Equinox Ultra Report - Fairbanks, Alaska

Results here: http://results.equinoxmarathon.org/current_year/203_results_current_year_ultramarathon_overall_combined.pdf

The Ultra was new to this Equinox venue in 2009. The marathon has been around since 1963, making next year's race (2012) the 50th running. After two years of holding a 50K, the RDs decided that it might be too short and pulling marathoners away from the main event. So luckily for me, this year's ultra would be longer. I had been following the fan page on Facebook and threw my 2 cents in when the RDs were trying to decide between a 36 mile and 40 mile race. 40 miles it is and I was ready to rock it. There was a road marathon in mid-August that Shawn and I had signed up for and this would come 4 weeks later. Between the marathon and this race, I had put in a couple more marathon distance training runs - one as late as Tuesday before the race. And the prior weekend, Shawn and I had run a cool race at the Alyeska resort. It was a 10 hour race that consisted of climbing 2,000 feet over 2.3 miles, and riding the tram to the bottom - repeat. That was a blast and Shawn (having run 10 loops) came in 2nd, very close to winning. She along with four other women broke the previous year's record of nine loops. Unfortunately she was sick the entire week in-between and would not be coming into this race at 100%.

Race morning was awesome. With an 8:00 am start, we climbed out of our Ford Explorer at 7:00 or so to check-in. There was a short rain shower the night before but the morning was cool and dry - a beautiful fall day and 40 mile run was ahead of us. Since there would be marathoners, half marathons, and 3-person marathon relay teams all starting with us, we stuck to the back of the pack. The race starts on an uphill climb - not runable really but everyone seemed to be running it. Shawn and I immediately were in catch-up mode at the top of the climb, skirting in, out and around the overzealous quick starters. It reminded us of the first part of the White River 50M where runners do the same thing - take off fast along the airport runway and slow to a crawl as soon as they hit the first bit of technical trail. Out onto a road and the first aid-station, I looked at my Garmin only to realize that I had forgotten to hit the start button. Luckily it had already located the satellites as I had started the search before the race. So I started it at that point wanting mostly to know my distance and pace at any given point. As it turned out, it was about 2.5 miles into the race and about 24 minutes. No biggie!

We weaved in and out and eventually I started to pull away from Shawn - I'm not sure exactly when that was as we were still in a mob of runners.

I stopped for my usual early race pit stop and headed back out onto the trail in time to see Shawn passing by. I tucked in behind her and we chatted a bit. She was having trouble breathing as her noise was still runny - she was setting into her pace; doing ok. I pulled ahead and was off to the races again. We hit a long asphalt road that eventually turned into a dirt road and I began taking walk breaks. It was mentally tough because I was being passed by folks who refused to walk. This was definitely a walker for me but I "could" run if I pushed myself. I decided to stay with my conservative game plan. For a few miles I continued to play leap frog with the other runners. Thankfully we were on a wide dirt road and not single track trail where that would become annoying to all parties involved.

We finally turned onto a trail, still heading up and up and up, and there were more now willing to walk.

Eventually I started to see the leaders coming back from the out and back section. The turnaround was at about mile 15 and I was looking forward to getting there and heading back downhill. I counted about 7 ultra runners ahead of me but certainly missed some as I was in about 10th place (I found out later). On the way back, I stopped to kiss my lovely bride and give her a hug. She was still having trouble - I could see it in her face - but she was not complaining. I hoped that she would have a better time the rest of the way though she still had about a marathon or so left to go.

A couple of ultra runners had passed me, coming the other way, before I'd hit the turn around. I focused on catching those 2 for the time being. I also kept in mind a few others who, for now, were too far ahead to focus on, but who I might see towards the end of the race if I kept feeling as good as I did at this point. I started to leap frog with the other 2 until we came to a steep downhill section. I was surprised that I was able to easily pull ahead of them here. I stink on downhill’s; especially steep downhill’s. Luckily, we got down that section and turned onto some more reasonable downhill running. I was cruising now and felt like I was making up for some lost time from the climb.

