Gorge Waterfalls 100K
Racing hard from start to finish at a classic PNW event
I’m on a long term mission to run as many classic ultramarathons as I can, so my bucket list of races I’d like to run is long. In recent years I’ve also been keen to run events that are competitive, with fields that run deep. Gorge Waterfalls 100K, located in Cascades Lock, Oregon, fit both of these metrics. Both the men’s and women’s fields were competitive, thanks in large part to Gorge Waterfalls having been the selection race for Team USA. That means that the top two men and the top two women of each race are selected to run for Team USA at the World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Spain later this year.
As a dual citizen, I can qualify for Team USA, but I’ve chosen to represent Canada at this year’s championships. So, if I placed first or second, third place woman could claim the second Team USA spot.
Pre-Race
Nick and I spent Wednesday ensuring all of the animals were clean and healthy and had fresh vegetables while we were away, then used the remainder of the day to ready ourselves. Our drive down to Oregon on Thursday morning was efficient and we arrived in the mid-afternoon with enough time to explore the local history museum (and view some extremely disturbing and poorly taxidermied animals.) It was wet and damp and I was readying myself for Chuckanut’s rainy conditions all over again. My back had flared up that morning (scoliosis-related, and something that happens a few times each year), so I wasn’t feeling optimistic about Saturday. But, I still had Friday to relax and hopefully work out the kinks.
Both Nick and I picked up our race bibs on Thursday, so that meant we had Friday to ourselves. My back was marginally better and I figured that a short drive and an easy walk with Cashew wouldn’t aggravate things further so we decided to spend the morning looking for wildflowers. Part of the allure of traveling to races is exploring a new town and checking out local restaurants. We picked up a hot drink from Kickstand Coffee, a smoothie from The Farm Stand, and then grabbed one of the best sandwiches I’ve eaten at Golden Goods. Then, we crossed the bridge into Washington State to explore a few wildflower hot spots on the north side of the Columbia.
By early afternoon, my back was still tight and I made a last ditch effort to contact Shawn Hadley, a myofascial release therapist I had worked with in both Sedona, AZ and San Luis Obispo, CA. Along with Nick’s help, we were able to loosen things out and I felt 75% of the way to being normal again. I was hopeful that sleep, however short thanks to the 5 am race start time, would help.
Race Day
I set my alarm for 3:15 am so that I had time to work on my back before the race, but miraculously I awoke feeling decent. I made a matcha, put on my race gear, and Nick drove us 20 minutes to the start.
I originally had big goals for the race (win and get the course record) which my coach, Megan, thought I was capable of achieving on a great day. This didn’t feel like the start of a great day, though. I was still concerned about my back flaring up and my menstrual cycle was expected to start at some point during the race—never a fun aspect of racing. Perfect days are rare and I knew that I had gritted through plenty of great workouts when I wasn’t feeling my best. I could run the race on an okay day and still land in the ballpark range of a good to great race.
Predictably, the race started fast. I had seeded myself a few rows back so didn’t see the top women take off. That was fine. I didn’t want to get tripped up as runners battled for position before we hit singletrack. While the majority of the race is run on trails, there are several road sections that allow for fast miles. I hit these first few miles in the low seven minutes per mile range and felt comfortable.
The early miles wound up and down steep single track trails and, in the dark early hours, were relatively difficult to navigate from a technical perspective. I found myself running behind Addie Bracy though didn’t know where that put me in the race. Just before the first aid station I stopped to use the bathroom and watched as a pack of women passed me, followed shortly by a few groups of men. I hurried back to the trail and worked to catch back up to the women, not wanting to let them get too far ahead.
Sections of the course dipped onto road and I took advantage of this to pass the group of women that had passed me. I didn’t feel like I was straining—just running comfortably.
At mile six, I hit the first aid station. Someone told me I was in second, already three minutes behind Shea and 30-60 seconds ahead of the pack of women behind me. I tossed my used bottle to Nick, grabbed two filled bottles and several gels, and was off. The sport has become so competitive that shaving off time wherever you can is paramount. Aid station transitions last mere seconds.
I wouldn’t see Nick until mile 33, which meant I needed to take care of myself for the next 27 miles. While Daybreak Racing aid stations are well-stocked, I wanted to be efficient so chose to carry my nutrition on me through this section. I had three 90g Precision gels, two caffeinated 30g gels, one 30g non-caffeinated gel, plus a few hydration tablets I could add to the bottles that I’d fill at aid stations. This would be my first time taking in solely gels at a race longer than 50 miles but I felt confident in the GI training I had done to prepare.
Most of these next miles were beautiful, though it was hard to fully appreciate the grandeur of the waterfalls, mostly because I was so focused on the task at hand—run as hard as I could for 62 miles. The course wound us up steep, switchbacked singletrack and under waterfalls and then back down technical descents and out onto road. There were several parts that needed nimble feet due to moss-covered talus and others that required full-on jumping or stepping over logs.
