Sept 21 - 23 Golden Ultra with friends!

Sept 21
Forgot to mention in the last post that after we got set up in Golden we had a quick bite to eat and got changed for a run. Leslie just wants to get in some km's and I really want to test run part of the half marathon course. The course passes the back of our rig and goes up a hill with a bunch of switchbacks. The switchbacks are aptly named 7-Up!

The full course for Sunday with elevation profile

Satellite view of the course for day 3

Leslie did 4k beside the river and I did a 6k out and back going up and down the lovely 7-Up! Can't wait for Sunday.
Okay so back to Friday morning. Today is the start of a 3 day stage race for other competitors. Golden Ultra Stage Race (click on the link to see their website) Our friends Barry and Ailsa and her sister, Mhairi (pronounced Mary) are running as well. Ailsa is defending her first place finishes from 2015 when she competed and set course records for all 3 events for female competitors. Barry and Mhairi are running the half version of the whole event. I only signed up for Sunday trail half marathon of 23 km's. Only!?

Let me set this up. The Golden Ultra has 3 events, Blood, Sweat & Tears, that can be done together or in smaller pieces. The first event runs Friday afternoon and this year they allowed people to do half distances. Ailsa will be doing a 5km vertical challenge (full pint) up the face of the ski hill to the top of the gondola. Barry and Mhairi do 3km and end at the same point (half pint). So 5k vertical is 1000 meters or about 3300 feet elevation gain. Day 2 is a 58 km ultra marathon from downtown Golden to the top of the ski hill again and back downtown all on trails and beside the road. The half is a 30 km run. Day 3 is a half marathon, in this case 23 km's, through some scenic hiking trails out of town and back.   The half pint is a 10k "fun run" on Sunday. The team that hosts this event is top notch! It's really well run and is a lot of fun to watch and compete in. Just for some extra challenge for 2018 it rained hard Friday and Saturday. Rain in town meant snow on the top of the mountain!! There were places that Ailsa, Barry & Mhairi ran in up to 8 inches of snow. And they smiled at the finish line! Yep it's a little crazy.
Leslie and I started our Friday with a little walk with Margaret. We need to drive up to get registered for the Sunday race and meet Barry & Ailsa at Kicking Horse Resort (KHR) where they are staying in a condo.

Part of Sunday trail right behind our rig at Golden Municipal Campground.

My two fave girls! Also part of Sunday's trail.

We jumped in the truck after the walk and drove up the hill. It was cloudy in town and on the mountain it was raining pretty hard. Barry & Ailsa met us in the parking lot and showed us the registration yurt. Of course on a mountain you register in a yurt! I got registered and received my race package for Sunday. Pretty nervous and excited I have to say but ready to go. We walked to their condo and met Mhairi again as we met briefly in Victoria at another race.  Les and I left them to get ready while we went back to our rig.

My race bib and a buff, can't see the timing chip.

We drove back up the hill for the start of the vertical challenge around 3:00. We met the gang at the base of the chair lift where Barry & Mhairi will get a lift to their start point. Ailsa starts at the bottom. It's raining pretty hard and clouds are all over the mountain top and they are telling us it's snowing on top. Great day for a race !

Differing opinions on the race weather??

So as we're standing there chatting and laughing about the race I get a little push from behind me? WTH? There is tons of room up here, who's pushing me?? I turn around to see who has the problem here and holy c%*p it's my brother John ! Him and Leslie had worked out a surprise for my birthday that he would come to watch me race on Sunday. Everyone else knew but me! What an awesome surprise! I was completely blown away lol. So after a couple WTF's and big hugs and handshakes we all laughed about how well they pulled it off. Thanks you guys, awesome work! haha.

Back to the race.... at 4pm the gun went off and away they go up the face of the ski hill into the clouds and snow.

Ailsa's start

The rest of us got to ride the gondola to the top. We waited a little bit where it was warmer at the bottom and then rode up. You couldn't see much because the windows were fogged and it was raining and cloudy. Once at the top we stood in the sleet for a bit and found a warm hallway in the restaurant to wait for them to climb up.

John & me at the top.

It didn't take long and the runners started showing up with mud all over and snow stuck to them. Ailsa was first female on the 5k! Mhairi and Barry had great times on the 3k as well so we stood about for a little bit and took some pics and grabbed a gondola to the bottom.

