Beginners and Beyond

12

Sky Pilot 12.5k trail RR (Read 38 times)

B-Plus


    This report is a bit late, so I'll try to keep it brief with mostly photos.

     

    Result = 1:52, 15th place out of 98

     

    This was my first trail race in about 6 or 7 years. I signed up mainly to force myself to go check out these new trails at the top of this mountain where a new gondola was just built. They promised amazing views and this race director has a reputation of punishing his clients. They did not disappoint on either count.

     

    There was also an 18k option, but there were about 1,536 disclaimers to read and waivers to sign, so I opted for the easier 12.5k route. The longer course does seem quite serious by the race briefing they got, and the fact that there were 11 mandatory items that racers needed to carry, and there was a spot check for 2 random items at the aid station. Like I said, these were brand new trails, some of them built just for this race. Despite all the warnings, I know they were concerned for our safety, especially given that the long course was changed just 2 days prior to the race start, due to a bunch of rain the days prior. They were super-serious about flagging as well. The warning was that if you didn't see any flagging for 1-2 minutes nobody what your pace, then you've gone the wrong way. As part of the briefing, the RD quoted his friend's blog. "It would seem that a race like this will be more of an experience than a race and the camaraderie will be what's most valuable out there." I don't really know since I ran the short version, but some of that was still applicable.

     

    On to my race. I was treating this like an easy run (yeah right), so I started in the middle of the pack (mixed start). It started out on this access road to the back country, which was quite boring, but then soon we were climbing up this little mountain. Everyone seemed to be walking, even in runnable parts. So all I could do was walk. We had to line up to use the rope, and only one person could touch the rope at a time. This was at the bottom of this loop, so we could cheer for the faster runners coming back down this short loop. When I got to the top, things cleared up a bit and I was able to run back down the dirt trail. The only problem is that I suck at downhill running, so I bailed 1.5 times. At least it wasn't on the same big rock surface like it was on the way up.

     

    After that, a shorter wait to take the rope down another small rock face, then aid station at 6k or so. I stayed here for a few minutes to take in some fluid and take a break. After the aid station, I continued on another access-type road to the final bigger loop in the back country. Much of this was flat or a gentle decline, so I was really able to get moving, and I passed about 4 people in this stretch. Then bam! This stupid uphill leading into the finish. According to the elevation chart, it is about 300m in 2km. All I could do is walk.

     

    That was the most I've ever cursed in a race, but also the most I've ever smiled. It was a fun time, and I would never catch myself chatting it up mid race in a road race. I just wanted to get out of my comfort zone and try something different, so mission accomplished. Oh, and that was the first time I've seen Red Bull served at a race. That was super-fun, but I won't be doing anything like it anytime soon.

     

    Also, my legs were so fried for a good 2-3 days after. Like marathon fried.

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Jack K.


    uʍop ǝpᴉsdn sǝʇᴉɹʍ ʇI

      That looks and sounds like a lot of fun. I'm guessing the views were amazing. I wish there was something like that around here. Great stuff, B-Plus.

      hog4life


        The pictures are amazing,  thanks for sharing.

        happylily


          So gorgeous there. But what a crazy trail for a race! Great ranking for a road runner.  Congratulations!

          PRs: Boston Marathon, 3:27, April 15th 2013

                  Cornwall Half-Marathon, 1:35, April 27th 2013

          18 marathons, 18 BQs since 2010

          Docket_Rocket


            Sounds like a fun race.  Great job!

            Damaris

             

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              Awesome pictures! It sounds like it was fun despite the congestion and uphill finish. Big grin

              5k - 25:15 (11/18/12)

              10k - 1:01:51 (2/14/15)

              10mi - 1:33:18 (3/2/14)

              HM - 2:06:12 (3/24/13)

               

              Upcoming Races:

              Benched until further notice. :/

               

              Everything you need is already inside. [[Bill Bowerman]]

              LRB


                Hell no!   

                LRB


                  Ironically I was just as adamant about not ever running years ago and now look.  lol

                   

                  That looks pretty cool!  As long as the footing was okay I would probably try something like that.

                   

                  Looking back on it is there a chance you could have placed higher given what you know now?

                  B-Plus


                    Thanks for the comments guys. It was definitely a beautiful place to run.

                     

                    LRB - The footing was mostly fine, but I think a bit more challenging on the long course. I think it included a boulder field.

                    Cyberic


                      It seems to me the parts where you have to wait for the others to proceed would kill me in a race. Or make me forget I'm racing.

                      The pics are nice. Must have been beautiful to run there.

                      Glad you had a good time.

                      B-Plus


                        Looking back on it is there a chance you could have placed higher given what you know now?

                         

                        I forgot to answer this one. Definitely yes. One of my regular competitors finished 18 minutes ahead of me. I was taking easy though. If I wanted to really race it, I would have started near the front. That's probably a good 5 min shaved off of bottleneck time. When I got off the first mountain, I was just jogging it on the access road out for a good 1 km. Then I spent about 2 min at the aid station just taking a break. It wasn't until after that point I stepped it up to a tempoish effort.

                          Sweet Jeebus, you raced on that?

                           

                          Curious what some of the 11 items were?  Crampons? Bear repellent? Parachute?

                           

                          Great job finishing on such ridiculous terrain.

                          B-Plus


                            Yo Jay, you still procrastinating with that RR?

                             

                            The 12.5k route that I ran was pretty much 100% runnable, except for the bottleneck areas. From the pictures, it looks like the 18k had some more difficult terrain - like those small boulders. Here's the list:

                             

                            1) Whistle 2) Space Blanket 3) Buff or Toque 4) Gloves 5) Long sleeve wind jacket 6) Cell Phone 7) Lighter or Matches 8) Headlamp or Flashlight 9) Printed Course Map 10) 600 calories 11) Two Litres of Water, minus what you've consumed since the aid station at kilometre six.

                             

                            Those top crazy 18k mofos finished only about 30 minutes after me!

                            LRB


                              I forgot to answer this one. Definitely yes. One of my regular competitors finished 18 minutes ahead of me. I was taking easy though. If I wanted to really race it, I would have started near the front. That's probably a good 5 min shaved off of bottleneck time. When I got off the first mountain, I was just jogging it on the access road out for a good 1 km. Then I spent about 2 min at the aid station just taking a break. It wasn't until after that point I stepped it up to a tempoish effort.

                               

                              It is weird but reading your race report resulted in the the first time I seriously pondered what it would be like to run a trail race. 

                               

                              Now, don't get me wrong I am not going to go out and sign up for one but I will be a little more opened minded to the idea should the opportunity present itself, one that does not conflict with my racing schedule that is.

                              B-Plus


                                 

                                It is weird but reading your race report resulted in the the first time I seriously pondered what it would be like to run a trail race.  

                                 

                                Now, don't get me wrong I am not going to go out and sign up for one but I will be a little more opened minded to the idea should the opportunity present itself, one that does not conflict with my racing schedule that is.

                                 

                                That's what it was for me. As I was explaining to a dude during the race (ya, chatting mid-race), I wanted to check out some knarly trails and do it in a supported environment. I chose this one based on the time of year in relation to my racing sched.

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