Spruce Woods Ultra 2017, 50 km, Race Report

Tim and Mike at finish.
photo credit, unknown (SWU Facebook)

"Drag your own (expletive) ass across the line" barked a testy Mike to his good friend Tim.

Mike was dehydrated you see, grouchy, sun burned, and retching on all fours.  This was at 35 km and Tim, good soul that he is, kindly offered  to stay by his side for the full 50 km.

"I'll help you get to the finish line.  I'll stay by your side." he said.

Mike's reply was nasty and out of character.

Several runners stopped out of concern for Mike's wellbeing.

"Whoa, is he okay?" one said.

"Don't worry" said Tim "he's just doing his afternoon prayers".

"Say a Hail Mary for me" yelled an anonymous runner.

"Yea, and an Our Father for me" said another.

I managed a feeble thumbs up, and a drooling half-smile while looking upward  like a chained junk-yard dog.  Heat, wind, retch, endless hills, humiliation, sarcasm, exhaustion, ... all in all, a good day to be alive.

Spruce Woods Ultra Marathon is a  humbling experience and an unforgiving trail. It tests the limits of human endurance in terms of physical toughness and mental agility. The hills are endless and vary from impossibly ragged goat trails to curvaceous ribbons of unicorns and butterflies.  The scenery is Manitoba sublime; blue sky stretching across horizons, whitewater streams, placid secret lakes, bright meadows, culvert fishers, dark forest ... leave us helpless, helpless, helpless. 

The course is marked with coloured orienteering flags; orange for outbound, blue for back home, and pink for primal torture(?).  Flags that matter are always on the left. If they're on the right you're surely lost! Confidence flags are staked every kilometer or so and multiple flags, often of several different colours, are generously planted at the convergence of trails and other areas of potential confusion.  As a non-orienteering person I had little trouble staying on course, but I studied the map intensely before the race. Some runners added kilometers to their distance by falling asleep at the switch and missing key turn-around points (man, that must suck!).

I first recognized signs of dehydration on the pink trail. ("P" primal torture)  The wind was cool and suckered me into believing the temps were also cool.  Runners are fully exposed to wind and sun on the out-and-back pink trail. It's not a terribly long section, but it seemed to burn me out more so than the distance would suggest.  I became nauseous (not unusual for me) and then, more troubling, I realized water was causing discomfort.  Under the caution of too much information I  let loose several loud and very satisfying long burps which cleared up the nausea however temporarily.

Cool Shirt
photo credit Jason Enns (Facebook)

It's widely known that once one recognize the signs of dehydration it's too late. You can't catch up by glugging water. I trudged on and on, stopped and vomited, trudged, stopped, vomited ... you get the sorry picture. It was definitely not my finest race and most definitely not the prettiest.

I managed to haul my own sorry ass across the line in 7 hours 30-something minutes. It may not have been pretty, but it was sweet like a pint of Barn Hammer 7th Stab, Red Ale, more so actually (and I love 7th stab just so you know).  Someone gave me a woodle (Ultra wooden medal) as I slow danced over the line.

I was greeted by Tim.

"I was worried about you" he said.

"Worry about your own (expletive) sorry ass" I replied.

Yes, See Mike Run can be downright pesky at times, surly even, especially when he's thirsty and over heated.

With thanks to race director Dwayne Sandall and his crew of over 100 extraordinary volunteers. I owe them thanks for helping me achieve this impossible dream, this 50 km SWU Ultra. I have many more years behind me than afore and this badge means the world. I also extend thanks to the lovely woman with gorgeous full body tattoos who stayed with me, crouched down and comforted me, as I retched at 49 kilometers.  I also owe thanks to the medics who cycled on course to check on my health.  I am forever in gratitude, forever humbled.

And to Tim, thank you friend. You had my back. You made me laugh through pain. You made me see success when I saw failure.

I am humbled by the experience.

I am thankful for my strength.

I am in awe of life.

I leave you with this quote from Scott Sugimoto (AS2) that exemplifies the quality of volunteers. These are  not mere volunteers, they are angels with flat coke and grilled cheese sandwiches.

Unless you have a bone sticking out somewhere...I will personally DO WHATEVER necessary, to get you on your way down the trail!

YOU ARE STRONGER THAN YOU THINK!

It's a good day to be alive.

Mike


Spruce Woods Ultra Results by the numbers

Full Moon Trail Runs

Well, it's a marvelous night for a moondance 
With the stars up above in your eyes 

Van Morrison, Moondance, from the album Moondance

Tired of the same old, same old?  Feel a need to let loose and howl at the moon? Maybe the concrete jungle is starting to close in on you?   Then why not change it up a bit and try a Moonlight Run?

