A Date with Death. 125kms of Mountain Magic

Eight short weeks ago I was kindly offered a spot in the Canadian Death Race in Grande Cache by the Alberta North Face rep (TNF sponsor the event). I ummed and ahhed, took the plunge and then began haring madly up any hill in sight in my quest to become a mountain ultra runner in less than 2 months. This would be my longest race to date and with 17, 000ft of elevation change it wasn't going to be a walk in the park, but more a hike up a mountain (or two).

Come race day I was pretty confident that I would finish the race when I listened to many people (who promised that the race was not as deathly as the organisers tend to imply) but still knew that only about 1/3 of starters completed to full race in 2009 and had warning from some who said it was one seriously challenging enterprise. Needless to say after the 6hr or so drive from Banff with my friend Mike I arrived in Grande Cache feeling much nervous anticipation. We arrived middle of the day, day prior to the race, but the afternoon seemed to zip by with package pick up, prepping drop bags, pre race meeting etc. But my most important task that afternoon was to meet up with the Adventure Science guys who were doing a study on gait analysis at the race and had got me on board. They filmed me doing some short runs to camera and I answered some surveys for them, they also explained the questions that they would need to ask me at each of the 5 aid stations on the race course. It was a great way to feel part of a team and importantly the Adventure Science folks would act as my crew at the aid stations. This was a big relief as Death Race has only one drop bag on the course (at 87.5km) so having access to gear at 4 other points would be invaluable rather than having to rely on aid stations.

Death Race is a little unusual for an ultra in that it starts at 8am in order to allow as many racers as possible the 'oppotunity' to run in the dark! This is just one indication that Death Race is a little quirky. The other main quirk is that at 110km you take a jet boat across the Smoky River, but only if you have not lost a silver coin that you are given at the start. No coin, no boat ride and you are DQ'd...at 110kms into an 125km race! Many competitors run Death race as a 5 person relay so I would hate to be a relay runner that loses your teams coin!

The 8am start and the fact that Grande Cache is a small, isolated town meant that setting the alarm for 6am was plenty time to crawl out of the tent, wolf down some breakfast and head over to the start line. Lots of locals were already lining the streets and starting their cheers 'Go Death Racer' that we would hear throughout the day.

As the gun went off (a mountie firing a rifle into the air - this is small, mining town Alberta afterall!), we raced over the line and jostled to get a good position on the opening 1.5km road section before we squeezed into the trail. With 418 solo starters and probably about the same number of relay teams it was a busy start to an ultra. I immediately fell alongside Denise McHale who introduced herself and we chatted on and off for the first leg. I knew that Denise would be my main competition and that being an adventure racer she had far more experience at long duration racing. Everyone had warned that with a net downhill over 19kms that on leg one it is easy to go out too fast so I checked that I was taking it easy. Pacing, pacing, pacing would be key to finishing this thing. On the first small inclines I saw Mike ahead of me slow to a power hike, I took note and followed suit - no need to try run the hills now - save the legs for later.

The first aid station was a zoo, I ran in, filled my hydration bladder with water from the aid station and then moved along to the Adventure Science tent which stood out nicely. There I popped gatorade powder into my bladder, took some extra bottles and answered their survey questions whilst draining a coke and grabbing a bag of chips. I was pumped and moving fast until one of the crew, Keith, said 'you've only been in 2mins'. Ok, I could slow a little and make sure I refuelled properly. For legs 2 and 4 I had planned to use my poles, Ally thrust them into my hand pre-set at the correct height, wow - this crew were pros!

