Ruth Anderson 2023: was I tired yet?

I know, I know, I should be writing about Spartathlon, but this is such a daunting task which is going to take a few more weeks, not to mention pictures from that Greek épopée are still coming in/up on their website. So, for now, let's go back into the rhythm of race reports since yesterday was another race day! Already...

This weekend we we celebrated one of our local ultra legends with the Ruth Anderson Memorial Endurance Runs (see another impressive piece of ultra running history from Davy Crockett). The initial 100K distance got dropped out of popularity so we are now down to 2 distances, 50K and 50-mile. Originally organized by BAUR (Bay Area Ultra Runners), today's co-Race Directors are Anil Rao (Quicksilver), Shiran Kochavi (Pamakids) and Rajeev Patel. To avoid conflicts with big road races in April, the event moved from April to October. Not that there is a month without race conflict nowadays...

I had registered a few weeks before Spartathlon, I thought it would give me a good excuse to leverage the strong training I put in through the Summer and shake things off, whatever the outcome of my Greek run would have been. Luckily, there was not much pressure as I had enough points in our Grand Prix and, directing the race, Shiran wasn't running today. Well, not running himself but running his Panakids team business for sure! What I had not planned for is the two vaccine shots I got on Friday, leveraging a slot Agnès got for the two of us through her school. I had quite a bad night, woke up sweating and with a small fever, yet drove to the start to see if it was worth the effort for the team.

I was really feeling sluggish and was ready to call it a day and drive back when Charles showed up at 6:15 and confirmed he was up for the 50-mile again. We already had Andrew confirmed so, dang, I had to run 50 miles now... I hadn't much time to prepare and overthink it, it didn't feel reasonable but I'm sure Ruth was still giving me her blessing.

Upon checking in, Stan asked me two questions: "Is that your first ultra?" and "Is it your eight participation?" While the first one was clearly a joke, the second was more intriguing and made me realize I didn't keep a tab in my mind. As a matter of fact, apart for the 2020 edition which got cancelled because of COVID, and 2021 which I skip as my hamstring tendon was still fissured, I ran all other years since 2007, so 15 times with this year. 4 times the 50K, 9 50-milers and the 100K twice. Time flies!

As opposed to last year, there were no world record attempt this Saturday but still a few fast guys. In my age group, James Scanlan shared he was aiming at my age group 50-mile course record of 6:08:20, then he'll go after the M55 American AGR next year. Andrew wanted to put a solid 50-mile training run before an upcoming big marathon goal. As for me, with the forced run for the team, I said I'd be happy to jog the 50-mile... (All course pictures, credit: Jason Lehbram, Dark Lite Foto.)

Given the circumstances, I started conservatively and clocked 8:15 for the first mile which includes one of the two gentle uphill sections of the course. I picked up the pace a little, settling on the 7:50 min/mile pace which Verity was maintaining like the professional clock she is. Carrying two bottles though, I didn't stop at the aid stations for the first 5 laps and ended up running alone.

The 5th lap is when Andrew lapped me. On one side, that was fast so I wonder if he'd keep up after the 50K. If not, I would have happily ended the day as well with only 50K as the glutes felt tight from the start. But on the other hand he looked really easy and relaxed, so maybe he was going to have a great and full 50-mile. Unsure, I thought I'd better plan for the 50-mile indeed, and eased up just enough to still maintain an average pace of 8:00 at the 50K mark (4:08:56).

At the end of that 7th lap, upon confirmation that Andrew was still on the 50-mile, I had no other option than to continue. I was really happy to have eased up a bit because there were still 4 laps to go (19 miles) and I didn't want to have to walk that much! Not only happy for pacing myself but also for the opportunity to leverage the mental training of Spartathlon. Running longer races really helps you putting things in perspective. For instance, I thought several times that I was just running to Corinth this time, which is only one third of the Spartathlon course. Also, that the uphills were nothing compared to some of the long uphills sections on the way to Sparta. With that, I did slow down but rarely to a walk, as opposed to what I would have certainly done otherwise. Then I counted the laps down. 4, 3, 2, 1...

Still in good spirits with 3 laps to go:

Somewhere deeper in the pain cave with 2 laps to go:

While lap 10th was the toughest, I regain some stamina in the final lap especially thinking of a 7-hour target. Earlier last week, before I got the shots, my best hope was to average 8 min/mile for a time of 6:40. Given the early morning fever, 7 hours seem to be quite a fair compromise. Still, I was a few minutes behind and barely made it under to the finish area under 7, with still almost a mile to go on the final out and back. Finish time of 7:08:00, good for 4th place overall and 1st in my age group. Indeed, the scoop was that James stopped at 50K. Again, given the circumstances, the vaccines the day before, and 7 marathons ran 2 weeks ago, this was a great outcome. And another important milestone in my running journey, my 39th 50-miler, 360th race and 30th ultra run this year. Never easy to race against the clock but that clock helps keeping moving forward!

Andrew took second on the 50-mile (6:03), 2 minutes behind Jakob Walter, both 30. At 21, Daniel Chang took 3rd in 6:56.

Special mention to Sharlet Gilbert, 72, for breaking Helen Klein's, another NorCal ultra legend, W70-74 50-mile American record, lowering it to 9:41:44, from 9:55:09. 30 years ago...!

Thanks to Vespa Power, I ran these 50 miles on only 4 GU gels, 1 serving of GuEnergy chews, 2 cups of Coke. And 3 bottles of GuEnergy Brew. Plus 6 S!Caps (Succeed). Needless to say, after running 9 marathons in 2 weeks, in addition to lowering the load on the GI system, Vespa helps with recovery! The Vespa Math! ;-)

The weather was optimal, with a cloud layer staying upon us most of the day. I was delighted to have a glance of the eclipse through lighter clouds, just before 10. Perfect organization again for this commemoration of one of our local ultra legends. Special thanks to the volunteers who are spending so many hours to help us, to Jason Lehbraum for his hundreds of pictures, to Wendell for his electronic timing, giving a break to Stan for keeping track of all the laps on paper (special thoughts to Stan's ex-acolytes, Steve and Dave). Last but not least, to Anil and Shiran for the production of this super nice racing top, including the special touch of Ruth's quote: "I just enjoy being able to run and keep going."

So, yes, to many more years of being that able!