World Mountain Running Championships - Albania

September 11, 2011

This was more than a mere race, it was an event and an unforgettable experience.  My ability to participate was also a complete surprise, making me enjoy the experience that much more.  Racing in the World Mountain Running Championships required qualifying on behalf of your country.  A maximum of six men and four women (plus juniors) could participate from each country.  In Canada, the qualifying race took place in Canmore in July.  In addition, there were two wild-card spots - one for each male and female that were selected based on past performances.  As noted in my previous post, I raced in the Canmore Challenge in July - as a completely last minute decision.  I attended the race to support Shane and Andrew Pape-Salmon, who were both racing the event, but then decided to race in the female event a week before the race.  In order to qualify for the Canadian team, you also have to submit your interest in doing so.  At first, I didn't think I had a chance, but then a couple of days prior to the race, I changed my entry, as it seemed that there were not very many women entered.

While, I didn't immediately qualify for the Canadian team from my placing at Canmore, I was later selected, when some of the women who finished ahead of me declined.  I received a surprising email in August notifying me of my selection.  I jumped at the chance at what I saw as a once-in a lifetime experience.

This led me to the race in Albania.  Each year the destination of the World Mountain Running Championship changes, and for 2011, Albania had been chosen as the host country.  I didn't know much about Albania before, but was glad to view a different part of Europe, that I may not otherwise visit.  Albania is a small country north of Greece, with a friendly population that is known in Europe at least for its beaches and coastline. The race itself would take place in Tirana, the capital city, but all of the teams were staying in hotels along the beach resort in Durres, about 30 kilometres away.  It was definitely a popular tourist spot, and the streets were lively with vendors and shoppers in the evenings.

Leading up to the race, there were some official and ceremonial events, we had the opportunity to tour the race course prior to race day and got a glimpse of what would be a rugged, technical, steep, but also fast race.  There was also a parade of the teams through Tirana and the Opening Ceremonies, in which Albanian traditional and contemporary singers and dancers performed for the teams.

After much waiting, race day had finally arrived.  The women's race began at 11am and the men's race at 12pm -- in what we knew would be hot conditions.  The temperature was expected to be in the 30s for both races.  The Canadian team consisted of Laura Estey, Melissa Ross, Kathryn Waslyn and me for the women and Adrian Lambert, Kris Swanson, Shane Ruljancich, Paul Chafe, Mark Vollmer and James Gosselin for the men.  Before our race, we headed out for a short warm-up run, and then headed to the start-line. Going into the race, my goal was to not finish last. I knew there would be many very fast women at this event, and I wanted to enjoy the experience, do my best and hopefully have at least a few people cross the finish line after me.

Soon enough the gun went off and the race was on.  Thoughts of a last place finish drifted before my eyes, as I realized that I was at the very back of the pack off the start line.  I gritted my teeth and was determined to do my best.  I tried to maneuver around some women at the beginning, but I got locked in and the competition of the race had already set in - so I decided to not waste my energy at this point, and just see how the race progressed.

The heat was immediately apparent.  We'd already doused ourselves with water before the start, but the cool factor did not last too long. We started off on a wide dusty road, and the leaders kicked up tons of dust that made it difficult to even see.  Then, we ran by some farmland and through a small field, before starting the climb.  We turned onto some singletrack that had been cut-out of the land just for this race.  Apparently a large portion of this race took place on a single landowner's property and much of it had been designed and created simply for this race.

The singletrack led us under some tree coverage as we began to slowly wind our way uphill. The first part made me almost feel like I was on a trail run on the West Coast of BC - with lovely green tree cover and dirt trails with roots poking out. It was near the bottom of the climb that I began to pass a couple of my Canadian teammates and a few others as well.  The climb started off rather gradual, but then turned into steep stairs, as we hit grades as steep as 40%. 

I remembered the climb from our scouting excursion and knew it was pretty much just a 'put your head down' and hike as hard as you can type of climb.  While I'm sure the leaders ran up the hills, there would be no running for me, but a steady hike all the way up, as I kept telling myself 'just keep going, push as hard as you can, don't let up.'  I could hear my teammates breathing hard behind me, and wanted to keep a good steady pace all the way.

