Dick Collins Firetrails 2014: slightly too fast. Or too slow...

Yes, this is an ambiguous title, isn't it? Please read on... and down to the end of the post... ;-)

This was my first 50-miler 8 years ago and I was excited to be back on this "Fall Classic" course and event as new Race Director and NorCal Ultras owner calls it. Back in October 2006 I had only raced in one ultra, Way Too Cool, so I was completely unknown on our local scene (and I wasn't even blogging and... bragging about my running yet! ;-). Here is my finish with my pace and track workout buddy, Bob, and Greg:

It was an amazing experience to meet ultra legends and then Race Directors, Ann Trason and Carl Andersen, and receive from them my Rookie award (an autographed bottle of wine which is now empty but a precious souvenir!).

That year I took 3rd overall to Chikara Omine and Rob Evans, Rob who would pace me the following year for my first and best Western States. In 2008, 3rd overall again to Dave Mackey and Victor Ballesteros. In 2010, I was just recovering from a 100-mile so I took it easy, taking about 350 pictures of runners during the race; 8th overall. In 2011, I ran with Quicksilver teammate Chris Calzetta and, while far behind Dave Mackey again who clocked the then 5th fastest time since 1983 (6:34:26), we set a new PR in 7:02:55, phew!

As you see, I skipped quite a few years, mostly because of business travel conflicts. Being in a new age group, my main goal for this Saturday was to improve the M50-59 course record. According to Gary Wang's RealEndurance.com FT50 page that time was last improved by Frank Bozanich, 12 years ago (2002). And, while he was 58, not 50, you should know that Frank has been inducted in the coveted Ultra Running Hall of Fame last year! Among a myriad of other feats Frank is a 2:25 marathoner and sub-30 10K. Bottom line, this course record was set to 7:48:49.

Now, looking at the registrants, I saw international elite Jorge Marvilla and I told to myself "Shoot, that's not going to be good fr my ultrasignup ranking!" I know I need to let go of this obsession, it's not healthy... ;-) What is it about? For each race, Ultrasignup.com computes a rank defined as "For each race, we take the gender specific best time(winner) and divide that time by each participant's time. The result is a value less than 100% with winners receiving the full 100%." And you get an average for all the races that ultrasignup has in its database. As a matter of fact, while searching to write on this, I just found that Ultrasignup Founder and Owner, Mark Gilligan, added labels to categorize the rank values, with his usual sense of humor:

1. 95-100% Super Human
2. 90-94% Elite
3. 85-89% Regional Hero
4. 80-84% Solid Athlete

Sincerely, when I started running ultras, I couldn't care less. Like any "ultra mortal", my main goal was to just finish. As a matter of fact, with several occurrences of exercise-induced asthma before I found my remedy in Singulair, I had horrible races in which I barely made it to the finish, walking and crawling to the end. So, not only was I starting running ultras in my forties, but I made a point to finish, no matter what happened. For these reasons, I had quite a few races below 80%. But, as I was learning more about ultra, getting more hands-on experience (or is it rather "feet-on"? ;-), training harder and harder, and getting my asthma under control, I got a few good scores and slowly made it to close to 90%. For the past 2 years, I've been stuck around 89.75%, like 90% was my asymptotic barrier. And, of course, it's not getting easier as I turned 50... Better get used and satisfied with "regional hero" after all... ;-)

With that long introduction, you can tell that, between Frank's amazing reputation but a doable course record time based on my previous 4 Firetrails, and Jorge's excellent form this year, I was torn but knew I had to push either way.

Well, the day started with a little surprise. While it was still pitch dark, at the starting line, Karl Schnaitter asked me if I had seen Jorge. Since I had made it to the line with only 2 minutes to spare, I said no but that he shouldn't be far and he'll catch-up even if he gets a late start. But Jorge was not to be seen around Lake Chabot this Saturday. Speaking of start line, I arrived at Lake Chabot just in time to see the early starters go at 5:30 am (our start was at 6:30).

As we were sent off the trails, Jonathan Gunderson took off with a runner that I didn't know. Karl settled in third, with a runner with a black top. Not far behind, I was chatting with Eric Wilson (with Eric doing most of the talking as I'm typically not very talkative in races, primarily to save my lungs and breath).

Daylight came as we were climbing up to Marciel Road, the first aid station at mile 3, but we were still under the fog. I could spot the first two runners with a 1 minute and 30 seconds lead, that was 30 second per mile faster, quite an aggressive start! Karl was now running alone so I figured the guy who was running with him in the first miles had pushed the pace and I was now in 5th. I caught up with Karl on the flat section leading to Bort Meadow, our second aid station at mile 8. I passed Karl as he made a quick stop to get his water bottle refilled but he stayed close behind as we were climbing the MacDonald Trail, now passing quite a few of the early starters. It was still overcast but, with the climbing effort, I was already sweating a lot. I had my average pace down to 7:52 before the climb, reaching 8 at the top of the ridge then down again as I flew down to the Big Bear aid station (mile 10.5), still going through without stopping as I had enough fluids for 15 miles.

