Creemore Vertical Challenge: Race Report

I have been very deliquent in posting my race report, and I apologize, but Hubs and I are on vacation this week, and wireless is not always easy to find in cottage country. Thanks to all of you who congratulated me on my first ultra. I was very touched! It was truly an amazing experience.

The Creemore Vertical Challenge was an off-road event that had a 25K or 50K distance option. The race took place just south of the tiny town of Creemore, located near the south western tip of the Geogarian Bay in Ontario, Canada. Many American readers will have likely heard of the Niagra Escarpment that starts New York State, through Ontario, Michigan, Wisconsin and Illinois. Well this escarpment, my friends, was a part of the Creemore

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Challenge. And heavy on the incline.

The challenge takes place in the Creemore, Ontario, a quaint, and pretty farm town in Southern Ontario, probably best known for its brewery, Creemore Springs.

Yes, there was ice-cold Creemore beer at the finish line.

The race is small, with only about 115 runners, and fairly evenly split between 25K and 50K participants. Hubs and I decided to make a mini holiday out of it, and drove up the day before the race and stayed in Collingwood. Its only about 2 hours from our house, but I really don't like getting up and driving any long distance the morning of a race. So we decided to stay at the Westin in Collingwood. It is a beautiful hotel, the only problem being that there was a live band playing in the Blue Mountain village across from our hotel until 2 am. Oh well. I never sleep well before a race anyway, and I wasn't planning on "racing" this anyway, my goal was just to complete as preparation and to gain confidence for the upcoming Jay Challenge.

The morning of the race, Hubs and I arrived and picked up my race kit. One thing that I thought was special was that the race started and finished at the race directors house, so clearly the race director was passionate about the event. Since it was a small event the race didn't start until everyone had a chance to use the porta-potty and line up at the start line. How many races can boast that? There was also a real shotgun to start the race, which literally had me almost running back to the lue to check my pants when it went off! LOL. I guess I'm never that close to the start in most races. Here are a few before race pictures.

As promised, the course was very hilly. It was a 25K hourglass loop. Although the race was as advertised, 50% road, 50% trail, the roads were all very bumpy, gravel, not well-travelled roads. They were also very exposed to the Sun, so I found it to be a relief when I was running in the trails as opposed to the roads, which surprised me. Here are a few on the course photos:

I started off nice and slow. I followed cues from other ultra runners, which meant walking up all hills. There was really little choice in this, as the inclines were steep. There were sections where the soil was highly eroded and full of loose clay and rock. In some sections there were ropes available to assist runners in making it up the inclines, so it really was an off-road event. It made maneuvering very challenging at times. I absolutely loved it! I found I was rarely bored with running as I was always looking for a technique to tackel a given hill or geological obstruction.

I finished my first loop in 3 hours, 15 minutes. I actually ran an extra 2K on the first loop when I was instructed but a volunteer to turn right, so I did as did about 15 other runners ahead of me. There were runners passing me on the way back so I thought it was just an out and back loop. Finally one group of runners told me I was going the wrong way. What?!!? Now I certainly was not in the race to compete in any way, but it did kinda of bother me that several runners passed before letting me know I was going the wrong way. Do I really look like a threat?! LOL. I just chalked it up to "mental training" for Jay. Hubs said several of the leading runners were very upset as there were several runners who took short cuts (unintentionally I think). The course was not heavily marshalled, but the entry fee was low, so I didn't mind. Incidently, I did notice a few runners that I passed in the first loop finish before me, but maybe they passed me and I missed them, but you kinda of got to know everyone's face in the race, so I don't think so. There were shortcuts that were possible on the course (don't think I didn't think about it late in the race!!) Does anyone know, is this common in these types of events? Maybe some people short cutted the second loop to make up for the extra distance on the first loop?

I continued to run slow and steady, as though I was running a training run. During the second loop, the Sun was really beating down, so I slowed and took breaks at the aid stations. The hardest part was between kms 30 and 40. In fact just finishing was a challenge, I definately struggled in points and contemplated not finishing. My objective for this race was two fold: 1) To finish my first ultra and 2) to have my longest run ever to prepare myself for Jay (which will likely take 10 hours).

I accomplished both. There were times that I wanted to quit because of the Sun, and there were times that I felt like going faster, but I really held back. I actually ran the last 8 kms very strong, and I finished the run in 7 hours, 17 minutes. I was very pleased. I didn't even have quad soreness the next day, which has never happened to me before.

The medal for the race was handmade out of local clay, and it is one of the nicest medals I have collected to date. After the race, there was a fresh water creek to cool down in and wash the mud/salt/sweat away. Notice how I didn't even take my Garmin or fuel belt off before taking the plunge? :) Nothing has ever felt better!!

I really enjoyed this race and I can't wait for the upcoming Jay Challenge on July 26th.

As for this week in training, its kinda of helter skelter. I won't post definite plans as I'm on holidays, but I will do some mileage. A return to Yasso's next week! Have a great day and thanks for reading!!