I had a great day in Mcdonald Forest just outside of town on Saturday. Over the last two weeks I ran most of the course, timing all splits to what would be a 5:30 pace. Over the course of these runs, I realized that my pace goal was a bit optimistic, but I didn’t mind. It just made me want to run that much faster. My whole mindset was changed going in to my 6th 50k. I I no longer simply ‘run to finish’ 50km’s anymore. I race them.

Course map: notice all the squiggles in the upper left.

April gets her first ever drop bag ready. Its all fashion choices.

April and I arrived early at the Forestry Club cabin early on race morning. Feeling confident, she changed her mind about the early start (to avoid missing cutoffs) and we got to help out and mill about for an hour. There was little to do to help out Scott and Ken. I can’t say enough about how well put together the race was. They had everything under control. As the cabin started to fill up with eager runners, their friends and families, the energy in the cabin became palpable. I ran into friends, made new ones, and generally relished in the culture of running. It’s always so nice to hang around with people who love running as much as I do. Finally the gong was struck and it was time to head off for Mac #3. The field spread slowly and I quickly found myself trading places on the climb up Section 36 loop. Interestingly, a woman ran very consistently and smoothly up this trail right at my pace as I alternated running and power walking according to gradient. All styles, all good. As we emerged onto Davies road the crowds had thinned out a bit.

Trillium on the first leg of the course

The old growth trail was a blissful respite from the road just before we hit AS #1 (Aid Station), with about 5 minutes in the bank for my desired pace. I ate some fruit and headed down Alpha off into jaunt #1 in the Maze, starting with the ridiciously steep Lovely Rita. I got into a group of guys and ended up getting my HR (heart rate) a bit too high in places. No worries. I felt good, my knee and hamstring felt OK, so I just went with it. The run down Extendo was a fun as it always is, and at AS #2 I was still 1 minute ahead of my splits. I made an error in grabbing way too many pretzels leaving the AS, and by the time I managed to down them I was a minute out the AS and had only half a bottle of water left for the longest and hardest section of the course.

On the descent of Alpha trail.

Erythronium on the descent of Alpha trail

X amount of hills in the Maze.

The climb up Uproute trail involved more walking that I had hoped for, planned for and budgeted for, and then fun really began. Jaunt # 2 thru the maze (Baker Creek area) is over the most technical portions of trail in the forest. Some of it is steep. There are trees to avoid around the curves, creeks to jump over, mud bogs which can not be avoided and the elevation changes are steep and of varied length. The trail dictates the pace much more than one might generally prefer. In short, its pretty much everything you could ask for on a Saturday morning. My pace suffered as the winding drew on and my bottle and gel packs quickly emptied. Upon emerging out of the maze we were greeted by a surprise water only pitstop manned by Dennis, quickly followed by a whole slew of Big Lebowski themed posters leading up to the always entertaining and themed Dimple Hill AS #3. These folks always represent at their AS, and this year was no exception. Someone was dressed like Jesus from said movie, and there were white Russians lined up all over one table. I was (and had been for a while) famished, so I filled up the tanks and grabbed a gel to go. Though all my banked time had disappeared and them some, I found myself in the exact situation that I had hoping for the last 6 months. 15 min off 5:30 pace at the top of dimple hill, past the torturous and slow maze sections in the first half of the race, and definitely within striking distance of my goals.

Gradual (mtn biking) switchback on Dans trail.

I run downs Dan’s Trail often, and pretty much every time for the last half a year I imagined myself racing the Mac in this position. I cranked the choonage and blissed out on the forest, the beautiful weather, what great shape the trail was in, and the awesome people I was sharing it with. I also (and according to plan) began passing people. The crowd at Chip Ross AS #4 was amazing, I had a double caffeine gel, got maximum boost from my people (thanks for coming out Alice and Rhett) and hastened along, having shaved 5 out of 15 minutes that needed shaving with two sections left.

Chip Ross AS. 2x caffeine gu in hand.

The mud in Chip Ross was not as bad as I thought it would be, but I never found my groove on the long and varied climb up Horse trail back to the Saddle. I didn’t run as much of it as I wanted to, and as a result, not only didn’t I catch anyone on this ascent but I actually lost 5 minutes. Though my goal pace was no longer in contention, I was running as fast as I could and giving it all I could. No shame in my game today, I was going to leave it all out on the course and come in with nothing left. The caffeine from the gel finally kicked in as I stepped up my game. There was carnage on the trail to the left and the right. I pushed myself faster as wheels on the folks all around me came off. I must have passed a dozen people here, and just felt better and better as I went on. I could have run longer, but the turn off Nettleton road and quick ascent up Powderhouse meant that my day was inevitably coming to end. I ran down Powderhouse and crossed the finish in 5:41 (full results here). Totally stoked. Awesome day. Awesome race. 364 more days till the next one!

April crosses the finish line