This section felt really familiar as we ran it a couple of months ago for Skyline 50K. And, without much rain which we miss so much of, the trail was in perfect condition. After Big Bear, we went on Stream Trail, my favorite section, in the shade of huge redwoods. Unlike 2011 though, the course wasn't using the fire road but a rolling trail on the side. Nothing dramatic but going up a few dozens feet here and there is certainly worth a few minutes on your overall time as this section was used to be so flat and one in which you could make up some time.

I pushed the pace a little in the climb up to Skyline Gate (3rd aid station at mile 15), mostly to keep the average pace as closely to 8 as possible. My GPS indicated 8:10 min/mile when I reached the station, 8:12 when I left after getting my Gu2O bottle refilled (with one of the pouches I was carrying with me). I was surprised to see Karl getting in the aid station as I was leaving, although he has been very consistently running at my pace this year. I figured out he was taking it easy and will wait for the turnaround to pass me. At 32, he can only improve and get faster while I should be on the other side of the bell curve, I expect he'll be consistently ahead of me in the coming years... ;-)

We were still passing a few early starters, now on Skyline Trail, a very narrow and winding single track, but everybody was very nice to step aside and exchange words of encouragements. This is also a great section, running along the San Leandro Creek and in the shade of many trees. However, it ends with a steep climb to the 4th aid station, Sibley Preserve, so steep that I almost trip over a rocky boulder and decided to walk a little. That's when I discovered that I was now followed by Travis Weller, a runner I met at Tamalpa Headlands 50K for the first time and who beat me by 7 minutes. Also 32 like Karl, Travis looks like Tony Krupicka, it's almost intimidating! ;-) Of course, my pace was slowing with the climb, but I didn't feel I was that slow, ah, it's not getting easier as years pass... Anyway, with 2 runners on my heels, I decided not to stop at Sibley Preserve and I thought I'd give another shot at pushing the pace to see if they'd follow, just worried that I may blow a fuse in the second section.

I lost sight of both of them in this tricky section of the Bay Area Ridge Trail but, after the crossing of Fish Ranch Road, saw Travis a few seconds behind and Karl a minute or so below us as we were now climbing up to Steam Train. I was the first to reach the aid station but, as I was looking for some Vaseline to of some chaffing again (that's killing me!), Trevis didn't stop, I was now in 3rd as we had passed Jonathan a mile ago and the runner in black with Karl at the start was probably not racing.

On our way down to the Lone Oak Picnic area, the turnaround of the 50-mile, we were now crossing the runners of the Golden Hills Marathon. Receiving encouragements from them gave me a thrill and helped me keeping Trevis in sight. The last runner was actually Catra Corbett who is not known to run marathons but 4, 6 or 8 at a time! I was surprised to see her in that race but she told me she was sweeping for the marathon, that explained.

We crossed the lead runner who, I found out later, was Ryan Neely, about 1.5 miles from the turnaround. That's the place where I saw Chikara in 2010 and I was taking it easy, while Chikara was pushing hard to stay close behind Dave when he set the course record. Ryan was definitely on a fast pace if he could hold it all the way.

I reached the turnaround after 3 hours and 30 minutes of running and left 2 minutes later, closely behind Trevis. To my second surprise, Karl wasn't the first runner we crossed on our way up, but another runner I didn't know, John Loftus. When I was Karl, not far behind, he was followed by the lead woman, Kimberly O'Donnel. I told Karl: "don't even think about getting chicked!" but he didn't seem to appreciate so much as he was probably feeling the pressure.

I closed on Trevis in the climb back to Steam Trains, and passed him before the top but he hopped on the bandwagon and we reached the aid station together. Teammates Shir Kochavi and John Burton were at the station, the former to take pictures but the second had dropped, still recovering from his amazing achievement at the Tahoe 200 (yes, 200 miles!), taking 3rd overall after 63 hours of running. Photo credit, Shir Kochavi:

I left first, but Trevis was just behind and that kept me on my toes as we say, going at a pace which wasn't comfortable but that's why racing provides great training opportunities to push the envelope! Here we are, at mile 31, while the other runners climb toward Steam Trains at mile 21, photo credit I-Tao Tsai from Taiwan:

I finally lost Trevis while keeping pushing the pace on the way up to Sibley Preserve, mile 33.6. I got more iced water there and kept going, started thinking how could it would be to place 2nd, after taking 3rd overall 3 times at this race. More importantly, going back to my long intro, I was worried about losing a lot of "ultrasignup points", being already 25 minutes behind the lead runner at the point I last saw him.

