The Course
Think Niagara Falls. The water cascades over the falls and churns it's way along the Niagara River and then empties into Lake Ontario about 25km distant. The little Town of Niagara-On-The-Lake (or NOTL as locals call it) is nestled where Lake Ontario greets the Niagara River and our race start is about 1km from Fort George at the Kinsmen Scout Hall situated on the Commons. You can certainly read any of my past race reports to get the intimate details of the course but suffice it to say that it is completely paved footpath or road so not the kind of race to do if you want trail running. However, it is a beautiful course in it's own right and how many races take you to one of the Natural Wonders of the World? (if you are doing the 50km or 100km races - the marathon falls short by about 5km).
The first 10.5-11km are almost flat but then you get a cheeky climb up the escarpment, passing by the ever watchful Brock and his monument. Now you are quite high up and take a left turn along the footpath and follow it by the floral clock before passing the hydro-electric station. It is very exposed with a magnificent view deep into the gorge where seagulls frolic below you and on some days eagles soar in the air currents. From 17-18km you are running flat with the golf course on your right. At the 18km point is a short climb which takes you to a left turn which takes you past a tourist helicopter pad and The Great Wolf Lodge and then to the Gorge cable-car crossing. It was quite peaceful to this point but after this from about 20km you are starting quite a few rolling climbs and descents as you come into Niagara Falls proper.
Finally the last decent with 2km to go greets you before the turn-around point - it's now the beginning of something new with the hustle and bustle of hoards of tourists. On the 50km, because of the early start, it's possible to get in and out of Dodge before noon but my first experience of running this 100km race in Niagara means that, by 2-3pm, the area that was relatively navigable the first time around, becomes a minefield of human bodies (you call them tourists - I call them a pain in the ass) who seemed completely blind to my neon green shirt hurtling towards them at 4kph (hey, I was tired by then, sheesh).
Race Day Minus One
Ok, so let's backtrack to the day before and lead up to my race. I met up at lunch with Jack Kilislian, a fellow Ontario Ultra runner who I've seen now in many races. Jack is a talented runner and has made it 2014's mission to race all 14 OUS races. He's off to a very good start and I'll be rooting for him through the series. We watched one of the World Cup matches at The Irish Harp pub in downtown Niagara and talked about ultra running and then I headed home to pack my kit. Along the way I got some chips, seaweed and more keniso-tape for my Achilles issues.
The weather forecast looked perfect for me, cool with some cloud cover with some sunny breaks. I was happy. Every other Niagara 50km I've entered in the previous 3 years has always been hot. I got my kit together and the only change in my wardrobe on the day was going to be a long sleeve thin mesh shirt to keep the sun at bay. Bright neon, I found it winking at me from the bottom of the drawer and knew we were meant to be together for 100km at least. I failed to post this blog post before race day so I can't offer you any race day predictions but the plan was to go out slow, and try for roughly even 6:30 minute km splits. I had my Garmin 620 watch and set it to warn me every 20 minutes to take water or gels and do lap splits for each 5km. Great idea and all went well until the final 25km return trip when I started getting low battery warnings. Guess where it finally stopped working? 15 seconds from the finish line - so I lost ALL my data. Damn!
Race Morning
My sleep was pretty good and I woke before my alarm clock. A quick bowl of cereal and banana, a poo or two and I was out the door ready for my tiring 10 minute drive to the start. I parked beside Hans Meier and got my stuff together. Ultra friends arrived and I said hello to Richard Takata and met Jack's wife, chatted to Hans and got my bib and ultra cool blue hooded fleece. I congratulated Henri, the race organiser, on his recent marriage to Diane who is race organiser of Dirty Girls and Laura Secord races (without them we would not have so many great ultra races in Ontario) and then chilled in the back of my car so pre-race nerves would not overwhelm me. I had my lucky charm in my handheld which I take to all my races and applied body glide liberally before heading out to the start.
We got quick instructions and the 50 100km runners took their mark, set, and off we went. I settled into a slow pace and made a habit of checking my watch quite regularly and while 6:30 was the target/km I was finding I was doing closer to 5:45-5:50 early on which I was not worried about. I ended up beside Ibrahim Asghar, one of two brothers whom I finished the last parts of the 100km Laura Secord race with back in April. It was nice to learn about his roots in Dubai and his brothers and life in Dubai and we were quite comfortable chatting and getting a good rhythm going.