Fun right? Katherine, Mhairi, Ailsa & Barry

After the race we went back to our rig and let the runners get showers and a hot tub. We are all meeting for a taco feast back at the ski hill for 7pm. Another piece of the surprise they worked out because John already has a ticket lol. Pretty great day to start the weekend. After dinner we all pretty much called it a day.

Sep 22

We're up and out early today today to crew for Ailsa and her 7:30 race start. Barry & Mhairi start at 9 for the 30k so they are catching a different ride with Ailsa's sister Donna who is here from Nova Scotia. Donna was going to compete but is doing day hikes with her family instead while in the west. They have a condo full of family.

It's raining again, hard. We gave Ailsa a hug and waved as she started the race. There is almost 8 inches of snow on the ridgeline where she will be running today. Race officials are constantly monitoring but they're going ahead with it. Good luck buddy, another course record to defend!

She's a blur lol !

We are also crewing for Barry and Mhairi, which for this race means we just carry their warm clothes to the car and back. We met them at the start line for their 30k run and cheered as they got started their snowy run.

Mhairi & Barry in shorts?? Snow remember?

Leslie, John and I went for breakfast at a restaurant right by the start line. The Whitetooth Bistro in Golden BC is a fantastic place to eat! Really good breakfast and great locally roasted Kicking Horse coffee, so good. If you are in Golden we highly recommend it.

Barry and Mhairi were in first after 30k. Mhairi at 3:26 and Barry at 4:02! Great runs by both of them. Mary even stopped to help a fallen runner with a cut so deep in his leg that he was choppered out to hospital! ( he showed up Sunday bandaged and okay but not running) Sorry guys no finish line pics, bad crew.

So exactly 6 hours and 37 minutes after starting, we cheered hard as Ailsa crossed the finish line!!

Champ!

58km's in a great time, smilin'.

So she didn't beat her old record but the course was way tougher this time. She said she was running through 8 inches of snow on a 2 foot wide path on top with 1000 foot rocky slides on either side. Crazy conditions! At least the rain has let up and you can almost see a shadow from the sun now. The weather is supposed to be better tomorrow. I'm sure hoping anyway. My nerves aren't getting better with the rain and mud.

We went back to the rig to relax while the running gang all went for showers and hot tub time. We have plans for a big Leslie created pasta supper at the condo for 6 pm. Nap time!

John drove us up to the condo in his BMW. Thanks buddy. You may have read in a previous post when Leslie made pasta and sauce for everyone. Tonight we get to eat it ! It's honestly one of my faves and it's great race food. Leslie has made it for a few of Ailsa's races now so it's almost part of the plan. We brought the pasta and Ailsa had salads and buns so it was a fabulous and filling meal.

Their condo on the left, beautiful development.

Unfortunately we didn't get one picture, rookie move! We met another couple that was competing, Trevor and Angela. They're friends of Barry & Ailsa. Trevor is competing for the first time too. He's a roofer by trade and obviously in pretty good shape. He told us that he just quit smoking this spring too. Amazing what your body can do if you want it to.

Angela & Trevor, they did all 3 stages!

Ailsa's sister Donna and her family also got back from their day trip so it was really great to meet everyone and have a good meal together. We relaxed in the living room and shared some stories for a while and then it was time to go. Lots of sore legs from from todays run and they all have 10 or 23 km's to go tomorrow. Speaking of which I have 23 km's to do tomorrow and I'll be damned if I'm not making it all the way around. I've told too many people I'm doing this to choke now lol.

John dropped us off at home and amazingly I had a really good sleep until 5:30 am. Had an alarm set for 6:30 but I just got up and started breakfast early. 9 am race start and yeah I have a few butterfly's. I ate some oatmeal with a tablespoon of peanut butter, cinnamon and honey. A recipe I stole from some champs I know! Backed that with a piece of rye toast and more pb & j and I'm as ready as can be. We geared up and John came over to pick us up. Nerves are firing now!

Pre race, a little shaky lol.

The weather cooperated nicely. About 7C and part sun, supposed to be sunny and a high of 12C this afternoon. Perfect! Not too hot or cold. We headed to the start area and my nerves calmed down a bit. The rest of the gang all got there and we visited until it was time to go.