So, despite some tiredness in my legs and feel rather hot with the rising temperatures, I kept going, now passing the back of the marathon runners pack. At least, I could spot anyone behind so I relaxed a bit after Skyline Gate, now running Stream Trail downhill. With all the climbing of the last 10 miles, my average pace now up to 8:40 min/mile and it was hard to gain much on that section, as opposed to when I was running with Chris in 2011.

In my dismay, just before Big Bear, with 8.5 miles to go, I saw John Lofthus coming from behind. We stopped at the aid station together but he left first, me being helped by volunteers, he by his crew, and we climbed back up the ridge together, although he left me in the dust at the top, feeling so much fresher than me. So long for top 2, at least John was 37, so I was still in the Masters lead as a consolation... And way ahead of my age group course record if I could hold the pace.

I asked for more ice at the next aid station, Bort Meadows, mile 44, and started looking behind more frequently to see who could be next to catch-up with me... Pressure, pressure... In 2006 I was so tired that I hated the roller coaster of the last miles along Chabot Lake. This year, I was probably not less tired but much more prepared mentally, so I ran all the way, shaving a few second of my average pace. I passed Christine Chapon who was on the marathon and we joked --in French in the text!-- how we were running uphill after all these miles. With less than a mile to go, I realized I was really going to get close to 7:12 which I had in mind as my PR (only to discover while writing this blog that it was 7:02). Anyway, that wasn't the goal for today, I was so ecstatic to cross the line in 7:14:27, my second best time on this course. And to take an overall podium at 50, something to appreciate.

Victor Ballesteros and John were at the finish. They congratulated me with "way to show the youngsters how it is done!" then asked how I felt... I think I replied with an "outstanding!", not speaking of how I felt, but how I was pleased by my performance. Well, with all the marathon runners going through, they had missed the first two 50-mile runners and thought I had won the race. John Lofthus finished 8 minutes ahead of me (1 minute/mile faster after Big Bear!) and Ryan took first with the 7th fastest time in the 32-year race history with a blazing 6:35:02! Ryan won 5 of his 8 ultra races so far, that's quite a stellar start!

Although I couldn't maintain the pace in the last miles, I was actually pleased with my split, 3:32 and 3:44, knowing that it's harder to get back to Steam Train than it is to fly down the turn around. Regarding the famous Ultrasignup rank --which I know I should forget about-- that gave me 90.93% so I actually didn't lose on the average but gained one 1/100th at 89.78, phew! Mark was actually running the course to mark it and we had a chat about some age-graded ranking, he is going to think about it... just for those obsessed with rankings... We also joked about that with fellow Stevens Creek Strider Alison Boudreau who was running the marathon to celebrate her birthday, and "just" enjoying it so much. I admitted that it has been a while since I did a race just for the fun of running (but let me add that I do enjoy running while racing or training!).

So, back to the title, I feel that I run much faster than I wanted to just slightly improve the course record and have a chance to do it again next year, in case I need the extra points (for the non insiders, we get bonus points for new records). 34 minutes and 22 seconds off the previous record, that's more than what I was aiming at, oops! That may stand for a few years, it will take 6 more years for Dave Mackey to turn 50! Yet, I ran slower than 3 years ago and was definitely quite far from the winner so, to some measure, too slow, right? An unsolvable equation or dilemma anyway... ;-) As for being stuck with 3rd place overall (4 times!), that's going to be a challenging tradition to keep up with...

Karl came in 4th in 7:27, followed by Trevis, 2 minutes later. Both were not chicked, as Kimberly O'Donnell crossed the finish line in 7:31:47 for 7th overall. And, to put things into perspective, this is the second fastest time in the race history, only 23 seconds (!) behind Ann Trason's course record of 1987 when she was 26. And Kimberly is 24, looking forward to seeing what this leads to... Starting maybe with a wedding of speedsters as I discovered that Ryan and Kimberly were together!

On top of the most professional racing organization, Julie had put together an amazing team to keep up with the high expectations of this event's finish line Café. After giving so much during the race, it took me a while to regroup and get my body temperature under control but I really enjoyed get a freshly cooked burger, as well as this great scoop of sorbet!

By the way, speaking of food, I had 2 Vespa pouches before the start (-45 minutes and -5 minutes), then a concentrate at 2.5 and 5 hours. That allowed me to run on 4 GUs (strategically taken before the big hills), 2 pieces of banana, 3.5 bottles of Gu2O and a few mini cups of Coke. Less than 700 calories intake for more than 5,000 spent, all the difference coming from my body fat!

