Sun Mountain 50 miler May 14 2022-Twice Rolled Over- Cascade Crest 100 mile qualifying race

Sun Mountain 50 miler May 14 2022. The 2 year roll-over : Cascade Crest 100 mile qualifier

The first time I did this event in 2019 temperatures were a scorching 30 degrees Celsius, the equivalent of running in hell! When I crossed the finish line in 13 hours and change I said “ I'll never do that again !“ Never say never!

I registered again for this event in early 2020 before the world shut down thanks to Covid 19. Needless to say my entry got rolled over twice since the race was cancelled due to a global pandemic in 2020 and again in 2021 as we couldn't cross the USA border.

The requirements for entry into Cascade Crest 100 is to complete a 50 mile organized trail race with primarily single track and a hefty dose of climb and decent . The point is to prepare you for your first 100 miler and don't pick an easy race . Also, 8 hours of organized trail work is required for all runners. And if you don't have these , you pay more money or are not allowed to race . Rainshadow Running races are held on some of the most scenic and beautiful venues !

David Marlor and I travelled to Winthrop, leaving Victoria Friday the 13th (no not superstitious), on the 7am ferry. This would be the first trip to the USA post pandemic. When we arrived at the Peace Arch we were kindly greeted by the customs officer “So what's the plan?“ Showed our passports and off we went. That was way easier than getting back into Canada!

On route, we had been warned that highway 20 , the North Cascades highway was just being cleared. It was the most direct and shortest route to Sun Mountain. The six foot snow wall lined most of the highway in the Pass. It was a very scenic option!

Pre- race dinner pic . I had to twist David’s arm to take this :)

Pre race registration - bright and early at 5:00 am .

This year was very different conditions and a new course. The temperature was a cool and overcast 16 degrees, on a fast new two 25 mile loop course with 2400 meters of elevation gain and loss. Five aid stations total. Cut off was 15 hours. The course was changed due to a forest fire last summer that reached the trail system at Sun Mountain. Some of the trails /forests were spared and some were not . Many of these trails were still closed, but fortunately there were enough trails open for a spectacular and fun route for the race.

Because the weather was cooler I decided to run with my new Smartwool Merino wool ultralight vest I purchased at Frontrunners Victoria, Smartwool t-shirt, lululemon arm warmers and new REI sun gloves (in case I fall I need to protect my hands), and Pro compression Canada Flag socks. I also broke the Cardinal rule and wore a pair of new Brooks Cascadia trail shoes, same model as my previous. I had ordered them weeks ago but due to supply chain issues they arrived late. I did a 30 min shake out in them the day before the race and they were fine.

Jonathan Foweraker’s and I before the race start.

The pre- race briefing : 5:15 am race morning . Race start 5:30am .

James Varner, Rainshadow race director is a bit of a comedian:

“Welcome back! Twice rolled over. The course is in really good shape! Hopefully you are all in good shape too! The flowers are just getting going, but there's already a lot out there. Expect a fast course out there today – mostly smooth and soft trails plus dirt roads. I'm sure you will enjoy a knarly little section we added in. Be careful! You get to do it twice! The course is well marked with Pink and yellow flagging, “confidence“ ribbon every half mile or so. But S*@# happens, have the GPS on your watch or phone or carry a paper map. You may see some mountain bikers, don't be alarmed. They won't bite! Pine cones might be the biggest obstacle!

Pizza Rocks will be making gluten free and vegan options for “those of you people lol“, and we have beer and cider too ! Have fun enjoy the race, see you at the finish line!!“

It was a small field of 78 participants. Jonathan Foweraker also from Victoria racing his first 50 miler and his partner Louise Hodgson-Jones. My Canada flag compression socks brought up lots of conversations “Where in Canada are you from? “ There were a few other Canucks in the arena.

David Marlor, who had already qualified for Cascade Crest 100 with his amazing Fat Dog 120 mile finish in 2019. He offered his services volunteering at the 2nd aid station Wood Pecker about 15 miles into the fist 25 mile loop of the course. David loves volunteering as much as he does racing. I wished secretly that he was running this with me as well!

Lap 1 : The race started off as a congo line through a small single track trail, uphill start to a long fire road climb that went on forever. We literally ran through a burnt out forest. Sad to see the blackened trees that lined the road. Must have been one heck of a forest fire! I was running with a couple of young women. Since I was the oldest female participant at 52 this year, they were all younger!. I had to remind myself to run my own pace, race my own race. This is a 50 miler, not 50 km.

