balance the whole thing was a lot of fun. My college running buddy Dave Williams finished his first 50k. We had a great time staying with his family and seeing other friends in Blacksburg. The race had over 200 entrants, which made for a wonderful party at the finish. I always meet crazy people during these events and am thankful for the chance to be stretched to a limit I don't often get to. I think I'll return to my minimal training strategy for the next few weeks though.

Dave, finishing the race with his daughter Hayli