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Comments: I had some idea what the final climb was like from a preview run on the opposite (slightly steeper) face of Mt Wilson on the 4th of July, but hitting the 3 mile climb up the Kenyon-Devore Trail after 12.25 miles was still the hardest climb I've ever done on a run. My balky right hammie held up fine...but the left one went out on me at 9.5 miles. Then I had to step off the fire road to take an urgent dump at 10.5...just before the second of two aid stations, but couldn't wait. Looking at my Garmin output, it looks like a 2-minute stop...and I finished 2nd in my AG by 1;28. Couldn't be helped, but probably cost me an AG win. What would you do differently?: The emergency pit stop probably was a function of racing at altitude. Even if I'd held off til the aid station, it wouldn't have made it any quicker. Sometimes Nature calls and demands an answer... Likewise, don't know that there was anything to have been done to avoid pulling the left hamstring. It's given me problems periodically, but not as bad as the right one. Didn't affect the final climb, but it was tender every time I hit a flat or dip.  Post race
Warm down: Walked around. Got rehydrated. Avoided sitting immediately so as not to let the hammie tighten up. No results posted, but I was pretty sure I was second in AG...ran for a few miles with a guy who was clearly my age. He dropped me on the descent between miles 5.8 and 7 and I never caught up. A spectator on the final climb told me he wasn't far ahead, but I was never close enough to see him. Sure enough, I picked up 2nd in M50-59 (and top ten overall). What limited your ability to perform faster: Pit stop. Hamstring injury. Heat wasn't as big an issue as I feared...not least because the final ascent was in a canyon that was heavily shaded. Event comments: This was the 11th running in 13 years of a trail event (50K/25K) that has a reputation as one of the toughest in the area. Starts and finishes at the historic Mt Wilson Observatory, around 5700' of elevation in the San Gabriel Mountains above Pasadena. Final climb on the Kenyon-Devore Trail is beyond challenging. Last updated: 2017-04-28 12:00 AM
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United States
Gary Hilliard
85F / 29C
Sunny
Overall Rank = 8/81
Age Group = M 50-59
Age Group Rank = 2/18
Been rehabbing persistent right hamstring injury all spring...finally healthy in time for this race.
Got up at 4am to drive 5000' up to the Mt Wilson Observatory for mandatory check-in between 5:30 and 6:30. Got there early enough to beat the line of cars into parking and got my packet.
Weather forecast was for brutal heat. Decided this would be a good time to try out my new Osprey Dura 1.5 hydration pack...first pack I've ever bought (purchased in anticipation of planned first 50-miler in early October). I'd worn it on one 7.5 mile trail run in training and it seemed great.
Nothing much...walked around and talked with a couple people, including a fellow member of my club. Trotted a bit to test lacing of my shoes. All systems seemed like a 'go.'