Voyageur 50M

This was my last "tune-up" race before getting my revenge at the 100 mile distance at Sawtooth in September (DNF'd at Zumbro 100 in April and still bitter). I've of course heard of this race since getting interested in Ultras, and in fact did the Eugene Curnow marathon (then known as the Voyageur Half) last year so I was somewhat familiar with the course.

The weather held up for the most part. It did rain off and on but it was pretty cool - mid 40s to mid 50s - which is pretty perfect running weather. My goal during the race was really to cement my fueling and pacing strategies as much as I could which I did fairly well. I aimed for ~200 calories an hour using GU, ShotBloks and fruit/potatoes at aid stations. This worked great, and the only time I felt tired was after I down a cup of coke. For some reason while it sounds amazing at the time carbonation just destroys my stomach (see my report on Black Hills last month to see how bad it truly got). Fortunately I now know the common denominator when my stomach turns south and know to stay away from soda.

I swear I'm walking towards an Aid Station.

Although I experienced I believe a shortened-version of the infamous Power Lines section last year, it was dry so not as challenging as I had been warned. This year however the rain turned the Power Lines into a mud slide on the way back which was a new experience (1 step up, 2 steps back). Certainly tough but masochisticaly (word?) fun. Jarrow's beach (about 1/2 mile or so of pure rocks and boulders) is an ankle buster for sure, but not gunning for "fast as possible" time, I just took it one step at a time so wasn't too bad.

Around 8 or so miles from the finish (after I just downed a coke - yeesh), a guy informed me that if we kept up the pace, we could get under 11hrs and qualify for Western States.  I had no idea Voyageur was a qualifier at all honestly or else I might've kicked it into a higher gear earlier in the race, but with my stomach churning I just couldn't push it. Happily around 3.5 miles from the finish the queasiness went away, I scarfed some fruit at the final aid station, and bolted to the finish and crossed the line at 11:10. As my original time goal (less important than fueling and pacing) was 12 hours, I was pretty happy. Not only that, I had plenty of energy and held on to that feeling of what if I had another 50 to go, could I do it, and I believe I could have although it might be accompanied by tears and calls for my mom.

So that's it. As I write I'm just under 2 weeks out from Sawtooth and feeling pretty confident. Body feels healthy, training has been going well and I feel pretty prepared with my gear and fueling strategy. I'm glad I ran the 50 last year so I'll be somewhat familiar with the course, and I have some great friends pacing/crewing for me. This could be my last race for a while as my wife is about 2 months out from having a little future ultrarunner, but I'm sure I sneak in a few races here and there. I wonder if she'd let me do Tuscobia...