Limberlost Challenge 56 km Trail - July 8, 2017

 Did my 6th Limberlost Race this past Saturday.   The race has a reputation of extreme beauty ,  the best of Muskoka as well as being deceptively tough and once again it didn't disappoint.

 The day started early up before the alarm allowing for all my usual  routines.  This is one of the longer race day drives so I left  home at 4am arriving at the race a little after 7am.    Took care of getting suited up and all the necessities in the moments leading up to race time and before I knew it we were off.

 The weather was very good we were not going to melt nor would we be knee deep in mud like last year.   Did allot of chatting on the first loop going out super easy just enjoying the day.   At the end of the first 3 loops I shot a little video recap so thats the story I am going to tell ....

First Loop Video Recap
Heading out o the 2nd loop I burned 10-15 min walking trying to get my camera set to do a time lapse of the course.  Fumbled with the camera for quite some time but gave up.   During a race is not really the best time to figure stuff out but I wasn't looking for a time just a solid outing!

Second Loop Video Recap

 The third loop was really all about getting to the 4th and final loop.   I moved well through the 3rd loop but i was starting to go a little behind on the Hydration and Calories.  

 Third Loop Video Recap.

 The 4th loop was slower again but i managed to keep moving posting an average sub 10 min Ks. The highlight  of the loop was at the first aid station.  It was manned by the youth that the race was fund raising for.   They came from primarily urban areas and were responsible for building and maintaining the trail.   The video I shot was using the wrong camera but it did capture the chant which was really cute....

1 st Aid Station Video
The pleasant breeze that we had all day seemed to vanish during the 4th loop and when that happened it got a whole lot warmer and  the deer flies made an appearance.   It was kind of miserable at times but being the final stages of the run it was a whole lot more tolerable.  Tripped the mat at 9hrs15min which is pretty close to the past few times I have run this course.      I was going to do a video at the end but forgot I was focused on some real food and a clean up.   Enjoyed the BBQed Chicken on a skewer ...to die for!     Didn't waste any time and was cleaned up changed and back in my car before I knew it!

The Bad Thing 50 km Ultra - Saturday October 22, 2016

 Ran Ontario's only point to point 50K Ultra " The Bad Thing " on Saturday.    Loved the course  a real mixed bag of crazy single track 40% ,   tractor trails 40%   and road sections 20%.    Jumped on a bus in Auburn at around 6:30 am for a short ride into Goderich and before I knew it we were off and running at 7:00 am.   The race started at the Kiwanis Park just above the harbor.       We made an immediate drop to the harbor where the salt mine was then made a spectacular crossing of the Maitland River  over a very high foot bridge.   First single track was along the river bank in the dark narrow with lots of camber.     Made our way through a residential area of Godereich before heading out of town following the beautiful Maitland River.   First half of the run was a series of single track and tractor trails,  some easy and some really tough but all quite enjoyable.   The weather was iffy at best ,  high winds  ,  temps pushing 5C and lake effect showers even a little bit of frozen stuff thrown in.   In the forest it wasn't too bad but out in the open the wind was really nasty.   I was a little bit over dressed but for the most part quite comfortable with a single layer head to toe thermal gear.  Aid stations were space allot further apart then I am use to but I knew about it before hand so it was a no big deal thing.    I was felling pretty good and moving well through 34K but then I hit a section where all the hills were named ,  Lady's Slipper,  Old Eagle Nest and Cedar Hill.   Named hills are always something to behold and through the 40K mark it was pretty tough going.   Was little dehydrated and under nourished through the final 10Ks was still running 90% of the time but was doing the odd walk to  manage the HR and temps besides I wasn't looking for a time.    I the final K we did a river crossing it was a great way to clean up before wrapping the the run up.      Finished in 7hrs15min in 31 st position out of the 39 finishers.    Had a quick beer and a bit of chilly before heading out.    

Overall it was a great event a must so on next years race calendar.   It was staged from a great venue,  had fantastic volunteers including ample marshals at the important places.

Garmin results ...

Garmin elevation profile...

