2025 Race 1 - The AO Racing Pick and Shovel Ultra Trail Run

For the third year in a row I attended the All Out Racing Pick and Shovel event. This is an 8 hour trail endurance run, where the person with the most completed laps (a little over 6 km per lap) wins. You have to complete the last lap before 8pm or it doesn't count as well. If there is a tie, the tie breaker goes to the person who ran the first 10km of the event the fastest. Of course being a trail race, distances are approximate. 

In past years there was also the option of just running the 10k starter race as a stand alone, but this year demand for the 8 hour event was so great, they only had spots for it. Last year I entered and had fun, not going too hard and coming in with around 58 km of running at 10 laps. This year with the extra effort I have put in for my 100 miler training, I wanted to use this as a test event to try out nutrition at race pace, getting maybe 1 or 2 laps more and just managing my pace well all day. 

Many from my run club the BLT Runners were on hand. Some for the first time, others repeat offenders. 

The weather was quite different this year. Year one was rain and mud, year 2 fresh snow and mild winter temps (which actually lead to icy night conditions), and this year dry and cold. Starting at -6C with a brisk wind and dropping cooler every hour after that. 

After our race intro we were off. I started near the front. My goal here was to run a reasonably fast time, trying to stay ahead of my only real competitors, the over 50 men. To be able to win the over 50 category I knew I would have to run a bit fast at the start but also hold on. My competition is tough and I knew they would all be able to cram a lot of laps in.

I quickly slotted into 5th place and had a nice pace going. A lot faster this year with the frozen ground. I had opted for my On CloudUltra trail shoes. Decent cushion but nice grip up front for faster running. This was their maiden race. 

After the first loop of the race things settled in and I caught up with Ryan in 4th place and passed him. I was having good luck running up the steep inclines (this is a rolling terrain multiuse park but the hills are quite steep up and down). I pulled a small gad and then kicked a rock and down I went. As fast as anything I was back up and pushed on. I was not too far behind 3rd place by the end of the 10km starter race and came in with a time of 44:23, about 40 seconds off 3rd. 

Now the real fun started. The laps. My plan to was to cram in the calories today and fluid. I am traditionally not a big eater in events, but a 100 miler will not allow for that. I had to not get dehydrated nor bonk out. I had taken a Naak gel before the race, now I quickly crammed another in and took a big drink of Naak high calorie drink. 

For the day I would come back and consume about 200mL of fluid per lap of either Naak or Nuun Endurance. Then I would grab a gel and consume it on the first really steep 100m climb while walking. Then off to finish each lap. I used Naak gels, Naak Purees, a couple of Maurten gels and a couple of Gu gels which the race provided some of. I have mostly switched to Naak products, but I also wanted to put variety in my stomach since it is never a sure ting you will have access to all your own stuff at races.  

After the first 10km race I did a lap with Ryan and Ryan, who had both come in right behind me. Lap 4 (the 10km race counts as 2 laps) I ran with Johnny. All great guys. But as we all had our own race plans, we didn't run with each other the rest of the day. 

Before starting lap 4 I checked on my injuries from the fall/tumble. My hands hurt a bit and I skinned my palm on one side but not too bad. My hip was quite scratched up and a little bloody. I jammed some Anchor Soap Anti-Chafe balm on it to prevent it sticking and rubbing on my tights. All part of the learning to deal with the stuff that happens.  

Coming and going from the race start was nice. You ran in, yelled out your number so they could track you, grab some calories and head back out. Some people take longer breaks, some walk a few laps, and some have goals that let them finish up in the daylight.  

It is great to high five others coming back as you are headed out. Sometimes you find random people to chat with for a moment. Though ultimately I ran alone most of the day and that was great to be able to just be in my own head.

Around 4pm I had actually become the lead runner passing Liz. My pace was pretty good, with up hill walk breaks but generally a nice 5:30/min km pace for the most part. Liz of course was still technically in the lead as were Matthias and Justin because they ran the 10km race faster than me. So to win I would have to run more laps than they did. 

At 48km in, my mom and cousin made an appearance to cheer me on which was really nice. I grew up not too far from the park.

Night time was coming, so I grabbed my head lamp and kept it up. I passed into lap 10, which was as far as I had gone the previous year. At this point I had now pass Matthias. While it was fun for the race crew to claim I was the race leader, I really wasn't and who knows what could happen. I was in 3rd though, which was amazing.

Liz would get her second wind and start picking up speed again, finally passing me on lap 11. I was in new territory, and while people were yelling for me to run faster, I stuck with the plan.  Lap 12 came and I had time on the clock still, so lap 13 here we come! 