Alain Foidart of the Manitoba Trail Runners is spearheading the Full Moon Trail Run series. These runs fall on the evenings of all full moons in 2013 and will be run on different trails in Winnipeg or close to Winnipeg.  Trails may include Whittier, Assiniboine Forest, Fort Whyte Alive, Beaudry, La Barriere Park, Birds Hill Park, The Forks, Bois des Esprit, Churchill, Lyndale, and others.

All runners are welcome.  Bring a friend.  Bring your partner.  Make an evening of it! We'll travel in a pack like the wolves hiding behind the trees... just kidding about the wolves:>).  This is not a speed run so don't be shy.  You can do it and you know in your heart-of-hearts this is a good thing. Your therapist will support me on this one. 

Don't have a therapist? Neither do I, after all, who needs a therapist when you run, but if I did have a therapist, I expect he/she would ask me two questions, "how will you feel running under a full moon" and "how will you feel the day after a moonlight run?". Well, the answers are "I would feel wonderful and the after glow would radiate for days". Come join me.

The runs are about 6 to 10 kilometers and absolutely no runner will be left behind. Alain will post the location and other details of the run as the date approaches.  If the sky is clear you probably won't need a headlamp but bring one along just in case.  

2013 Full Moon Trail Run Schedule:

Saturday, January 26 in Assiniboine Forest.
Monday, February 25
Wednesday, March 27
Thursday, April 25
Friday, May 24
Sunday, June 23
Monday, July 22
Tuesday, August 20
Thursday, September 19
Friday, October 18
Sunday, November 17
Tuesday, December 17

For more information go here.

It's a good day to be alive, under a big old moon.

Mike

Harte Trail

Harte Trail in west Winnipeg is part of the Trans-Canada Trail.  It runs parallel to Wilkes Avenue on the south and Assiniboine Forest on the north.  Harte Trail is part of a network of trails that meander through some of the prettiest parts of Winnipeg. Harte gets its name from the Harte Line, a section of the old Grand Trunk Railway built in the late 1800's.  Just south of the trail is the modern day CN line.  The trail transitions from fields to forests, to middle class Charleswood suburbia.  There's a ditch full of critters and a large variety of interesting vegetation.  I saw a deer but it bolted as I reached for my camera.  It's a sweet little 6.5 km trail (13 return) with many inviting benches perched strategically every kilometer or so.  

I saw young lovers strolling the trail arm-in-arm, happy dog walkers, geo-cachers walking purposefully through waist deep vegetation (why do geocachers always look lost... they have gps) , speedy bikers with serious faces, old people with canes and warm smiles, children with parents.  It was a nice run. In a word, pleasant. There's any number of trails leading off the Harte, some are cross-country ski trails, some mountain bike trails, some for horses, some for walkers, some for old farm machinery.  I left the Garmin in the car and brought the camera.  So glad I did. 

The downside of the trail is that it crosses six different streets.  The streets come up suddenly, especially in summer when the vegetation is thick, and cars don't always give right of way.  It's also straight as an arrow and flat which makes it less interesting than a winding trail with changing elevations.  It also just ends... almost anticlimactic... at the perimeter highway.  There is a nice bench but the view is disappointing, an open field looking on to a 4 lane highway.  The Headingley Grand Trunk Trail is on the other side of the perimeter highway but crossing all that high speed traffic is not something I would relish.

My total distance today was about 9 miles but I stopped to photograph (90 pictures) and I walked down some trails just to see where they would lead.  I wasn't in a rush, time was the last thing on my mind.  The chocolate break at mile 6 was blissful, yes purely blissful, no exaggeration.  Chocolate does that eh?   How often can we stop to simply sit on a bench and eat a piece of chocolate.  Such a simple pleasure and yet almost impossible to achieve in our busy lives.  

One of the many off-shoot trails.  This one was particularly inviting.  I followed it for about 1 km. 

I received an email from a friend today recommending Once a Runner by John L. Parker.  Apparently it's a cult classic.  How did I miss out on this? My only question is to buy a paper copy or download the audio file from iTunes.  It would be a good one for the iPod, but I think I want this one in my bedside library  Spoiler alert... don't read the Wiki review because it gives way too much.

Tonnes of amazing vegetation.

Here's the opening line from Wiki...  

The novel opens with a physically fit young man standing on a track, watching as "the night joggers" toil around him. He begins to walk toward the starting post, and thinks that now that the Olympic games are over for him, he does not know what he will do with his life. The man starts to walk around the track, and thinks back to four years ago.  

I'm going to order it this evening.  

I never met a bench I didn't like , but this one spoke to me like none other.  Good old Simon and Garfunkel...  looking for fun and .... feeling groovy.  

Lindt Chocolate... one square... mile six, sea salt... feeling groovy, yes indeed.

Gotta love this little clip... a shout out to all the vegetarian and vegan runners out there.  Enjoy the day, it's a good one to be alive.