Quest For The Crest 50K- 23,000ft of Elevation Change; What I learned from this race

This past Sunday, I ran the Quest For The Crest 50K in Burnsville NC. Burnsville is right beside Mt. Mitchell. Mt Mitchell is the tallest mountain on the east coast at 6,683ft (2,037m). While my friends from the Western United States laugh at the elevation of Mt. Mitchell, the difficulty comes from how technical the trails are with boulders, rocks and roots from hell. The steepness of the ascents and descents make the course almost un-joggable. Notice I used the word joggable instead of running. Many of the ascents and descents rise and fall with 20% or more being the norm.

Martin at mile 28

Video Link of the Course- Check It Out


Before I start complaining about how technical and hard the race was, the biggest draw was the views from the top of the mountains.

Quest for the Crest 50K Website Link- Check It Out

The race is advertised as the hardest 50K in the US. Speed Goat 50K has slightly less elevation change and run-able trails according to 2 runners I spoke with during the race. When you are hiking up hill, you have to time to talk between breaths of air. In fairness, Speed Goat 50K is at a higher elevation which means less oxygen to work with than Quest for Crest 50K. Quest for the Crest 50K punishes the runner by making you scramble and climb up big rocks all day where you are not able to run. When going downhill, I called it rock jumping as you are falling down the decline hoping to catch the next rock.

This is what the easier downhills looked like

T-Shirt Logo

You Tube Video Link of the Course by Kelly Cooper

I entered this race based on its description as the hardest 50K. 3 years ago I started running longer distances in order to see how I matched up mentally against tough events. I am a runner first who likes trails. The most successful racers at this race where trail people first who liked running if the trail allowed it. They looked like they were hovering over the rocks swiftly going uphill and downhill and could have cared less about their race time.

Course Map- Click to Enlarge

My "A" race for the fall is the Uwharrie Mtn. 100 Mile Endurance Race. Uwharrie is considered a technical course. After running the Quest course and using it as a comparison, Uwharrie looks a lot easier. I knew this race was going to be a stretch for me and a great core strength test. My main consideration after 3 miles was to finish the race and not leave injured. Because the race is a part of the Sky Runner Series, you had to carry a whistle, poncho and emergency blanket. All 3 of the safety items easily fitted between both my bottles with my Orange Mud HydraQuiver Vest Pack 2. It is a great way to carry 2 big bottles on your shoulders without any bouncing instead of a hydration vest which has cooked my back in previous races.

Orange Mud Hydra Quiver 2 Vest

The course is extremely remote so it was necessary to carry at least 44 oz of water. The aid stations at the top of the race had only enough water to fill up 1 bottle. Some racers brought a filtering system to fill up from the creeks we crossed all day. The volunteers did a great job of keeping us going. Some of the aid stations took the volunteers over 2 hours hiking so we could have drinkable water during the race.

Trail Pic

The trails without rocks and boulders were overgrown so being able to lift your knees while jogging gave you an advantage. I fell 4 times through the race and consider myself lucky. I wore compression sleeves for the first time on my shins for protection from brush and rocks.

Trail Pic

As I normally do in races, I focused on my heart rate to help me not over exert myself and bonk. My normal aerobic zone is 135 to 145 bpm where I am comfortable talking and breathing. The first 3 miles had an approx a 23% grade of climbing with the aid of my hands. I used my hands the entire race to help me with the climbing. I looked at my heart rate and it was at 159 bpm and I was doing a 22 minute mile. For perspective, I ran Umstead 100 miles (16 hours and 37 minutes) at an average of 141 bpm. I felt like I was hardly moving and my heart rate was beating hard like I was running a 10K on the road. My average heart rate for the 32 miles was 158 and the Quest For the Crest 50K race took me 10 hours and 1 minute to finish. I regularly run 50K's on an easy course in under 4 hours and my heart rate stays around 145.

