McKenzie River 50K: What a wonderful race!
09/11/07 12:26 PM
I just watched the video (below) so the song is on my
mind, but Saturday really was a great day. It's
probably the most fun I've ever had in a 50K race.
Because I didn't do much running in Switzerland I figured I wouldn't be able to go very fast but at least I did enough training in August to be able to finish the distance respectably. So I started out slow; the first five miles is technical and uphill anyway and I was stuck behind a line of about 30 other runners so I just relaxed and hoped I'd feel well enough later to be able to pick up the pace a little (though I figured I'd probably be lucky just to maintain). At least if I went slow I could enjoy the beautiful day without having to suffer too much.
It IS a beautiful course; following the river through old growth forest and past waterfalls, etc. Because of the lava and other roots and rocks it tends to be the scene of numerous bloodied knees and it has a long history of yellow jacket attacks, but we quibble.
After the first aid station the rest of the course tends slightly downhill but I just continued to cruise along, not knowing how my body would respond as the miles wore on. I passed several runners on the technical downhill sections as I tend to be relatively fearless/stupid about such things and was able to blow past those who were trying to get down safely (I got through the day w/o any falls. This time).
Nearing the halfway point I was feeling really good so I decided to start doing some real racing and see how far it would take me. It took me all the way to the end and I still felt great when I crossed the line. I did the first half in 2:51 (approx 11 minute pace) and the second half in 2:25 (approx 9:30 pace) and had fun, fun, fun all the way. As it was I was only five minutes slower than my previous trip here when I was a young pup of 47 years old and I could have broken five hours if I hadn't been so conservative. You just never know.
All six of us in the Redding contingent finished. Among us we only had one bloody knee and one bee sting.
What a wonderful day! (Click here for race results)
Because I didn't do much running in Switzerland I figured I wouldn't be able to go very fast but at least I did enough training in August to be able to finish the distance respectably. So I started out slow; the first five miles is technical and uphill anyway and I was stuck behind a line of about 30 other runners so I just relaxed and hoped I'd feel well enough later to be able to pick up the pace a little (though I figured I'd probably be lucky just to maintain). At least if I went slow I could enjoy the beautiful day without having to suffer too much.
It IS a beautiful course; following the river through old growth forest and past waterfalls, etc. Because of the lava and other roots and rocks it tends to be the scene of numerous bloodied knees and it has a long history of yellow jacket attacks, but we quibble.
After the first aid station the rest of the course tends slightly downhill but I just continued to cruise along, not knowing how my body would respond as the miles wore on. I passed several runners on the technical downhill sections as I tend to be relatively fearless/stupid about such things and was able to blow past those who were trying to get down safely (I got through the day w/o any falls. This time).
Nearing the halfway point I was feeling really good so I decided to start doing some real racing and see how far it would take me. It took me all the way to the end and I still felt great when I crossed the line. I did the first half in 2:51 (approx 11 minute pace) and the second half in 2:25 (approx 9:30 pace) and had fun, fun, fun all the way. As it was I was only five minutes slower than my previous trip here when I was a young pup of 47 years old and I could have broken five hours if I hadn't been so conservative. You just never know.
All six of us in the Redding contingent finished. Among us we only had one bloody knee and one bee sting.
What a wonderful day! (Click here for race results)
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