Tillamook Burn 50 Mile Trail Race

As mentioned in my last blog I had signed up for the Tillamook Burn 50 Mile race.

It was a long race, so its a fairly lengthy blog post, but there are plenty pictures to look through too.

Leading up to the race day I pushed myself through a fairly intense five week program, including some high mileage weeks and a reasonable amount of recovery between harder efforts culminating in five days of no running and some very light cycling effort just to keep the muscles active.  I included a 100 mile week somewhere in that lead up too.  My average weekly mileage ranges throughout the year between 50-70 ish.

The night before the race I got my things ready as it was a really early rise the next morning.  3 AM in fact, way before the birds even thought about waking!

Gear needed for the 50 mile race.

When I put my small waist pack together and all the clothes I needed for the race it reminded me how vastly different endurance running is from my mountaineering adventures.  I seem to pride myself in how little weight I need to carry while running, but still maintaining the safety essentials and other required items.  On the flip side of that with mountaineering and the training for that it seemed peers boasted about how much weight we could carry.

This was all the gear I needed for a short mountain climb for comparison.

So with the stuff all ready for the morning it was off to bed early ready for the 3 AM alarm clock wake-up call.

On the drive over from home to the start location it was slightly damp but not raining.  About 7 miles East of Cannon Beach the rain started and at points it was so heavy that the wipers on the car were struggling with the volume of water hitting them.  That lasted until about only 8 or 10 miles away from the start location where it was pretty much dry except for a very slight hint of misty rain.
I wasn't too concerned about running in a bit of rain though.  In fact it can be really nice.

After checking in and getting my race bib number, having some breakfast and hydrating it was time to stand by the very welcoming fire blazing by the start line.

Photo credit for all the pictures below here go to Steven Mortinson https://stevenmortinson.com/

Check-in location, ran by volunteers.

A very nice welcoming fire to warm up beside.

I'm just left of the middle area of this picture.

 The daylight arrives very quickly once it starts.  Here is Jeremy the Race Director (RD) getting us ready for the off.
I'm one row back at the left in the orange shirt.  I like to get quite far up the pack at the start and try to stay there for the duration of the race.

Almost time to go, you can see everyone getting ready to set the start time on the watches.

And we are off.  Its a long run ahead, but you're not thinking about that at this point.

My thoughts in this first stretch were:
1. Don't over cook the pace at the start
2. Keep relaxed
3. This is fun.

From the start there's a fairly flat section with a slight decline as it heads for the forest.  That "slight" decline I know on the way back was going to feel like a bloody mountain!
After the first mile and a bit, hardly enough time to realize you're running the first hill climb starts.  I was feeling far from warmed up at this point and some muscles were asking me why I was even running at 6 am and not sleeping.  I knew after the first climb and then the 6 mile descent that I'd be ready for the next set of climbs.  Well, I hoped that was going to be the case as I've experienced in the past.  There was nothing else to do but run at this point.
I got to the first aid station and there was someone I know working there, got my water bottle topped up and headed out really efficiently.  I like to have my water bottle ready and with the lid off as I'm entering the station so I don't waste valuable clock time messing about.

I found myself a nice speed to run at and passed a few others and got into a group of four going about the same pace as I felt comfortable with.  After a few miles this ended up with only myself and another runner for the next 8 or 10 miles.  As usual you get into a conversation and find common ground to pass the miles.  The next major land mark on the trail came and went in what seemed like good time, then the climb to the next aid station went well.  My complaining muscles realized I wasn't stopping and decided to cooperate on this climb so I didn't notice them any more.

This aid station was operated like a 5 star kitchen and the humor of the workers here in their chefs attire was very welcome.  Thanks Wy'East Wolf Pack!

Next was the run down a long section and across a bridge over the Wilson river.  I was very well aware while running down this section at a good clip that I had to climb back up there on the way back.

Getting my feet wet at a small crossing.

I had been intentionally drinking more water than I usually would since the aid stations were mostly only 5 miles or so apart.  Since I am pretty well fat adapted I opted to hold off eating until about 16 miles, so just before the University Falls aid station I had a date and nut butter bar followed by some cashew nut butter.

Once again, in and out of the aid station as fast as possible.  Again someone else I know was here so good to see another familiar face. (thanks Shane).
There was a short out and back section on a side trail to the waterfall.

Once out of the aid station it was off down the trail towards the first turn around point at Rodgers Camp trail head.  This was a varied terrain section some open clear areas and other parts through gorgeous forest which at this time of the year was really starting to turn green and lush.

