Montara Mountain 50K -- 5:14:03

I survived! I ran the Montara Mountain 50K (31 miles) race today. This is a super hilly course, with 6,700’ of elevation gain, and it got warm, too. I was doing pretty well for about the first 20 miles, but then I started feeling the beginnings of cramps and I walked more and more of the uphills towards the end. It took me 5 hours 14 minutes. It was fun seeing so many friends. Jennifer did a hike and saw me during the race and at the finish, which was sweet.

I finished 3rd place male, 2nd place age in my age group. There were 29 finishers.

Details

I carried two 20 ounce bottles. 15 minutes before the start of the race, I drank about 10 oz and ate one energy gel. I drank 20 oz the first loop. I felt good during the first big ascent to the peak of Montara Mountain and I ran practically every step.

I crossed paths with one of my running buddies, Ross, multiple times. He started ahead of me and I saw him returning from the top. I eventually passed him on the downhill and he started catching up to me on the Valley View uphill. I pulled ahead on the downhill and he caught up again towards the top of Hazelnut. I pulled ahead again and he caught up and then passed me on the 2nd ascent to North Peak. I passed him at the turn-around. He passed me on the Valley View ascent and stayed in front for the rest of the race. He had a great race, this being his first marathon, and he won it!

Otherwise, I mostly ran alone.

Jennifer and her sister Laurie were hiking during the race and we crossed paths. They saw me at the finish, too. Thank you, you two!

I'm not sure what I could have done better to prevent cramps. I did lose over 6 lbs during the race and I know that dehydration causes cramps. So, maybe I should have tried to drink more? And eat more? Or maybe I should have gone slower in the first ascent? I'm still not sure what causes muscle cramps. Anecdotally, it feels like they happen when I run too fast early on in long races, like in road marathons. It's a little hard to believe that I'm not eating enough, but I can't rule that out.

Random Data

• Weight after waking up: 170.0 lbs
• Weight after the race and after eating lunch: 164.0 lbs
• Breakfast: 2 pieces of whole wheat toast with peanut butter and jelly, big cup of coffee. Maybe I should have drank 20 oz of water?
• Alarm woke me up: 5:30am. The race started at 8am.
• Strava
• Results