Marin Ultra Challenge - Race Report!

Please excuse the radio silence. I promise I'm not dead, I'm running! Running like a crazy person. Although right now I'm stuck on my couch trying to figure out how to fix my lungs. Which means I'm sitting down long enough and awake enough to actually hammer out a couple of catch up posts. Yippee!

Beer-consuming Cyd should not be allowed on UltraSignup. Beer-consuming Cyd's finger just happens to slip a few times and before she knows it, the 50k entry is paid for. Oopsies. Well I did need a long training run, and I love running in the Marin Headlands. The next day I decide to further look into the race I signed up for on a whim. 7100' of climbing? Eep, time to get my hill legs ready. I read a few race reports and decided this was going to be really tough, but a lot of fun, and it was just a training run so I had nothing to prove. I planned a short taper, but that got skewed when my poorly friend had to spend a couple of days in the hospital. Training is important, but so is cheering up and driving for your sickly buddy (she's doing great now!). So more of a taper than I hoped. Oh well, let's go run a really hard 50k.

The week before there was plenty of stormy weather - yay rain! Everything is so green and beautiful. Except it doesn't make for great race conditions. A couple of days before the race we got an email from the RD that the Start/Finish line was moving to Rodeo Beach since Fort Baker was underwater. An extra loop was added to make up for lost distance. Mileage was then 31.5, with a total elevation gain of 6900'. I left town early on Friday to give myself plenty of time to drive down. I opted to save some money by sleeping in the back of my truck at Rodeo Beach, and knew there were several other runners doing the same. It rained occasionally during the night, but wasn't too cold. The wind was a different story, the whole truck was wobbling around and woke me up a few times. It was still one of the better night's sleep I've had before a race. Also, it was great having my alarm go off at the same time as most runners were arriving. I heard lots of people talking about getting up at 3.30, some even earlier. All I had to do was change into running clothes and roll out the truck. Definitely the way to do this. 

Stormy skies on an early climb

Check in was cold and windy but there was that great pre-race buzz from runners anxious to hit the trail. They kept the pre-race briefing short, and soon we were on the way. I started near the back, and still had a few people passing me in the first mile while we all found our stride. We soon hit our first climb of the day and I settled into a good hiking rhythm. It wasn't long before I was passing people, and there was plenty of amazing views and excited chatter about the trail ahead. I got a little carried away coming down the first descent, and rolled into the aid station more than a little ahead of schedule. Whoops, bad Cyd. Training run, training run, training run... A dixie cup of coke and back off up Coastal Trail for the second time.

I was surprised to find myself power hiking by people on the climb. I got to spend a few minutes chatting with J of Pacific Coast Trail Running fame, who is heading back to Zion 100 next month - good luck! I then caught up to P, who I've run with at a race or two in the past and will be seeing at LS50 in a few weeks. Nice chatting with you, P! 

The climb out of Tennesee Valley towards Muir Beach was longer and steeper than I remembered, but I definitely felt stronger heading up than I have done on previous attempts. Once you hit the top, the trail is rolling for a while before dropping you down to the beach and the aid station. There are a couple of technical-ish sections, especially in the wet. There were a lot of people walking through here, so I took the kinda-trail to the side and passed at least 20 people here. It was a gamble - I was making up time, but if I fell it was going to be very very bad! I did my best to channel my inner gazelle (ha! right...) and managed to keep myself upright all the way through. 3rd Aid Station, 3rd dixie cup of coke. I wasted a couple of minutes in the bathroom line, but a wonderful volunteer came and got my bottles from me and refilled my Tailwind supply so I was on my way quickly. Not long from here was where the 50m and 50k runners separated. This whole loop was new to me, and I loved it! The climb gradually got steeper, and a few of us were close enough to egg each other on some as we wound up the switchbacks. It was around here that I started running some with H, who would be my on-off running buddy for a good chunk of the 2nd half. Thanks for the miles, it was fun running with you! See you at TNF50 in December.

