Quad Dipsea: we all did it!

For the ones in a hurry or who prefer pictures over narration, you can jump to my online Picasa photo album with comments, photo credit to Agnès (and special thanks for her patience this Saturday!). For the others, here is my race report...
I was thinking of "He did it!" for the title of this post, to capture Erik's feat but, in retrospective, it is more important to say that we all made this special Thanksgiving ultra celebration. From cheering, crewing, volunteering, running, walking, crawling, flying or hopping over the stairs and roots, we were several hundreds to come on the famous Dipsea trail for this 26th edition of Quad Dipsea. And, even if we did not make to the front page, we all either did it (to the finish) or witness a big thing in the Dipsea history...

Pre-race

The days of November leading to the race have been quite buzzy. First my pitiful run at Helen Klein 50-mile with something which resembled more to a pulmonary edema than another asthma crisis. Then a minor surgery on the 5th which ruled out a tumor as the cause of the hematuria of last August after Headlands 50K. 2 weeks of rest afterward where I focused on core and static leg musculation work. Like before Western States, I did many series of sitting with my back against the wall, totalling 85 minutes. A good preparation for the ups and downs of Quad Dipsea. As I told you last week I resumed training 10 days ago and did a good and tough 29-mile QD test last weekend. Some speed work at the track on Tuesday with Bob, a reasonably fast run on Wednesday, under the rain in case we had rain during the race.

On Thursday, I joined my club mates, the Striders, for our annual and fun Thanksgiving Turkey Trot Relays at De Anza College. Max was volunteering at the much more official, crowded and faster Turkey Trot runs in San Jose so I was the only representant from the family this year. (Photo credit of Turkey Trot pictures: Peter Hargreaves.)
Our relays consisted in teams of 3, each of us running 4 300-meter legs on the track. To increase the training, I didn't follow the rule of crossing the field to go to the next relay start but jogged the 200 meters around the track making it 10 laps (Mike, here are the maths: 300 meters for each 3/4 lap relay leg + 200 meters to get to the next start = 500 meters x 4 times for each relay x 2 relays = 4,000 meters or 10 laps! ;-).
Needless to say, I enjoyed the speed on such short distances and first teaming up with Andrew and Angus Beeston, then Angus and his sister, we won the two rounds/relays. Here am I, adopted by the Beeston family! Will my third citizenship be Aussie?? ;-)
Between this late training sessions, two nights under 5 hours, one because of work and one to get up for the insane Black Friday tradition (we showed up at 5:30 am at Office Depot, missed the sale to end up purchasing a new computer at Fry's in the afternoon, at the regular price; so I believe Black Friday works for retailers indeed...). Anyway, quite relaxed without the pressure of having to score to win our USA T&F ultra Grand Prix this year, I was quite relaxed and enjoyed 7 hours of sleep the night before the race. Pierre-Yves stopped by our house and Agnès drove us to the start which was also a great way to alleviate the stress of getting to the start line in Mill Valley. On our way we made the classic pit-stop at the view point right after the Golden Gate, and saw Dave Combs (ultra list and omni present ultra volunteer) and Steve Patt (from Stevens Creek Software and a Quad Dipsea veteran).

What a difference for me compared to 2006! Two years ago, I was a 50-miler rookie at Fire Trails and got a free entry in Quad Dipsea as part of the Dick Collins Rookie award package. I barely knew a handful of runners and was quite intimidated. This year's Quad Dipsea was my 30th ultra race and I really feel part of the local community, with many faces being familiar, from the runners to their crew and the volunteers. Yet, I remain excited like a kid when I have the opportunity to meet ultra elites like the Ashland, Oregon gang (Kyle, Erik, Jenn this weekend, or Hal Koerner at this year's Fire Trails) and Tony Krupicka again. This young and cool guys, with long leds and ultra endurance, how inspiring!

The race
I was in 2nd row on the starting line, just behind Erik, and I reached the beginning of the stairs in 10th or 12th position. With the other front runners, we ran most of the first series of stairs. Jenn (Shelton) passed me half way up the hundreds stairs, hopping from step to step like a gazelle. In the last section of the stairs, each step has a plaque commemorating people and families associated to the history of this famous trail. I recognized a few names from the running community and I found this touching and motivating. As a matter of fact, I don't remember noticing these plaques during my first Quad Dipsea two years ago, nor my three previous Double Dipsea so maybe this section has been "remodeled" recently.

I passed Jenn before the top and she passed me at the end of the road section as she was flying before we got back on the trail.

At the Cardiac aid station, I got a boost with the encouragements from my fellow club mates, the Striders. Chuck (Wilson) took care of my only request: a cup of water (I was carrying enough GUs for the whole race, and a pouch to refill my GU2O bottle at the first return to Mill Valley).

The section from Cardiac to Stinson Beach is my favorite, with a variety of trails, blazing views over the Ocean and the coast, and a nice downhill to the beach, where the Double Dipsea starts from. My GPS was showing 6.4 miles when I crossed Erik on his first way back to Mill Valley and encouraged him on his quest for the course record (sorry, Carl...). Based on the fact that the course is given for more than 7.1 miles, I thought "Geez, he already put me 1.4 miles!" However, my GPS had the turnaround at 6.8 miles so that made only a 0.8 mile lead. Still... I was in 5th position at the turnaround and just under the hour (59 minutes). Feeling good although a bit concerned not to see Victor (Ballesteros) and Roy (Rivers) in front of me to name a few. Two years ago my splits where 59-63-67-71 so I thought the pace was OK.

I felt good on the way back. I passed Tim (Knudsen, from Denmark) and almost caught up with Fritz who was in third place in the technical section after the Cardiac AS (quite a few roots and slippery switch backs). Tim negotiated the stairs better than me (not my strength indeed), so I reached the Mill Valley turnaround still in 5th and in 2:01 (I ran Double Dipsea in 2001, 2002 and 2003 with a PR of 1:59 in my third. Unfortunately, between volunteering as the Captain of Last Chance aid station since 2004 or running Western States in 2007, I have missed the race since, because of the conflicting date).

Among Agnès' picture series, one which I particularly like is this one from Erik where you can see him leaving Stinson Beach for the second time, under three hours, and rushing out before his cup of water even touched the ground. When every second counts in an ultra...