I headed out and was excited to be getting really into the race with the 1st 'easy' leg done. As I didn't know the course I wasn't sure where the real climb up Mt Flood would start but I soon adjusted to running with my poles in my hands even if I wasn't really using them on the flatter sections. I can honestly say that even so soon after the race there are whole sections I cannot recall at all and the climb up Flood and Grande are two of them. I have brief recollections, chatting to Clint who I know from Banff, advising an ultra runner on how to try recover from already being sick, passing a runner who was struggling, but other that that I have vast chunks of amnesia about this section of the race! I can only put this down to the fact that I was so focused on the task in hand that I really was not taking note of the surroundings like I normally would. I do recall heading down Grande, a famed steep and teacherous descent. I met up with Simon (Denato) and Steve (Russell) at this point and it was great to chat and follow in Steve's confident steps down the dusty and sometime rocky, steep, steep trail. Leg 2 circles back to the start/ finish line in downtown Grande Cache so I enjoyed coming in and being cheered along by spectators. Again, it was a quick transistion as I Denise was literally seconds behind me and I headed out to leg 3 for 19kms of running with total 1000ft of elevation loss.

I enjoyed leg 3, it was easy to check off the kms and feel that you were making real progress, there was a rubbley descent that reminded me of the North Shore trails in Vancouver and then we hit grassy sections and what looked like prime bear territory! When I saw some bear poop and what I was convinced were bear prints I started hooting and hollering as a cruised along pretty happy (I later found out that a friend had been charged by a bear on this section during a training run!). I crept up gradually on Ricky, a young US guy with only 4 marathon finishes under his belt who was out attempting his first ultra. It was super to chat with him for about 15mins as we plodded along, he was so eager and as a 2:26 marathoner with such an obvious love of running I really hoped he would do well.

The aid station at end of leg 3 marked the 65km point. I rolled in at 6:49. One of the questions Adventure Science asked us at each station was 'Are you exceeding or meeting your expections?' At this point I was far exceeding my expectations but a little leary that I may have gone out too fast. I was feeling the heat a little (it was 3pm and super sunny), I was only half way and I had the infamous Hamel mountain looming. To top it off I looked up and saw that my friend Phil (Villeneuve) had dropped. Seeing Phil at this point was proably the toughest part of my race day, if he had dropped what was in store for me? But I knew that I was going to finish this race even if I had to crawl to the end, I'd not signed up to go away without my finishers silver coin and I didn't care what I had to do to finish.

I zipped out and up onto leg 4, poles once again in hand. I was blown away by the fact that I was now 2nd overall in the race, with only the demi-god of ultra running Hal Koerner about 30mins ahead of me. The first section up Hamel was lush and leafy and jungle like but very steep so I was talking to myself to keep going and chuckling at the thought of Hal Koerner being the only soloist ahead of me, certainly not soemthing I had envisioned pre-race day! Emerging from the forest at the base of Hamel I continued to power hike and was blown away my the amazing mountain scenery - rocky, rubble trails, views for miles and the sight of stick-men like vollies silouhetted on the ridge that we were making our way up to. There was no way I was running this, but I hiked as fast as I could knowing that Denise was probably still close behind. On the ridge there was a short out and back section before we began the rocky descent down. Denise was no longer in sight and I was now running totally solo, save for the occassional relay runner. My hydration bladder was drained so I stopped and refilled it with water from bottles in my pack and willed myself to run the flat sections even though even the slightest incline was now proving a challenge. I clearly recall the 80km marker and mentally noted that I was feeling pretty ok about the thought of another 45kms to go, now that the main climbs were over. Soon I popped up to the drop bag station manned by vollies at the start/ end of Ambler loop. I set out to do the 5km loop and once back grabbed my headlamp from my bag and dumped my empty bottles. At the pace I was going I doubted I would need the headlamp but it was race rules and who knows what could happen over the now 32.5 remaining kilometres. As I headed out of Ambler I saw Denise come in, ok - that meant she was 30mins behind me but I knew I should keep pushing in case she had a strong finish. I barrelled down the dirt road, great downhill grade to pick up the pace and soaked up the cheering and shouts of 'Go Death Racer!' from locals passing by on their quad bikes. At 100km I popped out of the trails and into the roadside ditch for 2kms to the 4th and final aid station.