I named my competitors based on their outfit. “Red Socks” was looking strong running ahead and beside my was “Purple shirt”, “Pony tail “ and “Yellow pack”. There wasn't much chit chat going on, but I was feeling conversational “ Have you done this race before?“ There was a lot of back and forth and I was feeling comfortable, running easy on the climbs and gravity taking me on the downhills.

My plan was to aim for 200 calories an hour, which for me is two scoops of Tailwind Nutrition in 500 ml of water . When I took my first sip, my flask nipple fell off. I walked as I tried to fix it, but it was not working. I tried to stay calm and decided I'd have to untwist he top instead to drink . Note to self to buy new flasks for next race. Ultimate Direction fail! Seriously why do things like this happen on race day .

The Cole Creek Trail was the first single track, one of the most scenic in the entire Sun Mountain system. There was a group of us all running together. “The trail from Disney world!“ so fun, fast and flowing. I wanted to throw up my arms and scream ..SO MUCH FUN! Okay I was feeling good at this point.

On to another service road decent which eventually took us to the first aid station.

Mile 8 – Coal Creek Aid Station: I stopped here to refill one flask with Tailwind and water. I thanked the volunteers as I exited and carried on.

Than began the long climb up Cole Hill and a series of false flats that took us to the summit. It was very exposed and windy and the temperature was cool. The scenery was stunning with yellow wildflowers in the alpine meadows of the Methow Valley. Pretty bare and dry. Suddenly I tripped over nothing landing on my left elbow. I was stunned and embarrassed and now my new gloves were filthy. No damage done so I shook myself off “Wake up!“ Neil, another racer from Vernon, caught up to me “nice pace up the hill“. Thanks! As we exchanged a few words, only to leave me in his dust on the downhill single track, my nemesis.

Here Kitty - Kitty ! photo credit Unsplash

Eventually came to the new “knarly section of new trail, which reminded me of the FUMB (FU Bear Mountain), which took us onto another service road decent leading to more fun single track. Lots of bird trail names- Meadowlark , Woodpecker , Blue Jay . As I was running along, out of the corner of my eye I saw something race down the mountain. It was a very large cougar! I was by myself at this point and had a “HOLY SHIT “ moment! It was surreal and looked like it was either running from something or chasing it's prey and thankfully that wasn't me! My adrenaline kicked in and I picked up the pace and suddenly rolled my ankle. OUCH! Was this it? Race over? I kept running, no pain. I stopped to feel my ankle . No swelling. Okay keep running to next aid station and assess damage there. Maybe it was a sign to slow down.

Mile 15.8 Woodpecker Aid Station : When I saw David I told him what had happened. Everyone at the aid station “you saw a cougar?!! ..COOL!“ He suggested to keep running if there was no pain. My ankle seemed okay. I refilled my water and Tailwind, had a shot of Coke and continued thinking I could reassess at the half way point. I needed to stop thinking about my ankle and focus on the trail in front of me. I kept telling myself I was fine! I dodged the bullet! .

Onward on the trail, I spotted a woman with pink socks running with a golden retriever. Did they allow dogs on the course? Apparently the dog was lost by the owner and the racer kindly retrieved the dog to safety. I warned her about the cougar sighting . She said she had a soft spot for Golden Retrievers and happily the dog got returned to the owner.

Stephanie and i fishing lap 1 almost 40 km in.

I spotted Yellow vest, Stephanie from Olympia, up head who was taking pictures of flowers on the course . This was about 5 km from the Patterson Aid station at mile 25. She asked me “are you really a Canadian or pretending to be Canadian?“ Wondering why would an American be wearing socks with Canadian flags lol. I wore the socks because I'm proud to be a Canadian EH? We chit chatted about inflation and how food at Trader Joe's was so cheap. I told her I was planning to stock up before going back to Canada. I was feeling out of breath just talking as we approached the aid station.

Mile 25 – 40.8 km : Patterson Aid station: We arrived in just under five hours, way ahead of my predicted schedule. I was thinking”holy crap, am I going to pay for this later?” Second lap will likely be 5-10 % slower as Matt Cecil my coach projected. It was nice to see a familiar face Louise – Hodgson-Jones, taking pictures and waiting for Jonathan's arrival.

