Durham Forest Five Peaks
5 Peaks Trail Race Series
Uxbridge, Ontario
June 13, 2008
5.0km
This is always an important race for me as it is on my “home turf”. Durham Forest is one of my favorite trail systems to train on as it is close to home and I love the variety of technical , hilly terrain it offers. This race however always falls shortly after my school track finals making training to peak at both events difficult. To help, this year I decided to do the sport course, 5km, instead of the enduro, 12km, so that I could focus on speed more than endurance. Training for a 1500m track race is still so very different than a 5km trail race.
The Start: Wave Two
I knew the course well and it was designed to suit my stengths- technical single track trails and plenty of hills for a shorter course. The start however would be my challenge as there was only 600m of double track before a technical narrow single track section where passing would be energy draining. I knew I had to get out ahead in my wave and start fast to avoid those runners unfamiliar with runnng technical trails.
Before the race I was volunteering setting up things and being the rabbit for the kids race, so I didn’t get a chance to warm up too well and felt it at the start. The pace was quick off the start. It had been well annouced that there was only 600m before the single track so many racers were smart and put themselves in an appropriate wave. Entering the single track I was feeling comfortable and in ninth in my wave.
Singletrack Fun
Part of my training had been to use the single track sections to work on my speed then recover on the double track sections. This is opposite of what most runners do, but really helps you develop your confidence and ability to quickly turn over your legs in the tougher sections of the race.
During the second single track section I became frustrated with the pace and passed several racers. This section was rough trail as this past winter this part of the forest was cut for conservation reasons and a new trail has just been put through this spring.
The Hill
Following this section was a brief downhill double track. On this double track I recovered in anticipation of the big hill that was coming up. I went up the hill hard enough that my legs were heavy at the top, but not so hard that I wouldn’t have anything left. The top of the hill was where enduro and sport course split. I went right and began a long decent. I used my heavy legs now to fall down the downhill. Up and down the hill I passed many racers, until I put myself into sixth place. My new Inovate runners and lots of hill training made this hill not easy, but not to hard.
The Finish
Shortly after the hill I got a fairly bad pain through the whole right side of my upper body. This forced me to draft the man in head of me and hope it was better when I got to the final stretch. I stayed behind him until the last up hill which I always race my coach up. I passed him and pushed it from there to the finish. I was quite angry with myself when I saw a 40 year old man had beaten me and finished 4th. I finished in 5th overall, 3rd for under 19 and 1rst for my age category. I finished in 20:55.