By this point I was totally pumped. Jason of Adventure Science had been my main crew for the day and exceeded himself at this point. He told me to come get my coke (which I'd forgoten about by this point) and he had tipped out the contents of all my drop bags for me to see. Seems a minor thing but my this stage I coudl hardly recall what I had in the bags so to have it all laying there on the ground for me to pick and choose was awesome! I had contemplated changing shoes and socks here as my feet had begun to fell it a bit of the last leg, but now I think I was so pumped all pain had gone. I left the aid station, spirits high and said to Jason, 'I'm on 11:21, I've got 3hrs and 23km to get this course record'.

Immediately out of the aid station was a steep hike and I spotted a guy coming down, he was confused by the routing but I said I'd seen no other flagging anywhere so we carried on up. The trail soon levelled to beautiful single track traversing the hillside in a forest. It rolled up and down and I'd got energy back in my legs so was even running the hills. My only concern was there was zero flagging. The course had been immaculately marked all day and I was cursing the fact that we were now so close to the end and I was doubting the route. Luckily I had packed the course map so pulled it out and was reassured that I was going to right way. 10kms soon passed and I dropped to river level, handed my coin over to the ferry man (I hadn't lost it - phew!) and soon I got a personal jet boat ride across the river. The river had steep canyon walls and with the light diming at about 8.20pm it was simply stunning. I hoped out the boat, thanked the vollies and hiked up the trail. Was Denise catching me? Could I snag this CR? Could I get sub 14hrs? I had so many things to keep me pushing and with the finish line almost in sight and the evening light fading on the beautiful flat to rolling Sulphur Rim trail, I truly was loving this race even in the closing kms.

There was a final uphill on dirt road which I hiked and then out I was on the tarmac of Grande Cache. Even though I didn't know the road I knew it was a small town so the end must be in sight. I turned the corner, saw the finish line and sprinted (well, it felt like it even of it might have been more of a hobble!). Final time: 13:28:39! 2nd overall! New women's CR by 52mins! I'd even broken the previous mens CR! - of course so had Hal Koerner (in 12:45:38) but that meant I had run the 2nd fastest time ever on the Canadian Death Race course!!

Canadian Death Race is one beautifully scenic and challenging course. Not once did I get bored as the course was ever changing and challenging. The volunteers and community of Grande Cache are exceptional - never have a felt a race take over a town so much and be truly welcomed and appreciated by the community, from honking their horns when they saw you running the short stretches of highway, to the local church organising the breakfast before the awards, they fully embrace and welcome the race.

Check out the race website, details of Adventure Science and an interview with the Calgary Herald at:
http://www.canadiandeathrace.com/
http://communities.canada.com/calgaryherald/blogs/calgaryrunner/archive/2010/08/04/greenwood.aspx
http://www.adventurescience.ca/

World 100km Championships Here I Come!

After much waiting (or so it seemed to an imatient runner!) I found out last week that I have been selected for Team GB for the World 100km road running Championships in Gibraltar in November! My time at Elk Beaver got me on the team and it is still taking time to sink in, afterall only one year ago I was daunted at the prospect of running 100kms anywhere, let alone at the World Championships! The only thing that is really daunting now is the thought of running that far on tarmac! Still, I plan to mix up my training with plenty of mileage on flat, fast trails, along with road running and even getting back on the treadmill in part to reduce the impact on my body and in part to get some variety in. Also if anyone knows anything about Gibraltar it is likley that is basically a rock in the sea on an incline! This had me worried on what the course might be like (just how many loops and how hilly!) but I have since found out that it is pretty flat 7 loop course - phew!
I am so looking forward to representing GB, wearing the team kit, taking my training to a new level and racing with the best from all over the world (including lots of Canadian and US friends).

More officialdom about the race can be found at: www.gaa.gi

Returning to the Knarly North Shore

This past weekend was 'Canada's Knarliest 30-miler' - the Kneeknackering North Shore Trail Run - which winds it's way up and over the mountains of Vancouver's north shore from near Horse Shoe Bay all the way to Deep Cove. With 200 racers making the journey along the Baden Powell trail this is one of the biggest ultras in Canada and numbers would be far larger if it was not for a cap imposed by the various districts the trail passes through. With a lottery to get into the race, many who don't get picked end up volunteering anyway and so come race day there is one volunteer to every racer! Needless to say this is one seriously slick and professional trail race with a kick ass party atmosphere of sunshine, great trails and practically the whole of Vancouver's trail running community out in force. I love it! In 2008 I didn't make it through the lottery, so in a sense I trained for 2 years for the 2009 edition of the race and ended up far exceeding my goal of 'about 6hrs' and posted 5h36mins, placing 1st female, 8th overall and 4th fastest female time ever!