It was starting to rain so I grabbed my rain jacket from my dry bag, changed my buffs, filled up my Tailwind and topped off my water bladder with 1/2 liter, grabbed some coke and ate a few chips as I walked to exit the aid station . The weather was cool so I didn't need to drink as much. I was in and out in under 10 minutes . Rule #1 – don't doddle in the aid station. I saw Jonathan entering the aid station as I was leaving . We high fived each other, he was looking great! As I exited the parking lot I saw James Varner and said “ Thank you James! I'm so grateful to be here “ . he replied “ I'm grateful you can be here!“

25 miles start of Lap 2 – I could feel my legs heavy at the start of this lap, which I expected. I saw a girl in a black jacket ahead up the road as I alternated running the flats and hiking the long fire road climb through the burnt forest. I was feeling okay keeping up on my Tailwind and water nutrition. The rain stopped and the sun was coming out finally. The girl ahead had disappeared into the distance and that was the last person I saw on the second lap. No one in front, no one behind . Ultra running is a lonely sport. I was feeling some anxiety about whether I was on course and always grateful when I saw a “confidence“ flag . I was thinking “How could you get lost out here? You've been here before?“

The worst stretch was the 8 miles between Cole Creek and Woodpecker aid station. I was feeling emotional to the point of tears. I couldn't wait to see David at his aid station. Nobody was out there! I had tears of joy when I saw the aid station. OMG civilization! I could see purple shirt there who was ahead of me and a guy wrapped up in a blanket by the fire. I refilled my Tailwind even though I was so sick of drinking it, but I needed the calories . I asked for a shot of pickle juice as my quads were cramping – so GROSS but it works, some Coke and chips and feeling recharged marched out of the aid station. “Go Canada“ they yelled!

On the home stretch with 8 miles to go! Lets do this! I had to push myself to stay motivated. I allowed myself to hike the hills, but I had to run the flats and downhills. Suddenly out of nowhere I heard Pink Socks behind me “have you seen any cougars lately?” She scared me and passed like I was standing still. I said “Thankfully no!”

Cruising towards the finish line ! Almost there !

Ok single digits 9 km to go. I had this ABBA song in my head repeating, my quads were screaming at me on the descents “I am behind you, I always find you, I am the Tiger. People who fear me never go near me , I am the Tiger. And if I meet you, what if I eat you ? I am the Tiger “ I should have replaced Cougar for Tiger ha ha !

I saw photographer Stephen Mitchell on the last stretch and yelled a “Woot, Woot“. He said “ Well done Canada!“

To the Finish line : always a welcome. I saw Louise again and James Varner, race director, approach the line. My Garmin read 79.50 km. I said “James do I need to go run another 500 metres to make it 50 miles to qualify?” James replied “What are you qualifying for?“ I said “Cascade Crest 100”. James replied “No don't worry you got it ! I'll sign off for you!“ Sigh of relief. Ended up finishing time of 10 hrs 36 minutes, 9th female overall.

Meanwhile David was still working at the aid station till 6:30pm and I forgot to pack enough warm post race clothes that were in David's car. Louise kindly offered me to warm up in their lake side cabin and offered me a blanket to stay warm. Johnathan had finished his first 50 miler and was celebrating with beer and Pizza Rocks fire stone pizza! Yeah mission accomplished! Canadians rock !!

Please don’t make me run further James , I need a beer !

I am truly excited at the thought of attempting my first 100 miler, but I look forward to the journey to the start line on July 22nd. The plan is to hike with backpacks on the Sunshine Coast Trail end of June point to point 180 km with over 7,000 metres elevation gain and loss as part of training preparation. I did this last year and it sure makes your legs strong for climbing.

Big thank you to Rainshadow Running – James Varner and Katy Farrell for putting on these amazing events. And to the all the volunteers, Stephen Mitchell and Louise Hodgson- Jones for the race photos, Matt Cecil my amazing run coach, Holly Dickinson -ACCEL strength and conditioning, November Project Victoria Community, Ma Yoga studio community , Jaymie McGowan physiotherapist, Alain Schmitz RAC and David Marlor -would not be possible without my best training buddy who I share these crazy adventures with! I am forever grateful!