Ohlone 50K 2018: late wings but just in time!

A week has passed and I wasn't able to find or make time in my tumultuous life for this race report... This is the tough part with racing on a Sunday, it doesn't leave much time for a same-day report before the start of the work week. Besides, my godfather died on Wednesday so I jumped on a plane on Thursday and here am I, in Paris, for an unexpected visit to my parents!

First, let me start by saluting co-Race Director, Chihping Fu, who stepped up to replace emeritus RD Rob Byrne, with Larry England accepting to continue on as the other co-RD. It's a huge endeavor, especially with such a point to point course through highly protected and remote areas, it takes a lot of time before and after, and many volunteers for critical tasks and places (course marking, checking of the course marking, getting the supplies at the aid stations with the help of the wilderness rangers, check-in at the start, but also at the finish, early on Sunday morning, for those taking the bus to the start, purchasing supplies, managing registrations, promoting the event, cleaning and storing supplies afterwards, ...). One more opportunity to admit that, with all my racing these past 12 years, I'm so much in debt to all these volunteers.

Back to Ohlone, my 7th race in 7 weekends but, more importantly, my favorite ultra race. Not only the 50K distance is my sweet spot (66 of my 156 ultra races) but the traditional heat at this race fits me well (I ran all editions from 2007 to 2017 but 2014, to attend Max's graduation and placed on the podium 9 out of 10, with my worst place being 4th, 15 seconds behind Rémi Delille, in 2016.

The scoop of this year's edition was that it wasn't going to be hot, darn! When I thought I had some good heat training at Quicksilver 100K a week earlier... The other big news was the return of Scott Trummer, the 2016 winner with a blazing time of 4:24. All the bets were on him, not only for the overall win, but to break Leor Pantilat's course record of 4:16, especially given the cool conditions.

It's not the first year we go through Mission Peak in the fog (see 2011 for instance), but it remained cloudy for a long time that Sunday. Despite pushing on the long climb to Rose Peak, and wearing short sleeves and my Brooks arm sleeves, I was still feeling chilly on the ridges, what a change from previous years!

Note that the whole race started with a chill for me when Chihping played a few seconds of Vangelis' Conquest of Paradise (you'll have to run UTMB to get that reference).

With that, I missed the start by one second and that was enough for Scott, in the starting blocks, to put 100 yards between us as he took on the uphill like a rocket! There were quite a few new faces in the front, a few who carefully stayed behind me but a handful who passed me to try to keep up with Scott. We start straight uphill so it's super hard to pace ourselves right off the bat.

I was actually feeling quite weak, both mentally for falling behind Scott so much already, and a dozen or so other runners, and physically too, with some tiredness in my legs. I started walking much earlier than previous years, trying to at least not lose my breath. Miriam Cater had hiked up to mile 2.5 of the course to take pictures, right at the bottom of the first switchbacks (with Marko Cater in the background, shortly before he passed me on the way up to the top of Mission Peak).

I estimated that I was in 13th position at the top of Mission Peak and, with the dense fog, I couldn't see much about what was going on in front and behind. (Next two pictures, credit Jay Hsu.)

I negotiated the rocky downhill section with extreme care, and slowness, but pushed hard afterwards, so much that I passed Marko Cater before the Laurel Loop aid station. I didn't stop there, just slowed down to tease Hollis Lenderking with "Hey Hollis, don't dare to tell me I started too fast, this time!" (in reference to Miwok, 3 weeks earlier). Assuredly, I felt really bad to be that far behind but was looking forward to the long descent where my road running skills help. I actually passed 3 runners on the way down to Sunol, with a couple of miles below 7 minutes.

Getting into Sunol, I was focused on making eye contact with a bin to drop the packet of GU gel I had just ingested so I barely saw the volunteers, only Anil Rao; my bad and apologies for flying by like a stranger, but I was on a mission (pun intended) to limit the gap with the front runners. At this point, I was still thinking I was on 13-4=9th place.

