Hampster Endurance 12-Hour - Run

The weather was perfect for an August event. Cool, cloudy, even had a little mist at one point which really felt good. My goal was to beat last year's 50 miles which I figured was in the bag as long as I had no problems. My running has gone very well over the last year.

I had my pace and lap times calculated out for 19, 20, and 21 laps. I wasn't a half mile in before all my rational planning went by the wayside. I started chatting with a guy that had been running twice the weekly mileage as me and about a 45 minute faster marathoner. He had not run beyond 26 before so he was interested in what I had learned from last year. I had determined that I would walk the main hill and two other inclines and maintain a comfortable pace on the flats. Occasionally I'd stride out a little on the downhills to stretch a bit and take advantage of the gravity.

The day went by very quickly as I enjoyed the company and conversation of my running buddy. He works in the same industry as I do so we had a lot to talk about. It went so well that I was on pace for 62 miles eight hours into the race. I could not believe it. I knew I was pushing harder than I had planned but just went with it. I was still feeling strong and I had hit my nutrition/hydration perfectly.

At that point, my buddy took a break and I was on my own. I started doing the math in my head and figured I only had to cover about 15 miles in four hours to hit my most optimistic goal so decided to play it safe and take it down a few notches. My knees started to hurt on the downhills so I began to walk those stretches as well.

At the end of each lap, I grabbed a drink and some gel and/or shotblox in the "pit stop" area. I was very quick and wasted no time. The key to a long day like this is to keep moving. Towards the end I started alternating potato chips and Coke to keep up on my salt and sugar hits.

I decided with three hours to go that I would accept my optimistic goal even though I think I could have squeezed an extra lap in. I saw no point in tempting fate and I was really happy with the overall day. Towards the end I was covering a lap in about 40 minutes. I had 30 minutes left on the clock when I called it a day so I have no doubt I had one more left in me if I had chosen to push it. Maybe next year.

Stick to my own plan and not get sucked into peer pressure. Overall very pleased and I know I made the right decision to coast the last quarter. I have a half marathon this Saturday in Vancouver (Seawheeze) which is one of the highlights of the summer so needed to think about bouncing back for that.

Skipped the routine post race beers and just went home. I was still mobile but barely and needed to rehydrate and lay down. I wanted to take it very easy and make sure everything was OK. I think I'm capable of pushing myself beyond what is safe so thought it best to lay up and monitor myself.


Nothing. I had a very good run. If anything maybe look at a more cushioned shoe to reduce the cumulative impact on my joints. Hoka's were far and away the shoe of choice. I wore Mizumo Inspires which are OK but not in the same class as Hoka's for cushioning.


Great event for an ultra. Just enough variety on the loop to keep things interesting. They have added a 6 hour race to go along with the 12 and 24.