Trail Pic

Trail Pic

There were 4 aid stations over 32 miles and as usual I spent less than 30 seconds in each one as I filled my bottle and kept moving. I carried all the food / fuel I needed. I am proud of my effort on the up hill sections as I was able to move through other runners. When it came to down hill and rock jumping, I was passed by what seemed like the whole field. Young runners would just fly down the "trails" bouncing off rocks and jumping over roots with descents at least 15%. 2 foot step downs were the norm and I just was not able to gain much speed going downhill. The little voice in my head kept reminding me that I have a family to support and didn't need to run downhill with reckless abandon.

Trail Pic

Trail Pic

My training was not enough to be successful at this race by my standards. 

Here is my normal training schedule: Swimming at least 90 minutes on Monday & Friday to help my body recover, Running 7 miles or more on Tuesday through Thursday, 3 to 4 hour run on Saturday and 2 hours on Sunday. I also ride my bike 7 miles to the Y each day. At lunch Monday through Thursday, I go to the gym and spend at least 30 minutes on the stair master with my 20lb weight vest. I also do a 30 minute squats, lunges, dead-lifts, & plank routine 2 times a week. Based on the soreness I am feeling 2 days after this event, my training was not even close to being enough. 

Trail Pic

The winner was a young man (early 20's) who finished in 5:59 minutes to beat the professionals in the field. He told me this was his first Ultra race. He ran straight down hill (approx. 25% decline) for the last 4 miles in under 28 minutes to break 6 hours and get the extra $300 bonus. He lives with his parents and likes to run in the woods. I love his carefree attitude about running with friends when there is a local event.

Trail Pic

Overall I am happy with my effort and time. I got to see parts of the NC Mountains I have never seen and the race gave me a new enhanced perspective of what is considered hard. All my gear worked flawlessly. My nutrition and pacing allowed me to finish strong. The last 1/2 mile is flat and I ran that portion at a 7 minute pace because I was so happy to be finishing and finally able to run.

Gear I used

• Skechers Ultra Shoes 2 Link
• Orange Mud HQ Vest Pack 2- Click this link to save 10% of all Orange Mud products
• Xtend Endurance- fuel for my water bottle
• Injinji Performance Socks

My next race is Dust to Dawn 50 Miler Link- Check It Out. Night race around Ft Bragg (Pinehurst NC) on the roads. I am looking forward to seeing how much time I can take off my time from last year when I won the race in 8 hours and 1 minute while stopping to be sick 3 times during the race. 

As Mom always told me when I was young, "you will not set many records but you will keep em watching."

Dust to Dawn 50 Miler Race Recap

 

 

The SPUR (Southern Pines Ultra Running) club put on a run Saturday night in Southern Pines NC within the Ft. Bragg military training area. The course was run on two lane roads in the middle of a forest. The only light along the course was from the passing cars and our headlamps. I was surprised by the amount of rolling long hills. There was one hill early in the race in the teen miles that I would put against anything I will be running at Grandfather Mountain Marathon in July.

 

 

The SPUR group started with 3 rolling aid stations that would move as the pack of runners move along the course. The actual route was a 52 mile loop so you never came back to your vehicle until you were finished. The volunteers at the aid stations were super helpful and enabled the runners to get back on pace quickly. The aid stations were 3 miles apart.

The race started at 7pm and everyone was required to bring a light and hydration bottle. I used my waist belt with a 20oz bottle on my backside. The fuel I mixed with water during the race was Xtend Endurance.

Martin and Mose Smith

 

I rode to the race with Caleb and Shane. Caleb’s monster truck is a great vehicle to travel to races in as we each had plenty of room for our gear and coolers. We got there in plenty of time, said hello to the other runners I see at Ultra events and got ready to start. The race had some military runners, which was great to see. I set my watch to show my heart rate.  My heart rate was the only thing I focused on for the first 20 miles, as I would not allow myself to go over 145bpm except when I was running up the hills. The idea was to stay in my low aerobic zone early in the race so I could finish strong. I always feel in long races like I am a horse and I need to pull in the reins early so I don’t go too fast and burn up all my stored energy. Late in the race, I feel like I have to whip myself to stay on pace and finish strong. My heart rate drops going downhill so I really pushed hard on the down hills to gain time and keep my heart rate in the 145bpm zone.