For the next climb, I recall feeling stressed by my inability not only to break from the 3 runners 1/4 or mile behind me, but not seeing anyone in front either. I did push harder in the super steep hill after the Backpack Area aid station, actually intrigued by the trail we were using this year, not going through Hawks Nest, but to the left side (still a similar climb); at least that effort seemed to have taken care of my immediate pursuers, phew!

Now, I was asking the trail gods or Indian spirits to show me a sign that I was still in the Ohlone race and, finally, I saw one runner ahead as I was approaching the Goat Rock aid station, half-way at mile 15. Well, it was Dan Burke who was testing out his knee and had started early so, after getting help from Dennis Connor and the aid station crew, I left as quickly as possible to continue the hunt.

Julia catching me as I was getting to Goat Rock.

And Robert Spencer, a mile or so later:

After some walking in the last 2 miles before the top of Rose Peak, I finally saw a runner exiting the summit loop as I was entering it. That was Nate Seltenrich and he was followed by Adam Zastrow and I think Nate Meiners or Matt Giusti. I exited the loop 8 minutes behind Nate Seltenrich and 6 minutes after Adam; with 11 more miles to go, there was still some hope!

I didn't stop at the next aid station (Maggie's Half Acre) and rushed the following downhills while trying to walk most of the uphills. With that, I took me less than 2 miles to close the gap with Matt and it was a big surprise for me to learn he was in 6 or 7th. Given the slow start, as much as I didn't want to fall off the podium, I would have taken 6th place. But with that news came some new wings and, not stopping at the water-only station, Stewart's Camp, I was now seeing 2 runners in font; I was quite happy to get back in the race and also to see teammate Nina Giraudo who was checking the course marking for us (she was supposed to run but DNS as she was just back from an ankle injury; ironically, she ended up running most of the course, at quite a fast pace!). These 2 pictures from Nina:

We were at mile 24 when I passed these two runners and, a mile later, I saw another runner leaving Schlieper Rock as I was getting to that aid station: that was getting really exciting! And hot, so I took the time to get some ice and water before rushing into Williams Glutch.

Rushing is actually not a good term as I was actually super slow and extra careful. The last thing I wanted to do was slip or trip and fall in the abundant poison oak in that section. I was so slow that I didn't feel I could take the time to enjoy the creek at the bottom and, climbing back on the other side, I couldn't see the runner ahead anymore but... now another runner about 2 minutes behind, yikes!

I wouldn't say that gave me more or longer wings but certainly more will to keep pushing, at least to avoid losing a spot hardly fought for. So much that I eventually saw Adam again and caught him just before the last down hill, as well as Nate Seltenrich, just before the ultimate aid station, Stromer Spring. (Photo credit Don Jedlovic)

Although this is one of my favorite stations, with the overflowing spring, I had told Agnès that I will only stop there if I had time. Here is the best place to soak in on hot years, 2 miles from the finish:

Well, definitely not this year, with Adam and Nate on my heels! They are both tall so I suspected that they'd fly down the last 2 miles. Thankfully, as opposed to uphill, downhill running was my forte that Sunday and I used my late wings to go as fast as possible.

Before the last turn into the finish, I passed Catra Corbett who was finishing her 200-mile run, with a personal best for her tradition, of 86 hours!

Remembering the 15-second gap with Rémi, 2 years ago, I sprinted to the finish, super happy to get on the podium again, for the 10th time (1, 1, 2, 3, 3, 1, 1, 1, 4, 1, 3, what a series!). With that, I need to come back again!

Photo finish, credit to Miriam Cater again.

Meanwhile, Scott had indeed won with a time of 4:31, having a second half harder than the first.

And Jonathan Kimura took 2nd in 4:48.

My time was 5:06, and I felt sorry for not taking advantage of the cooler conditions for a faster time, yet happy to take another big block of wood home, this is such a great and unique trophy! (Photo credit: Emi Yasaka)

With teammate, Dr. Mark Tanaka, photo credit: Miriam Cater.

