It was October 1st, 2016. I’d been waiting for this day for a long, long time. This, finally, was the best day of my life. It was my first official ultra race: the 2016 Ultra Trail Mt. Jiri – a first edition!
Back on track
After the devastation of my not-quite-first-ultra at the 2016 Korea 50k, we took about a month to just run for fun and focus on our mountain mission. But then I stumbled upon the Ultra Trail Mt. Jiri online. Do you believe in luck? To me, this race seemed lucky! It was set in one of my favorite Korean mountains, Jirisan National Park (지리산국립공원)! How could I not sign us up?!
Also, I’d always known that we’d try again for an ultra finish. I was eager to start training hard again. I feel like I’m living at the peak of my potential when I’m in the middle of some sort of training cycle. It’s good for my body, mind and soul. Kent was ready too. So we registered for the Ultra Trail Mt. Jiri 50k, and got back to work!
Our first approach had worked well. Despite the emotional devastation, neither of us suffered any physical problems after the Korea 50k. So we took what we’d learned and did it all over again. Except for a few things. This time, we weren’t going to put our mountain missions on hold. Instead, we’d take our runs to new mountains! This meant sacrificing a bit of rest and perfect nutrition, but it also meant getting used to different types of terrain.
And this time, we were going to train on the course!
Terrific training
We happened to live extremely close to the Ultra Trail Mt. Jiri race course. A 15 minute train ride took us to the small town at the foot of Jirisan, and another 15-20 minutes by taxi took us straight to the start. I contacted the organizers and asked them for GPS files of the course. In the absence of more advanced tech, I figured we could memorize as much as we could from looking at the files, then write post-it notes about important distances and turning points. Then we planned three big training adventures!
Ready or not!
So, were we more prepared this time? Yes and no. We’d trained on the course, and on mountains across the country. We were getting really familiar with ‘resting’ on long bus rides and in random motels, and eating out of our backpacks and convenience stores. We felt excited and ready to tackle our next challenge! But we had also slept less and hadn’t eaten as well during those incredibly busy summer months. We hadn’t devoted ourselves single-mindedly to our training, and our long runs had maxed out at just 35 kilometers in training (although these runs had exceeded 7 hours!). Work had been incredibly stressful for me in the weeks leading up to the race as well. Time would tell how our latest approach would work.
And finally, the time had arrived! I had to sneak out of work early to get to the venue and claim our race kits the Friday night before the race! After checking in to our little guesthouse, I laid out our race gear for the next morning. When Kent arrived, we ate a quick dinner of leftovers and went to bed early. Despite my nerves, I slept well beneath that mountain I adore.
The 2016 Ultra Trail Mt. Jiri (50k)
A swirl of stars glistened in the inky night sky overhead on race morning as we ran to the start. But unlike the quiet starts we’d had on our own, on race morning, the start area was packed and pumping. Weather conditions (a forecast for rain) had seen the race organizers call off the 100k, so everyone would be running the 50k together. So we all lined up at the start in the darkness, smiling for cameras and dancing around to a beat to stay warm. The community feeling of the start was enhanced by the simple conditions. We were starting under a blow-up arch in a parking lot, lit by just a few lights.
In the moments before the start, I reflected on not only how successful our training on these slopes had been, but how fun and happy. All I wanted was to run like we had in the weeks and months before, light and happy. From the moment the gun went off, that was just what I did.
We started near the front, to be sure to nail the first climb up to Sangbuljae pass. Kent led us past the temple, into the forest and up the steps. Here, I was pushing so hard I felt like I was reaching my limits, but I kept going. Once again, we beat our previous times up to the top! The wet conditions made the descent extra slippery, but we managed that at speed too. Heading down, Kent misstepped and found himself thigh-deep in water during a river crossing. But he’s tough and simply carried on. We burst out into the clearing around Samseonggung and checked in to checkpoint one.
A couple of bananas later, we were on our way. Kent got a few paces ahead of me during the road section, chatting with a Japanese runner. I enjoyed the relative solitude and again, recalled our two super fun previous outings in this very same place. There was a surprise water refill and a photographer where the road did a hairpin, just before the runners verged onto the trail.
Together again, we ran up the hill and onto the most remote section of the course before checkpoint two. We laughed remembering how overgrown it had been here on our first run. But today it was a breeze! We maintained a steady pace, slowing down just slightly to eat energy bars around km #25. Shortly after that, we arrived at checkpoint two at the paragliding spot! We enjoyed some fruit and got on our way again.
This time, going down was a breeze. We weren’t desperate, as we had been in the heat of the summer, so we let momentum carry us down. Closer to civilization in the valley, bright orange persimmons clung to the bare, black branches of trees. I felt like we basically glided across the valley on the farm roads cutting through the rice fields. There were cameras there to celebrate with us. I felt simultaneously carefree and playful, and choked up with gratitude for this unforgettable day.
Checkpoint three was a pears extravaganza! Kent and I descended on the luscious fruits and ate as much as we could, the sweet juices delighting and refreshing us both. We encountered the Japanese runner again, who unfortunately was suffering from an upset stomach. We were lucky to be feeling good, and we set out as soon as we sated our hunger for amazing pears.