For those who have read that far, or that down the page, especially volunteers, let me say it was super cool to be called by name at every aid station along the way. What a change from 2006, I know so many people on our local circuit. Thank you so much to all, that gave me a great boost especially when I'm without a crew.

And, speaking about volunteers, a special shout out to those who did this amazing marking. I read on Noé Castañón's update on Facebook that he had to spend 9 hours remarking a few sections in which some people (called bandits or vandals indeed, for the danger that represents to us, runners) had altered.

A few people were actually here to work. First, the Monsters of Massage, Ve Loyce and his team, drained my tired calves and quads and that was perfect so I could run a 10K this Sunday!

Also working hard while having fun, here is the Ballesteros family, Victor, Jena and Lucy, so supportive of our ultra community, associating Victor's passion and gift for ultra running with the design of running equipment, Victory Sportdesign!

It was also a great gathering for our Quicksilver team. Although we had 18 registered, we had a few DNS for various injuries, that late in the season, but we had a very strong show on the men side with 4 women finishing which will get us to score in the three divisions (Men, Women, Mixed). Not to improve our ranking, but for the sake of the Club spirit and running together!

While I'm done with our local USATF Grand Prix for 2014 (what a year again!), I still have three races scheduled this year. I'll run the invitational Desert Solstice 24-hour in December --more on this in a few weeks-- and our traditional Silicon Valley Turkey Trot 10K on Thanksgiving morning, an event which IBM is sponsoring for the 3rd year.

Last, but very much not least, I'll run the Marine Corps Marathon in 2 weeks (crazy me...)! Agnès and I are stopping by DC on our way back from Belize and, being in town and Alex running MCM for the second time, I didn't want to stay on the side line... Thankfully, I was able to get in at the last minute through a fundraising organization, thanks to Michael Wardian's local connections. Although I did support quite a few of these running-related fund raising campaigns, I wasn't sure I'd ever do it myself. Well, that's happening, and I'm very glad to be running for a cause supporting at-risk kids getting an earlier education and programs to exercise, specifically in the Alexandria, VA, area. Incidentally, this is fully in line with the mission of our local Quicksilver Running Club. And with that, I'm calling on your generosity to help us build one more playground in Alexandria. I was going to suggest that even a dollar or two would help but the minimum is $10, I guess micro-credit isn't for the US... ;-) If you are so incline to it, please click on that fund raising page, and thank you very much on behalf of Running Brooke's organization (oh, by the way, nothing to see with Brooks Running, my favorite running shoe brand!). Again, please consider clicking on the images below and donating to: Running Brooke, thank you so much for her and these kids in advance!

Firetrails 50: all stars aligned

No two ultras are alike, that's why many of us, ultra runners. are so addicted to this sport. The course, the terrain, the cumulative elevation, the distance, the weather, the competition, the organization, the size of the field, the aid stations, running with a pacer or not, having a crew or running self-supported, these are a few of the variables. So many stars to align, it's like playing the lottery, you have to keep trying!

With all my travels (Anchorage, Alaska a week ago, Seattle this week and now in the Middle East for two weeks), the only positive thing I did going into this race was tapering. Seattle, and Issaquah in particular, are actually great trail running places, if you don't mind the rain, but I refrain from running any mile this past week. Yet, I was stressed out by the lack of sleep and felt compelled to add to Tim Long's pre-race comments that I had the same excuses as Mark not to perform well (overworked and sleep deprivation in particular). Furthermore, I was stunned when I saw that Dave Mackey had decided to run the race and enter at the last minute. Certainly, having won the past two editions and set a course record last year in 6:19.

We started promptly at 6:30 after listening to Julie (Fingar)'s Race Director briefing. It was still quite dark and a few runners were using headlamps but the first two miles are on a bike path, so it was manageable to run without. Jonathan Gunderson and I were at the front and we were quickly joined by Dave. Dave engaged the conversation in French, which he learned a while ago when he was studying in Maine. We chatted for a while and, as we were approaching the first mile mark, I told Dave I didn't want to slow him down, that he had a course record to work on! Jonathan followed Dave while we engaged into the first hill. One tall and bold runner passed me and followed them. While we were still on the bike path, Chris (Calzetta) caught up with me. If you follow my blog, you will remember my run with Chris at Skyline 50K this August, from start to finish. Chris lives in Monterey and will join our Quick Silver Ultra Running Team for the 2012 season. Speaking of QSURT, we had an amazing participation this weekend with 15 entrants, almost the whole team!

