Ultra-Trail Harricana of Canada
Ultra Trail Harricana of Canada (UTHC), 125km
Ultra Trail World Tour, Quebec
Somewhere in spring of 2021 it became a reality that summer races in British Columbia might not be able to go forward due to the Covid-19 public health orders. I knew that if safe, I wanted to be able to get back to races and I quickly found the UTHC 125km in Quebec. After a little research I thought it would be a course I would love to run. It is part of the Ultra Trail World tour, boasts over 4,200m of climbing and is primarily single track, technical terrain.
Somehow the months ticked by and a few short weeks following The Canadian Death Race I was tapering and preparing for my race in Quebec.
Be sure to click here for the amazing video recap Matt put together with race day footage and more insight to the crewing side!
Pre-Race: Planning and Logistics
I had looked at the course in the months prior to ensure I was incorporating some of the right elements. Since I do my long runs on technical single track and live in the Fraser Valley where all trails have ample vertical ascent, I knew I was pretty well on track. I started studying the course more closely in the week leading into the race.
I combed through the well organized website and found all the map details, aid station locations, and a thorough course description. This year the start time was modified from previously starting around 2am to now starting at 1pm, so while reading the course description I just had to factor that in.
As usual, I utilized a google document to write out each section between aid stations, noted crew versus remote aid, and added a few pointers about each section from the course description provided. Lastly, I added my gear notes for what gear I would take or change, what options I might want available depending on the weather, and of course, what fuel and hydration I would need.
In the days leading up to the race I organized and packed my gear, focusing on taking enough to offer any comfort if the night got cold, wet, and long. I had read a few times that many people drop in the night due to unanticipated cold weather and I was not going to let this happen to me. So, with one checked bag that weighed in just over the approved 50lbs we were off…if I ate right during the race, the bag would be well within the weight restrictions on our return flight!
Race Day
With the race starting at 1:00pm the goal of the morning was to sleep in and start the day late. This worked well for me seeing as I really hadn’t adjusted to the time change (Quebec is 3 hours ahead of BC) and I slept in until around 9:00am. Then it was time for oatmeal and the 45min drive to the start line. Matt was prepared to crew and we had reviewed all of the aid stations notes together. He knew his job was to be the director and brain when I arrived making sure I had what I needed and didn’t veer off the plan.
I took out my Sharpie and wrote the distances of each of the crew aid stations on my forearm, 30km, 60km, 108km. Below that and in much smaller print I wrote my notes for mental headspace, one line saying crush little bitches and another saying puppy with the sharpest teeth. Sometimes you just go with what works for you! More on the mental approach below..
Photo: UTHC
The Race
This race was truly remarkable right from the start. The race took off at a pretty quick pace at the front and the leaders flew out onto the flat gravel road at a sub 4 min km, I stayed around the 4min/km mark and just let them go a little, knowing I had plenty of time, but also trusting that I wouldn’t burn myself out by doing that for a few kilometres. I wanted to settle into my aerobic zone, so I focused on my breathing, staying relaxed and finding my groove as we started to climb. Power hiking and running were utilized on the first few climbs and I felt comfortable knowing I was well below my hard effort but finding that steady rhythm up the trails.
The race did what races do, it climbed up, showed off stunning views of endless trees and lakes, and descended into technical boreal forest. During daylight we covered a lot of technical rooted and rocky terrain, making me grateful for my experience with this at home.
From the start I focused on fueling and hydrating and although it was easy to eat my Spring Energy gels, noticing that with the cooler weather I had to remember to drink. I utilized unflavoured Tailwind in each of my flasks and carried 1.5L on most of the time.
Quite early on I moved into position as the 2nd female, passing the wonderful and strong Katie Asmuth. She was hooting and hollering, loving the views, and exclaiming the fun of being on course! It was amazing to see and feel her energy and I knew with her fitness and enthusiasm she was going to have an awesome day. At 30km the course introduces the steepest and most technical ascent and descent of the race. I loved it. I passed a few men and took off from the man who had ran right with me since about 10km in. This climb reminded me of the many steep routes I used in preparation in my final weeks of training (Mt. Harvey, Mt. Brunswick, and Mt. Slesse). It was short, steep, and stunning! One man caught me on the descent and I was not going to go into any chasing at this point. Footwork and fueling were the goals.
