Sunshine Life Studio: H2H 100 km Ultra-Marathon

As promised to all my dear friends here is a little play by play of my experience during my first 100km race, H2H.

We headed off Friday evening/Saturday morning @ 1am. As luck would have it our hot water tank blew, so we drove to my parents at that time so I could take a hot shower to freshen up before the race. We picked up Suzy (my other crew person with Kate) and got to the race start line @ 3am (1 hr before the start). On the ride down I was completely relaxed, counting my calories and fluid intake so I would be topped up for the start. The weather could be described as simply "miserable". It was cold 3-5 degrees Celsius, raining (quite hard at times) and windy. Not the ideal climate for a guy who prefers to run in a 20 degree Celsius climate.

There were 34 ultra-marathoners @ the start line. The energy could be described as a combination of excitement, nervousness and anxiousness.

I had a strong race plan and knew that my success would be dependent upon sticking to it. Because it was my first 100km race I had no idea what time I would hit the finish line at, I had no attachments to the outcome. What I did know was that I would eventually finish the race and could sustain an 8:30 mile pace for a very, very long time. This pace is almost a full 2 minutes slower than my marathon pace and feels very comfortable.

So that's what I did. At the start, runners "took off". Gosh, I'm sure they were at a 6:40 mile pace. As it turned out I stuck to my plan, sat back and let everyone go. I heard Wendy Montgomery call out when she was next to me “That’s the fastest start I’ve seen yet”. I was virtually dead last for the first 15 minutes. In fact I was so far back I could barely see anybody.

The race has 8 legs ranging from 10-15 kms. The course was very, very hilly. Again my goal, an 8:30 pace on the flats, steady climbs on the uphill’s which were slower and whatever was comfortable for downhill’s, doing my best not to burn out my quads. The first 3 legs were an interesting challenge. My legs wanted to takeoff, I kept telling Kate that my legs want to go, when my mind would drift I would creep up to a sub.7 min/mile pace and then I'd have to remind myself to slow down. I kept hearing everyone’s voice, "it's your first 100, take it slow at first". Well after leg 1 keeping my disciplined pace I moved from last to 16th place, after leg 2 from 16th to 10th, after leg 3 from 10th to 9th. It felt good passing people knowing that I was running my own race unattached to other runners. So many other runners were breathing quite hard and working way too hard this early in the race. As I ran through leg 4 I was starting to work a little, it took more effort to maintain pace, but I still felt great. In Leg 4 I stayed in 9th as I did not see another runner, analyzing the results after showed me that I was still closing the gap to people ahead of me. During the first 4 legs all my training had paid off. My mind and body felt strong, eating was easy, I was well hydrated and still excited. I had run well over a marathon and had only one more marathon and a short 10 miler to the finish line (amazing how we can justify things).

Leg 5 was a whole new story. I don't know what happened here, but all of the sudden I hit this mid-race gloom. My legs felt heavy, cramping in my calves was starting, it was requiring far too much energy to maintain pace. I did slow down a little here and took several walk breaks especially when I was getting crewed. It was getting tough to eat here too, what was taking me a few minutes to munch down was now sitting in my mouth for several minutes after each bite. A critical point for me, I needed calories for energy, but my stomach was noxious and the food tasted horrible. I persevered and managed to continue to eat and hold it all down. In this leg I caught Todd Nott from Nebraska and we ran together for some time. It was good to have somebody to talk to, after 4 hours of running I was getting kind of lonely out there in the cold rain. The beauty of the Ultra scene is that we’re all just pushing ourselves and do what we can to help other runners succeed. Much to my surprise Kate brought a megaphone and was cheering me on from a distance, her love and support could not have come at a better time. Inside I was saying "suck it up man, one foot in front of the other, if it was easy everyone would do this". I know, "There are no limitations in matter, only consciousness" "I am more than my body". After some time with Todd I respectfully asked him if he would like to pick the pace up and run with me, he declined and said he was going to hold back and that we’d see each other later. I finally finished Leg 5 and was in 8^th place.