After the first aid station at which we didn't stop, we were joined for a few miles by Sean Curry whom I had met at a Quick Silver training run in San Jose this Spring. It was Sean's first 50-miler and he was therefore running for the Dick Collins Rookie award, although not so hopeful as he had seen in the registrants list many fast runners being rookies at this distance too. Sean was running in Five Fingers and without any bottle which was quite aggressive on a trail 50-mile. Sean ended up running in 8 hours and 8 minutes for 22nd.

We passed Jonathan shortly after Bort Meadow, the 2nd aid station. Going up and down to Big Bear with Chris brought up the good memories of Skyline 50K as this section is common to both races. We passed a few of the early started, some of them calling my name as we were flying in the steep downhill. We then caught up with the tall and bold runner after the Big Bear aid station and chatted before he stopped at the restrooms we pass by when going through the redwoods, one of my favorite sections. Michael Garrison was coming from Honolulu, just for the race, having flown on Friday evening and leaving on Sunday. Arriving into Big Bear Gate aid station, photo credit to Gary Saxton:

Jonathan and Michael passed us again as we were refilling our bottles at Skyline Gate. Jonathan had a very efficient crew (father?) who was allowing him not to stop at aid stations. We passed Michael very close to the aid station as, dazzled by the sun, he had missed the turn and was going to continue on Skyline back to the start... And Chris and I caught up with Jonathan again before the next aid station where he passed us again, before we passed him on the way up to Steam Train. As we were approaching the road crossing, I believe I saw Dave a mile away at a point where we passed 8 minutes later. I thought it was too short of a lead and our pace was way too fast if we were so close to Dave, although it seemed right. We refueled at Steam Train and continued on Skyline to enjoy the wonderful 360-degree view from Mount Diablo on the right to foggy San Francisco on the left. That's where we started crossing the Golden Hills marathoners who had started from our turn around at 9 am. As usual, the race was led by Leor, although I was surprised to see another runner quite close to him in second place in this challenging uphill section. Uphill for the marathoners, downhill for us until the turn around. It was great to get the cheering of the runners we were crossing. As we were approaching the turn around, it was our turn to cross path with Dave. We did as we were 3 hours and 18 minutes in our run and I made a mental note of the spot to check how much lead he had on us.

We did a good stop at the turn around to refuel before the long climb up to Steam Train. Before leaving I told Graham (Cooper, who was supposed to run but had to attend his kids' soccer game later that morning) that I believed Dave was not going to make the record but he thought otherwise. I also saw Garry (Gellin) who is recovering from his great 100-mile debut at the Bear 100 two weeks ago. We then crossed all the other 50-mile runners, jogging most of the uphill with me walking from time to time to catch my breath, to make up for the 18-year gap between Chris and I... Another short stop at Steam Train and down we were, keeping crossing runners. Shortly after the aid station, Chris was ahead and asked me if I wanted to pass; a fraction of a second of inattention on my end in this technical section and, yikes, I felt flat on the ground, sliding on my left arm and leg. It went so fast but I could see my head approaching a rock and I was fortunate to stop just before hitting it, phew! My knee was bleeding and I had other bruises on the shoulder and thigh, but no big shock. The most damage was scratches on the glass of my GPS. This is my second real fall in 27,000 miles I ran over the past 13 years, the first one being at Quad Dipsea a couple of years ago, with no other damage than scratches on another GPS... (Quad Dipsea 2009: chasing too many turkeys...)

We crossed Chuck Wilson who was sweeping on the 50-miler, less than a mile from the Sibley Park aid station. Another short stop and I took the lead on the way down into the canyon with Chris leading on the way up to Skyline Gate. We reached the aid station in 5:08 with about 14 miles to go. We stayed for a minute or so (I took some chicken noodle soup which was great at this point of the race) and we rushed down, picking up the pace, getting our average pace down from bout 8:50 to 8:35 in the next 5 miles, back through the redwoods.

With 2.2 miles to Big Bear, we didn't stop at the small aid station. At this point we were passing quite a few of the marathoners. After a short stop at Big Bear, we went on the last big and serious uphill of the day, the hill which we ran all the way at Skyline 50K. Today though, I had to stop several times to catch my breath but Chris shuffled to wait for me. We crossed Baldwyn who took this picture of me during one of these power walking moments.

