Trail Factor 50k Recap

A Runner's Ramblings: Volume 8; 12th Edition 
1 mile skied, 500 meters swam, 48 miles biked and 162.8 miles run in 2013 races
Race: Trail Factor 50k
Place: Portland, OR
Miles from home: 8 miles
Weather: 50s; HEAVY rain

When perusing reviews of products I would like to purchase on, say Amazon, I always find the ratings people give to be interesting. For example, they will order a product; it comes to them broken via shipping mishandling. So they return the product, get one that is not broken, it does all they want it to do but they give it 3 stars out of 5 because...of the shipping problem? That never makes sense to me.

The same goes with evaluating a race and how others may enjoy it. Getting misled off the course or not having the type of product you personally want to drink doesn't mean that anyone else will get led off the course or won't love that flavor of whatever. So, when I was asked to review this new Trail Factor 50K course, I had to keep that in mind. Because, well, I didn't have a very good day.

The forecast for the race called from some drizzles, but the forecast in Portland often does, even when you are staring at a beautiful blue sky. The gorgeous sunny weather the day before the race had us hoping that it was another fakecast conceived, I am convinced, to keep people from moving to Portland. But when morning broke to a pretty steady rainfall, I hoped the trees of Forest Park, where the race would be run, would at least shield us some.

At the starting line, the rain would ebb and flow a bit and as the 8 a.m. starting time approached something happened that can only happen in small races where virtually everyone knows each other. The race director asks us if we wanted to wait to see if the rain would abate or just get under way now. I loved that idea. A rather democratic voice voting decided that it wasn’t going to be getting any better and we might as well get underway.

To the first aid station at mile 6 (47:10)

The race started by immediately going uphill. In fact, the first three miles would go up about six hundred feet. Often when looking at race elevation profiles I know I am not alone in thinking of the course as being in a straight line. We see the gain but don’t think about how one gets there. Switchbacks are forgotten. Right angle turns don’t exist. The course just goes in one direction and we simply have to follow it. Well, in trail racing this is obviously even less the case than road running. As I am neither a trail racer or one who likes to run uphill, I was doing my best to hang to the right side of the trail and let anyone who wanted to pass me do just that.

When a group of what looked like 5fivein total took off, I was happy to just be where I was. For the next mile or so I ran in the shadow of another runner but soon found I was on his tail too much. Not wanting to be a pest I skipped by him on an uphill (something I rarely do) and found myself running with another guy named Jeff from Tyler Texas. (“Jeff from Tyler, Texas” is how I thought of him for the rest of the race as if that was his full name.) Jeff and I ran more or less in lockstep for the next few miles. We traded some stories and chatted about the deluge of rain and how there was no shortage of low-hanging branches on the trail (Jeff from Tyler Texas was probably as tall if not taller than my 6’1’’.)


Before long a runner had caught up to us and was running not too far behind. I told Jeff I was going to scoot forward and let Jeff run off of my shoulder for a bit, as that was only fair. He had paced me and now I was going to pace him. However, in doing so, I found I was running a little faster than Jeff and the unnamed runner behind me followed close behind. A long slow and gradual climb had the two of us in the same position as we rolled into the first aid station.

I had barely drank half of my bottle and wasn’t hungry.  This well-stocked station therefore was far more than I needed and I stopped just long enough to grab a drink of Coke and grab perhaps two potato chips. I was feeling good about my pace and my place. While the runner behind me had slipped by out of the aid station I felt I was still probably about 7th overall.

To the aid station at mile 7.9 (20:00)

Coming out of the aid station we more or less fell off the face of a cliff dropping hundreds of feet in less than a mile. The footing was treacherous, wet, full of rocks and… Holy crap two guys are passing me like we are on flat ground! Two runners who I had passed earlier in the first few miles were evidently far better downhill runners than uphill ones. Nevertheless, I could not believe how they scampered down this completely slick muddy trail with a virtual stream running down it. I tried to follow suit and more than a few times almost completely fell flat on my face as the trail gave way underneath me. I could only think of the poor people behind us who would be hitting this trail after hundreds of feet had trampled it to mud.

