PCTR; RIP, the end of an era!

I saw this on Scott Dunlap’s blog post today…very sad news indeed. Lots of firsts, fun times and fond memories!

Just five days before the sold out Skyline to the Sea 50k event, Race Director Sarah Spelt posted on Facebook today that Pacific Coast Trail Runs is officially closing its doors. Here's what she posted today around 3pm PST:

"I am beyond sorry to announce that I am forced to close the doors at PCTR, effective immediately. As many of you know, I have dealt with some very difficult obstacles these past few years which have taken their toll, in many ways, on me and on PCTR. Although they were exacerbated at the end of last year, I truly believed that PCTR could be turned around through the influx of money, the hard work of a few of us, and the support of my friends, but it just wasn’t to be. As a business, PCTR can no longer function.

I know that many runners/entrants will be upset with this decision, but please try to keep in mind that, for each of you, this is a race in your life, but for me, for over 12 years, this has been my life. Moving forward, I am hopeful that other RDs who are friends of mine will take over the upcoming events, and that those of you who have already planned to run will still be able to do so. Thank you for your understanding."

No mention of refunds, but some runners are rallying to do the course this Sunday anyway (and could use a few volunteers if you are in town).

PCTR Santa Monica Mountain’s 50k

This is the 4th time in 5 years I have run this race (albeit once was the 30k) and the missed year I volunteered! It was my first ultra back in 2007 and this year it marked my 10th ultra start (first in two years) and 8th finish!

The race is pretty simple 5 hills looping over two valleys and a plateau, each hill is 3 miles up and 3 miles down for an elevation gain/loss of roughly 1000’, in between the hills you accumulate a mile of flat to get your 31 miles or 50k and that is basically it, you start, you run, you walk, you finish..simple.

PCTR as always put on a great event, well organized but low key, professional but friendly…and a chance to catch up with some friends; Emil, Billy and Dave were there along with some local Ultra glitteratti include Jimmy, Keira and Dom.

I’ll spare you the 1000 words race report, suffice to say, it was wet, dirty, fun and lasted a good seven plus hours, four or more of which were in the rain!

This is the same as 30%, 20%, 10% chance of sunshine right???

My camera lasted two hills and died so I have stolen photos along the way, non credits are my photos.

Race brief from Sara; Gortex to flesh, it’s very colorful crowd!

Me; clean, tidy and cold! (pic Emil)

The start of Hill 1

Back down Hill 1; Trail or River Run (pic Dave)

My friend Yoli going down Hill 2; it was a bit muddy here (pic Deo)

A break in the weather on the plateau of Hill 4…it didn’t last!

PCTR Santa Monica Mountains Highlights from Billy on Vimeo.

More Video from Dave

It wasn’t an easy day but like anything if you have the right mindset you can make it fun…as you tell by all the smiles!

Onward…

Discretion over Destruction!

It took a full five days and and 90 minutes being kneaded like a piece of 3 week old dough on a massage table for me to feel like me legs have grown back. I probably didn’t help the cause much as this week has been another full on week at work and that has resulted in err nada training during the week. On Twitter I asked the question was I on a permanent taper as I am not running between races or am I just a lazy bum? Ach whatever really, I am enjoying the runs and that’s what counts. There’s no chances of me setting the world alight with my performance but these are just fun runs on the trails and I get to hang out with some like minded people. Tomorrow I am at the PCTR Pt Mugu race, Billy, Rachel, Penny, Emil and Dave will be there for sure.

That being said with Penny scaling back her 50k attempt to 30k this weekend I am off the hook for my pacing duties and so I dropped to to the 30k also. I was pretty good through to 15 miles last weekend and so I think I can bluff my way to the end, the last three miles are not as quad busting as Catalina it should also reduce the recovery time as I am supposed to be running a family Turkey Trot on Thursday!

Another thing that’s going to be different is the weather:

Last weekend (Catalina Eco Marathon 2010)	Forecasted for Sunday (PCTR Pt Mugu 50k 2007)

As I look out the window, it’s drizzling and it’s been raining all night…bring it on I say, that’ll make it just more fun in my books, here’s the actual forecast:

So that’s my plans for my weekend as always I will running along grinning grimacing like a fool! Performance wise – well somewhere around 3:45 would be good!

Finally good luck to Wes at IronMan Arizona tomorrow, I am (as usual) behind on everyone else's adventures so if you are racing this weekend good luck to you to!

PCTR Sycamore Canyon 30k

I have said it before and I’ll continue to say it that PCTR races are some of the best on the block, well organized, friendly people, good challenging courses and beautiful locations, I mean c’mon what’s not to beat. This weekend was going to be extra special as I was hoping to meet up with some of the folks I know through blogging, Twitter and in person and with the exception of a couple of people I missed it all panned out, which is more than can be said for my day.

