6pm Saturday, Steve:
“Okay Darien, let’s go. I’ve got 30km
left and want to be done before midnight”
10:15pm, Darien:
“Dad, we’ll be done by 1am but not before midnight”
Steve:
“That wasn’t the deal Darien! That’s not the agreement!”
Darien <implied>:
Then run faster Dad
With a generous 48-hour race cutoff I didn’t have to finish
by midnight, but arbitrarily wanted to be done Cruel Jewel in under 36
hours. After 160km of mountain running
with over 7,700m of elevation gain I found myself with 10km to go and 105 minutes
until midnight. 10 min/km pace on
technical mountain trails after 34 hours of running?? LFG!!
So we started running fast, 5 min/km pace on a
technical downhill in the dark with multiple creek crossings. Darien and I split 25:26 for 5km then we hit
the final climb and kept running. I’m
sure my heartrate jumped from 160 to 190bpm as I gasped for air while running
uphill. The never-ending climb out of
Fish Creek finally ended and we cruised the fire road into the final aid
station to chug a litre of coke.
It was only then I realized we’d done it, we made up enough time and should finish before midnight. It was 11:15pm and we had 4km to the finish on rolling roads and easy trails. 29 minutes later I collapsed after we crossed the finish line in 35:44.
187 runners started Cruel Jewel at noon on Friday May 16th. 114 people would eventually finish, a 61% finish rate. The weather was perfect on day 1, hot and dry, but we were in the trees most of the race and out of direct sunlight which was good. Plus, after 13 days of pre-race acclimation in the sauna the heat was manageable. I split just over 6 hours for the first marathon, much faster than planned but the early trails were relatively easy compared to what would come later. Christina, Darien, Camille, and Heather crewed me at 7 aid stations during the race which was amazing.
The middle section of the course called the Dragon's Spine is on the gnarly Duncan Ridge Trail (DRT), an overgrown mess of roots and rocks covered in miles of poison ivy. I had never been on the course, but this section is notoriously terrible and slow, especially at night. I got to the Dragon's Spine at sunset and committed to move as efficiently as possible all night, and minimize time at aid stations. I finally got through the DRT to see Christina at the Wolf Creek aid station around 2am. Cruel Jewel is an out-and-back course, so I had to turn around and make my way back to where I started, going over the Dragon's Spine a second time.
A severe thunderstorm rolled in around sunrise while I was alone on the high ridgeline. The temperature dropped 15 degrees, and sideways rain hammered the course for an hour, turning all the trails into a muddy slip-and-slide. I kept moving as fast and safe as possible, and luckily had a waterproof jacket to keep me relatively warm.
After running 120km I would eventually pickup my pacers for the final 50km of the race. Heather would join me for 10km, then Camille for 10km, then Darien for the final 30km. Getting over the Dragon's Spine a second time, and descending to the Wilscot crew point was a major milestone. There was food, coffee, dry socks, and family waiting for me.
Heather paced me up and down 3 mountains and kept my spirits high, then Camille got me running much faster than I wanted at the time in the blazing afternoon heat from Old Dial to Stanley Gap where I picked up Darien for the final 30km. Cruel Jewel could be a great 100-mile out-and-back race, but it’s actually 104 miles and is called “Cruel” for a reason. Before heading towards the finish runners do an extra 3km technical mountain descent losing 500m of elevation, then turn around and go back up that 3km, 500m climb to the main trail… very cruel indeed.
I don’t care that I finished before the arbitrary midnight time. I care that after 160km of running I was able to push myself to a new level with Darien for the final 10km to finish my 7th hundred miler strong. A lot went right during 6 months of training. I was also training with Camille for the Vancouver half marathon, so ran on relatively flat roads twice a week. My weekly volume was much lower than in the past with a focus on quality over quantity, around 85km per week instead of >115km in past years. I still did 50km long runs, and back-to-backs, including a 3-day 110km training camp weekend 5 weeks from race that started with a 50km overnighter on the Baden Powell trail. I finished 32nd out of 187 runners to punch my Hardrock lottery ticket for the next 2 years.
In the end this is a hobby, just a fun and silly sport that
makes me happy. I got to train in the beautiful
North Vancouver mountains for 6 months, then race 170km in the stunning North
Georgia mountains for over 35 hours, including having family pace me for the
final 50km. The blisters will heal, the
big toenail will eventually grow back, but the Cruel Jewel finishers buckle and
memories will last forever.
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