Way Too Cool 50k/Chuckanut 50k Double - Part 2

Exhaustion.  That's what I was thinking about today on my very easy and very short 
recovery run while taking a break midway to check out the view of the snow-capped Mt. 
Hamilton across the San Francisco Bay.  Admittedly, having 7 days  to recover between 
races is a lot better than running two 50k's in one weekend, such as a handful of people 
have done with the Silver State/Ohlone Wilderness combo.  However, the cumulative effects 
of multiple, maximal efforts can't be denied.

Recovery from Way Tool Cool went well, with just a couple road bike rides, and a super 
easy run around Green Lake in Seattle two days before Chuckanut.  I felt good enough on 
Thursday evening to drop in on a yoga class in downtown Seattle which was attended 
coincidentally by Menno Van Wyck, the former CEO of the Montrail shoe company.  Menno 
noticed my Inov-8 shoes and we chatted enthusiastically for a while about the trail 
running world.

My main goal for the Chuckanut 50k was to win the Masters competition.  I knew that there 
would be a tough and experienced competitor in Scott Jaime from Colorado who I had 
battled for most of the whole 50 miles at the San Juan Solstice race last summer.  My 
secondary goal was a high overall finish, but with the incredible depth of the field this 
year - elite ultrarunners  Goeff Roess, Erik Skaggs, Joe Grant, Tim Olson, and many more 
- I'd be happy to crack the top ten.  The event grows every year and sold out within 2 
hours.  Adding to the draw for elite runners, and new to both Chuckanut 50k and the ultra 
world in general, were cash prizes for top 3 men and women overall finishers and for top 
Masters.  A $500 course record bonus was also up for grabs.

I hadn't run trails in Washington State other than an epic 30 mile training run last year 
near Seattle with Chuckanut RD Krissy Moehl.  I didn't realize that "Chuckanut" is the 
name of the mountain we climb up and over twice, and not a bodily malfunction as a friend 
had misinformed me.  The 50k course requires a diverse set of skills.  The first 10k, 
which is run in reverse for the final 10k, is a primarily flat, gravel road, with a 
couple short hilly rollers, and one very short section of hilly single track - perfect 
for road marathoners.  The main part of the course consists of a fair amount climbing and 
descending along with a very fun and highly technical, 3-mile-long single track along 
Chuckanut Ridge.  For the speed hikers, there is the "Chinscraper" climb at mile 20, 
which is steep enough to come close to hitting your chin on the ground.

Muddy, wet trails were expected, but the rainfall during the week was light and we were 
treated to sunny skies, albeit cold weather, on race day.  A fast, but reasonably 
comfortable pace gave way to a very fast pace only 2 to 3 miles in to the opening 10k.  
Adam Campbell from Canada, hoping for a repeat podium position, and myself were at the 
front for a while until the real, elite bunch got to work.  I fell of the front group as 
the pace hovered around 5:45 mpm.  In the meantime, Mike Smith from Flagstaff, tore off 
the front by himself.  This was Mike's first ultramarathon, but he is a former collegiate 
All-American and winner of the Trans-Rockies stage race.

Tim Olson of Ashland, Oregon, who I had battled with the week before and narrowly beat, 
was obviously feeling good and pulled away strongly from me through the middle section of 
the course, never to be seen again.  The top 3 finishers were settled early on, but from 
10k all the way to the finish, there was a constant shuffling  of the next 7 places.  I 
was able to pass a few guys in the technical sections, but then would come back on the 
gradual, fire road climbs.  Stopping to pee a couple times didn't help, but I did save a 
bit of time by blowing through all of the aid stations (no disrespect for the wonderful 
volunteers), stopping only once at around 30k for a bottle fill.  I was comfortably in 
8th place and had held off Adam Campbell from mile 16, but I couldn't dig deep enough to 
match his speed on the flats, and was caught at mile 27.  I immediately stopped to pee 
again, thinking that 10th place was far behind.  Seconds later I caught a glimpse of the 
next runner and he appeared to be closing fast.  It was Phil Kochik, who has finished 2nd 
in this race in the past and has also won Way Too Cool.  The last 4 miles were nail 
biting, but I persevered and narrowly stayed away for 9th place overall.  Two minutes 
ahead of me there was a close, 3-way sprint for 6th place, with Joe Grant staying away by 
two seconds from Adam Campbell and Oliver Utting.  Oliver, who I had leapfrogged with 
until mile 17, has run a 2:21 marathon.

Prior to this year, and since 1995, there had been a total of 12 sub-4 hour times.  This 
year alone the top 10 were all under 4 hours.  I won the Masters race in a time of 
3:56:58, taking 21 minutes off the previous Masters course record.  Inov-8 teammate 
Yassine Diboun, a highly accomplished ultra runner in his own right, finished close 
behind me in 11th place.  Goeff Roess had no trouble winning the race in course record 
time.  The performance of the day in my mind is the Women's  winner Ellie Greenwood.  
Ellie's split time for the last 10 miles was the 6th fastest of the entire field!

The post-race party was a lot of fun with great food, friends, and music.  Many stayed 
for the 3PM awards ceremony MC'd by ultrarunning legend Scott Jurek.  It will be a tough 
decision next year to pick just one of these two classic 50k events.

-Gary Gellin