CANYONS ENDURANCE RUNS 100 MILE | Suffering To A Sweat Soaked DNF
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- Опубліковано 5 жов 2024
- On Thursday afternoon, my buddies Clay, Jeff and I arrived in Auburn, California, host of the inaugural 100-mile distance of the Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB.
I was looking forward to running with catching up with friends. At this point of my running season, it was all about getting ready for the Summer Spine in June and Tor des Geants in September.
Severe winter and devastating wildfires from the previous year caused significant course changes to this year's inaugural 100-mile event, changing a point-to-point race to an out-and-back race. That meant that downtown Auburn would now be both the start and finish location. The weather forecast called for extreme heat with temps in the 90s for both Friday and Saturday.
While I had not been able to train in these conditions, I felt a conservative race strategy coupled with ice bandanas and plenty of fluids would remedy any potential issues. Unfortunately, that would not be the case.
On race morning, we left our hotel early enough to give us time to drop off our drop bags near the start line. We also wanted to be able to get our bearings with no need to rush things leading into the race. My buddy Clay was attempting his first ever 100 miler and I wanted him to have the time to soak it all in and to settle his pre-race jitters.
At the race start, none other than UTMB co-founder Catherine Poletti gave runners the pre-race pep talk. Canyons Endurance Runs had recently been acquired by the UTMB organization to be its major UTMB World Series event in North America. As such, it awarded runners twice the amount of the coveted running stones compared to regular UTMB World Series events. Each stone equals one lottery ticket to the Ultra-Trail du Mont Blanc event lottery in Chamonix, France. Without at least one stone, runners will not be able to enter the lottery, and the more stones, the higher the likelihood of actually winning an entry.
I made it back to the No Hands aid station at mile 36 hours ahead of the cutoff, the writing about my race's outcome had been on the wall. After checking the progress of my buddies Clay and Jeff, I realized that Clay was progressing well and ahead of me, while Jeff was about 2 hours behind. It looked like he would not be able to make the next cutoff, so rather than wait for him to decide what I would do next, I opted to make my way to the next aid station, which was 4 miles out. By the time I made it to mile 40 at the Mammoth Bar Aid station, I had made my decision. I had not been able to muster much more than a hike and my legs had not improved one bit. I handed in my bib and waited for a ride back to Auburn, determined to fight another day.
0:02 - Title
0:19 - Race Expo & Bib Pickup
2:17 - Race Day
2:51 - Drop Bag Drop-Off
3:56 - Race Start
7:41 - No Hands AS (Mile 3.5)
10:25 - Cool AS (Mile 6.5)
13:43 - Cool AS (Mile 14.3)
14:22 - Browns Bar AS (Mile 16.5)
18:58 - Alt AS (Mile 23.9)
29:24 - No Hands AS (Mile 36.4)
Great video! I did the Canyons 50K the next day. It was also very hot, but my event was much shorter so I was able to finish. I later learned that the American Rivers area is famous for hot running days. You've inspired me with your other running videos!
Thank you and congrats on your finish! Please subscribe to my channel, if you enjoy my race videos, it helps me out a lot🙂
I did the 100k. The 5am start helped, but there was still suffering!
YEah, the late start made it a double whammy (2 hot middays) for many 100 mile runners. Congrats on your 100K!
Thanks for sharing, Martin! I’m too, didn’t finish this race. I think the heat got me. Got stomach issues and couldn’t take in any food or nutrition. I eventually dropped out at mile 67. I’ll see you at Grindstone 100 in September. You will have finished another five 100, or 200+ ultra marathon by then…what a great spirit! Keep posting and good luck!
Hi there, I hope Grindstone went better for you than me, I was a DNS.
Good call to fight another day. I raced the 100K and was brutal heat as well. So know exactly how you felt. Great course and volunteer support during the race. Can’t wait to see your update on the Summer Spine. Would like to race that someday. Cheers…..
Yeah, really looking forward to the Spine, though it is now in limbo due to the severe passport renewal delay issue that's been going on in the US.
Thoroughly enjoyed your video 🙂👍. I really like when UA-camrs record their runs….
Sorry how your race went,, however, you’ll bounce back 🏃♂️🏃♂️💪…. Thanks and keep em coming 🙂👍
Thanks, glad you enjoyed it. Please subscribe to my channel to keep things going.
@@ultrakraut Done 🙂👍
Hi Martin, great meeting you at Canyons! Great video - keep up the good work!
Thank you!
I had my 1st ever DNF the next day in the 100K. The heat was unbearable for this German descended runner :( .
Yup, even after living in the Southeast for nearly 20 years, I am never getting used to heat and humidity. It was impossible to replenish the fluids lost during the race.
Awesome video! Thanks for sharing. I ran the 50k and it was hot AF! 25 degrees colder the next day but that is how it goes
Glad you enjoyed the video and congrats on your 50K! Do me a solid and hit Subscribe, let's me know I'm not doing this in vain:-)
Great video as usual. It definitely looked challenging with the heat. On another note, besides UTMB Mexico this year, you have now inspired me to run this next year. This looks really fun! Can't wait for your next video!
Thanks, glad to hear it!
I appreciate the honest, realistic emotion you presented here.
Thank you! It was definitely a struggle!
Sounds like me at Black Hills a few years ago. It was maybe 8 hours after the DNF that my calves and groin stopped painfully spasming. Couldn't believe it took so long to get my levels back in check.
It sucks and is really nearly impossible to try to recover from that in the midst of a race, though I tried.
You put in a strong effort! Guess the body just wasn't having it. Still, great work and beautiful trails.
Not that day, thats for sure. Course is beautiful, interesting to run some sections in reverse vs. WSER
Thank you for sharing your story.
Thank you for watching!
Smart to not push when it's not your day and you have your a-race coming up. Hope you bounce back quickly!
Do you recommend Canyons 100? I was thinking about it for next year...
I already provided them with some important feedback on their aid station supplies between 0-40 miles, which just wasnt sufficient for a 100 miler, especially in those conditions. Drink mix was way too diluted to get appropriate amount of electrolyte and calories. Speaking of calories, no real/solid food until AS at mile 40. IF they resolve those issues and maybe provide some additional unmanned water drops between long stretches (whenever the weather is unreasonably hot), then I highly recommend the event. As it stands, I would definitely want them to correct those issues. The course is amazing, so if you happen to have crew and/or don't care to carry everything you need at all times, then you should do it regardless of my comments above. HTH
@@ultrakraut Thanks, that's super helpful! Good luck at summer spine!
Can of Coke ? You know what's in that stuff ? !
Lots of sugar and caffeine. I never drink soda but slammed two of them on that day. Both brought me back to life.
I know that very well, but when nothing else is available or going down, this sugar water works wonders.