Sycamore Canyon 50K

Well, now I feel like I have just done a race. Not since my first marathon, have I felt this wrecked. And, I can almost assuredly attribute it to bonking. Or to be more descriptive, sitting on the side of a mountain in the blazing sun for 45 minutes, without seeing anyone, ready to puke, almost out of water, knowing you would be better off a couple hundred yards down the trail where there might be shade, but too dizzy to stand and get there. Yes, trail running gives a whole new meaning to the word bonk!

The Sycamore Canyon 50K is the first trail race that I have participated in. The thought of trail running appeals to me for obvious reasons. Beautiful scenery, lots of hill work (which I rarely do) and really great people! So, I was very excited about this race and figured I could finish the 31 miles in 6-6 1/2 hours. Oh ignorance is bliss. Not only did I pick the longest distance for this particular race but I also did ALL of my training on the road. I mean seriously, what was I thinking? For someone that can be sorta preachy at times with “learn from your mistakes” I can sure fail to heed my own advice. Because on top of everything else, once again I failed to get my nutrition right.

On to the race.




Point Mugu/ Sycamore Canyon is about 75 miles from my house in Huntington Beach. I had contemplated getting a hotel Saturday night, but figured that with an 8:30 am start I could leave around 5:30 which wouldn’t make it any earlier than any other race morning. So, I left in the morning and the drive was great. There was virtually no traffic that early on Sunday morning. Driving up PCH through Malibu is so beautiful. I haven’t been up there for a long time so the drive really got me in the mood for the day.

I arrived at the race site around 7 am. Plenty of time to get all of my stuff together and head to the start. This race was MUCH smaller than what I have become used to in road races. The overall vibe was a lot different and VERY cool. Everyone was very nice and there was more of a sense of belonging to a club than a competitive race. There’s nothing wrong with being competitive and believe me I wish I was ..lol... But since I am a mid packer (on a good day), the only person I am competing against is myself. So for me “races” are always about the experience and the social aspect of being with fellow runners. Anyway, I went to the registration table and gave Sarah, the race director, my name. She was so cool. She new that this was my first trail race and that I was doing the 50K. I wonder if she new what kind of trouble I would get into, would she have advised me to switch to the 30K?

There were 4 distances. 8K, 18K, 30K and 50K. I chose the 50K because my plan has been to do a 50 miler in August and you need to do a 50K before you can register for that race. The 18, 30 and 50K all started together at 8:30 and the 8K started at 8:45. After hearing the course directions from Wendell, the other race director, we were off.



44 people started the 50K. I was a little surprised at everyones pace. I had planned on going out a little slower, but I got caught up in the excitement and kept up for the first few miles. My heart rate was a good 8-10 BPM more than what I planned and I am sure it greatly contributed to my problems later in the day. The first aid station was about 6 miles into the course. The first 2 1/2 miles being a slow ascent of around 1,100 ft. I ran a good portion of this. It would have been better to walk ALL of these climbs and save the running for the flats and downhills. Again, I know this but sometimes in a race... well, you just make the same mistakes over and over again. Anyway, I got to the first aid station pretty uneventfully. I felt good and had eaten 2 gels. I headed off for the 2nd of 5 loops. This loop would turn out to be much more technical with some steeper climbs and some cool little zig zags. It was really cool running through all of those little obstacles. I felt like a real trail runner, agile and light on my feet. I met a couple of really cool girls and we talked for a good portion of that loop. We have done a lot of the same races and have been running about the same length of time. Our paces stayed the same most of the loop but towards the end I decided to slow it down a little because they were doing the 30K and they could afford to push it a little more than me.



The end of the second loop brings you back to where you started the loop. Mile 12 1/2 and I was still feeling really good. I loaded up on water and ate some pretzels and m&m’s. Then, headed out on the third loop which takes you back to the start. On the way out it was a 2 1/2 mile ascent and a 3 1/2 mile descent. Going back was much more difficult and this is where things starting going bad. I let the people I was running with go ahead as we started the climb. It was about 11:45 and the sun was really starting to beat down. This side of the climb had direct exposure with no shade for about 2 miles. I had probably had about 4 gels by now and 6- 20 oz bottles of water with nuun. Maybe it was the m&m’s but about 1 1/2 miles in I started to feel sick. These stomach issues are new to me. I usually never get sick to my stomach. It happened in the Ironman and now this race. I am wondering if the fuel belt that I am wearing is too tight? When I loosened it, it felt a little better. Or it is a problem with my nutrition and the duration of the events. On any note, this 6 mile leg back was tough. I had to stop and rest for the first time and try to get my heart rate down. Power hiking up this trail, had my HR over my average HR for a half marathon. There is simply no way that I can sustain that for over 6 or 7 hours. I started looking at my Garmin and doing the math and also started questioning whether I could make the cutoff of 8 1/2 hours. What if I dropped? The 30K finish was back at the start of the race. What happens if I go out there feeling like this, or worse? It’s not like a road race where there is an out just about everywhere. If I continue on, I am committed. I had a couple miles to think about it and those couple of miles were downhill and partially in the shade. I was feeling better. I was running a decent pace and even passing a few people.

