Since living in Bellingham, WA, the self-proclaimed City of Subdued Excitement during college and then again after Nick and I were married, I’ve known about Chuckanut 50K. But, it’s taken me moving away from the Pacific Northwest to finally sign up for the race.
I’m glad I did.
Now in its 30th year, the race starts and ends with a 6-mile section on the Interurban trail, a (mostly) flat, gravel path that runs from Fairhaven into the Chuckanuts, Bellingham’s local mountains. The middle 18-miles of the race boasts over 5,000 feet of elevation gain through twisting trails lined with ferns and postmarked with Douglas firs and Western Red Cedars. I can’t count the number of times I’ve run these trails, thanks to the miles Nick and I put in when we lived here, so I had course knowledge to my advantage. But what I lacked was confidence that I could dream a little bigger, especially entering a race with such a stacked field.
Chuckanut 50K is one of the more competitive 50K races in North America, and especially along the West Coast, and with the cancellation of Way Too Cool 50K earlier this month, the race was that much more stacked. I knew going in that this would be a competitive race, so for the sake of my own confidence, I chose not to look at the entrants list (to be honest, this is something I almost always avoid.) For good or for bad, social media makes that hard and the day before the race I was tagged in several Freetrail Fantasy posts that showed the Community Picks. Suddenly I knew where I was slotted and I also knew the level of competition going in.
A call with my coach, Megan, and a longer talk with Nick before the race helped quell my anxiety and by Friday evening, I felt calm and prepared. It helps that at least so far in my life, I never lose sleep the night before the race. On race morning, I felt excited and alert and ready to finally begin the race.
This year’s race was the largest ever, with 598 runners starting the race. Though the morning was brisk, temperatures promised to warm up into the mid-60s by noon so runners shivered in tank tops and short sleeves at the start line. I’d chosen to wear a long sleeve shirt (which I sort of regretted in the latter half of the race) but was equally anxious for the race to start.
At 8am, the race began and immediately I was being passed and passing others as a mass wave of runners wove through Fairhaven Park and onto the Urb, as it’s affectionately known to locals. I could see maybe 6 or 7 women in front of me and felt pretty content about my place, happy to let the early miles warm me up a little. The pace was fast, but I’d expected runners to go out hot so settled into 6:30 minute/mile pace and focused on staying controlled during these early miles. I could see Keely Henninger in front by herself, then a pack of 4 women maybe 30 seconds behind her. I was maybe 30 seconds behind that, next to Hannah Allgood.
The first aid station comes up fast, at mile 6.7, and I hit it within 45 minutes or so, now in 7th. I knew that aid stations had to be efficient so Nick and I planned for a smooth transition here. As I ran through, Nick passed me a new handheld water bottle and two 90 gram Precision gels that I stuffed into my Naked belt. I’d chosen to go light, knowing I didn’t want to feel encumbered by a race vest.
Following the first aid station, the route goes up Fragrance Lake Trail, a 2-mile winding climb. I passed one woman near the bottom, then Keely about a mile in, all the time staying just behind Hannah. I knew that I needed to stay near these top women, especially once we reached Fragrance Lake and, shortly after, began the fast downhill stretch along Two Dollar. I focused on keeping my heart rate controlled and downing some of the Precision.
I ran through the second aid station at the bottom of Cleator Road, wanting to start putting myself in a good position. I figured the three mile climb would be a strong section for me. At this point I was in 4th and hoping to maintain my position as long as I could, especially because I was worried about the next section along the Ridge.
The Ridge is a notoriously technical trail, with sharp, jutting climbs and descents strewn with foot-catching roots and slippery rocks. Earlier on in my running career, technical trails, and particularly technical downhills, were a weakness and while my abilities have improved since then, I’m still working on letting go of my perceived limitations here. As soon as I crested Cleator and ran through the third aid station, stopping only to top off my handheld, I audibly told myself “You can do this, Jade,” for added belief in myself here.
