Fishline 50K

Fishline 50K, one of the Roots Rock trail run series, was held in Poulsbo that was 20 minutes driving distance from my place. The course was very similar to Roots Rock 50K that I ran last fall, but this time the start/finish line was off Stottlemeyer Rd in Poulsbo, instead of Port Gamble side. It included 2 laps of 25 Km forest trail loop mostly in single track.

I knew it was not an easy trail, so I started off in moderate pace around 9~10 min/mile. The rain held off for the race, but the trail condition was not really good. There were a lot of muddy single tracks with many chances of running through unavoidable puddles. Running over many hills and slippery trail in the first lap was not so difficult though. I was supposed to go back to the start/finish line after 25 Km if I followed the white flour marks and orange tapes correctly along the course, but I was still on the trail over Mile 16. Assuming that I made a wrong turn, I ran back 0.5~1 mile, but I could not find any clue. So, I decided to keep running, because the course seemed familiar, I had enough Heed/Gatorade in my hydration pack with something to bite, and I felt very good.

The trail looked more and more familiar enough to make me feel confident that I was right on the course in the second lap. However, from around Mile 18, I suffered from a blister issue on my right foot from a series of hills with lots of muds, and the pace became much slower. I heard foot steps behind me and knew someone was going to pass me soon. It was Van Phan who I paced with about 2~3 miles in the first lap. I knew she was an elite trail runner and Marathon Maniac Hall of Famer with lots of running experience including 100 milers and 150 milers. So, I wanted to pace with her as long as I could. I led in some of the single tracks and she led in some of the hill sections. It wasn't easy to keep the pace with her with ailing right foot, but I was able to manage it. As I felt more pain on the foot for the last 3 miles, I just tried to follow her foot steps and finished together in 5 hours 37 minutes and 4 seconds.