Unlike me I managed an earlyish night 10:00pm and unlike our kids I only got woken once at 4:00am and so by the time my alarm went off at 6:00am I was in pretty good shape, my cold/cough thing was still lingering and it had settled into a night mucusy hacking lung thing, but the shakes and aches had gone and my head felt clear. Breakfast was my usual and the drive was uneventful other than spotting dolphins swimming in the ocean which along with the fact that I was meeting friends and running on trails was enough to put a smile on my face like I had slept with a coat hanger in my mouth!

L-R Me, Andrea, Dave, Billy, Josh, Emil, Kristen, Colin and Andee (photo Billy…well his camera and a stranger)

I checked in, got my number and hung out chatting until the race announcements started, shortly afterwards I along with another 100 or so folks were off. Today there were four distances; 8k, 18k, 30k and 50k. Everyone except the 8kers started in one go and I soon lost sight of everyone I knew, which was fine; there is an unspoken rule that you run your own race. I hit play on my iPod and got on with things. My expectations for this race where really to treat as (a) and good long run and (b) time on my feet, I had in mind 3:30 for a time so fairly conservative I thought. Last year I completed the 30k of the 50k I raced in 3:33 but was running at a 50k pace.

I’ve run this course before so I knew to expect, up and down and not much in between. For the 30k it’s basically three hills, three miles up, three miles down for each. I managed to run the first two miles up and resigned to walk the last one. I stopped to take some photos and was recognized from this blog which is always nice and surprising at the same time, I am sorry I never got your name.

I hit the top and started the three mile decent, around mile 4 my ego got he better of me and I started clicking off some pretty quick miles ; 9:14 and 8:11! Stupid me! I reached the bottom at mile 6 and blew past the Aid Station, I had two 26oz bottles and had hardly touched them.

The second climb is trickier, once you’re into it proper it’s a lot of steps cut into the rock face and some narrow single track, added to which all the rain we have had this winter has accelerated the spring growth, although the upside of this is all the spring flowers that are in bloom and this trickle of a waterfall I have never ever seen before!

The climb goes on interspersed with a slight down and here I was overtaken by Dave who was racing the 50k but who kindly stopped to take a photo of me, thanks Dave!

Once you top out you left running through an elevated plateau, as you can see the cloud was low and it was a bit breezy which was welcome after all that huffing and puffing to get to the top. From here you loop around and basically run back down the first half of what you climbed up.

I was mostly being overtaken and while a bit frustrating I kept reminding myself of my job. My nutrition was good; I took a swig of Chocolate#9 gel, about 2/3’s of a pack, from a bottle every half hour, my hydration I screwed up and while there was no noticeable impact during the race I ended up really dehydrated; in total drank about 50oz of a Cytomax/Nunn mix, that’s it…not good!

I hit the bottom, skipped the Aid Station and started on the last 3 mile climb, I knew it wasn’t going to be pretty and it was just a case of getting it done. I trudged up the hill until I got to the top…and then I trudged along the top…and then I ran a bit, trudged some more down the other side and ran a bit, stopping to grab the occasional picture.

I was spent by mile 15 my legs were done along with thoughts of 3:30…then 3:45. Crapola I’ll be damned if I was going past 4:00 hours I am was a friggin’ ultra-runner! Finally I reached the final straight and I bumbled across the finish in 3:54 and change!

I met up with Andrea who ran the 18k and Billy and Josh who ran the 30k, Josh came in 2nd overall and Billy was about a half hour ahead of me. We swapped war stories from the day and as you would expect the conversation got round to what’s next, I mentioned RNRSD and Billy said it was sold out! Shit, I hadn’t registered! Shit really? Well kinda, but more on that later. I bid my farewells and set off home.

The quick after race round up is that my base is close to being non existent, I am nowhere near as fit in my body as I am in my mind, this time last year I was knocking in two 50ks in three weeks SUB 6 houring them and PRing in both! This year my longest run is, well, today’s and that gave me a good ass kicking, in fact it’s my longest run in 6 months.

And so I am heading back to the drawing board to regroup and replan my return, suffice to say it involves a lot more dirt and a lot less tarmac!

Garmin Connect doesn’t work with Windows 7 and Chrome…at least I can’t get it to work so here’s a ST screen shot….no laughing please and today’s photos all jazzed up!

Social Sunday!

So this morning I was up and out early; dark o’clock early, 13 miles at 8:04 was the prescribed distance as per the FIRST plan that rounded out week 1. My paces are way off clearly demonstrating that if you don’t use you lose; no running for two weeks has really left the edge dull. I always end up kicking myself after these off periods as even just a mile here or there would have made a difference…oh well another lesson learned the hard way! I had set my Garmin to nag me if I fell out of the 8:00-8:10 range, despite my best efforts my splits were a bit wobbly; 8:56, 8:02, 8:09, 8:19, 8:02, 8:03, 8:18, 8:14, 7:54, 8:14, 8:17, 7:59, 7:50 and 0:47 just to make it a tidy half marathon, I finished +1:30 over target so it wasn’t too bad and it was my equal longest run this year, it’s early days but need to start driving the paces down, of course this is the objective of the plan, reading between the lines I have pretty quick long runs at the weekend and short to medium fast runs during the week and as the plan gets towards the end they merge.

