Bulldog 50Km Trail Race

Cuyamaca-Laguna 50km Trail Race

Date: 9th Oct, 99Start: 7:00am

Location: Cuyamaca Rancho State Park, San Diego, California

86 starters.

First I will quote a snippet from the race information pack.

Please be alert for rattlesnakes and mountain lions, both of which inhabit this region. There has also been a bear sighting within the last year in the park. Also check your body from time to time for ticks and remove them promptly. They may carry Lyme Disease.

The fire danger this time of year is extremely high. If you spot any sign of fire on the course please notify the person in charge at the next aid station.

Well suffice it to say the day was uneventful, no sightingsof wild animals or fires.

The weather can be varied at this time of year especially as the course starts at 4000ft and reaches a high point of about 6000ft, some previous years having cold and wet conditions. This year a “Santa Anna” had reared its head late in the week. This type of weather front generally brings wind and hot weather so most runners were ready for a hot day, carrying additional water and electrolytes even though during the early morning preparation it was fairly cold. As it turned out it was a hot day although not as bad as expected, most people not suffering too much from dehydration.

In the male division there was some hotcompetition, a couple of top interstate runners making the trip to San Diego, Ian Torrence and Brandon Sybrowsky. Ian, who has won 11 races this year with 6 course records (although he did run Angeles Crest 100 miler 2 weeks ago, coming 3rd). Also a member of one of the top Adventure teams in the US, Christian Kromback whose team came 4th in an international event in China this year. The ladies race was a little more up for grabs with Jennifer Henderson coming back from a sojourn from ultra-running and Bottina Ernst another member of the successful Adventure team. And then, there was the rest of us mere mortals!

The course routebegins with a couple of miles of flat section to stretch the legs then climbs steadily, interspersed with a couple of sharp downs, to the high point at about mile 18. The early terrain is rocky, mainly single track and fairly sheltered.

The race started at a frantic pace with a lead pack of 6 or 7 runners disappearing quickly into the distance. I was unfortunately dropped from this pack as the pace seemed to be faster than my 10km road time. Anyhow, I settled in about 5 to 8 minutes behind the group for the next 15 miles.

Aid stations average every 5 miles and are adequately stocked with the usual assortment of “goodies” and, thankfully, plentiful supplies of ice (a compulsory requirement in southern California races). It was great to see some familiarfaces at the aid stations, notably at the 2nd where Tom Nielson (1st at AC/100 and 3rd at Western States), Suzanne Branna (1st at Western States and 1st at AC/100) and Paul Schmidt (runner of multiple 100’s) were handing out supplies and passing on valuable race information (to me anyway!!!).

At about mile 7 I caught a regular adversary of mine Patrick Gunnarson who was having a foot problem which was slowing him down. I continued onto the next aid just before a road crossingwithout seeing any of the other front runners. As it was beginning to warm up I added a handful of ice to my cap, grabbed some banana and moved on. I also found out that Brandon had dropped out.

At this point the race route joins the pacific crest trail for a short time. The runners are treated to a spectacular view from the top of a ridge down into the Anza Borrego desert.

Coming into the next aid at Pioneer Mail picnic ground I caught 2 runners who seemed to be having a good time chatting to the aid station hosts, (thanks Dave Capron I will pay you later!). I moved through quickly trying my best to look good by sprinting out onto the trail. Shortly afterwards I caught another runner on the short climb to Pine mountain.

Next followed a few miles of downhill without tree cover on a rocky 4wd trail, which is not my favourite although I hung on and caught glimpses of the next runner ahead of me.

I was informed at the next aid (5 miles to go) that a runner from Los Angeles, Tom Cheese was only a couple of minutes ahead. I caught him shortly afterwards as he was suffering from cramp. I managed to keep a reasonable pace on the mainly downhill trail to the finish, the 2 runners in front of me Ian and Christian still running strong so I made no headway and was happy not to lose any time.

Ian held of Christian to finish only 1 minute slower than the course record. A relatively unknown runner, Karen Cormiertook had a great race taking 1stplace in the female category with a substantial lead over 2ndplace.

At the finish line there was Corn Chowder, shade, showers and picturesque surroundings to mingle and cheer the remaining runners coming in. There was a large contingent of local runners who all had good performances such as Sean McDonald, Jay Grobeson and Karen Hamilton.

Thanks to race director Mike Suter and all the volunteers.

Results:

1.Ian Torrence4:08:05

2.Christian Krombach4:13:30

3.Jonathan Worswick4:21:54 (1st strider)

12.Karen Cormier5:04:27

18.Jennifer Henderson5:37:03

19.Bottina Ernst5:39:31