 

My training has been going well. I have been doing a 2-hour run on Friday with a 3-hour run on Saturday and a 1-hour run on Sunday besides track on Tuesday and 8-mile tempo runs on Thursday.

When we got to the race site, everyone with the SPUR group was helpful and excited about the race. The aid stations were mobile (every 3 miles) so as the runners ran along the course, the aid stations would move along the 50-mile course.

The race started at 7pm. After the first mile, I think I was in 10^th place as many runners went out super fast. My heart rate at 145bpm came out to a 7:30 pace which was fine with me. I settled into an easy pace and comfortable breathing while talking to some of the runners.

Around 4-miles, some of the runners started slowing down as they had gone out too fast to hold the pace. I was putting Scivation Xtend Endurance mix in my water bottle I was carrying in my waist pack to give me the fuel to keep the pace without bonking. At mile-24, the last runner in front of me started walking. I stopped and asked if he was ok and needed any water. He said he was ok and needed to take a break. My mind started racing that I might be able to win this event. I started telling myself –I have 26 miles to go and I need to focus on this mile only. I started asking at the aid stations how far I was in front of the next runner. Each time the volunteers would tell me that he was slowly gaining on me and I needed to keep pushing. At mile 32, I asked who was the runner gaining on me is and they told me it was Tyler Peek from  who won the Boogie 50 miler 2 months ago. I knew he was an accomplished runner so I figured if he wanted to win, then he would have to come and get it. I stayed with my 145bpm and plowed on. At mile 38, I asked again about Tyler and they said again that he was gaining on me. I had upped my pace heart to 150bpm to put a little distance on him and he was still gaining on me. The last 10 miles had some big hills. One of the benefits of running in complete darkness is you are not able to see the hills. I noticed my foot was landing at an upward angle, which told me I was running up a hill. Occasionally a car would drive by at 2am and I could watch the lights rise in the distance to tell me what type of grade I had coming up with the next hill. I finished at 3:01am and won my first 50-mile race. I told the folks at the finishing line a runner was right behind me and they started laughing. It turns out the 2^nd place runner was having a hard night with the lights from cars and talked about stopping a couple of times. The race volunteers kept telling him I was slowing down and he could catch me if he kept going. Both of us ran better races because of the volunteers feeding us incorrect information. 

Caleb and Shane

 

Martin, Caleb, Tyler and Shane

My recovery drink was Scivation Xtend Intra-Workout Catalyst. Xtend (watermelon flavor) is chock full of amino acids to help with the muscle recovery and rebuilding process. I ran in Sketchers Ultra shoes, which have enough cushioning to handle 50 miles on the road. Caleb ran a smart race and got a new personal record. Shane made a wrong turn, ran 58 miles and finished with a good attitude. I ran in Skechers Ultra shoe. The shoe continues to provide me the comfort and support I need in a long distance shoe.

1st Place Female and Male

 

 



Table Rock Ultra 54 Mile Race Recap

 

 

 

 

Table Rock Mtn

 

 

 

 

Wiseman's View

December 14^th, 2013, 31 to 36F with freezing ice and driving rain for at least 8 hours

50K (31 miles) and 54 Mile Races: Total climb during the race was around 8000ft. Most of the elevation gained was in the steep hills. I do not remember more than one gradual climb during the day. Started at Lake James Park- Nebo NC and ran to the top of Wiseman's View, Table Rock Mtn, and through Linville Gorge Wilderness and back to Lake James. 48% gravel road, 48% payment and 4% technical trails with rocks (top of Table Rock Mtn).

We started at 7am at Lake James Park (Nebo NC- outside of Morganton NC). My plan was to run the 54-mile race. I started with my friends (Caleb Steedley from China Grove & Shane Vanhoose from Salisbury and Jake Edmiston from Boone).

My goals coming into the race were to finish it strong (no death marching at the end), focus on my heart rate (more about that later), and learn more about my race nutritional needs as I plan longer races in 2014.

