5 Peaks Horseshoe Valley Trail Race
Sport Course- 4.8km
Horsehoe Valley Resort
Saturday, April 26, 2008
Prerace: Winter Training
Although I prefer the longer races, I decided to switch my focus this year to shorter races in preparation for highschool cross-country. Speed is not my strength, but as I am still young I know it’s important for me to fully develop my speed. I hate the track, so most of my speed workouts I do on the trail. Throughout the winter I logged high mileage on the trails, trying to build my leg strength running lots of hills and through deep snow.
The Race: Before the Start
I helped mark the course the day before the race so I knew this course did not play on my strength as a hill runner. I planned to go out in the first wave. I tend to be a slow starter and was hoping the top runners would motivate me for a faster start.
Fortunately, before the race I was kept fairly busy helping out and setting things up. This helped keep me from having to visit the washroom every couple of minutes. All I had time for was a quick warm up before I jumped in to the front pack.
The Race: Oh my stomach…
The race started with a wide double track that had a gradual climb then descent. I knew to stay left to avoid a huge mud puddle at the bottom of the descent but there were several fast men at the front who I didn’t want to get caught up with. I tried to stay relaxed and not let the distance between myself and the front group get too big.
After 1km racers entered the first of two sections of single track. This was fun, tight and twisty trail but unfortunately very flat. Being a spring race there were many fallen tree branches and debris on the trail. The pace steadied through this section so nobody passed anyone through here.
After popping back out to the double track the enduro and sport courses split. Ken, a RF volunteer, told me there were six sport racers in front of me at this point. My stomach was still bearable but was becoming a concern. Speed always seems to do this to me. Add speed and my stomach gets sick.
There was about two kilometres of wide dry cross-country skiing double track that curved back to the water station. I was staying steady with my pace and positioning. I felt strong but my stomach just kept getting worse. A short single track section along a creek had the only rollers of the race and a fun creek crossing. Shortly after the crossing the creek however I was sick. My stomach just couldn’t hold it in. Of course I managed to keep my RF shirt puke free!
Heading down the final 400m of double track to the finish line I couldn’t understand why I couldn’t push with the male racer who was challenging me. He passed me with 200m to go and beat me by 3 seconds. Placing me 2nd in my age category (14 and under) and 8th overall. I finished in 20:04 minutes.
Lessons Learned:
My strategy is always to run from behind, but I challenged this during this race, and I learned a valuable lesson. Some runners are meant to run out front and set the pace, while others, like me, are meant to run the race smarter pacing themselves so that they have the push when they need it at the end. I wouldn’t forget this lesson and look forward to a challenging, technical and hilly Durham 5 Peaks Race.