I'm very grateful to Agnès for driving me to the start, and then picking me up at the finish. This time, instead of hiking to the top of Mission Peak, she explored the last 3 miles of the course, and back, and was impressed with the wilderness and views.

If you got confused about the course in my text above, here is a cool 3D flyover of this point to point course, from Fremont to Livermore (click on that link, or the image below).

After her 200-mile feat, and looking fresher than most of us who had only run 31 miles, Catra was selling and signing her first and new book: Reborn on the Run, My Journey from Addictions to Ultramarathons (I had the privilege to interview Catra during her 100th 100-miler, 5 years ago).

Still on my Keto/OFM diet (6 months and counting!), my recovery meal was made of some beef and salad. While I used 5 or 6 GU gels during the race, cutting on carbs right after the race helps getting a prompt recovery.

That was the end of a 7-weekend race series and I was looking forward to a one weekend break before my next race which happens to be a 24-hour on June 1 and 2 in San Francisco. One DNF at American River, a counter-performance at Boston but the 5 other races were pretty good, with some good hill training at last!

Speaking of back to back, the hero of the day in this register was our team captain, Loren Lewis, who ran Ohlone the day after finishing the grueling SilverState 50-mile the day before! And if you think the difficulty is only about the miles and cumulative elevation, think of the associated logistic for getting in two places the same weekend!

Again, huge kudos and thanks to Chihping and his crew of volunteers which made this 31st edition such a success!

And the must needed and appreciated sponsors to, e.g. GU Energy and ZombieRunner:

Quicksilver 100K 2018: my turf, Ben's cards, much love!

I know my race reports tend to be on the long side, what about the Race Director's one on Facebook at the end of a very long day:

Quicksilver Endurance Runs, Race (Director's) Report, Short Version: Ugh!

One word, you can't beat this! However, with all my infinite due respect to Stuart (Taylor, co-RD), Greg (Lanctot, co-RD), Kristina (Irvin, Queen of the aid stations), Paul (Fick, King and Chef of Chez Darcee) and the 150 other volunteers, one word isn't making justice to this ultra party. Nor my cryptic 6 words of the title of this post. So, once again, read on, and if you haven't already done so, I hope you'll join this local tradition soon, one way or another, running or helping out. Because, and that may be a surprise to some, it requires almost as many volunteers as we are allowed to have participants running these trails (by permit).

First, for those who don't know the natural gem our Quicksilver Club is associated with, this 100K race gets us through two amazing parks, right at the door of San Jose, the capital of Silicon Valley, 1 million people strong. We start in Almaden Quicksilver County Park, then over to the Sierra Azul preserver, part Midpeninsula Regional Open Space system and home of Mt. Umunhum, even more famous now that it's open to the public (shame on me, I still have to pay it a visit).

Rather than words trying to describe the extent of hilly terrain the 100K course goes through, I can't think of a better way that this 1-minute 3D fly-over generated by Relive.cc (click on image, or this link):

Now, if you prefer the words, I love this course description on our Club's website; it helps you decompose into smaller segments, a mental strategy pretty essential for such a long and tough course (for the ultra nerds you have this turn by turn listing, but that's way less poetic!). That map is also quite informative, especially the course profile.

Apart from the challenging cumulative elevation (estimated from 14,000 to 15,000 feet), we get quite an early start at 4:30 am. Tough on the volunteers too but, for the runners, that means either going to bed very early on Friday, or not sleeping much. I picked the safer former option, and was in bed by 7pm, for a 1:30am wake-up call in order to eat breakfast 3 hours before the start. I actually slept like a baby after helping out Paul loading and unloading his truck on Friday afternoon, then setting up the canopies for the 1-day Chez Darcee restaurant. Last year we had a crew of 4 helpers from his church, but none this year, so that was some good heat training and upper body workout, for a change! Huge respect and hat off to Paul again.

And to Kristina as well who was already hard working all Friday morning, with the tent set at Mockingbird to spend the night watching over all our supplies now in the open.

Thankfully, more volunteers (Stephen, Keith) joined us mid afternoon to give a few additional hands to Paul.

