On Day One of the three-day trail race, a text message popped up on my watch from my dad: "First run done yet?"
...Little did he know I was only 10km into the 36km stage, and was contemplating dropping out. The massive climb at the 7km mark rendered my quads and hip flexors useless and I was struggling to get any energy going. I could not imagine making it another 16 miles. Let alone another two days.
But if you just keep putting one foot in front of the other, you will continue to move forward. And that is exactly what we did.
J finished 7 minutes ahead of me and said he would be okay with calling it there and spectating the remaining two days. I told him he was more than welcome to do so, but I was going to finish all three days even if it meant I had to walk all of it. I think the peer pressure got to him.
The Trail des Cedres is a three-day trail race in the forests of Ifrane, Morocco. Totaling 82km, the three stages include 34km, 26km, and 22km trail runs. This year, the first stage ended up being a little bit long and the course was officially upgraded to 36km, for a total of 84km. Once again, we had good intentions with training for this race; however, we fell short in reality. With holidays and visitors, we only managed to do one weekend of long runs. Therefore, we tried to account for this in our race strategy. Heading into the event, the goal was to steadily run the flat parts, walk the uphills, and let loose on the downhills. We were thinking "slow and steady", as we knew people would likely go out fast and tire as the days went on (a strategy which paid off in the end!). And while we were under-prepared in terms of experience, we were more-than-prepared in terms of hydration and nutrition. After the three days, we both felt that proper hydration was the key to overtaking many people. A lot of runners did not wear hydration packs, nor did they carry water or fuel with them. J and I carried one liter of water and one liter of Tailwind hydration mix, stopping to refill, as needed. Although sore, I never felt deprived on days two and three.
We felt like we executed the race perfectly. On Day One, I went from dying at the 10km mark to finally pulling it together at the 20km mark, passing four women in the last 5km and tying for 5th place in stage one. J looked at the results from Day One and set a goal to finish in the Top 50 overall. But there was a complication. The first 36km destroyed J's left foot. He had a donut hole-sized blood blister on his insole. Luckily, he found that once he started running, the best thing to do was let it go numb and not stop moving. **sidenote: J paid for that blister after the race. It gouged a deep hole into his foot and took nearly 6 weeks to fully close!!**
One large lunch, an afternoon of foam rolling, stretching, napping, and hobbling around, and one large (albeit very late) dinner later, and we found ourselves at the starting line of Day Two. My quads and hip flexors were screaming, but I discovered that I could hang on to my leggings and literally pull my legs up the hills (which worked quite well). While Day One never seemed to end, Day Two was much more manageable and significantly less hilly. Keeping the same strategy, I felt stronger as the day went on, passing several runners over the second half of the course and finishing 5th place among the field of women. J finished about five minutes ahead of me, improving in the rankings, as well. We had a system and it was working! AND, we both felt surprisingly more ready to tackle Day Three.
After another set of big meals and some quality time with the resident camp monkeys and a foam roller, Day Three was a fast course with net elevation loss heading into a cheering crowd in the town of Ifrane. And alas! K beat J on Day Three! Finding her zone, K ticked off the kilometers and competitors (and also wiped out at mile 7). She ended up taking 2nd Female on Day Three. J ran a steady race and gradually gained a few more spots in the final rankings. The final sprint to the finish line had cheering fans, a traditional Moroccan band, local news coverage, and a real sports announcer. K's final position was 5th woman overall, good enough for $200 in prize money! J's final position was 49th overall, squeaking in under his goal!
The experience was incredible and definitely something J & K would recommend for anyone interested in trying ultra-marathons and traveling to Morocco. J considered the event a "beginner's ultra" because the large volume was broken over three days with lots of good recovery time. The event was exceptionally well managed and seeing real monkeys up close was a once in a lifetime opportunity. For anyone who might be interested, the race weekend cost $200. That included: race registration, a technical t-shirt, a buff, socks, a technical hat, a drawstring bag, three nights' accommodation in a shared cabin, all meals (3 breakfasts, 3 lunches, and 3 dinners), entertainment, and a finisher's medal. You honestly cannot beat that. If we're still in Morocco for the 2020 event, you can count us in!
