Finger Lakes Fifties

The twenty-first annual Finger Lakes Fifties was held on Saturday, July 4 at the Finger Lakes National Forest in Hector, NY. Race distances included 50miles, 50km and a 25km race. The course is a nice combination of rolling single track forest trail and meadows, with limited road sections. One of the great things about this race is that everyone entered in the 50mile race has the option of dropping down to the 50km if they decide to in mid race as there the first three loops are approximately 15.5 miles each. Participants in the 50 miler then add on an additional 3.5 mile loop at the end to make up the full 50 mile distance.

I was really looking forward to running this course and getting in a solid 50 mile time. Mother Nature had other ideas however as heavy rains all week guaranteed a very muddy course. Added to the mud was a little cow and horse poop; making this a messy quagmire of ankle to knee deep muck for much of the race.

My plan for the race was to start off conservative due to the challenging trail conditions. Yassine Diboun is from nearby Ithaca, knows the trails well, and started off quicker than I wanted to go at the beginning. Yassine hooked up with Jack Pilla who was running the 50km and set off at fast pace in the tough footing. I was content to sit back and enjoy the scenery and try to relax as much as possible in the early going, while staying on top of nutrition and hydration. The weather was relatively cool at the beginning, which was a welcome relief for me since I don’t consider myself a very good warm weather runner. It did heat up as the day progressed though.

I would have to say that this is one of the most interesting designed courses I have run on. Running through cow pastures between a herd of cows is sure to make you smile, as long as you can avoid the steaming cow patties! Runners were also required to open and close gates to prevent the cows from getting out. I couldn’t help but think about Karl Meltzer’s recent run in with a moose at Bighorn and liked my odds a little better with the cows than an angry moose.

The first loop was fairly uneventful and I just enjoyed the views and tried to get into a rhythm, which was tough to do with the deep mud. However, there were a few sections that had better footing and you were able to open up a bit more, including a very long downhill section of a couple of miles on a forest road. The many aid stations, awesome volunteers and the beautiful ravine helped to spice up the day as the miles clicked by.

With the race offering the option of switching from 50 miles to 50km after the second loop, there were many runners who jumped at the chance to do so. It was at this point that the 50 mile participants knew who we were running against, and it was confirmed at an aid station that I was in second place, about 10 minutes behind Yassine. Feeling in a good place, I started to push a little harder, while still trying to stay relaxed through the mud.

I felt like I was moving well and ended up catching Yassine at the 40 mile aid station and took the lead. He seemed to be having some knee issues and I found out later that he dropped out of the race. I continued to press on hard at that point, not sure if Yassine or anyone else was close by.

The last 10 miles seemed like they were never going to end as the conditions had deteriorated greatly with over 100 runners trampling over the course multiple times. I have to say that the La Sportiva Crosslites were the best possible shoe for this race as they gave some traction, when there was essentially none to be had. Coming up to the final aid station I was able to relax a little and know that there was only another 3.5 miles to go. My legs were beginning to wobble a little, but I held it together and was happy to be done as I crossed the finish line.

After a quick dip in a nearby pond to get rid of all the muck on my legs and shoes (Customs agents probably wouldn’t allow me to bring what was caked on my legs back into Canada), I enjoyed probably the best ever catered post race meal I have ever had. The only thing that might have added to the enjoyment would have been to crack one of the Butternut Beers that I got for winning the race, but we had a long drive home, so that would have to wait.

The backcountry atmosphere and exceptional organization of the Finger Lakes Fifties is second to none and I look forward to going back to race there again in the future.

Looking back at the race, it was a very satisfying day as I felt that I ran a smart, solid race. It was also great seeing La Sportiva teammate (and wife) Sara Montgomery have a solid run as well, finishing 4^th in the women’s 50km race.