After a quick change I was heading out to pay my volunteer dues at the PCTR Malibu Creek race, that being said the dues are minor and it’s a chance to catch up with some friends. I was a bit late and just caught the tail end of the 8:30am start, but I caught up with Danica who had been checking in the runners and Rachael who had started but felt tight in her Achilles and discretion being the better part of valor had stopped after the first mile, she’s running the San Diego 100 in June so the last thing she needs to do is blow her heel running a training 50k race, I headed out to my Aid Station stop. The Aid Station was set up after the one river crossing on the course, last year it was mid calf, this year with all the rain we had mid thigh and a couple of shorter runners over waist and even mid chest, there was more then one runner that took an early ice bath today!

2009 0n the left 2010 on the right (photos courtesy of Billy and Penny)

I met up with some friends from the Trail Runners Club who I hadn’t seen in a while; both are solid ultra runners, Rachael came along and together we helped the mid to back of the pack of the first loopers and the second loopers, the race is basically two 25k loops, you can read my race report from last year here.

Being late to arrive meant I missed Billy, you can read his report here. I did finally meet Penny who I have chatted with on Twitter and whose blog I have been following for over a year now! Evan came flying through in about 2:30 and went on to set a new course record! And another friend Emil was manning the other Aid Station.

As you can see beyond the race it was a great social event and a chance to generally shoot the shit about running and all that good stuff with some like minded people, it was also another reminder of both how much I am missing the trails and I am looking forward to my return to them.

PCTR Santa Monica Mountains (Volunteer)

Today I was up bright and early a’ la race day, but for me no racing. I was heading off to Pt Mugu to spend the morning volunteering at the Pacific Coast Trail Runners Santa Monica Mountain’s race. This is the site of my very first ultra, a 50k, a scant two years ago!

As a runner PCTR races always have such a good vibe; friendly, welcoming and as much as a run with friends than a race. Being behind the scenes today proved no different plus it was a good opportunity to catch with some old friends; Billy and Sara and make some new ones; Evan, although I am sure the reason everyone else wanted to know me was the fact that I was in charge of the soup and chili rather than the quality of my conversation.

Anyway I always knew that being a Race Director was hard work but I have a new found respect; Sarah and Wendall are at it pretty much non stop all day, in addition to this race they put on another 30+ up and down the California coast and they’re talking about bringing more to SoCal; today was sold out; a first!

Other than the chili it was very rewarding for being thanked for 'being out there' something I try to always do to volunteers and the folks who man the Aid Stations and without whom a lot of these races would fall flat.

All the volunteers were kept busy so there are not so many photos; thanks to Billy for the ones of me and in fact most of those below.

As I posted on my Facebook profile; "....I was given a stark reminder of how I miss the trails...still I caught a good whif of runners funk and some salt air at Point Mugu this morning and that will have to do for the next 6 or 7 months while I pay my tarmac dues!"

Lori & RD Sarah

Three pieces of banana and one finger later!

What's not to like!

Soup or Chili or Chili or Soup?

Local runner Dominic Grossman took first in the 50k with 4:3o something...blazin' fast!

Great friends. Good times!

PCTR Sycamore Canyon 50k

Yesterday I had the privilege of running the PCTR Sycamore Canyon 50k. When I say privilege I really mean it, these are great events, low stress, well organized, friendly and fun…well as much fun as running 50kms can be; lots! I had ummed and ahhed about whether to enter this event as I wanted to go into Leona Divide on as much of a high as possible and after such a good run at Malibu Creek two weeks ago I didn’t want to spoil the feeling. I decided to go for it but have the low key and realistic goal of finishing it around the 6:30 mark, no pressure no stress, just a long supported run.

The one thing that had me concerned was the weather which was forecast to be 70f, not as warm as during the week but warm enough. I noticed, driving to the race that the weather was not living up to the forecast and that the cloud was low on the hills and while there was some blue sky inland the course was predominantly based on the coastal hills, it stayed this way most of the day.

I arrived, parked my car and went over to pick up my number; on duty were Billy and Sara from the TRC, they diligently handing out race numbers. We swapped some stories and I headed back to the car to grab my gear and stretch out etc before heading back to the start area to await the brief etc.

