Race Preview: Trail Mix 50k

A snapshot from the 2011 edition of the Trail Mix 50k

• Overview: "The Trail Mix cross-country race is run over hill and dale on wood chip and grass trails. Each clearly marked loop is 12.5 kilometers (7.75 miles) in length with three water stops per loop. Each approximately every 2.5 miles. Water stops include water, sports drink, energy bars and other snacks. Charles Hubbard won the men's 50k Ultra solo for nine consecutive years before his major injury and set the men's course record time of 3:15:41 in 1998. He broke that record in 2000 with an amazing time of 3:14:18. In 2002, at the age of 40, he set a new course record with a time of 3:11:18." Currently, there's ~140 participants signed up for the 50k event! (race website)

• History: 21st annual — very impressive! If I did my year math right (the hardest kind of math), that means the Trail Mix 50k would have made its debut in 1992, which would mean that I was just 6 years young (nearly 7) as the ultra-running pioneers toed this starting line for the first time. Races like this one with years of tradition add a fun historical dimension in that you're running not just against those in the present, but also those in the past (and potentially those in the future, now that I think about it).

• CR: 3:11:18 (Charles Hubbard, '02; 6:10/mi)

• 2011 winning time: 3:23:11 (Chris Lundstrom; 6:33/mi)

• Location: Hyland Park Reserve

The view from ~Mile 2 (and 10, 18, 26)

• Course Map: 50k course = 4 trips around this 7.75-mi loop (red loop below)

• Course Profile: With a peak elevation of <1000', altitude certainly won't be a factor. (Even Minnesota's highest point—Eagle Mountain, 2301'—won't put the oxygen efficiency of your red blood cells to the test!) But, I think hilliness may have a felt presence over the course of the run. As you can see, there aren't too many flat spots on the loop. You're either going up, or going down. Sorta like a roller coaster. Should be fun!

• Pre-Race Strategy: Like all pre-race strategies, what follows is certainly "subject to change." But, at the moment, a 7:45-8:15-min/mi pace feels good for the first mile. After that, a let's-just-sorta-wait-and-see-what-happens mentality will probably kick in—as it should, since much of running is about listening and responding to your body. Somewhere ~8-min pace though seems within my current fitness range and would be the needed pacing to take a shot at my 4:21:58 PR. We'll see. Based on such a projection (7:45-8:15/mi), the splits would shake down like this. . .

• Loop 1: 1:00 <---> 1:04
• Loop 2: 2:00 <---> 2:08
• Loop 3: 3:00 <---> 3:12
• Loop 4: 4:00 <---> 4:16

• Race-day Secret Weapon: Ashley! She's certainly a legit runner and explorer in her own right, but instead of running on Saturday she'll be acting as my own personal aid-station helper and coach. By day, she may be a respected (and even feared) spanish teacher, but come Saturday she'll transform herself into an expert Gatorade mixer, Power-gel supplier, and photographer. Beware, you may even spot her in a tree somewhere. . .

Dedication.

• Current Weather Forecast: Sunrise at 6:17a (CST). Perhaps not the most ideal conditions, but you never know, and anything is better than snow! If the forecast holds true: it looks to be a slightly chilly start (predicted overnight low of +34F), but warming into the upper-40s or mid-50s during the day underneath some clouds, 30% full of water. We'll see.

. . . Stay tuned!