Scrambled Rocks.

North Face Endurance Challenge 13.1 Race Report

Insane. Insanely freaking fun. I really can’t remember the last time I had so much fun at a race. I mean, all races are fun, but I was actually giggling at times throughout the race. It was perfection on many levels both personally and organizationally. Gallivanting through the trees, running up tight singletrack rock inclines, and running down rock quarries at crazy declines, full of endless lose baby-size head rocks, roots galore, switchbacks, hopping downed trees, streams, mud, blood, and to top it off 20+ mph winds at temps in the low 40’s. I really can’t even begin to explain how technical this course was, nor will you ever get the full picture without taking it for a stroll to see absolutely none of this is an exaggeration. Here are a few stats scraped from the race website/literature as well:

Runners can expect technical terrain and rocky footing that cuts to the chase, with some trails heading steeply uphill rather than zig-zagging at a gentler grade. Descents end in wooded hollows before the next rapid climb ending with a breathtaking view. Make no mistake: this will be a tough test of off-road endurance.

Elevation: 4/5 Stars
Technical Terrain: 5/5 Stars
Overall Difficulty: 5/5 Stars
Scenery: 5/5 Stars

Total Elevation Gain: 2324 feet
Total Elevation Change: 4684 feet

Or, for the visual:

Yes it was hard, but what a blast, and I really couldn’t of hoped for anything better for my first true trail race. I can tell you one thing though: I’ll be back for more. With a culture synonymous to the mountain bikers that started me down this crazy path some 15+ years ago, it was nostalgic and a wicked charge, wrapped together in a big ‘Welcome Home’. This year is pretty locked down in terms of goals, but there is no doubt I’ll be back for more trail racing and endurance runs.

The weekend started off just a little crappy, and our planned excursion to Bear Mountain for riding/running first thing Saturday morning was scrapped due to some pretty threatening thunderstorms and showers. So we ended up kicking around here, taking a chance to dial in the new steed, an eventually leaving for the wedding upstate around 11:30AM. Didn’t take long to get up there, and in yet another serendipitous surprise the race start was a mere half mile from where we were staying in Bear Mountain. Not only that, but I got a chance to pick the brain of the 50K 50+ winner as we were walking to our car to go scout the course. Not sooner did I say to Michelle that ‘This guy looks like a runner’, i.e., shoes, etc., did I start picking his brain about the course. To sum it up, as just about every single other source has said: ‘It’s f-ing hard.’

We managed to pack it in last night around 10:30PM, and with little delay I was sound asleep. Strangely I wasn’t really at all nervous. Maybe it was because I didn’t know what to expect. I slept pretty well, and before we knew it, Michelle and I were huddled at the start shaking uncontrollably from the blustery weather. I had my compression shorts on, but refused to take off my tights. Too damn cold. After a few short words from the MAN Dean Karnazes, we were off at 8:05AM.

I pretty much booked it as much as I could to get to the front, as we spun it down some pavement before heading up into the hills. We didn’t have long to sort things out before passing became difficult. The first few miles were definitely a little tricky, but I soon found a good pace, and started gobbling up those in front of me one-by-one until I found the small group that I would largely remain with for the rest of the race. What stinks is that before I encountered this group, I was far ahead of them. Turns out the guy and I that were rotating pace, took a wrong turn and headed a good 2 minutes out of the way. Trouble is, you’re so focused on footing that it’s sometimes damn near impossible to sight the flags in the trees. Anyway, he even apologized (back to that culture thing). I think I responded only with a happy giggle. I was having too much fun.

About that point heading back to the trail though, I easily lost 10 places right away, 5+ which I got back for good, and some for the second time. I wasn’t all that worried. I did want a good showing, but this by no means was an A race for me, or really even a B. It’s all part of the big picture for August. Before going in, I had one goal, well two maybe: Don’t break my ankle and have a blast. Done and done.

My fitness was great, and my result I’m more than pleased with. I ended up rolling my ankle a good amount of times. A have a history to doing such, and once I did it once, my confidence was gone. I even took a nasty digger, and tore open my palm. I know for a fact, as with mountain biking, you can be the fittest guy out there, but if you don’t have the technical skills, forget it. Think Lance, think Travis Brown. Well that was me, i.e., fitness-wise I was toe to toe with every one out there. I looked forward to the climbs because I would blow by people, and there wasn’t one I didn’t at least do a rhythmic slow jog up while others walked. But dang, forget about the down!! People would blow by me, with cat-like footing. I’ll get there. I’ve had a taste, and definitely will be back for more.

After crossing the line, getting cleaned up by the medic, switching some clothes, and cranking the heat, we were on our way. What an awesome day, and an awesome weekend. Looking forward to our day off tomorrow.

Officially, out of 483 that started the day, I pulled in 34th. 32/352 gender, and 13/80 age group place. 9:12 pace/2:00 hours on the day. 9:12 (eek)!! Whole different ballgame out there in the woods. But remember, I got lost, and in reality per the GPS I ran close to 13.5 miles, at a 8:55 pace. So it’s probably somewhere in the middle. Pretty stoked with that, as had I not gotten lost I’m pretty confident I would’ve scored a top 10 age group.