On the third leg, I walked more steps than in the first one. Not too far from the start I saw Roy Rivers and I thought my lead on him will not resist for long. I kept pushing the pace, trying to stay close to Tim alternating the lead on our way up to the Cardiac AS for the third time. At Cardiac I found Leor (Pantilat) who had run in 2nd for the first two legs but was not feeling good at all (dizzy and cold), with the volunteers now advising him not to drop and keep on for the last 1.5 legs. I first met Leor at the finish of Fire Trails in October after he won the Golden Hills Trail Marathon and set a new course record. Leor followed me for a mile or so but it is another runner who reached the Stinson Beach turnaround with me. I was pleased to see Graham (Cooper) volunteering and Stan (Jensen) told me I was doing great (3:06, as opposed to the 3:01 reported in the splits published as of this Sunday night in the results sheet; with special thanks to John and Stan for the prompt publish!). Agnès was there of course but, unless the first time at the turnaround, Kyle and Anton had already left the station to rush to Mill Valley to see Erik's finish.

Except for some walking in steep stairs and uphill sections, the last leg was eventless as I maintained my third position until the end. Seeing Chris Hauth closing the gap on me before the last descent into Mill Valley, I thought he may catch up in the stairs like this hectic finish two years ago when Jasper (Halekas) passed me in the very last stairs and we finished 4th and 5th, 1 second apart! I crossed the finish line in 4:19:19, one minute and 32 seconds faster than in 2006. Farther Faster, yeah! Still, an impressive 27 minutes and 3 seconds slower than Erik who, finally, did beat Carl's record by merely 13 seconds! 16 years later... Like Erik told me "close but feeling much better being on this side of the record!" (Erik was referring to his first attempt, last year, when he missed the record by 48 seconds).

Although Erik is today's hero, Carl remains the King of Quad Dipsea for me, for so much consistency in the nineties. And, if anything else, his Masters' Course Record of 3:57 seems very safe to me (when I think that I am 20 years older than Erik, I feel old... But Roy Rivers did beat me in 2006 at age 49 and today's oldest runner was 82, so age is not the main factor. Still, long legs do help, and I have short ones, oops! ;-).

The other hero of the day should have been Fritz. For his first Quad Dipsea, Fritz took second overall, in 4:15:28, a time similar to Michael Buchanan's win in 2006 (4:15:25). But Fritz is still unknown in our local ultrarunning community. He won the San Jose marathon in October in 2:37 while fighting cancer. Two weeks ago, I informed John about this amazingly inspiring story which you can read here: He is beating cancer and winning marathons. When I reached the finish line, Fritz was resting under the tent, with a friend, but apart from the excitement reigning among the crowd around the finish line. I could not find the words to approach him so I hope to see him again in races to touch base and catch up. Like for Tom Kaisersatt who is also battling cancer, ran Quad Dipsea 10 times and came to the start to encourage his son who was running this Saturday: keep it up, guys!

Runners kept coming in, Suzanna Bon finishing first in the female division, after Jenn dropped at the Mill Valley turnaround. Suzanna was wearing Brooks' Cascadias and hope to join me into the Brooks Inspire Daily group. With 3 overall win in 100-milers over the past 18 months, she well deserves this recognition and support. As for me, I ran in Trance this time, which I thought was a better choice on the stairs and dirt sections, despite the lack of the Cascadia's grip on the few slippery sections.

GPS-wise, my Garmin 205 Forerunner indicated 27.11 miles at the end, versus the "advertized" 4x7.1=28.4 miles. Although I did not verify it, I'm sure the count of steps is correct (4x671=2684); but the mileage is almost impossible to check with a measuring wheel, on such a convoluated course. As for the cumulative elevation, SportTracks reported +7,278/-7,323 feet versus the disclosed +/-9,300 feet, but I concede the Forerunner is not the best instrument to measure this data given the resulting simplified elevation chart below:
Also the elevation/time graph shows that I did slow down in the second part but not too much:

Before closing this race report, special thanks to the volunteers, especially my club mates, the Striders, who saw and helped close to 1,000 runners at the Cardiac aid station (237 starters, 4 times). The management of the race was as great as usual and the perfect weather brought the final touch to a wonderful "ultra" Thanksgiving celebration.

So, it is now certain, with this new age group win, I am extending my lead in the Pacific Association USA T&F Mountain Ultra Trail Grand Prix, M40-49 age group, winning for the second year in a row. It has been a big fight with Mark (Tanaka) and a long race season which I am happy to see ending (10 full months since last January's Coastal Challenge in Costa Rica, 14 ultra races and 7 sub-ultra ones!). And I look forward to as much competition next year... Farther, faster...
PS: again, don't miss my Picasa album with Agnès' pictures augmented with my comments (and let me know if there are inaccuracies or missing info/names)!

Helen Klein 50 miles: easy out, tough back

Anyone who has run this race will understand the title easily. For the others, here is what it is about: the three races, 30K, 50K and 5 miles, start from the same place, the Cavitt middle school of Granite Bay, CA, North of Sacramento. The course is 98% bike path so a lot of asphalt and pounding. But more importantly, we follow the American River, first on its way to the Bay, so slightly down, then back to Folsom Lake and the dam, with a gradual 25-mile uphill. Nothing as brutal as in many other ultras where we climb thousands of feet, just 400 feet over 25 miles. Nothing as dramatic as the elevation diagram reported by the Garmin 301 shows below, with a disproportionate 400 feet total elevation:But enough to kill your legs and rhythm on such a road race. It's like going with the current for 25 miles, and against it for the other 25. Back to the title, it's then easy to start fast, and hit the wall on the way back. So did I.

Getting there

Like last year, I met with my car pooling angel, Scott Dunlap for a 3:30am start from the intersection of 280 and 92 . Great way to catch-up with the blog guru, with captivating discussions about business, blogging, running, family, and a smooth ride getting us at Cavitt school by 5:30am. Welcomed by some familiar faces, both on the runners and volunteers sides, although this is somehow a different running community than the Bay Area. Race Director, Norm Klein, went on with his half serious, half humorous pre-race briefing at 6:30. Unfortunately I missed part of it, needing to use the bathroom. Already (see below). We then all headed up to the start, on the levee, in the dark but with a wonderful sky switching from dark and bright stars at 5:30 to a colorful sun rise, announcing a warm day.

