Gold Country 34 Mile and Ultrarunner.net Race Series Championship

A couple weeks ago I clinched the 2010 Ultrarunner.net Race Series Championship by taking 1st in the Gold Country Trail Runs 34 mile race on October 2nd.

I wasn’t sure how this race would go since it was only 3 weeks after completing my first 100 mile race at Rio Del Lago on September 11th. My legs haven’t felt 100% since then and the last three weeks have been spent recovering from RDL including a lot of time icing my right knee. Fortunately everything felt ok at the start and I was ready to roll at race time. Another nice feature was that I was familiar with the trails as they are the same ones that are included in RDL and other races I ran earlier this year.

Even though I was familiar with the trails, I knew it would be a tough race as the course includes two trips up K2 and the final four miles are from No Hands Bridge back to Auburn Overlook which would make for a difficult finish.

The one thing I was determined to do during the race was increase my pace up K2. K2 is basically a mile of uphill climbing where you gain 1,000 feet of elevation. Typically I am forced to walk a good portion of this hill and it takes around 20 minutes. I was determined to run/jog as much as possible and reduce my time on this section. After the first 4 miles from the start at Auburn Overlook to No Hands Bridge you face the first trip up K2. Fortunately I was successful in my first attempt up the hill and reduced the time to around 15 minutes.

The next several miles are around the Olmstead Loop to the Cool Fire Station and then back to No Hands Bridge. I felt pretty good on this stretch, but my hamstrings were already getting tight, probably due to pushing the uphills.

The second attempt up K2 was a little more of a struggle. While I was still trying to push it and run/jog when possible I was forced to walk a little more than the first time. Fortunately I had some company during this stretch by climbing with Alan Barker who was completing his first Ultra race (Alan ending up finishing 3rd overall). While my time up K2 was a little slower, I was still fairly satisfied with my effort and was able to pick up the pace after reaching the top.

On my second trip over to Cool, I passed the runner in first place (didn’t catch his name). He was struggling with an injury and was walking it in. He would have won if not for his injury as he had built quite a lead. However, now I was in first place with about 12 miles to go. I figured if I could make it through Cool in first then I would be ok as the next several miles are downhill before the final four miles from No Hands up to Auburn Overlook.

After reaching No Hands I thought I would win assuming I was able to perform decently on the last few miles. If I didn’t drag too much, I didn’t think anyone would be able to make up enough time to catch me on these tough uphill miles.

I also wanted to focus on enjoying these last few miles. These miles were culmination of the 2009-2010 Ultrarunner.net race series. For me this included nine races starting with the Folsom Point 50k in November 2009. This year has been hugely satisfying for me as I have been able to increase my training and race times dramatically – including my first 100 mile race and winning the race series. These were two of my goals at the beginning of the year. Fortunately I have been able to stay healthy enough to complete these goals. There is a fine line between how much to increase your training and not get injured. I feel like I learned a lot about training, racing and pushing past self perceived limits over the past year.

Thanks to all those who have help support me and allowed me to pursue my goals in this extreme sport – especially my wife Rachel who is extremely understanding and supportive. It has been an adventure and something I hope I am lucky enough to be able to continue long into the future.