After the top, we picked the pace again and didn't stop at Bort Meadows as our goal was to make it under 7:15, my PR of three years ago. Stan Jensen was recording all the bib numbers and thought Chris was my pacer! We passed local runner Christine (Chapon) in the next flat section and she joked that it was insane we were running faster than marathoners. ;-) By the way, Christine is in charge of recruiting volunteers for the North Face challenge at Marin Headlands in December, so please consider helping out (more details online). The last section was changed this year because of the recent weather which washed the trail out so we had to climb up to Pirate Cove which was ok although I, again, had to walk a few times. At the aid station the volunteer (in their cool Pirates outfits) told us there were 4.5 miles to the finish and we had about 30 minutes. Fortunately, the next mile was mainly downhill and we ran it pretty fast, keeping a good pace too in the final miles along Chabot Lake. As we were approaching the finish area, I told Chris it was his turn to cross the line first, which he refused. We crossed in the same second, me staying just behind, happy to take third today in 7:02:55, slashing my PR on this course by almost 13 minutes! Not bad for 50 miles with about 9,200 feet of cumulative elevation. A big thank to Chris for the mutual pacing and emulation. With this first Firetrails under his belt, Chris can now aim at a sub 7 and chasing Dave more aggressively next time, he definitely has the potential!

Dave took first of course but, experiencing some stomach issues and lacking serious competition to push the envelope, ran slower than last year with a 6:34. Yet, that makes three wins in a row. Galen Burrell won the marathon. He passed Leor at mile 11 and, not feeling well, Leor dropped at mile 20. Leor won the past 4 editions in 3:19, 3:16, 3:15 and 3:06:39 last year. Galen improved Leor's course record by mere 3 seconds! Here are Dave and Galen:

Thanks to co-Race Director and UltraSignup founder and owner, Mark Gilligan, results were promptly posted online:

Great BBQ at the finish, amazing finisher schwag and custom age group awards, with the perfect weather and NorCal Ultras' super professional organization, it was the perfect ultra party for all.

Toshi took 5th in 7:28 Pierre-Yves placed 8th with a 7:39 PR. Fearing not to make the top 10 for the first time in many years, Mark placed 12th indeed. Bree lost some time after going of course and took 3rd overall.

Vespa worked very well again. I took 5 GUs, a few pieces of banana and brownies, and some chips, but not much overall, plus one small cup of soup. I stayed right on target on the GU2) with one bottle every 15 miles. I could (read: should) have drunk more water to avoid a few cramps. Took a bit more S!Caps to be on the safe side after my crash at Rio Del Lago, although the temperature was just perfect this Saturday.

As for the shoes, I had not heard about the rain which washed the trails out last week while I was in Seattle and took a big risk running in the brand new light and flat PureConnect but it worked perfectly too (see my review of this model). Jonathan was wearing the PureGrit which are ideally designed for the trails with more grip.

A big thank you to the volunteers who included many familiar faces, many experience ultra runners which is a great plus. I had my first 50 mile here, taking the Rookie award in 2006, what 5 years that has been. I felt I knew 1 runner out of 3 or 4, it is becoming so familiar to run these local races. It was my 4th Fire Trails, 16th 50-miler and 65th ultra. And one of my most enjoyable experience, the perfect alignment of stars that you keeping running after... The ultra bug...

Although I didn't run with my camera like I did last year (the ultra digithon), you can find a few pictures from the finish in my Picasa album.

I wrote this post on a 15-hour flight, talk to you next time from somewhere in the Middle East, hoping to get some runs in, and some heat training at least which I'll save for next year (just kidding...)!

PS: ran 9 miles on Sunday morning before my flight, and a half marathon at midnight upon getting into Dubai (86F/30C and 66% humidity...): the ultra season goes on!

FireTrails 50 2010: ultra digithon!

 

I'm writing this post from the plane to White Plains, NY, with stop in  Denver and Chicago, actually starting these lines as we are passing a few thousands feet at the vertical of the FireTrails 50-mile course; which brings back the good memories of another great edition of this favorite ultra event in the Bay Area, created and directed to this year by ultra legends and "speedsters" Ann Trason and Carl Andersen.

During the week I told Pierre-Yves that, despite being our team match with Tamalpa in the ultra Grand Prix, I was not going to push too hard this time for several reasons:

1. First, with a lot of racing these past 4 weeks, great performances and pushing for speed (3rd at Rio del Lago 100-mile, first overall at Trailblazer 10K and 3rd Masters at the Rock'n'Roll San Jose half-marathon);
2. Second, another series of short nights because of hectic work and other family activities. By the way, Agnès is recovering amazingly well according to her doctor, although she wished it would go even faster;
3. Last but not least, as I wrote last week, I had checked the competition and felt it was really out of reach to place or get much points this time.

