IAU World 50k Trophy Final 2011 by Ben Nephew

IAU World 50k Trophy Final 2011
8/20/11
Assen, Netherlands
5k loop, 0 elevation gain

I was invited to the IAU World 50k about 2 weeks prior to the IAU World Trail Championships in Ireland, which was 6 weeks before the 50k. My summer was already crazy enough, so I initially was going to decline the invitation. Then I looked at the race site. A 5k course in the Netherlands, flat, 20% dirt and most likely some good running weather. I was also excited to be running with Jim Johnson and Josh Ferenc. JJ is both a CMS and Inov-8 teammate, and Josh is a former teammate who went to the dark side. The potential for a 50k PR seemed high, and I was able to squeeze the race into my schedule. What I mean by squeeze is that I was at a conference that went from 8:30am to 10:00pm all week, left early on Thursday to catch a plane to Amsterdam, and arrived at the race site exactly 24 hours before the start.


My race preparation involved the intensive bog training in Ireland, recovery from that, a good run at the Escarpment 30k trail race 3 weeks after Ireland, a hiking trip to Seattle for a week, some quality road running after the hiking trip, and an 8-9 day taper for the race. I do about 95% of my miles on trails, unless something like this is coming up, but I was happy with the road workouts I was able to get in prior to the 50k. About 11 days before the race, I ran back to back days of 20k and then 30k at 6:00 pace. It might have been a bit too close to the race, but it was the only time I could fit the runs in.

The race organization was fantastic. The event hotel was right on the course, and both the hotel and race staff were extremely helpful all weekend long. I was picked up at the train station in Assen about 10 minutes after my train arrived. Due to the fact that I was surrounded by screaming kids during my flight, I slept most of the train ride from Amsterdam to Assen. I had a large breakfast with Josh when I arrived at the hotel, and we headed out for a run on the course about an hour later. JJ and Josh did one loop of the course, and I went out for an additional loop. The loop has about 800 meters of dirt, a clinker brick section, some bike paths, and a lap of the track. About half of it was shaded, depending on the time of day.

The race itself was the strangest championship race I have ever participated in. Based on the course, I was hoping to run under 3:10, and was expecting to be lapped by the guys who have marathon PR’s as fast as 2:10, and/or have gone through 50k at the 2 Oceans 56k well under 2:50. At the start, there was a large lead pack, a few stragglers that included JJ and Josh, and then a pack of 8 guys that I was sitting in back of. My pack started at 6:00 pace which was as fast as I wanted to go, but started to increase the pace slightly after a few 5k laps. The race up front started slowly, with a 17 minute first 5k, and then exploded in the second 5k when John Wachira, Eliya Mogoboya and Samuel Moleshioa cranked out a 15:38 5k. JJ and Josh started running low 17 minute 5ks at this time, and I let most of my group go by 20k. I would have really liked to go with them, but the pace did not feel like something I could sustain for 3 hours. I was in 20th place at 25k.

I hit halfway at about 3:07 pace, and was still feeling good. My first 5 5k’s had all been between 18:36 and 18:51. Shortly after starting the 6th loop, I could not find my Gatorade bottles that I had thrown in the grass during the first half after picking them up at the aid station. Apparently, someone had started to clean up the course. It was getting warmer as the day went on, and for a moment I was thinking that my chance for a fast time had gone into the trash with my bottles. I grabbed water at the start of the next loop, and then was relieved to see that someone had returned my bottles to the side of the course.

My 6th and 7th 5k’s were right around 19 minutes, but the heat was definitely wearing me down. It wasn’t really that warm, somewhere in the 70’s, but it was hot enough to make trying to run fast uncomfortable. I slowed to 19:42 for my 8th lap, and went through the marathon just under 2:40. At this point, my hamstrings were tired and tight, and I knew a PR was unlikely. Many others were struggling on the course, and I could see several runners falling back. Two runners had dropped out at 25k, and I caught several more on my 9th 5k, despite only running a 20:35. This wasn’t all good news though, as two of those runners were JJ and Josh. I heard JJ yelling before I spotted him limping on the side of the path. I didn’t want to see him hurt himself, and told him to drop out. I was still in shock from seeing JJ when I ran past Josh shortly after, who was barely moving. I couldn’t think of anything useful to say, but he cheered me on as I passed despite being quite upset about his race. At one point, Josh had worked up to 4th place. Both JJ and Josh have been running well at shorter distances this summer, and we all thought they were ready to run 3:00 or faster.

The last loop was more damage control and carnage observation as I passed 3 more runners with a smoking 20:52 to finish in 3:13:21 for 11th place. Over the last half, I ran 6 minutes slower and passed 9 runners. One place higher would have been great, but 10th was over 2 minutes ahead, and my hamstrings barely made it around the final meters on the track. Eliot Kiplagat Biwott from Kenya ran a smart race by backing off a bit on that second 5k to win by 2.5 minutes in 2:54:53. Peter Vermeesch and Kaito Iwayama were also under 3:00 in 2nd and 3rd. Overall, the Assen race was surprisingly much slower than the rolling 50k course in Galway last summer. Most of the men seemed to suffer over the last 10k. The sole US female runner, Shanna Ailes Istni, somehow managed to PR by 2 minutes to earn 5th place, and was only slightly slower than me over the last 10k. Considering my limited preparation for the race and the heat, I’m satisfied with the race. It was a PR course, but not PR weather, especially for me. It’s possible that my legs were a bit tired from my recent road workouts, but the alternative of going into road 50k’s with very little road mileage has led to much worse races in the past.

JJ’s foot swelled up during the race, and he couldn’t run on it by the last 5k. We spent some quality time in the local hospital getting his foot examined, and fortunately it is not broken. We were all confused as to what happened to his foot, and that would include the orthopod as well. Postrace discussion with Josh made it clear that he was sidelined by cramps over the last 10k, and hopefully a little more salt at his next 50k will solve that problem. The three of us and Shanna and her husband Brad had a good time hanging out with the several of the other athletes and the IAU staff after the race. JJ and I had a great conversation with the Kenyan athletes, and I hope we see them at some New England road races in the near future.
I raced in my Road X 233’s, and my feet felt great the entire race. I had small blister on my left big toe, but I probably should have gone a half size up to 8.5, which is my size in all the Inov-8 trail shoes. Besides my hamstring cramps, my legs held up well during the race, and my recovery has been rapid. I’ve had great luck with both the 255’s and the 233’s in long runs at race pace, and it is possible that the higher heel of the 255’s would have been easier on my hamstrings. Both shoes are incredibly smooth on the roads, but I prefer the 233’s at paces of 6:00 or faster.

I would like to specifically thank Gabe Rodriguez at Under Armour for providing the US team with full uniforms. At my first IAU race in France in 2009, all the other countries had full national track team uniforms. While I was truly honored to wear Marla Runyan’s USA team sweatshirt from the Olympics during the parade (thanks to Matt Lonergan), Marla’s about a foot taller than me, so it was a bit like a minidress. In Assen, we actually looked like a team, and received many compliments on our kit. More importantly, we were all happy with the fit of the Under Armour gear and fully appreciated the commitment and support of US ultrarunning.
Full results at:
http://www.iau-ultramarathon.org/images/file/Assen_results.pdf