Nutrition:

My nutrition before the race was: oatmeal, banana, and a greek yogurt when I woke up. 1 hour before the start, I drank a serving of Ucan Super Starch and a Vespa Power Amino Acid Supplement to stimulate fat burning. Over the last 3 weeks, I have been running all of my runs on an empty stomach and reducing my daily carbs to less than 50grams to stimulate fat burning instead of depending on carbs and bonking during long runs and races. I brought my Gel Bottle and only used 1 Expresso Hammer Gel at mile 20 and am not sure I really needed it. I felt full the whole race which is an indication of my body depending on my fat for fuel. I did take another Vespa Power Amino Acid Supplement at mile 30 to continue to encourage fat burning. I did snack on trail mix at every aid station. I am super happy with not bonking, feeling full, plenty of energy and no stomach upset. I drank Xtend Endurance recovery drink on the way home.

We were able to get 3 miles in before the rain started coming down. The rain would not start to taper off for the next 8 hours. We all knew going in the weather would be one of the challenges so we agreed not to discuss it as we were focused on having a good race. I think the longer the race is the more my mental attitude has to do with how I perform. I wore my Rain Jacket, , light gloves, gel holster to hold my gel bottle and a Nathan Vest to hold all my supplies (salt caps, pain, water bottle, poncho, Tums, etc). I also wore a Heart Rate Monitor Watch and my Garmin 405CX watch on the other arm. The Garmin watch only lasted 6 hours. The reason I wanted the Garmin was to monitor my pace for the first half of the race. I have demonstrated in past races what not to do by running too hard at the beginning of the race and not have any energy left at the end. We stayed around 9 minutes per mile pace for the first portion of the race, which was fine since it was going to be a long day.

Heart Rate Training Zones

I stayed in the 140 to 150 HR zone on all flat and downhill portions of the race. When the big climbs came and I would get to 165, I would slow down my pace until I got to the top of the hill. What was as challenging as the steep hills was keeping my heart rate at 140 or higher on the down hills. Some of the hills would drop quickly so I would push my pace to keep my engine running at a constant rate. A couple of downhill portions I saw Jake and I were at a running at 7 minute per mile pace. Ice and mud played a part in some of the slower portions at the highest points. The technical 2-mile trail at the top of Table Rock Mtn was not runable with the rocks, high rock steps, and ice, which accounted for the 20+ min per mile pace. There were 3 hills of 1 mile or more than were not runable as my heart rate would get up to 170 so I focused on power hiking to the top and getting back into my rhythm. Once Jake and I started coming down from Table Rock (mile 35), we never stopped running to power hike again which showed how well my nutrition and heart rate strategy was working. We passed probably 4 to 5 runners over the last 10 miles due to us keeping a steady 10 minutes per mile pace. There were many hills, we discovered and just started laughing from the steepness of the climb ahead. I would focus on the next 10 feet in front of me and not look up. I went to my happy place in mind and soon I would be on flat ground so I could recover and get my heart rate back into my aerobic training zone. The aid stations and volunteers were great and the cups of hot soup warmed me up.

Overall, I am very happy to have come in at 9:18:31, 7^th place overall and 1^st in the 40 to 54 age group. The poor conditions gave me confidence to know I can dig deep to keep going as I look for longer races in the future. The priority now until after the Boston Marathon in April is working on pace and strength training to get to a 6:35 pace to break 2:55 in a marathon. I have the Frosty Fifty (31 miles) in January and the Myrtle Beach Marathon in February to help me gauge where I am from a running pace standpoint.

Results

	Age	Time	Pace -Mile	Overall Place	Age Group Place
Jake	27	9:18	10:21	6th	2nd Place- 39 and Under
Martin	48	9:18	10:21	7th	1st Place- 40 to 54
Shane	40	10:51	12:03	13th	4th Place- 40 to 54
Caleb	36	11:07	12:21	14th	5th Place- 39 and Under

 

Martin & Jake- Wet and Tired

You can follow my training on Daily Mile- Martin Thorne

Special thanks to the Race Director- Mark Rostan and his Table Rock Ultra team for putting on a great race.