I had nothing planned for this weekend and saw a flyer for the Prospect Acres Ranch Ultra. I’d done a couple of snowshoe races at Prospect Acres and wondered what the trails would be like without a blanket of snow. I was not thinking of doing an Ultra (anything longer than a marathon) but the 2 hour version with a 7 a.m. start fit very nicely into my schedule. I was planning on running 10 miles anyway and figured a few more miles would be okay. I also liked the idea of the multi-loop format. Everyone would be doing the 2+ mile loop as many times as possible in the chosen timeframe (2, 4 or 8 hours). I would not be “racing” it in that I was planning on running at training pace and not as fast as possible.
Although I’m averaging over 12 miles per day so far this year, prior to this day I’d only run over 10 miles in a single run one time this year (back in March). In all, I’ve only done 14 runs over 8 miles this year which is less than twice per month average. So, I was a little nervous about my planned 6 loops (12.6 miles). I was also a little concerned about the footing as I’ve avoided rough footing in deference to my arthritic ankles. I’d taped them up but knew I’d be paying the price after the race. I arrived 30 minutes before the start as I wasn’t planning on doing any warm-up as my goal pace would be 9’s which is generally an easy pace for me. Of course 9’s on flat pavement is different from 9’s on grass, roots, ups, downs, and twisty trail. I took a few minutes to check out the last 200 meters of trail to get a general feel for what I was in for and then decided to put on trail shoes. I would need the better grip although the trail was dry, the grass fields were damp and there would be some slick roots to deal with. The only rocks on the trail were the big rock pile that we’d climb over at the end of each lap.
The race director gave a brief description of the course and how it was marked and reminded everyone to sign in at the end of each lap as that was how the scoring would be done (you would be timing and tracking yourself over the 2, 4, or 8 hours). About 20 of us took off at 7 a.m. with temperatures in the mid-60s, a bit of humidity, and cloudy skies. I moved into the lead after we circled the field and headed onto the single-track trail. The climbing went on for the first ¾ of a mile with most of it in a tough ¼ mile stretch that averaged 7% grade. After that I looped around the upper grass field and had a short stretch of mostly flat running. Even the flat stretches (which were few) had a lot of bumps to navigate. You really had to pay attention at all times to not take a bad step. There were a couple of quick downhills in the second mile. I took them cautiously and had the opportunity to recover a bit from climbing. With ½ mile to go there was a final climb at 4% grade and then a straight shot for the final ¼ mile back to the start/finish. I came through the line a little faster than my projected 9 minute pace and felt pretty good. Now I knew the course and would just be concentrating on not getting hurt and keeping the effort even. My next five laps would not vary by more than 11 seconds as I dialed in to a pace that felt good. The fifth lap seemed the hardest as I was getting beyond the length of time I’d usually be on my feet. As I lapped people they were very nice to give encouragement, although I felt funny doing the “sprint” event while they were all doing an Ultra. I think I ended up lapping almost everyone, and a couple of walkers multiple times. They were certainly hardcore to be out there for that amount of time!
I ended up finishing six laps (12.6 miles) in 1:51 (8:50 pace) and did another .4 mile to get 13 miles for the morning. Then it was off to Concord for a nice 2 hour bike ride. Great start to the weekend!
Full lap Pace climb short climb
1 18:38 8:52 2:46 1:48
2 18:18 8:43 2:34 1:46
3 18:09 8:39 2:34 1:47
4 18:09 8:39 2:34 1:45
5 18:18 8:43 2:34 1:48
6 18:07 8:38 2:34 1:46
Although I’m averaging over 12 miles per day so far this year, prior to this day I’d only run over 10 miles in a single run one time this year (back in March). In all, I’ve only done 14 runs over 8 miles this year which is less than twice per month average. So, I was a little nervous about my planned 6 loops (12.6 miles). I was also a little concerned about the footing as I’ve avoided rough footing in deference to my arthritic ankles. I’d taped them up but knew I’d be paying the price after the race. I arrived 30 minutes before the start as I wasn’t planning on doing any warm-up as my goal pace would be 9’s which is generally an easy pace for me. Of course 9’s on flat pavement is different from 9’s on grass, roots, ups, downs, and twisty trail. I took a few minutes to check out the last 200 meters of trail to get a general feel for what I was in for and then decided to put on trail shoes. I would need the better grip although the trail was dry, the grass fields were damp and there would be some slick roots to deal with. The only rocks on the trail were the big rock pile that we’d climb over at the end of each lap.
The race director gave a brief description of the course and how it was marked and reminded everyone to sign in at the end of each lap as that was how the scoring would be done (you would be timing and tracking yourself over the 2, 4, or 8 hours). About 20 of us took off at 7 a.m. with temperatures in the mid-60s, a bit of humidity, and cloudy skies. I moved into the lead after we circled the field and headed onto the single-track trail. The climbing went on for the first ¾ of a mile with most of it in a tough ¼ mile stretch that averaged 7% grade. After that I looped around the upper grass field and had a short stretch of mostly flat running. Even the flat stretches (which were few) had a lot of bumps to navigate. You really had to pay attention at all times to not take a bad step. There were a couple of quick downhills in the second mile. I took them cautiously and had the opportunity to recover a bit from climbing. With ½ mile to go there was a final climb at 4% grade and then a straight shot for the final ¼ mile back to the start/finish. I came through the line a little faster than my projected 9 minute pace and felt pretty good. Now I knew the course and would just be concentrating on not getting hurt and keeping the effort even. My next five laps would not vary by more than 11 seconds as I dialed in to a pace that felt good. The fifth lap seemed the hardest as I was getting beyond the length of time I’d usually be on my feet. As I lapped people they were very nice to give encouragement, although I felt funny doing the “sprint” event while they were all doing an Ultra. I think I ended up lapping almost everyone, and a couple of walkers multiple times. They were certainly hardcore to be out there for that amount of time!
I ended up finishing six laps (12.6 miles) in 1:51 (8:50 pace) and did another .4 mile to get 13 miles for the morning. Then it was off to Concord for a nice 2 hour bike ride. Great start to the weekend!
Full lap Pace climb short climb
1 18:38 8:52 2:46 1:48
2 18:18 8:43 2:34 1:46
3 18:09 8:39 2:34 1:47
4 18:09 8:39 2:34 1:45
5 18:18 8:43 2:34 1:48
6 18:07 8:38 2:34 1:46
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