The North Face Endurance Challenge: Race Report and Tips for Beginner Trail Runners

Claudia O.

The Events

The North Face Endurance Challenge offers a unique running experience for runners to push and exceed their personal limits on the trail. The events are held in different regions across the country, and during the first weekend of May 2011 it was the Northeast's turn. For the past five years, the chosen destination was Bear Mountain, NY.

The event follows a two-day format featuring a 50-miller, 50K, marathon, and marathon relay on Saturday. On Sunday there was a 5K, 10K and half marathon.

The North Face Endurance Challenge at Bear Mountain is the perfect event for the trail runner who is looking for a supreme challenge. It is described in the event sponsor's website as “a serious, hardy test for trail runners of any level." The course consists of “technical terrain and rocky footing, with some trails heading steeply uphill rather than zigzagging at a gentler grade.”


North Face Challenge -- Beautiful and Rocky Terrain

The course has difficulty ratings as follows: 4 out of 5 stars for “elevation change,” 5 out of 5 starts for “technical terrain,” and 5 out of 5 stars for “overall difficulty.”

Several Flyers participated in the different events, and a special shout out to Scott M. for running the 50-Miler on this difficult course. Jessica R. had a great race winning her age group in the Half Marathon, while Jodie F. and Jim N. finished the Half Marathon in fine fashion and none the worse for wear beyond Jim's sore ankles and quads. Nora S. ran the 10K also in an amazing time for this tough course

Running the 50K were Ray S. who was unstoppable in achieving a course PR; Noel C. who also had an amazing performance, Siggy T. who was running his first ultra-marathon after not even tapering for a day, and me running my first trail ultra-marathon as a training run for my next ultra. I will be heading to Washington DC, on June 4th to run the North Face Endurance Challenge 50-Miler.

Happy Finishers: Siggy T (reclining) and from left non-Flyer friend, Claudia O, Ray S and Noel C

First, I must give credit to the organizers, as they did a fantastic job. The level of organization is comparable to what you might find at a major city marathon. The registration was online and easy, all the races were capped, but the ultras and marathon races did not fill up while the shorter distances were sold out pretty quickly -- something to take into consideration if you plan to participate in the future.

The entrance fee is very reasonable and you recover the full price in goodies!! You get a technical t-shirt, arm warmers and a nice bottle. The fee also includes a beer and hot food (with a gigantic brownie!) at the finish line festival.

On site, every single detail was taken care of. The shuttle bus from the parking lot to where the race started, heaters all around the waiting area, plenty of porta potties, water, bag dropping, cool music, plenty of chairs and tables to sit and rest, coffee, etc.

Course Description

Running in the woods is lovely; you can feel connected with the nature and find peace. It is a great way to free your mind and spirit. Not to forget that getting dirty is so fun and makes you look much more hardcore than you really are!!

Jessica R Tearing Up the Course in Route
To Winning Her Age Group for the Half Marathon

“Endurance challenge” is by sure the term that best describes the North Face events. Looking at the winners’ times you know they didn’t walk that much and that they ran really fast even in the very rocky parts, but for most of us it is a combination of hiking, running and mental challenge! It is not easy to keep yourself motivated to run for 8, 10 or more hours in an ocean of rocks!

A lot of time was spent walking up and down steep rocky slopes and climbing cliff faces that required both hands, but we also ran every single yard that was runnable to make up for the time lost climbing. We jumped streams from rock to rock and we ran on old wooden bridges. We ran with friends, but also many miles where we had to run alone in the woods.

There are many hills and climbs, and as we all know, after a huge uphill there is a huge downhill, and of course in Bear Mountain there are rocks too!! Running downhill on a mountain it is not the same as running on a road. Sprinting can be very dangerous when the leaves cover the ground and you are not sure whether there are rocks or roots underneath.

Nora S's Bloody Knee is a Casualty

Just passing the marathon mark was the rockiest part of the course -- The Timp Pass Road. This section is not only the rockiest part but it also includes a long gradual climb. A combination of huge and small rocks form a long wall of rubble where you need to watch out for your ankles!!

At this point the first thing you think is “Do they really expect me to run here?” Well, I have to say that I did. I ran it all the way up, slowly of course, but I did it and believe it or not some runners from the 50-miler passed me while running at a considerablly high speed. Sometimes I just needed to stop and watch them doing their job! It is amazing how fast they can run on such uneven terrain. I guess it takes years of experience to do that.

