Okay this will be a short write-up. This is my third run of the Silver State 50 mile race in Northern Nevada. This race is always on my to-do list because it is the only distance of the three distances I have not won. I previously won the 1/2 marathon and 50k but the 50 mile distance keeps eluding me.

So prior to race day I checked Ultrasignup like many runners probably do to see who my competition was going to be on race day. And to my misfortune two salomon professionals David Sinclair and Jeff Stern would be toeing the line with me. I thought it was pretty cool that two fast and successful runners would come down to our local ultra when they are accustom to traveling the world and ranking pretty well. I knew a win would be a long shot but as with any ultra a lot can happen so I wasn’t deterred.

I did have a fairly long, solid and consistent training block leading up the race since the previous year was a pandemic. I basically started actually training all the way since January. I also knew that if I put in a lot of base miles but played it safe I would be setting myself up well for a good season without pushing myself too hard prior to each race and getting injured.

On race morning I stuck to all my normal routines and went into the race with the mindset of keeping things simple. By that I mean carry as little as possible with me and break down eating to a gel every 1/2 hour and one 750ml soft flask of water between each aid station. This has worked for me well in the past and I wasn’t about to change it. As we lined up and RD John Trent sent us off I was curious to see if anyone would bolt off the front. Initially, I was at the front with Andy Manaster chatting but fairly quickly Jeff Stern whizzed passed us. I jumped on his heels and thought, “oh, okay I guess this is the front pace” Soon we propelled off the front but not without David Sinclair behind us.

We made our way up the mountain on mostly beautiful single track in cool temperatures on a beautiful morning. Once we hit the service road and the gradient pitched upward David shifted gears and promptly left the two of us. We hit the summit (Mile 13ish) a few minutes behind David and about to start the newest section of the course “Jimmy’s Loop (6 mi)”. This is probably the most technical and includes the steepest sections of the course. It is probably my favorite but technically the hardest. As we came back through the summit aid station Jeff asked how far ahead David was and the volunteer told us 16 minutes! We were going slow so that number felt absolutely insane and made me think how easy the first part of the race must have been for him as he was stuck behind us. I didn’t feel too bad as he was recently 5th in the world at the Mountain Running Championships.

The next chunk of the race was fairly uneventful as the mile ticked by except Jeff together, chatted and helped push each other on much of the course. I was really uplifting and energizing to share the trail with him. I think we both benefited from the support of each other. As the morning carried on huge thunderstorm clouds were buidling. I wasn’t sure if it would actually rain or not but as we neared the summit for the 3rd and last time big drops started to fall and thunder rumbled in the background. It made me a little anxious to hurry and get off the summit as quickly as possible. By time we arrived the ground was now white with snow/hail and the winds were picking up. I put my windbreaker on and waited a second as Jeff got something out of his drop bag then off we went. We bombed the next 5 miles fairly hard as the conditions worsened.

I felt Jeff and I were pretty similarly paced but one little mistake on my part was enough to drop back. I made a rooking move of not taking a gel in a timely manner as I was more concerned with trying to keep my pace up on our decent and skip it. Sure enough I could feel my legs weakening and my pace start to deteriorate. Jeff was getting smaller as he pushed on. I ate another gel, drank more water and pushed on.

By time my legs were functioning again it was too late and Jeff was far enough ahead that I was not going to reel him in. I was completely fine with that because this was still my fasted time on this 50 mile course and 1st place was way out of reach. Maybe next year.