The climb really was dirt stairs practically all of the way up, along a trail that curved around the side of the hill.  Luckily, it was all shaded, otherwise the already hot temperatures would have made the climb absolutely horrific.  Near the top, the trail evens out for a bit, allowing a beautiful view of the city and a small chance to take a few running strides.  Throughout the race there were competitors close by me - both in front and behind, and I wanted to take every opportunity I had to move as fast as I could.  Then, after this section, there was one final short push up to the top.  I had regained my composure enough to run all the way to the top.

All along the course there were volunteers handing out bottles of water.  This was very much appreciated, as I didn't have to go long before having another opportunity to down a bit of water and try to cool myself down by pouring some water over my head.

The first part of the downhill was rather technical.  It was a fun descent though, as it wasn't so rugged as to make it scary, but just enough to keep you on your toes.  This section was pretty short too and only lasted a couple of minutes.  The rest of the downhill was mostly all wide dirt road - although there were two very short, but steep loose sandy sections. The first one included some corners that required navigating and a rough transition from loose dirt, which was easy to fly on, and then to concrete steps, where you had to watch where you stepped.  I really slowed down on this transition section, as I had a hard time getting my mind in tune with my body to just keep stepping. Then, came another section of dirt road.

We made our way around the extra loop at the bottom, where our Canadian male teammates were cheering us on.  Then, soon enough, came the climb for the second time.  The second time around, it was much harder.  I knew right away that I was going slower, but it was all I could do to keep pushing.  But amazingly, I still made some headway and was able to pass another competitor on the climb.  I was happy to make it to the top, but the climb and heat had definitely taken its toll and I found myself unable to maneuver my legs as well on the technical descent. The dirt road section felt so much longer, and I knew I had to keep pushing to keep my place.  I kept expecting someone to come flying by me on the down portion, as I felt I should have been going faster.  Then I came to the first sandy section, and heard someone say, take your time, there's noone right behind you.  Except I took it a bit too literally, as I nearly stopped at the transition section, and lost a few valuable seconds.  The finish was close now, and I kept my legs pumping as hard as I could.  There was a competitor in front of me who was clearly hurting and I knew I was gaining ground on her -- I got encouragement from the crowd too, as they yelled out 'go get her!' 'she's a goner, you can get her'.  But, there wasn't quite enough time, as I knew I was done for too, and ended up still 5 seconds back at the finish line.

I met my goal and did not finish last -- in fact I was the second Canadian women to cross the finish line.  Melissa Ross was the first Canadian female (in 34th place).  It was a tough race, in a very competitive field. It would have been nicer to have had a better a placing, as I was still near the back of the pack, finishing just fifth from the end.  But, I raced as hard as I could given the conditions, and was still pleased with my run and with the experience.  Of course, you always want to do better, and I can only hope that I continue to improve and get faster.

I got back just in time to get hosed down with cold water, grab a banana and some water and catch the start of the men's race.  It was an exciting race, with lots of racers being hit hard by the heat, and either dropping out or falling way back.  Unfortunately, two of our best racers did not have their races go as planned. James Gosseli had to drop out because of being ill from food poisoning the night before and Kris suffered from heat exhaustion, causing him to fall way back from where he should have been.  The heat also affected Shane's race, as he wasn't able to race at his peak, and ended up slower than he felt he was capable of racing.  The other three men were about mid-pack, with Adrian coming in top Canadian male.

Overall it was a fantastic experience -- and I am so glad to have had this opportunity.  A huge thank you to my wonderful club - the Prairie Inn Harriers who provided financial support to assist Shane, Kris and I to attend.

Canmore Challenge 9km

July 8, 2011

I signed up for this race relatively last minute – my original intent on going to Canmore was to support and watch Shane compete in the Canadian men’s Mountain Running Championships.   Through this race, he was hoping to qualify for the World Mountain Running Championship, which this year is being held in Albania in September.   Originally, I hadn’t even considered racing myself,  but then someone put the bug in my ear, when they asked whether I was planning on racing.  Next, I realized that since the women’s race is earlier than the men’s race, there would be plenty of time to compete in the women’s event, and still watch Shane (and Andrew Pape-Salmon, who was also competing) race. 