After the pre-race brief, a quick countdown and a woop the 18, 30 and 50km runners all set off. The first half a mile or so was along the valley bottom and I ran with Rachel and Emil who I had met at Malibu Creek who is running, Rachel is no slouch; she's Boston next month. We turned off to start the first of the five climbs. The course is basically a figure of 8 with an out and back and goes up and over 5 hills, each hill is about 1000’ in elevation gain and off course a subsequent 1000’ drop, in fact the vertical division is 41% ascent, 45% descent and a whopping 13% on the flat…woot! The first up and over was finished in around an hour and I was pleased with the pace of 10 min miles, a little faster than planned but I was feeling fine and so I carried on. At this point we dropped the 18km runners and so the 30km and 50km runners carried on. The next section took me deeper into the canyon and having run this several times before I was very aware of what was coming up; essentially the climb up from the valley floor takes you up the valley side up short, sharp, singletrack switchbacks most of which are steps, some natural some man made cut into the rockface; the real objectives here are to not do anything stupid, twist an ankle or fall off the path and to keep going as fast as you can, I ran where I could and hiked up the rest. Once you exit this section you continue on an easier path which traverses across the side of the hills gradually climbing until you reach just below the summit of Point Mugu. From here I was treated to some of the flatter sections and I wound my way through the meadows on the top plateau. The trail then closes a loop and you head back down the way you came up. Here’s some very bad video of coming down.





I reached the aid station which put me at around mile 13 and the bottom of the third climb. Two miles later I was at the half way point and my Forerunner showed 2:43:00; some half an hour ahead of my projected finish time. Putting that to back of my mind I pushed up the climb. This would be the first of two times I made this trip and the trail; Ray Miller is steep and long, although being intimate with it I knew where the flatter sections where and where exactly the real top was, there are several false summits. At this point I had been playing cat and mouse with 3 or 4 other runners and had finally shaken them off…or so I thought. Coming down the backside I noticed someone on my heels and I struck up a conversation with a 30km runner; this was her first trail race and she had been copying my walk/run strategy to the top compared to another runner who had tried to run all the way up and then ground to a halt. We chatted as we ran the three miles down, you can see from my splits that my pace picked up and a clocked in three quick miles: 8:38, 8:21 and 8:17. I hit the next aid station at Mile 20 and caught up with Billy and Sara who were manning the aid station, Billy ran out with me for the first quarter mile and we chatted. He turned back and I turned onto the single track for the forth climb…onwards and upwards. That was theme for the next three miles; really just trying to push on up the hill at the best pace possible. As I reached the top I felt the first twinges of cramp and I took an extra S-Cap, my pace was solid but not fast, my legs felt ok but the cramping was a bit worrying, from this point I took an S-Cap every 30 minutes and stuck to my gel intake of one every 30 minutes, other than a cup of Sprite I had only taken water from the aid stations and I was running a little low on gels, I had some minor gastic irritation but nothing major. I reached the final aid station refilled one bottle with water and the other with Perpetuem from a baggy that I was carrying. The final climb was best described a “mofo bitch” three miles up and my slowest three miles; 15:24, 15:30 and 15:10 I walked 95% of the way up. At this point my left ankle was starting to give me some real discomfort, I topped out and I picked up my pace, with one eye on the clock it was all about just keeping moving; steady, safe and not too fast and other than tripping, stubbing my toe and hoping about as my hamstring cramped and the air turned blue I hit the bottom of the valley with around 5:40 on the clock and less than a mile to go. I knew the PR was on and made steady progress. With a couple of hundred yards left I picked it up and I crossed the finish line in 5:49:53 a new PR by exactly 9 minutes! I finished 22/57 overall and 7/14 for my age group.

So another race and another PR, I am not getting older I am getting faster. Knocking out two 50ks in three weeks really has given me the confidence for the sub 11:00 finish that I want from LD50 in three weeks time. Looking back over my races I have now reduced my 50k time by over an hour in the last 16 months...let's see what another 16 months will bring. My ankle is still a bit sore and I am icing it, I’ll skip tonight’s scheduled 10 miler and see how it feels tomorrow.

Thanks to Billy for the photos of me, my camera wasn’t playing but there are some photos here and here is the MotionBased data.

PCTR Malibu Creek 50k

Sunday I had the pleasure to attend the PCTR Malibu Creek 50k. This is the first of three SoCal PCTR (Pacific Coast Trail Runners) races this year and my first time racing this one. As always Wendall and Sarah put on a great event; a relaxed vibe, glorious location and perfect weather (apparently Wendell had booked the weather in advance), all aligned to make this a really enjoyable day, if you live anywhere accessible to one of their events, go, do it, sign up now; it will most likely be the most fun you’ll have all year!

Anyway I digress…as usual! For me the race was a tune up for Leona Divide 50m next month and I was using it as a benchmark on my current state of fitness, readiness etc and my expectations were to gauge myself and not go too mad, I was, as previously mentioned, looking for a steady sub 6:30 finish and it was also the opportunity to meet up with some online buddies (Chris and Danica) and re-meet with some real ones, who I hadn’t seen in the longest (Billy and Sara).

I arrived early and found the temperatures were a little cooler than anticipated; 34f! (yes I know for most of this country (and Canada and the UK) 34f is positively balmy), but I live here for a reason and 32f ain’t it!

A quick think on the clothing front and a stab in the thigh with the number pin and I was set, I stretched in the trunk of my car grabbed all my gear and wandered off to the start line. I had bumped into Sara and Danica earlier and they weren’t exactly embracing the climate! At the start I hooked up with Billy and we wished each other good luck, and with a 3, 2, 1, woot we were off!

