2023 Tussey Mountain 50 Mile Recap
A inside look at the training, race day, what worked and what didn't.
Before the Race
Heading into this race, I luckily had some experience from my first 50-miler and running part of the course during last year’s 50K race. I ultimately chose this event since I knew it was pretty competitive and offered similar terrain to the 100-mile race I plan to run in April 2024.
The training block started off rocky, with me having to take off a couple of weeks due to gout in my left big toe. Luckily, I could maintain some fitness during this time through biking, but the shortened length of time I had to prepare made me a bit concerned.
Once I returned to regular training, my weeks mainly consisted of a tempo run, a long run, and easy runs. Periodically, I would incorporate 3 x 30-second strides at the end of a run to work on turnover.
My longest run in preparation for the race was 27 miles, while my peak week consisted of two 20-mile runs back to back on Saturday and Sunday. I’ve found that rather than running 40 miles in one go. I could run 20 miles back-to-back days and get similar ‘fatigue training’ while avoiding the long recovery that results from one very long run.
Most of my training was at Umstead State Park, which had comparable terrain to the race. I also had a chance, during a trip to Montana in August, to get in a couple of challenging mountain runs near where I was staying in Columbia Falls.
Totals from the training block (July 14 to Oct 21):
Time strength training/cross-training: 46 hours
Time running: 104 hours
Distance: 740 miles
Race Recap
The race kicked off at 7 a.m., right before sunrise. It was 40F and windy, and I had trouble determining what to wear, but ultimately decided on a long sleeve, shorts, and carried a windbreaker in my waistbelt.
The first 3 miles covered a ~800ft ascent, and I focused on staying comfortable. After reaching the top of the first mountain, there was a long descent till around mile 8. It was a bit confusing starting with the 50k runners since I had no clue what place I was in or who I was running the 50 miles with, so I ended up sticking primarily solo from the beginning.
For the first hour, I felt super fresh and comfortable. I was in a good rhythm leading into the Whipple Dam aid station at mile 11. Hannah, my mother and father-in-law, Kyle, and Katelyn all came out, which kept my morale high, leading to a challenging part of the race.
From 11 to 20, the terrain mainly consisted of rolling hills, and I still focused on staying as comfortable as possible. About 3 hours into the race, I reached the Alan Seegar Park aid station set at the base of Broad Mountain. Ahead was a 3-mile segment with about 1300ft of climbing.
A brief note on fueling: My overall strategy was to take 125 calories every 20-30 minutes. I had salt pills (sodium, potassium, magnesium, etc.) that I took every hour, and water was on a ‘by feel’ basis. Even if my handheld bottle wasn’t empty, I filled up at every station. After hour 3, I took a caffeinated gel every hour (~50mg).
I focused on just keeping my momentum up the Broad Mountain ascent and managed to pass several runners near the top. After reaching the next aid station, the race carried along the ridge. The views were beautiful along this section, but the exposed trail made the conditions frigid, and I looked forward to the descent into warmer air.
From miles 25 to 32, my legs quickly went from feeling fresh to fatigued on the descent. I noticed my pace slowing, and I tried my best to let gravity carry me down the mountain. I adjusted my stride to shorter, quicker steps to help reduce some of the impact.
From 33 to 37, I began hitting a mental low point. My legs were tired, and to make matters worse, my stomach was not letting me take in any more calories. I tried several times over the following miles but felt like I would be sick each time. One of the runners I passed on the Broad Mountain ascent passed me around this point. I tried sticking with him but couldn’t hang on.
I knew Hannah and her parents would be at Colyer Lake aid station (around mile 41), and that’s all I focused on getting to. Finally reaching the station, I hadn’t been able to take in calories for over an hour, but it was a relief to see family. I scanned the aid station table, looking for anything I could stomach, and remembered ginger ale working well on my first 50-mile race. I looked at the sodas, but there wasn’t any ginger ale, so I grabbed a cup of Coca-Cola instead before heading out for the final 10 miles.
I was in survival mode at this point. I knew I had around 6 miles to the next station, followed by a 3-mile descent to the finish. Breaking up the race into more manageable chunks helped me mentally. The caffeine kicked in, and my mood and energy levels improved. All the while, I pushed to maintain momentum on the final ascent to the aid station.
Finally, I reached the Bear Meadows station, and all that was left was a long descent. Since the last aid station, I only had water, so in a last-ditch effort to take in fuel, I decided to fill my entire handheld bottle with Coca-Cola. Shortly after leaving the station, my bottle became a soda cannon from all the build-up of carbonation.
Covered in sweat and cola, I descended as quickly as possible, again taking smaller, quicker strides. I was occasionally looking back for fear of a fast-approaching runner. My windbreaker came loose from my waistbelt pocket, which made a footstep-like sound, making me think there was a nearby runner. I ran a little scared, but it did help me quicken my pace.
I began quickly ticking off the miles, and below, I soon could see the valley where the finish was located. With the remainder of my energy, I ran as quickly as possible for the last half mile to the finish.
I placed 5th overall with a time of 7 hours and 35 minutes. This was slower than my goal of 7:10, but I am still thrilled with how the race turned out.
What worked well:
Ascending - I felt strong on the ascents, and these sections of the race were where I gained the most ground.
Pacing - Looking at the pace chart (below), I was able to keep a fairly consistent pace, which I attribute to keeping it conservative at the beginning of the race.
Each 10 mile split: (1:24:23, 1:24:49, 1:35:08, 1:35:00, 1:35:59)
I got slower after mile 20, but I kept it consistent from then on! It was a pretty interesting finding, especially since my biggest highs and lows were from 30 to the finish.
Coca-Cola - this was a big surprise. I usually don’t drink soda, but the mix of caffeine and sugar helped both settle my stomach and get some calories in for the remainder of the race.
What didn’t:
Descending - this is an area in which I have a lot of room for improvement. I’ll have to think through how to simulate long mountain descents around where I live (maybe hill repeats?)
Gel gut - I believe I may have taken in too many calories too quickly in the early stages of the race. This led to a rough second half.
My watch data from the race:
The Tussey MountainBack 50-mile course:
What’s Next?
My next big race is the Umstead 100, my first-ever 100-mile race. It’s both scary and exciting, and in the next couple of months, I’ll begin kick-off training for it.
The neat thing about this wild sport is that there is so much to learn. With this being my fourth ultra, I still feel like I’m skimming the surface of the knowledge that comes with running these races. All in all, it’s about having fun, being out on the trails, and feeling alive.
Thanks for reading! 🙂
This is amazing Ryan!! You are an inspiration!!