While a downed tree slowed the speed of the runners in front of me for a bit, even more downhill running had them disappearing further away. Well, I’m still in the top 10. That’s OK, I guess. However, no sooner had I acquiesced to my position did we begin climbing again.  Like before, I found myself gaining and then eventually overtaking both runners. I then realized it might be like this the rest of the day. Normally far more proficient in running downhill, I seemed to be excelling against my immediate competition going uphill. So much better at this point that I could employ a fast walk up some of the very steep sections and still put distance between us.


I soon realized we were looping back to the aid station we had just left when I saw runners flying down the ski lift of a downhill. Even though I had just been there minutes before, the combination of continually watching my footing and the pouring rain had made ever tree and trail look exactly the same. I barely recognized this area. One runner who was heading in the opposite direction looked at my concerned face and said “Are you going the right way?”  I smiled and said “I sure hope so!”  I was. However, while I would have enjoyed filling my bottle here, some of the runners pushing through the area didn’t realize we were heading back toward them. As such, while I should have stopped, I simply picked my way through the crowd and continued onward.

Karhu Flow 3 Trail shoe review

I originally intended for this review to come out last week.  On Patriot’s Day to be exact. Yeah, nuts to that.  Then I played around with it some more to get it just right. I realized I hadn’t really done the review justice and wanted to tinker.  The reason I felt that way was because the shoes I was reviewing were just that fantastic.

So here in my review of the Karhu Flow 3 Trail.

When I read reviews in other magazines about shoes, I often wonder how long the testers wore the shoes, in what pristine conditions they traversed the ground and for many days they ran in them. To me, a shoe feeling great for a four mile run down the sidewalk doesn’t mean bump.  Even though the vast majority of my miles are on pavement, I want to know what the shoe does in performance gear. This is especially true when I am getting off of the roads and onto the trails, something I don’t race in too often.

Dirty in Nicaragua

With the Karhu Flow Trail, I definitely decided to wear it on a few runs prior to racing in it.  But it was the races itself that mattered to me.

I originally planned to do four rather distinct and different races in the shoe to really give accurate feedback on how it performed.  Then a nice little case of Staph infection grabbed ahold of my foot and the final test, the 20 mile Peterson Ridge Rumble in Sisters, OR, had to be canceled.  So the sample size of races was down to three.  But what a three they were.

First, I took part in the Fuego Y Agua 25k in Nicaragua in February.  I had a pitiful race damn near dying from dehydration. Raced upon and then back
down a jungle volcano the terrain was not only mushy on one side but scree-filled on the other. In fact, it was about as dry as a popcorn’s fart. The juxtaposition from one side of this volcano to another was hard to understand until you ran it.

Flying at X-Trifecta

Second, in my ever-increasing desire to jump head-first into shallow water, I took on the X-Trifecta Winter Triathlon. Downhill skiing (never once done it) followed by mountain biking (never once done it) followed by a trail run (have done it.)  Well, considering the shoes doubled as my footwear for the bike and the run, they got double duty that day.

Throw in the quarter mile of snow and half mile of pavement on the “trail” portion of the run and these puppies were tested in many terrains.

Finally, the Gorge Waterfalls 50k in the greater Portland area was the final test. Road, trail, rocks, roots and basically hiking up the side of a large hill (twice; both ways) were what the Flow Trail had to encounter. 

Traversing the Gorge.

To say the shoes passed with flying colors would be a massive understatement. Each one of the races, in and of itself, was a testament to the flexibility that the shoes were able to give me in comfort, terrain-grabbing-ness (industry term) and plain ole not-thinking-about-my feet. When it comes to my shoes, the one thing I want to do, above everything, is never once think about them. When pushed to think about what I have on my feet because I am lacking in any foot pain, blisters, abrasions or anything negative whatsoever, that is when I know I have a shoe that
works.

For technical specs and things that I’d rather not think about, check out the Karhu site here.

But here are some quick facts and details from the Karhu website.

