Ultra Trail Harricana 125 km

Evening Run

Morning Run

Morning Ride

Afternoon Row

I knew that lead up to this event was going to abbreviated and a challenge since there was a small window as I was coming off my canoe expedition.   That said, having to extend the canoe trip by two weeks made that small window even smaller.  Additionally I came off the water with a nagging case of plantar fasciitis and shortly thereafter got sick (I believe w/covid).  After not feeling much relief with rest I did a bit more digging and found that actually getting out on the trails was a possible fix.  The reason being that my PF could have been a result of weak muscles such as the calves and other accessory muscles.  My PF felt better soon after hitting the trails!

Thoughts of dropping down in distance or trying to defer were had.  Ultimately I hemmed and hawed until there weren’t any options.  At that point my goal was to complete within the WSER qt cut-off.  My plan was to give things a go and see how I felt.  If I didn’t feel WSER qt was in the cards I was going to log some miles and treat it as a training effort.  At that point I would pivot and focus on the last qualifying race of the year which was Rio Del Lago.

Race day:  The race had an unusual start time, 1:00 pm.  At the start I had a slight bit of nausea which is unusual but quickly subsided.  I opted to forgo my hydration bladder in favor of three 500ml soft flask that I could more easily refill and keep assorted fluids in.  For nutrition I opted to start with my choice of bars and carbs while utilizing what the course provided.  This was in large part because there was only one place for a drop bag and my crew had limited access.  

I never felt like I had good leg turn over but my power up the climbs was strong and constant throughout.  The first half of the race was so beautiful with an amazing sunset view on top of Mont des Morios.  My energy and mood were good for the first half up to Ravito Hautes-Gorges where I saw my crew sometime between 1:00am and 2:00am.  There were some easy rollers when I left out but those were followed by some single track climbing with muddy technical terrain.  Rain rolled in with a brief spelt of some heavier stuff.  My mood and energy went south and I felt a blowup impending.  I tried to stay positive and take in more hydration/nutrition.  Daybreak came and shortly thereafter there were other races of shorted distances that started.  It was frustrating having people with fresh legs thrown into the mix that I had to interrupt my rhythm to cede the trail too.  I tried not to dwell and focus on the objective.  At the end of it all I was able to keep up my paces and my efforts paid off with a WSER qt time!

Top Sports

Christopher Monahan

Ultra Trail Harricana 125 km

10 Photos

1 Comment

Splits

Sign up to view more activities from Christopher Monahan

Ultra Trail Harricana 125 km

Evening Run

Morning Run

Morning Ride

Afternoon Row

Want to see more?

The #1 app for runners and cyclists

Sign Up for Free. Track your progress and reach goals. Join 100 million active people on Strava.

See More from Christopher