Soon after the Timp Pass, and when you think that nothing worst can be ahead…there it was…a very long steep single track uphill. It was so long that I couldn’t even see the end of it!

The last aid station is just 2.8 miles away from the finish line, and the course here is a combination of two climbs and two downhills, if you still have some energy this is a good moment to go for it because the terrain is less rocky here and you can run the whole section without walking or climbing.

Racing Tips for Beginners

• Start slow!! And if you think you are going slow…then go slower!!! This course is tough and will catch up with you. Take it easy in the beginning and pace yourself. If after half-way you are feeling good, then is the time to push it.

• Walk the hills and when you feel you are hitting a wall. Let your body recover and you will come back stronger. It is amazing what just 3 minutes of walking can do in an ultra. Don’t feel ashamed -- some of the best ultra runners in the world sometimes walk; it is part of the experience.

• When to walk? If you see that everyone else is walking a hill, that is a good signal that you also should walk it. Some people walk all the hills, and others use a walking/running combination by miles or minutes (i.e. run 20 minutes, walk 2 minutes). It is important to practice trail running before your race, including to find out which approach works best for you.

• Watch out for slippery roots and rocks. When you are running trails, you need to pay close attention to where you step. Continuously scan the ground a few yards ahead of you while you’re running. If it looks dangerous, just slow down or walk. It is better to lose a couple of minutes than to sprain your ankle and need to stop.

Course Markings

When trail running, you don’t have miler marks every mile, you don’t have watches along the course and sometimes you don’t even have a real path to follow. Most likely, your watch will die after 8 hours, and you cannot just trust to follow other runners because sometimes there aren’t other runners around. These factors make the course markings essential.

Colored Markers Keep Runers from Getting Lost

During the race, there were colored ribbons placed every 30-50 ft along the entire 50K course. Each distance had it owns color and courses were sometimes shared with the 50 milers and marathoners. It is important to know which color you have to follow. At intersections, huge signs in the ground pointed the way. Some ribbons were placed way up high in a tree so that they were at times difficult to see but not a major issue. I don’t think anyone could have gotten lost here. It happens that sometimes you are too focused on your running or you are looking at the ground to avoid rocks and roots and you can miss a signal, but it was really very easy to go back and figure out the right route.

Course Markings: Tips for Beginners

• Think ahead. You will find yourself running alone, sometimes for many miles, so always consider the distance and try to visualize the next 2 or even 3 marks ahead. This way you always can be sure you know where you are heading in advance.

• When in doubt, go back a marker. In major events, markers are placed very close to each other, so if you are running for more than 1 minute without seeing one then you should go back to the point where you saw the last one. You don’t want to run extra miles!!

Aid Stations

In road races, we are used to having aid stations each mile or so, but in trail and ultra running the aid stations are far apart from each other. Most of the time they are every 5 or 6 miles, but it can be even farther. During the 50K, there was one section where we didn’t have any aid station for 7 miles. On a warm day and when running at a slow pace, this distance can be a very long time to be running without water. The aid stations were amazing, from the food to the nice volunteers that were trying to help and cheer us on.

Aid Station Offers Plenty to Eat!

I carried one bottle with water on my hand because it is easy to refill and also since I like to splash water on my head on warm days. I personally don’t find a hydration backpack comfortable. The stations had everything you could need -- chicken soup, potatoes, bananas, oranges, chips, brownies, water, sodas, Gatorade, GU, etc. They also had a complete first aid kit and many volunteers ready to help.

Aid Station Tips for Beginners

• Know the distance. Be sure to know how far away the next aid station is so that you can ration your fluids and food.

• Think small. Break the ultra into small races and just think about getting to the next station. This is a good technique to keep you motivated and focused.

• Try to eat food as part of your long runs. Don’t eat for first time on race day. You need to know what your body can handle and what works best for you. I combine food and gels as energy sources, so I ate something at the aid stations and then I'd complement the food by having a gel while running to the next one.

This is a tough course and I am proud to say that all the Flyers did a great job! Congratulations to everyone!!


Claudia O. Enjoys a Well-Deserved Post-50K Meal

Are you going to take the challenge next year? I know I will!!

Claudia O