Coming back in 2010 (with a lottery exemption) I was unsure how the race would unfold. I had not been on the technical north shore trails since Septemeber of last year and was unsure of my climbing fitness. Might seem lame - but just get out on a section of this trail and you will realise why I had my doubts - there are rocks and roots all over the place like no other trail I know and the first 1/4 of the course involves pretty much a power hike up Black Mountain (some of which involves clambering over boulders). The course climbs 8, 000ft and descends another 8, 300ft so flat sections are few and far between!

I had got to Vancouver the week prior and went for a couple of runs - one from Cleveland Dam up to Hollyburn Lodge and back, and one from the Dam to Deep Cove (the final 1/2) - on the course to refamiliarise myself. This was great, I was pleasantly suprised that some sections semed to have got shorter (!), but I was also mildly alarmed that I appeared to have lost my nimble footing on the technical terrain. I therefore went into race day knowing I was fit but doubting my ability on the course. I took it easy the week prior, maybe not the best game plan for Death Race in 3 weeks time but I couldn't bear the thought of hitting KK tired given the nature of the course.

The course splits neatly into 4 quarters - start to Cypress (mostly the Black Mountain climb), Cypress to Cleveland Dam (lots of downhill, little significant uphill), the Dam to Lynn gazebo (ups, downs, twists & turns), the then to the finish (inc. Seymour mini-grind and a downhill blast to the finish). I knew that I was never going to fly up Black so I went out steady and focused on getting this least favourite section of the course out of the way. Suprisingly I found I really enjoyed it and for 20mins even had the privelege of being ahead of Gary Robbins - a new race experience for me! I didn't think I would have much female competition so hoped to stay fairly close to the top 10 men and also had my sights on Suzanne Evans' CR of 5:18:57. When I had finished last year I thought 5:18 would be tough but possible, and came into the race this year in the same mind set. With this being a pretty competitive race of 22yrs standing and Suzanne being an amazing runner I would be priveleged of I could snag the CR at KK.

After peaking at Black I powered down to Cypress and passed two men just before the aid station. Friends from Pacific Road Runners man this major aid station each year so it was great to see familiar faces, though I didn't want to get too caught up in the party hoopla this early on. Later on RD Kelsy Trigg said she had noticed that I had my 'race face' on - into the station, grab a few mouthfulls of coke, and off! As I left Cypress I knew I was in 11th place (and I later found out, about 1 min up on my time from last year).

As I had just passed 2 guys I didn't want to get caught so this kept me pushing on the ups and downs that were to come. Soon I had hit Hollyburn Lodge from where it is practically all down hill to the dam. I LOVE this section, I was skipping and dancing over rocks and logs and just enjoying myself, as well as being happy to see that there was really very little mud on the course. I was totally on my own (and pretty much had been since the start of the race) but didn't mind at all. It was also great that the temperature was still cool and cloud cover was keeping us out of the direct sun on the open sections, it had been upto 28 degrees in the week and there had been a lot of talk about the humid heat being a factor in the race. Down the Hollyburn chute, over Brothers creek and I spotted a vollie by a sharp turn that we had to take. I cornered tight and bam! Man down! Feeling a little silly I got right up and carried on running without so much as dusting myself off. As I ran I got over the shock and knew it would just be some surface scrapes.

Cleveland dam is an open section - a tarmacked parking area and lots of walkers out and about. I knew that Sibylle of Club Fat Ass was manning this station so it was great to get cheered in by the 20 or so vollies and lots of speactators there. I decided not to spend time filling my Nathan pack and instead drank off the stations (water and gatorade) and just use my pack for my Clif electrolyte drink and shot blocks in between. I had purposely decided not to check my 1/4 splits from last year either, I didn't want to be obsessing about time the whole race. I'm a true believer that you have to run what you feel on the day and can't look at targtet times too much. I later found out that I was 6 mins up on my 2009 time at the dam and I knew at the time that I was lead female and about 9th overall.