I was analyzing my pace and unusually I was coasting down hills faster than usual and the up hill parts felt a bit more labored than normal.  I'm normally a really strong hill climber and this perceived slowing up hills was annoying me.  I suspect since I've just got much better after working on my down hill skills that the up parts "feel" slower.  I know my average pace has been getting much better this year.

Somewhere about the 30 mile mark and still going strong, but I was starting to feel the distance at this time.  Overall though I was making progress faster than I had predicted, I was also saving some energy for the final climb much later.

After running back though the last two aid stations for the second time it was off to the final 6 mile out and back section.  This lead up to the Summit Trail Head aid station.  I got my water topped off there ready for the longest leg between water points and the 6 mile hill climb which I hoped I had left enough energy in the bank for.

 Thanks folks for getting me in and out really quickly.

I was flagging a bit on this section but mentally knowing that it was all going in the direction back to the finish line really helped.  After 37 miles and only 13 to go it felt good to be heading back.
Quite some time before here I caught up with (or possibly he caught up with me, I really don't remember) another runner and we went back and forth for the final section.  Thanks Kevin for helping me pass the miles and allowing me to ignore my brain which was telling me to stop while I told it to shut up because there was no way I was even thinking of stopping.

On the final climb, the one I have mentioned I don't know how often now it was tough to keep running.  I had no doubt that I could finish the race but every step I walked on the steeper parts I was cursing the time I was letting slip past towards my goal time.  I really wanted to reach my goal.
Interestingly nothing was hurting, mentally I think I was also fine, but a couple of muscles were just not firing as fast as I was asking them to.  I was getting a little frustrated at this because nothing hurt but I just couldn't get the speed out of my legs that I wanted.  I had to keep pushing on as every step got me one step closer to the finish and some hot food and music.

I finally got back to the last aid station where the friendly familiar face (Nate) greeted me and I got my water re-filled, which since it was just over 9 miles since the last top-up was now empty.  I did have a small reserve bottle but I only ran out about 10 minutes before the aid station so I didn't feel like digging it out of my pack.
I ran the last part with another runner (Adrian) and finished the race feeling great.
Somehow I found the reserves to run at a reasonable pace down the last hills and the "mountain" of a slight "decline" at the start didn't feel as brutal as I expected going back up it.  I guess after 50 miles the sound of the finish line was a strong lure pulling me towards it.

 The final few meters to go.  Adrian and I ran the last 3.5 miles together and with his help I kept a good pace so I made sure he got into the finish just before me as I told him should happen.

As at every Daybreak Racing event and for every finisher, Jeremy the RD greeted me with my finishers pint glass and a friendly welcome back. Thanks Jeremy!

Now its eating time and I was really looking forward to some hot salty food!

After finishing the race the photographer Steven Mortinson somehow shot these less than complimentary pictures. Thanks very much!  I thought I would share them here for some laughs.

This I think has to be the worst picture of me I have ever seen.  I now know what I will look like in 20 years 😲 I had just crossed the finish line with eyes filled with dust and salt residue so I was squinting somewhere into the distance.

I really don't know what to say about this one, leave a comment below if you can think of a good caption.  I can only assume I was wiping of crusted layers of dried sweat and dust from my face.

Summary of the race.

50 Miles. 8,600 feet of climbing up and down.
Start time 6 am on April 27th 2019.
My finishing time was 9 hrs 16 mins 52 secs
17th place overall out of 101 finishers and 118 that started.
I had a goal of sub 10 hours, and a stretch goal of 9 hrs 30 mins.  I somehow managed to not just reach my stretch goal but smash it.  I am usually quite accurate with my time goals and I rarely meet my stretch goal let alone smash them!
The weather was interesting.  Out on the course through the rain forest we got some sun, a little bit of misty rain and even some hail stones.  The temperature was perfect, and not too hot or cold.  At the finish line sitting around in wet clothes you could feel the chill in the air.  The fire was very welcoming.

Where I placed and my finishing time.
Full results here: Results 50 mile race

Route map. Start and finish is just off the top.

Elevation profile.  As can be seen some fairly aggressive climbs.

Ready for the drive home after some enjoyable time by the fire chatting with new acquaintances and listening to the blue grass band.


Credits:
Race Director: Jeremy Long - https://www.daybreakracing.com/tillamook-burn
Photos: Steven Mortinson - https://stevenmortinson.com/

Old enough to know better but still young enough to be stupid.