Once I hit the exchange after Leg 5 I had this burst of energy. My legs were feeling strong again, my stomach was settling and most importantly I was now ready to race. For me the race began in Leg 5, but I wasn’t ready for the challenge yet. In leg 6 I let my legs open up and began pushing the envelope. I had spent most of the race alone on back country roads up until this point. I was now on Hwy 7 running on the left side of the road. Every time a vehicle would pass I would get a massive gust of wind pushing me back and a solid spray of water from the road and wheels….Yes, very nice. This didn’t bother me, I was now only a short 36km to the finish line (In my mind a half marathon, a run around Stanley park and then a short 5 km). I pressed hard in Leg 6, it was challenging to maintain pace as cars were passing me with speeds over 100km/h missing my body by inches with the continual downpour. I did not see any other runners in Leg 6 and had no idea where I was relative to everyone else.

As I passed another exchange and entered leg 7 a huge smile was upon my face. I was getting closer to the finish line and I was feeling stronger. I kept a strong pace and saw another runner in the distance. Over the next few miles I managed to catch them. I wasn’t sure who it was, but as I crept I said “Hello”. He responded with what sounded more like a grunt. He was working pretty hard and was not in the mood for chatting. I told him to keep it strong and kept moving past him. Leg 7 was a leg that I was very nervous about. There is a massive uphill climb and then an even sharper downhill after that. As I continued to excel ahead I saw another runner. A few miles later when the ascend began I managed to catch him. It was Matt Sessions! I think the word that best describes my feelings were utter shock. Matt is a veteran ultra-marathoner, this was his 10^th time racing H2H, he’s ran Western States100 miler, Badwater 130+miles, etc. etc…. What the heck was I doing in my first 100km race catching him. My response was a casual, “Oh hey Matt, what’s up!”.

Matt and I ran up this massive hill together encouraging each other, we pushed each other hard. Over the rest of this leg Matt and I kept passing each other, depending on when we were getting crewed and refueling.

We arrived at the summit of Leg 7and my heart was racing as if I’d just sprinted up the hill. From this point the rest of Leg 7 was a steep downhill similar to the slope of a roller coaster. For my body and I, a recipe for destruction as far as cramps were concerned. Matt was 10 yards ahead of me and he was taking the downhill at a good pace. For some strange reason I thought I could better this pace, a mistake. I let my legs open right up and motored down the hill, leaving Matt in the dust. After a minute, the cramps began. First in my left calf, then left quad, and finally my left hamstring, in fact my entire left leg felt like one big contracted muscle. I slowed down and Matt passed me again. The cramp was so bad that I had to hobble down on my right leg for the rest of the downhill. I finally got to the bottom of this hill and I knew that the finish line was very close. I asked Kate to give me a handful of electrolyte pills, I swallowed them and the cramps began to subside. The cramps never stopped but I was able to “suck it up” and start running again. My pace was getting faster and faster. The end was near! I could see Matt up ahead again. After a few minutes I caught him. He yelled at me “Almost home man, 10 km to go”. I was working way too hard to respond, I waved my hand and kept going. “Nice”, I thought “Only a short sprint around Stanley Park and I’m Home”. I continued to pick up the pace, I was now running a 6:30/mile pace. Kate and Suzy kept trying to give me more food, I kept saying “NO”. All I would do is sip Coke and take a few electrolyte pills every 5-10 minutes now. The cramps were getting worse, my pace was too fast, but I kept pushing, I was on pure Adrenaline now, I was finishing this race strong. Kate was giving me play by play every few minutes, “Your Dad and cousin are coming”, “Lanny says congrats”. I could use all the encouragement at this point. Pain and pace management was all I was doing, I was in survival. With 1 km to go, Dad and cousin Jimmy pulled up and were cheering on the side of the road with Kate and Suzy. A burst of emotions went through me, tears of joy and pride flowed down my face. I was almost done. As I entered Harrison Hot Spring I heard my name from the finish line MC. Crowds of people were cheering me on. Some looked in awe and others as if I was insane. I crossed the finish line in 9 hours and 4 minutes, 6^th overall, 3^rd in the men’s open division. Most importantly I just achieved a major milestone in my life. I just completed a 100km ultra-marathon race and ended in grand fashion. Kate, Suzy, Dad, Jimmy and Sammy (my training partner) were all there to embrace and shower me with their love and support. I felt great, smiling ear to ear, jumping up and down.