"Rugged enough for the toughest single track trails, yet accommodating to road surfaces, the Flow Trail features a counter-directional T-lug design equally adaptable to both uphill and downhill running. The lower profile maximizes the feel of the terrain without compromising the Fulcrum Technology's ability to increase propulsion. A durable waterproof mud guard protects the runner's feet from harsh wilderness elements including creek crossings, rocks and roots while the faster transition through the gait-cycle makes it easier to flee from angry moose."

Weight (M) 9.0 oz (255 g)
Heights: Midsole heel/forefoot: 16 / 8 mm ; Outsole : 2.5 mm

For my money, this is the shoe I will have on my feet when I go off-road.  It should be for you as well.

Gorge Waterfalls 50k Recap

A Runner's Ramblings: Volume 8; 6th Edition 
1 mile skied, 5 miles biked and 80.4 miles run in 2013 races
Race: Gorge Waterfalls 50k
Place: Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, OR
Miles from home: 30 miles
Weather: 60-70s; sunny

As a resident of Portland for rapidly approaching a year (wow, really?!) I realized a bit ago I had not yet raced a single race in my new state. In addition, I had not taken advantage of the wonderful Columbia Gorge and all the gorgeous places one can run there. Not doing so is mostly because of my traveling schedule but somewhat because I hate driving to run. When there is so much awesomeness near your doorstep it is hard to justify driving 30 miles to find other such awesomeness.  I like my car but I like running more. However, I decided to remedy both of those deficiencies when I signed up for the Gorge Waterfalls 50k.

Given sort of a journalists entry into the race (which sold out in 75 minutes!) I wanted to do the best I could to describe the race for others while also looking to push myself to compete. As such, I going to break this recap into two different sections. The first will be to describe the race itself, and the second will be to describe my race specifically. I think far too many recaps for trail and/or ultras leave so much to be desired in terms of describing the course for those who may not be able to run on it beforehand, so I want to remedy that.


The Race Course:

My stance on beautiful vistas during races is fairly well-known: for the most part I do not care. If I am racing, I rarely see more than a few feet in front of me. In the Little Grand Canyon Marathon, a race I was fortunate enough to win (and a picture of the race around mile 25 graces the cover of my second book) I barely noticed the unbelievable beauty until post-race. Having said that, there are a select few races where I do indeed notice the scenery around me. As such, I can say without equivocation that the beauty of the Gorge Waterfalls 50k is jaw-dropping. In fact, there was no shortage of relatively competitive runners stopping mid-race simply to take picture after picture.With regards to eye-pleasingness, the race probably has few equals out there.

Of course, some of the beauty is hard to enjoy simply because of the nature of the course. While not an overly technical trail, it is run on a trail that does not exude the buttery smoothness of so many of Oregon's other trails. Rather, it is indeed tough on the footing in some areas. It is also rather twisty and turny through most of the sections, leaving runners with amply opportunities to twist ankles. In other words, one must be a little careful while enjoying the scenery not to become part of it. Granted this is true of virtually any race but is is even more so here.

The course is a simple out-and-back of ~15 plus miles. Different distances were accounted from different GPS watches and the race's stance on the absolute exactness of the distance of the course is wonderfully stated: "...if the course is not exactly 50k and this will upset you please do not do the race." That's exactly how I feel when a race has a cutoff time that some people feel is too strict.  If you don't like it, it is not as if it is the only game in town. Like just about everything the people at Rainshadow Running do, this is great.

The course can basically be broken into 4 distinct parts.

Part One:

Starting at the Benson State Park, the first section begins with a quick one mile jog around a pond fed by the Wahkeena Creek. A word of caution: about 100 yards into the race there is a small narrow footbridge.  If being in the first few to cross this unimpeded is important to you, I would sprint to the front. I got caught in a bit of a bottle neck that I never expected on a trail race. After this jaunt around the pond, you traverse through a parking lot and up onto a trail which runs parallel to where your car is parked. Enjoy this slightly rolling section because before long you will be hitting the biggest climb of the day (well, until you have to do it again coming back at the end, that is.) In the next mile and a half, give or take, you will go up ~1500 feet of switchbacks and climbs which bring basically everyone to a walk. Some people will still insist on doing that silly hopping-up-and-down-as-they-try-to-simulate-running-but-are-going-no-faster-than-you-walking-and-burning-three-times-the-energy trot. Let them. Save your energy.