Amazingly, this course was marked every mile of the way so I knew where I was at all times. The mile markers were permanent too. Each turn was well marked with colored plates; red indicating the marathon route and blue the ultra route. The ultra route followed the marathon route for the first 20 miles. As I was approaching the turn off for the ultra route, one of the guys I had passed came along side me. I was slightly surprised but then figured he must have just picked it up when the footing and terrain got better. I noted the 20 mile marker and said to him, "We're half way there." To which he responded, "Oh, you're an ultra guy too?"

As we turned off onto our own course I reveled in the fact that we would now have a more solitude run. This section was more downhill, dirt road. The dirt in Alaska is very nice. More of a dirt, sand mix but solid; maybe clay and sand even. I love this as it closely resembled road but was nicer on the limbs. As I pulled away from Michael, I saw another ultra runner now walking just ahead of me. I picked up the pace and moved by him quickly. I was definitely pulling away from Michael and now running very much alone. I was cursing at 8:30 or so pace through this section. Onto an asphalt road I took note of the 7:51 mile I hit for mile 24. My first thought was that I'd better slow down but then pushed that thought away knowing that I was going to slow to 9:30 - 10:00 minute pace once I hit the trail. I hit the trail within another half mile and tried to keep the momentum up.

I thought about what I would eat at the aid station where our drop bags would be (mile 28.5). Shawn and I had burritos and Frappacinos, plus gummy bears and a few other things to nibble on. This would also be available to us on our way back (mile 35.5). Since I had only had two GUs to this point, one at mile 10 and one at mile 20, and felt great, I was hesitant to change. But I knew it would catch up with me if I didn't eat. Maybe I would just drink the Frap and have a GU. By the time I got there I realized, "Hey, I can eat half of the burrito." Sometimes I amaze myself. I reached the aid station where I pulled out the Frap and asked the volunteer if he would open if for me. While he did that, I filled my water bottle and ripped the burrito in half. I guzzled the Frap and who shows up - Michael. He was right there, again! I walked out of the aid station eating my burrito and moved aside so he could pass. I decided to try and stay behind him as long as I could and maybe put another move on him when we hit the downhill section on the return trip.

I was actually thinking that I would walk the uphill that I knew was coming as it would be too steep to run. No problem cause he would have to walk too. Well he didn't and I had to mix some running in with power walking to keep close. We turned left onto a slightly less steep hill and running was now a must if I was to hang on to him. This was close to mile 30 and I calculated the turn around to be 2 miles out. It was here that we started seeing the leaders coming back - now close to 4 miles ahead. I was moving fast, not fast enough to drop Michael, but I thought fast enough to possibly catch some other runners. Maybe the lead woman who was ahead of Laura McDonough at the 15 mile turn around. I counted four men before the lead woman Stephanie passed by. Laura was about another minute or so back and closing. I had caught Michael again which surprised me as he seemed to be steadier on the trails than I. This I felt gave me an advantage if I could make a move on him before the turn. I passed one more guy about 1/4 mile from the turnaround who said, "Uh oh. A chaser!" That told me he was slowing and a possible "kill" for me but I was focusing on staying ahead of Michael - he was causing me to race and I love that feeling. I hit the turn around without stopping and laid the hammer down to get as far as I could on Michael before he saw me. I was using all the tricks in my book to give myself the advantage. The more distance I put on him the less likely he was to give chase. I saw him and felt I'd done well at accomplishing that goal. That said, he'd caught me a couple times now so there was no easing back on the pedal.

I continued to move strong through this section which was wide trail with a lot of puddles (lakes) that prevented one from running through the middle and having dry feet on the other end. I hung on to the edges and every once in a while caught a glimpse of the young guy ahead of me. I started seeing others who were behind me, heading towards the turn around. I was noting the distance so I could tell Shawn how far she had to go. When I saw her, she was looking strong. She had passed a few other ultra runners and was 1.5 miles to the turn around. I stopped to kiss and hug her one more time and let her know how far it was to the turn around.

