Saturday – April 30, 2016.
Synopsis. I’ve done this last year. I’ve forgotten how difficult it was. Now, I remember.
The Event – Overview. The TNF ECS Bear Mountain is one of the events in The North Face Endurance Challenge Series. It is ranked as one that has the most difficult and technically challenging course. There are 4 races in today’s event – the 50M (which started at 5am), the 50K (this event), the Marathon and Marathon-Relay (which starts at a later time).
Weather. Saturday’s weather was pleasant and comfortable – cool temps, calm winds, and not a single drop of rain. It would be a perfect day to ‘hike’ up and ‘fly’ down the hills of Bear Mountain.
Goal. The goal this year was more aggressive than last year’s. I wanted to beat my previous time on the same course. By how much? – By a big margin. This is not bragging, BTW. Mentally and physically, I was better prepared this year. Only the official results would tell whether this would be true or not.
Gear. Nothing special. Shorts and last year’s NJMarathon long sleeves shirt, Drymax Max Trail socks, plus Hoka Speedgoat. And the Ultimate Direction hydration vest with 2 bottles.
Nutrition. I have been using Tailwind for quite sometime now, both on my runs and bike rides. 2 scoops of Tailwind per bottle, which is about 200cal. However, on long runs and rides, I get hungry with just this. So I added a scoop of CarboPro per bottle, making it about 300cal per bottle. I have tested this mixture and it seemed to work. Today, I have 2 bottles with Tailwind+CarboPro mix, plus 3/bottle pre-measured mix in Lansinoh Breastmilk storage bags. Jumping to the post-event experience, this worked. I only took small bites of potatoes and pbj sandwiches plus water at the aid stations. No gels, no chews, no salt pills. Finished the event with no upset stomach, no bloating, no cramps.
The Event – Actual. At 7am, the 50K race started. I was at the back of the pack, the last wave, with some friends. This is a typical scenario for us in almost all events we do – starting at the back of the pack. It’s a more relaxed position to start the race. Your chip time is not going to change anyway whether you start first or you start last. With a more aggressive goal this time, however, I started to pick up the pace early, weaving between runners, until the string of runners ahead became thin. The course, true to its ranking on the TNF ECS website, is very technical. I’ll try to breakdown the course from what and how I remember it.
The first 4 miles leading to the 1st aid station, I’d call the ‘Introduction to Trail Running’. Not so technical, but mostly going uphill, with some wide sections to pass runners. I tried to pass as many runners as I could to avoid the crowd in the single track and technical sections up ahead. Btw, this is the Anthony Wayne aid station, the same aid station @ Mile 21 for the 50K, and @ Mile 41 for the 50M runners. This is also the parking area for the shuttle pickup in the morning. There’s a huge crowd of supporters here – big moral boost to runners especially on the way back to the finish later.
Some single track and technical sections followed the aid station. I don’t remember much until the aid station @ Mile 14 – Arden Valley AS #3. But I do know that we started to hit some hiking sections of the course, some ankle-twisting descents, and more technical ascents. It was also a steep climb on road surface to the Mile 14 aid station. Saw some friends doing volunteer work in this aid station. The aid station was followed by a big dip downhill on road surface, where I blurted out loud ‘Woohoo, 16 miles of downhill‘, which got some laughter from fellow runners. The reality was, this downhill dip was immediately followed by the opposite dip uphill, then a turn back to the woods and technical trail. We got a breather on mile 16 with a nice trail downhill for what seemed like I was finally running the course. And as I passed a runner I was with on that Mile 14 downhill, I said ‘So it’s not 16 miles of downhill. It’s Mile 16 IS downhill‘. He laughed. I did not get his bib number, but he was one of the runners that kept yoyo-ing with me. I would pass him, and he would pass me – again and again. He looked like a badass trail runner, with lean body, long hair, and rugged beard.
Just a little over 4hrs of running, I was back at the Anthony Wayne aid station – AS #5. Last year, I got a false impression when I reached this aid station, thinking that the last 10 miles would be a smooth way back to the finish. Just 10 miles back to the finish, I remember saying then. This time, I knew better. The next aid station was at Mile 25+, which was mostly going back up the forest trail. This, however, was not the course killer. At the Mile 25 aid station – Queensboro AS #6, the volunteers would give you the most encouraging words, ‘Just 5+ miles to go‘ and the most discouraging words at the same time, ‘Steep and rocky section up ahead‘. There was another aid station just about 2+ miles away. From that, someone would sense that something gnarly is up ahead. Why would there be an aid station 2+ miles apart so close to the finish? And then, there it was – the ‘Crawl If You Must’ ascent-to-Mt-Doom, followed by the ‘Ouch, Ouch, Ouch’ rocky descent-back-to-sanity. I brought my smartphone with me and stashed in my hydration vest’s back compartment, hoping to capture one picture to best describe the course. While walking on this steep climb, I said ‘This is it’. I took the phone out to snap a picture of the steep climb, only to find out the phone WAS DEAD! Darn! That would have been an interesting FB Cover Page!
There was a sigh of relief upon reaching the last aid station at Mile 28 – 1777 AS #7, with only 2.8 miles to go, according to the volunteers. I was hiking up and jogging down the remaining miles. The mantra I had all this time was asking myself and responding in return – ‘All Systems Go’. At this point, the response was ‘All Systems Go – legs are tired, but functional’. This section was also the section I saw the Marathon and Marathon-Relay runners, as they passed me like I was just standing still. And I asked another question – How could they run that fast?
Finally, I heard the festivities at the finish. I was almost home. I never felt more alive when I saw the Finish Line arch. One final kick and I was done. TNF ECS BM 50K done. Thank You.
Results. Last Year = 6:56:29. This Year = 6:15:06. Goal achieved.
Post-Event. The atmosphere at the finish was a big picnic. Runners, volunteers, supporters, friends were all having a blast. There were lots of picnic tables and wide grassy area to hang out and rest. Free beers for the runners, of course. I stayed and hang out with friends after I finished. Saw those who finished before me, grabbed our free beers, and waited. Finally, happy to see the others who crossed the line after me. And at the end of the day, I was already planning to come back next year. TNF ECS BM 50M, you say?
