Ultras marothons

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Man this thread is getting me stoked to get back into ultra's. I've only run two (the Elkhorn 50K twice) but it was awesome. What I found that works best for me is drinking frequently (I'm prone to cramps), taking endurolites or s-caps and eating all the sugary crap I can get my hands on at aid stations (coke, gummy bears, etc). I also try to remain steady throughout the race and walk pretty much any substantial uphill to conserve energy. And knowing there is some nice cold beer waiting for me at the finish helps with the motivation too. :) I'd rather finish feeling good and a little slower than feeling like crap for a week by going out too hard. I've been fighting foot issues for a few years but finally had my first full week of trails this week (only 24 miles but it's a start). The Elkhorn is next Saturday (August 2nd) so no time this year but I have a buddy who's bugging me to do the 50 miler. Maybe next year.....
 

mtnwrunner

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Man this thread is getting me stoked to get back into ultra's. I've only run two (the Elkhorn 50K twice) but it was awesome. What I found that works best for me is drinking frequently (I'm prone to cramps), taking endurolites or s-caps and eating all the sugary crap I can get my hands on at aid stations (coke, gummy bears, etc). I also try to remain steady throughout the race and walk pretty much any substantial uphill to conserve energy. And knowing there is some nice cold beer waiting for me at the finish helps with the motivation too. :) I'd rather finish feeling good and a little slower than feeling like crap for a week by going out too hard. I've been fighting foot issues for a few years but finally had my first full week of trails this week (only 24 miles but it's a start). The Elkhorn is next Saturday (August 2nd) so no time this year but I have a buddy who's bugging me to do the 50 miler. Maybe next year.....

I've done the elkhorn 100k a couple of times----great race and beautiful country. Not sure if the Pomeroys are still RD's but it was always for a great cause.

Randy
 
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I've done the elkhorn 100k a couple of times----great race and beautiful country. Not sure if the Pomeroys are still RD's but it was always for a great cause.

Randy
"Just" a 50M, 50K and 23K now. It is awesome country. Maybe one day I'll draw the 380 bull tag and have my scouting taken care of!!
 
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Man, I'm an insomniac all of a sudden. I couldn't sleep in this morning, so here's the rundown on the race.

First of all, I want to give a huge thumbs up to the race directors. The Siskiyou Outback is a first class race. The course is VERY scenic and the hospitality is phenomenal. All aid stations were well stocked and the volunteers were awesome. Any of you Oregon and NorCal folks should really consider putting this race on your radar if you haven't already. It was about 80% single track on the Pacific Crest Trail.

Moving on. It's a long drive to Ashland, OR. We arrived in town at about 4:30 PM on Friday after driving 10.5 hours. We grabbed our shirts and headed up to the ski hill where the start line is. All things considered, I slept pretty darned well prior to my 4:45 alarm. A fried egg sandwich in hand, I sign in at 5:00. I was anxious about the race, and really concentrating on keeping my HR down.

Start time at 6:00. I let the pack string out and then fell in to my pace. My HR was a little high, and I wasn't sure if it was higher altitude or stress. The pack quickly began to string out and I fell in with two other guys who were also shooting for a 12 hour finish. One of them would DNF at the 34 mile point, and the other would finish about 15 minutes behind me.

By the time I hit the turnaround point for the 50k folks I was cruising. I had passed a few folks already. The 19 mile out and back for the 50 milers is tough. It's ALL up and down and didn't entail any of the ridge cruising that we had done already. There is a long (6.9 mile) descent that I cruised down and was feeling great. The final 3 miles to the turnaround are all uphill, with a very steep scramble to the "Big Rock" that one must touch in order to actually complete the first half. I cruised on the downhill back to the aid station.

I used the long climb out to get some food back in me. I had been grabbing a handful at each aid station and trying to get in 200 calories or so at every aid station. I had brought a peanut butter and honey sandwich, and ate that too. The 6.9 mile climb was hot and mostly exposed on a SW slope. When I hit the aid station at 37 miles I wasn't feeling too bad. My time had really suffered from the long hills in the middle of the race, and I was going to have to push so I didn't miss any cutoff times.

Coming into the aid station at mile 41 there was a long downhill single track that hammered my quads pretty good. This was gut check time. I left the aid station with another guy who fell. I helped him up and kept moving. I knew I needed food, but had no desire to eat. My water was going right through me, so I popped a couple of Endurolytes and then choked down some energy bars. Each one was a chore to chew and swallow, but I got about 300 calories in me. This stretch had a lot of uphill, and there were a couple of times I seriously questioned if I was going to finish.

