Race Report: Autumn Leaves 50/50

Pre-Race

Getting up at 4am never gets easy. The world snoozes on as I scramble to find something to eat. I ate my usual bowl of cereal and stashed away a Nutella-sandwich—the meal of champions—to eat on the drive up. Usually I eat pancakes in the morning, but I felt short on time and wasn’t entirely motivated to make them. Unfortunately, sitting on my mind was my recently sprained ankle that was being unusually tame. 

At 5:45, I was at Ally’s house and we had loaded up a tent, chairs, and all the necessities for my one-woman crew to keep herself comfortable on my 50 mile journey. 

During the drive to Champoeg park, we discussed the plan: Run a single 6.2 mile lap and make the evaluation based on how my left ankle felt. We would simply have to take this race a lap at a time. Nothing more. 

You can see our tent to the left! This is what the start,
turn-around looks like.

We arrived to the race approximately 20 minutes prior to the start, and walked to get my bib and race shirt. Fun fact: Ally and I compete to see who can have the lowest bib number and the highest. I had the lowest bib number with a value in the 20’s, and she had bested me by 1 for the highest value when we ran a color run together. The color run bib number was approximately 50,000! I knew I wasn’t going to get a value to beat that, but at Autumn Leaves I got the new lowest number at 11, which Ally teased me wouldn’t count unless I finished the race. 

With the help of some nice runners, Ally and I pitched the canopy-like-tent so she could have shelter from the forecasted rain, and I put on my headlamp, laid out my meal of energy gels, and stripped out of my sweats to the sound of race instructions being relayed to runners jumping to the start line. Before the countdown began, the early-start 50 milers came in to finish their first lap, and it was very cool to cheer them on as they stopped at the aid station to gear up. 

LAP 1

Bringing in lap 1 with some smiles

With a quick countdown I soon found myself running for the first time in nearly a week. As we headed down into the parking lot, I saw that earlier arrivals were able to park along the course and I was directed to park in overflow parking. The parking lot soon lead to a walking-biking path, and I found myself running ambitiously in the lead with the male 50K leader running approximately 7:00 min/mile pace and the female 50K leader running approximately 8:00 min/mile with me. We quickly got to know each other and I soon found out that Pam was an avid ultramarathon runner and returned to Champoeg yearly for the running of Autumn Leaves-- She would go on to win the 50K for this year. We ran together through the first aid station and followed through to the one-lane-bridge and through the rolling inclines to the 5K turn-around. We discussed races, tactics, and all things running for 4 miles until she picked up the pace. I declined any aid from the aid station as I ate my first Gu energy gel 5 miles in at 40 minutes. Ginger Ale was a sure-fire way to wake up! I hit the trail and my fears were confirmed here. The ankle-stability that trail running requires was burdensome on my ankle, and I was fighting each step to avoid planting my foot wrong. Luckily, this trail portion was 1.2 miles, and the rest is entirely paved road. The pain radiated along the front of my shin, and dorsiflexing my foot helped with the pain but encouraged cramping of the toes. I mitigated this with slower miles as I reached the first lap.

LAP 2

1.2 miles of trail for all to enjoy, unless you sprained your ankle

Ally told me she was going to go to sleep in the car, but she was wide awake and ready to assist me on my first lap. Pleasantly surprised, I grabbed a mint chocolate Gu, had a sip of ice cold water, and headed out on my way, eager to keep a lead on the field.  I was feeling extremely comfortable and my effort wasn’t high. As the sun rose, I was able to ditch my head lamp and focus on the scenery that was shrouded in darkness during lap 1. I took the lap slowly and enjoyed the green and red painting that unfolded before me. 

LAP 3+4+5

Starting to board the pain train

It seems this way in all races: up to the halfway point everything feels good. Well, with sub optimal training this was still the case. Around the marathon mark, I started to feel general fatigue in my right quadriceps, and the cramping sensation was stronger in the left foot. I grabbed my Nathan running backpack, hydration pack, and a water bottle filled with Perpetuem by Hammer Nutrition. During these laps, I listened to Sawbones Medical Podcast and munched on bananas each time I passed the aid station. I would eventually be passed, but I was content with this. My goal was not a trophy or a record, but to finish and complete 50 miles for the first time. 

LAP 6 + 7

My pacer arrived during my fifth lap, and he looked too eager to run! Will, my younger brother at Oregon State, decided to get his long run in with me during my 6^thand 7^thlap. We walked more than he wanted to, I’m sure, but it was good to have company as the race thinned out and I would be stuck by myself for a long time. For his efforts, I snagged a small snickers treat from my aid station and he munched on this as he finished his 2^ndand my 7^thlap. 

Lap 8

Starting lap 8 was something else. Up to this point, I was able to keep my competitive nature at bay. But when I started my last lap, I noted I had just over an hour to complete my 6.2 miles. On any given day, I would scoff at the notion of 6.2 miles taking me an hour, and blitz through the run in 35 minutes. Today was no normal day. 43.8 miles in, my legs had never gone this far in one day. I continued to shuffle forward hoping to hold off the impending wave of “over 8 hours” that I could feel chasing me down. Saying “good-bye” to every fern, tree, and bridge was a fun way to keep myself moving forward. I refused to become negative during my run, and I refused to let a “bad” 8^thlap define my run. Thus, my mantra became the following: “If I do all my goals today, what will be left for tomorrow?” I don’t define this as settling, but I had to be proud of the goals I had accomplished thus far today. 

With 1.2 miles to go, and rain pouring down as it does in Oregon, I gushed my grateful sentiments to the volunteers before pushing towards the finish with 15 minutes left. As I rounded the corner and “sprinted” (8:00 min/mile felt like a sprint really) up the final incline fighting cramps, I crossed the line. And as always, I checked the watch: 7:56:04. Under. Eight. Hours. 

Post-run

I collected my long-sought-after silver belt buckle and heard a phrase I won’t soon forget: “It was a pleasure watching you race”. I don’t know what would have happened if the race was 51 miles, or even 50.1, because I soon collapsed in a chair, with assistance from other runners and supporters. I couldn’t even sit-down without assistance, but the roaring fire that Ally had going pierced my soaked singlet and warmed the soul. In my books, this was a win. I have a year to decide if I will be coming back to Champoeg. 

Things I improved on: Being positive! (Huge win for me, mentally); pacing myself (improved, but not perfect); eating more, drinking more, and being consistent. 

Places to improve: Eat and drink earlier and more often; do more long-runs in training; focus on recovery more; don’t step on walnuts and sprain any ankles!

All credit for photography goes to ORRC!
My formal race report with Bibrave! 

The views to the finish