The title of this blog kind of sums me up.  I do some crazy shit at times but its well thought through crazy shit.

This blog covers what I'm planning for 2019.

My race schedule this year includes three ultra-marathon length events.  They are spread out through the summer with plenty time in between to recover and have lots of other non-race adventures.

Race 1
April 27th 2019.
Tillamook Burn 50 mile trail race. 
https://www.daybreakracing.com/tillamook-burn

This one is a 50 mile course with 8,700 feet (2651 Meters) of elevation gain and loss, starting at the North end of Tillamook State Forest, heading south and doing a partial loop then doubling back part of the way completing the loop and then all the way back to the starting point.  The kick in the tail of this one is after running 37 miles with lots of ups and downs you get to do a final 13 miles which 6 miles of that are up, up and more up before a quad busting final fast (relative at this point) downhill dash for the finish.
I've ran all of this course multiple times so I know these trails really well.

Race 2
July 27th 2019.
Wy'East Howl 100 kilometer trail race.
https://www.daybreakracing.com/wyeast-howl

This one is a 100k (62.1 miles) route with 11,600 feet (3,535 meters) elevation gain and loss.  Starting and ending on the side of Mt Hood.  I have as yet never been on any of this course.  I do plan to hit some of these trails before the race date though.
It's a 31 mile out and back route spanning two climate zones, so it should be really interesting running there.

Race 3
September 7th 2019.
Backcountry Rise 50k Trail race.
https://www.daybreakracing.com/backcountry-rise

This one is a 50 kilometer (31 mile) course on the side of Mt St Helens with 8,000 feet (2,438 meters) gain and loss.  I ran the 20 mile race there last year and the scenery was amazing running across a landscape where the Earth literally turned inside out in 1980 after a massive eruption of the volcano which ripped many thousands of feet off the top of the mountain and spread it across a blast zone and also creating a new lake.  There are still dead trees snapped off above the ground standing as natural grave stones for the forest which was swallowed by the explosion.

All of these races are run by Daybreak racing's, Jeremy Long who I've met and got to know over the past year.  Jeremy runs amazingly well organised races where every little detail is covered.  As a participant in a race its really good to know that everything is thought of and covered in as much detail as he puts into these events.

Non-Race adventure plans for 2019

As well as the races I'm obviously going to be doing a lot of running throughout the year.  I don't like calling my running "training" because I run for the pure enjoyment.  A lot of my running will be on my usual turf which I have blogged about in the past, however I'm also planning some longer adventure runs linking various regular routes and some new territory.  Brianne has started to really bump up her capacity for endurance running too so we will be doing a lot of running together this year.

I'm also planning something quite epic for the summer solstice on the 21st June.  I wont be disclosing the details until the event as I'm still cooking up the plans.  I just felt like the longest day of the year needed marked on my calendar with something equally long.

At the end of summer I will be taking some time away and heading to Scotland to deal with some domestic duties, but while I'm there I plan to check out a fair bit of the West Highland Way route for a future long adventure which I'll disclose at a date much later than just now.....

Look out for future posts from me as I progress through the year and my adventures.

Yeti spotted on Sugarloaf Mt

Clickbait title I know but that's what the pictures reminded me of when Brianne added the red circles showing where I was.

Making use of the last nice days in this extended spell of great warm and sunny weather Brianne ran/hiked up the side of Ice Box Canyon and I went for another run up the side of Sugarloaf Mt and this time traversed across and over the saddle and eventually looped back and ran home again.  It was one of these days that I felt like a long run but hadn't decided exactly where and how long "long" really meant.  I do adventure runs like that sometimes.  My pack was loaded up with the usual necessities so I had the scope for an all day adventure. 

Since Brianne was one side of the valley and I was at the other she actually spotted me traversing the side of the mountain and took some pictures.  Her blue jacket wasn't bright enough for me to spot without binoculars but she was able to see my bright orange shirt catching the full sun.

This was me just before I headed across the side of the mountain as seen in the next few pictures.

 That's me where the arrow is pointing to.  

Brianne was about 1.8 miles away as the Crow (or Raven as it is up here) flies and looking through the binoculars when I was spotted.  The highest point on my route was just to the right of center where the clearing starts which is about 100 feet higher than the arrow points to and about 2200 feet ASL from where I started out.  There isn't a road/trail to this summit and requires a bit of bushwhacking so that's a trip of its own for another day.

Zoomed right out for perspective.

More zoomed in, but not enough to see me.

