Race Reports
Vulture Bait 50k
It was mid-October and the Ontario Ultra Series was coming to a close for 2010. I have had an incredible year, completing bigger goals than I ever thought possible. All I had to do was finish the two laps around Fanshawe Lake in order to capture the prize for Top Male, Under-39 in the series.
I was starting to feel like I could run a bit harder again after struggling through the last couple races after the 100-miler. I knew my body was a bit beaten up, but I thought I would at least try to better my time from 2009, about 4:31’.
The trails around the lake were in great shape, and the weather was beautiful. I really love running in the woods in the fall.
I started off running with John, who had been running lots of fast miles with the SDCI Cross-Country team throughout the fall and was ready for a fast 50km. All was good for the first lap, and I thought I had a pretty good chance of a 4:15’ finish.
Somewhere around 37km, my quads started to cramp up really bad. I was forced to slow down. I told John to go on ahead, since he was still feeling quite strong. I took several walking breaks, to try and alleviate the cramps, but I think my legs had had enough.
I lost at least 25 minutes of time on the last 10km of the route, but was able to muster a shuffle to the finish line. My official time was 4:46:56”.
I was a little bit disappointed in how I finished the race, but glad that I made it to the finish, and was able to celebrate my accomplishment at the Awards Banquet that followed the race. It meant a lot to me to receive the plaque for winning my category, along with a really cool hat that I wear proudly.
Afterwards, I calculated that I had run 619km, just in the ultra series alone in 2010. I knew it would be hard to top that, if I ever decided to do it again.
As I looked back on the year, I couldn’t help but feel grateful for all the great people I have met through the OUS, as well as all the supporters I had, cheering me on with all of my running goals. There is no way I would have been able to do it all on my own.
Run for the Toad 50k
I had been looking forward to this race for a couple years, since it is such a well-known and popular trail race in Ontario. I had no idea when I registered back in March, that I would be fresh off of running 100 miles. I was comforted to meet a few other runners, such as Ken Moon, who not only ran Haliburton, but also the 24-hour indoor race in Ottawa only a week before Run for the Toad.
Going into the race, I knew I would not be running any fast times, I would be happy to finish. I figured I could just chat with some of the regulars and try and let the miles pass, without thinking of how tired my legs were.
It was a cool October morning start for the race. Good temperatures for running, but as the race progressed, the rain started coming down, making the course a very slippery mess in many parts. Since I was running fairly slowly, I started to get quite cold in the rain. I pushed my way through, using all that character I had built earlier in the summer.
The course was a nice blend of single-track, grass, asphalt and gravel. Only when it got wet and muddy, did some parts become quite challenging (relatively speaking).
As I ran and talked to a few different runners, I soon realized that this race has become a popular token trail race for many road-running regulars. It was interesting to see the very different cultures of serious (road) marathon runners mix with the pretty easy-going/hardcore community of ultra-runners (I consider myself somewhere in between).
I finished in 5-hours, 13-minutes and 40-seconds.
I was happy to be done, and to be able to warm up a bit in the post-race tent. Run for the Toad did an excellent job feeding everyone and thanks to Tim Horton’s for supplying fresh coffee to keep us warm.
I ate my post-race meal in the company of some of the regular OUS runners, who were starting to feel more like my running family, after such a great season together.
I knew I wasn’t going to be anywhere close to winning any awards, but I figured I better stick around for the draw prizes. I t was a good thing I stayed because my name was pulled out of the hat for a brand new pair of Montrail running shoes! That seemed to make the whole experience a little more worthwhile.
While walking back to my car, with barely functioning legs, I somehow managed to get lost. I was shivering a fair bit by the time I finally found my car. Even with the heat cranked in my car, it took awhile for me to start to warm up.
The details are a little fuzzy, but I’m pretty sure I passed out for a nice long sleep once I got home that day. I will hopefully return someday with fresher legs and a more positive spirit to tackle the Run for the Toad.
