Upon reaching Banning State Park on Friday evening with Mallory, my anxiety for race day was settled by a hike near the Kettle River and a calming self guided walk to check out the history surrounding limestone mining in the area. We ended up walking more than two miles in the woods, taking in the sights and interesting surroundings that 16 plaques of history had to offer. I even learned something new. Not about the land, but my wife. Mallory is a history nerd! Overall, the night was relaxing and I fell asleep to the setting of the sun and chirp of birds. I couldn't think of a better way to prepare. Mentally, I committed to camping prior to every race. It seems counterintuitive, but there is something calming about sleeping outside.
3:45am - My internal alarm got me up a couple of minutes before the cricket chirp of my alarm. It was game time and I was quickly wrestling to pack up camp. The moon was fairly bright, so we kept the disturbances minimal and we were in the car within 15 minutes. The drive to Carlton was uneventful and I mostly filled the time by mentally prepping for the day. Upon arrival, the rest of the morning was a blur, punctuated by the fact that it was only 48 degrees out....in July! The crisp air was welcoming as I remember fondly getting cooked in the latter half of last year's race.
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| Still Early and Crowded |
The pace during the morning was steady and somewhat stunning as we made our way to AS3 across the St. Louis River and through an area called Chambers Grove. I continued to look at my watch in disbelief as we would take the non-technical and a longer pavement section at 6 min/miles. Although I was comfortably within my limit, I wondered multiple times how the day was going to play out. By mile 9, I was already acutely aware that my stomach problems from Friday were going to resurface. What I had written off as nerves, clearly wasn't. Chambers ultimately marked the end of mellow terrain and the end of my ability to eat for many hours. With a succession of climbs, the pain in my stomach worsened and I would have to waste time locating a place to crouch more than 7 times during the rest of the day. At first, this wasn't concerning, but as the day continued, I wondered how my body was going to respond in the later half of the race without nutrition.
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| Powerline Section 2 |
By AS5 I was feeling terrible and my stomach was mentally breaking me. Although it was still early, I honestly had doubts that I would finish the day. I quickly exchanged my empty hydration pack for a bottle and slowly made my way towards the course's next large obstacle, Jarrow's Beach. The beach was my marked nemesis from last year as it contains over a mile of jagged moss covered boulders. This section is barely walk-able in areas, let alone run-able. Once again, the goal was limit wasted time and limit injuries. Within the first half mile, I slipped and fell twice as I tried to navigate the rocks, wet from the mornings mist. Eventually I exited unscathed. Shortly thereafter, I hit the turn-around sitting in 7th position. I hadn't looked at my watch for over an hour due to my stomach, so I was surprised to see we hit 25 miles in a little over 3 hrs and 30 minutes. I was immediately stunned because the winning time for the marathon (on the same course two weeks prior) was 4 hrs. I knew we were going quickly, but I had no idea. By turn around, I was committed to re-evaluating my health at each aid station. Instead of the planned 300 calories per hour (1 gel every 30 minutes + electrolyte drink), I had only taken down 2 gels total and was mostly operating off of whatever liquid I could hold down.
Trip 2 through Jarrow's was uneventful. We passed the next 15 runners leading up to the entrance of
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| Jarrow's Beach Borrowed from Jordan Hanlon |
What was a fast descent to Chambers became the late round of a street fight coming back. The rain
started to fall and the grade of the hill ramped up, challenging my burning legs late in the game. My only motivation was the soft ground ahead upon exiting the pavement for a gradual buffed out ski trail. After what seemed like an eternity of climbing, the entrance gate came into sight and my feet were relieved to be back on soft ground. By AS 2 on the way back, all I wanted was the finish. Mentally, I kept myself sharp by constantly thinking that someone was catching up. I instilled a fear of being chased to the finish which kept walking to a minimum. In all honesty, I ended up having more than a 20 minute gap on the 7th place runner. Between AS 2 and AS 1, I struggled to maintain pace as my energy faded. I counted every last yard to AS 1 as I longed for the strong energy that this station would put out. With luck, AS 1 came as a surprise given my GPS watch was off by exactly one mile due to dense forest in sections. The volunteers were enthusiastic and I saw my wife for one last time before turning to finish the last 2.9 miles. It was a blur, but I fondly remember trying not to puke as my wife offered up a Starburst.
Leading back to Carlton, I tried to savor the last section of the course. I took in the energy of the St. Louis River, stopped to look over the crest seen early in the morning, and watch as two large deer pranced effortlessly through a densely wooded section. Soon enough, I was to the last mile of pavement. As I looked once more at my watch, I was overjoyed to see that I was within my goal time (7:30 - 8:00). I closed out the last mile in 7 minutes, draining the last bit of energy that I had for the day. Rounding the corner to the finish has never felt so good. A small crowd had gathered as the rain fell and the day ended just as it started, casual.
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| Best Summary of my "I have to shit face" |
Voyageur is one of my favorite ultra's for so many reasons. The race director and committee put forth a highly organized classic ultra that is well marked, extremely challenging and full of amazing volunteers. Each aid station is top notch and the people are awesome. Additionally, Voyageur is even more casual than the typical ultra. People roll up in flannels, the cost of the race is 1/2 what you will pay elsewhere, and the start quietly rolls out of a yet-to-wake Carlton, MN. Although I will continue to explorer other race venues, Voyageur 50 will always be on my radar for years to come.
Thank you to my wife for being the best crew personnel ever, Fitsok for blister free feet, and TCRC for shoes, clothing, and sage advice. Additionally, a special thanks to Coach D of Beyond Performance for getting me to the start race ready!
Coming Next: Next week I travel to Bozeman, Montana to run the Bridger Ridge Run. I just caught word that I am in the 1st wave, meaning I will be up front with the crazies. Right now, I am waiting for a large blister under my big toe nail to subside before I put together a goal for that race. I may just use it as a "bucket list" event if my body can't heal in time. After all, it is ranked as one of the Top 10 Most Gorgeous Trail Runs.
Really, my mind is on Superior Sawtooth 100. This will be my first attempt at the distance and the course is beyond difficult. With over 29,000ft of elevation change, it is obvious I won't be throwing down a 7:44 50 split. I look forward to capping the season with Sawtooth and reaching the finish in under 24 hours (stiff goal).