In the picture above I crossed over the rocky part in the center, it's where the mountain is crumbling.  It's pretty much a safe route when it's dry, but after some rain or frost wouldn't be a good time to pass.  A bit like a giants bowling alley of you get my meaning!

Closer in and the red circle is where I am.   

I could look down and see a few hundred feet below down gulleys where the rock was crumbling.
Just for the record this is a section I walk.  No running here!

A bit further on in this one.

This was my view and the red arrow is pointing to where Brianne was taking the pictures from.


All in all it was a good day out.  Distance, elevation and route screen prints below.
With all the ups and downs it worked out to 5,599 feet of climbing over 31 miles.  The moving time was just a few minutes slower than my fastest 50k race pace so I was happy with that even though this was just a fun run.  I stopped a few times to speak to a couple of people and admire the views and eat so my total trip time was 6 Hrs 13 Mins.

A bit of a strange route, but essentially two loops connected with one main forest road and a couple of side roads that go to the top of hills. 

This will probably be my last epic fun run this year.  I'll be doing a more concentrated training effort over the winter months leading up to my next ultra race which is a 50 mile trail race in April 2019.

Thanks for reading.  Keep watching for more stuff.

Cannon Beach Ridge Mountains climb

Brianne and I climbed up to the highest point on the mountain ridge South East of Cannon Beach today.  We have had our eye on this point for some time and today's colder but sunny November day was the perfect time to get a crisp clear view from up there.

Here are a few pictures and a video of our mini adventure.


Short video of us reaching and walking along the summit ridge. (select full screen for a better view)

A few of Brianne and I at the summit ridge.

An interesting angle to see the rock from.

Some views of the Ocean showing from Arch Cape all the way north to Seaside and a bit beyond.

The three large volcanoes in the distance.
Mt Ranier at the left, Mt StHelen's in the middle and Mt Adams at the right.

Closeup of Mt Ranier.

Mt St Helens and Mt Adams.

Sugarloaf Mt with Saddle Mt in the background.

This the summit ridge from the side, we were almost there at this point.  It was hard to find because there's not really any defined path up to it.

Looking back up at the summit (2,700ft), we were still at about 1,000ft up at this point.

The red arrow points to where we were.

2018 Elk Kings 50k

Report on my final race of 2018, the Elk Kings 50k Trail Race.

The race location is in part of the Tillamook State Forest with 31.1 miles of forest trails and lots of pretty steep incline and declines, 1,981 meters (6500 feet) to be precise.  

My name and number on the race bib.  There were about 80 others in the race, the numbering doesn't reflect number of competitors.  Trail races are low numbers in comparison to many hundreds or thousands in road races.

Earlier this year I decided to add this race to my calendar because I wanted to include a 50k ultra in 2018.  It was also to gain a bit more race experience before next year's bigger things, like a 50 mile race in April 2019 which I have just signed up to and possibly something longer later in 2019.

As mentioned in my previous race blogs I've actually been doing quite well meeting and even exceeding my target finish times and as it turns out I've been getting quite far up the field at the finish line too, very much to my surprise!  

For a 50k time target I looked at other races and finish times and decided that anywhere under six hours was where I wanted to be, it also fitted with my previous runs of about that distance.  Another point to make is that trail running is much much slower paced than road races because your jumping over roots, through mud and climbing up and down mountains all at the same time.  No flat smooth roads here!

This is at about mile 7, only 24 and a bit more to go from here!  I was inside the top ten lead runners at this point, thinking to myself "did I go out way too fast already?"

The lead up to the race over the last few months didn't go as planned, but endurance efforts rarely go as planned so you have to be prepared to adapt and survive, which is also exactly what I had to do in the lead up to this race.  My intended plan of lots of speed work sessions and hill repeats in the trails behind town didn't happen because of forest fire restriction closures.

In addition to this I had a non running related muscle strain in the month before the race, so that again held me back a bit.  Luckily two weeks before the race I was able to get in one high mileage hard effort training week which got me back up to a reasonable level of fitness and then one pre-race-taper week to get to the start line feeling fresh again.

Due to these setbacks I was not feeling at all confident about this race.  I had a bit of a paradoxical dilemma, do I turn up and not give it my best effort or do I just pull out and volunteer at an aid station to help others?  I'm cursed with a mindset that if I decide to do something then I commit to it and just get on and do it, but at the same time I have to give it my best effort!  Hence the paradox!

