East vs. West 50k's - The Rise of Virtual Ultramarathons

"There are four directions: North, South, East, and West. We are going in the fifth direction, which is the direction of stories." - Sean Taylor

As we finish out May, the world is still in a bit of standstill.  As a runner and a run streaker particularly, that just means that I had to adapt.  So in May, I jumped into my first virtual race, the East vs. West 50k Challenge. 

Having never done a virtual race before I wasn't quite sure what to expect.  The rules were simple; run as many 50k races as you want during the month and the fastest one counts towards the results (Evidence via GPS File).  For participating you get a medal and a t-shirt. 

East vs. West Virtual 50k: Round 1 - Western Greenway
Location: Belmont, MA
Date: 5/2/2020
Distance: 31 Miles
Goal: 4:40:00 (9 min / mile)
Actual: 4:39:26 (8:59 / mile)

My super local trail is a 6.5 mile stretch of conservation land named the Western Greenway.  For years, I have been talking about putting together a 50k on the trail.  So, after spending a few days convincing some of my local Belmont friends to sign up for the 50k as well, I devised a route that goes from our track, out to the western end of the trail and back to the track.  To get to 50k, you simply did a double out and back (Note: This route only used about 85% of the actual Western Greenway trail).

The Start

So on May 2nd at 5am, I set off.  During the first mile I had some funny thoughts that ran into my head.  "Wow number pickup was a breeze" - non existent for a virtual race.  "The commute was great" - left my house at 4:57 and walked to the bottom of my street.  "No one got in the way" - it was just me. 

I started out quick with the 1st mile at 8:17 on the road to the trail head.  The 2nd mile was a little bit more interesting as I was greeted with some large mud pits going up Loan Tree Hill.  I got some speed back on the 3rd mile as I descended down into Rock Meadow. This is where I was first greeted by one of my running friends, Doug, as he took my picture and posted it online to stir up some support.  As my watch buzzed for the next hour with messages of "Go Scot go!" I smiled and tried to keep my pace lite knowing I had a ways to go. 

I hit the first turnaround at 1:09:21; pretty much exactly on target.  Before continuing, I have to give an extra special shout out to Doug.  At this point I was 7.65 miles in and had already seen him 3 times. I would see him at least 3 more times and he would clock 20 miles over the day just bouncing back an forth along the course. 

As I started to make my first trek back, I began to pick up speed.  The east bound direction is definitely easier than the west bound direction and around mile 9, I was starting to really get into a good grove. 

Next I crossed paths with Donal, who would do this route at a faster time a few weeks later, and then Mat who was doing a virtual half marathon as part of the same East vs. West challenge that day.  It was still pretty cool out and felt good just gliding along. 

As I popped back out of the woods at my mile 14.5, I started to let loose a bit.  I knocked out a 7:50 mile, followed by a 7:30 mile as I went through the turnaround.  My pace had quickened to an average of 8:40 and I was excited to see what I could do on the second lap. 

As I re-entered the woods I knew I would lose a bit of time going back up a muddy Loan Tree Hill (about 220' / mile), but also knew I would get back some going down the other side and through the meadow.  Around mile 19, I saw a few women from my track club who came out to cheer me on and it gave me a nice boost to keep pushing. 

Mile 21 is where it started to get tough and I knew that the real test of this would be 21 - 26, the most technical sections of the trail.  After a quick walking break to ensure I was properly fed and hydrated I got a little bit of a second wind which carried me to the final turnaround (where Doug was happily waiting to take my picture again).  I now had 6.75 miles to go. 

The Final Turn Around

At this point, it was now 8:25 am and starting to warm up a bit.  It was also starting to get a little bit (not a ton) more crowded on the trail, which meant I had to keep pulling my buff up over my face.  Finally around mile 26, I ran out of water (unsupported 50k's are a little harder) and I slowed.  I was really hoping that after I got back to the less technical sections I would be able to speed up, but it was taking everything I had to not slow to a crawl. 

As I got back to Loan Tree Hill, I knew I had one more climb before a long down hill (2.2 miles) to the finish.  My watch read 8:59 pace and I was teetering on missing my goal time.  Half way up the climb, I broke and hiked for about 50 yards.  As I crested the hill I just told myself "You can do this. A long down hill is ahead ... " and thank goodness, it started to come back to me. 

I dropped a 8:13 as my final mile in the woods and closed out the race with an 8:16.  As I crossed over the Clark St bridge for the final time, Doug and Donal were waiting for me and tailed me into the finish. 

All and all good race, tough with the mud (and lack of aid stations), but happy with the result.  First virtual 50k is in the books. 

-- 31 miles -- 4:39:26 -- 8:59 / mile - Strava Link --

East vs. West Virtual 50k: Round 2 - Charles River
Location: Belmont, MA
Date: 5/23/2020
Distance: 31 Miles
Goal: 4:08:33 (8 min / mile)
Actual: 4:12:11 (8:07 / mile)

Same start, different course

After the Western Greenway 50k (3 weeks earlier), I knew I had left a lot of time on the table so I decided to run a second 50k on a flatter route.  So I devised a route that once against started at the Belmont track.  It took me down to the Charles River, out to the Museum of Science, out to Prospect St in Waltham, back to Cambridge and then finally back to the Belmont Track. 

I pushed the start time for this one to 5:30 hoping to give myself a bit more time to get moving in the morning.  I started out easy with the first few miles around 8 minute pace before dropping into a groove around 7:45-7:50.  As I got to the river, I was surprised on how many people were out at this hour (aka more pulling the buff up).  It was also a bit more humid then I would have liked and I was going through my sports drink faster than anticipated. 

By mile 9, I was still feeling pretty good and even dropped a 7:32 as I crossed past the Museum of Science.  I continued to average around 7:50 for the next 7 miles, but I could feel the run wearing on me.  At the half way point I was averaging 7:52, but knew that it was unlikely I would be able to hold that pace for the second half. 

Between 16-19 my pace started to slow (8:04, 8:04, 8:17, 8:12) and my sports drink started to run

The Boston Skyline along the River

low.  At 19, I reached Bridge st in Watertown and decided I better head home to get more liquids.  I could finish the remaining mileage around Clay Pit Pond in Belmont.  The next 6 miles were a slog as my pace slowed to 8:40. 

After half a banana and filling my pack with ice water, I set off for the remaining 5.5 miles. I finished off with three loops around the high school and Clay Pit Pond.  Slowly life had come back to me and I was even able to finish off with 8:06, 7:27, and 7:26 miles. 

All and all way tougher than I had hoped it to be (probably due to not having acclimated to the heat / humidity), but happy that I didn't quit and was able to get a faster time.  In fact, this was my second fastest 50k on record. 

-- 31 miles - 4:12:11 -- 8:07 / mile - Strava Link --

Summary

In general, I'm glad I signed up for and participated in the event.  At last check I was in 17th place out of 448 runners.  It is hard competing when you have no idea who or where the other competitors are, but knowing the effort counted as a race did give me some motivation to push a bit harder. 

Do I need to dive head first into more of these virtual races?  Probably not.  I don't really struggle with motivation to get out there and my heart lies in the mountains in which I am eager to get back to. 

Stay active, stay local, stay safe.

- Scot

Cooling off after the Charles River 50k