Greenland 50k Race Report by Peter Maksimow

My First Ultra
by Peter Maksimow

This was to be my first ultra distance race (50k is considered an ultra, is it not!?) and the weather was going to be in the 80’s. Great!! It wouldn’t seem so bad if the Spring here in the Pikes Peak Region hadn’t been cold, snowy and miserable, with that token hot day every once in a while. I would much rather run in the warm weather rather than the cold snow or rain, it’s the Cali roots in me. To my surprise, the morning of the race was a bit chilly, but I realized that would probably change in the 3-4 hour period I would be out on the course.


The course: Greenland Open Space is located on 3,000 acres with rolling prairie land and consisted of four 8-mile loops with 500 feet of gain and loss each loop, the high point being at 7,400 ft. I live and train at 6,400 ft, but much gain beyond that seems to be a notch up on the difficulty meter, particularly when you try to get the legs moving fast. The effort is there but the splits are not. The route was all dirt trails, from single-track and double-track to dirt roads, which tended to be soft and loose. Not fun when you are trying to run fast--a double whammy with the altitude. The view to the south of the still-snow-covered Pikes Peak was quite spectacular, I must say.

My warm up was negligible because I figured I would get some time to warm up in the first few miles of this 31-mile race. Unsure of what pace I should be running (I knew what pace I WANTED to run, course record pace, of course!), I took the lead in the first few meters of the race and hoped I would have some company for the long ride. After the first mile I took a peek back and saw that the next person was about 20 seconds back and the heard was lurking in the background. After two miles it was about a 45 second lead. So, it was to be a long day, I told myself.

The first loop was rather enjoyable. I felt comfortable out on the prairie by myself and caught a few splits on the permanent mile markers that were not part of the course: a 6:30 there, a 6:20 here, high 6:50’s up the couple hundred feet of climbing and a quick 5:58 on the downhill on the way back to the turnaround point, which I hit in 49:36. I was doing some calculating to figure out what I needed to run to break the course record of 3:23:11 and figured I had to hit under 50 min 50 sec to be on pace. I was now warmed up after 8 miles and pushed the next loop because I was ahead of the record.

This is where I ran into lapped runners from the 8-mile, 25k and 50k races, a lot of them! I drew a lot of “he must be leading the 25k” and similar remarks from the lapped runners as I passed them. Unlike the first loop, where it was obvious that I was leading, I was not handed water but had to procure my own from the aid stations, trough style, as I blended in with the swarm of runners.

Since I felt good, I continued to push the pace but I had to keep reminding myself that I was going to be out there for 5 miles longer than a marathon and I remember how long a marathon feels! I had another fast mile on the downhill section, hitting a 6:01 and came into the turnaround point while playing Frogger with other runners. Passing the second loop split in 48:39, I was cheered on by Justin Ricks, the 50k course record holder, who was recovering from a 2:22 marathon win at the Eugene Marathon a week earlier. I saw the look in his eye, “he’s on pace to break my record.”

I went from feeling full of run on the second lap to struggling almost immediately after I hit the turnaround point for the third loop. This may have been because it went from slight downhill to slight uphill at that point. Passing other runners on the single track turned into a huge effort on the slight inclines. Maybe I was a little over zealous the first two loops. I tried to maintain somewhat of a decent pace so as not to lose too much time. After what felt like a long 8 miles, I came through the turnaround point in 51:12, still ahead of course record pace but slowing. I made a conscious effort to push myself over the last 8 miles, despite the fuzzyheadedness and fatigue which was now in fully effect.

A couple of miles into the final loop I passed the marathon-distance mark in approximately 2:45, but still had some miles to go, my body getting progressively more fatigued. I was able to talk myself through the final few miles and attempted to use the fast downhills to make up time that I had lost on the climbs that would have otherwise been quite elementary, if not for the 27 miles of racing already in my legs.

It was only the loop before that I realized, and had it confirmed by a spectator, that the finish line was NOT where the turnaround point had been but rather another 500 meters or so further at the entrance to the open space. As I sped down the final hill of the course, the turnaround tent in the distance, it was clear I was not going to run a within the course record because of where the REAL finished lay. I passed the turnaround point, pushing my body hard, in the same time as the current course record, 3:23:11, but still had extra distance to go. I can across the finish line looking like a salt lick in 3:25:12 and was immediately solicited by interviewers. In one interview I came very close to passing out. That would have been a fun one to watch! The next person to cross the line did so 26 minutes and 40 seconds after me, enough time for me to change and get a beer.

I was pleased with my time and performance in my first ultra-distance attempt but not sure I like the reserved pace at the beginning of the race and then the feeling of the legs not responding to what the brain is telling them to do. I did manage to garner a RRCA Colorado State 50k Championship title, so that may encourage me to attempt another one at some point.

The soft, sandy surface convinced me to lace up my X-talon 190’s for the race. I was concerned, however, that 30+ miles in a one-arrow shoe (3mm heel to toe drop) would leave me in post-race achillies-stretched pain. That was not the case. I didn’t suffer any lower leg issues from the minimalistic profile of the shoe. No blisters, nothing! They functioned beautifully on the sandy gravel and hard-packed surfaces.

After the race, the 3rd place finisher, W. Jared Scott (not to be confused with Inov-8 team member Jared Scott) said with the way I took the lead and pushed the pace, he figured I would either: A) blow up and get caught by everyone, or B) break the course record. Luckily, I didn’t do the former and unfortunately not the latter, either. (Side note: W. Jared Scott was aware of the Team Inov-8 Jared Scott and talked about how fun it would be to have a Jared Scott vs. Jared Scott race. It’s a Jared Scott thing, you wouldn’t understand)