Sage Burner 50K-Gunnison, CO

This posting is a little overdue but better late than never. Memorial Day weekend we headed down to Gunnison for my first 50K race. The race is sponsored by Western State College and is in its 3rd annual running. The race takes place at Hartman Rocks Recreation Area just outside Gunnison. It is a huge area with over 40 miles of single track covering 8,000 acres winding through lots of sagebrush and granite outcroppings with little shade. The primary sport in this area is mountain biking but also great for running. The weekend was full of other events as well. Along with the 50K run there was a 25K option both starting early morning on May 29. That same day there was a 24hr climbing event and then the next day the Growler Mountain Bike race took place in the same area with a 32-mile option and 64-mile option. In town they had live music, beer, and food going on throughout the weekend.

The 50K course (31 miles) included 5200 feet of climbing through some technical singletrack with lots of undulating ups and downs and as I mentioned before no shade. So it was VERY HOT and DRY. When i finished the course I think it was almost 80 degrees and when you are racing between 7700 feet and 8390 feet in elevation that is HOT! Aid stations occurred every 5-6 miles and very fully stocked with very helpful volunteers. I have never drank so much fluids during a race and almost ran out of water between aid stations. For me, the toughest part of the course was the first 15 miles where I struggled to get in a rhythm with the constant quick and steep ups and downs which killed my legs. After I took quite a fall (going uphill) at mile 10 because my legs felt like lead, I was questioning whether I could finish. Luckily, I battled through it and after about mile 16 the course seemed to mellow out a little with more steady terrain. I started to feel better, got into a rhythm and actually passed a bunch of people plus the wind picked up a little which helped dissapate some of the heat. I finished 36th overall and 9th female in a time of 6:20:04 in a field of about 90 people. The winning female came in a 5:04:06 and the winning male 4:23:06. John and Fisher were patiently waiting at the finish for me capturing a few pictures. I was so thankful to see them and be finished almost in one piece minus a bloody knee, giant blister in between my toes, quite the dirt tan and feeling like I had been scorched by the sun. We quickly left the finish and headed down to the Gunnison river to let Fisher swim and soak my legs in the cold water and then back to an air conditioned hotel room which I think shocked my body. After showering and bandaging up my knee, we headed into town for food, beer and live music and to meet up with my running friend who had run the 25k race. The evening finished off with inhaling three giant pieces of pizza, some red wine and passing out in bed around 9. A great end to the day!

The next day we headed to 12 Mile for some recovery time.
At the finish line, ready to get out of the sun.
The aftermath.
The dirt tan.
At 12 Mile celebrating the next day.
A BBQ feast at 12 Mile.
A recovery hike up 12 Mile Creek. nice and slow.