The start

Something new for me this year, the race started right on time. Last year, Scott and I, and several others, missed the start which was given 4 minutes ahead of the official time (7am). On the starting line, I had the pleasure to see Mark Lantz who I first met at this race a year ago, as he was getting on my heels by the last station and we were both cramping and pushing to finish under 7 hours. And since then, in other events but not since Western States in June. Actually he was lined up on the 30K due to Achilles tendon injury. Top performers from last year (Michael Buchanan, Jon Olsen and Mark Tanaka) were not here so Michael Kanning and Scott told me it was going to be my race. On the way to Granite Bay in the morning, Scott also told me about how impressed he was with Michael's improvement since his first 100K at Ruth Anderson in April, and first 100-miler at Rio del Lago in September. And that he had a chance to break his age group American record on 50 miles. And, indeed, off we are, me following Mark at a 6:10 minute/mile pace and Michael on my side.

Down the river

Despite a few seconds lost at each aid station, I was still averaging 6:22 by mile 15, at the 50K turnaround. I was running by myself in the lead, when my intestine started to complain and call for a pause. Finally stopped by the bathrooms at mile 19.5 for 3 long minutes, hoping that will do it. But I had to stop 5 more times after this one, losing precious minutes responding to nature's calls... I reached the 25-mile turnaround aid station just below 2:49, quite fast indeed.

Back to school

As I told the nice crew at the turnaround aid station, this is where the fun begins. To my surprise, the first runner I saw on the way back was Scott who, as a true reporter, stopped to take a picture of me. He was followed by Nick Bingham and Jason Dashow. I passed the marathon mark in 2:58 and kept going when not stopping at the bathrooms. By mile 30 or so I started walking from time to time, slowing enough for Nick and Jason to catch me, I believe around mile 34. Jason had his crew waiting for him and stopped to see them. I kept up with Nick for half a mile at a 7:20 pace, then losing him by mile 40 although I could see him in the distance from time to time. By mile 46.5 I caught him up, we ran together for half a mile, then I lost him again, conceding almost 5 minutes in the last three miles. Like last week at Whiskeytown, another second place, in 6:22:38. Or 30 minutes faster than last year when I got killed by some exercise-induced asthma, and enough of "faster" for this year. I was hoping for 6:15, that will be for next year.

I didn't know Nicholas and was surprised to discover yet another fast runner on such a race. A quick search on Zinsli's website shows that there is no shame losing to him: sub 18 hours Western States and 2:31 marathon! But just 4 races in the database over 5 years: there is still some mystery here... Maybe just not used to run in California, living in Reno.

After recovering for a few minutes, I went outside to welcome Scott whom I believe to be close behind. But Jason came first (3rd overall), in 6:38:48. Amazing time for a rookie on this distance! Jason getting to the finish line, "all wired":

As for Scott, as you can read in his race report, he struggled at the end but managed to break 7 hours on his 3rd participation to this event, finally! By 33", yeah! Congratulations, Scott!
Being part of the Brooks Inspire Daily program, I was excited to see Carol Rewik winning the 50-mile race, and wearing Brooks from head to toe! Carol belongs to a running team in Vacaville, sponsored by Brooks. Look at this picture taken right after her finish: doesn't she appear as fresh as after a 5K?

Lesson to be learned from the experience? Any reasonable runner will likely tell me I violated the very first commandment of running, i.e. pacing. Yes and no. First I enjoyed looking at how long I could sustain the 6:20 pace, not having to hold up, enjoy the present moment. Second, there is no way you set records if you are not bullish and bold right from the start. Third, the first part is easier so this isn't a course for a negative split. No, the main lesson is that I drunk a large bowl of chocolate milk at breakfast, when I should rather stick to tea on race days. Ahh, my love for chocolate... As for the shoes, I used light ones, the Brooks Racer ST, which I usually wear for races ranging from 10K to marathon. Might have been a bit too light for a double marathon.

Post-race buzz

Although the attendance is low, and the finishes very spread over the day between the three events, the fact that we gather in the school gymnasium after the race creates some animation. First there is the Thanksgiving dinner which, to be honest, I was not in good enough shape to enjoy, although it was important to refuel after such an effort and losing so much salt.

Great age group award handed over by Norm.

Then, as the dust settled on the 50-mile results, the final ranking of the ultrarunner.net 2007 series were proclaimed: Peter Lubers beating Scott Dunlap by less than 1% over 5 races:

I was the occasion to finally met Peter and all his family in person, after "meeting" through or on our blogs this year.

I couldn't leave without thanking Norm and getting some motivation out of a brief chat with the famous, illustrious and inspirational Helen Klein:

Helen, 84, had run the 30K in the morning. "Just 30K this time" she said modestly... Helen holds the world record for her age group on marathon, 50 miles and 12-hour. And other US records on ultra distances. See her amazing running history.

Almost 70 years separate her from a rising local legend, Michael, below with his father:
Michael, 15, lives in Los Altos and had seen my boys' names, Max and Alex, in local cross-country results (Max and his team are running the Central Coast Section finals this coming Saturday). But, with 3-mile course, cross-country is really too short for Michael!

And, to conclude, the ultra "People" section! Norm was wearing his Western States buckle. Mark (Lantz) had won the 30K easily in the morning setting a new course record at a blistering 1:59:21. He was coming back to the gymnasium to welcome Rena (Schumann) at her finish on the 50-mile, winning the Masters division. Then Erik Skaden stopped by too. Erik is a top US ultra runner and a 2 times 2nd place finisher at Western States (the "Raymond Poulidor" of Western States, for the Tour de France connoisseurs) . We were quite in good "ultra" company this weekend! Not to mention several rookies on the 50-mile who enjoyed the perfect organization, weather, course and aid stations. And all the valorous runners on the three distances. And the volunteers, most of them being ultra runners themselves, out there for so many hours.

After this post-race activities, it was time for Scott and I to drive back to the Bay, and for me to pack-up once again, have a quick dinner with the family before jumping on a red-eye for Boston to attend the TPSA advisory board and fall summit. Yes, running is only my second job... ;-)

A quick picture with the nice trophy (1st Masters), same as last year (note the red eyes before the red-eye... ;-):
A big thank you to the Kleins for this ultra event! Long life to such an inspiring couple!

