The North Face Endurance Challenge 50K Race Report 10

Samantha, Dustin, and I pre-race. I only took one picture at the start.
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Samantha’s images from the race.

As you may have remembered Samantha, Dustin and I signed up for the The North Face Endurance Challenge 50K. Samantha actually prepared and signed up with a 16 week training program called The Endurables and attended CF 4 days/week. Dustin and I loosely followed the program detailed in Endurance Training Decreased Training Time & Increased Work Capacity by Brian MacKenzie (BMak).

Chris Streeter and his sister also ran the 10K. Chris killed it and ran 10K in 55:53 (9:12/mile pace)! He was 35th out of 255 people and in the top third of his age group, 21-29, which is a very fast age group.

The race was awesome, very well run and well marked. The goodie bag rocked, TNF shirt, hat and socks, and worth the cost of the race ($70). The course itself was closer to 34 miles and had about 6800 ft elevation gain (ironically, it is 34 miles from the gym to the race site near Rodeo Beach just north of the Golden Gate). The course was beautiful and very challenging. Samantha rocked the course, finishing in 7:45. Dustin and I finished in 8:45. We woke up at 4:15 AM, started the race at 7 AM. It was a very long day.

I have always wanted to run a 50K. I also wanted to test out BMak’s training system. I can honestly say that if you want to run long, like marathon or longer, you need to follow a program like the one mentioned in the article above and/or just follow CrossFit Endurance. If you just want to finish, of course depending on what shape you are in to begin with, there is absolutely no reason to train more than 7 hours a week (that includes CrossFit, running, or whatever your sport is, stretching, everything). If you want to have a semi-competitive time you may have to put more time in. Luis ran the Woodside 50K this weekend in 5:52! I think he runs at least 3 times a week. If you are interested, we can go over the details in person, but the point is if you want to do the most in the least amount of time with the least chance of overuse injury, check out CrossFitEndurance.

Are you interested in doing something like this? You MUST do at least the following:

Do CrossFit at least 3 times a week and follow either The Zone or the Paleo diet as closely as possible.

Spend some time learning about race day nutrition, but eat as close to your regular diet as possible, i.e. mostly whole food in balanced meals that have more fat than you think is necessary.

Pick your training partners carefully (or be lucky like me ;-). I can’t say enough about how grateful I am to have been able to train and race with Dustin and Samantha. Dustin was super flexible with his time when my schedule was all over the place. He always had a great attitude during training and was super tough on race day when he was suffering with both foot and nutrition issues. Race day can often have surprises, you need some like Dustin with you who can be both smart and tough enough to help you get through the crazy things that happen when going long. I only trained running a few times with Samantha but the same positive mental attitude (PMA) she has in the gym was so helpful on race day. I was downright scared at the start and Samantha was so genuinely excited that it just infected me and really set the tone for the day. Thank you to both Dustin and Samantha for your help!

The Aftermath:

This morning I am a little stiff and moving slowly. I think a hot shower and some rolling and stretching will help. When you are outside for most of the day, all kinds of crazy things happen that are all part of the experience. It is hard to summarize, to answer the question, “why are we doing this” but I will attempt to do so with a couple of stories.

After the race, Dustin and I were lucky enough to be greeted at the finish with a big hug from Samantha (by the way, I highly recommend a hug, in addition to proper nutrition, hydration and stretching, as part of your post-race recovery strategy). Anyway, the details are a little foggy now but she asked something like “Don’t you feel like a winner?” I couldn’t really answer because at that point every action required three thoughts, now that I am semi-lucid my answer is yes, I feel good about what I did and how I did it. As Dustin very accurately pointed out, this truly was a challenge for every athletic skill. In addition, the race tested both my heart and will to succeed/finish, as well, as my knowledge of nutrition, running technique and exercise science. I feel like I “won” because, as many people have already determined, I competed, I risked, not because of the outcome.

One of the great things about running with someone is every once in a while, you are super connected when your partner articulates something that you are thinking/feeling. Keep in mind this is after Dustin ripped off the flapping skin of his blister and duct taped over it at mile 4. As we were starting up the longest hill of the race (about 4 miles in distance gaining over 1500 ft), Dustin says we are so lucky. He went on to say that there are some people who can’t run and others that have to run/walk this distance to get food, water and/or medicine or some other necessity that we take for granted and we, outfitted in the latest gear, with all the food we will need and more, are doing this for sport. WTF! (his words, not mine) Many people ask “why,” I even asked myself many times during the race. I challenge myself because I can and others can’t or don’t have the luxury. I challenge myself, because if I know, through experience, that if I can physically withstand different and diverse challenges, then maybe, when it is my turn to serve, only the task at hand and it’s impact will be of consideration, not my own physical comfort.

In the near future, I will start offering training for longer events/outings. The only requirements are a smile and a winning attitude. Remember, it doesn’t have to be fun, to be fun. 🙂