Dirty Duo 50K race report

I’ve been away from my blog for a wee while, but am back again to tell you about my 50K race last weekend on 6th March. It was The Dirty Duo 50K on the rugged North Shore trails in North Vancouver, BC. It’s a trail running and mountain bike race.

The categories are

• Run 27K
• Run 15K
• Run 50K
• Relay-one person runs 27k and passes on to the mountain biker who does 30K
• Duathlon-run 27K then mountain bike 30K
• Mountain bike 30K

I ran the 50K as training for my 100 miler. There is no better way for me to get in the miles and have lots of fun and enjoyment at the same time. There was so much encouragement between all the runners and bikers. The 50K has 2 slightly different loops, with a lot of the running on technical single track. There is a total of 3300m of elevation gain. I know these trails well and love them.  Here is a link to a map of the route.

What I took away from this race:

• I finished feeling strong -yee ha! there is no better way than this to tell me my endurance training is working.
• I practiced my nutrition. I carried Cliff Bars which work really well for me. At the aid stations I drank a little coke and ate a few chips. My stomach was fine.
• I have decided what shoes I am wearing for my 100 miler!  I got some Altra Lone Peak 2.5’s recently and wore them on this 50K. Teamed up with padded socks and some vaseline my feet felt great. My feet were pretty wet for much of the 50k but I didn’t have any hot spots. I have just bought some “2 Toms Blistershield” from Amazon, to try out on my next long run. Krissy Moehl mentions the stuff in her book “Running your first Ultra.” She has used it with success. Avoiding blisters is hugely important in long ultras!

Here are some pics from the race. I carried my iphone and took a few pics along the way.

My next race is the St Patrick’s day 5K in Vancouver, BC on Sunday.

Have a great weekend everybody!