Headlands 50K Race Report

Volunteer snapped my pic before the start

No longer is my 26.5 Mile distance in the 8 Hour CRUD Trail Run my only Ultra achievement.  I have finished the Headlands 50K Trail Run and I'm tickled pink!!  I've finished a real ultra marathon on a real trail course! Still can't really believe I made it the whole way considering the weeks leading up to the race my orthopedic surgeon diagnosed my knee issue as chondromalacia (pretty much soft or deteriorating  cartilage under the kneee cap), with the only cure as rest, ice and ibuprofen.  I wasn't about to throw away my race entry fee for the Headlands 50K so the ultimate taper commenced, consisting of rest, ice and ibuprofen for 3 weeks.  I run one time, attempting a 2 hour hilly hike, but outside of that, I had to bank on the last 9 months of relatively steady training to help power me through.

A little info about the Headlands 50K. It is put on by the Tamalpa Runners, Marin County's largest running club. I can not say enough about how well this event is run and how gracious and friendly the volunteers were. I will definitely be coming back. This race is held on some of the best trails in the world (in my opinion) and countless other big name utlra-marathons utilize many of the same trails. You can use the course info page, showing elevation and distance to aid stations, to follow along with this race report if you like. There is also a course map I have found helpful.

When I took to starting line I had no idea how the left knee was going to perform and had planned for a long day on the trail in case I wasn't able to run later.  As you can see it was a foggy cool morning just up from Muir Beach, so my 100 degree training runs this summer weren't going to be much help.  But even more apparent, was that this place had real elevation change.  This flatlander was going to have to get his goat legs out today.  But those same scenic mountains was what drew me to this race. You see, earlier in the year, Robin and I had come out to Sonoma Valley on a trail running and wine testing vacation providing us our first mountain trail running experience. I was hooked!  The first thing I did upon arrival in Illinois was look for a trail race the weekend before VMworld, a yearly tech conference I attend.  That's how I discovered the Headlands 50K and now that I was there, I was scared, excited, anxious and in awe all at once.  I couldn't wait to get the race underway.  Too bad I arrived an hour early and would have to kill a pile of time in the cold, foggy morning as one of the only flatlanders in the field.

Once the race took off, the nerves started to subside some, and the focus was now on following the herd and chatting with the fellow back-of-the-packers. The only odd thing about this Headlands 50K course is that there is only a quarter of mile before all 200 runners bottleneck down into single track trail.  This might be a concern for the leaders, but as a back of the packer, it's not the end of the world. It probably slowed us down about a minute to wait for the trail.

But once on the trail the rumba line was moving well enough for my taste. Soon enough after a short mile and a half we were already through Muir Beach and heading up our first climb for the day.  Runners still packed pretty closely as we got our power hike on.  Early on I realized that I was probably going to be okay today because I was moving very well up the grade.  I was moving well enough that I stopped frequently to snap some pictures of this foreign landscape.  Although foggy, I think the pic of Muir Beach ended up good. Still can't believe people live in this rugged, beautiful locale.

Muir Beach 2-ish miles into the 50K

I spent most of the first climb talking with Michael a fellow geek in the industry working for an up and coming network company called Palo Alto Networks. I vowed to check into the company further when I got time, but at the time it was great to use the conversation to help distract from the miles of climbing ahead. Michael was a quality dude and experienced ultra runner, it was great to get some tips and share stories for a short while.  That is a short while before I found the first major descent of the day.

Beautiful!!

Coastal trail winds along Pacific

The first major descent ends up at the first aid station of the day, Tennessee Valley - West.  And I'm not sure if it was my Ultra Marathonning inexeperience, my ADD or my sprinting background, but I hammered down this hill to the aid station and blew by a ton of people. In hind-sight, it was maybe slightly stupid to run that fast with 26 more miles left in the race, but I figure I have have foot speed and love the idea of getting a "free ride" when I can.  But this downhill barrage was one of the reasons I probably couldn't walk down stairs for the next 2 days.  I hit the first aid station in 50 minutes, and was essentially an hour ahead of my projected worst case pace (cut-off pace).  Once I got there, I realized that that come hell or high water, I was probably finishing this race today.....with trashed quads. ;)