Splits

1	6:20.8	6:20.8	6:17	1.00	20	31	6:21	6:17	5:01	159	176	0.99	81
2	8:09.5	14:30	7:41	1.00	5	17	8:09	7:41	5:34	141	168	0.87	81
3	8:48.1	23:19	8:40	1.00	8	9	8:48	8:40	7:36	138	162	0.82	61
4	7:18.1	30:37	7:15	1.00	3	10	7:18	7:15	5:46	143	161	0.96	76
5	8:14.9	38:52	8:13	1.00	40	--	8:15	8:13	5:17	135	161	0.90	76
6	6:12.4	45:04	6:09	1.00	9	15	6:12	6:09	5:47	155	164	1.04	86
7	8:21.4	53:25	8:09	1.00	26	10	8:22	8:09	6:00	140	170	0.85	75
8	5:47.0	59:12	5:39	1.00	13	--	5:47	5:39	5:29	157	163	1.10	84
9	10:36	1:09:48	9:29	1.00	4	42	10:36	9:29	5:38	126	175	0.75	63
10	10:57	1:20:45	9:05	1.00	22	--	10:57	9:05	7:04	112	185	0.81	56
11	7:54.4	1:28:40	7:49	1.00	16	33	7:54	7:49	3:48	140	179	0.90	78
12	7:42.2	1:36:22	7:38	1.00	11	--	7:42	7:38	4:04	144	189	0.90	78
13	5:52.7	1:42:15	5:47	1.00	--	11	5:53	5:47	5:02	154	161	1.10	83
14	7:09.0	1:49:24	7:04	1.00	24	--	7:09	7:04	5:34	153	159	0.92	89
15	9:54.7	1:59:18	8:27	1.00	43	30	9:55	8:27	3:39	111	181	0.91	70
16	9:28.6	2:08:47	9:06	1.00	16	37	9:29	9:06	6:23	127	178	0.83	72
17	9:57.4	2:18:44	8:46	1.00	17	29	9:57	8:46	6:00	118	179	0.85	71
18	7:04.9	2:25:49	7:01	1.00	4	--	7:05	7:01	6:12	152	163	0.93	77
19	6:21.4	2:32:11	6:15	1.00	9	--	6:21	6:15	5:58	154	161	1.02	87
20	9:13.1	2:41:24	9:11	1.00	33	29	9:13	9:11	4:31	118	172	0.92	73
21	7:44.7	2:49:08	7:42	1.00	27	--	7:45	7:42	5:13	135	163	0.95	75
22	8:59.7	2:58:08	8:31	1.00	8	30	9:00	8:31	5:51	132	182	0.84	72
23	6:42.2	3:04:50	6:37	1.00	4	6	6:42	6:37	5:05	152	159	0.98	86
24	9:24.4	3:14:15	9:21	1.00	29	10	9:24	9:21	5:54	124	158	0.85	74
25	9:02.3	3:23:17	8:44	1.00	19	26	9:02	8:44	6:02	131	168	0.84	68
26	6:55.8	3:30:13	6:55	1.00	--	11	6:56	6:55	5:55	151	197	0.96	87
27	7:12.3	3:37:25	7:11	1.00	6	1	7:12	7:11	5:50	146	156	0.95	89
28	8:31.1	3:45:56	8:15	1.00	11	--	8:31	8:15	3:06	136	159	0.87	74
29	8:49.2	3:54:45	8:43	1.00	9	--	8:49	8:43	6:30	130	156	0.87	74
30	8:20.9	4:03:06	8:19	1.00	7	--	8:21	8:19	4:55	126	178	0.95	67
31	7:50.8	4:10:57	7:43	1.00	1	9	7:51	7:43	5:40	128	159	1.00	80
32	8:06.1	4:19:03	7:56	1.00	5	20	8:06	7:56	6:37	147	170	0.84	72
33	9:18.6	4:28:22	8:47	1.00	8	--	9:19	8:47	7:23	130	156	0.83	60
34	12:03	4:40:25	10:17	1.00	19	7	12:04	10:17	7:23	106	168	0.78	53
35	13:22	4:53:47	10:28	1.00	13	2	13:23	10:28	7:58	108	163	0.69	54
36	9:59.8	5:03:47	9:59	1.00	8	26	10:00	9:59	6:41	115	168	0.87	62
37	14:08	5:17:55	10:48	1.00	25	12	14:07	10:48	6:44	93	168	0.76	53
38	10:40	5:28:35	9:55	1.00	9	24	10:40	9:55	7:38	125	159	0.75	57
39	8:03.3	5:36:38	7:54	1.00	3	--	8:03	7:54	6:28	139	158	0.90	84
40	10:05	5:46:43	8:40	1.00	23	--	10:05	8:40	5:51	104	156	0.95	69
41	7:09.1	5:53:52	7:04	1.00	2	--	7:09	7:04	5:54	143	158	0.98	78
42	7:41.8	6:01:34	7:29	1.00	13	14	7:42	7:29	6:11	137	156	0.95	79
43	8:14.5	6:09:49	8:13	1.00	23	14	8:15	8:13	6:41	134	161	0.90	73
44	7:36.5	6:17:25	7:32	1.00	--	26	7:36	7:32	6:23	143	156	0.92	78
45	8:49.2	6:26:14	8:47	1.00	18	--	8:49	8:47	6:20	126	158	0.90	66
46	8:06.7	6:34:21	7:44	1.00	--	16	8:07	7:44	6:06	139	178	0.89	81
47	7:03.6	6:41:25	6:55	1.00	13	10	7:04	6:55	5:55	145	159	0.98	79
48	8:21.1	6:49:46	8:16	1.00	--	5	8:21	8:16	6:35	127	158	0.94	71
49	8:15.2	6:58:01	8:09	1.00	13	--	8:15	8:09	5:19	136	159	0.89	62
50	8:03.9	7:06:05	8:03	1.00	--	9	8:04	8:03	5:12	137	159	0.91	74
51	9:16.3	7:15:21	8:38	1.00	24	--	9:16	8:38	6:19	118	159	0.91	67
52	0:10.4	7:15:31	0:08	0.03	--	--	6:33	5:02	6:19	152	154	1.01	2
Summary	7:15:31	7:15:31	6:53:24	51.03	668	584