Every now and again the rain dumped on us, sometimes the really cold spiky rain that hurts when it hits your bare skin. My jacket did a great job of keeping me warm and dry, and only a couple of times was I too warm or a little chilly, to be expected when you're not adjusting layers as you go. I still haven't found a running jacket that I completely love though. It was on this climb that we ran into J from Let's Wander Photography, who always gets great shots. Was I delighted at seeing a photographer 18 miles in and when I'm going uphill? Not really, but I am grateful that they braved the elements to come out for us, I love my race pictures. Thanks J!

Photo Credit: Jesse Ellis

Being on this side of the ridge kept us sheltered from the worst of the wind for a while, which was a nice break. The scenery is just amazing, and even on such a grey day the views were fantastic! This was the longest section between aid, just over 7 miles. Once back at Muir Beach we realised that somehow we only had 10 miles to go. How did that happen? Miles were flying by, I was feeling great, and having so much fun. It was nice that only cheerful people seemed to be on the course this day, maybe the storm kept the Debbie Downers at home? Thank you fellow runners for helping us all have an awesome day. I got two dixie cups of coke this time while a volunteer topped off my bottles for me. The next section was new to me too, another big climb (surprise surprise). I took this one a little slower. About two-thirds of the way up I went to take a step with my left leg and an adductor muscle completely seized on me. It was one of the most painful cramps I've experienced, and found myself thumping that leg to try and get it out of it's cycle. For the next ten minutes it would claw at me if I flexed either my left hip or left knee, which certainly affected progress. Have you ever tried to climb a mountain with a straight leg? I don't recommend it. I chugged tailwind as much as I could without making myself nauseous, and slowly kept moving, trying to stretch it out as I went. It was a short but intense section for me. For a few days after the race I had some pain in my right knee, so I'm wondering if I had subconsciously been compensating for something that I didn't notice in my through my race-brain and the additional fatigue along with dehydration was what set it off? Who knows, but it hasn't happened since and the knee was totally recovered in 4 days.

Not even faking it! 4 miles to go

Once we crossed the ridge and began descending back to Tennessee Valley the wind was back. It was strong enough that H was knocked off her feet. One of the problems many of us found was not just staying upright (or as close as we could) against the wind while making time, but as soon as it let up for a second, there was no need to brace against it, so it was hard to not topple over with no resistance. It was annoying and hilarious at the same time! There are so many reasons you have to be able to laugh at yourself in ultra running.

This was also the only section I had a little stomach upset. I'm not sure if it was the 2nd cup of coke at Muir Beach, or just a funny moment. I never felt pukey and didn't need to walk, but I did opt for a cup of ginger ale instead of coke at Tennessee Valley. In a new twist for me, the banana chunks looked delicious, so I went for it. The volunteer with the big jar of peanut butter got a good laugh at my response of "Oh gross, definitely not. Oh but thank you" when she offered out a big scoop of PB to slather on my banana. Just the mention of it turned my stomach. But the bite of food and ginger ale did the trick and I was steadily climbing up the last big hill of the day. It was such a great feeling getting to the top and still having gas in the tank. I knew the trail home and there were no challenges left! This was the only section I was really by myself, but there were a few brave hikers on the trail who all cheered as I ran by. At one point I was running right into the wind, and struggling to hit 12:00/mile going downhill. This was driving me crazy, and a little discouraging. But with two miles to go I wasn't about to start complaining. One foot in front of the other, just keep going. I cheered for the winning 50 mile racer as he cruised effortlessly by me a mile or so from the finish. The last little section is along the road, where faster runners were all congratulating those of us still on course as they headed back to their cars which was great for getting a last kick to the finish line.

What should you not be doing on a 50k race-come-training-run if you run smart? Setting a PR is not what you should be doing. But I'm still delighted with my official time of 6:45:06, besting my previous trail 50k PR by 8 minutes, on a much tougher course. And I didn't completely trash myself in the process. I managed to squeeze in a comfortable 7-miler between clients the next day. Maybe I'm getting a bit good at this running thing :)

With new trail buddies at the finish line, thanks for the miles!