On Saturday morning, I arrived at the Hacienda parking lot around 3:15am and was well ready by 4:15am for the pre-race briefing. Unfortunately, there was still a long line of runners waiting to get their bibs and sign the waiver (and, of course that included Doctor Just-in-time Tanaka! ;-), so many that Jeff had to postpone the start by 15 minutes. At least it was already warm, but my Vespa protocol was now off by 15 minutes, dang! I tried to stay as relaxed as possible, in the excitement which was really building up around the start line. (Hey, among the flashy Excelsior shirts, you can barely see me, turning my GPS on, on the left ;-) Photo credit: Jose Cruz.)

A few words about my legs: after Miwok 100K a week ago, and 27 miles of heavy and painful cramping of my adductors, I could barely walk on Sunday and Monday. On Tuesday, I went for 7 miles and, although it felt great to get moving, the legs were still quite painful. Thankfully, the soreness almost disappeared on Wednesday, just in time to get the full benefit of Doods' massage at the Y that day. I felt so good after that, my goal was to preserve the sensation until race day and taper for 3 days, phew, luxury!

With that, I started the first climb with a moderate effort, losing visual contact with the 2 front runners who disappeared after a couple of turns, in the dark. I settled in 10 or 12th position for the first half mile then started gaining a few spots as the slope was getting steeper. By the out and back down to the Cemetery, guarded by Greg, assisted by his wife, Jen, and her lightsaber at the fork before Spanish town, I was in 7th place, just after Tony, whom I had shared a few of the early miles with at Miwok a week earlier. Studs, they say... ;-)

At Hicks Road, I left my headlamp to Clare and passed one runner who had stopped at the aid station, then another runner a mile later who had stopped to pee, to finally catch up with Tony. I then passed Tony too in the long climb to Woods Road, now in 4th. I caught up with Ray Avalos and we passed over the ridge together. I was carrying enough water, GU2O, GU gels and S!Caps to get down to Lexington so I didn't even stop to wish Loren a happy birthday, I flew straight down and that literally shows on Strava. I could feel I was going fast, maybe even too fast for such a race, but I had no idea that would translate into the 11th best time on that segment, Limekiln descent - Woods to Priest Rock: 6:58 min/mile, and no other faster time on any of Quicksilver race days, that's cool! Now, in all disclosure, Ben doesn't seem to be on Strava, that helps...

Let's talk about that Ben in the title. With an overall score of 95.3% over 6 results so far, 96.7% age rank, Ben Eysenbach, 23, was the top UltraSignup-seeded in the registrants. He was followed by Gaspar Mora Porta (Quicksilver), Ray Avalos, Thomas Reiss (Quicksilver) and I was in 5th. UltraSignup's CEO and Founder, Mark Gilligan, would say this isn't meant to be that relevant because, unlike the ITRA ones, these scores don't take into account the competitiveness of each event, but it still gives some indication of whom to expect.

Bottom line, at the bottom of that long descent, I was in 3rd place, reportedly 3 minutes behind Ben, and another Bay Area runner, Ian Driver. Sachin filled my GU2) bottle, and up I was again for the most grueling climb of the day, including the infamous Dog Meat section. At the top of it, Sean told me I was now 8 minutes behind Ben and 4 behind Ian. I had walked significantly more than previous years, trying to save some energy, both physical and mental, before the 4-mile long Kennedy Trail uphill section. (Photo credit: Sean McPhearson.)

Well, before that climb, we run the 4 miles downwards and that's really tough on the mental because, as much as you look forward to getting to the aid station, you know you've to retrace back this tough climb. And we were now exposed to the sun, although the breeze helped managing the heat all day in my opinion.