Just about time, big smiles.

The half marathon is scheduled to start first, then about 5 minutes later they will start the 10k so there will be lots of runners on the trail. I lined up close to the back, Ailsa at the front. Let's do this! The horn sounded and about 150 runners left the start. There is a sharp turn at the start and then across a foot bridge so you jog less than 100 yards and then walk until the crush thins out haha. Easy pace so far. I waved to Leslie and John and now I'm on my own for a few hours. Ailsa will finish way ahead in a couple hours, I am hoping for 3 hours but will be happy to finish the distance.

Behind our rig along the river, I'm not last !

I'm really fortunate to have Barry & Ailsa helping me train for this race. I could hear Barry's voice telling me to go slow at the start and finish strong. I really wanted to go faster at first but stayed behind the pack on purpose to save something for the end. Thanks you guys!! You're the best! The sun came out around the 5k mark and it was absolutely awesome day for a run. The leaves were falling and the forest smelled great after all the rain. The trail was muddy in places but the Soloman Speed Cross 4 shoes I bought have tread like tractor tires and my feet didn't hurt at all. It's a crazy good feeling and before I knew it we had reached the aid station at 9k. I felt great and had fallen in with another fella and 2 girls, using them as pacers. 13k was where the trail turned back to town and most of the 1000 meters of elevation gain was done. We started to drop back down at about 15k and I was feeling great and knew in my mind I would finish, not in 3 hours but I will make it for sure. I fell into a good pace with 2 girls from Calgary and we chatted a little and ran together until the aid station at 18k. Leslie & John were waiting there for me because it's close to the road. A great boost to see them.

Tired but feeling great, 5k left !

I stopped for a minute or 2 at the aid station and had some Coke and a oatmeal cookie because I was hungry. I also did a couple electrolyte gels, the brand they had were pretty tasty. Well the boost I got at 18k soon turned into a crash at 19k. There was another uphill section and all I could do was walk it. I remember Ailsa telling me that there will be sections that all you need to do is "one foot in front of the other" and this was my spot for that. Thankfully at 20k it flattened out and then it was downhill on 7Up back to the flat trail by the river. I tried to jog that last 2k but had to walk a bit, just had nothing left. I got close to the finish and I could see the whole gang across the river screaming their heads off! I have to run now lol.

Best support team ever!

When you hear them yelling the pain kind of goes away and I kicked back to a jog and crossed the foot bridge with my arms in the air. Ailsa and Mhairi were at the end of the bridge taking my picture.... sure good to see you guys. I ran around the corner and saw the finish line and the rest of the gang, man what a great feeling !!

Happy guy!

3:20:47 clock time for 23.01 kms!

My biggest fan, what a great hug, love you baby!

Middle of the pack 104 out of 194

As expected I was beat. As soon as I got my beer glass and bottle opener from the race official I told Les I just wanted to sit down. She helped me over to the stone wall behind us and did her usual deal of looking after me, asking what I needed. Couldn't have done this without all her support.

Had enough for today lol.

Then Ailsa came over and sat down and also checked how I was feeling too. Pretty lucky dude to have such great people in my life. The Canadian female Ultra champ is helping me out at the finish line and my whole crew is awesome. Thank you all, I feel like a champ because of all of you!!

Golden Ultra champ helping me open a dark beer!

I needed help with the beer too. Didn't actually sit that well lol. I thanked everybody and leaned a little on Leslie for the walk to Johns car. My calves and quads are screaming and I want a hot shower. I'm getting cold sitting around. Back at the rig I took a long shower and crawled into bed for a little bit. Need a little recharge. We're meeting at Taps pub at 4:00 for beers and burgers. Ultra runner fuel. What an experience. I'll never forget it. So many comments on Leslie's facebook before and after the race. Great birthday, great retirement goal and now I need to learn to walk again haha.

I hogged all the space on the blog for my race on day 3 but Ailsa, Barry & Mhairi did fantastic as well.

Champ all 3 days!! First female.

Fresh as a daisy! 3 days and he looks great.

Our apologies to Mhairi but we don't have your finish line picture :(

She ended the weekend as 7th place female in the half pint event. The champ gene runs in the family apparently! Good work Mhairi and so good to meet you.