Haliburton Forest 100M Trail Run Report

I'm into my fourth day of recovery and I cannot help but go back to the past weekend... A weekend to remember...

I have successfully completed the Haliburton Forest 100M Trail race. The official times have not been posted yet but I can tell you that I finished around 28:33. The feeling that I had from finishing this race was definitely unique. Not only did I reaffirm my mental toughness, I also reaffirmed that the resolve to accomplish can only come from within...

I had a very lazy day on Friday. I had not finished my packing the night before the way I planned to, and all I wanted to do on Friday was sleep, surf the Internet, and finish up a couple blog posts. I think in hindsight, I was still questioning myself over my decision to run at all that weekend. I posted a status on my Facebook profile briefly stating the adventure I had at hand over the coming weekend and stated two rules I was going to follow - "Don't think, just do", and Fake it 'til you make it".

Finally, around noon time, I got up and started to complete my packing. I knew what I wanted to carry, it was just a matter of sorting out whether they went into the drop bags, my overnight bag, or my odds and ends bag that was there just in case. I then made my way into the kitchen and sorted out the stuff in my cooler bags, making note of the fact that I needed to stock up on energy bars. I finally got my stuff into the car shortly before 15h00 and prepared to hit the road.

Once I hit the road, I had to run a few errands - the bank, and the grocery store. After running these errands, I was on my way north to Haliburton. I did get caught in a bit of the rush hour traffic but I was still making good time. I had to be up in the Forest by 18h00 for the pre-race dinner and debriefing but I knew I was going to be late by at least half an hour.

I made it to the Haliburton Forest Preserve right on my projected time - 18h40. I immediately parked the car and headed into the Cookhouse for the supper. It turned out that people were still lined up waiting to be served. I greeted Rick, who was relieved to see that I made it. While we stood in line, we caught up on the last couple of weeks. He then started talking about his race strategy for the next day. He asked me what my plan was and I did not have an answer to that, other than to finish. I knew what my plan was, I just didn't want to get my head wrapped around it too much. The other comment I had to live down from him, and the other runners, was the fact that I waited until pretty much the last minute to register for the race. It was not easy for me to explain the events of the last couple of weeks - Nicole's death, my godmother's death a couple nights prior to the race, allergies, and so on and so forth... In fact, I started getting a headache and just wanted to sleep right after getting my race kit and getting the drop bags dropped off for delivery.

After the dinner and debriefing, I caught up with Gavin. Gavin was looking for someone to pace and Rick was very quick to send me to him. We sorted out what would happen that night rather quickly. After getting weighed in and picking up my race kit, we all shot the breeze with some of the other runners and volunteers before turning in for the night. I was able to sleep for a bit but being a light sleeper, I was awoken by every little noise from outside.

After waking up just before 5h00, I assembled everything I would need and headed to the washroom to change and freshen up before the race started. I arrived in time for roll call and was there but I missed hearing my name being called because some classy individual decided to leave the engine running on their vehicle during the roll call. To make matters worse, the ignition was turned off right in the middle of it all.

I was one of the last runners to start because of the extra time I took to rummage in the car. To my surprise, I realised that I actually like starting in the back. There was no crowds, and some of my friends had started there too. I also did not feel as rushed. The race was now underway and I just wanted to set my pace. I started to feel really good as I was going along. The trail conditions were excellent, except for the sandy sections, and I was well hydrated from the start.

Approaching the 50M point, I realised that I had a chance to further improve my time for that distance. In fact, I realised that I was starting to gain more speed as I was going along. I started picking off other 100 milers, as well as 50 milers who were finishing. I followed one rule for aid stations - Get in... get what you want... get out. Once I reached the halfway point, I smiled at everyone there and beat it out of there in a hurry.

Now that my pace was established, I started setting goals of where I wanted to be and when. My first goal was to get through the Normac trail and be off it by the time it was supposed to be pitch dark. I had no problem doing that. It was dark when I was about 3/4 of the way through the loop. This was made possible by the team at aid station two who were kind enough to have my lights ready for my by replacing the batteries while I was heading for the start/finish. When I got back to aid station two after the loop, I changed into my leggings and had my feet cleaned and padded with clean socks on. The next goal - get to the 25K aid station around 23h00. That would have been possible if I didn't have to stop to clean my feet. That task took close to 30 minutes (including the time it took me to change into my leggings). No problem - I will settle for 23h30...

The going started getting tough after I passed through Poachers trail and left Jan's aid station. The coolest thing was hearing the owl off in the distance. In fact, I decided to respond to the owl a few times - "Whoo-dee-hoo!" It was fun for a bit. After getting to Jan's station, Scott - who ran part of Normac with me - woke up and decided to accompany me to the next aid station. At the same time, the second and third place runners were passing through on their way to the finish. Scott and I proceeded up through the Pass, Redstone Vista, and Ben's trail. We shot the breeze, trying to keep each other awake, before we got separated on the Krista Trail when I decided to surge on ahead. After stumbling around and tripping, I finally made it to the 25K aid station where I picked up Gavin. I hung around there for 20 minutes. During that time, I put on a thermal vest, ditched my hydration pack in favour of a handheld bottle filled with coconut water, and took a nap for ten minutes by the fire. Gavin then woke me up and we set off. Scott made it into the aid station and napped by the fire with an icepack on his ankle. This would end his race...