Workman Confrontation
At 10.5km you take a sharp left turn down a road which crosses a bridge with a ravine and it was closed to traffic - ALL traffic. Amazingly, there was a work crew there at 7am and they were NOT happy to see runners. About 5 runners had turned back up the road towards us and we started walking back up the road to the intersection. I knew the route always went down the hill and the markers said so also. I knew we could take the left road and it would eventually lead us up to where we needed to go but I thought I'd seen some of the faster runners get by so I turned back and passed the barricades only to come face to face - literally - and chest to chest - with a very irate workman supervisor who told me I couldn't come through, etc. etc. and I very politely told him that he didn't need to worry about stopping me, but the next several hundred runners might be more of a problem. I smiled and slipped by him and carried on and got the disapproving look of several of his colleagues and then we began running again. I knew that by the time we returned the race organizers would have sorted something out and they did and we had to take the long way back. Oh well.
Getting to the hydroelectric station I lost my running partner and gained a new one, Paul Chenery. I met Paul 2 years ago at the Limberlost run and last year he represented Canada in the Worlds. He is no slouch and has run most of the OUS races and him and I ran together the entire way out and back so I learned more about him also. We then ran into Jack Kilislian who almost always runs shirtless and he was employing a 5/1 run/walk strategy so we fell into that for awhile with him which felt kind of nice although those 5 minutes seemed longer and the 1 minutes seemed to shrink each time we did it.
Niagara Falls the first time around was quite pleasant with fewer tourists and we got to the turn-around and I grabbed a ham/cheese and avocado wrap which I ate half and gave 1/2 to Paul. Some time on the return journey we lost sight of Jack while he went for a pit stop and we carried on. We came across many runners now in the shorter races and had been passed by a few of the leaders in the 50km race. It was nice to encourage the other runners and be buoyed by their enthusiasm also. Unfortunately Paul told me that it was likely he was going to stop after 50km so his wife would not have to wait another 6 hours. I tried not to think about heading off for another loop but how I felt and while I was tired, our pace had been relatively reasonable and we passed the start/finish in a time of 4:59:31 which was pretty darn good I thought. I've run the 50km 3 previous years and my times there have been 5:11, 4:07 and 5:01 (and no, I didn't take a car in that middle year!). Now you see what hot weather running does to my times.
I grabbed another wrap and walked away, eating it slowly, although I didn't find the wrap very palatable by that point and only had half. I just wanted to not have to face the clapping and cheers of other runners coming in who were done. About 1.2km from the start I came across Kimberley Van Delst who looked strong and gave me a big smile and I cheered her to kick ass to the finish line that was well within her sights.
A number of runners returning were impressed I was going out to do the same thing again, knowing how they felt. I knew what they meant also. I was at the finish line of the Niagara ultra 2 years ago, cheering fellow runners in, and saw these poor bastards going out to complete another 50km and I said, nooooo, I'll never do that here. I could not stand the thought of turning around to do it again. My reasoning to do the 100km this year was to get a good long training run in before Eastern States 100. Now, 100km pavement isn't the same as 100 miles of trails or mega climbs but 62 miles is 62 miles, right? I wanted to see if my Bruce Trail training runs over the past month have helped my fitness at all. I think they have and while the 62 miles hurt, I have been in 50km races and hurt far worse.
Carrying on with the race I tried to concentrate on the km markings, one at a time. Not think about the distance left, only about the next 5km aid station. About 10km along I had my first stomach upset and threw up allot which is never pleasant but made me feel a bit better once it was over. I kept trying to manage my salt and water intake and had managed one pee in about 5 hours. As I mentioned earlier, the second time into Niagara Falls was not fun with all the tourists and I was never happier to leave the hoards behind. Those rolling hills were no fun and Jack at this point passed me along with another woman and I had them in my sights for several more km and then they were no more. Now there were only the runners ahead and behind with no more that would be passing by so I was now conscious about not letting anybody pass me. I don't look back but I knew I was slowing and I was taking walking breaks each km.
I was starting to hurt but my mantra this time was to say out loud that 'everybody else is hurting also so just shut up and get on with it!' That seemed to do the trick and then I'd look ahead and visualize the next place I would allow myself to walk again. I'd always try to extend it that much further when I got to that point. It didn't always work but it helped.
Before I knew it I was at the 10km aid station and then 5 and I knew the finish line was a tangible thing. It felt strange passing by tourists enjoying their picnics on a lovely day, to them probably looking slightly crazed and them wondering why. Or maybe we never even entered their consciousness and they were just focused on their families and the smell of cooking food from their bar-b-ques. Bastards!