Photo: UTHC
This is where I started to check into my mental strategies. I had been working on a few approaches in training, one being to remain focused on what is under foot in the present moment. I worked on this through using an app, Headspace, and completing guided focus based meditations. I have a long way to go with this and taking it into practice, but it definitely came up for me during the race and I can’t wait to play more with mental approaches. The second approach was the idea of ‘crushing little bitches’ (thanks to a Some Work All Play Podcast reference) which to me means not letting the voice in my head, that I have labelled as the Little B*, come out. I used self talk to tell that voice she wasn’t invited, and this day was all for the big boss bitch. Little B thoughts that tend to show up for me are things like: should you be passing this person already…should you pass another man, shouldn’t you pace a little more? When these pop up I visualized little B leaving the party and the boss of self belief coming in. It worked, I definitely had so much fun just kicking out the thoughts that popped but and it became quick and simple to tell myself it was a boss bitch day.
Coming into 30km Matt had my gear all set out and we did a quick refuel with my spring, tailwind, and added a headlamp. At this point I was running with the mandatory gear which included a headlamp and back up, and I added an additional handheld light, just incase. Because, yes, I am afraid of the dark and it would be dark by the time I saw Matt again at 60km.
The next section from 30km to 60km is kind of a blur, it started off with a gravel road, then into the single track and some climbing, with mostly runnable terrain. I remember the single track, it being quite cool on the mountain, and then working into a descent as it started to get dark. Here I ran into a runner from Squamish (Adam Harris). He was so great to chat with and was a super positive run buddy for many miles! We made it all the way through the 80km aid station and then from there he did a reset, and I took off into the section ahead. Thankfully he had a few tips and had shared that kilometres 70-83 were the final of the most challenging terrain of the day. Wow, was he right.
These 13kms deserve their own recap, or maybe they deserve to remain a mystery, but I’ll share what I can describe. First off, my wildlife encounters included something in the bush that moved away quickly and second a porcupine! Off in the bush, I caught it with my headlamp and all its big, spikey quills! So cool and not a bear or cougar, win! These kilometres are capital G, Gnarly. Most of what I said to myself in this section was “respect the trail, it’ll spit you out, focus, it’ll spit you out.” Never have I ran a trail that was so demanding of my mental attention, but maybe that is also what happens when I am up well past my 9pm bedtime.
Now that I think back there were some great runnable rolling hills and long descents of loose rock and wider trail, but wow were there also stretches of long, technical single track. Like the type where you just can’t quite see where a foot should go! I hiked where the trail demanded and kept the headspace of respecting the trail and remember that the work I was doing was good work. I like to remind myself that if I’m working hard, I’m doing ok! I tried to tell myself no-one was moving faster, after all I gained on a racer in this section and did not have anyone gain on me. The man I caught up to then stuck with me and we shared the dark trail throughout the entire stretch up until the final 108km aid station. Looking back at race splits, it turns out this is where I gained 1hr on many races behind me and moved ahead on the lead woman.
As we reached the gravel road to the aid station there was a light ahead. A headlamp. He said what I thought was an outright lie, “there is the lead woman” Marianne Horgan. Who had been ahead by at least 20 minutes all day. We caught her and he was right. She smiled, said hello and they had a brief exchange in French. Within 400m we were in the Split aid station, I had went for the pass and it was time to see what was left in the tank.
I had planned to take caffeinated tailwind from here but upon arrival I said to Matt, switch it out, I don’t need caffeine. I honestly have no idea what time it was at this point but I knew adrenaline had arrived and I did not need any extra energy or jitters. We filled two bottles, I grabbed 2 wolf pack gels (each 300cals) and headed into the final 14km. I took off ahead of Marianne, with the goal of showing up for this final section and not looking back, which admittedly I did, to see her headlamp coming out of the aid station about 30 seconds behind me.
