Canyons Endurance Runs 50K by UTMB - Race Report

The Canyons Endurance Runs 50K by UTMB took place on April 26^th in Auburn, California, the “Endurance Capital of the World”, along portions of the historic Western States 100 course. I had identified this has one of my “A” races of the year, in addition to the Vermont 100 this July, and had signed up about six months ago. My primary goals going into the race were to place around Top 25, run somewhere between 4:10-4:20, and try to increase my UTMB index to above 700. It was also going to be a great opportunity to see my family, as my brother and his girlfriend Kate had signed up for this race as their first ultra, and my fiancée Charlotte, and my mother and my other brother were all coming out to watch us race! However, before I even traveled out to California and ended up on the start line for the Saturday race, I began my week completing the equally historic Boston Marathon for the eighth time on the prior Monday. Knowing I had Canyons five days later on Saturday, this was my first time running the Boston Marathon just to enjoy the course and take it all in, and what an experience it was! I ran within myself, finishing in three hours and eleven minutes, and by the time I boarded our flight to Sacramento on Thursday, my legs felt like they were back to normal and ready to race again.

Charlotte and I arrived at our Airbnb late on Thursday night, immediately going right to sleep with plans to meet up with family in the morning. The next morning, we all converged on the race expo and participated in the HOKA Shakeout Run at BASECAMP with about a hundred other runners, which was a great opportunity to check out parts of the course and prepare myself for the elevation I would be taking on tomorrow! After the run, we went back to the expo at BASECAMP, picked up our packets, and did a little bit of merchandise shopping. The rest of the day was relatively uneventful as we lounged around for most of the afternoon, recovering from the long day of travel the day prior, before heading over to Cole’s girlfriend’s family’s house for dinner in nearby Meadow Vista.

Elevation Profile

Race morning came quick with a wake-up at 5:45 AM for the 7:00 AM start. Thankfully, the house we were renting was incredible, and was located a two-minute walk from the start line. Given the weather for the day, low to mid 40s and raining, I was thankful to have a place to hide out— my family and I did not make our way down to the start area until nearly 15 minutes before the race began. For this race, I decided to take a flyer and change up my gear a bit, hoping it would allow me to be more competitive. Since we were required to carry a liter of water, rather than going with a vest, I opted for a Naked Running Belt and a handheld, fueling with a combination of Tailwind performance drink and Precision Fuel chews. On my feet, I had a new pair of Hoka Tecton X3’s with the embedded carbon plate, which I bought specifically for this race, given the relatively untechnical rolling terrain. With a few minutes to go, I parted ways with my brother and his girlfriend and made my way up towards the front of the race, ditching my jacket and gloves and opting for just a singlet. A few announcements later and we were off and running down the streets of Auburn! 

Race Start!

One thing I knew to expect about this race was that it was going to start off hot, and hot it did. I was quickly gobbled up by a number of runners taking off on the first uphill mile of roads that connected us from downtown Auburn to the singletrack trails as we would make our way over to Robie Point on the Western States Trail and descent down to No Hands Bridge. After the initial climb on the roads, we hit the singletrack and began a steep technical descent, dropping 800 feet over the next three miles, including 600 feet over Mile 2 alone. I knew I needed to be patient and reserved early, especially as we would be making the same climb up the trail we had just descended at Mile 30, but I found myself a bit antsy, feeling like I was not fully taking advantage of the descents, and losing a lot of early time here compared to some of the runners I ended up finishing near. Still, I have always run better, more confident races when I am charging late and feeling strong, and knew there was a long way between these early miles and the finish. After our two-mile descent, we crossed over historic No Hands Bridge before a short road transition took us to the first aid station at Confluence – 1.

Confluence – 1 – Mile 3.9, 86^th Place, 29:07 Total Time, 7:21 Average Pace

After a quick refuel at Confluence we entered the Clementine Trail for a rolling uphill mile before beginning an 800-foot climb  on Lake Clementine Road over the next two miles up to the next aid station at Mile 7.2. I was feeling pretty strong on the early climbs, beginning to pick people back who had gone out hot on the initial descents. I didn’t know what place I was in, but I began mentally ticking off runners as I passed, my months of winter training spent focused on long incline workouts on the treadmill at eight to ten percent grade, positioning my body to feel strong on these types of long sustained climbs. I passed over a dozen runners over the next three miles as we made our way to the next aid station, Clementine, at Mile 7.2  I refueled my bottle with Naak performance drink, already having sucked down my first bottle of Tailwind with 75g of carbs, before setting off on the Connector Trail, which made up a portion of the larger Foresthill Divide Loop, where we would spend majority of the race, and which would take us out to Drivers Flat and back.

Descent Down to Mammoth Bar!

The next eight miles on the Connector Trail were flowy and gorgeous, featuring over 1,200 feet of climbing and nearly an equal amount of descent. With the drizzly, overcast weather there were times I felt like I was running through the Amazon. The views of the Canyons and the North Fork American River, when we had a break in the tree line, were breathtaking. The course continued to gradually pitch upward as we tested the highest points of the foothills. So far, my nutrition was on point, and I was running strong, continuing to pick off runners, and, beginning at Mile 11, I started gradually pulling back the first of the elite women. I was still running right at an eight-minute pace on average as I made my way over to the next aid station at Drivers Flat at Mile 15.6, the mid-point of the race.

