The North Face Challenge 50mile

I am very fortunate.  This past weekend I travelled with my hubby to San Fran to run TNF 50mile.  The race is held in the Headlands Park, the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge.  We stayed in Sausalito, a small community close by.  
I've had a couple injuries this year and wanted to run this race injury free, finish strong and stay injury free.  For me this means not going out too hard~

The race starts at 5:00 am, so we were up at 3:30 for breakfast and headed off.  It was cold, not BC cold, but still for CA, -2C is chilly.  The start/finish is at a hostel so when you arrive at the start it was dark and quiet.  A bunch of runners huddled around heaters...

I was put in the first wave with the elites. When the gun went off, all I could see was a steam of headlamps taking off and I thought I was at the end of the group...and basically ran alone along dirt roads in the dark.  The first couple hills felt bad, but that's typical for me.  It takes a while to feel comfortable and I stuck to my pace.  I went through the 2nd aid station and Kevin told me I was in the top 20 females.

The sun came up between aid 2 and 3.  I was winding up along mucky single track the ocean down below to the left.  Beautiful.

After station 4 there is an out-back section for almost 3 miles to aid 5.  This was the first time I go an idea where I was positioned in the race.  The lead men were on fire coming back wearing singlets and shorts.  I still found it cold and had a toque, jacket, and arm warmers on!!  After a while I saw the lead woman coming back, I wasn't as far back as I thought.  This section was challenging as the ground was icy and the trail was narrow and cut into the side of the hill.  Fine if you were the only one running but tough to pass and get around. 

We dropped down to the beach to station 6 (over 1/2 way!) and I was heating up.  I was so happy to see Kevin and drop my outer layers.  I knew the big "cardiac" climb was coming. At this point I had gained a bit of ground. Kevin told me I had gained a couple spots.

For me, getting over half way in a race is a big mental boost but for ultra runners, this is where the race begins.   I was able to pass a few girls over the next 10 miles.  The trails were fun, mostly single track and we ran through Muir Woods, the infamous redwood forest.  Amazing trail and scenery. 

By the time I reached about 10 miles to go, I was starting to feel real fatigue on the climbs.  It was hard to know who was running the 50 mile race as we caught the 50 km racers (always fun!!).  I knew there was still some more climbing to do and geared down, but also was thinking my position was pretty much established. 

On the final descent, 2 guys running the 50k gave me a push, which was very encouraging! I was able to finish strong and held my position.  I ended up 9th female, 8:11, and 1st in my age group. 

I feel fortunate for this amazing opportunity to run with so many strong elite women and I'm thankful for support of my sponsors, TNF and Wild Mountain Kelowna but also couldn't have done it without the support of my friends and family.