I saw Ben climbing back as I was still 0.70 miles from the turnaround, then Ian leaving the station as I was getting in. But I didn't get overly excited to rush back, I actually spent a few minutes to cool off, get some ice in my arm sleeves and cap, sponged my Buff and took another GU gel and a few pieces of watermelon. In reference to the title, it was overwhelming to receive so much help from the volunteers, and having so many people calling me by my name. That's certainly looked like my turf, although many people must think that I train on these trails all the time. The reality is that I only run these trails once a year nowadays, on race day, that's it! But I've competed here for more than 10 years, and this Club has been my second running family (more on this later), so everything looked really familiar this Saturday!

Climbing Kennedy Trail back, I was thinking of all the sections which Ben must have run, and increased his lead, yet I did walk some. The motivating part is to see and get encouragement from the runners coming down, some of them letting me know that I wasn't far behind Ian, although I couldn't see him. After the 4 miles up Kennedy, well, it's far from being over: now you get on the grueling "Dead Kennedy Rollers" which include a few very steep albeit short hills. I was super proud of only walking 3 times on that section, pushing so much that, this time, Ian was at the Woods Road 2 aid station.

So much love there again: special thanks to Jill for offering 2 slices of turkey breast as she knows I'm on a keto diet (I had particularly appreciated two thin slices of avocado at the bottom of Kennedy, very rare find at aid stations, thank you Kristina!). And I also owe big time to the Aid Station Captain, as well as our Quicksilver Ultra Racing team Captain, Loren Lewis, for catching that I was going to leave with my GU2O bottle almost empty, oops! We were at mile 30 and it was indeed time to get my second GU2O refill, like in the good ol' days when I was sticking to one bottle of GU2O and one bottle of water every 15 miles.

Fully reloaded I left the station, about 2 minutes behind Ian. To my surprise, I quickly caught up with him after the ridge as I was flying down toward Hicks Road now. To encourage him, I assured him we were not only half way but had gone through the hardest part and climbs of the course. Then I charged on. Not trying to catch Ben but feeling actually better than previous years, and good enough to clock a few 7-minute miles along the way and run all the short uphills.

At Hicks, more love again from all volunteers, including getting the headlamp I had left to Clare at our first passage. I remember asking for my gap with Ben, and I believe someone said maybe 12 minutes, but that didn't change my strategy, and getting some ice in my arm sleeves as well as under my cap, to keep my head fresh and cool. Again, I felt good enough to run everything up and down Hacienda, at mile 41. I can't omit to mention the huge surprise I had on what used to be the super fun and refreshing Yellow Kid single track, now a large boulevard: what is happening to this park, do they have plans to pave the fire roads and open them to car traffic??!!

Anyway, back at the start area, I made quite a long stop at my car, changing top for a sleeveless one (the first one being covered with salt already, with the breeze freezing the sweat in place), yet keeping my arm sleeves as sun protection and a way to get some ice on my arms. Took my 2nd Vespa pouch (not counting the two before the start), 2 more ziplocks with GU2O, 10 more S!Caps (I had taken 9 so far in the first 6 hours) then stopped for a few more minutes at the aid station itself to get water in my bottles and ice in my hat again. I must say, we are so spoiled with all this ice, it is to me an essential factor to handle such a heat, on top of nailing down hydration and electrolytes.

The Hacienda roller coaster was as hard as usual and I did walk the steep uphills, as it wasn't worth killing myself with 20 more miles to go. But after that, what a relief to fly down Virl O. Norton Trail the reach the Mockingbird parking lot, with the party going on. As MC, Greg was already on fire and was bragging about me in the mic. Pierre-Yves took care of my bottles, and I even took a cup of coconut water, something I had never done before. (Photo credit x4: Nina Giraudo)

The speedster of our age group, Cliff Lentz, who had finished the competitive 50K in 5th place overall an hour or so ago, stopped by to say hi.