A guy I had passed at mile 40 caught up to me, and I locked on to him for a pacer. We finally climbed to the ridgetop and hit the final aid station at 45.5 miles. One of the volunteers said "you look great" and I thinking WTF? Dude, I feel like shit! I couldn't stand the thought of food but I was very apprehensive about doing any gels at this point. I grabbed one and took off.

There was a mile of climbing and I took the gel and fought to keep it down. The course leveled off and we began to run. Finally, we left the PCT and hit the road. I walked a steep uphill and then ran the final descent towards the finish. My dear wife, who did the 50k, ran the final 400 yards with me. I finished in 12:44, making the cutoff by 16 minutes. The dude who fell at mile 41 ran it out, coming in an hour later. Most everyone that I passed in the middle to later portions of the race didn't make the cutoffs coming out of the aid stations and DNF'd.

My legs are feeling pretty decent this morning. I may be one and done for 50 milers. 50k distances are more enjoyable for me, and I thinking I'm pushing the limits of my genetic abilities for this type of stuff. It's always humbling when you see folks kick your ass in something like this when you think, "there's no way they should beat me!" My hat's off to you 100 milers. I can't even fathom running a 100.

The big brown truck brought me my MR Metcalf bag on Thursday, so now it's time to begin packing that for my foray into the Ruby Mountains......
 

Slim Jim

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Congrats Jason! That is incredible to be able to run that long period, let alone high altitudes. Just when I think I'm in good shape I read shit like this and feel like I have a long way to go. Sounds like the Rubies are going to be cake for you. I've been training for Rubies as well but I just run 5 miles, road bike 26 miles and then hike 6 miles with a 50lb pack twice a week. Hopefully it's enough, we'll see next weekend when I head up
 

Kevin_t

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That is terrific. I found the sweet stuff hard to stomach to much when I did ultras and just moved to more of a real food with some sweet stuff mixed in.
 

mtnwrunner

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Jason, congrats on your race. I had to laugh at what you thought when they said you look great. Two things you never want to hear at an ultra are----"You look great!" And---"The aid station is only a quarter mile."

Randy
 

Z Barebow

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Awesome write up Jason! I have been trying all weekend to find results so I am glad to hear you made it and finished. How tasty was the post race beer???????

You hit upon something with 50 milers which I agree with. 50 milers and 50K are very different events. A casual observer will say "It is only 19 miles more!"! Those additional miles are consumed by your mental toughness. For me, they had very little to do with "racing".

After my race in June, I met a guy whom I conversed with on-line for several years. (RE: Hunting and running). He has run 4 100 milers and multiple 50 milers. He said something that stuck with me. For him the only difference between a 50 miler and a 100 miler is choosing how long you want to suffer.

And you are right Jason, no 100 milers for me either!

Congrats! You are in rare air with your accomplishment!
 

mtnwrunner

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Awesome write up Jason! I have been trying all weekend to find results so I am glad to hear you made it and finished. How tasty was the post race beer???????

You hit upon something with 50 milers which I agree with. 50 milers and 50K are very different events. A casual observer will say "It is only 19 miles more!"! Those additional miles are consumed by your mental toughness. For me, they had very little to do with "racing".

After my race in June, I met a guy whom I conversed with on-line for several years. (RE: Hunting and running). He has run 4 100 milers and multiple 50 milers. He said something that stuck with me. For him the only difference between a 50 miler and a 100 miler is choosing how long you want to suffer.

And you are right Jason, no 100 milers for me either!

Congrats! You are in rare air with your accomplishment!

They also say that ultra runners have very short memories. You always feel like crap the next day and you've told yourself that you are NEVER doing that again, yadyadyadya.................. A couple days pass and then you start thinking, wow, maybe that wasn't so bad. And before you know it, you have signed up for another race. Never say you won't do a 100. They really aren't that bad and man, when you get to the finish, there is no feeling in the world like it. Nothing. I would give almost anything to be running 100's again (bad back) and am working on getting back to them maybe next year. It sucks getting old.

Randy
 

les welch

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140.6 miles on September 7th, but "only" 26.2 is running, the other 112 is biking, and 2.4 miles of swimming.......funny thing about memories. I recall crossing the finish line of my first Half Ironman and telling my wife "I am NOT an Ironman", that will all change in 31 days, good thing for short memories.
 
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