Image from Golden Ultra, Day 2: The Sweat.
This is likely going to be a weekend full of highs and lows, literally. Thursday, I made my way up to Golden, BC, Canada for a 3-day ultra event: the Golden Ultra. It’s going to be one heck of a weekend with a whole lot of running (and some time with very special friends, keep an eye on social).
The highs? The elevation on these three runs is bananas. The lows? If you have ever done an ultra, or even a really long-distance run, you know that there are bound to be some moments where you think “why am I doing this?” Those moments are typically replaced with moments of joy and relief. It’s the balance of an ultra.
Getting to Golden
The flight was pretty quick. It’s a 3-hour flight from SF to Calgary. Then it’s a 3-hour drive to the town of Golden. 3 hours is a long time to be in a car, but the scenery was absolutely gorgeous. From downtown Calgary you quickly head towards open fields, colorful trees, streaming rivers, and through snow-capped mountains. I wanted to stop several times to take pics (or even snap them while driving), but I resisted and just made the drive straight through. I’m definitely planning on stopping through my way back.
Some of the gear for the three stages.
Race weekend strategy
Day 1, THE BLOOD, is a 5K (3.1 miles) with a 1000m (or 3200+ ft.) gain. Yep. Straight up. Motivation will be the views. Strategy? Just make it to the top.
Day 2, THE SWEAT, is 55K loop (34 miles) with a 2500m (or 8200+ ft.) gain and then loss. I’m not sure what will motivate me this day. I would imagine it would be a combination of various things. It’ll be a long time out there with all kinds of emotions. Strategy? Survive. Just eat up miles until none are left.
Day 3, THE TEARS, is a 20K (12 miles) with a flat, flowy terrain with a 375m (1200+ ft.) gain. Motivation: last day! Strategy? I really want to bask in the finale of a 3-day experience. Hoping a smile is on my face the entire time.
The debut of the fenix 3
You may have seen a couple tweets or IG shares, but I’m back where I belong with a Garmin back on my wrist, the fenix 3. It was my first GPS watch and I bounced around with a couple other watches after that. In looking to get stronger, faster, I needed to get back to a watch that delivered not only everything I need on race day, but the ability to provide MORE. I’ll dedicate a blog post to it when I get back, but I’m excited about it.
Follow along on social as I’ll be sharing regularly through the weekend.
Twitter: @pavementrunner
Instagram: @pavementrunner
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Where is the furthest you have traveled for a race?
The furthest I’ve traveled would be to Europe. Twice. Both times for triathlons, ha ha. Good luck this weekend!!
You were in Calgary and I didn’t even know it!! I find it hilarious that you find 3 hours to be a long drive. I drive that almost every other weekend.
Have a great race. Golden is gorgeous.
Best of luck to you, Pavey! I can’t wait to see everything on social! The farthest I’ve traveled for a race isn’t too far. I guess about 5 hours to NOLA.