You know that you are a bit strange when you can’t wait to run around an indoor track for 6 hours. My training partner Chris and I had signed up for the Stride Inside 6 hour race back in September. The goal of the race was simple, do as many laps of a 215m track as you can in 6 hours. We would be racing alongside runners doing 1 hour and 3 hours as well. Stride Inside took place at the Royal Distributing Athletic Performance Centre in Guelph, Ontario – a nice facility with two good sized synthetic turf playing fields surrounded by a track.
The start of the race caught us off guard. Chris and I were chatting when he looked at the official race clock and noticed that the race was starting in 30 seconds. The Race Director got us started and we were off to complete our first of many loops. The 6 hour and 1 hour race started at the same time with 56 runners in total – 43 runners for the 6 hour and 13 runners for the 1 hour. I was glad to be running the 6 hour with three friends, Chris, Matt and Kandice. Matt paced me at the Quebec Mega Trail 110km in June, 2019 and Kandice knows Chris and I through our local swim team. I set off at a fast pace of 5km / minute (8.3 minutes / mile) which felt comfortable. I planned on going out fast and seeing if I could hold on until the end. Although 6 hours is a long time to run, it is relatively short compared to the amount of time it takes me to do 100 mile races. I reasoned that if I could run for 30 hours straight to finish a 100 mile race, I could most likely hold on to an aggressive pace for 6 hours. I knew that the pain would come in a big way towards the end of the race though and I would have to do my best to last through it.
I held my pace for the for the first hour which put me in first place. I was moving fast and still felt comfortable. It was at this point that a runner named Mickey nonchalantly passed me, moving at a good clip. Mickey was wearing a red hat backwards with a race tank top. I tried to keep pace with Mickey but quickly realized that I could not hold his pace while keeping enough energy to finish the race. I let Mickey go and decided that he deserved to win the race if he could hold that pace.
We changed direction after 90 minutes and it felt great to use different muscles on the corners. To change direction, you doubled back at the halfway mark so that you were running towards a lot of the racers. I had become familiar with the backs of many runners at that point and it was nice to make eye contact for a change and to say hello, even if it was for a brief moment.
My pace slowed down to around 5.5 minutes / km after changing direction. I was still running comfortably but began to feel the start of some cramps in my hamstrings. This turned into full blown cramps at the 2 hour mark. Both hamstrings seized and I was forced to walk for 50m or so. I had experienced cramps like this before and knew not to panic. I immediately took two salt pills and drank a full 500ml bottle of water. The short walk got rid of the cramps and I resumed my 5.5 minute / km pace.
I noticed that a runner named Patrick had passed me a few times at this point. He was pacing Mickey and both of them were moving well. I tested a pace that would keep up with them but quickly realized again that I could not maintain it. I decided to hold my pace and to see if Mickey and Patrick could also hold. There was 4 hours left in the race and a lot could happen.
I held my pace for the third hour and was running without much pain. The nice part about running around a track is that you see your friends every 20 minutes or so. I got to bump fists with Chris and Matt and say hello to Kandice on a regular basis. The bad part about running around a track is that it gets boring. Many runners put earphones in and were listening to music. I highly regretted leaving my earphones at home. I decided not to listen to music because I didn’t want to carry my phone. It was nice to run without carrying anything but it would have been well worth it to run with music.
The pain descended in a big way during the fourth hour of the race. I was holding pace but felt tired and was cramping up. I focused on my breathing and attempted to go into a meditative state. I tried not to check my watch or the race’s time clock too often so that I could stay focused. This all worked well and I kept my mind off the pain and boredom. My wife Lindsay and kids had come to watch at this point and it was comforting to have them there.
The pain lifted slightly as we moved into the final hour. A racer tipped me off that a runner named Jamie was only 3 loops behind me. I had noticed Jamie passing me and this was the right amount of motivation for me to pick up my pace. I was in third place and there was no way that I was going to get kicked off the podium so far into the race. I held pace with Jamie even as the pain amped up. Jamie and I ran this way for a good 20 minutes and then Jamie stepped off the track to the aid station. I was relieved to slow my pace and to recover while Jamie was off the track. Jamie stayed at the aid station for a few minutes and I gained back a lap or two. Jamie was moving slower when he got back on the track and I kept up my pace. I passed Jamie a few times in the next 20 minutes and felt like I had built a good enough buffer to maintain 3rd place. Chris and I started running together during the last 20 minutes of the race. I knew that I was in the clear from Jamie but I didn’t know if any other racers were challenging for 3rd. We were concerned about a strong looking runner who was running two laps to my one. We decided to keep up my pace even though we were both in significant pain. Chris was keeping me motivated with encouraging words and I was grateful for it. The minutes ticked away and we were on our last loop before we knew it. Chris and I found an extra gear and ran the last lap in 56 seconds, matching my fastest lap time of the race. There were hugs and handshakes with all runners as we crossed the finish line. I had finished 294 laps of the 215m track for a total of 65km but I still wasn’t sure if I had secured third place. The race directors decided to do the award presentations right away since everyone was gathered at the finish line. I was so proud to have my name called as the 3rd place overall finisher. I confessed to Chris and Matt that I thought that a result like this was impossible as early as a year ago. Patrick finished in 2nd place with 302 laps and Mickey finished 1st with 316 laps. Chris also had a strong showing with 269 laps for 9th place overall.
Stride Inside was a great time. The venue was perfect and the race directors and volunteers were friendly and well organized. Runners got some very nice swag including a tank top, coffee mug and medal. It was also awesome to run a local race in January. I usually take the winter off from racing and this race helped me keep up my motivation with training. Happy Trails puts on a great race and I look forward to running more of their events
