Race Report: 2014 Chase the Coyote 14.4km

Not every run is going to feel good or be fast. Sometimes you feel like you are flying down the trail, but at other points you are keeled over in pain and exhaustion on the side of the trail, wondering how you will get to the finish line. These seemingly negative scenarios were what I experienced in the 2013 running of the 2014 Chase the Coyote trail run on a glorious sunny day. Held at Mono Cliffs Provincial Park on a stunning collection of single and double track trails, Chase the Coyote is a race that is big on variation (including long 14.4km and short 5 km races, technical and fast sections, hills and flats, panoramic views and dense forests). The race is lovingly directed by a team of passionate trail runners from Team Running Free Orangeville, and their attention to details such as percussionists on the course, cookies at the aid station, clear course marking, friendly and super encouraging volunteers, pizza and other food at the finish line, and overall laid-back vibe makes for a wonderful race during the beginning of the fall colours season. The race, expertly managed, attracts top competition (this year a recent record holder of the fastest known time on the entire 850+ Bruce Trail and a member of Canada’s off-road triathalon team competed, among others!), and was the goal race for me for my summer training. It was also the site of a spectacular crash and burn performance by me that left me battered, bruised, humbled, but, hopefully, wiser. It was also the race where my 14 year old son, fellow Team Running Free athlete Jesse Diaz, beat me in a race for the first time: but this was not a point of humiliation for me. I was genuinely excited to see Jesse excel and run so strongly on a challenging course.

Before the race!

Race day arrived with hot, sunny conditions (perhaps my first clue that this day would be different than last year, when I ran my way to a 19th place finish on a cool cloudy day). The atmosphere before the race seemed excited and energetic, made all the more special by the start-line speech of Rhonda-Marie Avery, another Bruce trail end-to-ender who ran the entire trail this summer to raise money and awareness for visually-challenged runners (she herself is legally blind). This excitement might have also inadvertently contributed to my spectacular collapse later on, in hindsight. Seeing that I had done well in the race last year, my plan was to go out quickly, and run hard to the 10km point or so, where the trails begin to gradually level out. I trusted my distance work from the summer to carry me through, and thought I might best my time from last year. However, I seemed to ignore the fact that the race contains two major climbs UP the Niagara Escarpment in the first 5.5 kms, while featuring some pretty technical terrain in spots to boot. So, when the gun went off, I took off with a quick pace that I might have been able to keep up (had the weather been cooler and had the early hills been a bit smaller like they are in my training trails in Newmarket!). I found myself jockeying in position with a man with an Ironman tattoo on his calf: that should’ve been another clue that I was out of my element with that early pace! Nevertheless, I was pleased with my early kms, as my technical running has really improved this summer, and I felt good at the end of the second major climb.

After running strongly for another 2kms or so, my early confidence and aggressiveness began to wane. Seemingly inexplicably in the moment (though in hindsight it all makes a lot of sense), my energy seemed to disappear suddenly as I entered a 3km loop of single track. Despite fueling with drink and my usual granola bar, I could not move my legs quickly anymore, and really began to struggle, only 8kms into the run! It was around this point that my son passed me as he effortlessly hopped from side to side on the moderately technical trail. I tried to fight the fatigue and discouragement, but in the end I was reduced to walking a couple of sections, bewildered at the fatigue in my body. I hadn’t felt like this all year in any of my races, and the negative thoughts pummeled me as I was reduced to a slow shuffle. Passing runners offered words of encouragement, which I tried (to no avail) to convert to energy for running.

‘Running’ the final downhill…

Finally, I reached the last right turn, and proceeded to run the last mainly downhill 900m of the course (a part of the course I’d planned on basically sprinting in my too-ambitious pre-race plan). I actually began to open up, harnassing a bit of my 5km racing speed, and felt a bit better. But, shortly after increasing my pace, I violently rolled my right ankle, reducing me to a limping, yelping stop right in the middle of the trail. This part of the course is relatively flat and easy running…how ironic that I covered the earlier technical parts with speed and confidence, only to be tripped up on the flats! After limping down the course a few steps, I was able to gradually return to a shuffle, which I carried to the end of the race, with the generous spectators (including my son) cheering me on.

Finally ending my 2014 Chase the Coyote odyssey!

So, my race ended in humiliation and pain (I’m still limping days after the race), and I regret not handling the difficulties of the race better. I purposed to run as hard as I could that day, and I actually succeeded doing that, but my game plan ended in a slower time than I could’ve accomplished. My son, who ran much smarter than me, cruised along to finish about 5 minutes faster than me, beating me not only with superior technical ability, but with the wisdom and strength of a runner gaining in experience and confidence. Yet, despite my difficulties, Chase the Coyote is a fantastically-organized, beautiful, challenging race that epitomizes all that is great in the trail running scene. As a result, it’s quickly become a fall classic! And this year, the race gave me the gift of reminding me to respect the trails, the weather conditions, and my body more carefully. I can’t wait to apply these lessons to next year’s Chase the Coyote!! We can’t always have good days in racing, but we can always learn and improve our craft as runners.