When it comes to outdoor identities, I think of myself as a hiker first. Further down the list are skater, skier, snowshoer … and towards the bottom of a very long list you would eventually get to runner. But with big long distance hiking trips off the table for summer 2021, I needed a new challenge. Ideally a challenge that involves a lot of solitary time out in the woods.
So there we have it: 2021 is the year that Suz runs an ultramarathon.
Specifically, my goal is to run the Ultra Trail Harricana 80 race in September — a 78KM trail ultra in Quebec. A friend ran this race a few years back and called it the”hardest most beautiful race I’d ever done.” So….yup.
I registered for the race in April but held off on posting anything about it out of fear that I would injure myself and flame out in the first month of preparation. Now that I’ve more or less gotten in the habit of running 4-5 days a week, I decided that blogging would help keep me honest.
The Race:
According to the participant guide the 80 km are the only ones to dive deep into the heart of the Parc national des Hautes‑Gorges-de-la-Rivière‑Malbaie. It seems we will have some breathtaking views of the valley (gotta make those climbs worthwhile!) along with a mix of technical trails, logging roads, ski trails and the possibility of seeing some moose. Of course the biggest climbs all come in the second half.
The Plan:
#1. Be consistent about training: I’ve run some half marathons before, but was never too diligent about training for them properly. In both cases I was young enough and fit enough to run a decent time without much prep. That’s not going to cut it this time, so I’m keeping a few strategies in my back pocket including keeping track of my progress here, and, if necessary, hiring a coach for the last couple months before race day.
#2. Get stronger for hills: Even at my fittest, I struggle with hills. Keeping up with my husband, who I jokingly refer to as a mountain goat is an ongoing challenge. His long legs and giant lung capacity have no problems bounding to top of every hill and mountain we hike, while I lag behind huffing and puffing. Based on past experience, I suspect I will be better served by power hiking up the local ski hills a few time a week, rather than grinding out a lot flat mid-week runs in the city.
#3. Finish the race: The overall goal is to keep moving faster than the cut-off pace. This will probably involve a run-walk strategy, but since I am a hiker first, I’m not going to get too precious about needing to power hike chunks of this race. Ideally I’ll be able to keep moving forward at faster than the cut off time.
Bonus goal: I’m not a huge fan or running and hiking in the dark. Cut off time is 16 hours, but we’ll only have about 11 hours of daylight. If feasible I’d like to minimize running in the dark.
Goal: finish the UTHC looking as happy as I did when finishing my first half marathon.
