The day started early with an alarm set for 3 am. Race day I often wake up before my alarm so after 5 or so hours of sleep I was in the Hot Tub at 02:30 am. Didn't feel the least bit tired driving to Niagara. Stopped at the Tims on the east side of the bridge over the Welland Canal and had breakfast. I was at Firemens Park in Niagara at around 6:30 am. First impression was how many military personal were there. There was at least a dozen tents housing at least a dozen personal. The military runs an exercise in conjunction with the race....very cool. This was the second year for this event and it was staged on the Bruce Trail so I expected it to be tough but figured on a 6-7 hour day. The weather forcast was for some warmish temps in the mid to high 20's.
The race started at 07:30 am. First K or 2 were on some open trail leading to a large climb up an old landfill site. At the top was one of the most amazing views on Western Lake Ontario and Toronto ... breath taking actually. Got to go through the " Screaming Tunnel twice ....
Screamed twice ...it was cool! It was only a couple of Ks and we were into the most gnarly section I dubbed the Achilles Killer. It was a K or two stretch of trail cut out for this course between an rail line and a fence that separated residential back yards. Grape vines and stuff to grab and trip you everywhere! Leaving that section we headed out to a small road section with a gentle grade that included a little trail jaunt I dubbed the Horse Shoe! After the road there was a few Ks of more of less flat along the side of the escarpment. Its must have been an ancient rail bed but it sure was nice to be able to fly along for awhile until we got to Sheaffe's Hill where in the War of 1812 he drove his army up the hill and came back around and surprised the American Army .... there were ghosts! After the climb it was another k or two before we ran around General Brocks Monument then headed back to the start finish. Tripped the Matt after the first 25K loop at 3hrs32min11sec...YIKES. Heading back out for the second and thank god final loop it was getting warm and I was feeling fatigued so I was thinking somewhere around 4 hours to complete. Heading up over the old landfill I walked across the top taking in the amazing view and lovely breeze off Lake Ontario. This time through the screaming tunnel I only let out a sigh! Went real easy through the Achilles section then moved well through the ancient rail bed. I noticed that my right foot was very uncomfortable to the point of being painful. I wear a Metatarsal support in my shoe that sits under the arch and it appears to have shifted under the toes when I did a rather violent kick and save at the 17K mark ... only tripped once all day! Coming through the Brock Monument I sat on a park bench took off my shoe and re-aligned the metatarsal support. It felt really weird at first but I knew I had it in place. So there was 8K or so to go and I was feeling rather nauseated. I had been gelling , drinking water and taking enough S Caps but it just wasn't being processed. Taking a 30 minute break at this time would have really helped but I headed out just wanting to get it done. Goal for the last 8K was to keep the Ks under 10 minutes. I would run for a bit the take a break the run some more but it was hard to maintain a constant pace. I kept getting a pin across the top of my shoulders that I suspect is a result of the heart working harder due to dehydration. I am familiar with this sorts of thing and rest , hydration and nutrition alleviate i but I just wanted to get it done so I chipped away running where it was easy and walking when I had to. Did a little sprint the last half K wanting to trip the clock a under 8 hours and that was what I did coming in in 7hrs57min2sec .
All and all it was a great day. Any time I can finish an Ultra I am happy. On a positive note when I have a slow finish it is like a huge cool down and there seems to very little effect on my muscles the next day. Its Sunday morning writing this report and I feel great, nothing hurts and I had a great 9 hour sleep. I am 100% ready to Run today .... how cool is that!
Splits Click here for splits
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