A mile or so in Chris and Billy found me, I’ve no idea how Chris found me; it must be the accent when I am huffing and puffing through the top of my head! And so we stuck together on and off for most of the first loop.

The course was two loops taking in Castro Peak (not quite the summit, as it’s all marked Keep Out, but close enough), so it really is an up-down-around-up-down-around course, in fact on 19% of it is level and the rest is 50/50 up and down. After another mile or so were met with a line of runners backing up the trail…oh that sounds like water I thought; it was! About 12-15’ across and 2’ish deep (it seemed deeper the second time?), there seemed to be several ways to tackle it and I went with ‘try the stepping stones’ and then, ‘well I am wet let’s just get on with it’ approach, my shoes would dry out after a few more miles.

After this crossing we faced to the long climb to the top which went on for about 6 miles with some little downs in between, it was all very walkable with some running on the occasional downs and flats, we swapped stories and generally shot the sh!t as runners do. Once we got to the top the downhill was runable all the way to half way point, Chris and I jabbered to each other most of the way down with Billy not far behind and before we knew it we were half way round. 2:48! Gosh that’s a bit quick.

I set out from the Aid Station on my own; Chris had said that he had only wanted to stay with me the first loop and Billy was refilling bottles etc. I pushed through the water crossing the second time round without even a pause and plodded up the trail, a couple of hundred yards in and things were not looking familiar, I back tracked and picked up the right trail, phew disaster avoided and only a few minutes lost. I passed through the next AS and set off up the hill again. This time I knew where the flats and downs were so I made a point of running them even if they were only a dozen steps or so, every little counts, right!

There were two runners/walkers in front and I set my sights on overtaking them before the first summit, I managed to pass one and then caught the second a little later, there was also a third further ahead and I finally passed him, this had taken 3 miles. Up ahead there was a group of three who were pacing off each other and I played tag with them catching another two over the next 4 four miles. The downhill run, which lasted about 6 miles and dropped us 1900’ started to hurt the quads and toes after the second mile and so I balled my toes up and parked my brain as I let gravity take me down the hill.


I passed the old 4077 MASH site (where they filmed the TV show) for the second time and I finally overtook the third runner from the group I had been chasing. At this point I had one eye on my watch, the sub 6:30 was well in hand and there was a slim possibility of a sub 6:00 finish, something that has been in my sights for over a year.

Eventually the trail leveled out and I found myself in the last mile and on the road back to the finish. One runner was in front of me and with 300 meters left I pushed as hard as I could, caught and overtook him just before the chute, the clock by the finish read 5:58:53!

And that remained my official time, I was 17/61 overall and 5/16 in my Age Group, I broke my old PR by over 20 minutes and ticked off a major “thing to do in 2009”.

Chris came in about 10 minutes behind me with a new PR and Billy 10 minutes behind him completing his first ultra!

We hung out chatting and enjoying the sun for a while and then all parted company. What a great day!

So as races go it really couldn’t have gone better, other than a few potato chips I raced on gel (6-7) and Perpetuem alone and popped a S-Cap every two hours, it wasn’t that hot but I was feeling a little crampy with a mile to go so one every 90 minutes probably would have been better.

Now I have to weigh up if I want to run PCTR Sycamore Canyon 50k in three weeks or pass on it and go straight to LD in April, it would be nice to get the longer mileage in but I can cover that on my own and going in on the back of such a great race will be a real boost; while I simply need a finish to fulfill my AC100 entry finishing sub 11:00 for entry into WS100 is always on my mind!

Other race reports: Danica's, Sara's and Billy's with more photos etc, Chris' deleted his and is re-writing it.

Here is the MotionBased Data and a few photos here

PCTR Pt Mugu 50k

This post could also easily have been titled: A race of two halves or SLB; your mind is writing checks you body can’t cash! But I am getting ahead of myself.

As I left my house I had one eye on the weather, living inland it’s almost a given at this time of the year that the weather will not be as warm at the ocean and I wasn’t disappointed. Low cloud obscured the sun and the starting temperature was 56f degrees; perfect running weather. I made the short drive to the start line and arrived in good time with nearly an hour to go before the race actually started, I was amazed at the number of cars already there and I was forced to park on PCH. I grabbed my coffee and walked to the registration table. After I had picked up my number and pinned it to my shorts I bumped into Meiko from the TRC who was running the 50k and then I also saw Billy and Jes also from the TRC, Billy was running the 30k with some friends from a RW world forum, Jes was running the 50k and was worried; she has been suffering from ITB issues and was dreading the thought of a DNF, I gave over my mantra band and told her to think about the acronym for the next 6-7 hours and see if she could work it out! I also bumped into someone from work who was running the 18k and his wife who ran the 9k, quite a contrast to this time last year where I just turned up ran and left!

I went through my stretching routine garnering a few odd looks as I prostrated myself in the parking lot, but whatever, and then chatted with Jes waiting for the gun to off, it did and so did we.