Leaving the dam there is the only real road section of the KK - one mile all up hill to the base of the Grouse Grind. I ran a bit, walked a bit, ran a bit walked a bit. And in doing so passed one guy and spotted my friend Mike up ahead. I had to laugh at this, only days prior Mike had claimed that he ran this road every single time in training. Well I guess not on race day - though to be fair his power hike wasn't slow either! We got back into the trails and negotiated a few minutes of lots of hikers heading off to go up the Grind, and we bracnhed off to continue on BCMC. I was feeling pretty good and although hiking a lot I soon caught Mike. We chatted for a bit, I hadn't expected to pass him so soon but he wasn't having the best day so it was good to talk a bit and check in on each other. But I knew I had to power on so I left Mike and was glad to get to a more rolling section where I could get back into my running groove a bit. Once again I was on my own on the trail but didn't mind as I was feeling good, the course is exceptionally well marked and I know the route inside out so didn't have to worry about taking a wrong turn.

I popped out to cross Mountain Highway and stopped briefly to take on some fluid at the aid station and hear that Gary was only about 5 mins ahead! I soon passed my friend Kerry who had pre-swept some of the course and was now running to the finish whiist shooting a cool little video montage. Kerry gave me some encouraging words and told me I was running faster than the guys ahead of me, which I wasn't sure whether to believe or not!

The three quarter mark at Lynn gazebo aid station is at the top of a little hill which I sometimes struggle to run, but today I didn't have to force the run just to look good coming into the station! Again, there were lots of familiar faces ready to assist at the aid station if needs be, but with a quick check on my watch whilst taking on more fluids (it was getting hotter) I knew i shouldn't hang round if I wanted to still have a shot at the CR. the next section is in the busy Lynn canyon area but I managed to avoid knocking over any tousists by just shouting loudly - figuring that they would hear me even of they didn't speak English! This section also forms part of the Dirty Duo 50km and I was recalling training runs on these trails from years ago - every little section of trail has it's own memories! After some downhill there is quite a stretch of gradual uphill before the approach to the Seymour grind. The Seymour grind is a short, steep hike made hard because it is at a stage in the race when you are feeling tired. Just at the base section I saw a runner ahead and was alarmed to se it was Peter Findlay!! Peter is in his early 50s, held the KK course record for years and is KK royalty! He looked like he was running steady but slower than me so I snuck past him with a quick hello and tried not be be psyched out that I had just passed the KK King! At this stage in 2009 I was tired. I remember strumbling and tripping simply because I wasn't picking my feet up enough. This year, I was obviosuly getting a little tired but basically felt strong to power up the hills and to the top of the grind. From the top of the grind it is downhill to the finish, bar a few little killer ups very close to Deep Cove. I got to the top of Seymour grind and saw my watch flick over to 4h40 even. I had exactly 38min 57secs if I wanted to get this CR! I knew it was possible but could be tight and I could not let up at all. I didn't pause for a second, I simply hit the downhill and began to hammer. Down, down, down, try avoid mountain biker. Down, down, down, little up, down, down, cross first road and be very glad the vollies were there to stop the traffic. Down, down, down, oh..runner ahead ...oh, that looks mighty like Mark Bennet..oh, I've gone past him..oh, he's quite (ok, very) fast..oh well, down, down, down, gotta try for this course record and really don't want sprint finish. Down, down, cross next road (more nice trafffic warden vollies, thank you), freak...that's Gary ahead, re-enter trail, down down, 'Hey Gary, how's it going'. 'Ellie!!!!! What the.....?!!'. 'Excuse me Gary, I don't care about beating you but I'm just sneaking past, I need to get this CR!'. Down, down, chit chat to Gary, down, down, oh... little ups, little ups seem like mountains, Gary blast past, try keep up, man can he power hike, down, down, lost sight of Gary, up, up, man these ups are tough but gotta keep powering, gotta get CR. Feel better than last year, no drunken stumbling into tourists, good footing, down, down, oh, there's the daylight of Deep Cove-yay! Outta the trail, onto the tarmac, woo hoo, darn that Gary-man, he's just finished, sprint, push hard, only enough energy to raise one arm at the finish, oh, I do believe I just ran 5h 06 something!