I got it done and came in at 7:22pm. That was only going to allow 38 minutes to run a final lap in the dark on tired legs. My previous 2 laps had been at close to 40 minutes. My watch had me close to 78km in and while I went back out, I knew that I wasn't going to get another lap in and as I approached an area I knew well they time left before 8pm and the distance I had left meant it was unlikely I would make it without pushing myself too hard and risking injury. I played it smart and called it and jogged it back. I ended up running 80km that day in around 7.5 hours. Over  1500m of climbing and a heart rate well below 140. I used heart rate to control my pace and I think it worked really well for me. 

The gels? Yeah, I got down 13 of them and they powered me through the day. Those and the fluid and I was not dehydrated for once after an event. Was it a risk to try and get all those down? Yup. Not solid or real food at all. But that was what the day was about, taking a few risks, though planned ones, and dealing with any issues that would come up.

Ultimately, I came in third overall. While I had passed Justin on course he had run the 10km faster. Liz managed to grab an extra lap with 14 on the books (amazing).  6 runners got to lap 13, and while I initially was focused on being fast over 50, I was fast enough to be second place male runner overall.

I won a pair of On shoes from 3 Mile Outfitter and some products from Anchor Soap (foot balm and soap) all things I love.  I also made some new friends.  
 

And really, I ran 80km for this. An Eastwood mug. My 5th from various events now. Winning this meant I beat Mike D and that is no small feat. He's as tough as they come. He actually got to lap 13 as well. 

Massive props to the BLT Runners for their successes. Thanks to the main event sponsors Aerobics First, 3 Mile outfitters, and Sportwheels, plus many awesome brands. Thanks to Jason and Peter and amazing volunteers to keeping the day light and fun, though I missed all the good food.

Thanks for the support I received from New World Marketing as well.  My On running gear and shoes were top notch and my world would be a little dimmer without my Darntough socks. 

Stay positive friends. 

Goals

With so many upcoming changes to social media platforms, I realize that I have come to rely on things like Instagram and Facebook to get my thoughts out. More and more than has meant limiting what I write down due to the general limitations of those sites and the fact that Instagram is great for photos, but I realize that a lot of people probably don't read everything written down there. I certainly won't stop using them as a means of sharing stuff I do, but I want to get back to the old blog to write down longer stuff, so that I can actually explain what I mean and not get into a weird conversation with a stranger about why I am wrong (probably because I had to limit what I said and didn't cover things correctly).  The socials will be for short quips and pretty pictures.

Anyway, it is January of 2025, so let's talk goals. I don't specifically mean my goals (though I will add a touch on that). I mean having goals in general when it comes to athletics. 

When I chat with people about sports either online or in person, as a coach or just some dude, I find that the idea of a goal is often not there. Generally the notion of "just finish it" comes up. The idea of just making it to the finish is certainly not "not a goal" and is in no way a bad concept, but for many it can mean a lack of focus when it comes to training. And a lack of focus can sometimes get us into trouble. 

The concept of a training plan is to help focus an athlete, so what they are doing makes sense and limits the risks, especially of injury. This is definitely a bigger concern once the notion of longer distance events starts to become more exciting, (things that take over 2 hours or perhaps even all day events like Ultras). 

Athletes that didn't start until they were adults often lack the built in limiters to stop when things aren't going well and reassess (I know I certainly got injured enough in my 30s and 40s). Part of this is due to a lack of focus and a goal (which ideally should be realistic, though just a little beyond reach). 

Personally I like to have an A and  B goal for every event I am going to do (B is the minimum for success, A is when all the perfect parts come together for the perfect day), even if it is a for fun event. This allows me the notion of stepping back if things aren't going well (during training or the day of) while still feeling some satisfaction that I achieved what I needed. That goal should almost always be one that you control, as in do not attach it to how another person does in the event or during training. If your goal is to beat someone you need to realize that you have now given away a lot of the control of your success. The success of winning (the race or your age class etc...) is great, but is just a handful of candy compared to achieving the results you trained for. 

Chat it out with your fellow runners, your coach, your partner. Find the balance to make the goal a reality in your life. Realize that just because you aren't going for PRs or podiums that goals can still be the best way to focus on making the sport you are in a little more fun.

Now, my goals coming up are focused around getting to the end of the Weekend at Wentworth Miler in June in under 24 hours. It is a lofty goal for my first attempt that that distance. I know my back up is 36 hours, so I have a safety net, but I will aim for my big goal for sure. I will blog about that training soon. 

My first checkpoint towards that goal was achieved this past Christmas, as I attempted my first ever 100 miler week. I achieved it in 7 days of aiming for at least 23 km a day.  I worked toward that week for 2 months, as was rewarded with not only hitting that level of running, but also doing so and feeling really good, able to keep my regular training as soon as I finished. While it was a challenge, it was not something that broke me.