Hills that are aggressively charged early on are the same ones that are staggered in the second half. Midpackers, on the other hand, have a tendency to grind uphill at hard, unsustainable paces early on. However, because they are acutely aware of their cost, elites save these efforts for a precious few tactical moves on race day. However, compared to their hard-charging pace, early-to-mid-stage hills are run relatively slowly to avoid sharp heart-rate and lactate-producing spikes, which can lead to painful crashes later in the race.Įlite runners can and do run very hard uphill. This is a misnomer because, by all accounts, their pace is still damn fast. The Lake Sonoma 50 Mile features several grunting ups and downs along the reservoir road before dumping onto the trail–and more ups and downs.Įlite runners, by and large, run uphills conservatively.
It’s commonplace for the early stages of ultramarathons to feature long, steep uphills. These are the things elites are doing in races that you probably aren’t.ġ.
While many may think it’s raw talent or brute toughness, these lessons were far simpler than that. In the process, I made some notable observations about what factors separate the sport’s very best from the rest. After a couple top-10 performances in years past, I was unprepared to rumble up front, so I chose to simply run it, mingling amongst the midpack of runners that just may be the prototypical of American ultrarunning.
This year’s Lake Sonoma 50 Mile was one such opportunity. I search inside and out and top to bottom, hoping to glean a few pearls to absorb and then pass along. As a clinician, scientist, and coach, I’m constantly seeking out the keys to success and longevity. As a kid, I was the one who took something completely apart in order to figure out how it worked. I consider myself an interloper, as a person and as a runner: embracing the similarities and differences that come from variety.
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