The first half of the race includes a large out-and-back section, which means running back toward 100K runners that are on their way out. I received constant updates, all unsolicited (though not unappreciated,) about where I was in reference to Shea, the leader of the race. “You’re 90 seconds back!” One man said. Two minutes later, a woman said, “Nice work! You’re only four minutes behind first place.” A minute after that I heard, “go catch her! You’re two minutes behind.” I was beginning to doubt the accuracy of these estimates and besides, I was focused on my own time goals. In order to run faster than the previous course record, I’d need to reach mile 33 around the 5 hour mark. I wanted to remain flexible with this goal since so much can happen in a race and whether I came in five minutes ahead of schedule or five minutes behind, I could have a good second half.
While I didn’t find myself near other runners, I wasn’t alone. FreeTrail and Daybreak Racing provide a tremendous amount of photo and video coverage of the race and I was followed for several minutes by a variety of videographers and photographers. I’ll admit that these acted as great motivation to get my form together and push a hair harder than I was already doing.
I came into mile 33 in just under 5 hours, roughly six minutes ahead of course record pace. Shea had come in even faster but I wasn’t concerned about what she was doing—I just needed to focus on my own race. Doing so would get my best result (or so I told myself.) I exchanged bottles with Nick, grabbed a couple of gels, and was back out.
I saw Nick about five miles later. It was this next section, miles 38 to 48, that was particularly challenging for me. My feet were getting sore, my mind kept drifting back to the number of miles left in the race—24 miles! Now 22 miles! 20 miles still to go!—and I knew I would be finding out exactly how far back Klaire, Robyn, and the other top women were behind me.
As I approached the aid station at mile 48, I caught a glimpse of Shea—my first all day (and honestly, the first since I ran Canyons 100K against her last April!) and figured she was about a mile ahead of me. Was it possible for me to catch her? Maybe. I was so focused on my race and what I still had to cover that I didn’t spend any energy thinking about it.
I ran toward Nick, grabbed three more gels and a new bottle, then headed back out. I had a big climb immediately in front of me, then a fair amount of rolling climbs back to the finish. I hadn’t looked at my watch since the turnaround, choosing to stay as optimistic and run my best race as opposed to worrying about time goals. Sure, I wanted to see if I could go under the course record but I knew from running the Joshua Tree Traverse FKT (you can read about that here) that squeezing too tightly to a time goal can cause more anxiety which ultimately costs energy. I had six minutes to spare at the turn around and was still moving well. As long as I was taking advantage of every step in the remaining miles, I was giving myself the best shot, wherever that ultimately landed me.
I saw Nick at the final aid station, a mere 3.2 miles from the finish, grabbed one more gel and yet another bottle of water, and worked on taking in both before the finish—I still had to run hard and that required fuel. I was running as fast as my legs would allow and somehow I was still running all of the hills. If you had told me five years ago that I would one day be racing 100Ks where I wouldn’t walk or hike one single step, I don’t think I would have believed you.
I looked over my shoulder just once in the race—in the final stretch through downtown Cascade Locks—and was relieved to not see anyone behind me. I could enjoy the finish line chute, coming in second place in 9 hours, 27 minutes and about seven minutes under the previous course record!
I had reached two of my three (top) goals for the race:
run a solid 100K from start to finish, feeling like I was racing (as opposed to just surviving) the whole time
winrun under the course record
Klaire Rhodes placed third behind me, but since I’m representing Canada at World’s this year, Shea qualifies for the first Team USA spot and Klaire qualifies for the second spot. Congrats, Shea and Klaire!
Celebrations continued with friends, meeting two of the athletes I coach, and Nick running the 50K the following day!
The more races I run, the more confused I am about what distance I like the most. The VK? Sub-ultra? 50K? 100K? I love the intensity of VK races but I love the adventure of the longer days, too. For now, I plan on racing a variety of distances so I have the chance to experience a little bit of everything.
A Few Thank Yous
I wore the Altra Experience Wilds, a nimble trail shoe with 4mm drop. They worked great on the more technical sections of the course but were light enough to move quickly with on the road sections. I also relied on Precision Hydration & Nutrition. I took in 4x 90g gels and 12x 30g gels during the race for a total of 720g of carbohydrates or roughly 2,880 calories. This breaks down to about 75g of carbs per hour which felt comfortable. I’ve not fueled exclusively off of gels for this duration before, but I felt doing so kept me in race mode throughout.
Nick crewed me from start to finish, then suited up to run his own race the following day. As always, I’ll let him share his own experience so take this as a kind nudge, Nick, to write up a report!
Thanks to my longtime coach, Megan Roche, for understanding my ability to the point that the time she thought I could run (9:28:00) and the time I ran (9:27:39) was a mere 21 seconds off—essentially spot on in the context of 100K.
I’ll leave you with this video of Nick and I attempting to walk down the stairs the following day.
As always, I appreciate you taking the time to read. If you get a chance to run this race or any Daybreak Racing events, I highly encourage you to do so! Whether you’re a runner in contention for the podium or hoping to make cut-offs, the race directors do a great job of creating a fun post-race atmosphere. Did I mention they have kombucha on tap at the finish?
Congratulations Coach! Absolutely loved this… great motivation for me to reflect on for my next running adventure! Loved the video!
Jade, You can't do anything about how well someone else runs, only you, and your focus on what you can do. And you really nailed that race! Congrats!