Elk-Kings Traverse 25k Race Report
- bradleyhaag
- Dec 3, 2015
- 3 min read
Background
As mentioned in my last training update I wass given the opportunity to race a 25k trail run with some friends. My friends kept hinting that the climbing (6500ft of total elevation gain) would make this race extremely difficult. Even hearing that I still didn't think the race would be that hard. How hard could it be a thought? I've ran 13 miles after a 1.2 mile swim and a 56 mile bike several times in half-ironman triathlons. How difficult can it be to run just 15.5 miles on trails?
Well needlesstosay It was extremely difficult...
The Race
After just a few hundred feet of running on the road the course headed into the wooded trails and up the side of a mountain (literally a mountain). At first it was steep but yet allowed a jog or power hike soon however, the terrain become so intense I literally had to crawl up the trail, grabbing tree roots and rocks to keep moving forward. This scrambling up the mountain went on for about 30 minutes and barely covered a mile and half! Finally, at the top of the mountain the trail flattened out somewhat for a few sections of running. Coming down the mountain was interesting, at two different spots the terrain was so steep they set up rebelling lines for us to grab onto to make our way down rock faces safely. Most of the downhill was on steep switch back trails. I use to pride myself on my ability to run downhill but this was on another level. Running downhill for miles at a time puts a beating on your feet. I stopped several times to take my shoes off and check that feet were ok (turns out I was developing blisters on my heels). Finally, I made it down the first mountain to an aid station. This aid station informed me I was at mile 8 so just over half way through the rest. I drank a few small glasses of water, grab an energy gel, and was back in the race!
At this point I was feeling awesome. I felt like I made through the hard part of the race and could now cruise to the finish at an easy pace. But then... I hit mile 9. Just 1 mile after leaving the aid station my energy plummeted. It felt as if I had ran out of gas. I look my watch to find I had been running for over two and half hours! I was expecting to finish in about 3 hours and planned to take in just 2-3 energy gels of 100 calories each which has worked for me in the past. But as my steady run turned into a slow walk, I realized I was in trouble. It was several miles to next aid station and I had only 1 gel with zero water to take it with. Not to mention I knew if I slowed down at all I would lose my place in the race which at this point was about 6 place overall.
I slowly walked forward in pain from dehydration and exhaustion as one by one I started being pasted by other racers. I would try to run at parts but my body would quickly cripple as if it needed to remind me I was hurting. Finally, after some of the darkest times in my race history I made it to the last station, just 3 miles from the finish. I must have had over a dozen different glasses of various liquids in addition to 3 energy gels at this aid station. I hoppled along to the finish to a time of 3:25:12.
Overall thoughts
I was happy to have finished but wasn't happy with my huge drop in pace around mile 9. After a few days of thinking I realized this event was beyond anything I've done before and I needed to race it differently than I did. I plan to race this race again next year and pace myself for the later stages of the race while also paying closer attention to my fuel needs.
Check out the results Here.
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