The next section of course had been rerouted in case of severe rain. So instead of the steep scrambles and exposed ridge, we found ourselves on a new route in the forest. We didn’t mind. In fact, it was fun for two reasons: one, it was a new route on a mountain I love, and second, we had gotten to experience what was in my mind the absolute best part of a great course alone. For me, our solitude had enhanced the stillness of the valley and the drama of the high peaks, and with no pressure, I’d been able to look around and photograph it at leisure.
Nearing checkpoint four, it was drizzling, and we were doing a long march uphill. We met another racer who would become a friend. At the aid station, we all ate few more pears, and then ran downhill through a thick forest as the light darkened. Our new friend passed us, wishing us luck! I called after her that she was looking strong, and Kent and I continued our merry, medium-speed descend. Our GPS watch beeped one last time before it’s battery ran out. It was twilight when we emerged into the tea fields. Rounding a few turns brought the massive hotel near the start/end point into view. As soon as I saw it, I started to cry. We were about to complete our first ultra! A wave of emotions swept over me, and I ran the last few kilometers with my heart.
It was not over yet, however. There were some twists and turns through the little tourist town we’d once used as a resupply point. We turned our headlights on as it finally darkened into night. We were running on pavement, following the glowing signs, guiding us home. There was a sudden turn onto some wooden steps. We could hear the clanging of bells and some shouting, and it dawned on me. ‘They’re cheering for us,’ I told Kent in a small voice, through my tears.
Down, down, down we went, and some lights came on, and there was the arch and the tape across the finish! We crossed the Ultra Trail Mt. Jiri finish line with hands clasped above our heads in a light sprinkling of rain. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt so accomplished in my life. Volunteers took our pictures, draped medals around our necks and pointed us under the shelter of some tents.
There we found our friend enjoying a post-race meal. Still in a happy haze, we went to congratulate her. ‘You won second place in the women’s!’ she told me. ‘Really?’ I must have asked a half dozen times. A race volunteer who joined us at our table confirmed this. Three of the women originally registered for the hundred had finished before us, but for the 50k, my new friend was first and I was indeed in second place! The volunteer didn’t think we’d be given awards with the three others in front of us. That made sense to me, and it didn’t matter. I was still floating high on our finish! So, needing to take a shower and have a bite to eat, we bid our new friend goodbye, then headed home.
Back in our cozy little place, we relived moments of the race over and over again. I had the wonderful sleep that follows a hard, all-day effort. The next morning, cotton-candy clouds hung low on the green mountain slopes, painting a magical scene over the race course. I could see a few pink course ribbons fluttering above the tea fields. We sat outside and gazed at Jirisan for over an hour, soaking in memories and scenery, before finally packing up and saying goodbye to this wonderful experience. This is what I wrote, then:
‘Mere words might not cut it here, because Saturday was the best day of my life. It was such a stunning, splendid, perfect day. The weather was cool, crisp and clear – not the predicted heavy rain. We pushed harder than I even knew we could on the hard bits – and yet I never thought it was too hard. For the very first time, we ran from dawn until dusk, over 50k and over 12 hours. We crossed the finish line holding hands in victory; completely overwhelmed by joy.’
Observe that joy in the awesome official video of the event here!
Lessons learned
I really think a key to our success in the Ultra Trail Mt. Jiri was training on the course. Of course, that’s a luxury that’s simply not available to everyone at every race. But it helped us, as novices, gain a better understanding of what ultra courses look and feel like. It also helped me to rebuild my confidence after the heartbreak of the Korea 50k. And in this sport, the more experience you have under your belt, the more prepared you are for anything.
During this race, I was able to apply the lessons that I learned during my first ultra attempt and the past year of training. I pushed myself hard, as I know I can, to conquer uphills. My speed on the descent had grown, even on really tricky terrain. The same mantra was on my mind, though, again, I felt so joyful throughout this race that I never had to call on it. We started fast, thereby ensuring we were with positive, highly motivated and well-trained fellow runners. And once again, we were tired after the race, but not wrecked. It felt like we’d found a recipe for success!
In the end, we were numbers 44 and 45 out of 138 finishers. There were 40 DNFs and more DNS – possibly thanks to the weather forecast. And of course, being 5th among the women and 2nd of those registered for the 50k was a wild and completely unexpected success!
(I guess you could say another lesson I learned was that if someone tells you that you placed in a race, stick around! Apparently there was a podium after we left and awards! It would have been a cool experience to stand on it, for probably the first and last time in my life! But I was equally thrilled when, a few weeks later, I got my a prize – my first pair of Altras – in the mail!)
But my favorite thing that I learned during this race and the training for it was what exactly I love about trail running. Of course, I love the challenge, the sense of community and the cool presents you get at an official racing event. That’s part of why I fell in love with road running, years ago! But what I love most of all is self-sufficient exploring on trails. I loved navigating by post-its and having to carry everything we needed on our three training runs! It was adventurous and hard; thrilling and satisfying. It was just the two of us and the vast beauty of nature. And it was only the beginning of my love for this sport!
Ultra Trail Mt. Jiri was a one-of-a-kind race. Literally; breaks my heart – I’d run it again in a heartbeat and recommend it to you just as fast. But just because there’s no race these days doesn’t mean you can’t run the course or sections of it! Hit me up if you need the GPX.