With that I decided that I would carry a camera during my run, something I had never done in a competition before but that bloggers Scott Dunlap or Chihping Fu for instance are famous for. I thought that would be the best way --or excuse!-- not to get caught up in a fast start, have an even more enjoyable run and share views of everybody. If you cannot read the full race report, you can jump right to my Picasa photo album. I you did run Firetrails this year and cannot find your picture, it may be because you were in the bushes at the time our paths crossed... ;-)

The check-in process was very fast thanks to Ann mailing all the bibs 2 weeks before the race. Many local runners and known faces for friendly connections and exchanges in the busy picnic area. 5 minutes before the start, Carl gave us the Race Director briefing with quite some humor and encouragements to enjoy the beautiful day. Indeed, the dark sky was clear of clouds and temperatures were announced around 75F in the afternoon. At the start however, I felt chilly as usual and even started with two layers and Moeben sleeves (photo credit: Karl Hoagland).

Our RhoQuick (Rhomobile / Quicksilver) team was very well represented this Saturday: Gary, Sean, Toshi, Mark, Bree, Pierre-Yves, Amy, Keith (Adam injured his foot again earlier in the week and was a no-show). Gary started off with the top runners, Dave Mackey, Leigh Schmit, Victor Ballesteros and a few others. One minute in the run, Chikara Omine passed us. He wasn't on the entrants list and, to follow his own tradition, registered a few minutes before the start! I ran the first miles with teammates Sean, Mark and Toshi, whose race was the first 50-miler (FireTrails has a nice rookie award for first timers which I got back in 2006).

I missed a picture of the first aid station crew at Marciel Road (sorry guys), but was ready for the second one at Bort Meadow, where Stan Jensen could not believe I was carrying that camera. I replied "It's picture day!" and passed through the aid station without stopping as I was carrying two bottles and had plenty of fluids left.

A few miles later we started passing some of the early starters (5:30 start) and I stopped and turned to take a shot of each of them, the FireTrails "project" was on! For one, I stepped backward and almost felt off the trail, scaring of the runner I was taking a shot of, and me too... I did not stop at Big Bear Gate either (mile 10.5) except to take a picture (of course) and give an accolade to the other "Mr. Pommier" (on the right in the picture below) who I first met at the same aid station 4 years ago (his family came to the US from Belgium a few generations ago).

AI passed a few other early starters after Bear Gate and it was time to put the camera back in its pouch to push in the hill up Skyline Gate and enjoy the magnificient redwoods. After a picture of the aid station crew, I made my first stop (mile 15) to drink a cup of Coke, take a GU and a piece of banana. Stevens Creek Strider Dennis wisely said that, if I didn't need to take on his offer to fill up my bottles, it was because I was not drinking enough. Indeed, my water bottle was still pretty full and I had some GU2O left too, and read on what happened later...

I did not stop at Sibley Park either except to take a picture, then passed Sean on our way up to Steam Trains (mile 21.7). Second stop, this time to refill my GU2O bottle.

While I was running up the road after Steam Trains, I saw a runner flying on the way back and could not believe it was Dave Mackey already. Indeed, it was not, but Leor Pantilat on his way to winning the marathon (other race starting at our turnaround). I did not have time to get the camera ready and decided that I was not going to take a picture of all the marathoners (sorry guys and gals), except for Caren Spore who was leading the woman race:

A few miles down the fire trail to Tilden Park, we stay on the ridge with breathtaking views on both sides (Oakland, San Francisco, the Golden Gate, Mount Diablo, etc.).

I passed Thomas Reiss who was having a bad day. Actually, I was not feeling good either as my intestine was really hurting but at least we were going down and I was getting excited at the prospect of getting the camera ready again to resume my picture project as we were approaching the turnaround and going to cross the lead runners. One of the marathon runners told us that I thought we were in 8th and 9th positions. I crossed Dave about 2 miles from the turn around and he was moving fast despite the uphill grade.

He was followed quite closely by Chikara who was having a great day. Leigh was third and Gary fourth. Gary proudly said "look, 4 guys under the course record pace!"

Yes, that was definitely a fast year. Victor was a few minutes behind. I reached the turn around (Lone Oak picnic area) in 9th after having stopped to take a picture of all the other runners. I was welcomed by the joyful and colorful Rajeev and Anil, who filled my bottle water, and John Medinger who was recording our splits ("Tropical" John is the Publisher of Ultrarunning Magazine and Race Director of the grueling Quad Dipsea). I left to John my sleeves and my second layer which I had removed on my way up to Sibley Park as the heat was picking up. The temperature was actually very nice with some breeze, just getting hot when running up hill.

Sean and Toshi were still close behind and I thought they will catch me in the long up hill back to Steam as I was stopping for every 50-miler runner I was now crossing. It became an interesting stop-fix-snap-check-go exercise for the next 6 miles. A good way to catch my breath on the way up, but definitely breaking the pace on the few down hills of the ridge. Nevertheless, so enjoyable to catch so many smiles and expressions of surprise of runners who were not expecting a photo shoot from a lead runner! ;-) When going through Steam Trains again, I went around the station to make sure I didn't miss any runner and quickly continued on the trail just after picking one more S!Cap and a GU.

