Niagara Ultra 50K - Race Report

Printer friendly version Posted on: Thursday June 25 11:56:02 PM

I am very tired today, not just leftover from the race, but due to following up the race with 16+ km run on Sunday and then a week of moving / house repairs. I had to skip a run or 2 this week. I will try to get back on track for next week.

So, that said, I am finally getting around to this report, which I will keep brief as I need to get some sleep!

Anita, Cam and I we up nice and early, 4AM on Saturday morning. We gathered our stuff and picked up Duff, who kindly had coffee ready for us. This was a good thing as we needed a pick me up for our 90 minute drive to Niagara.

Shockingly, we got lost (made a wrong turn!) but found a nice lady out gardening (at 6:30am!) and got to the event with just enough time to change into running clothes and visit the washroom.

We met up with Shan, a friend of mine who was running the marathon. Unfortunately we didn't have time to chat much before hand but afterward we had a chance to chat and have lunch.

So Duff and I took off at 7am and headed towards Niagara Falls. It is a pretty 'tame' route as far as Ultra Marathons go, navigating a multi-purpose path along side of the Niagara River almost all of the way. The drizzle started after about 5k and became a steady rain by 10K and then a downpour that lasted until about 48k where it finally stopped. The puddles were deep and keeping shoes dry became impossible. From 10k to 14k was almost entirely an uphill climb. I wasn't expecting this and it through me for a bit of a loop. Thankfully I had the downhill portion to look forward to on the way back.

I got to the 21.1k point in 1:54:00 and halfway at about 2:16:00. The rain was heaviest at the halfway turnaround point and I was planning a 1 minute stop to eat something and enjoy the view of the Falls, but it was so misty, foggy and rainy that I just continued back towards home. By this point, I was soaked right through to the bone and knew it was going to be difficult to keep on pace (My goal being under 4:30:00) even witha good downhill section awaiting.

A lot of runners were in a similar situation of running a slower second half as I passed about 8-10 runners on the way back and only one person passed me (Mark, the race director for The Midsummer's Night Run) I was tempted to stay with him but I was running out of steam and even though there was only 2K to go I decided to enjoy the last part by running an easy pace.

The final few kms reminded me a lot of the last 8kms of my first marathon. The excitement of finishing my first Ultra masked the tiredness somewhat but at the same time I was glad to be done. I came around the last turn, onto the grass area we started on and saw Cameron and Anita waiting. Cam ran out to me and joined me for the final 200 metres which was nice. I crossed the line in 4:39...about 9 minutes shy of my goal but not too bad considering it was my 3rd marathon in 6 weeks and I chose not to taper as much as I probably should have. I have no immediate plans to run another race of this length this year so probably this event next year where I can attack it a little differently. I definitely prefer the marathon distance but I think once a year I could handle going beyond.

Duff was not far behind me finishing at 4:52 and I missed his arrival due to the need to change out of wet clothes. I felt bad for not cheering him as I am sure he would have been there for me. Boo to me! What is most impressive though is how well Duff did considering he hasn't really taken a break all year after his 2 Ocean's Marathon (56km) in April, Mississauga Marathon in May, Ottawa in May and now Niagara. Then he went out and ran Sunday like it was nothing...The man is a machine!

Anita and Cam ran the 10k event and although Anita is still getting over her injured leg she had a good run, perhaps her best in a while. She let Cam run ahead after 3k and he ended up finishing in 56 minutes, good for 14th out 48 overall.

Shan came in from the marathon a little after 4 1/2 hrs with a good first half but a sore leg forced her to walk a lot of the 2nd half. SHe was still smiling big when she came in, seemingly loving ecery second of thgis wet race day! We were able to enjoy watching more runners finish while we had a few post race snacks and carbo-rich beverages provided for us. After hanging around the finish line for a while we headed inside for the awards then made our way to the town of Niagara on the Lake for a big lunch before heading back home. Next year, we'd like to make a complete weekend of it and hopefully entice a bunch of people to join us. It really it a great event and the route is one of the nicest we'll ever run, in Ontario that is. We highly recommend it.

Duff, will hopefully follow this up with a spin of his own and fill in some of the details I am sure I have left out. I will add any thoughts as they arise, but for I need to call it a night!

~D

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COMMENT

Posted by Dave on: Thursday June 25 11:56:02 PM

Comments:

Duff

Dave: you did excellent for your first ultra under unique conditions. I also think it is funny when,during a torrential downpour, people actually try and avoid running through puddles.
My goal in this race was to maintain an even pace to finish in 5 hours. However, as I was running with some other faster people, I put my own pace out the window (during the first half) and ran up the hills(if I was alone and no one was around, I would have walked up the hills). But I didn't and was running faster k's than I wanted.
Despite the weather the Niagara is a neat run. I actually thought this was a flat course. But those 'rises' are deceiving
This year they combined a marathon,a half and and a 10k, so it helped passing runners on the return journey giving you someone to talk to. |Plus I got to see a lot of my running friends on their return.
I like the aid stations as they provide real food to eat. and I didn't mind the rain,it is better than heat.
Thanks to Dave and Anita for driving me and they are really good people to hang out with.
Cam is an amazing runner too. Glad I didn't have to race him..

Oh yea,my finish time was 4:52 .. nice. This gives me a confidence boost for my next endeavour in August.
and, Dave, thanks for the compliment. For me consisent pace is what works for distance running.

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Posted on: Friday June 26 10:16 PM

lisa redleaf

You did good! It was lovely to watch all of you come in - granted Cam was the easiest to spot and he ran in again with Anita so that helped! Sorry I didn't meet Duff ahead of time or I definitely would have cheered him in too.

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Posted on: Monday July 06 10:10 AM