Whiskeytown 50K: F as in...

F as in...

A strange title, isn't? This week I was attending the 10th Business Rules Forum for ILOG, in Orlando, Florida. Between the time spent on the plane or in the hotel, such business trips provides opportunity to read newspapers I'm not used to at home. On Thursday, one article caught my attention Personal Best - Keeping The Gauge Off 'E' (E as in Empty). Or maybe it was the nice pair of legs next to it, illustrating an article on fashion and lingerie, in the ThursdayStyles section... Anyway, it was indeed an article on running, the NYTimes getting geared toward the upcoming big weekend of the New York Marathon (November 4), preceded by the US Olympics Marathon Trials on Saturday 3rd, gathering la crème de la crème of US marathoners in Central Park.

The article was actually nice, about the need to pace yourself, not a bad advice when you have 38,000 runners on the starting line of such event. A side column, 26 Miles of 'Om', included some tips from champions such as Meb Keflezhighi, Rod Dixon, Bill Rodgers. But the one I liked the best was this paragraph:

KATE O’NEILL, a member of the 2004 United States Olympic 10,000-meter team who this month ran her first marathon in Chicago’s heat, managing a 2:36:15. “I had a fifth-grade teacher who loved alliterations and encouraged us to use them as much as possible. So my mantra is ‘fun, fast, fluid and focused.’”

Fun, fast, fluid and focused, you see where my F as in... is coming from!

F as in... flying and freedom

Let's get back to the Whiskeytown 50K. It was the first time I was running this race so, on the starting line, I told Bev (Anderson-Abbs) we just have to follow her as she is so fast and almost local (from Red Bluff, about 35 miles South of Redding, Redding being 15 miles from the start at Whiskeytown Lake). Ron (Gutierrez) was there too. The race starts on the road for 1 mile and road racing is my specialty so I took the lead right off the start after exchanging a few words with Ron who was delighted with the colorful autumnal leaves. Flying like on this picture at mile 20, getting separated from your shadow, the key difference between running and walking:

F as in... feline

Around mile 6 I had the joy to see a bobcat. He was walking up the hill and I was running light enough so he didn't see me approaching from behind. I was less than 50 ft away when he finally heard me and ran off. Maybe not in fun way for him, but surely fast and fluid!

F as in... food and fluids

Not Kate O'Neil's fluid way to run. Or the one you can experience in the runner's high, which I did for instance from mile 16 to 18, flying down. But the various drinks so essential to maintaining your form through out such a long and strenuous exercise. I decided to run with one bottle, with my favorite lemon GU2O. Taking water and Coke and filling in the bottle with water at each aid station. Of course this dilutes the ideal proportion of the electrolyte so I carried with me a bag of powder (2 spoons) from which Agnès put half in my bottle at the 12-mile aid station and the other half at 20 miles. Was it enough electrolyte? If not, does that explain the nausea I experienced hiking up the Mill Creek trail between mile 21 and 23?

As for the food (yet another F as in...), I took 1 piece of banana, 1 GU and 1 S-cap every hour. And some potato chips at mile 20. On the low side for an ultra, but trying to hand as shortly as possible in aid stations.

F as in... fatigue and fear

I had no strategy to race against anyone but me here. Even if Mark Lantz would have shown up, I would have let him go ahead if he wanted to do so. Like some others, I read with amusement the suspense of the final match between Mark (Tanaka) and Ron at the end of Firetrails 50-mile: Early Halloween Horrors at Firetrails 50 (a must read! ;-). I took the lead without thinking, like I did at Skyline 50K. Like I was on my own, like it was an intense training run.
By mile 20, I was still on a 8:07 minute/mile pace, enough to match last year's course record set by Hal Koerner, who won Western States this year. And, looking at the course profile before the race, I thought the toughest was behind us in terms of climb. What was I thinking?

Getting in the 20-mile aid station then (Tower House Historic District), Agnès tells me Ron was 4 minutes behind me at mile 13 (aid station #3). I said "ouch!" and she asked "isn't it a lot?" I replied it was nothing on such a long race and ran off, after leaving my gloves, buff, and ZombieRunner's Moeben sleeves to her.

At the start, race director John Luaces told us that the creek was low this year so we shouldn't get our feet wet. Or maybe did he say or mean, not too wet. Anyway, between aid station 1 and 2, we had to cross a creek 3 or 4 times and I indeed managed to keep my feet dry, losing a couple of seconds at each crossing. Right below the 3rd aid station (mile 12.8) I slipped in the creek though; I was hoping we were done with creek crossing, not my favorite part of trail running in general and Way Too Cool in particular. And, indeed, no more water until... mile 21 for this infamous Mill Creek trail. Is it 20 or more epic crossings over one mile? I was not counting, but I'd say definitely more than 15. Some where you could barely see the trail on the other side and had to jump through bushes. A barely runnable section. However, I feel we were lucky with the weather, as I can't imagine how harder this section must be under pouring rain, which must happen often at this season given the proximity with Oregon and some nearby mountains.

Pretty much following Mark Tanaka's story, I was then taken by the fear of seeing Ron rushing on me as I was struggling restarting the machine after each crossing. To add to the fear, I was feeling a bit tired but more importantly, really nauseous. In the last mile before the 6th aid station at Boulder Creek Trail, I walked and jog, thinking of Tim Twietmeyer's advice: "if you get sick, get sick!"(see my Western States training camp write-up). I was thinking of making me throw-up and decided to wait for after the coming aid station. Which was wise as the nausea disappeared in the final duel with Ron. So the nausea might have just been caused by some sea sickness caused by going back and forth on the short switchbacks. Sea sickness which I'm subject to on boats, enjoying firm ground much more than water and sea. Sea sickness, likely not something which came in trail ultra running discussions before!

F as in... fight and frustration

Here we are, mile 24.5 and losing the lead to Ron who barely stopped at the aid station as I was trying out what to do to fix the nausea. And 7 hilly miles to go. Plus Bev who I imagined close behind us, although Ron said there was a guy coming 1 minute or so behind him (Agnès told me later that Patrick Dellapace and Ron were indeed together at mile 20).