Drivers Flat – Mile 15.6, 44^th Place, 2:05:19 Total Time, 8:02 Average Pace

After Mammoth Bar Aid Station!

The next five miles of the course, as we made our way down to Mammoth Bar, were probably my favorite. While there were some tight, singletrack trails, these were largely untechnical and widened out to doubletrack at certain points allowing you to really open up your stride. I was feeling good, and the slight downhill pitch, which wasn’t extreme, allowed me to make up a lot of time. In ultrarunning though, you often feel great until you don’t and I felt super strong until about Mile 22, pulling my average pace back below eight minutes, but beginning to feel fatigued as I hit a section of uphill switchbacks. This uphill transitioned into by far the worst section of the course for me, which featured nearly 1,000 feet of descent over the next two miles as we made our way down to the Middle Fork American River and the next aid station, Mammoth Bar, at Mile 23.5. I was slamming on the breaks going down this moderately technical descent, navigating what felt like over two dozen switchbacks, and unable to capitalize on this portion of the course. Technical descending continues to be a work in progress for me as I try to figure out the best balance of aggression and precision for attacking these portions of a course. It was at this point about half a mile before the next aid station that I was caught by another runner, and we made our way into Mammoth Bar together.

Descent Down to Confluence Aid Station!

Mammoth Bar was the second to last aid station on the course, with the trail that was to follow connecting us back to Confluence, where we would travel back the last four miles the way we had started the race. I left Mammoth Bar with just over eight miles to go flagging a little bit, and totally unprepared for what awaited me as soon as I left. I guess I didn’t study the elevation profile of the course enough or I would have realized there was a 500-foot climb coming out of Mammoth Bar! As a result, I found myself deep in the pain cave. My aerobic engine felt strong, but this three mile stretch of course from Mile 22-25, which had over 1,500 feet of elevation change really did some damage. In hindsight, I actually salvaged this climb quite well for how unprepared I was, running it quicker than a handful of the runners ahead of me and only being overtaken once. This was generally a very lonely section of the race from Mile 20 onward as the stream of runners had thinned out considerably. After what felt like an eternity, I crested the top of the incline and was rewarded with the next three miles of downhill doubletrack trails on the Confluence Trail taking us back to the Confluence aid station. It was here at Mile 27 that I hit my second fastest split of the day at 6:54. Finally, we popped out of the trails, and I passed the aid station at Confluence – 2, beginning the short road transition that would take me back to the Western States Trail and the climb up to Auburn!

Confluence – 2 – Mile 27.9, 34^th Place, 3:44:38 Total Time, 8:03 Average Pace

Finish!

Only 900 feet of climbing over the next three miles and then a quick descent back into downtown Auburn stood between me and the finish, but the past four hours of fast running had zapped my legs and as I continued back up the Western States trail, the ominous final incline awaiting. I was moving well, well but knew that my goal of sub 4:15 was slowing slipping away. I pushed hard, trying to take advantage of the less technical trail before the final mile of switchbacks, which ascended nearly 600 feet, was upon me. The trail, while pretty clean four hours ago, was now a muddy mess as hundreds of 50K runners had trampled on down its path. I continued to push up the long climb, finally allowing my heartrate to redline knowing the end was near. After what felt like one of the longest climbs of my life, I popped out of the trail onto the road and then… continued to climb for another 150 feet! I overtook one final runner during this last climb, before making the mile descent into Auburn. There was to be no blazing last mile like Sleeping Giant 50K a few weekends ago, but I still was logging my fastest split of the day as I charged for home. The rain continued to fall as I rounded the final turn in downtown Auburn and kicked for the finish line. I finished in 4:20:20, which was good for 33^rd Overall out of a field of over 650 runners!

Finish – Auburn – Mile 31.9, 33^rd Place, 4:20:20 Total Time, 8:09 Average Pace

After reconnecting with my family, we stayed close by to the finish line, waiting for Cole, Kate, and Kristen to come through. Cole came first, finishing 68^th in 4:51:57, a phenomenal time for his first ultra, especially considering the elevation gain of the course! Kate followed next in 6:00:54 for 188^th and 43^rd female, and then Kristen in 7:09:15 for 386^th! Overall, Canyons Endurance Runs 50K by UTMB was an incredible experience and I had a great time mixing it up on the west coast with a bunch of insane athletes. However, there is little time to reflect on this race for long as I shift my training block back to my “A” race of the entire year, the Vermont 100. This next phase begins in earnest with another 50K this very next weekend, designed specifically to test my legs under duress and under sub-optimal recovery, trying to mimic what it will be likely during Miles 70-100 of the Vermont 100. As such, I am stepping back onto the line to try and defend my title at the SpartanTrail Bear Mountain 50K. Stay tuned for more, as the racing season is just about to heat up. 

With Cole Post-Race!