Sun Mountain 50K
April 11th 2009
Winthrop, WA
The winter started out with a bang in December in Washington. Then it was warm and very little snow or winter weather hit the mountains. Along came March and the mountain snow came in feet, day by day. The race director for this race advertised beautiful views and dry weather. I was sold and wanted to check out the east side of the North Cascades. The heavy snow pack and continued cold weather in March caused the course to be reduced to a 3 loop figure 8. He did not settling on the course route until Thursday evening prior to the race. The original proposed course looked extremely fun, so there was some disappointment in the change. Despite this I was excited and off to Winthrop, Washington I went for the weekend to run 50K.
I booked a little cabin at The Virginian Resort in Winthrop. It was one of the only hotels in Winthrop that would take dogs (more advertised boarding area for horses). So I left on Friday and made the 4 hour drive to Winthrop. The registration was from 3-8pm at the Old School House Brewery. The owners of the brew pub are ultra-runners as well. I usually have a beer and burger on Fridays. I have tasted many burgers in the Seattle area and I am here to tell you that the Old School House Brewery burgers are extremely great burgers. An exciting start to the weekend and the really great Patagonia race shirt was a nice treat too. This helped counteract the race director having trouble setting the course. It was a nice drive and it was a nice day in Winthrop on Friday. Some clouds, mostly sunny and middle 50’s.
The temperature in the car on race day said freezing, the proposed forecast called for low 50’s with clouds, and when I woke up the sun was coming up and there were a few clouds. I went with shorts and a short sleeve shirt with a hat and gloves to start the race. The race started at the Chickadee parking area by Sun Mountain. This is also the cross country ski trail heads, so there was a nice shelter to stay warm in before the race. There were still patches of snow in the shaded areas, which the race director and wonderful volunteers had covered with straw. Prior to the start of the 10K, 25K, and 50K, came the start of the 1K (kids run). We all watched as they sprinted off and then with a variety of running forms, and red faces, crossed the finish line to our applause and cheers. The race debrief came next with the general thought being; just take the 5 extra seconds to read the signs and always look for the orange tap and you will be fine. This was a little longer than average briefing but it was a course that had no real map, and was announced more or less about 36 hours prior. After that we started, and before I go any farther I will say the course was very well marked and very easy to follow.
Part 1 of the figure 8 consisted of a run single track short run along a lake and then a gradual climb up towards sun Mountain lodge. Then you crossed the driveway of the Sun Mountain lodge and started down hill towards the aid station that was the middle of the figure eight. The first part ran nice and the traffic being of the 10K, 25K, and 50K worked itself out smoothly for me on lap one. I felt strong in lap 2 in this section, but was needed to work hard on lap 3 especially in the uphill sections.
After the aid station you start part 2. Part two starts with a run on the road for short distance, followed by a jump of a guard rail, then climb up an embankment, and finally climb up and down a small ladder over a fence. This is so much fun that you get to do in 6 times throughout the whole race. Now part two was shaped like a lollipop (race directors words, not mine), which conflicts with my figure 8 visual, but that is okay. The stick of the lollipop is up to start and has one gate in the fence to go through (it was a really simple gate thought and not a problem). Then just after you start on the making the circle for the lollipop, you have a really super nice and on lap 2 for me super fast side hill traverse on a 4x4 road. Not sure how far this went, but it was warm and it felt slightly down hill. After that really nice side hill though, came the longest climb up to the ridge on a 4x4 road. What goes up must come down; so after a short ridge run came the downhill back to the road. Then after the aid station you continue the climb up the road to the start of the part 1 again.
My overall thought are that this was a wonderful the race even with the multiple loops and can only imagine it will be even better when the originally planned course will be used. The terrain was open even when you are in the trees you can see the world around you. The area around Winthrop, WA is full of history and a different kind of beauty from that of the west side of the Cascades. I left this race with a wonderful feeling, mainly because it was my best race yet at 5 hours, 38 minutes. It was also the best I felt through a 50K race and that is a great feeling. Some days you got it and other days you don’t, At the Sun Mountain 50K I had a good day.
Shoes: Montrail Nitrus
Shirt: Arteryx short sleeve poly
Shorts: Nike
Socks: Injinji toe socks (my first race and only second time wearing these type of socks and I really like them and feel they added to my foot stability and keep my feet feeling good)
Water bottles: 1 Ultimate Directions and 1 Nathan hand held
Hydration: HEED orange (1 before the race and 2 in each bottle to start race), during the race keep 1 bottle full of Nuun and the other full of water at the aid stations
Food: 4 Hammer gels, 1 pbj, M&Ms, chips, 2 slices of boiled potato