I got back to the start at about 1:15 p.m.. I had completed a little over 19 miles. 5:45 into the race with another 11 miles to go, I would have to do each loop in around 1:45. This didn’t seem doable but when I arrived, Sarah asked how I was doing and I said “OK” and she said “well you look like you're doing good”. So that, along with the fact that I feel like quitting or not finishing what I start is like a cancer that grows if you let it in. I filled my bottles, ate some more pretzels, said goodbye to my new friends who just finished their 30K and were off to the pool, and headed back out on loop 4. I figured that if I get to the next aid station and can’t go any further or can’t make the cutoff, I can drop at that point and get a ride back. I will pretty much doing anything to not DNF. But you have to be smart and realize when you are stopping because you don’t WANT to go on or stopping because you CAN’T.

So, I am now committed to another 6 miles. But right now I feel alright except for some hoarseness in my voice, another interesting side affect that happens to me in endurance events. This first mile or so goes pretty well. I am alternating between a slow run and a power hike. It’s around 2:30 now and it’s getting pretty hot. I start hearing sirens way in the distance. first one or two then several. It sounded like they were around the base camp area. I of course thought “I hope thats not for one of the runners”. A few minutes later I saw a helicopter and it became clear that someone on the mountain was in trouble. About 10 minutes later 4 emergency vehicles came up the fire road. By the time I got to where they were parked, I found out that one of the runners had been airlifted out. Heat exhaustion, but he’ll be okay. I was able to get 4 little water bottles from one of the trucks. I filled my bottles up and one went over my head. It is amazing how important water becomes in situations like these.

I got back out to the last aid station at around 3:30. 7 hours into the race. Obviously there was NO way I was going to make it back 6 miles in 1 1/2 hours. Especially with that being the worst stretch in the hottest part of the day. So I started planning how I would get back to the start from the aid station. I figured they would drive me back since by road it is only about 5 minutes. I was really bummed but figured that they would have a cutoff at the last aid station. When I got there, Flora (the girl at the aid station) was very cool and asked me what she could get me. I sat down, emptied the rocks out of my shoes and asked her if I was the last 50K runner because I hadn’t seen anyone for a while. She said that there might be someone else but that several people had dropped at the 30K mark. I asked her about the cutoff and she said not too worry about it, that they would wait for me. So there it was, if I dropped it would have been because I didn’t want to keep going. So, I kept going.



I knew I had about 3 1/2 miles that were going to be rough. The sun was relentless at this point and this side was completely exposed. I didn’t even make it to the spot were I had problems the first time around. I started getting dizzy and nauseous. My HR was high and I had a hard time walking straight. I also started to feel my calves cramping. I had thought I was taking plenty of electrolytes but the cramping was worrying me. I sat down and rested briefly and got back up to keep going. I went about another 5 minutes and then it got worse. I went to sit down and I felt a cramp in my hip. I didn’t even know I could get one in my hip. I sat down on a stretch of trail that had no shade and was completely exposed. I ate another gel and drank some water and tried to get up. Whenever I tried to get up I would get very dizzy and sick. I had a shirt that Sarah gave me back at the 30K mark and I had soaked it in ice water back at the last aid station. I was using that to shield my face from the sun. I could see what I assumed would be a shaded section of the trail about 500 ft around a corner. But I couldn’t seem to get up. All kinds of crazy thoughts were going through my head. I’d only seen one person since the aid station and I was pretty sure that there was no one behind me. What if I couldn’t get up? I was already running out of water and I still had about 4 miles to go. I was stuck. I sat there for about 30 minutes, fly’s buzzing around me, rationing water and trying my best to get off my ass and keep going. If I wanted a challenge, this was it.

I sat there for what seemed like an eternity when Flora from the aid station came around the corner. I don’t think I’ve ever been so happy to see someone. She asked me how I was doing and I told her I was really struggling. She asked me about fluids and electrolytes. I told her I could use some water. She filled me up and then gave me some Clif Shot Blocks. She said to take my time and she wouldn’t hang all over me. She understood how it is when you are feeling that bad. Some people like to talk some don’t. I am the “don’t like to talk” kind. Then she said that it would be better if I was sitting in the shade. I said that I thought there might be some around that corner but so far couldn’t get to it. The Shot Blocks really seemed to help. I sat there for another five minutes or so and was able to get up. I made it around the corner and found a rock with a bush over it and escaped the sun for another 5 or so minutes. She caught up to me again and gave me a few more shot blocks and I was good to go.

The rest of the way up and back down were much better. Aside from a severe cramp in my left calf that happened when I bent down to take the rocks out of my shoe, I went nonstop the rest of the way.

My official time was 9:35:46. Of the 44 people who started the 50K, 22 dropped. I finished 22nd. I can’t thank Wendell and Sarah enough for allowing me to finish the race even though they could have imposed a cutoff. I am extremely glad that I was able to finish and am looking forward to applying the things that I learned to the next race. I’ll tell you one thing for sure. Whether it is another couple 50K’s or a 50 miler, I will be training on lots of trails!

Paul