Fat Ass 50 km Race

 If you are a long distance runner, I'm sure you will relate to the following:  You train for months for an event, you feel completely ready and the day arrives.  As prepared as you are, it's impossible to know how things will go.  Good night sleep?  Probably not if you are travelling to your event.  Will you be able to poop before starting the race?  How about nutrition? Did you plan it right?  What will the terrain be like?  Ant the weather?  Too many layers?  Not enough layers? So many things come into play to make or break a race.

This was my first event in forever - it was before the pandemic hit...  my last entry was in October 2019 for a race I did that September.  

Fat Ass is a great, dirt cheap, fun race.  I've done the 25k there twice before - it was my first 50k at this particular race.  I knew the trail since I had done it twice and so I knew the elevation gain wasn't crazy (513 m according to my watch).  Phew!  When you live where I do, and everything is flat like a pancake training for a race with hills can be tricky.  I'm glad I have Gatineau Park not too far but that's still a 40 minute drive and so, I unfortunately can't get there during the week.  

It's Sunday morning, 6am - alarm clock goes off... time to get ready.  You know the usual happens, wash up, get dressed, having breakfast and perhaps the most important, a poop before heading out the door!  As we get outside, there is a beautiful red sky on one side dark grey with odd cloud formation on the other.  Lyse exclaims - "Oh red sky isn't a good thing - Red sky in the morning sailor's warning!"  I replied: "Good thing I'm not a sailor"!  Well, the sailor was right... cold and rain was in the forecast.

We (Lyse is with me as she will be running the 25k)  arrive at the ski hill just a little past 7am to get my bib.  This year, we have a Covid screening to hand in.  Glad I don't have the sniffles or anything!  Oddly, they didn't require you to be vaccinated.  Bib on shirt, drop bag in hand, I have everything I need, off to the start line I go.  It's about a 200m walk to the start line - in a nice little trail.  200m doesn't seem like much, but when you are about to run 50km, it adds up since I will also have to walk that after the race 😁  It's all good - gives a little cool down I guess! 

We stand there a little while, chit chatting with strangers.  The ultra world is a total different world than road races.  People are inviting and caring.  Even most runners who are there to win take time to say hi and to encourage you.  Not long after, the time has come to start running.

For this race, we will be doing a 10k loop 5 times.  The group doing the 25k will come by twice and the group doing 17.5k will come once.  This means lots of traffic on the loop through out the day.  

We happen to be the first group to go through.  I'm mid pack.  The first part of the loop was quite wet but not too muddy yet.  It was easy enough to go around the mud and water.  Luckily, by the time I got to the road to do the second part of the loop, my feet were for the most part still dry and I was feeling great.   On the second part of the loop (it's like a figure 8) there is a hill that I baptized the f*cking hill from hell.  It's this never ending hill - that gets fairly steep at what you think is the top... but no, of course it's not the top! You have to keep going up on a lesser incline, but up nonetheless.  Then, you meandered through the woods until it was time to come back down the mountain on the backside - best part of the whole trail!  Beautiful fast section - I can picture it when the leave are out... it must be beautiful.  

Of course if you go up the front of the mountain and down the back, at some point you will have to go back up... yup, you guessed it, up the other side of the mountain.  Luckily, this climb is not as long or steep, but still takes your breath away - well, at least it does if you are me. After this shorter climb, there is a short section where you cross people going the opposite direction.  Nice time to say hi to everyone.  Once you get to the road, there is about 1 to 1.5 km left to end the loop.  One loop done.  Feeling good and ready for the second time around.

Second loop was fairly good as well.  Running by yourself is challenging.  No one to chat with to make the time go by faster... so I put on my headphones and listened to a podcast.  I can't remember which one - I think it was Maintenance Phase - Halo Top Ice cream.  Second loop was a little wetter in some spots that you could sort of bypass on the side.  Got a foot quite wet but whatever - to be expected during trail running.  I have good socks and shoes on.  I get to the hill from hell, swear in my head the whole way up.  Man I hate this hill.  2 down, 3 to go.  I finish the second loop no problem.  No tears, no thoughts of quitting yet.  It's all good.

Off I go for my third loop. At this point, that first part of loop 3 is getting wetter and muddier.  I meet someone who seems to be struggling a little as well.  We get chatting and moving together.  My feet are soaked by the time I get to the road for the second part of the loop.  I'm starting to lose a bit of steam - I eat a little something, get some candy and chips at the aid station as well as some Gatorade.  I go up the hill from hell for a third time (still swearing in my head).  My newly found running partner is faster than me on the uphill and so I lose him.   He yells back: "You'll catch up on the downhill I'm sure!"  and I did!  We went back and forth like that for a while.  I got a second wind and went on my merry way.  

By the time I finished my third loop, I figured I was second last as I hadn't seen anyone for a while.  The girl at the aid station with her clipboard making sure we did all our loop said nope - there are still lots behind - you are doing well keep going!  So off I went for loop 4 thinking she's lying and doesn't want to discourage me when I hear her yelling to me "and I'm not lying!".  

