Now THAT was a vertical challenge!

To sum up the race today with one word I would use "hilly!"

My race day experienced started with my alarm going off at 3:30 AM this morning. I picked up a friend at 5:00 AM in Scarborough and we headed off to the race which was about 1:45 minutes away in Creemore.

I completed my 6th Ultra race in the past 11 weeks today and it was every bit as tough as advertised. They really did mean vertical challenge as there were 4 monster hills and a few mini ones which felt like monsters towards the end of the race. One of the hills was nicknamed "oxygen hill" because you really did need some after climbing it. It seemed to go on forever.

The race was a 25K loop which I did twice which meant that I climbed 8 major hills in total. I haven't done any hill training so that put extra pressure on me today. I did the smart thing and loaded up on salt pills and advil and it seemed to help as I avoided any cramping issues. Many runners were not as fortunate as the heat really took its toll today.

I ran the first 25K very conservatively in just under 3 hours. The 2nd loop was very difficult as I was left alone for long stretches of the race. I finally was able to catch up to a few runners and this helped to keep me motivated. I got a great boost of energy at the 35K mark and this carried me home. I actually felt very strong during the last 15K of the race and wished that I had had this energy earlier.

I was happy with my finishing time but the best part was hanging around afterwards and sharing stories with the other runners. Because there is 5 weeks before the next race, many of us are trying to arrange a fun run in a few weeks. We all wished that there was another race right around the corner.