On my way out, lifted by the crowd encouragement (so much love again!), I stopped behind Chez Darcee's kitchen to remind Chef Paul to save me some food as it was lunch time but I still had 18 miles to cover... (Photo credit x2: Tom Qin)

Ah, these 18 last miles, all within the Almaden Quicksilver Park now: great trails when you are fresh, but still a good piece of work after 40 miles of hilly running in the heat. Thankfully, a lot of nice single track in the woods and the shade help. At every uphill section, I started enjoying walking way too much so I kept forcing myself to run as much as possible, also using the 50K runners I was now passing as extra motivation. While my pace decreased to an average of 11 to 12 min/mile in uphill sections, I managed to run most of Mine Hill before the Bull Run aid station. There again, much love provided by my fellow Striders, the club I joined when moving to California and was with before I switched to Quicksilver. I have to say that, as you can see on Mary Covento's picture I was overwhelmed by the food options, so many fresh fruits in particular!

Despite feeling so good in this joyful competition, and the shade of the canopies, there was no time to waste and I enjoyed moving again on the flat section and the lollipop detour around Catherine Tunnel. As I was coming out of the loop, I saw Chuck who had sprinted from the aid station to take this short video.

I was now passing more and more 50K runners, all being very courteous to get off their way to let me pass on the single track. And I was still pushing the effort, thinking that moving faster would get me to the finish faster (that's rather simple math, isn't it? ;-). As I was approaching the trail junction with the Cinnabar trail/connector, two hikers were coming down and, while I raised my eyes to them... badaboom, a face plant, again (in reference to the bad fall I experienced on the island of Roatan in Honduras just before American River, then another fall at American River)...! The hikers must have seen me and worried because I stayed still on the ground for a few seconds, trying to make sense at what had just happened and assessing the situation. As I regrouped and resumed running, I felt a sharp pain in my right knee and stopped to see how bloody it was (I'm on blood thinner since my TIA, 2 years ago): to my surprise, not a single drop of blood, how lucky I was. As a matter of fact, I had fallen like I was doing a plank, on my forearms, protected by the arm sleeves, the knees slightly touching the ground, as well as the pelvis (I will discover some hematoma around my left hip again, in the shower). Mostly dirt all over, really feeling lucky that I didn't hurt myself more on that one, just losing a couple of minutes again in my hunt for 2nd place.

The next mile and half to the McAbee aid station felt long as I was longing for some water to wash my hands and muddy bottles. Fewer people I knew at McAbee, plus a bit of confusion, and indifference among the many 50K runners there, struggling with the fatigue and heat at this point of the course (54 miles for us, 23 miles for them). I got some ice in my cap again and off I was for the 5-mile stretch back up Bull Run, a climb along Mine Hill which I've always loved and found runable, either as part of the past 50-mile course, or even at the end of the 100K. That opinion was obviously not shared by the 50K runners I passed on that section and I stopped 3 times to check on 3 in particular who were struggling the most from the heat.

An anecdote as I passed the intersection where we used to go down to Enriquita: with enough miles without it, the Race Directors spared us from this ultimate out and back challenge and I was actually relieved but, oddly so, my legs thought otherwise and my left adductor decided to freeze right at this spot, the same way I started cramping at mile 35 at Miwok, one week earlier. Like it was all in the mind... The good news though is that I was now at mile 58, with only 4 miles to go, and nobody in sight behind. So I decided to walk that steep uphill at the end of Providencia Trail, before resuming a jog on Mine Hill, now crossing path with the rest of the pack of the 100K runners on their way to McAbee.

What a relief to get to Bull Run for the second time, in Striders' territory. As I was taking time to socialize and chat with Peggy in particular, a few minutes passed and I abruptly interrupted our conversation when I saw a gal flying by the station. I didn't recognize Cat (Bradley) who was in the lead in the morning and rushed behind, slightly annoyed to lose my 2nd place overall, and, as Mark Tanaka taught me more than a decade ago now, get chicked... But this gal was really moving and, while not even managing to catch her up, that got me to run Bull Run in 8 minutes, then the next two miles in respectively 9 and 8 minutes, phew! I eventually caught up with her in the very last downhill as she was concerned about slipping and carefully negotiating the turn, while I kept flying by, only to discover she was just on a training run, phew! ;-)

At least that gave me some wings to finish strong and get to the finish, sprinting to cross the line in 10:22:10, good enough for 2nd this year. (Photo credit: Michele Sun.)