Each loop starts with a boring, long and straight bit.  Argh.  I didn't enjoy it at all.  All of a sudden, a group of 4 comes out of nowhere and passes me.  They looked tired just chugging along like I was doing.  They were chatty, happy and encouraging.  For the whole loop we kept passing each other.  They would pass me on the up hills, I would pass them on the downs and flat spots.  By this point, the first section is wet, wet, wet.  There is a long section - probably a km or more of slippery mud.  I decided I was not running on that mud - risk falling and breaking something.  The more you walk though, the less you want to run.  Every time I see a fast runner on their last loop, I jokingly tell them to find me when they are done so they can take my bib and finish for me.  There are no takers.  I get lots of encouragement though which is nice.  I guess I will have to finish myself.  

 I finish the 4th loop tired but not exhausted.  I'm not hurting anywhere, I'm holding up just fine.  No blisters that I can tell. No tears yet, no feeling of quitting.  I'm just tired.  (My first 50km race I felt like I was going to die, wanted to quite multiple times and cried quite a bit.)  Off I went knowing I wasn't last because I had passed the group of 4 and had finished the loop before they did.  At the aid station, right before leaving I noticed I had lost a glove.  One of my favourites gloves.  I was then sort of happy I had a last loop to do and that perhaps I would find my glove. 

Loop 5 comes around.  I don't stop at the station, I just go on my merry way.  I keep looking back for that group of 4.  I had a ton of questions going on in my head:  Did they quit? Why aren't they behind me?  I don't want to be alone on the loop and be the last one.  Where's that guy I did loop 3 with? Did he quit?  With all those thoughts in my head, my podcast still playing (I'm on the 3 or 4th podcast) I keep going.   Slowly but surely.  My feet are drenched as there is now no way to bypass the water.  My shoes are getting heavy from carrying so much mud.  I trudge along.  I get to the road one last time.  I'm almost done.  I figure about 6 or 7k to go.  At some point, I've realized that this will be longer than 50k and thoughts are going through my head - when my watch beeps 50k, who can I call to come pick me up to bring me to the finish line?!  

I get to the nemesis hill - the f*cking hill from hell for one last time.  Up I go, I feel quite alone.  The group of now 3 (one quite at end of loop 4) passed me and I've not seen them in a long time.  I fear I'm the last one out.  I trudge along.  I wonder if the event organizer will catch up to me when they go around to gather the flags.  They can't - Deadline isn't up.  I get to my favourite downhill part turn here, turn there, weeee! So beautiful, so much fun!  And up the stupid hill again.  Turn a corner and who do I see?  My friend from loop 3!  He's not moving very fast - I'm guessing it's his IT band as he can't run anymore - downhills are horrible and the flats are not much more pleasant.  I wish him well, encourage him (he has about 7 or 8 km to go).  I now have about 1.5 to 2km to go.  My watch has hit 50.   It's official - this race is longer than 50.  (This is typical for a trail race.  It's much more difficult than on road to have an exact distance.  It's usually a little under or a little over the expected distance.)  No glove in sight.  Oh well, perhaps someone picked it up and dropped it off somewhere.

I run past the aid station that is now non-existent.  No one is there.  No glove here!  I keep on going.  I'm almost there!  Last little bit that I really dislike.  The stones are awful - it's straight and boring but I see the finish line and the photographer at the end.  Raise my hands for my finish shot.  I still have energy... I do a jump shot - the photographer doesn't see me - I do a second one - he still doesn't see me but the people behind him did so I say - he missed it again - he turns, looks at me gets ready and I do a third jump shot.  I hope he caught the last one!  Time will tell! 

As I'm chit chatting with the lady at the finish line, telling her there is at least one person behind me she tells me there is also a family that isn't done.  At the same time, a young fellow comes up to me and says "I think this might be your glove."  I jumped for joy at the sight of my glove!  They are in Merino wool, warm and I just love them.  I then walked the last 200m to my car where Lyse was waiting for me. 

Lyse was so lovely helping me change at the back of the car, in the pouring rain - taking my socks off, helping me put some dry pants on without getting them full of mud.  She was a great help.  The 3 hour drive home was uneventful.  Stop to stretch and a bite to eat and made it home safe and sound.

Like every other runner, I'm not sure I will complete another 50k.  Who knows though... I might forget how much I dislike the hours of training and how much suffering each hill brings and will sign up again... Either way, this was a great experience!  I am now a two time ultra-marathon!  Someone pinch me!   I couldn't even run 200 meters 8 years ago.... look at me now!  

Hard work pays off! 

What's next for me?  A week has gone by and I have thoughts in my head...  I have a big birthday number coming in December (the big 5-0!).  I'm thinking of organizing a 12 hour run for myself - perhaps fundraise for a charity or for the people in BC who are really suffering right now...  I will let you know what I decide!