So, I managed to snag 5th place overall, 1st place female and a CR by 12m48s. In charging for that CR at the end I also manged to run the fastest time of the day on the final leg. On the 1st 1/4 I gained 1min on my 2009 time, on the 2nd I gained a further 5 1/2mins, on the 3rd leg I was picking it up and ran 9 mins faster than in 2009. But on the 4th and final leg I had smoke coming out of my Montrail Rockridges and ran 14m29s faster than in 2009! Nothing like a good bit of running scared to get those legs a'movin!

By the finish it had got to be a pretty toasty day so ideal for hanging out at Deep Cove, soaking the legs in the tepid ocean and catching up with lots of friends and fellow runners. Definitely for the slower runners it would have been a tough day out there as the cloud cover lifted and the heat really hit come midday. But there were only a few runners that dropped or didn't make the cut off, everyone else was clearly powered along by the thought of Kelsy waiting to present them with their medal at the finish line, and the thought of Honey's donuts at the finish line aid station :) It is amazing that of just over 200 starters, 120 were first time KKs, and I would guess many of them, first time ultra runners. It is a credit to the immaculate organisation of Kneknacker that so many runners are prepared to pit themselves up against some of North America's knarliest trails.

Full race details are at http://www.kneeknacker.com/

and race results are at http://www.raceheadquarters.com/

Side note: I should concede that although I can say that I finished 17secs behind Gary Robbins, in all fairness he had placed 6th at Western States 100miler just 14 days previously. But at least I made him sweat a bit.

Scorched Soles, Icy Ankles

This past weekend I headed over to Kelowna to take part in race #4 in the BC Ultra Trailrunning Series (http://www.bcuts.ca/), Scorched Sole 50 miler. I raced in the 50km event (there is also a 25km) 2 years ago and loved it - dusty dry trails, long climbs rewarded by stellar views of Lake Okanagan below and a fun, low key yet slickly run event. This year I decided to sign up for the 50 miler, which I was very glad I did as it was going to be a great training race for Death Race in 5 weeks.

As the name and location suggests this can be a hot race so I was excited to pack just singlet and shorts...until I heard that someone had been out in snowshoes on the upper section of the course just 4 days earlier! The course changes a little most years and this year we were going over Little White which appeared from some photos to still be very white with snow! Nevertheless the forecast for race day was still 28 degrees and full on sunshine so I was glad of the 6am start.

The different race distances start at different times so although there were about 150 racers overall it was a pretty low key group, with lots of familiar Vancouver faces, for the 50 miler start. The course profile is pretty unique with mostly uphill and some flats, but zero descent, for 25km, then down over the otherside of Little White, a flat forest service road loop and then retracing steps for a downhill and flat 25kms to the finish. Dave Papineau (running his first 50 miler), myself and Steve Russell from Vernon headed out in the lead. I stuck with the guys for a good while but soon started to powerhike some of the steeper sections whilst they continued to run meaning that they gained some distance on me whilst still occassionally being in view. I was feeling the effect of zero taper (other than taking the day prior to race day off I had run all week and clocked 19 hours of running/ powerhiking in th preceding 7days) and my legs were heavy on the uphills but I figured that this was a training race so I wasn't too concerned so long as I made it to the finish. At the start of the day I had said to myself that if the going got tough I was just going to think of everyone running Western States at the same time, who would surely be working much harder than I was!

