James takes on the North Face Endurance Challenge - Bear Mountain 50km again

On May 2^nd, James returned to the North Face Endurance Challenge at Bear Mountain, New York to run the 50km race for a second year in a row. After a strong 3^rd place overall finish last year, his expectations were not quite as high, owing to being a little less well trained compared to last year. However, anything can happen in a race like this and no matter what they are always a great challenge and a lot of fun. As with the previous year, the race was extremely well organized and it was an easy time getting to the start line with plenty of time to get warmed up and ready to go. The race conditions were favorable, with a cool morning leading into a fairly hot afternoon for early May. Also the trails were much drier than last year.

The race started out fast as usual and people settled quite quickly into their rhythms and positions in the race. Not many people sped up or slowed down much in the front end of the pack leading up to the first feed station.  From there onward, there was a little bit of back and forth between James and his competitors as the kilometers passed by. James struggled a bit through the middle portion of the race but managed to get his legs back for the last 3^rd of the race. As he approached the final feed station he could hear the volunteers yelling “only 2.8 to go!” So he opted to blow through the feed zone and hammer out the last 2.8km of the race… only to figure out a short while later that the volunteers meant that there were 2.8 MILES left. So James’ sprint to the finish was a very long one! The hills kept on coming and James kept on thinking “this HAS to be the last one!” The good news is that he passed a couple people in those last 2.8 miles to finish in 7^th place overall with a time of 4:45. A tough and technical race, but very happy with the result. Thanks to Nuun Hydration for getting me through this one!    

Taking on The North Face Endurance Challenge - Bear Mountain 50km Trail Race

James at the Bear Mountain 50km

On May 3rd, Steve and James made their way to Bear Mountain, New York for The North Face Endurance Challenge 50km trail race. Nathalie was also all set and in fine form to do the race, but unfortunately she had to drop out at the last minute due to a family emergency.  This was our first "real" trail run of the season, since every run in the trails up to this point had been mostly running on snow and slush, with the occasional small patch of mud... Steve and James started out together in Wave 2, with James pulling away slightly a few kms into the race since Steve was racing with a pack full of camera gear, water, and food. 

As the race wore on, both Steve and James were well positioned within the top 10, until Steve had the misfortune of rolling his ankle in the rocky terrain. He would continue on in the race, only to roll the same ankle two more times. Amazingly, he still managed to pull off an 18th place overall finish, despite his injury. James was very surprised to find himself in 6th place coming into Aid Station 2. He managed to keep a steady pace throughout the race and cross the finish line in 3rd place overall.

This was a very challenging race that ranks among the most difficult and technical courses in The North Face Endurance Challenge race series. Thanks to our sponsors -Nuun Hydration,  2XU compression clothing, The North Face, and Swiftwick socks for keeping the body performing very well from start to finish!