Many kudos to Ben for holding on the lead from start to finish, with a winning time of 9:53.

While you can say that you gain experience and mental with age, such a performance at 23 is pure talent, and promise for more greatness in the ultra world, looking forward how Ben is going to confirm that these coming years, as we have too many shooting stars being burned out after a few seasons. To this point, I was really sorry to miss him, but it was great news to see Rob Krar back to trail competition and winning the 50K, almost breaking 4 hours. As well as Chris Denucci who is also coming back after a painful pelvis surgery, just in time to ramp-up for Western States (Chris took 3rd in the 50K).

To continue on the love, and to express all the gratitude I had with the opportunity to run this race, I got a big hug with ultra and omnipresent volunteer, Stan Jensen, then MC, aka Papa Bear, and, last but not least, co-RD Stuart. Special thanks to Stuart who had stepped up to direct our club races and putting so much energy and time into this key function, so quietly and modestly.

And after that I badly needed a chair, which Michele Sun offered to me!

In 3rd place in our 100K, 32 minutes later, was Ian Driver. As co-RD Greg repeated several times, that's the first of 5 years we only had 3 runners under 11 hours, so it wasn't a fast year for sure, despite the elimination of the detour down Enriquita this year (but, IMO, the out and back on Kennedy makes the course harder than the original one).

And here is the ladies' podium: Cat Bradley (26, Boulder, CO, 11:15), Wendy Stalnaker (40, Colorado Springs, 12:11) and Ken Huang (46, Tiburon, CA, 12:35).

It was my 10th consecutive Quicksilver ultra race, running the 50-miler in 2009 and 2013, the 50K 2010-2012 and 2014, and the 100K since 2015 (respectively in 9:45, 10:14 and 10:25 last year). With a 4th place finish 2 years ago, 3rd last year, and 2nd this time, I may have to come back... ;-) No, not for an overall win, because it's all a matter of other speedsters joining the party, like Chikara who still has his eyes and mind on breaking 8 hours on this course, or Paul Terranova who couldn't defend his title because of family obligations this year and had to run Miwok instead. Or Dominick Layfied who plans on returning next year, unscrewed, literally (he got surgery a few weeks ago to remove a few screws out of his feet!).

Note that all these years (since 2009), I managed to do quite some May Madness, with a back to back to back ultra with Miwok, Quicksilver and Ohlone (except 2014 when I ran and won SilverState 50-mile as I had to fly to Yale for Max's graduation, and 2015 when Ohlone got cancelled because of the muddy trails but a few of us still managed to run a fat ass on the Ohlone trail). I love this challenge and fitness test on the way to the big mid-year ultras.

As opposed to Miwok and thanks for cramping only once, my legs were not much sore on Sunday and I was fully available to Agnès for Mother's Day celebration (no running that day, but a great 100-mile ride to the Ocean, on highway 9 and other winding back roads near Davenport. I ran 9 miles on Monday, only 3 miles for lack of more time on Tuesday and 9 miles this Wednesday before jumping on another plane, to Raleigh this time.

Overall, I'm really happy to have iced (pun intended) my hydration and electrolytes this time. And managed to run the first half rather strong, while not falling apart afterwards. That even included a few good performances on Strava, although I've to disclose Ben, for instance, doesn't seem to be on Strava, so it's a partial and biased picture:

1. 11/626 on the 2.9-mile down hill from Woods 1 to Priest Rock Trail
2. 5/176 on the 15.3-mile section between Kennedy trail and Hacienda (but who dares to run all this point to point segment without stopping their watch in training)

But, most importantly, I appreciated spending more time in the aid stations, not feeling too much pressure and enjoying seeing so many familiar faces during and after the race, at the finish line party. Although I had kept my electrolytes in check, I have to admit that I was quite beaten up, especially with the last 3-mile push and it took me a while to enjoy some food from Chez Darcee. With my keto/OFM diet, it's really back home that I enjoyed the dinner with such a plate of sashimi, yummy!

