Now that I'm 2 weeks post DNF, I figure I've had enough time to process the experience and write a report of it.
This is my second time at the Ultra Trail Harricana (http://harricana.info/en/) which is held in the Charlevoix region of Quebec. It's an absolutely spectacular area, and after running the 65km event there last year, I was pretty anxious to come back again, but try the 125km race this time.
My lead up to this race was far from ideal. Back in the spring I started to have issues with the knob below my knee- where the patellar tendon inserts to the tibia. I had to cut way back on my training, but still managed to have a decent run at the Cayuga Trails 50 Mile in Ithaca NY at the end of May. After that race I took a couple of weeks off, and then started to train again. From that point on, right up until the race on Sept 19, it was a constant balancing act of trying to get in enough miles and trying to keep this injury from flaring up too badly. I would run for a few weeks, the take a week off when it got too sore.... and so on.
A few weeks before this race I was really wondering if I should go and even try to run since I'd only been able to do 3 runs over 20km since my race in May, but my brother, his nephew, and another friend signed up for the 28km distance, so I figured I'd go and see what happened. At the very least it would be a fun weekend with the guys.
We got to the town of La Malbaie in the early afternoon on Friday, picked up our race kits, and then headed to the campground to get set up. The campground was called Chutes Fraser, named after the beautiful waterfall there.
This is my second time at the Ultra Trail Harricana (http://harricana.info/en/) which is held in the Charlevoix region of Quebec. It's an absolutely spectacular area, and after running the 65km event there last year, I was pretty anxious to come back again, but try the 125km race this time.
My lead up to this race was far from ideal. Back in the spring I started to have issues with the knob below my knee- where the patellar tendon inserts to the tibia. I had to cut way back on my training, but still managed to have a decent run at the Cayuga Trails 50 Mile in Ithaca NY at the end of May. After that race I took a couple of weeks off, and then started to train again. From that point on, right up until the race on Sept 19, it was a constant balancing act of trying to get in enough miles and trying to keep this injury from flaring up too badly. I would run for a few weeks, the take a week off when it got too sore.... and so on.
A few weeks before this race I was really wondering if I should go and even try to run since I'd only been able to do 3 runs over 20km since my race in May, but my brother, his nephew, and another friend signed up for the 28km distance, so I figured I'd go and see what happened. At the very least it would be a fun weekend with the guys.
We got to the town of La Malbaie in the early afternoon on Friday, picked up our race kits, and then headed to the campground to get set up. The campground was called Chutes Fraser, named after the beautiful waterfall there.
We got set up , and I tried to get some sleep since I needed to get on the bus at 12:45am for a 2am start. I dozed off and on, then work up at 11:15pm to get dressed, eat something, and have a bit of coffee.
The start of the race was in the middle of a village called Notre Dame des Monts. There were about 85 of us for the 125km distance, and at 2am sharp we set off into the darkness, headed for the mountains.
The first 6km was on pavement, which then narrowed to a farm path, then into a hunting road, so it was easy going for the first 2 hours, which got us to aid station #1. At that point I was feeling fine, and my legs were okay. My game plan was to take it easy, go nice and slow, and just try to keep moving without aggravating the injury.
As we headed off from the aid station, we started the ascent of Mont des Morios- which basically was a trail straight up the side of a mountain, around the top, and then straight back down. If you look at the course profile, it's pretty easy to see where it is.
The start of the race was in the middle of a village called Notre Dame des Monts. There were about 85 of us for the 125km distance, and at 2am sharp we set off into the darkness, headed for the mountains.
The first 6km was on pavement, which then narrowed to a farm path, then into a hunting road, so it was easy going for the first 2 hours, which got us to aid station #1. At that point I was feeling fine, and my legs were okay. My game plan was to take it easy, go nice and slow, and just try to keep moving without aggravating the injury.
As we headed off from the aid station, we started the ascent of Mont des Morios- which basically was a trail straight up the side of a mountain, around the top, and then straight back down. If you look at the course profile, it's pretty easy to see where it is.
As tough a climb as it was (there were numerous sections where you had to use ropes to pull yourself up), it was amazing. I got to the top at about 5am, and it was still pitch black. The stars were brilliant, and from the top we could see down to the St Lawrence River, and the lights of towns on both the North and South shores. At that point I was with 2 other guys, and we all stopped, turned off our headlights, and took in the view for a few moments. That was one of those situations when even though I'd just done a massively hard climb, I was completely filled with joy and gratitude at being able to have this experience.
As I was heading back down the mountain, the sun started to peek over the mountains to the east. It was truly one of the most spectacular sights I've ever seen. There were mountains as far as you could see, and there was a pink glow starting to come over the horizon. Even though this was a race, I just had to keep stopping and soaking in the view.
At the base of Mont Des Morios I was back at the aid station again, and I was feeling great. My legs were good, and I wan feeling pretty energetic and optimistic. I grabbed some food, filled up my bottles, and headed out again. But within about 200m of leaving the aid station I had to stop again for the view. I stood there in awe, taking photos, and another runner came up and offered to take a photo of me.
As I was heading back down the mountain, the sun started to peek over the mountains to the east. It was truly one of the most spectacular sights I've ever seen. There were mountains as far as you could see, and there was a pink glow starting to come over the horizon. Even though this was a race, I just had to keep stopping and soaking in the view.
At the base of Mont Des Morios I was back at the aid station again, and I was feeling great. My legs were good, and I wan feeling pretty energetic and optimistic. I grabbed some food, filled up my bottles, and headed out again. But within about 200m of leaving the aid station I had to stop again for the view. I stood there in awe, taking photos, and another runner came up and offered to take a photo of me.
From there we got back onto some nice single track, and then back onto a forest access road and started going up the second major climb of this race. This one wasn't nearly as steep, but it was a long trudge up, and again, the views sustained me along the way.
It was on my way back down this mountain that things took a turn for the worse. I was moving along well, but for just a moment I lost my concentration and slipped on a slick rock. As I was falling, I felt a sharp pain in my right leg. I twisted in just the right way to aggravate the tendon that I'd been having trouble with, and that was it for me. I got up, hoping that if I got moving things would loosen up and I'd be able to continue, but it wasn't happening. One of the runners who came past me said he'd let them know at the aid station that there was an injured runner, so after a little bit a medic came running up the trail and taped me up to get it stabilized enough so I could hobble down the trail to a point where the medic's truck could pick me up. It took me an hour to cover that last 2km of trails, and when I got out to the access road, I climbed in to the back of the truck, and called it quits at 45km.
At that point, I was feeling fine with having to drop out. Going into this race I knew that with a messed up leg, and the lack of mileage that was related to that injury, having to drop or miss a time cut off was a real possibility. It wasn't till I got back to the finish line and watched all the other runners coming in with big smiles on their faces that the disappointment started to set in. It was unfortunate, but there was nothing I could do, so I just enjoyed the rest of the afternoon and cheered for the other runners coming in, including my brother and the other 2 guys I'd driven up with.
All in all, I'm still glad I went. Any reason to go to Charlevoix is a good reason, and even though I had to drop out before getting even half way through the course, I thoroughly enjoyed the 6 hours that I did have while I was out there. It's a spectacularly beautiful area, and a very well organized event. I'll be back again for sure to give it another try.
RSS Feed