The race is run around a figure of 8, it starts at a parking lot just by the ocean. You run the first loop twice and then one and a bit of the second loop, it has you running up and over two valley passes and covers 5 hills each of which are about a 1000' of climbing. The first mile is along a reasonably wide path this is followed by another two miles along a twisty single track and you gain your first 1000’, needless to say because of the steepness of the incline lots of people slow to a walk and if you get bunched up your forced to move at their pace, with this in mind I pushed hard at the beginning to get a good place. I pushed up the hill and topped out after about 35 minutes. The trail then rolls for a couple of miles looping back and then drops down for another five until you reach the start point. Having only run once this week post surgery my legs had a real spring in them and these miles all whizzed by at sub 10 minute mile pace (four at sub nine). I reached the start and blew past the aid station without stopping, I was wearing my Wasp vest and had a handheld and was popping a gel every forty minutes.

From the start point I started up hill #2. Two miles later I was up the top and running down the fireroad into the next canyon, this was a route change from last year and apparently this was because several people fell running down the single track; which we would run up it this year. While running down a fireoad is fine, this one was strewn with ankle turning rocks and we had to swerve to avoid some mountain bikers. I pushed on the down the hill opening my stride and pace and dropping in a 7:29 mile, this was my fastest mile by far so far and would be the quickest of the day. As we bottomed out we picked up another fireroad and hit the second aid station and turn around point, I grabbed some water to cool off and wet my cool tie. From here we about faced and ran along the fire turning left to pick up a single track trail which then rejoined the fireroad and we ran back over the hill; three down two to go. It was here I recorded some video (sorry about the angle!) as I hadn’t taken many photos. Quite clearly I had in mind what could happen in the next half. I pushed over the top and back down into the starting valley and it was during this climb that the cramps started. I am not prone to cramps, in fact I can probably say I’ve never had them while running, but three times in the last week I have had cramps;hamstring once and calves twice. This time it was my calves again. Not bad, well not really bad but bad enough especially on the uphills so much so that from here any major hill became a real slog. To be honest I have no idea why, I was taken an Endurolyte every hour and had no real change to my diet in the last week, so it’s is and remains a mystery, one that will need to be solved within the next two weeks!

Running downhill my calves were mostly cramp free unless I caught my toe on a rock and then they would lock and I would need to stretch them so I endeavored to be careful. My pace was falling off from a 10 minute ish miles, it had crept to 10:40 on the third hill, I managed to reduce that to 10:30 on the way down but it would soon creep up again. The fourth hill was a repeat of the first, although this time having shed the 30k runners the 50kers where spread far and wide and I had this section mostly to myself, I plodded up and recorded my slowest mile on the way 18:04; definitely a run of two halves, this time I topped out at a considerably slower pace and made my across the rollers and actually overtook someone who looked to be having a tougher time than me. I closed off the loop and heading back down passing the start and finish for a torturous forth time. With only 9k left there was no question of not finishing but my goal of sub 6 hours was looking less and less likely and I focused on getting a new distance PR. I had in my mind that I needed to beat 6:24 (which is actually 10 minutes faster than my PR, d'uh!) but it was all to the good. Again the climb seemed tortuously long and was painful. As soon as I reached the top it was time to turn around and head back down. With one eye on my watch the last three miles got successively faster. I could feel someone behind and when they turned down the offer to pass I figured that I would just pull out all the stops and go for it aiming for anything faster than the 6:24 which would be a fair reward. I covered the last 0.78 of mile in 6:31 and crossed the finish line according to my Garmin in 6:22:52, (also according to my Garmin it measured 32+ miles) it was only when I started typing my report tonight I realized that my PR was 6:34 so I actually reduced it by twelve minutes and not two! Official times are yet to post.

I stretched out and grabbed some Sprit which hit the spot as it always does and relaxed chatting to other finishers and Sarah, one half of Sarah and Wendell the Race Directors who, once again, put on a great event, anyone in California could do a lot worse than attend a PCTR event as their first ultra, they’re well organized and very friendly. I hung around for a while and saw Jes finish; after 7 hours she still hadn’t figured out the acronym and I didn’t tell her!

So post event here is the postmortem; going out too fast too soon, such a rooky mistake, aided to my blow up in the second half, I could have probably bluffed my way through however the addition of the cramps really knocked my game into touch, had I not had those I could have run more of the ups; I walked a lot of them and could had had faster coverage on the flats, that would have reduced my time significantly, a minute here, ninety seconds there and a sub 6 hour race would have been a reality. That being said and not wanting snatch total defeat from the jaws of victory I did PR, this was actually my 1 year ultraversary (there's no such word but you get the idea) and last year I finished in 6:54 so it's a pretty big reduction year on year.

Of more concern is the recent cramping episodes, I need to do a bit of research and address then as it’s one thing to have then at mile 16 in a 31 mile race but having them at mile 16 in a 50 mile race is a whole ‘nother ball of wax so that gives me two week before Twin Peaks to figure it out. Other than that from a fitness perspective I felt pretty good, HR was high but it usually is I peaked at 185 bpm and spent 5:30 in Zones 4 (51% of total) and 5 (36% of total). Recovery was fine and although a bit achey and stiff I am in pretty good shape.