A section of the race which shown my lack of training over the past two months. Some cramps were coming like at Skyline 50K, but it was more the lack of mental toughness which was letting me lose ground to Ron on the uphills. And catching up on the downhills, to the point I caught him at the final aid station at mile 28. Although I could see him in a distance, I lost 1 minute and a half in the final uphill, which I couldn't make up in the final 2 miles down to the lake and marina. 1'25" between us at the finish, and Bev 1'31" behind me, that was quite a close finish and we all benefited from some pull or push from each other. Exchanging some of our frustrations with Bev:

23-year old Patrick DellaPace came fourth, 50" before Alan Abbs who smashed his personal best on this course. See the complete results on the SWEAT web site. Below are the top 5 finishers at the start, from right to left: Ron (1st overall, bib #6, white cap and top), Alan (5th) and Bev (3rd) Abbs running for Team Sunsweet, me (2nd) and Patrick (4th, bib #24):

In retrospective I'm ashamed to be frustrated with such a result. Especially as I had no precise goal, so it's frustration against dreams which got formed during the run, once everything was going fine. Like Agnès says, a few years ago I was just running to finish and now I turned to being so competitive. A good lesson to keep the fun in perspective... By the way, even Bev seemed a bit frustrated not getting under 4:30. Despite setting a new course record for her age group and all the women age groups actually, taking first overall and the PA USA Track & Field 50K title (after the National title on this distance at Headlands 50K in August).

F as in... running flats

Seems a bit off topic but just a mention of running flats as there has been some related discussion in the ultra mailing list recently. Although there are some parts very runnable, and not just the road sections, definitely not a course to use flats on with all the creek crossings. As for me I wore my Brooks Trance which were perfect for the rolling sections, and ok for the creek crossing although more grip would help in this section.

F as in... friendly

How not to be friendly with all these volunteers giving their time so we can enjoy the trail and competition. From the organization, registration, website, check-in, the all you can eat and drink buffets along the course, and the soup at the finish. Despite the intensity and pressure of the competition, I try to be as friendly with everyone, at least I feel I'm getting better at it.

Two weeks ago I was getting my bib for the 20K of Paris. When I thanked the guy hanging me the packet, he looked surprised, but not even positively surprised, almost feeling assaulted. He replied "Hey, I've been here and doing that for 15 years!" I apologized... Although this may contain some cultural difference with regard to customer service, this also shows a major difference between our friendly ultra runs and the anonymous multi-thousand crowd events. Here are the nice --and cool as you can tell from the outfit-- aid station #3 crew:

F as in... foliage, forest and fall

By fall I mean Autumn, not falling. Well, falling leaves. The course is very shady, going through a wonderful and very diversified forest. With wonderful color tones at this period of the year, and dead leaves softening the trail. Being focused I missed the advertised views of the nearby summits and dormant volcanoes, but not the spectacular colorful foliage. Here is a compilation of some of Agnès' photographic works while waiting for me at aid stations 3 and 5:

F as in... friend, fidelity and faith

On our (long) way back to the Bay Area, we learned that Pierre-Yves, the son of Agnès' best friend, was hospitalized again and in very critical conditions. Agnès and Vivy have been best friends since elementary school, an example of fidelity. Just one year ago, Pierre-Yves has been diagnosed with lymphoma and went through so many chemotherapy sessions we lost count. Earlier this month he received a marrow transplant from a donor in Germany and has been in a sterile environment since then, and until doctors see if the transplant worked. Our friends called during the race to share the news, that Pierre-Yves got an infection of both lungs so he got put into artificial comma and breathing. We keep praying for him and I was thinking of him when battling in the Mill Creek trail.

Pierre-Yves plays and loves basketball. Thanks to the Make @ Wish foundation, he was able to spend some time with Tony Parker in August, fulfilling a wonderful wish. Here is a picture from the Make @ Wish website:
And with some of his friends in July at the Villejuif hospital:

I'm usually not too keen on mixing spiritual things with others but I can't resist in quoting one of this weekend's readings in this context:

"I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith."

Again, putting things in perspective, as these were Paul's words to Timothy (2 Tm 4:6-8) at the end of his life, not the end of a mere run.

Go Pierre-Yves, go, fight and win, the basketball match is far from being over, like your mother says!

F as in... farther and faster

When I told the family I was going to blog on the F letter (and not on the F word, Rob!), they were really wondering about the connection before they all see it: farther and faster, of course. Oops, it didn't come to mind during my run, but I can't escape the natural association indeed.

The nice thing with trail running is the variety of the courses. It's a 50K but not like any other. This provides many more opportunities to set PRs and improve on a particular course, not a particular distance. Like Bev set the course record for F30-39 at 4:40:57 the improve her time to set the CR for F40-49 at 4:32:44 two years ago and 4:30:34 this year!

Unlike at Ohlone, I knew the course record for M40-49 before the start (4:36:34 by Dave Covey in 2003) and thought it would be nice to improve it. Which I did, so that can be called faster. unfortunately not fast enough as Ron was 1'21" ahead of me to set the new CR for our age group. Will need to come back, like Bev...

As for the farther, here too, each course provides an opportunity to dig, if not farther from a distance standpoint (see the farther-further discussion), further in your mental and physical capabilities. Certainly the Mill Creek trail for me on this course.

Oh, another farther though, with yet another F as in... freeway. This is the first time I drive away that far for a race and an ultra. 570 miles in 24 hours, that's a lot of driving miles to offset with running miles (carbon footprint speaking)... Anyway, I'm so thankful to Agnès who has decided to come with me at the last minute and drive most of the way; that certainly helped alleviate some of the fatigue from the previous three weeks on France and Florida.

F as in...

So to recap, here are some "F as in..." words/alliterations: fun, fast, fluid, focused, flying, free, fearless, fatigueless, friendly, faithful, feline, not to forget the farther and faster of this blog. And let's keep frustration and fear out of this list, right?

Is it an exhaustive list? Not tired with these alliterations yet and have others to suggest? Let me know by dropping a comment!

