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Race recap: 2019 Elk Kings 50K

October 15, 2019 by Jamie 5 Comments

When talking about the Elk Kings 50K race, I think Danny Glick (the third place finisher) said it best when he posted on Instagram that “…it was suffery and verty…”

 

Elk Kings 50K - ultra marathon

 

With over 6,500 feet of gain in 31 miles, and rocky, rooty, and often times slippery terrain (hello fall leaves!), this course is no joke. Needles to say, I worked pretty damn hard for this finish, gave myself plenty of excuses to work with, and struggled my way to a finishing time of 6:14 – taking 12th place overall and 5th female – which I’m pretty darn proud of.

If you’re wondering what the 5th place female (me!) and 1st place female (Megan Flanagan) have in common? Well.. I’m here to tell you, it’s a lot. For starters, we both took epic parking lot photos and posted them as our finishing photos. And for the rest, you’ll just have to listen to her podcast, Strong Runner Chick Radio (hint, hint, I’ll be a guest soon!).

ultrarunning oregon

What you probably can’t guess from our beautiful parking lot finisher photos (oops) is that this course is not only challenging, but also extremely beautiful. The Elk-Kings races (a 25K, marathon, and 50K) take place in the Tillamook Forest and offer up two beautiful mountains to climb – The Elk and Kings Mountain (hence the name).

We ran alongside the river, up the mountain, down the mountain, and back up and down again…over beautiful trail, alongside all of the fall foliage, and under big, beautiful tree canopies. And we couldn’t have been luckier with the weather conditions – it was a clear, beautiful, and eventually warm October day – perfect for running.

When we (my friend Andrew and I) first arrived at the starting area (Jones Creek), it was pitch black and cold but by the time we started the race (7:30 am), the sun had just come up, and we had more than enough light for a start line selfie.

Oregon ultra marathon races - 50K

As with most Go Beyond Racing races, the race briefing and start line was supes casual. Like uh, watch for the orange cones and ribbons, don’t get lost and uh, go!

Ultra marathon race recap Oregon 50K

 Andrew and I fist bumped, did a final check of our watches and were off! He went cruising towards the front of the pack and I lingered somewhere more in the middle. The first few miles were fun and fast and I could feel myself getting pulled into the excitement. I had to keep reminding myself to back off my pace a little, and run smart since I knew it was going to be a long day out there. Plus, I was immediately having issues with my running tights (which I am NEVER wearing again) and found myself trying to figure out a way to cinch them tighter around my waist so I didn’t have to run for hours with my butt crack on display. I was only mildly successful.
I ran the first several climbs and through the first turnaround point in roughly the same position I had started – front mid pack – and was feeling good about it. I decided my overall strategy would be to try and maintain that position, and smile every time the front runners were headed the opposite way (can’t let them actually see my suffering, now can I??). I was even smiling when Andrew came flying by me at the first turnaround and maintained my big dumb smile even after I went to give him a high five and instead, accidentally punched him in the chest (true story and also, whoops).
I ran the majority of the first 18 or so miles – big climbs and all – and then had to run / walk the next big climbs after that as my legs were feeling pretty cooked. I managed to stay roughly in the front mid pack throughout the race and practiced some of my fueling for Rio Del Lago 100, while also trying to figure out all the kinks in my armor (like ahem, my ridiculous running tights).
The last 10 miles felt more like 20, and I had to dig deep for that smile to stay put. I got passed by a nice guy from Seattle (or somewhere near Seattle, anyway) in the last five or so miles, and told myself I’d have to pass at least one other runner to make up for it (which I did, thank you very much).
ultra runner portland oregon
As I approached the finish area, I immediately saw my little man and his nanna waiting on the bridge just before the finish line and then heard Abbie barking right as I crossed. I grabbed my little guy, found Andrew to congratulate him on his AMAZINGLY fast finish (7th place overall and 4th male!), and then poured myself some delicious apricot cider in my finisher’s glass (thanks Avid Cider Co), and got busy on a veggie burger (thanks for supplying all the sauces Red Duck Foods!).
Ultrarunning Oregon
After fueling up, we hopped into the roomy Mazda CX-9 (which I am so pumped to be testing out all week long), stretched our tired legs, and made the hour long trek back to Portland.
Mazda cars
Seriously, can I just keep this car? It’s so perfectly spacious and fits our entire adventure loving family (and then some!) with room to spare for our collection of snacks and our family sized collection of Takeya bottles (what can I say? We take hydration very seriously…).
Takeya hydration
Thanks for a great race Go Beyond Racing and congrats to all of the amazing, strong runners out there!
Stay sweaty friends!
XO
Jamie
Disclaimer : I was provided with a Mazda CX-9 to test drive for a week but all opinions, thoughts, words, and love for stretching my legs are my very own. 

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Filed Under: Fitness, Races Tagged With: 50K recap, fitness, flex & flow, flex and flow runners, moms who run, Oregon ultra, oregon ultra running, portland ultra runners, races, running, stoke, sweat pink, that stoke life, trail stoke, ultra runner, ultra running, ultra running pnw, ultra running race

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Nicci Randall says

    October 16, 2019 at 11:10 am

    Wardrobe malfunction?! Punching friends?! Better this one than the next!

    Way to crush it out there, JKF. You always inspire me with the ways you dig so so deep. Can’t wait to watch you crush it at RIO. Up and Up!

    XO

    Reply
    • Jamie says

      October 16, 2019 at 12:10 pm

      Thanks girl, I def had to dig deep on this one – it hurt a little! And I definitely punched Andrew (totally missed…like 100% missed the high five…haha).

      XOXOXO

      Reply
  2. Alyse says

    October 16, 2019 at 7:11 pm

    Oh my gosh how annoying to have your tights malfunction!! Sounds like a fun race and a perfect way to stretch out those legs after.

    Way to crush it, as always, JKF!

    Reply
    • Jamie says

      October 16, 2019 at 8:37 pm

      I might have to steal the car…

      Reply

Trackbacks

  1. Rio Del Lago 100 mile race recap - Jamie King Fit says:
    November 20, 2019 at 11:05 am

    […] November 2, 2019) I toed the start line at Rio Del Lago 100 miler; it was my first 100 miler (and second ultra distance) post baby and I was both nervous and excited. I knew I had put in the work, and had prepared […]

    Reply

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