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Hilo to Volcano 2007 Race Review By David Carlsson I have just returned from Hilo. I guess you
could say it was a
very successful trip for me. I finished my second ultra. The past week,
I rested, didn't run at all, so I was a little uncertain going into
this weeks race. My legs felt fine, I just didn't know if they would
hold up for the whole 50K (31 mile) run.
The
race started early, at 6 am, at Coconut Island in Hilo. I arrived early
and was ready to go. Earlier in the week, I had read the fine print in
the race directions, - well maybe not so fine - but discovered
that the
race was unsupported - we needed to provice our support
vehicles. Since
I didn't have one - I wore my Camelback for water, and carried two
bottles filled with an energy drink. I also packed 7 Hammergels (for
some additional calories).
There was
some prerace introductions - I found out who last years winner,
James was, and the race started. James took off fast,
and everyone
strung out, rather than staying together, like in a normal long
run. I
settled into 4th place. Over the next 4 miles in the dark, which were
relatively flat, I gradually passed two runners, and found myself in
2nd. It began to turn light, and I decided to run up to James and then
pace off of him for as long as my legs would hold up. I settled in
about 25 to 30 meters behind him. If I could hang with him for most of
the run, I should be able to finish in under 5 hours. (Last year he ran
4:45).
I
continued on, taking a Hammer gel every 5 miles, and finishing a water
bottle every 10 miles. We had a perfect day. Relatively cool
temperatures, slight cloud cover, NO RAIN (while I was running), and a
little sunshine at the finish. The pitch of the road gradually increase
and we passed the 1000 ft. elevation marker, just under the half way
point. That made the second half of the race much steeper.
I was still feeling rather
relaxed at the 20 mile marker. My right knee had started bothering me a
little at mile 9, but never got any worse. After 22 miles I could see a
long, steeper stretch of road in front of me. We ran up this,
and made
a slight turn where we were greeted with an even longer, steep strech.
Turned out to be another 2 1/2 miles. I had fallen back behind Jim a
little bit during the first stretch, however by the end of the second
had caught back. We made the turn into Volcano and started on an out an
back to the finish.
I decided to give it
a go, since I still had some gas left in the tank, and over the next 4
miles built up a lead which I was able to maintain until the finish.
Wow, my second ultra, and my first vicory. It was really great hearing
the race director tell me after the race, "I mistook you for a relay
runner over the last few miles, you were moving so fast." We had
started about a half an hour before the relay runners, so there had
been a few teams that had already finished. I waited to congratulate
James, when he came in - and I'm glad he wasn't too upset that I
finished up ahead of him - because he and his wife (who drove his
support car), were generous enough to give me a ride back to Hilo. (It
would have been a long run, or walk back!) James is a great guy from
Honolulu that I had never met before - he is running the Tokyo and
Boston marathons, over the next few months.
At
the finish, we had some food - fruits, soup, and bread - and tried to
stay warm. A light rain had moved in over time. The Big Island Road
Ruuners Club had the awards ceremony recognizing the top ulta runners,
and also various teams of 3. I was suprised to see that I had also
finished ahead of 2/3 of the teams.
So, what's next on my agenda. A half marathon on
Maui next month. And a lot of rest in the meantime.
Click on the link below for the final results.
ultraDave
Last Updated: January 20, 2007 |
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