Flagstaff 50k - by Karl

There are lots of factors that go into deciding which races to run, but close to home is a big one.  The Flagstaff 50k was on some awesome local trails, was organized by a great race company, and starts a short walk from home. So this one was a no-brainer. The only problem was that my training early in the year was not so great. No so great, as in not really at all. It got me frustrated and depressed, so when I heard about the Flagstaff 50k, I figured it was the perfect excuse to start getting my act together.

So I then did a bunch of training.  Good job, Karl. Then I went to some of the hottest parts of the Sonoran desert for field work, where my training was crappy.  Not good, Karl.  Then I did a bunch more training. Good job, Karl.  Then I got really sick for a couple weeks right when I should have been doing my last couple big runs. Not good, Karl's body. Then I got over my sickness the week of the race. Good job, Karl.

(Big thanks to Aravaipa Running for providing almost all of these pics.)

Methodical training is not my forte, so since I ended up with more "Good jobs" than "Not goods", I was as ready or more ready than almost any other race I've ever been in.

Start of the 50 miler before the 50k

We started at Buffalo Park with a nice little group of about 30 runners.  We headed straight through the park and onto the Forest Service trails, where we would be for the next few hours.  A guy in a neon jersey and a shirtless guy took off up ahead at a faster pace than I wanted to try to go, so I stayed with a couple other runners a little ways back. After a half hour of going up Lower and Upper Oldham, Caleb Schiff and I ended up running together, and we ended up sticking together for about the first 10 miles of the race. 

Photo credit to Bret Sarnquist. Thanks for being out on the course, Bret!

I love being able to talk while racing, and it was great to be able to get to know each other while running.  We both came through the first aid station pretty quickly and ran down the Heart trail together. At the bottom of Heart is one of the flattest portions of the race, and I realized that Caleb would probably drop me eventually. Once we got onto the gravel road to Schultz Pass I couldn't hold Caleb's pace so I let him go. At the same time we started coming up on 50 mile runners that had started an hour earlier, so it made me still feel fast to be coming by them.

At 12 miles we hit the second aid station, where I picked up my treats - Honey Stinger Waffles, Shot Bloks, and crystallized ginger.  I headed out of the aid station and onto Little Gnarly and Brookbank - some of my favorite trails.  Unfortunately I just couldn't climb fast, though.  

Back in about 2003 I thought of myself as a climbing specialist. I was first up the mountain at the Wahsatch Steeplechase, ahead of a guy that's much faster than I'll ever hope to be - Kevin Shilling. But then of course Kevin totally destroyed me on the downhill.  Maybe that was the experience that got me to start working on my downhill running to the detriment of my uphill running. In any case, the long climb from Schultz Pass up to Sunset Point was definitely longer than I would have liked, but not bad.

The next portion was an 8 mile loop that started and finished at Sunset Point. That section ended up being much harder and longer for me than I had expected.  I talked to plenty of others also familiar with the trails that just didn't realize how hard it would be to go down Mt Elden Lookout trail and up Heart trail at this stage in the race. I planned 90 minutes, but it ended up taking me a full 2 hours.

Heart trail: not recommended for horses. As for humans...

It turns out that Caleb Schiff rolled his ankle coming down Elden and had to drop.  Then while I was coming up the Heart trail, Kalib Wilkinson was heading down, out of water and calories.  It was just too much to get up there with only one bottle in hand if you already a deficit of water or calories.  I had started with at least twice as much water as Kalib, but I ran out before getting to the aid station myself.

The aspens started turning yellow just in time for the race.

I got to Sunset hot and a little unstable, but I was comforted in knowing that it was all downhill back to Buffalo Park. I'm a downhill guy, anyhow, right? Well, not on that day. I usually come down the section from Sunset to Buffalo Park in 45 minutes, but the day was too much by that point, and the descent turned into 55 minutes, about the time it took to climb that same section earlier in the day!  Maybe the issue for me is not so much ascending and descending skill as how hard I feel like pushing on the different parts of hills, and just being in shape.

I pushed hard to keep my time under 6 hours, which I missed by 6 minutes.  Of course it was just an arbitrary goal and it doesn't mean much to me, so I was still really happy with my time.  When I came through the finish it was ... quiet.  

Hardly anyone was there, and I didn't hear anything.** Kind of anti climactic, since I had just been pushing so hard and had been alone for so long. The few race officials that were at the finish had just been distracted, and when they saw me they were super nice and hooked me up with a comfy chair and good things to eat and drink.

As the day went on, more and more people were there to cheer on finishers, which I think is more important for those that have spent a much longer time out on the course. 

This race had the best-marked course I've ever seen. Never any doubt where to go. Aid stations were great, volunteers were great, they had nice swag, decent price, everything organized well. Aravaipa Running knows what they're doing.

1st place finisher Zac Mendenhall crushed the course in 5:12, and I wouldn't be surprised if his time stands for quite a while.  I know I won't be close to his record, but I'll be back to try to beat my own time and support this awesome race! 

Congrats to Dana Ernst for going from couch to race day in 6 months, and having a solid finish!

And congrats to Al Hendrick on being in great enough shape to spontaneously do this kind of race!

** Note from the editor: Aehm. Yes. I failed big time. What a great supportive wife I am! Karl said we should be at the finish around 1pm and he did indeed finish at 1:03 but we didn't show up until 1:45. Oops! Before you judge me too harshly, know that I was educating my kids at the Science Festival in town and we happened to be having so much fun that we didn't make it to the finish line in time. It didn't help that we had to bike up some major hills to get there. I am really sorry about that! But then we did hang out with Karl at Buffalo Park for a good 3 hours after the race and I'd like to think that made up for it! Plus, there's always next year... Either way, I am pretty darn proud of my awesome husband!