Overall the trail markings were very clear save for a few sections where I got a little panicked as they didn't seem at all obvious. But I would glimpse Dave ahead or soon see some orange flagging so overall knew that I was on course. Although the open sections very bone dry dust bowls, quite a bit of the trails in the shade and up high were muddy and wet from the still melting snow which made for some fun foot work hoping around the really bad sections. As we made our way to the apporach up Little White I caught Dave and was glad to have someone to chat to for a while. We soon hit the snow and zig-zagged acros it following the orange spray markings. The summit of Little White marked 25kms (and the turn around for the 50km racers) but us 50 milers carried on over the top and Dave and I soon saw the extent of the snow! The summit was wide open heathland (which reminded me of the Norwegian fjells) yet with the trail covered in snow and semi melted pools of snow we whacked our way through brush following the markings from one tree to another. Steve had gone out ahead so I could see his feint footsteps which helped too. Dave is one speedy road runner but I think fair to say that he is none too keen on the sort of technical trail that this course had now morphed into! I therefore got a lead on him just before we had to descend a particularly steep snowy bank with the aid of a rope that had been fixed up. All I could think was that we were probably only 27kms into a 76km course (they cut out 4kms due to the snow!) and this was way tougher than I had anticipated and who knew what else was too come! After scrambling down the slope I popped out on sheer bliss - a dry, dusty and slightly down hill forest service road - time to get some kms in the bag! The bliss however was short lived, I couldn't see Steve ahead or Dave behind me so I was totally on my own, clueless of the layout of the upcoming course and unsure of the facilities at the 42.5km aid station so trying to conserve my supplies a bit (some earlier aid had turned out to be just water when I had hoped for some food and electrolytes - note to self: read the website in more detail in future!) At least I knew I was on track as there were regular comfort markers and I just ploughed on knowing that each step would bring me closer to the aid station. After what seemed like an eternity I turned a corner and was stoked to see a fully-manned tent with gatorade, food, my drop bag and two helpful volunteers who informed me that Steve was literally a few 100 metres ahead.

As I left the aid station at 4h32 my spirits were restored - I had liquids and food, had had some conversation and now had motivation to run the gradual uphill forest service road back - I could catch Steve! And sure enough, I soon did. We exchanged a few words but I ploughed on and greeted fellow 50milers running in the opposite direction still on their way out - again, great to see some familiar faces.

At the base of the steep climb back up Little White I saw Jess, who despite not being a super speedy runner is always smiling and is so determined she is a real inspiration, so I was really glad to see that she looked like she was having a good time. I was trying to powerhike the climb as fast as I could, aware that Steve was probably faster than me on the uphills, so I only had a chnace for a brief chat with Wendy, Martha and George on their way down before they hurried me on as they could see Steve approaching from behind. All in all, the climb back up took about an hour and mentally it was great to be at the top again - ok, I still had 25kms to go, but it was all either downhill or flat - woo hoo!

My strength is definitely downhills so I blasted away and loved running through the rocky upper sections that were now flowing wih snow-melt water. Mud and water were splashing up my legs, my feet were soaked and I was loving it! As I had never met Steve before I didn't know what he would be like on the downs and didn't want to give up my lead, now I was in full-on race mode and had given up the idea of 'take it easy, it's a training race'! It was 6h13 when I left the top and I figured I could easily be done in 2 more hours which was great as during the tough snowy sections I had been calculating a 10hour plus day. It's amazing though that although the way up had seemed all very steep, now I was heading in reverse there seemed to be a lot more flat!!! Probably the toughest section on the way back was a stretch along what had been a railway line - flat, steady and straight, with no distractions - time for mental strength to kick in. I hit 9kms to go at 7h19 so thought a sub 8hr race would be a breeze and although I was powering along and feeling good (despite the increasing heat from the direct sun) it was slow. I didn't even grab aid at the final station (4.7kms to go) and ended up running out of water but I just wanted to get to the finish at that point.

I was lucky enough to squeak in under 8hrs - 7:58:49 and proved that running scared in the lead can do good as I gained 25mins on Steve since passing him! As I bowled over the finish line my friend Ward was nicely positioned to slow me down with a hug as he stood in my direct line of running :) Susan (who won the women's 25km - yay!) greeted me and soon got me sorted with water and iced tea. By now it was a really hot day down at the start line and I wasn't seriously degydrated but definitely needed to get some fluids on board, so thank you for looking after one slightly dazed and confused runner Susan!