Per Peter Defty's advice, I'm keeping carbs super low right after a race, and that definitely helps with a quick recovery. After these 6 back to back racing weekends (American River 50, Boston Marathon, Ruth Anderson 50-mile, Stow Lake 5K, Miwok and Quicksilver) I feel good getting in the 7th and last one of that MayPril Madness and frantic series with my 11th Ohlone 50K this coming Sunday (although, like with Ben this past Saturday, I don't look forward falling way behind Scott Trummer: not only is he a local of Livermore but certainly the strongest contender after winning the 2016 edition with a time close to Leor Pantilat's course record). After that, I'll take a break for one weekend, then it will be time for the PCTR Summer Solstice, another attempt at breaking the symbolic 140-mile barrier in 24 hours. First time I'll be on OFM, hoping that will do the trick.

I was sad to see afterwards that several teammates had dropped (Thomas Reiss, John Burton), but delighted to see Gaspar among the top 10. And I assume Mark Tanaka will be our third man to score on the team with 12:49. As for Tony, he had a terrible second half, still managing to tough it out and finish, but not without avoiding a trip to the ER to get some IV to fix his electrolyte imbalance.

I also heard about a few GI distress on Facebook, certainly something you don't suffer from while on an OFM/Keto/LCHF (Low Carb High Fat) diet. For the simple reason that you don't have to ingest much during the race, a big plus especially on such hot and long days. And I have to give kudos again to Succeed for the S!Caps formula (took 16 caps total) and GU Energy (I lost count because I picked a few from aid stations, so I think a total of 8 or 9 GU gels, and 4 bottles of GU2O/Brew; and, disclaimer, I'm a GU Energy Pro athlete, but I loved GU long before getting a discount; I also like that the products are made locally, in Berkeley; and very glad they gave so much products to support our race this weekend!).

Ultimate thanks to all the volunteers who allowed us to push the envelope again, right at the doors of San Jose and Silicon Valley. From the race directors to the aid station crews, the course monitors, course markers (Stuart, Ellen, Jeff, Coach Marc, ...), Kristina, Paul, ...

To the risk of appearing biased, it's my Club after all, I have to say that this is quite an exceptional event, first and foremost from the overall generosity governing all aspects of this ultra party:

1. First, while some clubs manage to make a good profit on their race, ours profit goes to local charities, principally to foster well being and exercise among kids.
2. Second, the profit is even not the driver. Take for instance the field which is quite limited by our permits, and much smaller than Miwok, Way Too Cool or American River. Then, the expenses on the BBQ which keeps increasing year after year because of strict food regulations, and where nobody is turned away for returning to the buffet, getting their pacer to eat for free too, or get a few beers. And the variety of food requiring all sort of rental equipment in the kitchen, not to mention all the work.
3. And what about... shirts for 150 or so volunteers, such a variety of food at the aid stations, abundant ice (another rental expense), finisher belt buckles, plus very nice wooden buckle holders this year, porta-potties at most aid stations, generous drop bag policies (6 places plus your car at the start!), abundant course marking (ribbons and turn signs, before and after, and glow sticks at night!), canopies at aid stations (yes, more shade!), generous goody bag (love the folding cap, well done, I'll take it to UTMB this summer!), ample parking area at the start, ongoing shuttle service between the finish and start areas, course map and aid station fliers available at the start, chip timing, speedy result posting, unique top 3 awards (gold pans!), age group medals, free pictures at various points of the course, popsicles, EMT personnel on call at the finish line, several rental trucks to move all the aid station stuff and BBQ food, drinks and equipment, BBQ options including variety of side dishes and desserts, a variety of beers, a shaded area (priceless) for the post race celebration with rented tables and chairs, I'm probably missing many more important things which make this event so exceptional.

Actually, let me ask you: if you ran, or crewed, or paced, or spectated, or volunteered, what was your experience, and what do you think of this event? You don't have to be as lengthy as I've been on that post (my bad!), but don't be shy, please leave a comment, especially if you felt some of that love! ;-)