Andrew and Shane decided to drive from Victoria to Canmore, while Sara (Andrew’s wife) and I decided to fly to Calgary in the evening.  We all met up in Banff, where we spent the morning walking around and taking in the beauty of the area before heading to Canmore. 

We decided to check out the race course ahead of time, so we knew what to expect.  It was a loop course (women 3, men 5), so we’d get a good idea of the course, from just running one loop. We had a bit of a challenge figuring out the exact loop – let’s just say our maps were not exactly the easiest to follow… but assessed that it would be a mixture of double-track and not too technical single-track.  There wasn’t a huge amount of elevation in each lap, but just enough to make things interesting.

Despite earlier predictions of hot sunny weather on race day, we awoke to clouds that looked like they might even drop some rain on us.  It was not too warm either – but likely good race conditions, as long as the rain held off. The women’s race was first, so Sara and I went for a quick warm-up and then made our way to the start line.  It wasn’t a huge field (about 40 competitors), with even a few guys who’d entered the race.  As I assessed the field before the race start, I knew it would be fast – especially as this was the qualifying race for the World Championships – and only 3 females were guaranteed spots.  My goal became to simply place in the top 10 females. 

Soon enough we were off and making our way up a steady climb – the kind of which I’m not altogether a fan – a non-technical wide gravel road.  The course took us into a beautifully dense forest, as we wound through mountain-bike trails.  We were 1500 meters above sea level – and while not that high up, I could definitely feel the effects and breathing was definitely more difficult, as I do all of my training at sea level.   This initial gravel road climb, felt like torment, and I quickly fell back about mid-pack. 

After about 1 km of climbing on the road, we veered onto a single-track section, and this is where I found my legs.  The steepness of the incline lessened, and the single-track made it seem easier – I started to pass a few people, as my pace quickened and I got into the groove of the race.  This section of the race was interspersed with double-track and single-track sections, with the climb ending on a double-track section that should have been labelled ‘the wall’ – because that’s what it felt like.  It was fairly steep, and felt like it was at least 40 degrees – although I’m sure it was much less.  Nevertheless it was steep enough to make both the lungs and the legs hurt.  On this first climb, I ran part-way up before resolving to fast hiking.  I had made my way into a pack of 2 other girls and one man, and the four of us ended up running most of the rest of the course together.  

After this steep climb, came my favourite part of the race, some really nice, flowy, somewhat twisty single-track.  It was pure joy (at least on this first lap), and I pushed it rather hard (probably too hard), as I ended up passing the woman who was racing in front of me.  There was only one small puddle on the entire course, and as I was in race mentality, I thought I would just power right through it.  However, it ended up being rather deep and my foot sunk into the muddy waters.  I think it took more energy to run through it, than it would be taken to skirt around it – in subsequent laps I ran around it.   At the bottom of the downhill section, we finished off our first lap, whew only 2 more to go. 

Then, the climbing began again. After finishing the first lap, there was only a bit of single-track before we popped out onto a double-track road climb.  Here, my breathing began to falter again, and the woman who I’d passed on the downhill soon overtook me.  Luckily, this section didn’t last too long before were back on single-track.  The breathing was definitely a pain though, as I felt as though I was moving so slowly – as though I should have been able to move much more quickly than the pace I was keeping.   On the second and third laps, I didn’t even try to run on the last steep hill, but started a fast hike right at the bottom.  I soldiered on and until the last lap, my placing stayed the same – I was just behind Jen Lowery and just ahead of Madelaine Bate and Laura Estey.  As I pushed each downhill section, I was annoyed that I couldn’t drop Madelaine , I had been hoping that if I pushed hard enough, she would drop off – but there was definitely lots of competitiveness in this race, and that was not going to happen.  As we turned onto the initial double-track section on the last lap, Madelaine passed me as we started the last climb. The juice in my lungs had long worn out, and I didn’t have the energy to hold her off.  Plus, since I knew I wasn’t in the running for a championship spot anyway, I knew my placing didn’t really matter, except for my own gratification.

As Madelaine passed me, my only resolve was to keep pushing as hard as I could, so as to stay near her.  I gritted my teeth, as Laura passed me on this final climb as well.  That last climb was tough, and I took a few extra steps at the top to catch my breath before I started running again.  I wasn’t that far off the two other women, and still had a far off thought that perhaps I could catch them on the downhill.  However, there was no catching to be done.  They rocketed off at a much faster pace than during the previous downhill sections, and were soon out of sight.  I tried to stay in contact, but it was not to be done. 

