Lost Soul 54K Ultra Race (ahem) Recap

I am a Lost Soul Ultra Marathon finisher! This was one of the most challenging races that I have ever endured. It’s been a few days since the race so I have had some time to digest what happened to my body and soul over 54K of trail fun. 
(Sign up for 50K and you earn a bonus 4K for free! You can’t beat that.) Once again I do not have any photos of me at the race. So you will just have to take my word for it. I promised I was there! 
Many people have told me this is the most challenging 50k (54K) in the province. I believe it! I am really happy that I ran it this year. I’ve had a tough year in running. Every single race sucked in one way or another. But you know what, who cares? I am very fortunate to be alive and to have the ability to run in some really freaking nice places. 
I didn’t know too many people at the race. One day I would love to have someone waiting for me at the finish line. A hug would be awesome! My friend Mark finished his first (and maybe his last … ha!) 100 km race. I bumped into Diane and veteran trail runner Cheryl from Lacombe who were also lining up for the 54K. It was Diane’s first Lost Soul too. I ran with Diane for part of the way. Cheryl had to drop because of some medical issues. 
A mandatory pre-race kicked off our Saturday race. The 100K and 100 milers started on Friday. I was lucky to watch some of this race before my own on Saturday. Talk about motivation. I have so much respect for those runners who cover this crazy distance. Most were finished or close to finishing when we started our run.

I had no game plan for this race. I kept thinking “just finish” and enjoy the run. My belly had been acting up over the last few days. Maybe nerves? I turned off my iPhone and I made a deal with myself to only turn it on at the half-way mark. Only then I would text Amber and the rest of my fan base to let them know I was surviving.

Even though my nerves and belly were not gnawing at me, I couldn’t wait to run. I signed up for this race a long time ago. And the day was finally here. I wanted to suck the experience out of it and remember every bit so I could share it with you here. When you’re running for hours on end, you have a lot of time to think and to have crazy conversations with yourself.  

For the first 7K or so I thought, ‘wow’ this isn’t so bad. Yes it’s tough but it isn’t so bad. I chatted away with a chick from Raymond, Alberta and Diane from Lacombe. Everyone was in such high spirits. It was a beauty of a day for a run. 
Finishers received a tile with their name and finishing time. If you placed in the top 3 for age/gender category or overall, you receive a rock too. It used to be that everyone got a rock. I think the popularity of the race has increased so much that the rock guy couldn’t keep up. The tiles are pretty cool and heavy! 
 
So where was I? First bit of the race felt really good. I just went with the flow of the other runners. I knew this would likely be the only time in the race that I would be surrounded by so many other runners. I usually end up running alone for most of my races (because I am so far behind!). 
We were treated to all sorts of hills and valleys. If you are not a fan of running up and down hills, this is not the run for you. Most of the route was very exposed – meaning no shade! I don’t remember when I started feeling that something wasn’t right with my tummy. 
As planned I texted Amber after I reached one of the aid stations. (They are all a blur to me.) I told her it was freaking hot and challenging. She fired off a few motivating text messages before telling me to get off my iPhone and get moving. I dutifully turned off my phone and kept on trekking. 
I hate whining. And I hate people who moan and groan about this or that. So I will not dwell too much on my woes. I didn’t spent much time at the aid stations. And I made a stupid mistake which I think is the reason why I got so sick during the race. I refilled my hydro pack with water but I did not add my nutrition. I used Tailwind during my race and it was awesome until I wasn’t drinking it anymore. I just had plain water at the aid stations. I grabbed some watermelon and a few potato chips at one point. That was it. Yes. I know. Dumb. 
And as the story goes … (stop me if you have heard it before) I puked and puked several times over the last half of the race. The best part was puking on the final hill before the finish line in front of a crowd of people. Good times. Yes I can laugh about it now because it was funny and my own dumbass fault. (I am not whining! Just stating the facts.)
        
