North Face 50 km - Blue Mountain - July 15, 2017

Another weekend another Ultra ... ho hum,  just kidding I really like doing this!

Love ,  love love the course start to finish fantastic.  Scenic and challenging it has it all!   The race started at 7am and I headed out with Patrick Rose.  Wasn't 100% that I would stick with him but its not often a race plan is running with a friend and I was really enjoying it so I hung in there with him.  I was happy that they change the course since its inaugural event  in 2016.   Back then you did the 40K loop then headed back and more or less did the last bit over again which meant you did the tougher part of the course back to back at the end of the day...yikes!   This year we did the 10K loop first then the 40K look covering the first part of the course at the last ... more or less!    Patrick trashed his quads in the first 12k ,  fortunately the next 30K were not ll that bad and he was able to keep moving well through 40K however the quads gave out and he was only walking the downhills are there were allot of them some of the were monsters.   Now me I was having allot of fun watching Patrick suffer ... I was fine it was actually an easy day for me.    I would run ahead from time to time find a shady scenic spot ,  rest and wait for him to catch up!    Use the race Gels " Scratch " ... they were OK the price was right!   Hydrated and ate a few Pringles , M&Ms and Pretzles throughout the day and of course kept the water flowing.    I knew the course and brought a while shirt to throw on in those sunny spots.   It was warm getting up to the mid 20's but not crazy hot!  

We tripped the mat at the back of the pack in 8hrs37min.   I was dissapointed in North Face for not having any post race food ... not acceptable!   There was no swag either ,  just a lousy shirt and a water bottle and medal.  The event felt like a little bit of a money grab.    I super love the course and yes I will be back!    Headed in and got cleaned up  ( did I mention that it was really muddy ) then headed to Rusty's patio for Beer and Nachos!

Race pictures were cool but at $25.00 USD ,  no WAY!    So please excuse the water marks!

North Face 50K Blue Mountain - July 18 2015

 It was one of the warmest Races I have done in a long time.    Figured I would be around 8 hours and I ended up over that at 8h36min.  Was moving well through 30K then the Hills at Blue and the rising temps made things allot more difficult.   More or less just managed the heat through the last 20Ks ...sometimes better then others.   Felt like I was getting somethings back towards the end was moving better but it probably had more to do with being closer to the end.

The course was a little long.   My watch dies with 1.6 K to go reading 50.6 K ... the course was just beyond the 52K mark.  Normally not a big deal but on a hot day ... YIKES.

On a positive note I took the Pan Am Mascot Pachi  for a ride...his first Ultra.

Before the race...

After with his medal...

North Face Blue Mountain 50 Miler Recon Mission

Covered a good chunk of the 40K NF Loop at Blue on Thursday.   Here is my take on the course.

First I did the "Len Gartner" section below.  In Red is the NF course and in Yellow is the route I took.  

Only one big hill in this loop ,  another moderate but both were small in comparison to the Ski Hills at Blue.   

There were some really nice views of Georgian Bay here are a few pictures and a video ...

Logged close to 11K on the loop ,  made a few detours.   The trails had some really rooty sections ,  not much rock and were all really hard packed.   The trail really opened up the second half of the loop and it made for some very fast Ks.  I would rate this section as easy and fast ... good chance to stretch your legs out.   Watch out for Poison Ivy adjacent the trail ... if this sorts of thing freaks you out then wear high socks.

On race day we leave the Len Gartner loop for just shy of 4K  on the road . Yes  you read  that correct ,  4K on the road.     On a hot day this means exposure and deer flies so be prepared.   Although the footing is grand there is elevation ,  again its not monster but you are either going up or down .... not much flat.   Here is 3.2k of the road section in 30 seconds ....

Next up was the Scenic Caves Loop.   Parked at the top of the Southern Comfort Chair and headed out on the Mission Rd Side Trail.   Here is the route I took ,  Red is the NF course,  Yellow is me.

The Mission Rd Trail was nice,  a wee bit overgrown but mostly runable albeit slowly.   Last few hundred meters  of the side trail is a flat gravel road.   When you join the main trail you are on a gravel road for a steep 1K or so uphill reminiscent of "First Hill" at Creemore.   When you reach the top of the Hill we get into the Cross Country Ski Trails .   I   didn't do the back and forth thing following the Bruce Trail.   This are is part of the Blues "Scenic Caves" and wondering off the Bruce Trail is considered trespassing.  Folks pay good $$ to get into this area so I didn't have a problem with sticking to the trail.    After the Ski trails there was a a K or so if Gravel Road  before you drop back down the escarpment.   This is about as high as you can get above Blue but unfortunately there were no scenic views ... reserved for paying guests!    Once you have made the big climb the run across the top is pretty easy and a nice change after the "Grind"!  Here is my Garmin data ....

Finished off my day dropping down the "Cascadia" trail and then headed back up the "Grind" better known as "Gords Grove" in the winter time.    Cascadia was just plain fun to run down.   The trail follows a cascading stream from the top to bottom of Blue.   There are tons of stairs but most of the time there is a path beside them if you dare.   If its a dry day and your quads can handle it you can fly down this section.  If its wet we will be picking our way down the stairs!   Here is a real time video of my descent ,  hard to believe it takes that long to go down ....





Next up is what the NF folks are calling the "Grind" and it it describes the ascent very well.   I have Skied at the Orchards all last Winter and going down all the time I didn't find it all that steep but heading up ...YIKES.   On fresh legs early in the race I expect to maintain a 11:00 pace,  second time around it will be slower.    I headed up the middle of the Ski Hill but there are Bike Trails that I suspect we may be using on race day.   Here is the route I took as well as the Garmin data ...

Next weekend  I want to head back and do the section from the top of Blue to the Len Gartner section including going up the steepest hill " Kandahar"!    I really loved running at Blue race day is going to be a blast.