Drunken ultra runners singing karaoke

Despite the disturbing image brought on by the title, this is actually a race report on the 29th running of the Avalon Benefit 50 Mile Run, held January 16, 2010.  More on the vocally-challenged later.

California dreamin’. This was my fourth running of the event, all in succession.  I keep coming back for a few reasons.  For starters, this was my first 50-miler.  It was sorta supposed to be in honor of turning 50, but I was actually 51 when I got around to it.  Second, it’s a really pretty course, and finally, it’s in California in January.  Who needs more?  For those of us that like to have a pre-race excuse for a bad performance, pretty much every Midwesterner had one this year:  the bitterly cold weather that swept through in late December.  In my case, the last long run before Avalon was scheduled for Christmas weekend.  This coincided with the arrival of cold rain, then snow, then sub-zero wind chills, seemingly for the three weeks before the race.  Nordic Track, elliptical, some outdoor running…..just not enough.  So I really didn’t get in the training needed.

Anxious for warmer climates, I headed for San Diego on Thursday afternoon before the Saturday race.  Hanging around La Jolla, walking to the restaurant in flip-flops,  eating pasta, drinking wheat beers…man, I could get used to this January California lifestyle.  Plus, I’m a dog guy, and they’re really dog friendly in Southern California.  Easy Friday noon drive to Dana Point, another gorgeous spot, to catch the boat to Catalina.

The outdoor patio restaurant at Dana Point Harbor. Note the seating arrangements.

Avalon / Catalina. Before my first trip in 2007, I knew virtually nothing about Catalina Island.  I still don’t know much…..like, what do people do there?  The always-reliable Wikipedia provides a long history of the Island.  For much of the past century, it was apparently owned by the Wrigley (think “chewing gum”) family.  In 1975, the Wrigleys deeded much of the land comprising the island to the Catalina Island Conservancy, a nonprofit organization charged with conservation and preservation of the island.  There are very few autos on the island, and access to the inner areas is highly restricted.  The primary industry is obviously tourism, with the usual collections of t-shirt and souvenir shops, tour operators, etc.  Hotel rooms are pricey and offer little in amenities.  In lieu of autos, golf carts are ubiquitous.

The Casino building in Avalon

Golf carts line the streets of Avalon.

The race. OK, OK, on to the race.  Catalina is only 22 miles long, and eight miles across at the widest point, so the race pretty much has to be an out-and-back.  Generally, it runs from Avalon, across the Island to Little Harbor (at about the 19 mile mark), then up the Island to Two Harbors (halfway) and back to Avalon.  There are two fairly steep climbs on each of the out and back sections.  The first takes place at the start….once out of the city, you start climbing.  Fortunately, it is very dark and you really can’t see where you’re going.  The next section is relatively flat along the top ridge of the Island, passing the Catalina airport (really).  The course then descends again to sea level at Little Harbor, followed by a big climb again to overlook Two Harbors.  A steep downhill awaits until runners reach the Isthmus at Two Harbors.  A bit further until the turnaround, then head back.  The return trip diverges from the outbound section at Little Harbor, with a long, grinding climb through Eagles Nest and past the pump house aid station.  After the final climb, the race ends with a quad pounding, all-pavement, screaming downhill run to the starting point at the Green Pier.

4:55 AM at the Green Pier on race morning.

My race. As noted, this was my fourth Avalon, with times of 8:36, 8:43 and 9:16 (note the trend?).  The 2009 version followed my 2008 early-year stress fracture, which messed up what little speed I had.  For whatever reason, I also went out very slow in 2009 and never really caught up.  So I was hoping that with a little better strategy and (hopefully) better conditioning I’d get back to around nine hours or so.

The first section went well.  Given the steepness of the climb, it’s best to take this section relatively easy, without going as slowly as I’d gone in 2009.  A time to enjoy the sunrise over the ocean.  Plus, it’s fun to talk to the other runners in this section….soon, everyone is pretty scattered throughout the course.  I talked with a couple of guys who had run more than 20 of the 28 previous versions.  I envy their consistency and durability.

