Marin Ultra Challenge 2016 Race Report

In theory, cucumber mint flavored Gu sounds refreshing, like it would be a wonderful break from all of the sweet and salty stuff late in the race. In reality, it's kind of weird and gross. Do not recommend. 

What a day in the Headlands it was! Last year, conditions were near perfect, and I had a near perfect race. This year, El Nino raged, and the wind actually blew me over. FUN!

Up and down. Repeat. 

I'm working toward my first 100k in May, so it was important to feel like I could run a smart 50k with no issues because I should be able to run a smart 50k with no issues and not even think about how a 100k is twice as far.

The Beginning. Everything's wonderful. 

The start and finish had been changed from Fort Baker to Rodeo Beach because of the rain. It was a dark start at 6am, but dawn wasn't far off. I opted for no headlamp. We did two Hill 88 loops as the sun rose before sailing down to Tennessee Valley under what I'd call a heavy drizzle. The weather at that point was...cute.

I grabbed some potatoes, drank some Tailwind, and headed out down Tennessee Valley Road with a handful of orance slices as the skies actually let loose and the wind picked up. The four miles on the Coastal Trail to Muir Beach were beautiful, as always. Seriously. That stretch gets me every time I run it.

The Middle. If it's going to get messy, here's where it will do exactly that. 

After a short jam down Hwy 1, we headed into the trees on Redwood Creek trail which felt more like creek and less like trail. A few of the trees fallen across the trail were large enough to require climbing, and the branches cracking and popping in the wind overhead added an element of "get the hell outta here quick". Once we started climbing out of the trees, the wind really started gusting. I made my way back down to Muir Beach eager to get going on the last ten miles.

Kudos to Let's Wander Photography for being out there in the rain.

The End. Kind of Tornado-ish. 

After a relatively calm climb up Middle Green Gulch, the descent on the other side was where the wind was hiding. Miwok cutoff is a weird fast little trail that cuts into the side of the hill. Most of it is just a narrow rut that requires heel to toe foot placement, which for me means a lot of concentration. One perfectly timed gust that caught me kind of off balance and focusing way too hard on where my feet were landing and I blew over. That has never happened before. 

I pressed on to Tennessee Valley where the volunteers had parked one of the shuttle vans directly in front of the aid station to block the wind and faced the familiar climb up Marincello. I was feeling pretty beat up at that point looking forward to the long downhill on Bobcat to the finish.

Finally, back to sea level, raining again (or still?), I made my way back to Rodeo to the finish in 6:50. Not my best time, but not my worst either. I felt good. I recovered quickly. 7 weeks to 100k. 

Oh, and here's a short thing I made about the race.