Yesterday was the 2nd running of the Headlands 50/100 mile race located in the Headlands just north of San Francisco. The race covers some of the same trails as the Miwok 100k. Last year I ran the race in 9:01 finishing as second woman. My good friend Suzanna Bon came in 1st.
I was apprehensive going into the race as I have been plagued with a few injuries that have not helped my training. My left and right piriformis are so inflamed and tight that it can be difficult to sleep. With my "tight butt muscles", I've had a hard time elongating my stride. Instead, I run with a short, choppy gait. I have been trying to stretch it and ice it but it has been a chronic problem since about December. Going into the race made me uneasy as I wanted to better my time from last year.
Race morning was cool with a bit of fog. It only took a few minutes of running across the beach to warm up. The course is beautiful with views of the Golden Gate Bridge and the bay. The run traverses over tall cliffs and through narrow coastal trails. There are a lot of ups and downs on uneven rocky ground.
Despite my painful hips, I have to say that I had a great run. I had the pleasure of running with fast Beth Vitalis who dominates many bay area races. We have trained together before, but is was great to run with her and see what a great sportsman she is. She's an excellent ambassador to the sport of ultra running. It was a pleasure to run with her. I think that she helped push me to victory. She is a strong runner and I tried my best to keep her within sight. Finally, with less than 10 miles to go, I was able to push ahead and finish as 1st woman, 8th place overall. Thanks, Beth for pushing and encouraging me. It sure feels good to have won a 50 miler as a 50 year old!
Congrats to 3rd place woman and former Montrail teammate Meredith Tarranova. I enjoyed visiting with fellow goat, and former Montrail teammate Olga Varlamova and blogger Rick Gaston. They were both there to pace in the 100 miler. As always it was great seeing friends and being out on the trails that I love. Thanks Matt, for allowing me the freedom to be who I am and for supporting my love of running.
The overall mens winner was Lon Freeman with an awesome time of 7:43!!
24 comments:
Hi Kelly....
Great run!
Three Scrapes!
Steve
Hey Kelly, way to go! You are amazing!!! Wish i could import some of your energy. While I was tooling around Mt. Disappointment getting my rear end kicked I kept wondering how you were doing. I knew you would be under the top 10 the way you have been running. You are my hero Kel!
Kelly!!! I snet you pictures - make sure to add them to the post. Did you see how great your smile was???
Great job taking 1st F! Are you certain it's a piriformis problem you have? Give this a read http://www.physsportsmed.com/issues/2005/0505/fredericson.htm
Thanks, Steve! You should add this race to your schedule next year. It's a great run on a beautiful course!
Thanks, Tom. I thought about you while I was out there running too. I am so glad that you were happy with your race. You are my hero, too!!
Thanks for the pics Olga. As always it was a pleasure to see you and meet your man. I am so happy for you!!
Well, anonymous, I am pretty sure it is my piriformis but I will check out the link you sent. Thanks so much!!
WOW! Congratulations Kelly! That's awesome.
Kelly! Where was my manners? I totally forgot to ask how you did when I saw you. Was on the phone with my girl, was distracted. Good thing Olga asked. Way to go, that is a great time on that course. I did put up your pic though as I promised I would:)
yah! 50:50! you go girl.
Hey,
Run the Golden Gate to Beat Childhood Cancer. I just signed up to be a St. Jude Hero for the upcoming US Half Marathon on November 2, 2008. When you run or walk as a St. Jude Hero in the US Half Marathon, you inspire hope in children fighting cancer and other catastrophic illnesses. By raising money as a St. Jude Hero, you will support the life saving research and treatment conducted daily at St. Jude. All fundraising efforts are heroic, so there is no fundraising minimum required for participating in the program. Plus, when you sign up, you also receive free online training from Active.com and multiple other incentives. visit www.stjudeheroes.org for more information
Fantastic, Kelly!
Keep up the good work!
Peter
Hey Dave, you would love this course! Think about putting it on your race list for next year. I really like this course and I think you would too!!
Kelly,
A huge huge huge congratulations to you! You should feel proud and relish in your accomplishment, Kelly!
Meghan
Huge congrats on an awesome race. That is such an impressive time. Since I was volunteering during the day at a number of different spots before pacing through the night, I got to see the front of the race develop. It was very exciting!
I took a photo of you from Tennessee Valley AS just before you headed out for the final stretch.
http://picasaweb.google.com/steve.ansell/HeadlandsHundred2008/photo#5234506700035338114
Congrats on a great run and your overall win! That was a killer course.
Have a good recovery, and good luck with the next one.
Hey Rick, I hope your pacing went well. It was great to see you as always. Thanks for putting up the pic!
Thanks everyone for the nice notes. I really appreciate them.
Hey Eudemus, thanks so much for sending me the pic. That was really nice of you. I wish we could have met, but I do remember you snapping that photo. I hope you had a good time pacing at Headlands!
Congratulations, Kelly! How wonderful!! Sore hips and first woman. 50 years old is looking darn good and strong :) I love it!
Thank you Julie!
You make me so excited about all the running possibilities to come! Thanks for giving me inspiration to be patient with injuries and also to never assume that because I'm not some 20-something runner anymore that my best days and races are behind me.
Congrats on a great race!!
Thanks Victoria! I like to say, "just do the best that you can do". I will keep running because that is what makes me feel young. I feel so alive when I run on the trails. Thanks for checking out my blog. Hopefully, we will meet out on the trails one day soon.
Post a Comment