I don’t know whether it’s because my abilities have improved that much or I just needed some self-confidence, but it turns out that I ran the second fastest female time ever on the 8. 6 mile Ridge section of the course, which starts at the top of the Ridge and finishes at the end of the South Lost Lake Trail. If anything, I’m proud of challenging my beliefs about the kind of runner I can be, which includes excelling at downhills, too.
I still couldn’t see any women in front of me, but I also couldn’t see any women behind me, so felt good about my positioning here.
At mile 21, the course makes a sudden turn up Chinscraper, a mile-long climb that gains about 800 feet. I alternated between lightly jogging the flatter parts and power hiking the steeper sections. At the fifth aid station, I ran through once more, eager to not let anyone catch me on the long descent down Cleator Road. I stopped once to use the bathroom on this section, and painfully ran through side stitches as the route turned us onto Fragrance Lake trail once more.
As I neared the end of the trail, I could hear people cheering from the sixth aid station. This was it! I thought. I think I can hang onto fourth place! As I ran through, Nick handed me another handheld, a final 30g Precision, my phone and headphones for music. I’d purposely saved music for this final section, hoping that it might serve as added motivation once my legs had been thoroughly worked from the middle 18-miles. As I looked ahead, the flat path straight ahead for at least a mile, I spotted a woman. At this distance I wasn’t sure who it was but noticed that her cadence looked slow. I settled into the fastest pace I thought I might hold for six miles, about a 6:50 pace, and within a minute or two found myself gaining on her. I think I can do it, I thought, and pushed a bit harder to pass her.
As soon as I did, something clicked inside of me and I began wondering how far ahead second place was. I had my answer about two miles later when I could begin to see what looked like a runner with a long braid in the distance. Once more, I was gaining on her and after following behind her about a mile, decided to make my move as we entered Arroyo Park. It was on! I didn’t know if she would challenge me, but seeing that she looked strong and making the assumption that she would, I vowed to not look back and simply run as fast as I could in this final mile.
My legs were hurting as the course veered from the Interurban and wound through Hundred Acre Woods. I’d walked these trails with our dogs and knew the hills that awaited me. Just keep running, just keep pushing, I said to myself, hoping that after every turn I’d see the wide path that led to the finish.
Finally, it appeared and I gunned it to the finish. I never once saw the first place women, Claire DeVoe, but had worked my way up through the field, finishing in second place!
Now back at home in San Luis Obispo, I’m incredibly satisfied with the race that I ran. What an opportunity to run against so many talented women and what an experience to race through trails that were some of the first I ever ran.
At the finish, I was welcomed in by Race Director Krissy Moehl, Nick, my dad, and friends.
This was a thrilling race, from start to finish, and most of all a big confidence booster for me going forward. As I mentioned at the start, Freetrail Fantasty and the pre-race hype can be anxiety-inducing, but this is also one example of Community Picks often getting it very wrong. Seeded as 8th place, I finished in 2nd while Claire DeVoe, seeded as 9th place would go onto win!
I’m not the first to speak about this (you can read more about the race here for Corrine Malcolm’s write-up and also on Keely Henninger’s post here) but the level of competition at this race was fantastic. It’s terrifying competing against top women in the sport, but I’m not sure I could have gotten what I did out of myself if I hadn’t been pushed from start to finish. As Keely said, “The top 5 times [at this year’s race] broke into the top 11 times in the history of the race.”
Thank you to RD Krissy Moehl and everyone involved with putting on this race. I can see why it’s a perpetual crowd favorite and while the trails are an added bonus, the Bellingham running community is the real reason this race is so well-loved. Thanks to Nick for crewing and supporting me, as always, Megan for the constant guidance, and my dad for driving down to watch me finish. And Cashew just because!
Outside of some VKs later this spring, I don’t have a race on the calendar yet and am looking forward to enjoying getting back into training and watching as the Central Coast’s hillsides explode with orange poppies this spring.
And, I don’t want to give it away, but I’m excited about switching roles and crewing Nick at an upcoming race soon, too.
Wishing you a wonderful week!