20 km of Paris: fast but not fast enough

Last year I had a thrill at this race, the International 20 kilometers of Paris. I was not blogging at the time, so let me write down my recollection of last year's edition. It was 8 days after my first 50-miler, the Dick Collins' Fire Trails, where I placed 3rd overall and won the rookie award (first timer). I had therefore no expectation, I just happened to be in Paris that weekend for our yearly company Sales Kick-Off. Despite a preferred bib number (1116 out of 20,000 runners), I didn't get a good placement at the start because I couldn't find the entrance of our corral. The crowd was so dense and I was particularly upset to have to pass a guy with a stroller in the first 400 feet. This was my first "adrenaline shot." Because I missed the start, I pushed the pace in the next kilometers. At km 7, I saw a group of runners accompanied by a motorcycle and camera guy. That was the lead female group I was catching up with. First I thought I was going too fast and I'll kill myself later if I pass them. But running with such "gazelles" provided a second short of adrenaline so I really felt strong and kept pushing. Later, along the Seine, I guy stayed for a couple of kilometers on my heels, to take advantage of the pace and the protection against the wind. So close that he touched my foot twice which really made me mad. That was the third electrical shock or adrenaline shot, enough to again increase the pace around km 17. Last but not least, two guys I was running with, and appearing as masters, started sprinting at km 18, which was way too soon. I passed them at the km 19 mark to finish in 1:10:06. Good enough for a podium for 3rd master, and a nice cup. 38th out of 18,751 finishers.

Same setting this year with our annual Sales Kick-Off in Paris again. On the running side though, a much different picture: no training for the last 4 weeks due to the shin splints injury, and no 50-miler the week before as the Fire Trails race was held the same weekend in California. Just a short 5K, the Running of the Bulls. I was not sure what to expect then. On one hand I always want to do better when I enter a race which I already run (the Faster of this blog name...). On the other hand, I was wondering what was my strange training regimen would provide as a basis for this year's race: no training for 4 weeks, but a 10K (Trailblazer) and this 5K race.

The start was much better than last year, I knew where to get in the corral, on the right side of the bridge. I was just a few rows from the Kenyan elite gang. Yet, that meant dozens of runners to pass in the first kilometer. My goal was to run at a 3:30 minute/km (5:38 min/mile), like last year. First km was 3:42 so I had to accelerate which I did. At km 5 I had an elite gal in sight, Hafida Gadi Richard from France, so I thought I was good to repeat last year's story. But no motorcycle though, no camera, she was "only" going to finish fourth in her category. I was too far of the first gal to get my adrenaline shot this year...

I passed the 10 km mark in 34:44, quite fast and faster than last year's 35:17. There was still hope for a PR then. Except that, as you know, pacing is key in running, and was probably going a bit too fast based on my current form. Around km 16 I passed two Kenyan gals: Florence Chepkerui who placed 5th, and Emily Kimuria, a world-class 2:28:18 marathoner, who took 6th.

I finished in 1:10:23, 17" more than last year. Or 1.4 seconds per mile slower than last year. When every second counts... I was 54th at km 5, 10 and 15 but finished 57th out of 19,217 finishers. And 5th in the Masters division, not good enough for a podium this year.

Here is a satellite view of the finish, right next to the Eiffel tower in downtown Paris:

Among other finishers, Ludovic, a colleague from ILOG France covered the distance in 1:38:26 and my cousin, Francois-Xavier, in 1:54:39.

Overall results:

• Men :1.Musau Mwansia (Ken) en 58’7’’ ; 2. Jonhatan Maiylo (Ken) 58’8’’ ; 3. Philemon Terer (Ken) 58’9’’ ; 4. Sammy Kibet (Ken) 58’10’’ ; 5. Jacob Kitur (Ken) 58’12’’.
• Women : 1. Merrien Mangari (Ken) 1 h 7’35’’ ; 2. Maru Ptikany (Ken) 1 h 8’33’’ ; 3. Christine Chepkonga (Ken) 1 h 9’20’’ ; 4. Hafida Gadi Richard (Fra) 1 h 9’53’ ; 5. Florence Chepkerui (Ken) 1 h 10’43’’.

So many Kenyans, they are really unbelievable, it feels good to see them running so smooth. Or should I say flying? This is where I know I'm not a real ultra runner, because I still love speed and road racing.

The good news is that the shin splints is gone. I ran 14 fast kilometers on Tuesday, and 12 on Wednesday before flying back to California on Friday. And 29.5 hilly miles this Saturday. It feels so good to get back on the trail, although my calves had forgot about the effort, based on how they complain this Sunday through soreness. By the way, today is a special day, our 18th wedding anniversary and I will jog with Agnès as she practices Nordic Walking. Then another business travel, to Florida, before the Whiskeytown 50K next Saturday, which serves as the PA USA Track & Field 50K championships.

PS: a journey in the West part of Paris (15 and 16th districts/arrondissements and Bois de Boulogne):

Trailblazer 10K: faster again!

Two weeks off as a training technique, what is that? As you know, I've been injured since the 50K I ran at our Club's Clambake. After a 2-week break, with no running but some stationary bike workouts at my work's gym, I was anxious to get back on the trail. And particularly excited with such event which I won twice in the past. And more importantly, an event which supports and benefit the Friends of the Stevens Creek Trail, a trail I now use to get to Shoreline Park from El Camino. A trail which I would actually like going further South, though El Camino, Sunnyvale, Los Altos, up to Cupertino. As a matter of fact, my company, ILOG, has moved a few mile along 85 to the Fremont intersection last May, in the middle of the missing section of the trail, the section which would make the connection between the Cupertino hills and the Baylands.
Part of the excitement was also to have Greg running in the 5K. During cross-country season, Max and Alex are not allowed to compete outside of the school club races, and Max had a tough 5K yesterday anyway, at the Stanford Invitational.

In addition to Greg, and our coach and master head crew, Agnès, my friend and speed work training buddy, Bob, shown and signed up for the 10K too.

The weather was perfect: cool temperature, soft breeze, crystal clear blue sky, sun. The access very easy with ample parking on the Microsoft campus, making it so convenient, right off 101.
This isn't a very competitive event, certainly nothing to compare with a race sanctioned by the Pacific Association of USA Track & Field Federation. So a podium here depends on who shows up. And Jose Pina did, so I knew I was not getting much chance at repeating last year's win, today. Indeed, Jose took the lead right at the start and I almost killed myself trying to keep up with him for the first two miles. According to my Garmin 205, the trail was perfectly marked, each mile as well as the overall 6.2 miles. 5:14 for the first mile, that wasn't really sustainable, the second mile was more in the 5:22 range. However I kept Jose in sight all the way, even when we got back in the 5K runner crowd in the final mile. Thanks to Jose as a great pace setter, I did set a new PR on this distance, with 33:57. Or a 5:28min/mile pace. Second overall but a good and satisfying enough achievement! Below, in the shade, my heel (in Brooks Racer ST) to the butt in the final sprint...And, no, this isn't a special effect or a trick from Agnès, there was really a stop sign on the finish line!!! With that, we will soon need a driving license for road racing...

