#11 - Ultimate XC 35k not 56k

I had to make a last minute adjustment to the length of the race. It was practically impossible to get back home on the last train from Montreal at 6pm while running the 56k race, and the only way would have been paying $500 for an airplane ticket, no way! So I had to change to the 35k, still a tough race. The 35k runs more like a traditional 50k, and I assume the 56k would run more like 50m. If you are reading this post, then please make some time to run this race. Awesome trails, tough hills / mountains, lots of water with roots and rocks galore. Beautiful scenery to say the least. Nothing compared to Ontario trail races...give it a try. It’s a bit far away but I made the trip using Via Rail to Dorval for $155 both ways plus a $23 car rental from Dorval to drive up to Tremblant and I slept in the car overnight. So you can do it cheap if it’s the 35k race, however on the 56k you either have to be very fast or you need another day to get next days train or drive up and not use the train.

Anyway, the 35k race started at 9am (56k at 7am) and it seemed I was the only non-French speaker in the place. The race director gave its 5min intro in French and about a 30sec intro in English, not sure what I missed. The good thing was that it was almost impossible to get lost. We were off shortly thereafter and we hit the hills fast. This was a race of shocks in my mind. Shock #1 was 5min into the race when the first climb set in, my body simply started to ache everywhere. So I walked up and ran what I could. I thought to myself, this is not good I'm not even 5k in and I'm hurting. However, as soon as we crested the first climb I started to feel much better and passed many on the way down and on the semi flat sections.

This all changed very quickly once we got to the water section at around the 10k mark, shock #2. This is a 4k section were you have to run through water, mud, slippery rocks sometimes waist deep. You can easily loose a shoe, face plant, twist and ankle, fall on your ass, or any combination of the above. In my case I had the pleasure of eating the entire combo at least once. Unbelievably long section and if you haven't trained or done this before you were in for a treat. Some people were flying over the rocks, maybe the shoes? Practice? I'm I an idiot? At the finished line I asked several people and they mentioned they train on this section several times before the race apart from the fact they have done the race before and knew what to expect.

So after the water section, we had a drop bag (a must!!). I changed shoes and socks and I was off, felt pretty good after a short while and the terrain from this point onwards was all uphill. It went much better than expected and I felt strong, even though I did not run the steep sections. I past many and from this point onwards I was never past by anyone again, shock #3. Let me tell you, I was not flying up the hill so I imagined I was going to get passed by many yet again. I guess they tired out during the water section. This was the steepest part of the race, and at times you were on all fours going up.

After you crest there is about 4-5k of running through tough up-down ridgeline terrain that is beautiful. I loved this section. Nothing to report here, I enjoyed it and I was soon at the start of the final 7k decent. Very long section with amazing views of the surroundings area and tons of rocks/boulders, if you miss a step you can literally fly over and into the bush. Guess what? I did! Running over a big opening over a very large boulder and looking at the lake below, I tripped and went face first over the rock into the bushes/trees. Holy crap, shock #4 (how many times have I taken a hard fall? at least 5 times). Did a quick check, nothing broken, no blood, all good I guess. A guy that I had just passed helped me out from the bushes, thank you. So for the next 5-6k after the fall all went well, except for some cramping in my inner thighs. I had been taking salt tablets, but it was hot and maybe I didn’t take enough. So I took 2 more with water and the cramps went away quickly. This downhill section was very technical and steep. If you are tired at the top of the mountain beware because it will not be an easy decent.

Finished in ~4:15 with some fuel in the tank. I guess I could have pushed it to be closer to the 4hr mark but I had no clue what to expect on the various sections. I’m going back for the 56k next year hopefully with some Ontario fire power. Awesome race and trails, highly recommended.

As I side note, I bought the Salomon Advanced Skin S-Lab Hydration Pack and tried it out for the race (got the day before the race). No issues whatsoever, excellent pack and you don't even feel it going up or down. Pockets everywhere and easy to access.