Haliburton Forest 100 Miler - 12/13 September 2015 - The First Hundred Miler (AKA - A Long, Wet, Cold Night)

Haliburton Forest 100 Mile Trail Race – 12/13 September 15 – Haliburton ON

29:52:39
21/22 Overall and 17/18 Men
First Hundred Miler
527.4 Miles Raced in 2015

Once I had decided late in 2013 that I wanted to run ultra-marathons and a 100 miler in the next few years, I had started to look at options for my first 100 miler.  I was attracted to the Haliburton Forest 100 Mile Trail Race for a number of reasons.  I wanted first 100 miler to be a challenging trail race (and definitely is) along with its early September date that allowed for summer Ontario Ultra series races as training runs.  By mid-fall last year I had settled on HF 100 as my first 100 miler and built my race plan for the year around it. 

HF 100 Mile Course.  The HF 100 is a double out and back in the Haliburton Forest Wilderness andWildlife Preserve about three hours north-east of Toronto, ON and is situated along Algonquin Provincial Park’s south-west border.  I found the course was about 40% semi-technical single track, 30% abandoned forest road and 30% forest/gravel road with around 12 500 feet of cumulative climbing over the 100 miles.  The first four miles of the course are on gravel roads before transitioning into some good single track (Normac, Poachers, Vista and Bens trails) with short sections of gravel roads linking the trails.  The first section of the course looped MacDonald Lake so there was a small section of gravel road that you ran on twice. The single track section had a steady diet of solid hills as well. Around the 13-14 mile point the course transitioned to more of mix of the abandoned forest roads and gravel roads with the quality of forest roads varying from semi-technical to flat & smooth.  There were a few more flat sections but still plenty of climbing especially on the Kiska, Lookout and King & James trail.  There were six aid stations along the route with AS-2 at the loop point on the MacDonald Lake loop and AS-7 about 500 m before the turn-around point at 25 miles (there was no AS-1).  Link to my Garmin Connect File.

Water Crossing Along Poachers Trail



Relatively clear section of abandoned forest road on Lookout Trail

Clearer section of single track

You could bypass this - at least before the rains came

I was largely able to stay feet dry until it started raining

Creek alongside the course

Race Plan.  Putting my race plan together in weeks before the race I was trying balance my results from during the hot summer against likely cooler weather and stronger legs after a good taper.  I finally decided to set my goals at A: 26 hrs; B: 28 hrs and C: 30 hrs (Finish).  My plan was to aim to run the first two 25 mile segments in about six hours each and then final two 25 mile segments in 7-8 hours each.  I was planning to try and minimize my time in most aid stations by just refilling my water/electrolyte as well as quick graze on any attractive solid food with longer stops set for 25, 57 and 75 miles.  My nutrition plan was to aim for 1 gel every 45 minutes, graze a little on the aid station tables and at have a substantial snack at my three planned long stops.  I planned to put a drop bag at AS -2 since I would pass through it eight times during the race and at AS-7 just before the 25/75 mile turn-around.

Summary Race Plan

Pre-Race.  I travelled up early in the afternoon on the Friday for the packet pickup and the mandatory dinner for the 100 miler runners.  The packet pickup was well organized along with drop bag drop-off.  The race premium for the 100 milers was a nice hoodie (50 milers and down got a T-Shirt).  The pre-race dinner included a final course brief from the RD team as well as presenting a 1 000 mile buckle to Ontario Ultra Series standout Ron G recognizing his numerous completions of the race.  There was camping right at the Start/Finish and I availed myself of the SUV Tent option to avoid dealing with a wet tent in event the forecast rain showers arrived.  I didn’t have the best night sleep but did get enough to ensure I was functional the next morning.  I was up at 4 am on race morning to give enough time to eat some breakfast and let it settle before the 6 am gun.  The morning was cool and damp but the few rain showers overnight had ended before the start.

Camping by the Start/Finish

Haliburton Forest Base Camp

Packet Pickup

Remnants of the old saw mill

Start to 25 Miles (5:28).  I got off to a comfortable start and the gravel road allowed the pack to get nicely spread out before we hit the single track.  I had started the course in a short sleeve shirt with arms sleeves but by 7 miles I was warm enough to be able to peel them off.  I got the aid stations well and found the single track sections fairly runnable.  The Black Creek Trail section which was abandoned forest road included a few sections of old corduroy road which I decided to walk to avoid any ankle trouble.  Most of the abandoned forest road sections had been weed-wacked before the race and there was wasn’t some of the waist high vegetation that had made some sections challenging during my July training run on the course.  Given the length of the race, I was running my Garmin in Ultra-Track mode where it largely uses the watch's accelerometers as opposed to GPS, and I found that it was running about 10% short which meant trying to track my pace was a little more challenging.  I did find the descent toward AS-7 on the Red Trail a bit overgrown around the 23 mile point but comfortably hit the 25 mile turn-around point at 5:28. 

The crowd gathers

Ready to Race

Aid Station 6

My second favourite sign -seen at 25 &75 miles

Aid Station 7 - Just after the turn around

25 – 50 Miles (12:09).  I took about 10 minutes at AS-7 to empty some dirt out of my shoes and have a solid snack of a clif bar and an ensure.  I took it easy for the next 10-15 minutes or so to let my stomach settle but was soon moving on.  I was fairly comfortable for the next miles but I did struggle a little in the more technical Bens Trail section around 38 miles.  The most frustrating part of this section was when I finally hit the gravel road section at 46 miles and really struggled to run.  I’m not sure why I was so weak through this section but it definitely cost me 10-15 minutes before I hit to the 50 mile turn-around at the Start/Finish at 12:09.

Not only was the course well marked, the forest trails were well signed

Appropriate preparation for the second half

50-75 Miles (20:09).  After the turn around, I was soon pushing back around MacDonald Lake, thankfully, I found myself moving a little better on the gravel roads.  As a I hit the single track, I quickly found that I wasn't able to run the more technical single track trail sections on headlamp but I was able at this stage to power hike through it relatively well so I wasn't losing that much time.  I wasn't as organized as I should have been during my longer AS-2 stop at 57 miles and it probably cost me an extra 15 minutes getting myself setup for the night portion.  I felt reasonably strong until I hit about 65 miles when I started to struggle to run well again on the gravel road sections with my legs feeling rather sore.  At about 73 miles (about 1:30 am on Sunday morning) it started to rain and soon built up into a solid rain for the rest of the night.  I soon cruised past AS -7 and reach the 75 mile turn-around at 20:09.

75-100 Miles (29:52:39).  I kept my stop at AS-7 relatively quick (no more than 5-7 minutes) and was pushing on back to the Start/Finish line.  Although I had got my jacket on as soon as it has started to rain, with the rain's strength it was quickly soaked through.  I quickly found a big difference between a marathon and a long-ultra.  Where in a marathon, I'm moving quick enough to stay somewhat warm even when wet down to just above freezing, the slower pace of a 100 miler meant I wasn't generating anywhere near enough body heat despite my jacket and long-sleeve shirt.  The slog from 78 miles to 86 miles was very ugly for me.  I was quickly freezing cold which meant I was moving really slowly (thus not getting warmer) and I started to fall asleep on my feet.  Luckily the trail sections were relatively benign.  By time I staggered into AS-5 with about 14 miles to go it was 6 am and I was done and ready drop.  Luckily for me, the AS-5 got me seated out of the rain by a fire for 15-20 minutes to get warmed up and re-motivated.  Warmed up a little and armed with a light weight plastic poncho, I pushed out back onto to the Kiska trail and pointed in the direction of the finish line.  The last 14 miles or so were a grinding hike, highlighted by an excess of puddles and mud holes through the single track but I was able to gut out a finish not long before the 30 hour cut-off. 

Aid Station 5 - During the day - They saved my race that night

Post Race.  Once I crossed the finish line, I got a kind escort to the medic cabin to make sure that I had recovered from my mild hypothermia during night.  After they made sure I was warmed-up, dried out and cleaned up a little, I headed over to the post race brunch for the awards and 100 mile buckle presentations.  Thankfully, my loving wife, came up on Sunday morning to drive me home, since I was in no condition to drive. 

BUCKLE ACHIEVED

Lesson’s Learned.  I did have a number of take away points from my first 100 miler.  The first is I need to pack a heavier duty rain jacket and thicker long sleeve layer in my hydration vest in case of rain in order to stay warm late in the race.  Second, I need to continue to work on power hike for hills, more technical terrain and once my legs are trashed.  Over the last 3-4 hours of the race, I probably gave away two or three positions and 30 minutes to other runners that simply hiking better and faster than I was.  Third, although my nutrition plan largely worked, I never bonked and only had mild nausea, I still need to do better at eating more solid food through the race.  Lastly looking at how many more miles I have raced this year since I've been largely running ultras as opposed to road marathons, I probably need to do a better job watching my racing mileage through the year and hold myself to around the same amount as this year (~600 miles) as a consolidation year. 

Final Thoughts.  I am elated to having completed my first 100 miler and earned the buckle.  The HF 100 was a very well run race on a challenging course.  Big thanks to all of the staff and volunteers, particularly AS - 5 and the medical team for putting on a great race which allowed me to complete my first 100 miler.  Big thanks to my wife for allowing me the time train and prepare and importantly recovering my exhausted and some shattered body back from the Haliburton Forest on Sunday.  Next up its back to the Mid-Atlantic to run Patapsco Valley 50K and Marine Corps Marathon double on 24/25 Oct 15.   

Creemore Vertical Challenge 75K - 8 August 2015 - Bring On The Hills

Creemore Vertical Challenge 75K - 8 August 15 - Creemore, ON
10:47:09
15/17 Overall and 7/7 M40-49
Sixth Ultra of 2015
381.8 Miles Raced in 2015

Creemore Vertical Challenge is considered to have the most climbing per distance of any of the races on the Ontario Ultra Series calendar and I had looked at this race to really get some time on feet along with plenty of climbing. 

Race Plan.  Coming out of the Dirty Girls 24 Hour race on 24/25 July, I had found myself probably the most beat up I had felt all year.  I didn't get much running in at all during the two weeks between the races and I wasn't expecting much out of the race, especially given the posted 875M / 2695' of climbing per 25K loop.  My C goal was to just finish within the 12:30 cut-off, B goal was for a 12:00 race and my A goal was for only an 11:00 finish.  Luckily the weather forecast was calling for unseasonably cool temps.  My race plan was aim to target the three loops in 3:30, 4:00, 4:30 respectively assuming that warmer temps in the afternoon and cumulative climbing would start to wear me down.  The nutrition plan was similar to Dirty Girls, gels every 45m with 20 oz of Gatorade/per loop along with some grazing at the aid stations.

Race Day.  I arrived on race morning just after 5 am for the 6 am gun (18 75K Starters) to pick up my bib on a cool, cloudy morning. The first 2.5K of the course was largely flat double track before hitting the first few climbs.  The second 2.5K into the first aid station was run on gravel roads before returning to some rolling field/woods single/double track.  The first "hill" of the course was about 7K in which was a long solid climb on a gravel road to the second aid station at 8K/5M.  The most technical part of the course was the "gully" feature which included the posted "Hill 2".  the descent in the gully was steep with loose shale before a steep (but shorter) climb back out.  Most of the next few miles were back on the gravel roads which included two trips through the third aid station, a long gravel road descent and "Hill 3", the longest hill which was on an unused road allowance.  "Hill 4" was another sharp, gravel road climb with much of the middle section being very sun exposed during the afternoon.  The final 5K saw crossing the "Valley" with some steep single track, a return to aid station 2, a run down "Hill 1" and then the final couple of K back to the Start/Finish with a couple of short/steep/punchy climbs on single track. Although my legs were tired right from the start, I was able to run comfortably through the lap, although I was at the back of the pack right from the start.  I rolled through the start/finish to complete the first 24K in 3:16:05.  I lost a few minutes need to hit my drop back, but was soon out onto the second loop which largely felt comfortable in 3:33:11.  The final lap, I decided to try an push a little on the back half in particular.  Unfortunately I found myself overheating early in the third loop and need to back off and stop at the second aid station to get cooled down.  The cloud cover had started to break-up around 1:30pm and although the temps were in the low 20C/70F, the humidity was high all day.  I also found my legs were especially tired through most of the middle section of the third lap.  I did find that I climbed well on the "Hill 3" and my legs recovered a bit during the last 5K or so, but I had lost considerable time during the midsection of the loop, before finishing at 10:47:09.  I did find my stomach was fairly solid all race without any nausea, so the cool temps agreed with it.  Garmin Connect Page. 

Travel and Bling.  Creemore is just under a two hour drive north of Toronto and I drove up on race morning.  There is some local camping and B7B along with a variety of hotel/motel options about 30-45 minutes away.  Race bling include the T-shirt, hand made medal and maple syrup for the first 100 registrants. 

Final Thoughts.  Despite finishing near the back of the pack, I was very happy with my results.  I had run much better than I had expected, beating my A goal by 13 minutes (aided by cool temperatures) despite sore legs from only two weeks since Dirty Girls. My nutrition worked well and I hit all of my goals.  Time for another ten days or so of solid training before beginning a longer taper for the Haliburton Forest 100 Miler on 12/13 Sept. 

Dirty Girls 24 Hour Trail Run - 25/26 July 2015 - A Long Night of Running

Dirty Girls 24 Hour Trail Run - 25/26 July 2015 - Mansfield ON
120 Km (75 Miles) at 23:05:59
14/43 Overall and 3/6 M40-49
First 24 Hour Race
334.8 Miles Raced in 2015

When I was putting together my 2015 race plan, the Dirty Girls Run looked like a great opportunity to get in some long night trail running with their night 12 hour option in preparation for my first attempt at a 100 Miler on 12 Sept 15 at the Haliburton Forest 100 Miler.  After having to drop at the Laurel Highlands back in mid June, I decided to amend my race plan to use the Laura Secord 100K and the Dirty Girls 24 Hour race to get some good experience in the longer ultras.  My goals for the race were to work on night trail running, race nutrition and getting more experience on how I was going to feel after 12-16 hours of running. 

Race Plan.  Based on my experience at the Laura Secord 100K, I knew coming in that I wouldn't be fully recovered, that heat would be a factor and the my ability to continue to eat would be a major factor in the race.  I planned on aiming to run the first 4 laps averaging 14:00/mile, allowing the pace to drop off by 3-5 minutes a lap as it warmed up in the afternoon.  I also expected to be a bit slower at night on head lamp.  My nutrition plan was aim for 1 gel every 45 minutes, 10 oz of Gatorade/Heed per lap, a meal replacement shake every 4 hours and grazing from the aid stations.

Race Course.  Dirty Girl's is run on a 8 km (5 mile) loop at the Mansfield Outdoors Centre which is about 90 minutes north of Toronto.  The loop itself was a mix of forest road and single track with at least 700 feet of climbing per loop.  The course opened with a section of rolling single track before the first of two bigger climbs on a forest road.  After about a mile it transitioned back to rolling single track to the midway aid station.  The second half of the loop had more forest road including a long descent then climb on a gravel road before about a half mile of very twisty single track which led into the final descent, shorter but steep climb and final descent back to the start/finish area.  The start/finish area was in a large clearing that allowed plenty of space to have a tent for the 24 hour and night 12 hour runners.  I found the second mile of the loop in many ways the most challenging to run on as it had a number gentle climbs with plenty of roots to catch your trailing foot where my one descent face plant of the race took place.

First Big Hill

Short but steep with roots

Big Climb #2

Start/Finish

Morning.  I drove up the morning of the race arriving about 90 minutes before the 8 am gun which gave plenty of time to stake out some space for my drop bags.  I decided to put up a tent on the grounds if I didn't Murphy's Law would ensure a late night melt down requiring me to rest (when I would want the tent).  The 8 am gun saw the 6 hour, 12 hour day and 24 hours runner's get started.  I largely was able to run my planned easy pace at the start with the opening four laps at 1:09:!2, 1:07:02, 1:09:08, and 109:46.  I found I was getting around the course well, the morning was cool to start and I was getting through the aid stations well.

Home Station and Tent that I Happily Didn't Need

Afternoon.  I tried my first meal replacement shake after the fourth lap and quickly found that I needed to walk for 5-10 minutes after talking on that amount of calories for my stomach to settle (which I had been warned about).  I took the opportunity on the sixth lap to stop and grab a few pictures.  Although the morning had started out cool it was humid and by mid-afternoon the temperatures had climbed into the high 20'sC/low 80'sF and I found on lap 7 & 8 that was walking a little more often coming out of the aid stations to ensure that I wasn't overheating.  Things started to become challenging on the ninth lap which started around 6 pm.  By mid-lap I was starting to feel significantly nauseated, which led to plenty of walking on that lap and a change of the feeding plan.  In addition I had started out on a pair of North Face Hayassa's and I found after 65+ km that the heel was really rubbing.  At the end of the lap, I dealt with blister, changed socks and shoes to a North Face Ultra Trail Guide (which I had worn three weeks earlier for the Laura Secord 100K), grabbed my head lamp and settled in for the night section.  My lap times for laps 5 - 9 were: 1:20:49; 1:27:50; 1:31:45;  1:31:45; and 1:56:49 respectively.


Mid-way Aid Station - Awesome Volunteers All Day

Night and Finish.  Sunset had been just after 8:30 pm and although most of the course was tree covered I found I didn't need my head lamp until about 9:15.  I tried working with a head lamp and a lamp at my waist which I found worked relatively well and the entire loop was runnable through the night.  Based on my nausea on the ninth lap, I really cut back on using gel and shifted to more real food, particularly Raman noodles and pasta salad which allowed me to avoid bonking.  I did find that I took a little bit longer through the aid stations and was walking for at least 5-10 minutes after each aid station to let my stomach settle.  I didn't find that it really cooled off until well after midnight either.  By lap 12 I found that between the distance of the day, cumulative distance over the summer and the 700 feet of climbing (and descent) my legs were really tightening up, so I added one or two stretching breaks into lap as well however, I could still run until the last lap.  I moved steadily through the night with first light occurring just before 6 am.  After the mid-way aid station on the 15th lap, my legs had finally tightened up so much that I was really wasn't able to run anymore and walked in the last 4 km of lap.  Completing 120K at 23:06, I decided to shut it down for the day since I had achieved my race objectives, got the 120K need for the Dirty Girls 24 hour belt buckle and decided the risk of injuring of my trashed wasn't worth trying for another couple of kilometres.  My laps times for the night were: 1:35:41;1:34:39; 1:48:58; 1:43:46; 1:51:48; and 2:07:08.  Garmin Connect file.  This was the first race I had used my Garmin's 920XT Ultra Track feature and found it gave mixed results.  Ultra-track shuts down the GPS for sections and then uses the watches accelerometers to work out the distance covered.  I found that the watch was consistently long throughout the day. 

Final Thoughts.  Overall I was satisfied with my effort for the race.  Although I had only achieved my C goal, I had still got in night running, plenty of time on feet, plenty of climbing and had another opportunity to try and figure out my long ultra nutrition.  I think for warm day's I need to further reduce my gel intake (maybe 1/hour) and try more real food in the earlier sections.  Next up is the Creemore Vertical Challenge 75K on 8 August.

Shirt and the 24 Hr Buckle for Making 120K

Seaton Soaker 50K - 9 May 15 & Laurel Highlands Ultramarathon - 13 June 15 - The Ugly Ones

Seaton Soaker 50K - 9 May 2015 - Pickering ON
6:54:05
43/67 Overall and 14/26 M40-49
3rd 50K of 2015 and 7th career ulta
197.8 Miles Raced in 2015

Laurel Highlands Ultra Marathon - 13 June 2015 - Ohiopyle to Seward, PA
Drop at 46 Miles and 13:16:26

Both of the ultra's were ugly events with a bad result at the Seaton Soaker and DNF at Laurel Highland Ultra.

Seaton Soaker 50K. I had added the Seaton Soaker since it worked well to fill out three targeted high mileage weeks and it was less than a 45 minute drive from the house.  My race plan was simple, run comfortably and hopefully take advantage of a relatively flat course to go for a sub-6 hour trail 50K.  The course was two loops of a mostly out & back along with Seaton trail with only a few low climbs and a major water crossing over Duffin's Creek.  The first lap went well and I came through midway in under 3 hours feeling good.  Unfortunately it was the first really warm day of the spring and soon into the second loop the heat along with a cold and allergies caught up with me, slowing me to crawl extending the final loop to nearly four hours.  Garmin Connect File. 

Laurel Highlands Ultra Marathon.  The Laurel Highland Ultra is run along to 70.5 mile length of Laurel Highlands Hiking Trail from Ohiopyle to Seward PA in Laurel Ridge State Park.  I had signed up for the Laurel Highlands Ultra as my spring goal race in hopes of achieving a Western States Endurance Run lottery qualifier.  In the weeks prior I had lost three weeks of training following the Seaton Soaker 50K after getting sick.  Although I went into the race not having peaked as much as I had wished, I still felt decent.  I had talked with a veteran of the race at an Ontario Ultra Series event earlier in season who had told me that the course itself was not overly technical, unfortunately I didn't confirmed that their definition of technical trail matched mine.  I had travelled down on the Thursday prior with my wife and daughter who were crewing me and used Friday to scout out the crew access points.  Although I had a couple of looks at the trail during this, I didn't really think about how technical the trail really was.  My race plan was fairly simple, take it very easy on the climbs at the start onto the ridge (2600' in the first 8.5 miles) and then aim to cruise at 12:00-13:00/mile along the trail.  Race day arrived cool but very damp and humid, with the course having received some good rain overnight.  After the 5:30 am start, I was largely able to stick to my race plan until on top of the ridge when I discovered that the course which was soft but not overly muddy was also much much more rocky then I had planned on.  I found that I was rarely able to run more than about a half of each mile because of the rock nature of the trail which cost me considerable time.  Despite that I still felt fairly decent through to the Pennsylvania Turnpike crossing at 36 miles and was still harbouring some hopes of an 19:30 finish along with a Western States lottery qualifier.  I really started to lose time in the next miles and around 43 mile suffered a hard bonk.  I shambled into the Checkpoint 3 at 46 miles running already three hours behind my race plan.  I made a hard assessment at that point, well behind time, struggling for pace that still might meet the 22 hour cut-off which would mean over 8 hours on headlamp on ankle breaking rocks and decided to call it day & return to fight this course on another day.  Big thanks to my wife and daughter for their support and crewing on a challenging day.  Garmin Connect File. 

Ultra ready or so I thought

The crew checking out the falls at Ohiopyle

Ohiopyle Trailhead

LHHT - slightly better than average

Crossing the Turnpike - Bad Things Were About to Happen

Wisconsin Marathon/Kalamazoo Marathon - 2/3 May 2015 - The Mittens Challlenge

Mittens Challenge

Wisconsin Marathon - 2 May 2015 - Kenosha, WI
3:43:31 Chip
128/762 Overall and  14/62 M40-44
Third 26.2 of 2015 and 24th Career 26.2
14 US State and 30th Career Marathon/Ultra

Kalamazoo Marathon - 3 May 2015 - Kalamazoo, MI
3:56:11 Chip and 3:56:43 Gun
102/503 Overall and 17/48 M40-44
Fourth 26.2 of 2015 and 25th Career 26.2
15 US State

166.8 Miles Raced in 2015

I had seen the Mittens Challenge advertised on the Marathon Maniacs webpage back in 2014 and the Wisconsin Marathon/Kalamazoo Marathon double appealed to me.  It fit nicely into heavy block of work-up training for my spring long ultra and it was within driving distance from Toronto.

Wisconsin Marathon Pre-Race.  My key concern heading into the weekend's races was the state of my ankle after having suffered a moderate sprain in a fall at the Pick Your Poison 50K the weekend before.  Luckily for me ice, rest. compression and Motrin worked and I was off to Kenosha. I spread the drive down to Kenosha over two days, leaving Toronto right after work on Thurs, stopped over night just past Lansing MI and finished the drive for midday on Fri.  Packet pick-up was held at the Best Western in downtown Kenosha but there wasn't really an expo. 

Wisconsin Marathon Start Line

 

Wisconsin Marathon Race Day. Race morning dawned bright and a little cool. I drove to the race and found parking relatively nearby easily.  The race has an early 7am start and although it wasn't corralled the start line wasn't really packed and the start was much better then many races I've run in terms of congestion.  My plan for race day was to find a comfortable groove just under 8:30/mile pace and stick with it. The course was very flat with only 233 total feet of elevation gain for the complete course.  I found a comfortable pace for the first small loop of downtown and then headed north along Lake Michigan with a turn-around just after 8 miles when we headed south again.  The half-marathon headed for home just after we crossed the downtown again.  I found I had a bit of a lull from 11-14 miles but soon after got back in rhythm.  The south leg of the course ran through the lakefront homes of Pleasant Prairie before turning around just north of the Wisconsin/Illinois state line just after 19 miles.  The day had started to heat up soon after 9 am and the last few miles were definitely warm.  By mile 22, I was pretty confident that I'd get a sub 3:45 and eased up for a few miles to save my legs a little for Sunday before a good push for the last mile.  My ankle although a little sore was never really a negative factor in Kenosha.  After finishing, I enjoyed a nice recovery brat and beer.  Link to Garmin Connect. 

Race Done, where's the brat and beer

Transition.  After meeting a few Marathon Maniacs and 50 Sub 4 members after the race, I headed back to my hotel, showered and got on the road for Kalamazoo.  I decided to gamble on driving through downtown Chicago in hopes that on a Saturday afternoon it would proved faster than the Tri-State Toll way but I think I lost that gamble.  I finally pulled into my hotel in Kalamazoo around 7:30 pm , grabbed some dinner, got ready for Sunday's race and got to bed.

Mittens Challenge Runners
Photo - Steve Walters

Kalamazoo Marathon Race Day.  Sunday was another very bright day. The race's website had given me some concern about parking and I made sure to arrive extra early, scoring a parking spot less than 100 yards from the Start/Finish Line. I picked up my race packet at the Mittens Challenge tent and made sure to make the Mittens Picture.  The race gun was at 8am and it was a little more congested than Wisconsin but not too bad.  It took the first couple of miles before I was able to loosen up and get into a groove around 8:40-9:00/mile pace. The race started east of the city and first few miles were downhill toward the Kalamazoo river and downtown.  After crossing downtown, we hit West Michigan University where the course took on a more rolling nature for the next ten miles or so.  We dropped back into the valley after the 16 mile point for about six more miles.  The temperatures on Sunday were a little warmer than on Saturday and hit 75F (24C) by noon.  By the 16 miles some of the runner's were starting to show the effect of the heat although I was OK until around 21 miles by which time my ankle was also really starting to throb as well.  After that it was a tough grind back to the finish, with some more rolling terrain thrown in for good measure and I finished just under 4 hours.  I found the rolling Kalamazoo course ran very similar to Mississippi Blues in Jackson MS, Flying Pig in Cincinnati OH and Route 66 in Tulsa OK.  After a little bit of recovery, it was back to the hotel and the long, sore drive to Toronto.  Link to Garmin Connect. 



The last 5 miles were tough

Mittens Complete

Bling and Travel.  Bling from the Wisconsin Marathon included the normal shirt and medal, a head band and for the "mitteneers" a pair of mittens while at Kalamazoo there was a second medal for completing challenge.  I drove from Toronto to Kenosha, Kalamazoo and return which very achievable for a three day trip.  I booked my hotels late and I ended up staying Gurnee IL since many Kenosha WI hotels were full.  The Kalamazoo hotels were similarly full since the race overlapped with Western Michigan University grad. 

Final Thoughts.  I really enjoyed completing the Mittens Challenge.  It was great opportunity to meet and catch up with many Marathon Maniacs and 50 Sub 4 members including Steve W, Cade R, Glen A and Jenn H.  Now it's back to the trails again for this weekends Seaton "Soaker" 50K on the Seaton Trail in Pickering ON.

Toronto based coaching staff modeling the bling