Whitefish Trail Blazer 50k Race report

Bang, the gun went off, alongside the sound of a chainsaw ripping, we took our first steps off the startline and up the mountain. After a minute or so we got filtered into a singletrack trail. I refused to lead and instead opted to follow. My warmup was very short and I wanted to ease into this climb. I settled in behind Chris and Andy was just behind me. We shared a few pleasantries to pass the time. The first climb was 5 miles and roughly 2,000ft, it was runnable and I quickly warmed up in the cool overcast morning. After 2 miles Chris stepped to the side and I took over pacing, I did my best to keep the effort the same. I arrived at the summit in 46 minutes, Chirs was just behind me and Andy was a minute back. I had finished my 50g Tailwind bottle, I refilled my flask with water and headed off. I had a PF&H 90g gel ready for the next hour. I wasn't sure how this pace compared to last year’s, but I was having fun and it felt good so I didn’t think much of it. The course rolled and descended for about a half mile before we headed back uphill for a little 300ft climb. Once at the top I took a deep breath and mentally prepared myself for the long descent. From here the course descends 3,500 feet in 11.5 miles The trail spur out to Flower Point was more technical than I thought. The grass hung over the rutted trail, which made running difficult. Of course the grass was also wet which chilled my legs. I kept flowing through this descent back to the village where the race started. I tried my best to stay relaxed so I could save all my energy for the later portions of the course. I looked back once to see Chris following behind me, but mostly kept my eyes on the tread beneath me. 

Arriving back in the village I refilled my singular flask and continued across the gravel road and passed through the village area. The others were still with me, I was glad to not be alone. As we descended the gravel roads away from the village area they caught up to me, but stayed behind me. I told them I was happy they were back with me and I was ready to keep rolling. The course jumped onto the Whitefish trail system which is as buffed out as I remembered it. I had a bathroom break brewing so I was eagerly awaiting a prime spot to jump into the woods. With Andy following me closely I knew I would have to let him go ahead while I took care of business. I stepped off trail and did the deed as both Andy and Chris passed me. I was able to quickly catch back up to Chris. I followed him closely and he said his stomach wasn’t great. After a bit of running he stepped off to let me pass. I was rolling down the Reservoir Trail, I wanted to catch Andy before the aid station at mile 18. This section had many switchbacks so it was easy to keep him in sight and gauge my effort.

I arrived at the Reservoir aid station just behind Andy, this was around mile 18. I dumped a 58g sachet of Open Fuel into my bottle and quickly refilled it with water. I gave the bottle a vigorous shake as I walked out of the aid station just ahead of Andy. I was pretty confident in my climbing ability at this point in the race so I started back up the hill in the lead and ready to hurt. The course doubled back for about a mile and a half, it was fun to see everyone’s smiling faces as I cheered them on and they cheered me on. I turned right and started climbing up a double track. I carefully paid attention to the volunteer yelling behind me to figure what kind of gap I had. This ended up providing zero information as I ran around the corner and out of earshot. My legs felt good, this rolling uphill section was going well for the time being. On any little descent I pushed  to a sub 6 minute pace. Approaching the village there were a couple tricky technical sections as we ran through new construction areas. I was out of sight of anyone behind me, but I never relaxed. I felt like there was something chasing me.

As I approached the village once again I made a plan for a quick aid station stop. I wanted to ditch my arm-sleeves, my hat, and my rain jacket. It was warming up. The jacket was only required for the first ten miles, but I forgot to dump it earlier. I filled up my flask, ditched the excess gear, and headed up. The volunteers and spectators there were fantastic. Since the village is the hub of the course, the atmosphere was great. All I had was 4 more miles left and 1,000ft to climb. Of course the first section was 30% grade so I hiked that steep section. The course moved to more runnable grades and I did my best to keep moving. One of my quads was getting tight and twitching, so I dug out a salt pill and threw one back, just wishful thinking it would help. It was cool all day so dehydration and sodium wasn’t a real issue. As I approached the top and turn around point I did some hiking to get through another steep area. I ran through an aid station as they were setting up, they kindly asked if I needed anything, I just responded saying I needed the finish line. By this point I was able to look back quite a ways and saw nobody in sight which was reassuring. At the last aid station around mile 28 the time was 3:48, I knew I would be close to 4 hours for the finish. I had figured there were about two miles left but I wasn’t sure. I tried my best to run 6 minute pace on the last descent to see if the sub 4 hour finish was possible. I was stoked with how the race had gone, my legs felt decently good however, my right knee was angry. On the way down I saw my watch tick over the 4 hour mark and I was able to cruise into the finish line. I finished in 4:02, which was a stout course record.

The whole race went really well. I had fun running with some guys and stayed patient. I targeted 4:00-4:30 as a finishing time and nailed the lower end of that. It could definitely go sub 4 hours. I averaged 65g of carbohydrate per hour. This was lower than I had hoped, but I wanted to avoid all GI problems so I took caution with the timing and the amount of my fueling. It sounded like many behind me had stomach issues, which I was glad to avoid. This was a fun event and I highly suggest you go and race it in the future.