Anyway, race day arrived, and after the doubts the night before I was up at 3:45AM for my high octane breakfast of raw porridge oats and nut mix drenched in homemade coconut milk to help fuel the morning.  

Arriving at the race starting location it was just below freezing and foggy, but the weather forecast promised a warm sunny day so that was a plus.  I picked up my race bib number and some free swag, had another high calorie snack and got to the front of the pack at the start line with the mindset of "give it a good shot and see how it goes".  It was all I could do at that point!

It turns out the race went well.  I knew I was still in the top 10 somewhere and I kept pushing hard right till the end, where in the last mile and a half there was a bit of a race going on between three of us.  That really pushed the pace up and we were hammering along at about 6:30 minutes per mile pace, which is pretty fast given that I'd already ran a relatively fast and hard 29 miles!  

I was happy to cross the finish line and have it done and over with.  Another great run done and my muscles burning telling me I worked hard, but it felt really good at the same time.  You have to push really hard for hours on end to get to that point, and you have to have done it to be able to understand what I mean by it feeling good.

You crave more of that too, it's like an addictive drug!

Crossing the finish line 5hrs 33 minutes after starting.

My 50k personal record was 5 hrs 58, so I wanted to meet that or even better it.  I blew that one clean out the water!

I got an age group prize.  2nd place in my age group.  2 seconds behind another runner that I ran with for most of the race who got 1st place, we both finished pretty much together. 

Elevation profile of the route.  Total of 6,500 feet up and back down over the 31 miles.

Course route map.

Thanks for reading.  Keep watching for more of my running adventures.

2018 Backcountry Rise 20 mile race

This weekend Brianne and I headed from home to the beautiful Mt St Helen's area where I participated in a mountain trail race.  

We left on Friday afternoon with the car loaded with the tent and a load of home made organic food stuff for the weekend.  

Arriving at the race location where the event organiser hired the Mt StHelen's Education Center where we had the use of the camping field and all the building facilities.  

With the tent setup it was time for an early night ready for the race in the morning.

On Saturday morning the view from the tent door was stunning, with the double peaks of Mt St Helen's shrouded each with a lenticular cap.

It must have been pretty windy up there on the summit.  The lenticular clouds are formed by strong wind over the rounded summit peaks where the airflow acts like an airplane wing.

View from the tent.  

At the start line keeping warm, where it was pretty cold in the morning up at the 3,000 or so foot start/finish area.  My race started at 9am, I snagged the last spot in the 20 miler when I booked this event.

I had a great time on the run.

Cruising down the hill somewhere between mile 1 and 4.

This worked out really well for me because I always feel warmed up and ready to go by about 5 miles into a run.  The 5 mile area on this course is where it starts to climb almost 3,000 feet in only 4 miles in a constant climb.  Hill climbs are where I excel. 

(Photo credit to Pursuit Films)

At one point in this area I had quite a number of people following me, I guess they must have liked the pace I set for the pack, or was I just going too damn slow... I think not :)  They all disappeared one by one till I got to the first aid station alone.

(Photo credit to Pursuit Films)

I crossed the finish line in 3hrs 39 mins 12 seconds feeling great.  Jeremy Long the race director greets every finisher.  I have a nice new pint glass for the effort and a reminder of a fantastic weekend out in the mountains.

(Photo credit to Pursuit Films)

It took a lot of mental effort to process the fact I came inside the top 10 male finishers and got my name on the finishers board.  There were about 150 ish others behind me so I was elated to get a top ten result (9th Male, 11th overall).  

I've been training for longer distance races and runs, and I went into this race not feeling like I was very well prepared or tuned for a short distance race and I didn't expect to place very well.  How wrong I was!

Along the way I met and ran with a great bunch of like minded runners.  Thanks to all of you who shared the trails with me.  

After the race the RD provided hot food and drinks, which I really enjoyed.  

The elevation profile for the race is below.  About 5,000 feet of climbing and 5,000 feet back down over the 20 mile route in stunning back-country scenery.  It was a privilege to get to run in the Mt St Helen's monument area and across the 1980 Volcano blast zone where the Earth literally turned inside out!

The picture below is a view of the route we took in the race.  It dropped the 500 feet down to the lake, then went clockwise up the lake and at the top end climbed up and over the mountain just to the left of the center of the picture.  The route then headed down and across the ridge at the right rear of the picture, its the second ridge back with the mostly clear top in the center of the right hand side.  Then it went all they way back down and round the lake to make a complete loop then 500 feet back up to the start in the last mile. 

Thanks for reading, If you liked my blog let me know.