There is a street crossing with 1 mile to go and at that point I took a look back and thankfully there was not a sole to be seen and I knew I would not be passed. 1km mark, into the open field, a bench on the right, tall grass, large trees providing shade, a tiny concrete bridge, a row of trees lining the footpath, pink flags marking the route, a big puddle to cross and then a sharp left and a final sharp right onto the grass, the final 100 meters to the finish mat. Pick up the pace but just a bit - savoir those last few seconds, the claps of those that are left by now, the claps of your fellow runners that have experienced everything you have and done it quicker; Steven Parke and Jack Kilislian. Cross that line and get that medal and ribbon around your neck and put your hands on your knees and thank goodness it's all over and that you are here after 10 hours and 32 minutes.
That's right, 10 hours 32 minutes, enough for 9th place of 39 starters. My first lap was 4:59:31 and my second was 5:33:02. For me that is very consistent pacing and it surprised me (6:20/km). I'm very happy with my result.
I then hobbled over to Steven and Jack and hugged them both and congratulated them and then we cheered in the following runner 10 minutes later, Charles Smith. I'd seen him last year at the Ottawa 24 hour race. I wasn't feeling too swell and decided to go into the Hall to sit down and massage my legs. This is usually what happens. I have no appetite for about 20 minutes and then try to get something into me but while I was told fresh pizza had just arrived I couldn't seem to work myself up to eating anything and then had to go outside and dry heave about 8 times which was very unpleasant.
I was starting to shiver and decided to forget about the pizza and drive the 10 minutes home for a long hot shower and an Advil followed by the 2 hour throbbing, intense pain that follows. You know that feeling, don't you? Until the Advil or whatever takes the edge off. Still with a very unsettled stomach I did manage to eat two pizza slices and then went to bed. 2:30am I was having a really bad time with my stomach on the verge of revolt and this time I tried to shut it up with an apple which seemed to soothe it somewhat. In the morning my legs were stiff but not to the degree I've had in past races. My feet had zero blisters from my Hoka One One Stinson Trail shoes (I didn't have the road versions). The only punishment they suffered seems to be the large toe and the nail-bed. It's very tender and I'm hoping I don't loose that one but the next few days will tell. This pair of shoes supported my heels and the soles of my feet extremely well on this race.
So overall stats for this race were:
50km 1st lap: 4:59:31
50km 2nd lap: 5:33:02
Entrants Finishers
Total 48 25
Male 30 17
Female 18 8
Other 0 0 (who or what the hell is óther'?)
(39 started and 25 finished, 48 entered)
That's about all there is to say about this race. Perfect weather conditions for me, a lovely course and I hope next year you'll consider running one of the Niagara ultra race distance events. Niagara is a lovely place to visit and there are plenty of places along the course to park and cheer on your runner (just not within 5km of the Falls!). I hope all your training is going well and thank you once again for stopping by to see how my race went.
Alex (aka The Running Dude)
__________
My Garmin 620 was rated for 10 hours but actually died 10 hours 29 minutes and I thought I lost ALL my data but it stored it so here are my 5km (3.1 mile) splits throughout:
Split
|
Time
|
Distance
|
Avg Pace
|
|---|---|---|---|
| Summary | 10:29:59.0 | 62.74 | 10:00 |
| 1 | 28:29.2 | 3.11 | 9:10 |
| 2 | 28:39.4 | 3.11 | 9:13 |
| 3 | 32:52.0 | 3.11 | 10:35 |
| 4 | 30:07.5 | 3.11 | 9:42 |
| 5 | 29:26.6 | 3.11 | 9:29 |
| 6 | 31:52.2 | 3.11 | 10:15 |
| 7 | 28:35.1 | 3.11 | 9:12 |
| 8 | 28:20.8 | 3.11 | 9:07 |
| 9 | 29:02.4 | 3.11 | 9:21 |
| 10 | 28:14.3 | 3.11 | 9:05 |
| 11 | 32:54.8 | 3.11 | 10:36 |
| 12 | 31:48.7 | 3.11 | 10:14 |
| 13 | 35:07.2 | 3.11 | 11:18 |
| 14 | 32:00.4 | 3.11 | 10:18 |
| 15 | 33:20.2 | 3.11 | 10:44 |
| 16 | 33:03.7 | 3.11 | 10:38 |
| 17 | 33:45.5 | 3.11 | 10:52 |
| 18 | 32:23.1 | 3.11 | 10:25 |
| 19 | 32:54.2 | 3.11 | 10:35 |
| 20 | 31:12.6 | 3.11 | 10:03 |
| 21 | 5:49.2 | 0.60 | 9:38 |
| Elevation Gain: | 3,715 ft |
| Elevation Loss: | 3,725 ft |
| Min Elevation: | 246 ft |
| Max Elevation: | 563 ft |
Oh. And I got an email after a week saying I won an age-group prize! I looked and I was 3 of 3 for my age group (top 3 get awards). I had to laugh. I'm getting an award for being last in my age group :) I think it is a digital plaque.
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