The next section had a longer uphill section that was progressively higher and longer than before. I hiked this pretty much alone since I left the back of the pack peloton before the last aid station.  This hill was lonely, but in "one foot after another" style, I crested the hill and began a more controlled descent on my way to Rodeo Beach and the next aid station.  I took one of my last good pictures here looking down to Rodeo Beach.   At this point in the race I was very thankful for the time cushion and that I wasn't chasing a race tile otherwise I wouldn't have gotten such great pictures.  On my way down the runners behind me kept from proceeding down a road and instead to turn onto the single track.  I was able to repay the favor to two other racers that had gone 40 yards past another turn onto the single track.  Trail runners help each other out frequently on the course. It's a really neat phenomenon to behold. Once I got into Rodeo Beach I could feel I was either starting to pay for bombing down the hill to the first aid station, OR I was feeling the lack of proper breakfast. Soon I was getting passed by Michael and group of other ultra runners that were moving very well.  Lot to be said for that Tortoise and Hare thing early in a Ultra.  The big motivating factor for this leg was to get to the aid station as fast as I could because I was famished. I needed some real food since a breakfast of Cliff Shots doesn't count. When I got to the aid station I got to business scarfing down some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, bananas, electrolyte drink, a little Coke, and even some S-caps early on. It was quite a lot of food, but I needed it, and as luck with have it, I had a big long hill coming up that would aid my stomach in the initial digestion.  Again, the aid station volunteers were terrific and all smiles.  I loved seeing them, hearing the cow bells, and experiencing their hospitality.  It was very motivating to have them there putting us back together. As I walked out of Rodeo Beach, I took stock of my body: Stomach was happy now that it had food, legs felt very well, and I was in very good spirits knowing that my knee might just allow me to finish this race today.  We went off on a flat fire road for a good third mile, before we started our next round of mountains.  I wish this flat could have gone on for another 3-4 miles, but in trail running out here there is "no flat trail for the wicked!"

This uphill section after Rodeo Beach was long, but mostly fire road. It was still early enough that I was hiking along quickly and making solid time and still picking a few people off as it was very rare that I got passed going uphill.  My knee was starting to let me know it was still recovering as we headed to the downhill to Tennessee Valley West aid station. It was beautiful coming down the hill, past a horse stable into this aid station (I think I'm recalling this correctly). Again, the volunteers really boost your spirits and it was time to hit the coke and another PB&J to top off the tank. There was a little uphill that I walked out of leisurely so I could enjoy my Coke. I was almost to the halfway point but with my knee acting up, I wasn't sure what was in store for me.  Eventually, I made it to the Highway 1 water station and had to sit down. My knee was stiffening and it was time for a quick rest and some Ibuprofen. I topped off the meds, soaked up some water, and hit the trail one more time into a short uphill. By the top of this short hill my knee was starting to feel a little better and the Ibuprofen was starting to kick in. Phew!! I may have bought myself another 10 miles of pain free running.

Eventually I found myself on top of the climb, coasting downhill and caught up with a group of about 8 other runners as we were beginning a long 2-3 mile steady descent that was the most enjoyable of my life! This downhill section of trail was cut by the hand of God as it was the perfect grade to run fast, but not so steep that you felt your quads tearing apart with every step.  Our rumba line hauled ass to the bottom. We were running fast, but next time I'm out here, I'm going to rip this section hard knowing what to expect.

Once to the bottom, the runners high is soon evaporated as one of the biggest climbs up Cardiac Hill smacks you in the face. This ascent took me forever. Halfway up I was really feeling depleted of energy.  During the race I had some Cliff Shots, but after the last two aid stations I just couldn't bring myself to eat them anymore and was relying just on aid station food.  I think this was part of the reason for the doldrums.  When I got to the top there was the Cardia aid station where they had the freshest, ripest orange slices I had every eaten in my life. I gorged on them and added a banana for good measure.  No more PB&J though as it had spent a good hour in my throat at the beginning of the Cardiac hill climb.  Feeling ten times better I finally took off for the Matt Davis trail.