Bob placed third overall, 2nd of the masters. More results on the race website.
I always wonder for how long I will be able to improve my times, especially on such "shorter" distances. That's all the idea behind this blog's name, and it's great to see there is not only hope, but results! Later in the day I was amazed to learn that Gabrelassie had improved the best time on marathon, by 29 seconds (4:04:26). I still remember the day Paul Tergat did it, on the same course (Berlin), claiming then that the record won't be broken for a long time. It took only four years, records are really meant to be broken, although some last longer than others. There doesn't seem to be a limit, and hopefully the improvements will remain from natural human performance.

Below is Greg flying to the finish line in a time of 25:50 (5K). 9th in a competitive 2-12 age group dominated by...Jose Pina, son! It's not the first time we see Jose, 10, winning his age group, and definitely not the last time. In the background, Felicity, the daughter of Dennis, from the Striders, my running club (which, by the way, shares the Stevens Creek name with this event beneficiaries).
It is not easy to repeat perfection, year after year, but, once again and "as usual", the organization was perfect today! In particular the numerous and efficient volunteers, of all ages, from the parking lots, registration, food and drink tables and all along the 6-mile loop, at every turn. Great post-race food: the famous coffee cake from Hobee's (yummy, see below), fresh fruits from Whole Foods, Odwalla cereal bars. A big and special thank you and congratulations to Aaron Grossman, who successfully manages this event every year.

And, as often in this type of event, a very long award ceremony which concluded by a no shorter prize drawing. Made even longer as many participants had left by 11am therefore more bibs needed to be picked. The Microsoft package was only for the first overall man and woman so no XBox for me this year. But, much smarter, many books to pick from for the age group winners. Camping with Kids for Bob, the perfect father of three girls while, father of three boys and ultrarunner, I chose a book for a much longer hike (or run...?): the 165-mile Tahoe Rim Trail...

4 participations to this Trailblazer event since 2002:

1. 2002 - 34:19 - 4th overall
2. 2003 - 34:52 - 1st overall
3. 2006 - 34:16 - 1st overall
4. 2007 - 33:57 - 2nd overall

I missed 2004 because of the French Nationals of marathon and 2005 because of Paris-Versailles (an international 10-miler). Otherwise, this is definitely a favorite event I like to include in my race schedule and I encourage you to check it out next year if you live in the Bay Area. Always scheduled for the last Sunday of September.

Et voilà! A great performance but... the shin splints and the pain are back, now! At least everybody agrees that it's completely normal and that I shouldn't complain, just blame myself for keeping running instead of taking 6 weeks off. Colleagues at work and my sister in France, Marie, my remote medical coach. OK, so back on the bike this week, and I'll only run half this distance next week at the Run of the Bulls 5K. Can't miss this fun one either, and hoping it's short enough to keep the inflammation under control. Before the International 20K of Paris on 10/14.

Trail safely out there!

PS: as a bonus, the detailed map online to check on the distance, on Google Earth or Google Maps!

Headlands 50K : ups and downs

Championship time!

This Sunday, I participated in my first USA Track & Field Championship. I ran 3 Marathon Nationals in France, but this was a much different experience. Actually the difference is less about the country or the culture. It has more to see with the difference between road and trail running. Although not that publicized and covered by the medias, road racing is still more visible and popular, with hundreds of thousands of people running marathons each year. After all, trail running isn't an Olympic sport. What most of us like in trail running, and ultra running especially, is that it's more about your personal challenge than actual competition. No way to have distance records in this discipline as courses and profiles vary so much from one place to another. We enjoy the low key aspect of this sport, saying we just need a pair of shoes to hit the trail (oh, no, this is not an invitation to run nude like one guy got caught in the Cupertino hills several years ago!).

So, here we are, 140 runners lining up for a US Championship. No qualifying requirement, you just needed to have paid your membership dues to the USA Track & Field association before the race. Which 99 of us had. But very few runners from out of State, or even out of North California. As much as we have great local runners, that's not really representing of some great runners from many other states in the US. Too many events in the summer (Leadville 100M and the 100K championships the week before, Bulldog 50K, Cascade Crest and UTMB 100-milers this weekend, just to name a few) and not enough prize money to cover travel expenses are probably the main reasons. Well, at least, us local runners, we got most of the numerous medals! ;-)

Course review

Two weeks ago, I went to Rodeo Beach to run the full course of the Golden Gate Headlands 50K and get familiarized with the course. I ran Ohlone without knowing anything about the course, which happened to work great (1st overall!), but Headlands 50K was serving as the USA Track & Field Championship, so I wanted to get better prepared.

For this training run, the weekend of PCTR's Headlands 100-mile, I got the usual fog at the start, but the rest was sunny, from the Dipsea trail hill. I took my time to read the map and course instructions from time to time, take some pictures, then wandering in some places to get some water, yet thought I had pushed reasonnably in the uphills, despite a 23-mile training run the previous day. I ended up doing the full loop in 5:44. When I checked past year's performance, I saw times starting at 3hr59, with guys I know running in the 4:30-5hr range. I was not sure which trick I'll find on race day to save 1hr or more out of this training run...

A self portrait overlooking Muir Beach, during my sunny training run.
Note: the pictures of the course below are from this sunny morning, and may misrepresent the overcasted sky which sticked all day, this Sunday.

Race day

Started with meeting Hannes in Cupertino for a nice carpool. With 140 registered runners (half Miwok's field), traffic, parking and check-in at Rodeo Beach was straightforward. There was even barely a line for the toilets! The fog was there (of course), but it was not too cold. I picked my favorite Brooks orange sleeveless top and put my Brooks Trance shoes on. Thinking of my hero, Scott Jurek, who unfortuntaly dropped half way at UTMB this Saturday (he is the lead representative of Brooks in ultra running), too tired between his great win at Hardrock and the coming grueling Spartathlon (see Scott's blog).