As I finished off my last lap, and turned off the loop course towards the final descent to the finish, I was so relieved that the woman’s race was only 3 laps.  Completing another 2 laps at this point seemed very difficult. Now, just one final downhill section, and I was done.  This last section was fast, and I could have probably pushed a little harder, but I didn’t see the point, as there was no one right behind me, and Madelaine and Laura were far enough ahead that I would not be catching them.  I finished in 48:12, good for 12th overall, and 10^th woman, about six minutes behind the first woman to cross the line.  

This was one of the hardest races I had completed, in terms of how hard I was working during the entire race.  I was definitely working on the uphills, and the grade of the downhill section enabled a fast pace, which meant there was no section that provided a ‘break’.  Before the race started, I hadn’t been too stressed about the race, but once I got into it, the race mentality got to me and I wanted to push hard throughout.  Overall, I’d been happy with my race, but wondered what it would have been like had the race been at sea level – the outcome might not have been different, but at least I would have felt a bit better! It was interesting to compete in a competitive women’s race, and I’m glad I decided to partake in it. J  Sara also had a good race, and ended up just where she’d hoped.

After the end of my race, I had just enough time to quickly change and grab some food before the men’s race began.  This is where the real excitement was.  The men lined up on the start line, and were told that their race was actually a bit long – it was not 12 km, but actually around 14 kms.  As if it wasn’t hard enough already, but now it had just been made tougher – at least mentally.  The men took off at a quick pace and Shane jetted out amongst the lead pack. 

It was a fun race to watch because it was a loop course.  Sara and I were able to see the men on each lap, and still make it back for the finish.  Shane ended up coming in 5^th, claiming the last spot from this race on the Canadian Mountain Running Team (a 6^th member would be chosen based on previous performances).  I was ecstatic to see him cross the finish line in 5^th place, as now he would get to experience the World Mountain Running Championships!  Andrew also had a solid race, coming in 10^th overall, and first master. The first male was James Gosselin who came in at 56:11. He looked strong throughout the course, and him and Kris Swanson (another Victoria local) had a huge lead on the rest of the racers, coming in almost three minutes ahead of the next three racers.  Congrats to everyone on fantastic performances.   

Scorched Sole 25 km

June 25 2011

Kelowna

I decided to sign up for this race, as Shane and I were headed this way for a vacation.  It’s always fun to try out new races and experience what the competition and conditions are like in other areas.  There were three other races going on as part of this event – in addition to the 25 km there was a 50 km and a 50 mile. 

As we drove towards the race start, we actually had a bit of difficulty finding the location where the event was actually taking place.  We had programmed the location into the GPS, but when the GPS chimed that we had reached our destination, there was nothing to be seen. We ended up driving up and down the road before we drove into a parking lot that we’d passed earlier –thinking that this seemed to be the most likely location, even though there were no signs identifying this as the race location.  We soon saw a few other racers – and were relieved to have found the correct location, as we did not have much time before the race would begin. 

The race start was down a hill and beside a lake.  With just enough time to get ready, we were off –although not without fanfare.  Shane led off the race, and no one else leapt to the front, so I took off next after Shane.  However, unbeknown to us, after only 10 meters, we were off course, having missed a single-track trail to the left.  We then heard someone yelling at us, noticed our mistake and made our way back on course, although now we were in last place.  Shane soon made his way back to first place, and I tried to hop past people on a narrow, uphill, winding single-track, making my way towards the front of the pack. 

Soon we popped out onto a road, which we followed for 2 km until reaching another single-track section.  During this road segment, I slowly inched past more racers, and soon found myself among the top 10 racers.  I found this exciting, but wasn’t sure if it would last, as I don’t usually race this near the front.  Although, the competition in this race appeared that it was not super intense, as I soon found myself in 5^th place.  The single-track section wove through a beautiful low forested area – with a few streams running throughout, small trees, flowers and winding, climbing single-track.  The hills soon got to me and I found myself hiking the uphill sections – changing to a jog whenever the trail flattened out.   About half way up, I passed a man whom I’d been running with since the road, and soon found myself in 4^th place, just behind the first place woman. 