Matt Davis trail I was warned up during my climb up Cardiac. Some older runner noticed I was a rookie, flatlander and mentioned that the Matt Davis trail was in disrepair with some washouts and fallen trees, to go with the steep technical descent. That advice was spot on, and I moved quickly, but was also taking my time not to fall and do something dumb.  The "highlight" of this section was the 4 or 5 times I had to bend down underneath the 3.5 foot limbo bars the fallen trees had created.  A typically easy maneuver, but try completing it after 20 miles of trail running.  Eventually, I made it to the Stinson Beach aid station where they had WATERMELON and my favorite oranges again.  Nothing better than those miraculous fruits after 24 miles of trail.  I left Stinson Beach knowing that I had one more major climb (possibly higher, longer than Cardiac) and then it would be downhill.

This section was relatively crowded as there were plenty of hikers out and about enjoying the redwoods. But I got my hike on and tried to plow through the dead legs.  Halfway up this mountain, just after 26 miles, there is actually a ladder that you have to traverse. The picture I took was fuzzy, but gives you an idea. By chance, 77 year old Bill Dodson happened to find himself in the picture as he passed me.  Bill and I talked for a while during the early parts of this hill before I moved on.  And now he passed me back as I was sight seeing.  He ultimately finished just ahead of me in the final rankings. Someday I hope I'm that old tough runner still plowing away and schooling the younger guys and winning my age group.  This uphill section was one of my favorites, as I can think of nothing more fun than running in the middle of redwoods.  Here's my last pictures of the race.

On my way up I could feel a blister starting on the back of my heels so I stopped about 2/3 of the way up this climb near a bench. I changed my socks being careful to clean off the back of my heel from the mud and dirt. With the clean socks I felt like I could keep the blister from forming. But also a problem is the fact that the back of both shoes have now ripped out creating more friction. I love my Altra's but I would have through they might have worn better than this.  Maybe some Gaiter's would help keep abrasive material out of the shoe and causing the rip. Also  noticed some super-sweet cramping in my quadriceps at this sock change break. To answer the cramp, I threw down a whole Cliff Shot pack and a bottle of water.  The cramps worked out quickly.  And after another half hour of slogging up the mountain, I finally found the Cardiac Aid station again.

Only 3.8 miles left to the finish of my first 50K!! I refueled sparingly at this aid station knowing that I could power home on fumes if needed.  The other good news at this aid station is that it is almost 100% down hill to the finish. It is amazing how much energy is regained when you know the finish is within reach. I coasted off down the hill from the aid station. Eventually I caught another runner and another runner. A fast runner came up next to me and then passed me, but I stayed with him even though I thought he was uncatchable.  After 10 minutes of smoking down the switchbacks with him I realized that I wasn't driven to pass him or beat others to the finish line, but I just wanted to be done running.  I wasn't going to slow down till I hit the finish line.  The guy in front of me finally realized that he wasn't as angry about running as me and stepped aside to let me continue.  A short minute later, a whole rumba line of 6 runners stepped aside to let me continue barreling down the switchbacks. Holy Cow! I came here with a bum knee, fully anticipating a near 10 hour slog/walk race, but now I'm sprinting down this hill with all kinds of energy at the end of the race.  The end of my first 50K.

As I got closer to the finish, I was getting a little emotional thinking about the achievement and what I had overcome throughout the race. I was able to compose myself and hammer down.  As I made it off the last switch back I was filled with energy as I sprinted off through the finish line.  I smiled big when I got married.  And I smiled real big after each of my four children were born.  But the smile I had when I finished this race was probably the 6th biggest smile of my life.  I had finished in 7 hours 41 minutes and 26 seconds and had set the benchmark for future ultra marathons to come.  Although, I wasn't thinking about running another ultra marathon until about 3 days after the race. Really amazing that us ultra runners run these races again after going through what we go through to finish these races.

Post race I was enjoying pizza and a beer with a older lady that had finished not terribly long after me. We got to talking and I mentioned my thought about why I didn't just play golf like a normal person.  Her response summed it up perfectly:

You never hear someone finish a round of golf and say "Man, I just finished 18 holes of golf!".  

I thought that about summed up this mental problem called ultra marathoning pretty well. It's a mental, psychological and physical challenge to be overcome.  Not just a way to waste a day.  After this 50K I'm afraid I'm hooked.