Stumptown 50K Race Report

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Stumptown 50K photo credit: Full Send Media

 

Coming off the back of the Vernonia Marathon and a solid performance in the Lake Oswego 10k, I approached this race as a “B” level event, meaning that I took it seriously, but I didn't put in a full 18 training block in the same way I treated Vernonia. Here’s a detailed account of my preparation, race day strategy, and the lessons I learned along the way.

Training and Preparation

In the six weeks leading up to the race, I maintained a steady training regimen, peaking at around 40 miles before tapering down. My taper wasn’t as restful as it could have been; I prioritized keeping my legs active rather than taking extended rest periods. One crucial aspect of my preparation was stretching. After attending a stretch lab demo, I learned my hamstrings and hips were particularly tight, which is common for runners. With a week to go, I integrated nightly hamstring and calf stretches to address potential knee pain, a recurring issue for me.

Race Kit

My race kit was assembled with comfort and familiarity in mind:

  • Shoes: Nike Pegasus Trail 3’s with Goretex
  • Clothing: Hood to Coast shirt, Nike running shorts/tights, and Balega socks
  • Gear: Salomon ADV 12 Pack with two 16-ounce water flasks
  • Nutrition: Two Gu Flasks (one with maple syrup and salt, one with homemade Gu), providing around 1200 calories and 3200 mg of sodium
  • Miscellaneous: Body glide, a first aid kit, and extra snacks for emergencies

 Goals

I set three tiered goals for the race:

  1. Primary Goal: Finish under 7 hours
  2. Secondary Goal: Finish under 7:30 while maintaining a strong finish
  3. Fallback Goal: Set a personal record (PR) for the course (previous time was 7:35)

Race Strategy 

I came into this race with a better idea of how to approach the course. Based on some advice of some more experienced runners, I took it really easy at the beginning. I started by letting the entire field pass so I can walk in peace. Once the course flattened out, I started running. I wanted to take what the course gave me instead of trying to impose my will.

A 7 Hour finish implies that I needed to keep a pace of 13:30 min/mile for the entire course (31.1 miles or 50K). I think I settled in at around 14:00 min/mile for the first half, with the expectation that I’d start picking up the pace for the second half. 

Last year I did not take nutrition seriously. I fueled myself with basically non stop oreos and I paid for it on the back end of the 50k with cramps and peeing… well non stop. It wasn’t fun.

This year I come packed with nutrition – 2 different flavors just in case I get taste fatigue, and a conservative amount of sodium – around 10 servings of my DIY gu/syrup packed with 3200 mg of sodium (320 mg for every ounce of nutrition). I figure I’d be a little on the conservative side with my sodium intake.  

Since I had such bad cramping issues last year, I made it a goal to stretch out those hammies at least at each aid station. I'd rather stretch out and release any tension before I cramp rather than afterwards.

How The Race Went

The first half went basically according to plan! I stretched when I could and passed people up on the straightaways. I was at around 14 minute miles by the time I got to Aid Station 2, which is essentially the turnaround point. From this point on, I was proactively taking their electrolyte drinks and eating some salty foods. I had 2 pickles at station 2.
 
By mile 18, my inner thighs and my hamstrings started barking at me. I stopped a few times to stretch it out but took it easy going into Aid Station 3. The backup BACKUP goal was to make it to Station 3 before the cutoff, which I did by over an hour (whew). I refilled one of my flasks with their electrolyte drink, had two more pickles, and stretched out. I felt like a new man! I also started running side to side with another runner who also had the goal of hitting sub 7.
 
The distance from Aid Station 3 to Aid Station 4 was about 6 miles, so we kept each other company and paced each other. All systems were good and just kept it steady eddie all the way up to station 4. The first few miles were flatish and wide, so we picked up the pace to about 10 minute miles. The goal was to get to Aid Station 4 before 2 PM, which would put us 4 miles from the end with an hour to go. If we could average 15 minute miles to the end, then we could both hit sub 7. But the last 2 miles getting to Station 4 was mostly uphill so we slowed down dramatically from there.
 
Station 4 was a lot like Station 3 where I filled up on electrolyte drinks again, had two more pickles and stretched out. I wanted to stretch for a few minutes, so I sent my running buddy off since he probably felt way better than I did. Though after the salt from the pickles absorbed into my body, I felt like a new man and ran in bursts of 9 minute miles.
 
The 9 minute miles lasted for about…. A mile and then I was back to shuffling again. The pain in my thighs came back and I didn’t want to risk a cramp so close to the end. With about 500 meters to go I could hear the finish line so I picked up the pace a bit and finished strong. Final time was 7:18 for the whole 50K

Lessons Learned

I solidly got my B goal of sub 7:30! I also felt much better than I did last year, despite not training nearly as much as I should have for this race. Finishing strong is important for me because it makes me excited to do it again. I’m definitely going to do another ultra.

Strength training is a must for Ultras. I need to work more on squats, deadlifts, kettlebells, etc. etc. Rarely was I ever out of breath – the Musculo-skeletal system that gets taxed moreso than the cardiovascular systems. Hiking up hills for 6+ hours is a beating on your quads, hamstrings, hips, calves, core, even shoulders! My shoulders were achy since I was carrying my pack with me the entire time!

My nutrition needs to be more dialed in. Super important in long runs. Calculating for all my Gu (12 ounces), plus pickles consumed (6), plus electrolyte drinks (64 ounces in total), I probably took in around 2400 calories (mostly carbs) along with 8500 miligrams of sodium (!).

I’m not too worried about calories in vs calories out (2400 calories sounds about right for what the body can process over 7 hours without GI distress), but the *SODIUM* is the big X factor. The human body can sweat anywhere from 500 mg/hour to over 1700 mg/hour, and it will depend from person to person. I had planned for about 600 mg/hour of sodium with my home-made Gus, but clearly my body did just fine with over 1200 mg/hour. In fact, I probably could have used MORE sodium to keep me cramp free. Until I get some official testing done about my sweat rates, I might bump up the sodium levels in my nutrition to maybe 800 mg/hour of running.  Eventually I’d like to go to a lab and get myself tested so as to eliminate the guesswork.
 

Anything else? I think for anyone seriously training for an ultra, the volume involved really isn’t too different than a regular marathon block. The main difference is tracking “hours on feet” rather than “minutes per mile.” Throw the paces out the door and focus on moving for as long as possible. A solid “just finish” goal would probably require 5-7ish hours/week of training. 

 Even though I didn't get my A goal, I feel strong and can't wait to get back into training again!

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 random links:

articles related to salts lost through sweat:

https://www.mysportscience.com/post/how-much-do-you-sweat

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2267797/

the DIY Gu recipe that inspired my current recipe:

https://theplantedrunner.com/copycat-gu-gels/

also why I fuel with maple syrup (besides the fact that its cheap)

https://proteinrebel.com/blogs/blog/maple-syrup-is-it-natures-performance-fuel 

my flasks. there are many flasks out there, but i'm partial to the Gu brand

https://guenergy.com/products/gu-energy-flask

my vest.

https://www.salomon.com/en-us/shop/product/adv-skin-12-lc11657.html#color=68179 

 

 

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