As Gavin and I set off, I immediately asked where Rick was - if he was going to make his goal. Gavin told me that Rick really slowed down and there was a chance that I would pick him off. Hmm... interesting... I pressed on, anticipating the chance I would have to meet up with Rick and Mike S., who was going to pace him from the 75M point to the 25K aid station. On the way to the top, Gavin and I came up to a road where we saw a van parked. As we got closer, Mike S. called out my name and I realised that Mike was sitting in the passenger seat of Barb Gehl's van. First question... "Where's Rick? I thought you were going to be pacing him." I was then informed that Rick dropped at aid station five - the 25K aid station... I was in disbelief when I heard this. I could not believe that the only way I was actually going to beat Rick at this thing was by default.

Gavin and I started pushing to the top - the 75M aid station. I wanted to get there by 2h30. We started seeing the other runners heading back - Kinga, Sawaki, Stephan, Iris, Ron... and others... We got to the 75M aid station around 2h40. This was ok. We spent about 10 minutes there getting refuelled and talking before heading out. We took along another runner with us but he did not last too long with us. Since we left at 3h10, I declared that I wanted to be at the 25K aid station by 5h30. I was trying to hold it together but it was starting to get rough. We then noticed that there were no other runners heading for the 75M mark. This was because of the 4h00 deadline that was imposed at that station. As we went along, we noticed that no one behind me was making the effort to make it there as they would have timed out.

The most amazing thing happened in the last 25M - I started pulling off a Freddie Davis special. Now for those of you who don't know Frederick Davis III, let me enlighten you about him. Fred never starts any race too fast. What he does is hold a consistent pace based on his goals for that particular race. When he does this, he has the power to pick off any unsuspecting runner in the middle of the night. My overall pace must have really been good because I started picking people off like crazy. I even managed to pick off Ron Gehl just before the 25K mark. Holy cow! Was I supposed to do that?! That old man always beats me during ultras. Well, just to be fair to Ron, he was really hurting and he was really moving slow. I felt bad for getting him but hey, he's human too... By the time the race ended, I had picked off six people.

Gavin and I got to the 25K aid station just a little after 5h30. Pretty much close to the goal. After refilling the bottle, pulling out my car key from the hydration pack, and eating something, we set off. The last 25K was pretty tough. All those trails were pretty tough to boot - especially when sore and tired. Goal time to Jan's - 7h30. Gavin had 8h10 as a time. In the end, it turned out to be 7h45, a happy medium at best. As day had broken, I ditched my thermal vest and lights at Jan's station. We had 15K to go and we wanted to travel as light as possible. I concentrated on trying to get to aid station two between 8h15 and 8h30. The downhills threatened to take me out a few times but we made it to aid station two just after 8h30. Last section to complete - the Normac loop, ten kilometres in distance... I wanted to see the finish line by 10h00 for the earliest. I hoped to break 28:15 in fact. Normac and the road section after was really tough. I wanted to get it done and off the trails. I did get emotional as I got through the section on the way back to aid station two... Gavin did his best to push me through it without pushing me too much. I made a point of thanking all the volunteers who were out there. They really did a great job and made my race as best as they could.

10h15 came as I was arriving at aid station two. Gary, Don, and all the other volunteers were there to see me off. I switched out of my cycling goggles (the clear ones) and put on my sunglasses as it was really sunny out of the shade. Gavin and I powered our way up the hills to the final stretch before the finish line. The final stretch seemed very long but as I got closer, I summoned every ounce of energy I had left for the final kick.

With the finish line in sight, I gave it my all and sprinted it in. It was a great feeling to finally cross the line and finish the journey. My time was just over 28h30 - probably off by about five minutes. The official times have not been posted so I can't break it down just yet.

As we cheered on the remaining runners, we all compared notes on what was out there in the night as we each celebrated our personal victories out there. Once the last runner made it in, we all made our way to the Cookhouse after cleaning up. Once I got to the car, I pulled out my phone and sent text messages to those who were awaiting my finish. During the brunch, we also had the awards ceremony where all finishers received their belt buckles. It was definitely a beauty - something worth waiting for...

After the brunch wrapped up, I met up with the event nurse and she proceeded to lance some of my blisters before I put on compression socks. I then hung out with Rick and Gavin. Rick expressed regret at not running with me during the race. He realised that his goal for the race was unrealistic compared to where he was at with regards to recovering from the 24H run just four weeks prior. He continued to run and put in hefty distances while I was forced to rest due to fatigue. In the end, he realised that he would have had more fun if he was a running pacer.

After a brief nap, I hit the road. First stop - Kawartha Dairy for some Muskoka Mocha ice cream. The ice cream was a hit. Before getting back on the road, I snoozed for about 15 minutes. The only thing easy about the drive was the fact that I was wearing compression socks to reduce the fatigue in my legs. Everything else was difficult. I found myself snoozing at every carpool lot for a few minutes on the way home and I also found myself hallucinating a bit. Using cruise control would not be an option... After arriving home, I headed straight to bed...

So now as I recover and look back, I do get the looks from coworkers when I mention 100 miles. Upon sending out a picture of my belt buckle to one of my coworkers, the reply that came back made me laugh. His reply was a simple image...


That's right... we ultrarunners are truly "nuts" for the sport, and we are proud of it :)

A special thanks goes out to all the crews and volunteers that were out there for each and every one of us that raced in each respective distance - 25K, 50K, 50M, 100M. A special thanks is also in order for Helen Malmberg, who has put this race together and has been really successful in doing so for the past 16 years. Seeing the runners who have never finished the distance but keep coming back is definitely a great testimony to the success of this event.

Photos and results will be available once they are posted...