Sunrise through the clouds over Catalina.

Miles of dirt fire roads await the runners on the outbound trek.

I’d been a bit concerned about an occasional pain in my right foot in preceding weeks…..it would kind of come and go.  Of course, 50 miles can make a minor injury pretty painful.  Instead of my foot, my right lower calf / upper Achilles started barking at me at about 13 miles.  Strange, because this has never before been a trouble spot.  But, dang, this hurt.  The Ultralist had recently contained stories of woe regarding calf muscle strains / tears and I really didn’t want to risk a serious injury.  I kind of thought about it until the 19 mile mark at Little Harbor, and decided I’d get to the turnaround and make a decision.  Walking didn’t bother it, and I thought I could walk it in from the halfway point and still make the 12 hour cutoff.  As it turned out, two things happened:  it never really got any worse, and everything else started hurting.  Thus, I quit noticing it among the other aches and pains.

I finally learned (I think) something about this course:  the uphill stretches are so steep, you simply have to power walk many of them.  To make up the time, you have to run the downhills pretty hard.  This is not really my optimal style–I like a regular mixture of walking and running to ration energy.  But Catalina doesn’t give you much choice.  There just doesn’t seem to be that much flat space.

The cloudy sunrise gave way to full sunshine about the time I was hitting the halfway point at Two Harbors.  I had mixed emotions over this…..the sunshine on the ocean was beautiful, but the cloud cover sure made for comfortable conditions.  Overall, my time at the halfway point was just about where it was a couple of years ago, and a bit ahead of goal pace for this year.

The sun breaks through on Two Harbors, starting back.

The second trip through Little Harbor is about the 33 mile mark, and marks the start of a long climb that peaks somewhere around mile 45.  It was there the wheels started to wobble, if they didn’t come completely off.  It was warm and I was tired….simple as that.  The sweat was burning my eyes, there wasn’t much in the way of scenery and it was just a grind.  Parts were steep, but much was a very runnable, modestly uphill grade.  I just didn’t have the energy to attack it.

Three very large and very disinterested spectators at about mile 43.

Once I hit the pavement after the pump house aid station, it was relatively flat for a while, before the final steep downhill.  About the last thing the legs need after 46 miles was a hard downhill run on pavement, but at least you have the pleasure of a fast finish.  I hit the line at the Green Pier in 8:50, a bit ahead of my goal of nine hours, good for 19th (out of 174) overall and second (out of 24) in my age group.  Strangely, the top three finishers in the “geezer” (50-59) age group finished within about two minutes of each other.  Other than a rough eight mile stretch, I was okay with my race.

The awards banquet has historically been held at the Casino building, but this year was held at El Galleon, a local restaurant / bar.  This worked out well, with a full bar available and the Colts / Ravens NFL playoff game on television.  I ambled back to my room after dinner, iced my sore legs and watched the NFL wrap up coverage.

A bit later I decided to go out for a nightcap.  The El Galleon becomes a karaoke bar sometime in the evening, and there they were:  ultra runners who had apparently never left the dinner, “singing” karaoke.  Oh my, and it was brutal: everything from “Oklahoma” to “Material Girl” to “Afternoon Delight,” none of which was anywhere near on key.  The low point was the hip-grinding rendition of an old Temptations song.  As Newman said when describing Jerry and his girlfriend making out during Schindler’s List, “a more offensive spectacle I cannot recall.”

And finally…. My daughter Sara is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA).  Having an artist daughter virtually insures that you receive unusual, hand made cards for birthdays and Father’s Day.  The technique she’s been working with lately involves painting sections of paper, then cutting and assembling in a collage.   Most cards revolve around my beloved Golden Retrievers, Maddie and Lola.  This year’s birthday card, which arrived while I was gone, bears display in a running blog.  Note the tiny headlamps…….

Golden Retrievers, complete with running shoes and headlamps.

Next up: Assuming everything quits hurting, the Rocky Raccoon 100-miler in three weeks (February 6).