From here, my goal and mentality was to just go. No thinking, no judging, and absolutely no holding back. I ran almost every step, with the exception of 1 brief uphill that required a moment of power hiking. I felt good and eventually saw another headlamp ahead. I love being chased, but not being caught …so I switched from thinking about Marianne catching me, and into taking on the fun of tracking down the next headlamp and creating space. Whoever it was, I was catching, which meant my pace was faster, and I would work to put on distance from them. I caught one man, then the next. I passed the man in 2nd overall at the final 115km aid station, and thanks to Matt and the gear plan, I knew my plan was to run right through this aid station. The man in 2nd had stopped to refuel. I cruised on and with some shoulder checking, never saw his headlamp.
In the final 4km I was curious if the course would be long or short. This is also where I knew I would be so close to the course record. However, I also knew the final kilometres were not flat and I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I knew the course record, I always find it fun to know, it’s part of my dream big approach, why not chase the fastest time? Why not bet on yourself and see what happens? If I was going to hit CR I would need to run 5min / km for the final 4km, I was going to be just short, but again boss bitch day, so that changed to let’s see where it lands and not let up. The last kilometres were rolling, over uneven grassy trail, and were not the fastest kilometres of the course. It was so fun to keep on pressing on right to the end, checking back for those headlamps, and running right through every step.
I realized despite feeling intimidated by the competitors at the start of the race, not knowing how it would go, but feeling really ready to race, I was going to take the win for the female field. Wow. I was teary and emotional but didn’t really have the capacity to feel that in the moment. It was pure joy. The day I visualized in training had happened. The organizers of the event Seb (founder of UTHC) and his partner Marilyne did a quick post race interview and then I headed inside the racer area to greet the male winner, David Hedges. He was the first person to tell me that I was second overall. What the actual fork. I had no idea, I thought I was likely top 10, but had no idea I had moved myself into 2nd. That was more than I had even imagined, even with big dreams. I finished ~1min 38 seconds off CR, which excites me so much as I like to think of running races outside of the single year of the event but the overall performances as much as possible given the impacts of varying conditions. Conditions this year were great!
Photo: UTHC
Overall the race went exceptionally well and my body and mind were where I hoped they would be. I didn’t let anything get to me, I stayed positive, and worked when the course allowed. Every race comes with its imperfections and I could write an entire other post about this, but worth noting, 1 hour before the race my period hit.
I think some bloating was the reason I struggled to drink as much as I wanted to in the first few hours of the race. Again, I used my boss bitch mentality to shift my thoughts from the challenges of this day to seeing this as my super power. I knew the cold would not get to me at night as day 1 is a bit of an oven for me. I was grateful for the cooler temperatures and having any heat I needed right in my body. In a recent SWAP Podcast episode you will hear of my own way of weird, but also that email reference to a runner using her stomach to heat her hands…ya, that was me too. Who needs to stop for gloves when I would simply put one hand at a time on my stomach under my t-shirt. I had built in heat on the course in exchange for a little sloshing, not too bad if you ask me. So, for those who menstruate, know it happens on race day and it doesn’t always matter, but if it does matter for you that is ok too! We all have different experiences with this. For those who do not menstruate, pack gloves and know you have super powers too!
UTHC was an amazing trail community and world class event. I made new trail family and I can’t wait to share more about these people and groups. I can easily say I would love to spend more time with the running groups in Quebec and I think anyone who loves technical terrain (runners in BC) would LOVE this course and event. Also the race is an incredible non profit with funds donated to the MS society Of Canada.
Thank you to all of the volunteers, coordinators, racers, and vendors at this event. They ensured my suitcase would definitely not weigh in under 50lbs with the beautiful trophy, bottle of vodka, and bottle of brix maple syrup electrolytes they sent me home with! I also met the amazing folks of KapiK 1 Expedition Co. who made sure I left with delicious coffee and an on-site latte!
Photo: UTHC
Gear & Fuel Notes
What I wore all day (no changes, no anti chafe, and no chafing!): Wicking t-shirt, Drive 3 pocket Brooks Run Bra, 5 inch chaser Brooks short, Balega socks, Cascadia 16s Brooks Trail Runner
Spring energy: Awesome sauce, McRae Recovery, Plum, and Wolf pack (at the end)
Tailwind: 1 scoop per 500ml bottle with water, all day
2 packs of shot blocks - cliff, to add chewing when I wanted to fend off hunger and felt chewing might help
Photo: UTHC