Another half mile and the young guy was now in striking distance. He tried to give me the "I'm not really looking at you" glance over his shoulder on the turn and I knew he was mine. I caught him but it was only because I was trying to extend my lead on Michael as much as possible before hitting the aid station at mile 35.5. After I passed the young guy (22 the results say), I felt him trying to latch onto me. I ignored this and kept moving as best as I could. I passed a few more runners heading the other way and made the crossing guards/volunteers exclaim "Whoa!" as I flew by. I don't think I was going that fast but I must have had that serious look on my face. I did have a little giddy ‘up goin' on.

I reached the 35.5 mile aid and refilled my water. I took a quick glance back but no one was close. Out of there and left onto an asphalt road for a mere 1/4 mile. I had hoped it would be longer so I could move quicker but I took what I could get. Back onto the trail I was still making what felt like good time. Only 4 miles to go and I felt great. I felt like I could keep this pace up another 10 miles beyond the finish so I picked it up some more. I was doing great until I came to a section we had run early on in the race. It was apparently a swampy area that someone had put what looked like lawn bark down on in order to make the running "better." What it did, for me anyway, was slow me down. It was like running on one of those inflatable bouncy moon toys that you see at Chucky-cheese or now at a kid's private birthday party. It annoyed the heck out of me but I tried to focus. "Only 3 miles left - I can do this!" It may not have but I swear it lasted a mile. Soon I passed by the 38 mile marker and was relieved that I had made it through that section and hadn't given up my lead to Michael. I was gonna beat him now I felt. Another 1/2 mile and through an open field, I got to a "T" of sorts where the marker had fallen off its wooden stake. "Left or right?" Right made more sense but I wasn't sure. I turned around to see if anyone was coming ... "Michael!" So I waited for him to reach me and asked, "What-do-ya think?" Without stopping he said, "I dunno, let's go this way," and we were off heading to the left. Soon we saw another marker and I tried one last time to pull ahead. There was a hill and I pushed up it as fast as I could. I couldn't see him in my peripherals and hoped that he was not trying to hang with me. Obviously I was supposed to beat him - right? At the top of that hill now I got ready for the sprint to the finish with about a mile to go. And what that heck, he was right there with me. He had me. ... I gave him a slap on the back and said, "Great running man!" and he said thanks and took my hand to shake very briefly. He was off like a shot on the downhill. I still didn't give up, pushing as much as I could. I glanced at my watch and noted my own 7:20 pace as he was pulling away from me. One last little hill on the grass and down to the finish line. I could see Michael pass through and the clock read 6:38+ ... I finished in 6:39+ and about 30 seconds behind him.

As I went through the finish line I could tell I had a lot of leg left ... at a much slow pace of course. I jogged passed the finish line and saw some women hanging around Stephanie who had been leading the race last time I had seen her. I went over and shook her hand congratulating her. Then I saw Laura and asked her what her time was. I knew I had gained some time on her from the turnaround at mile 15 but not sure how much. She didn't remember right away what her time was and the guy standing next to her, I recognized as the guy who was in 4th at the last turn around, said "she won that's what she ran!" Ends up I was 7 minutes behind Laura and only a couple minutes behind Stephanie. I finally caught up with Michael who apologized for kicking my ass on the downhill. I said, "What are you talking about - it's a race man! And you just kicked my butt!!!" He smile and offered, "Well thanks for pulling me along the whole time."

Shawn was looking strong at the finish and ran in to some loud cheers from the crowd who admired her sprint. She is a true competitor - pushing through the head cold and working off lethargy that taking a week off before a race leaves you with. Not too far behind 3rd, she came in 4th place - still a decent showing.

I've had few good races this summer - FINALLY! And I was happy to be able to push it for 40 miles. I'm feeling like the road work is actually helping my trail speed.

Another week another race as the Kenai Marathon is on our schedule for next Sunday.