Then, we soon found ourselves on a double-track road section, and the first aid station.  This is where the race would get tough.  This section of the race was completely exposed, as it wound itself up the bare hill.  It was a steady climb, with a few steeper sections throughout, and along the entire climb, I kept the first place woman in my sights.  Luckily, although the sun was out when we started the race, it clouded over slightly as I got onto the double-track climb –but the heat was still intense. 

I was pretty certain that Shane would be leading the race, and as the climb wore on, I was hoping to see him soon.  I figured that once I saw Shane I would have about 15- 20 mins of climbing to the top. At first I thought that perhaps I’d make it to the top in about 1hour 15mins or 1 hour 20 mins – but these times came and went, and still Shane was not in sight. I kept trying to get the top of the hill in sight, but the road kept winding around and around and just when I thought I was getting close, we’d turn another corner, and there was more climbing ahead.  Around the 1hr 25 minute mark I saw Shane and let out an exasperated ‘finally’.  I was already long ago tired of climbing, and while I was happy to see him, that cry along with a grudging smile was all I could muster.

All I’d taken with me was a hand-held water bottle and a fruit bar.  As I was expecting to be out there for about 2:15-2:30 hours, this would normally suffice.  However, this race ended up being longer than I’d expected, and the heat was taking a toll on my body.  As the climb was finally nearing the end, I was feeling desperate for some Gatorade.  The top neared, and I saw the first place woman coming back from the aid station.  Usually, I don’t stop at aid stations, or just grab some water and get on my way.  But, this time I spent 1 minute or two, and headed straight to the flat coke, which I have never before drank during a race or training session – but my body was screaming out for some sugar, so I complied. I added a few orange slices and water to the mix, and headed along my way.  Just as I was on my way out from the aid station, a woman from the other side of the hill came running up and declared ‘only 40 km to go’ – ugh – so glad I wasn’t doing the 80 km (50 mile) event.

I headed down the hill and was happy to have mostly downhill in front of me. Soon after starting the descent, I saw a few other men climbing up towards the aid station, not too far behind me.  I started to push hard, as much as the downhill grade allowed.  Downhill running has generally been my strength and I was able to make up good time on the first place woman.  I soon found myself just behind her, and was able to pass her before we made it back to the single-track section.  I continued to push as hard as I could, and knew that I was putting a bit of distance between us, as I didn’t hear her directly behind me.  The first part of the single-track section was downhill, but near the bottom there were a few small uphills.  By this time, my quads were completely thrashed from the long ascent and the descent, on which I’d pushed hard.  My pace slowed considerably on each of these minor hills, and my quads screamed in pain – I’d never felt such pain and tightness in my quads before.  I had earlier had hopes of potentially coming in as the first woman –which would have been a first for me.  But, with my pace on these hills, I feared Liza coming up behind me any moment. 

 

I was able to hold her off until the last road section.  Once we hit the road, I knew there was just over 2 km to go, but it would be a very tough last couple of kms, as the road was filled with rolling up hills.  My quads were done, and no longer wanted to keep going.  Liza Pye soon passed me, and it was all I could do to keep her in my sights.  I think this might have even been more painful than the end of my marathon.  After a long 2 km on the road, I finally saw the final short single-track section that headed towards the finish.  However, this section of the trail was not well marked, and I ended up going off trail, costing me some seconds.  However, it would not have affected my placing, as Liza Pye was already too far ahead of me to catch.  

After a long race, the finish was finally in sight! Yay, I was soo happy to run down the final hill, and I headed straight to the lake (where I swan and soaked for almost 15 minutes).  The race took me 2:57:19 (2 minutes behind Liza), with over 1100 meters of climbing and I later found out that it was actually a bit long - 27 kms.  It seemed to be a tough race in every event, with the first place person coming in the 50 km in just under 7 hours, and the first place in the 80 km coming in at around 11 hours! Whew, that would have been tough in that heat! Shane ended up winning the race in 2:13:48, more than 15 minutes ahead of the 2^nd place person.  It was a hot, hot day, and my energy was definitely low by the end of the race.  I definitely needed the lake to cool off, as I felt like I was steaming even in the frigid water.