Better nutrition would have made a difference in my race. With or without the heat, it was bloody hard! Here I was really worried about my right ankle holding up. I was sure I would be limping my way across the finish line. Nope. It was my damn fuelling! I am kind of embarrassed about my finishing time of 9:24 but whatever. A finish is a finish. We’re always our hardest critic, right? (I know I should just chill because I am still relatively new to trail running and ultras!) Lesson learned! 
Oh I love this trail bridge! (Sorry this is how my brain works) We ran near it in the early part of the course. I had to post a picture of it. The next morning I walked some of the course again so I could snap a few pictures. It was nice to shake out my legs and to see the route in the morning light. 

What’s really cool about the Lost Soul Ultra Marathon is the running community (or cult) of trail runners. Everyone knows everyone. It’s a like a big ass family. (I’m not part of the family but it is heartwarming to see) On Sunday, the organizers host an awards’ breakfast and chat fest at the hotel. I sat with Ellen from Edmonton and Mark, his wife Laurie, Diane and a few runners from Manitoba. Everybody was so damn shiny and happy! Trail runners clean up good. I recognized a few people from the trails but not many. 


I was very happy to see Roger from Edmonton. He helped me immensely in the finishing tent. I was at the point of tears when he sat down beside me. I just felt miserable. He was there to talk me out of my crazy. Someone handed me a beer after I guzzled some pretzels and other salty stuff. It was exactly what I needed! 
Despite being a complete dork with fuelling, I could look past the ugly to see the beauty in this race. Truly it was a wonderful experience. Hills after hills after hills. It’s amazing what one can do when you put your mind to it. I have complete and utter respect for everyone who started and finished this course. (I know shit can happen so judgement to those who had to DNF) 
If you’re looking for a good challenge, I highly recommend Lost Soul Ultra Marathon. I’ll be back next September! I hope to see you there!
Stats: 

100 mile race: 44 starters and 20 finishers. 
100 km race: 102 starters and 71 finishers. 
54 km race: 156 starters and 137 finishers. 
Thanks for reading my long and rambling post. I appreciate your support (and hugs) always! 

16 Comments

  1. Loved the post and loved the pics and thanks for the non-whiny part lol!! Judging by all the DNFers, you did well to complete it. I can't even IMAGINE doing a 54K race but all of the sudden I'm dying to do one sometime! And if you want someone to hug you at the end of a race, don't puke just before the finish line!! (I would have been happy to have hugged you…regardless…) You rock!

    1. Thanks Brian! I would love a hug from you 🙂 It's amazing what we put our bodies through 🙂

  2. You can always become part of the Lethbridge Trail running family, just come on down on the weekend and come out for a group run! We have a Facebook group Lethbridge Trail Runners.

    Derrick

  3. It's a beautiful thing, the Lost Soul Ultra!! Blackfoot, near Edmonton is also lovely, but there's something about the crazy challenge and terrain of LSU that makes it worth returning again and again!

  4. I think I lost my comment! I will repeat: I had a similar problem with nutrition at ENDURrun, but that was a marathon and not a trail ultra! Way to gut it out! (See what I did there?!? ;))

  5. Nice work! I mean, aside from the poor fuelling, you still crossed the finish line which is amazing. Here I am worried about a 10k.

  6. hmmm, how am I just seeing this now?!?!?! That's totally amazing, Congratulations!!!!! I SO want to be an ultra marathoner! Next October I will do 50k in the Valley if I am healthy and not injured. 🙂

  7. Congratulations on finishing this tough ultra Crystal. Nutrition and hydration are such finicky things and I know you swear by that Tailwind so it's a shame you got sick without it. It must be hard to think at all during times like this. The beauty of nature is the best part of races, especially trail races and runs so I'm glad you found a way to look past the ugly and see the beauty. Great job!!!

  8. Thanks for the great article! I am running the 50km portion of Lost Souls this year – my first ultra. Nice to hear about others who have run it.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

CommentLuv badge