MUC 50, or the Marin Ultra Challenge, is one of my favorite races out there and this was my 4th time running the course. It encompasses some of the best trails in Marin county, traversing a big 50 mile loop starting in the Headlands and heading out to Mount Tamalpais and back with just shy of 11,000 feet of vertical gain. The climbs are well spread out and there are some fast downhills. This years event was extra special because two of Jessica's cousins, Joe and Claire, came into town for the race. Joe ran the 50k in an effort to jump start his return to ultrarunning and he was on a mission and came very well trained. Claire ran the 50 miler, she was a collegiate athlete and has been getting into ultrarunning the last few years and I knew she would do very well at this race. In addition, several of
Jessica's extended family members were coming as well to watch the race and hang out in SF. We ended up having an awesome few days before the race hanging out with everyone. We took them to Muir Woods, Cafe del Soul, and a few other spots.
Claire and I started our race at 6:00 am and Joe had to wait another hour with nervous excitement before his race started. It was foggy and cool to start. After the first climb out of Rodeo Beach, Claire just took off. I was able to maintain a fairly steady pace through the Headlands and down into TN Valley. I was a little ahead of where I thought I would be. Got to see Jess and her extended fam at Muir Beach aid station. It was so cool to see all of them there cheering us on and it definitely gave me a boost for the next section which was a long climb up to Cardiac Hill. I got to Cardiac in a pretty good pace and bombed down to Stinson Beach. The weather had remained cloudy which was helping as usually by this time in the race the sun is blazing. The next section was the hardest climb of the day up Willow Camp and instead of intense heat it was like climbing into clouds and fog. It was so foggy going across Bolinas Ridge that I literally got soaked. I was really starting to feel the burn by the time I got back to Cardiac. Shuffled down to Muir Woods and grinded on the climb up to Deer Park fire road. I was able to maintain a decent shuffle down Deer Park. The climb up Miwok to Dias Ridge was a slog but at this point in the race it's always nice because you have less than 10 miles to go. Although the decent down to Muir Beach on Dias was muddier than I had ever seen it. I couldn't believe how muddy it was and later found out that a rain storm had moved through that section of the course earlier in the day.
I got in and out of Muir Beach aid station as fast as I could and then the long climb up Middle Green Gulch was brutal and I bonked hard but I knew it was the last long climb which was a good feeling. Dropped down into TN Valley, the last aid station, and realized I had a great shot at a 50 mile PR. I pushed the last 4 miles as hard as I could and after some final climbing I descended back to the start finish at Rodeo Beach to a group of cheering family, I kind of felt like a celebrity! I finished in 11:11 which is a huge PR at the ripe age of 45! I couldn't believe it but was glad to be done and ready to hang and party with everyone. Claire absolutely crushed the 50 miler in under 10 hours and got 4th place female! Joe had a great race and finishing much better than he estimated. All his hard work paid off and he got the mental boost he needed to start doing longer ultras again! We had a great time throughout the rest of the weekend going sailing and drinking Irish coffees. A race weekend I will never forget! Oddly enough I didn't take any pics during the race which is maybe why I set a PR..haha. Here is one of us at the finish line!
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