Like Miwok, we start on the beach, actually closer to the parking lot, so for a longer and painful stretch in soft sand. Chikara started like a bomb. And was followed by a few guys.

I was just behind Bev and Caren when we hitted the single track trail. Passing a few, I ran into Rob, my favorite pacer (Miwok and Western States this year). I kept going on the uphill of Miwok Trail, then passed Erik (Skaden) who was chatting (I believe with Peter Fain). The top three guys were quickly out of sight. Steve Stowers (Skyline 50K winner, and in my age group) was one minute ahead. Rob and I at the finish:

Following Rob's tip to reduce the time I usually spend in aid stations, I didn't stop at the Tenessee Valley aid station (horse stables) and went on the next uphill, feeling Erik on my heels. Refueled at the Hwy 1 aidstation, then got on the third and tough hill of the Dipsea trail. Erik caught me half way up to Pantoll. Given he placed second overall again this year at Western States, and he looked so strong, I thought I won't see him again before the finish line.

The Bay and Mount Diablo in the background above the clouds, from the Dipsea trail (training run):

I was fearing the brutal down hill to Stinson Beach as I had twisted my right ankle there two weeks ago. Between the narrow trail, tortuous switchbacks, roots, rocks, irregular steps, slippery dust and the fallen trees blocking the way, it's a good (?!) remembrance of my Double or Quad Dipseas. I'm usually pretty good on technical trails, but this fear slown me down and Victor Ballesteros caught me at the Stinson Beach aid station, and didn't even stop at the station. I was going to see him again before we enter the Steep Ravine trail, and that was it.


A view from Matt Davis trail, before the streneous trail plunging to Stinson Beach (training run):


Through all the way up to Pantoll and down to Frank Valley (~6 miles), I didn't see any runner, neither in front or back, which is not very motivating. If it wasn't for all the pink ribbons--a perfectly marked course-- some flour on the ground, and volunteers posted at the required turned, it didn't feel like being in a race.

Getting to Muir Beach (above picture), I saw Erik up in the Coastal Trail hill above the aid station. I walked most of it, so I didn't think I'd catch him, which I eventually did at Coyote Ridge before flying down to Tennessee Valley for the second time today. He was having a bad day, the only way for me to keep up with such an elite ultra runner, and winner of the 2006-2007 Montrail Ultra Cup.

The rest is a tough hill, the seventh and last. Which seems endless as we still go up after reaching the bike path at Wolf Ridge. Here is a view of Rodeo Beach (start), from Wolf Ridge (training run):Then the last downhill, a sort of fast tour of the WWII bunkers, an abandonned "Pacific Wall" like the marks of the German Atlantic Wall in France, a part of which I visited this summer (see my own commemorative ultra run on the beaches of D Day).
And the finish line, at last! 11th overall, 4h23, 3rd Masters, enough for a "bronze" medal. For what it is worth in an Championship which was almost exclusively amongt local North Californian runners.

The aid stations were perfectly stocked and the volunteers very helpful and knowledgeable. Probably many volunteers who are themselves running these hills and trails around Mount Tamalpais. This is priceless. The BBQ at the finish line was perfect and welcomed after such a tough run and with this tenacious fog.

Below, from left to right: Chikara Omine (8th overall) and the top three Masters, Cliff Lentz (6th), myself (11th) and Steve Stowers (10th):
Then started a long 3-hour wait for the award ceremony, until each 5-year/3-deep age groups were filling in. Yes, I know, Greg, ultra running requires patience... Especially for family members and teenagers who made the effort of coming to the finish line, giving up their last day of the summer break (a big deal for Alex and Max!).

Our three top female runners (from left to right): 1. Beverley Anderson-Abbs (43), Red Bluff, 4:42:32; 2. Caren Spore (39), Davis, 4:48:25; 3. Devon Crosby-Helms (24), San Francisco, 4:58:29 (not Devon's day):

Agnès and the boys drove up later in the morning, with our friend, Sylvie. Sylvie had never attended the finish of a running race and was excited to combine this première with a trip to Marine Headlands. In her childhood she went to many bobsleigh races to support her father, so she was great at making noise with the Montrail bell we got at Western States! ;-)

The boys with Agnes' friend, Sylvie:

By the way, Greg (Nacco, not Pommier!), thank you for stepping up as the Race Director for this event, with Guy (Palmer), Jerry (Leith) and Peter (Franks). Must be frustrating for such a great runner like you to miss this Pacific Association Grand Prix event and USA Championship, but rewarding to direct us during this special day. I thought from Doug White's great account of his race in 1999, that you will celebrate the 10th anniversary of this race next year. But Guy told me the race actually started in the early 1990s around Point Reyes, before moving to Rodeo Beach for the start, probably in 1994. Seems like the history and roots of this race are lost in the mysterious wilderness of Marine Headlands...!Except for the lack of pictures, Doug's report would have made a great blog post, would the concept exist back in 99. Very well written and picturesque, a recommended reading for first time runners of this event. And, no matter how strong you are or how much visualization of the profile you went through, the hills are tough for everybody. As you can read from Barry Spitz in his Marin Independent Journal article, counting the epic finish of Ed Baker and first time stellar performance of "rookie" Mark McManus (4:02:18 for his first ultra trail run!).

A tough but great run, with only up and down hills, and less than a mile of flat terrain overall. With all you can expect from trail running: rocks, dust, fire road and single-track trails, views, steep up and down hills, roots, bushes, poison oak, switchbacks, solitude, camaraderie, aid stations, volunteers, great organization, perfect course marking, post-race BBQ, and even a very nice finisher t-shirt. Everything but the heat.

Congratulations to winner and course master, Brian Dayton, with a special thanks for coming from Colorado to kick our butts, local North California runners. Especially with the baby to come!

And, before you go farther and faster, as a bonus, a view of Golden Gate and San Francisco, from Marine Headlands, without the fog (training run)!

Ok, another extra bonus, the course on Google Earth and Google Maps. I particularly like who the switch backs going down Franck Valley, on the Heather cut-oof trail, see for yourself! But you need more to trick the Garmin 205...And the course profile, both views captured in Sports Track: