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.