There’s a few photos here and the MotionBased data is here:

Pacific Coast Trail Runners; Pt Mugu 50K

Once again the sun didn’t rise; in fact it was downright foggy. The forty five minute drive to the parking lot at the Ray Miller trail-head on Point Mugu didn’t show any improvement in the conditions, this, however, I would appreciate as the day wore on. As per the XTerra Race I parked on Pacific Coast Highway (PCH) and walked across the road to the registration desk, there were significantly less runners than the last time I was here in October. I signed in and collected my number; 505, a sign I wondered (505 for a 50k?), pins and a route card showing the mileage points and aid station locations and headed back to my car to collect my gear. I laid in the trunk of my car (I have a station wagon, in case you're wondering) and worked my way through my stretching routine, well as best as I could given the limited roof height.

I taped my knees as is all the fashion for us ITB sufferers and headed over to the start line to get the brief. We were told that the aid stations would be located at the Start/Finish; which we would go through three times; 12.2km, 29.8km and 42km and one at the parking lot at the PCH end of Sycamore Canyon a turn around point; 20.9km. The stations would be stocked with the usual goodies, PB&J sandwiches, M&Ms, Trail Mix, Cookies, baked potatoes with dipping salt (these sound pretty bad but actually taste really good after a long day and the salt is much needed), Coke, Water, Conquest sports drink and a ton of other stuff that you really wouldn’t associate with running; trust me when I say that learning to run with food in you mouth and hand is a much needed skill for the longer distances.

Runners were divided into two groups per their distances 9 & 18kms on the right, 30 & 50kms on the left, 55 runners has signed up for the 50k and of them there were 4 or 5 myself included attempting their first Ultra and we sheepishly waved our hands when asked to identify ourselves. The gun, well the shout, “GO” went off at 8:30 and we were underway, this was the last I saw of the right hand group, many if not all would be at home in time for tea and medals long before I had finished. The 30 & 50ers headed out along the blacktop which soon ended and became trail winding it's way along the canyon bottom. There was little or no improvement in the weather and therefore no sign of what was to come although I was somewhat prepared from my XTerra run, however, we were heading along a different path. Slim breaks in the clouds provided ominous glimpses of what looked like nearly vertical canyon sides. During this time I had running through my mind the mantra; “pace; run your own race” and I did my best to run at an easy pace.

I was determined that I would have no reason for not finishing based on nutrition and/or hydration issues and to that end I was stocked up with 64oz of strong Accelerade (650 calories), 7 CarbBOOM gels (700 calories) that I had squeezed into a Fuel Belt bottle, a packet of SaltStick Tablets and a protein bar (250 calories, totaling 1600 calories “on board”), this would be in addition to anything that I picked up at the aid stations along the way, my plan was to ‘swig’ a gel every 45 minutes, drink as required, eat the bar around the end of hour 3 and finish around 6 hours, a 7:11km pace.

The course comprised of three loops and an out ‘n’ back for the final stretch. The first loop was 12.2km, the fog was still swirling and visibility was at times down to 30 or so meters, we climbed in single file up the first set of switchbacks, some of the path seemed cut from the stone face and we stepped up until the trail became well a trail! Onward and upward we climbed until finally reaching what felt like to top only to have to go up some more, the series of false summits continued for the first 6km until we broke through out into the pasture on the plateau. I had steadily been overtaking runners and walkers during the first hour and once out in the pasture I found myself on my own. The route had been marked by colored ribbons and at times I found myself wondering if I had missed a turn then out of the gloom a ribbon pegged to a bush would appear reassuring me I was heading in the right direction. I continued across the rolling pasture finally taking a sharp right hand turn along the side of a dried pond shortly after I started to head downhill, finally, after 1:15, I closed the loop and continued down the path I had come up. I exited out the valley mouth (1:35) running past the aid station feeling strong and heading towards the second loop that would take me over the ridgeline into Sycamore Canyon.

It took another hour to reach the second aid station, which according to my Garmin was at 21.2km, I spent too long here as I was searching through my pack for my Aleve tablets which were a last minute thought and I shoved them in somewhere instead of putting them in the pouches on the front of my vest, I finally found them and popped a couple, at this point I dropped my pack and buried the mouthpiece in the dirt! So having washed it off and put it back on I availed myself of some of the goodies on offer, a handful of pretzels and a mini protein bar washed down with some plain old water, which never tasted so fresh. I also switched out my hat for a visor as the sweat that was dripping off the brim was becoming a little distracting. I turned around and started to retrace my path. At the 22km we tracked left and headed up a long sweeping climb that gave us a pretty good view, when the fog broke, across and along the valley, which on a clear day would be a great sight, personally at this point I was becoming increasingly glad for the dull conditions and the low temperatures. At the 25km point the second loop was closed and it was at this point I was asked for directions. The runner, who I had seen stop at the junction had been in front of me for most of the way and was just about to head off back down the loop when he saw me and asked which way should he go, I pointed up and he sighed, thanked me for saving him an extra 6.5km and shot off up the hill.

