Just back from the Klondike Trail of '98 road relay race. Take one RV, ten mixed masters and a remote, hilly and historic 1898 gold rush route from Skagway, AK to Whitehorse Yukon Territory. Total distance 110 miles. The group is more fun than competitive. Makes for an interesting weekend.
My leg 5 route is described as follows:
Description of Leg 5
After leaving Checkpoint #5, runners will follow the shoreline of Tutshi Lake. The lake is to the right with steep mountains very close to the road on the left. This leg of the race consists of mostly rolling hills with lots of curves. At about KM 14.5 there is a fairly challenging 2.5.KM uphill stretch, followed by a 3 KM downhill.
We started at 7:30 P.M. with my leg starting at 01:45 AM. I started out slow not sure what the hills were really like and did not want to burn out early. Running at night with no reference, no experience and no GPS makes for a cautious run. Two early hills confirmed my need to be careful. Then about 4 miles of flat got me into a steady pace. I passed and was passed by the same number of runners. When we hit the hill,( one of those that has a passing lane due to steepness), I slowed to moutain climb pace and worked my way up the 1.5 mile climb. When I got to the top I knew a long downhill was due. I actually passed one of the guys that had passed me in the second mile during the downhill portion. The leg finished with two short but steep uphill only sections.
End result is I had a lot of gas left in the tank, felt great and should have been quite a bit more aggressive on the first half. Oh well, we were a fun run group not a competitive group. , I ended up at 2:00:30 for an 8:38 pace, well below my 8:15 expectation. But given the hills and cautious nature on the first half, I am satisfied with the race. Next year I will try to run the leg I do in advance to avoid being too cautious.
| 