What a fabulous race! On Saturday, July 30th I ran the Grand Mesa Ultras 50 mile race and loved it! And this is saying something since around mile 28 or so it started hailing, and kept hailing for about an hour and then rained off and on throughout the rest of the race. I have to say finishing this 50 mile race I felt very good, it was an amazing confidence booster for me going into the Moab 240 which is only a few months away now!
(Another beautiful sunrise!)
Sleeping in my jeep at the start finish line I woke up early to be ready for the 5AM start for the 50 mile race. There were also going to be 50k and 30k races which started a little later in the morning. For me this was a tale of two runs. The first 18 miles were a decent amount of climbing any descending, nothing to crazy but fairly technical at times and since the race was 95% above 10,000 feet that made the first 5 miles or so pretty much an adjustment period for me to get used to the extra high altitude the rest of the rest would take place at. The first 18 miles also including "Craig's Crest" which was simply spectacular, running along a ridgeline at about 11,500 feet with fabulous views! I finished this first 18 mile section about 2 hours ahead of the cutoff, an unusually large amount of "time to spare" in my books!
("Craig's Crest section of trail was simply amazing!)
I felt great heading into the next 32 miles, refilled my supplies at 18 mile Mesa Top aid station and headed off on the next 8 miles to the "Indian Point" aid station. I passed several people on this section, which is never really a goal of mine but was encouraging as I continued to feel strong through this section, running the flats and downhills and power hiking any small hills. Cumulatively this section was downhill and largely in the woods which provided some amazing shade. I arrived at the Indian Point aid station, 26 miles into the race. Aid station volunteers are always the most amazing people, the group at this aid station warmed up some broth for me which was amazing and I again refueled and headed off.
(High alpine meadows and likes are a personal favorite)
The "Flowing Park Loop" was a 15 mile section with a water only aid station (i.e. a couple of jugs of water put out next to the trail) about 9 miles into the loop. On paper this looked to be by far the most runnable section of the course. Nature, it seemed, had other plans! A mere one mile into this 15 mile loop the sky turned ominous and a light hail began, nothing to big, as the intensity of the hail increased I took a minute to slip on my rain jacket which I had in my pack. (NOTE TO THE NEW ULTRA RUNNER: If you are attempting any sort of race in the mountains, bring sufficient supplies to keep you safe, that includes enough water, food and clothing.) It hailed, and hailed, and hailed. The trail became more of a slushy river and my feet were soaked and became numb from the cold after just a few minutes of this slogging. Running was out of the question but I did choose to keep moving forward. Unfortunately this was a very exposed section of the course, there were small groups of trees but am glad I didn't decide to "wait out the hail" as I may not have finished the race had I chosen to do this. I saw several runners heading back in the opposite direction, choosing to go back to the Indian Point aid station to finish their day, most looked very cold and did not have much clothing on, I felt bad for them but they assured me they would be OK getting back to the aid station.
(WARNING - If you are thinking of signing up for your first ultra, ignore this video lol)
(Yeah, that pretty much sums up that part of the race!)
(Anyone need a foot ice bath? Perfect got 6 miles of one for ya right here)
I forged ahead, smiling into the hail. That's right, smiling. Because when things get tough, the best way to fight back is to smile into the storm. Whether it's life challenges or an ultra race, attitude and perseverance are key to the best outcome for me personally. Always, always move forward and just don't quit. The hail eventually stopped, replaced off and on by rain for the rest of the race. I made a game of running until the trail again became a river, walking alongside the trail until it cleared up enough, running the "dry" section and well, rinse and repeat! I made it back to Indian Point Aid station and was dubbed the "happiest runner" of the day by the crew there. I had some more broth and with heavy shoes full of mud an water ventured out to take on the last 8 mile segment of the race. At this point I had 3 hours and 45 minutes to cover 8 miles and was pretty sure no matter what was thrown at me I could make it!
(Ultras are just the best!)
The last 8 miles was cumulatively a climb uphill but nothing to intense. It did pour down rain for maybe 4 of those miles but I just slipped my rain jacket back on, gave up on avoiding the "river trail" and just slogged through. Again, smiling! I continued to feel great overall. I was thinking in my head, "could I do this race FIVE times in a row (Moab 240 essentially being just that)?" I decided that yes, I could, and what a confidence booster that is for me going into Moab 240! As I ran through the finish line I was again dubbed the "happies runner" and in this case the "happiest finisher". It certainly wasn't because I finished first (or second, or third). But I had a fantastic day out on the trails, in the mountains, overcoming obstacles, encouraging others and focusing on just putting one foot in front of the other. In my opinion it doesn't get any better than that!
(Finished in 13:38, actually my fastest, and 2nd, 50 mile finish!)
If you are considering signing up for a 50k or 50 mile next summer, I strongly recommend the Grand Mesa Ultras. My only word of caution is to be cognizant of the fact that this is a high altitude race so take the time to put in some high altitude training, don't start off to fast and drink plenty of water. Oh, and Advil, I really do like Advil to help with high altitude headaches!
Have you run any fabulous races this summer? Leave a comment and let me know as I'm always looking out for challenging and rewarding Ultra experiences!