Sean caught up with me after the station and I let him pass as I was still stopping to take shots of the back of the pack. Once I thought I was done and stored my camera, I picked up the pace again and passed Sean just to find out that there were still a few runners going up to Steam Trains, for whom I got the camera back to work. After that, I passed Lee and Winnie (Jebian) before Sibley Preserve, stopped at the aid station to get y water bottle filled with ice water (cool!) and went on, running most of the hill up to Skyline Gate and passing a few marathon runners. At this point, the intestine pain was bearable but I was evidently suffering from dehydration. As a matter of fact, focused on the picture game and running with the camera in one hand, I was not paying as much attention to fluid intake as usual, for a pace which was still quite fast. Thankfully, apart from the hill after Bear Gate, there isn't too many difficulties after Skyline Gate, although all the runners will tell you that the finish is definitely not flat, especially after having run 40 miles!

I experienced a big low in the hill up to Bort Meadows for which I alternately walked and jogged. Thank to drinking much more after Sibley Preserve, I was able to pick up the pace on the rolling section to Bort Meadows and after, with a pace oscillating between 8 and 9 minutes/mile. In the flat section after Bort Meadows, I passed this tall black guy who was yelling and smashing the bushes. Thankfully, he stayed on the side of the trail and I did not stop to take a picture, way too risky! I was told at the finish that he was hallucinating and a runner managed to get him to leave the trail and collected by the local Police. John and Carl were joking about which other unexpected event may occur in the next race... It is so hard to plan for everything with that many runners out in the wilderness for a day...

Still working on fixing my hydration, I got more ice water in my bottle. Stan teased me and asked for another picture but the game was over, I was now focusing on finishing in a good time in case we still had a chance against Tamalpa as I did not know how the lead runners did. I stopped for a few seconds at Bass Cove just to take a picture, thanking the volunteers and yelling my bin number as I was exiting the station. 4 years ago, this is the point where Rob Evans caught up with me then passed me with 2 miles to go. I was determined to run and push to the finish now, which I did, even getting the pace below 7 minute/mile on the bike path.

I crossed the finish line taking a picture of the finish area, in 7:25:59 for 9th and 4th Masters. Dave Mackey won in a blazing 6:16, improving the course record that Carl was owning since 1994 of 6:26! And Dave is now 40, so good luck to all the future Masters to beat that. And don't count on me... ;-) Chikara took second with a no less amazing time of 6:23. Then Gary who had passed Leigh, and Victor who was the 5th runner finishing under 7 hours (another record I believe).

After such an effort, we had the pleasure to enjoy the famous Firetrails Café, with its grill, salads, soup and abundant table of delicious desserts (I must have missed them the previous years).

Great time to catchup with the ultra running community and my teammates as Sean, Toshi and Mark arrived within the next 20 minutes. Bree won the woman race in 8:03 and Pierre-Yves finished soon after. Despite an great time of 7:37 for his first 50-miler, Toshi missed the Dick Collins Rookie award by a mere two spots.

A special tribute to all the volunteers with a collage of their pictures, from the check-in, to the aid stations, the Firetrails café and finish tables (time keeping, awards and goody bags), not to forget the famous race directors.[Click on the picture to enlarge.]

7:45 in 2006, 7:15 in 2008, 7:25 and 350 pictures in 2010, I will be back for another Firetrails party! I cannot believe that it has been only 4 years since I ran my first 50-milers, it seems much longer. My big lesson of this Saturday is that taking more than 350 pictures during a race does slow you down (if you count 2 seconds per picture, that makes almost 12 minutes, but that's probably even optimistic). But the real trick is to keep listening to your body and fueling accordingly. This I need to work on if I wish to persevere in the ultra digithon area... ;-)

By the way, it is not the first year but I heard the rumor that Ann and Carl may turn the page of this long 18-year string of race directing this race. In any case, long life to Firetrails and this Bay Area ultra running tradition, and a special occasion to thank you, Ann and Carl, for having set it up and made it live for 18 years already, in honor and memory of Dick Collins!

PS: Again, check my Picasa photo album (330 pictures) to see you favorite runner or volunteer, and many many happy faces! ;-) And I apologize to the folks from Printroom as I had decided to run this digital photo project before I knew they would also cover the event. Needless to say, their pictures will be of much higher quality so, per Ann and Carl's letter, please visit their website (www.firetrails50.printroom.com) and buy a souvenir from them.