Rob Mackay :: Notes from the edge

Saturday was the annual Elk/Beaver 50km race or as my co-worker says, “the ultimate test of your boredom endurance…” I’m not a fan of running loops but I was curious to see how my marathon time was (at least the 40km mark because I’m a little wiser than using it all up at 40) so I signed up. We ran into childcare issues and I didn’t know I was going to be running it until Friday morning when my sis came to my rescue to watch the girls on Saturday. (Thanks T!)

It was raining when I left at 5am and the rain really never let up. I went with a tank top and shorts hoping that it would keep me warm enough for the first few laps. I was in the minority when I got there but had packed warmer clothes. As with every ultra, I feel like I just arrive and the gun goes. It’s always the same and it makes me think that I need to start planning 30 minutes back - starting relaxed is the key.

The race started and I was in a group of four in the first 5km (I’m not big into titles but included in this group were two real ‘ultramarathoners’, Darren Froese and Jack Cook - these guys are blazing fast) I settled in at 4:30/km and they pulled away. Having a little experience I know that, 1) 50km is a long way, and 2) saving some for the end is a good strategy. So I just held the pace and let the pack of people settle. My goals were to get to the 40km mark in 3 hours with something left and run a sub-4 hour time.

My stomach wasn’t cooperating and I had to make a few bathroom breaks - how about 4 times! That was a bit frustrating because while I sat, you could hear the doppler effect of footsteps passing. It drove me crazy but I’d just get up and run out and try to get back to the 4:30  I made a deal with myself to run 1, 3, 5 laps hard, and run the 2nd and 4th laps a little slower to recover.

The first two laps I ran with Richard, a great guy from Calgary who obviously has a wealth of experience running long. It was hard to keep up with him - and he was running the 100km. On one of my bathroom breaks, Richard sped off (and he ran an 8hour 100km). I continued but never really took a recovery lap. I felt great so I just kept going at the 4:30/km pace.

Michael Labelle, a promising ultra-runner, was in first but I thought he was on his way to a 3:30+ finish so I wasn’t that concerned about catching him.

Then I hit the 40km mark (3 hours almost on the nose and I am confident now that I could get a hair below a 3hour marathon time) and Michael was just ahead of me. I left the aid station and just followed him, not really gaining ground but moving at a decent clip. It wasn’t until about the 47km mark that he stopped to walk and I caught up. We exchanged words of encouragement and I said I was going to keep running at the 48km mark to which he just said, “go for it…” I got to speak with Michael after the race, really nice guy.

I ran the last two km alone, calves twitching but overall feeling quite good. Coming across the finish in 3:46:47 was a bit of a surprise but I felt decent and kicked myself a bit for not pushing harder.

Nutritionally I had 2 bottles of Perpetuem. That’s it. It held me nicely and kept the fires burning.

Overall, I am pleased with my time - the race itself wasn’t a stacked race in terms of athletes by any stretch of the imagination but it was motivating to have people in front and behind and I consider it a great training run.

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