Another 35 minutes later (3:40) I was back at the Start/Finish line for the second time having covered 30.4km (18.9 miles). It was here that I could bow out having run a good race but the scent of the fifty filled my nostrils and I pressed on only stopping briefly at the aid station for a PB&J sandwich, some more pretzels and a couple of cups of full caffeine and full sugar Coke (oh the things you can eat) I pushed on again with a distinct sense of deja-vou as the third loop was a repeat of the first. This time the fog was lifting and there was a glint of sun coming over the ridgeline, along with it an increase in the temperature. I pushed on up through the rocky section and was overtaken by a couple of runners who shot by me so fast that I was surprised that they were not in front of me already. At 34.5km I stopped to actually take some video footage of the views, you can just see the surf (after about 10 seconds) as and when it appeared through the haze, there was still an immense amount of cloud and mist loitering just on the shoreline, which rolled in to my defense a little while later cooling things down again. I broke out of the climb and trekked across the pasture which without the fog you can see on this video looked completely different. At 39km I stopped to take a stone out of my shoe and and adjust my socks which were pretty gunky by this time (I actually ended the day with one small blister that I didn’t even realize I had until I took my shoe off at home; not bad for C9 socks from Target) retying my shoes I headed back round the loop and had a distinct feeling of "what am I doing here" running through my mind, to be honest a lot of this loop was either walked; all of the uphills were, or run/walked where I would run 30-40 or so paces and walk 10; this was actually quite efficient. I had at this stage taken another 2 Aleve, and while they took the edge off, my hips felt like they were having broken bottles jammed in them at every step, however I had at least to get back to the Start/Finish line, that was, after all where my car was! During the final stretch the fog lifted some and I could see down the valley. Here's some video of the trail and view.

I was overtaken again around the 40km overtaken by someone who I can only assume took the wrong turning as I would have sworn that he had been in front of me earlier in the day. At 42.56 I was back at the Start/Finish line and I realized that I had it in the bag. The final stretch was an out ‘n’ back 8km up a partial way of the original second loop. Much of the climb was spent employing the walk and run/walk method and that allowed me to pull ahead of several runners who I had bumped into during the last and final aid station stop. The fog was coming in again and as I reached the top and the final ridgeline before the turnaround it was impossible to see who was where. At this point I was on the homeward and downward leg and I knew that anyone who I saw coming up would be behind me, I counted six runners then seven, then eight, I finally pulled around the last major turn and I could see the path virtually all the way back the Finish. I rounded the last corner and saw the Finish line crossing in 6:54:07, my Garmin moving time was 6:37:26 which eliminates the time stopped; aid stations, shoes etc with a final distance of 51.08km (31.93 miles).

Of the 55 runners that started, 41 finished and of those I was 27th. I hung around the Finish line talking to the organizers and other runners and after a cup of chicken noodle soup (when doesn’t that taste good?) and some snacks I headed back to my car to stretch off, gulp down some Endurox and head home for that ever inviting ice bath!

Having had time to reflect I am glad I completed the run, rather then ducking out at 30k, it now gives me the mental security that I can cover the distance and be on my feet for that length of time, it was not an easy run with 9,762’ of elevation gain (and loss; as my quads will testify to) over five major hills and while my time wasn’t great it really wasn’t that bad, the winner finished in 4:28:37, a new course record and there were plenty of people considerably slower with times extending out to 11:07:00. My next 50k the Calico Trail in January presents a considerably flatter course with an elevation gain of 3,893’ but the temperature will come into play more as it is located inland in the desert of Barstow. My hydration plan worked well as I still had some Accelerade left although it was less than 5oz, I had consumed most of my gel, my stomach held out well against the solid food, in fact I could/should have probably taken on some more as my total calories expended was 3845, fractionally beyond what I was carrying and my glycogen stores of around 2000. Despite an average pace of 12:23 my average heart rate of 168 was too high for the caloric burn to have been predominantly fat based so my nutrition and hydration meant that I would not bonk but I was pretty close, at least on paper.

Looking forward I have to finalize my training plan for the next 5 months to allow me to peak during the weekend of Leona Divide, mid April, my targeted 50 miler for next season.

Postscript. As I was running I was listening to several Podcasts that I subscribe to, one of them; The Dump Runners Club announced that on November 17th runners would run 5.5 miles in memoriam to Ryan Shay who collapsed at that distance during the US Olympic Trials two weeks prior, it seemed more than coincidental that my number today was 505, so, albeit a day late, I dedicate this race to Ryan and his family.

I have a bunch of photos, a few good ones and a lot of bad ones here, the blue hat is the first 25km and the red visor the last 25km. For some reason they loaded backwards, that is the start is the last picture?

Here's the Motion Based data: