Voyageur 50 Mile Trail Race

 July 30, 2016

Carlton, MN

I really thought I signed up for this race NOT under the influence of a runners high. I mean shouldn't two weeks be plenty of time after another race to be completely back to normal and sane once again? Apparently not for me. At least not after finishing the Zumbro 50 mile trail race I guess. As this race got closer I started doubting my sanity. 50 miles in the middle of summer? 50 miles including running the infamous POWER LINES not once but TWICE? Once I had signed the dotted line (and paid the money), however, there was nothing to do but train and run.

With vacation scheduled the first week of July my training dropped slightly late June and early July and I went into this race hoping that all the running (and races) I had done in spring would be sufficient. I ran Eugene Curnow Trail Marathon two weeks prior as a training run for this race as well.

The trails had dried out considerably since running Curnow. The huge mud puddles were gone and the stream or creek crossings were smaller.

I drove up to Carlton after work on Friday night with plans to stay in the Royal Pines Motel with friends. I was able to leave work early as I had worked extra the beginning of the week which had turned out to be a very busy and hectic week. I suppose this was a blessing in disguise as I was not able to obsess over my readiness for the race (too busy) and I was able to leave early on Friday. The traffic driving north, however, was terrible and the drive took longer than it should have. I arrived up north about 8 pm. I chatted with some other runners staying at the motel and finally went into the room to start putting together my stuff for an early morning wake up.

The race started at 6 am and I needed to get my drop bag to the start line by 5:45. I found out the gas station next to the hotel was open 24 hours so I was up at 4:30 am and out the door of the hotel by 5 am to be sure I got some coffee before the race.  I arrived at the Carlton High School shortly after 5 am (very short drive) dropped my drop bag off and went inside to check in and try to stay warm before the race started. My Garmin says it was 49 degrees at the start of the race. It was surprisingly chilly at the start but this was a very good thing. Temps were predicted to be mild for the end of July. No rain predicted and in the mid 70's. We could have not asked for better weather for this middle of summer race! I was quite pleased with the predicted weather.

I saw many friends at the start line as we mingled waiting for the start of what would be a very long day on the trails for me. This race allows 14 hours to finish but also includes intermediate cutoff times at each aid station past the turnaround. Cutoff for the halfway point was 7 hours at the Zoo AS which is 25 miles in. I had my pace chart and race plan which basically had me running an overall average of 16:30 minute miles. My goal was to get into the turnaround with plenty of time to spare so I would not be chasing the cutoff's for the last half of the race.

After the race director's instructions we were off at about 6:03 am (these three minutes can be vital to a back of the pack runner!). The start is where I made my first mistake in this race. I did not pay attention to where I was starting out in the pack. I started out too far in the front. I was not thinking where I started would be that important in this race because we had some road and the Munger Bike trail to start on for those faster runners to get in front of me. I guess a half a mile was not enough time for that to happen. We started funneling onto the trail headed to our first AS which was about 3.4 miles in, through Jay Cooke State Park.

Swinging Bridge in Jay Cooke State Park

I was running and feeling good when I hit the swinging bridge. It was enjoyable to run in the cool weather and also to run this section of the trail on fresh legs. This section of very technical single track is normally run on tired legs during the Eugene Curnow marathon so I enjoyed running it for the start of the race. My AS plan was to be out within 30 seconds. Down some coke and grab my food to go. Overall I did very well managing my time in the aid stations.

I left Jay Cooke AS and the next section of the trail is wide cross country ski trail that runs along the river and along the campground. This is where many of the runners behind me started to pass. For the most part I was OK with this until friends I thought would be running my pace passed me up as well. I received a lot of encouragement from these runners as they passed and I just had to keep telling myself, "start slow, finish strong". I believe this will be my new mantra for all races. Or another could be "run your own race, run your own pace". I know what works for me and I am much better off if I stick to a consistent pace throughout the race. I also do better if I position myself towards the back of the start line. I get caught up talking to my "fast" friends at the start line way too often!

Course markings are excellent. It is hard to get lost during this race.

The aid stations are fairly close together for this race. There are 8 aid stations visited once outbound and once inbound and the turnaround AS near the Zoo in Duluth. I carried my fuel and hydration but planned on eating PB&J sandwiches from the aid stations and using my cliff blocks as supplements when I could no longer eat the sandwiches. Turns out this worked well for me. The sandwiches are also something I can grab and go better than other food choices available. I felt really good physically for most of the first half of this race. Hitting roughly mile 11 you start to climb the Power Lines. Running into these backwards was great considering I had never run them this way. I tried very hard to not think about the fact that I would have to run them again at about mile 40. Live in the moment. Or as I was doing just run AS to AS and don't think about what was ahead of that. My time was good and I was on track to get into the turnaround AS in about 6 1/2 hours. This is what I had hoped for. I knew it was too much to hope for anything faster than that.

Stream crossings. A lot less water than Curnow so was able to rock hop and stay dry for most of them.

I ran into Becks Aid station (second to last before the turnaround) which was being manned by Upper Midwest Trail Runners volunteers. I knew a lot of the runners who were all trying to encourage me but I have to admit I had a pretty good negative attitude going at this point, feeling like I was the last runner. They got me what I needed and sent me out telling me I was in good company as they pointed to all the runners just leaving the aid station.

I hit my goal of getting to the turnaround with time to spare and unfortunately was feeling pretty wiped out at this point. I had others runners pass me by that I thought I would stay ahead of and this was not helping with my morale. But I don't quit easily so I spent a few extra minutes in this aid station. I had the Ibuprofen debate with myself. Should I or shouldn't I? I really don't like to take it in the middle of the race and will only resort to taking it at the very end of a race and then only if absolutely necessary. Well I broke down and took some just to see if it would make a difference chasing those cutoffs for the rest of the race. My soreness was definitely not related to any injuries and I was not feeling any specific pain that I thought masking would become dangerous. I had very little time to spare and if I slowed down too much I would never make it.

So I headed out of the Zoo AS and already my attitude shifted to the positive. Out and back races are very hard on me mentally. Being in the back of the pack of all my races I see just about the entire field of runners coming back on me and can't help but think about how much farther they are ahead of me and how much closer they are to finishing ahead of me. I know this is negative thinking but I can't seem to help myself. Once I start running towards the finish line I start to immediately feel like I am making progress. Sounds irrational I know but when I am running these longer races I sometimes lose control of logical and sane thoughts and the illogical and insane thoughts take over. What can I say but that it is a constant mental battle.

I have run the Eugene Curnow race three years now so I know the course fairly well running back to Carlton. At this point it was about 12:30 and it was starting to get much hotter. Running Skyline is in the open and the views are great but there is a lot of sun in this section. I realized that I had forgotten to put on sunscreen that morning but it sounded like too much effort so I just hoped that I would get back into the shade. I managed to not get sunburn so my risk paid off this time.

As I continued on running aid station to aid station I started to slowly pass some runners. I played leap frog with a few but passed others along the way. This time when I ran into the Beck Aid Station I was in a much better mood. I was starting to catch up with a few friends and we ran together for awhile. I don't remember what mile I came upon my friend Gregg but it was just shy of the 30 mile mark (I think this was Beck Aid Station). He had slowed down and was considering dropping at the aid station. He was actually doing great considering he has just been running a year and he was hitting a new time and distance PR. I encouraged him to keep going if he was not feeling too bad as we were still way ahead of the cutoff times and he could just keep moving forward even if that was slowly. He kept up just behind me for quite awhile and I hear he made it 39 miles before he decided he would not make the next cutoff after the power lines. Amazing job on his part!