Part of this section going up is on well-packed dirt, and some on a little more technical footing. You will be completely shaded against any sun, and probably most of any such rain that may fall by the abundance of glorious trees.

Cresting this mountain, you want to just let fly and for a while you can.  The footing is relatively fine and while the track is a bit narrow with some harrowing falls to the side, if you are vigilant you can pick up some time lost going up the mountain. Throughout the remainder of this downhill (and a short but slightly unexpected other set of switchbacks) is the area with both the beauty and the danger I mentioned above. Even with basically ideal footing conditions like we had on race day, there is a need to pay heed here. As you pass Wahkeena Falls, Fairy Falls, Multnomah Falls, Oneonta Falls and tons of other gorgeous rivulets which may not even have names, there are some tricky sections. I took a few sharp stones to the heels and balls of my feet that made me wince. Later on, thinking of the few brave souls wearing sandals or (I swear to god) aqua socks, I wondered how long they would be out of commission.

When you get over the most technical portion of this downhill, you are treated to some screaming downhills on asphalt.  These are also a tad bit tricky for two reasons.  The first being that the switchback nature of them rarely allow you a chance to build up a full head of steam before needing to break your ankles a bit to go 180 degrees in the opposite direction. Also, even at this early in the morning, if you are blessed with beautiful being-outside weather, you will have a plethora of hikers and tourists "clogging" the path a bit. Many are courteous but the random dog on a long-leash not being paid special attention to can make for a quick end to your race. Lots of credit to the pedestrians who made an effort to allow runners to pass and for those cheering us on as well.

Part Two:

After finishing the switchbacks, you pop out onto a short trail before running down onto the road to the first of two aid stations which you will hit twice. Very adequately stocked with all sorts of food you would expect at an ultra there are volunteers more than willing to fill your bottle or pack or what have you to speed you on your way. There is also a portapotty here and a place where you could leave a drop bag if necessary. All top-notch stuff here.

Photo by Takao Suzuki

Just as soon as you enter the road you leave it again and head back to the trail. The next four miles contain some of the most runnable sections of the trail that you will encounter all day. While the footing can be a little dicey in spots (e.g., you cross what appears to be a rock slide in one 25 yard section) the vast majority of this section allows you to thoroughly enjoy the woods. There are some places where some well-grown moss can make the footing a little slippery and I imagine on a wetter day some of the mud would be less than forgiving.

The first part of the course is known for its waterfalls. I would say this portion feels much more like a jaunt through the forest.  There are no large waterfalls in this section but there are places where the water trickles down the rocks from above. Soon the run turns into the aforementioned twisting and turning. No switchbacks to speak of but a pure trail run, leaping over a downed tree here and there, barely feeling like you are disturbing nature or that you feet are leaving any mark. Again, not a buttery smooth trail but easier to traverse than earlier.

As with the last section, this part of the course is almost entirely shaded from the sun's rays. It is also slightly cooler in the forest than it is just a few hundred yards away down on the road so it is about the best you can ask for.

After a slow but gradual downhill section you get spit out onto the road for what I think of as the third distinct part of this course.

Part Three:

This was absolutely nirvana for me. After carefully picking my way down trails and waterfalls over hill and dale, a 2ish mile section of road awaits runners before they hill the next aid station.  Mostly flat with one small rise near the aid station, this is a chance for road runners to really stretch their legs. Nothing much more to say about this other than it is a nice road with very little traffic on it. A welcome respite for some and for those who do not like road, well, you won't have to worry about it for too long.

Part Four:

After hitting another aid station as fully stocked as the first, runners will take off for the last section before turning around. This area will contain some climbs but the footing is very forgiving. This section combines the wooded wonderfulness of the second section with the waterfalls of the first.  After climbing gently for less than a mile, runners will begin a nice little section of downhill.  Before long, a quick series of switchbacks down a hill will lead to the turnaround in front of Elowah Falls. I am unsure if the race offers different ways to mark this turnaround each year so I will keep it a secret.

That's it.  Now just come back the way you came.