Sierra Vista 50K (Race Recap)

Las Cruces, NM

Saturday, March 1

Weather - Sunny and warm

A later addition to my race schedule, this race was selected because it was a good time of year for a last "big mileage" weekend before Arizona Monster, the race itself was inexpensive, and flights/travel was going to be very minimal.

The race began at 7 and it was suggested that we arrive early as we would have to park on the road to walk in. We got up at 5 and got ready. It was nice that we didn't also have to pack up all our stuff since we were staying at the same place after the race. 

We left on time, around 5:45 with the plan of arriving just after 6:00. When we first arrived there were only a half dozen cars parked along the road. The parking lot volunteers said that we did, in fact, need to walk to the trail head to get our bibs. It was a bit of a longer walk than expected, probably close to 10 minutes? I used the bathroom and we got our bibs/race shirts. It was going to be a beautiful (sunny and hot) day:

When we got back closer to the car the volunteers told us that we could actually move our car and drive in to get a closer spot, so we did. Got everything ready to go and then I headed to the start area because I wanted to use the bathroom one more time before we started. 

I had initially thought I would bring my smaller UltrAspire vest as the Zygos seemed like it would be overkill, but last minute I figured I would bring my bigger pack since I would be using it for all my races over the summer anyway.

The race began right on time, and with less than 40 of us, Ben and I started towards the back. I hadn't done any real research on this one, and figured that with "only" a couple thousand feet of gain it would be a nice day in warmer weather and nothing crazy would happen.

Well, the race started with an out and back from the trailhead to the road that we had driven in on. This was designed to prevent bottlenecking as almost the entire course was on single track. We were definitely going to be in the back for the whole race. Once we turned around to head back to the trail head there were only a couple of people behind us. We ran through the start/finish and headed up the first climb of the day. I think we both realized pretty quick that this race was going to be more difficult than we thought. I managed to pick an Arizona (rocky) trail in New Mexico! 

We had both started out with gloves on, and I believe I actually kept them on for at least the first few miles, as is evidenced by one of our early race photos. 

Photo: Amanda Babicke / Lobo Photo

Photo: Amanda Babicke / Lobo Photo

I had also decided that I would start with arm sleeves since it had been a little chilly when we started, and since it was also supposed to be full sun, to help prevent getting burned. The terrain made running more challenging than we expected it would be and it was disheartening to see such a slow pace.

It warmed up pretty quick and we hit the first aid station. I don't remember much other than there was a dog that didn't want to be pet and I grabbed some watermelon. Temperature was starting to heat up and we were basically alone! We could see a couple people in front of us, but once I stopped to for a minute to pee, we didn't see them again.

I can't remember how far into the race we were, but at some point I caught my toe on a rock and went flying. I was surprised I didn't actually hurt myself or scrape myself up more because all the weight was on my hands. That jarred me into running a lot more cautiously as well. 

We were expecting a second aid station, but it turned out to just be a jug in the middle of nowhere - good to know for the way back so we could plan. The next actual aid station was maybe 10 miles in. We were told there would only be a water drop after that before the turn around. The water drop seemed to come up pretty fast, and we were optimist when we hit a salt flats area that was really pretty runnable. It took almost until we turned around that I realized we would have to overshoot the halfway distance because of the out/back we had done at the start. We both forgot to put on sunscreen and there was not a lot of food options, nor ice, which was disappointing. I think we grabbed some gummies and cold water, but that was it. We headed out for the back half, and when I realized I had forgotten the sunscreen I pulled out my Patagonia Airshed so at least my arms and neck would be covered and protected. It was not as hot as I expected and every once in a while we got a breeze that was quite nice! At the first water stop I remembered to ask for sunscreen, and thankfully they had some. I put it on my legs and face but opted to keep my long sleeve and hood on.

We passed one guy in this section, and never did see him again.

Somehow, the entire way back felt like one big climb. We were both hot and tired and we had headphones in to try and motivate us. While it didn't seem to take too long to get to the water drop, it seemed like an eternity before we got to the aid station. Miles 20-27 seemed like they were never going to end. We grabbed water from the unmanned water station and it was surprisingly not that warm - even though it was nearly 80 degrees and the jugs had been in the sun all day. At some point my right hand snagged one of the bazillion stabby things on the side of the trail and it cut my hand open pretty good. Once it stopped bleeding I just put some water on it. (I'm writing this race report almost 2 weeks later and it took about 10 days before it stopped cracking open and bleeding!!)

Things were going very very very very slow. Ben and I made the decision that I would go on ahead and we would just see each other at the finish. He caught up briefly at the last aid station. I was feeling pretty good, so I took off. I have to say that I didn't recognize any of the section after the last aid station - were we even here?? Approaching a very steep climb (that I didn't recall) and I saw someone ahead of me that looked to be in pretty bad shape. I was able to pass him and asked him if he needed anything, and his answer was "just for this to be done." Same... Thankfully it was almost all downhill to the finish and I was able to run pretty well in. So happy to be done!!

Photo: Amanda Babicke / Lobo Photo

Photo: Amanda Babicke / Lobo Photo

It was an absolute ghost town at the finish. Considering I was about 90 minutes under cutoff, there were about 2 other runners, the timing guy, the photographer and her dog, and two volunteers. That's it. I got some coke and sat down in a chair under the tent to wait for Ben. He also managed to pass the guy that I had and was only about 8-9 minutes behind me.

Photo: Amanda Babicke / Lobo Photo

Our finisher award was a wooden(ish) cutout - no ribbon or anything, kind of like a small plaque? This was a very small, grassroots event, so it was fine.

Official Time - 8:35:48

Overall Place - 30/37

Gender Place - 12/13 (OA winner was female, and was 45 minutes ahead of second place?!)

Thoughts

• Very inexpensive! I signed up mid December and it was $88 after taxes/fees. They also "require" a pair of shoes for a donation. I saw that on UltraSignup, but then it was never mentioned in any of the pre-race emails and we had to ask about it at packet pick up.
• Definitely plan on being self sufficient for food! I am not that picky, but honestly all they had was snacky type stuff (chips & sugar) - nothing of real caloric density. I had some of my own food but I didn't eat much as I lose my appetite when it's hot.
• Aid stations had cold water, but no ice, which was disappointing since it was really warm and exposed.
• I didn't have cell service for most of this course. 
• The race had a gpx available and it was nice to have, although honestly not necessary. Even being alone out there we didn't have to question where the course went.
• Got a few free on course and finish line pictures, which is always nice!
• Did not see any "native" wildlife, but saw dogs at every aid station, which was lovely. As for vegetation, holy cow, so many cacti and stabby bushes. Really had to be careful on this course.
• If you are looking for a hot, rocky and exposed course, this is for you!!