I finally ran into Seven Bridges aid station and was still about 30 minutes ahead of cutoff with the next section to run: the Power Lines. Wow were these hard the second time around. I was running behind another runner and tried to keep up with him but he got ahead of me in this section. I was struggling going up the Power Lines. I had to stop several times on the way up the steep climbs to catch my breath. We were lucky on this section as there were clouds in the sky and the sun was behind the clouds for most of this section. That was pure heaven considering the effort it was taking to climb those hills! This section started to eat up some of my extra time but I was still doing well and according to my Garmin my average pace was still under the 16:30 which meant I would finish in time.  Again, I concentrated on thinking about the next aid station and not thinking about the climbs I knew were coming even after the Power Lines. I was so happy to be done with this section. Of course just when you think you are done, bam! there are two more very steep climbs! Can't believe they managed to surprise me yet again!

I do remember hitting the Peterson Aid station and thinking to myself that the major elevation climbs were done! I was dismayed to overhear a gentleman telling another runner that there was one more major climb. That burst my bubble big time! Well nothing to do but just get out of the aid station and keep moving forward. I hit that climb and although I was at the cussing stage I powered through and just got it done. The only way to get to the finish line is to just keep moving, even when it hurts right? I told myself I wanted to finish this race within the cutoff time and that I could take one week, maybe even two weeks off running after getting it done! This is what kept me moving at a running pace instead of a crawl.

Finally I managed to run into the Jay Cooke AS. I had filled my hydration pack with water before the Power Lines so I did not need to stop and just kept moving. Only 3.4 miles to the finish and I was on track for finishing within the 14 hours. This section always feels longer than it is with all the roots and rocks that just kill your feet this late in the race. I continued to pass a few more runners in this section and knew I just needed to keep moving as quickly as I could. When I finally saw the gravel hill leading up to the Munger Bike Trail I was ecstatic! And I had about 20 to 25 minutes to run that last half mile. It was a great feeling to know that even if I had to walk this section I would finish. Of course there was no walking allowed in my mind so I just slowly shuffled my way forward. I turned the corner onto the road and there was the finish line. Oh, that's interesting they have a Sheriff handling the road crossing this year. Two years ago I had been at that road crossing helping to stop traffic for the runners. I laughed to myself when I recalled how many runners would come running up and tell me that no way would they be stopping. I felt the same way. How can you possibly ask a runner to stop and wait for cars when the finish line is in sight? Luckily I was able to run my way through the intersection without interruption. I heard someone call out my name from the finish line (still don't know who that was) and then saw Rick Bothwell as I was crossing the road and he gave me a high five as I sprinted (well it was my "I just ran 50 miles on these legs on super crazy hilly trails" sprint) to the finish line. Finishing clock said 13:44 and change. I had made it! And I still had 15 minutes to spare! Wow was I glad to be done running!

I struggled after I stopped running. I had a hard time catching my breath and felt lightheaded and sick to my stomach. Not enough to throw up but I remember wishing I could just throw up so I would feel better. This was the worst I have ever felt after a race and I can only guess it was due to the fact that I had just run my fastest 50 mile race in hot and hilly conditions. I tried to eat the awesome lasagna at the high school but I was just not able to eat much. I was really glad that I had the option of staying in the hotel room another night as I was in no condition to drive home that night. I was able to get a good nights sleep and was somewhat better on Sunday but really did not feel good until Monday morning. It was an interesting feeling and makes me wonder how other runners can run their races feeling sick. I don't think I could do it. I seem to have an iron stomach and I much prefer that to how I felt after this race.

Next race on the calendar is the Goosebumps 24 hour race in La Crosse, WI on September 23/24th. Anyone available to pace me? Some overnight company would be nice. It will be my first 24 hour race and I have yet to set my goals for time on feet or distance during this race.

First, though, I have pacing duties for my friend Janet up at Fall Superior 100 miler. Will be good training for the night running. Plus I just love running the Superior Hiking Trail up north!