All in all Scorched Sole once again lived up to being a fantastic race. The oragnisers (Shirlee, Tammy and Dan - thank you!) are so welcoming and friendly and really go to great efforts to look after the racers. Admittedly with the snow this year the course was challenging but the struggles through the nasty sections were worth it for the views and the race experience. I think everyone who toughed it through the snow deserves a big congrats!

More race details and results are at www.scorchedsole.ca

Happy trails,
Ellie x

Montrail's Ellie Greenwood Talk at Kintec Port Moody, Wednesday July 7th

Where: Kintec Footlabs, Unit 9 - 400 Capilano Road, Port Moody, BC

When: Wednesday July 7th. Drinks and light snacks @6pm. Ellie @7pm

Who: Ellie is a member of the Montrail Ultra Running Team, Club Fat Ass and the Vancouver Falcons. Recently she set the World Record for 100km on trail and four weeks later won the Calgary marathon in record time. Ellie is arguably the heavy favourite to win the IAU Wolrd 100km Championship this fall in Gibraltar, Spain.

Ellie will be talking about some of her experiences during these record setting runs as well as taking questions regarding training, nutrition, racing etc.

Prizes: Montrail will be providing some random draw prizes for those in attandance! They will also have a display tent available with all the line up of trail shoes, performance sandals and gear.

Partner: Kintec is proud to partner with Montrail to host this event. Kintec is Montrail Canada's largest distributor and specialises in performance footwear be it for 100km ultra marathons like Ellie runs or footwear to walk your dog in.

RSVP: rynemelcher@gmail.com or call 604-800-3338 for more information and if you are planning on attending. Or post a comment here!

Look forward to seeing you at Kintec!

Death-Fest Here I Come!

This time last week I was contemplating how I was going to get good training in for Kneeknacker 50km on July 10th. Funny how things change in one short week 'casue now KK seems like a cake walk compared to what I have just got myself involved in: Death Race in Grande Cache!!! Of course I have heard a lot about Death Race and always said - no thanks, I'm not crazy enough for that, but now after one email from a stranger out of the blue and I'm signed up! I got a facebook message last Sunday from Richard Davies, the Alberta North Face rep (DR is a North Face event) saying he could probably swing me an entry to DR if I wanted. So basically the offer was 'Do you want to come to the 125km pain-fest that encompasses 17, 000ft of elevation change over mountain terrain in weather conditions that no one can predict?' Oh no! At first I almost wished Richard hadn't asked as now I was in a dilema and I am terrible at saying no to such things!

So I ummed and ahhed all week, got a few runs and run-hikes up Sulphur in and thought whether my hamstrings will be able to take the training involved and whether it was a race a really really wanted to do, as it is going to involve some pretty intense and mountainous training - in the next .... 7 weeks ... cause that's how long it is til race day! This was a key consideration as I have got lots of miles in this year but lots of real flat running miles and to put it into perspective, last years male winner (fellow Montrailian Sean Meissner) crossed the DR finish line in just over 15hrs and took 2.5hrs to climb the longest hill. Oh my!

But I have thrown caution to the wind and kindly accepted Richard of North Face's kind (if that's the right word!) offer, afterall apparantly no one has ever actually died at the Death Race so this is very encouraging news!

And I have to say that Richard's email is just one example of the super warm welcome that the Alberta ultra community has given me since I moved here. I've had offers to go for runs, offers to be in relay teams, and now an entry to Death Race!

So if I don't blog much over the next 7 weeks, please excuse me but I am probably out running somewhere :)

Check out the craziness at: www.canadiandeathrace.com

Press Release!

This week in the follow up to Calgary marathon I had the fun of my first ever interview and photo shoot, courtesy of Calgary Herald. It was definitely a fun experience and intersting to see how an interview turns into an article! Check it out:

http://www.calgaryherald.com/sports/Runner+tests+limits+endurance+sanity+chasing+passion/3118474/story.html