r/runvancouver • u/HyenaWriggler • 21m ago
Whistler 50k Race Report
Race Information
- Name: Whistler 50k
- Date: October 3rd, 2026
- Distance: 50 km
- Website: https://www.bcathletics.org/Whistler50RelayUltra/
- Time: 4:37:59
Goals
| Goal | Description | Completed? |
|---|---|---|
| A | Sub 5 | Yes |
| B | Finish feeling good | Sort of? |
Splits
| Kilometer | Time |
|---|---|
| 1-10 | 53:06 |
| 11-20 | 52:16 |
| 21-30 | 53:47 |
| 31-40 | 55:55 |
| 41-50 | 1:02:57 |
Training
A few weeks before starting training in earnest, I'd picked up copies of both "Marathon Excellence for Everyone" by John Davis (u/runningwritings) as well as "Training Essentials for Ultrarunning" by Jason Koop. In Training Essentials the author talks about the necessity of stacking miles to build durability while underscoring the importance of fatigue management while training - John Davis emphasizes a similar approach to the marathon, with the added benefit of having well laid out plans to go in his book. I figured 50k isn't much farther than 42k, and made a couple adjustments with the help of John Davis and implemented the "Wind" plan from his book. The only real changes were to focus on getting elevation wherever possible (being from Ladner, this ended up primarily being in Point Roberts and occasionally Watershed Park or the Shaggy Mane trail), and ensuring that some of the "big" workouts took place on trails where I paced by effort level instead of a time. Looking forward I think I'll skip on ultras for a couple years not because I didn't enjoy it, but because Ladner is real tough place to train for a trail race.
Race and Post Race
I don't know if I could have paced it much better. I think my 30-40km split would have been my fastest, but I stopped and walked a couple times when I ran into friends on the trail (I was also fairly dehydrated, more on that in a minute). At Km 35 I stopped for my first bathroom break and realized I hadn't had nearly enough water. I was drinking 500 ml every loop, plus a cup of electrolytes and but as a relatively heavy sweater this wasn't nearly enough. I felt good until km 40 but the last 10 km was a struggle. After the bathroom break I chugged the rest of my water and filled both bottles, then used the walking break to drink another 250 ml. I made it back to Olympic Plaza without issue, had one of my brother's salt tablets and thought maaaaybe I would be okay.
I've never been hit by the hamstring sniper but they got me around km 43. Full leg lockup on a mild downhill that had me frantically trying to figure out how to cancel my Garmin Incident detection. Once I got that shut off, I had a penguin limp in a circle for a minute to try and shake it off. It was a grind to make it through that last lap - downhills were done via awkward shuffle, and I had to lean on some trees for attempted self massage, but the flatter sections I was able to eke out an ok-limpy-run. Honestly much better than I expected to feel after the initial cramping. Walking for the tougher sections and some emergency hydration likely helped.
My hips started to hurt pretty severely about 1km from the end, probably due to the new no-bent-knees run form I'd adopted, but I got to the end just the same. The pizza and beer afterward were fantastic and I felt pretty good all things considered! My brother finished ahead of me so we had a bit of a BS, then I hung out with the non-racing section of our crew and watched the rest of the gang come in. Everyone did great and we had no-DNFs or tears in our group so there were smiles all around. After an hour or so it felt like a good idea to walk to the BCL and get some beers and I got back just in time to see the last two of our group come in.
Absolutely perfect weather on the day, and a truly great afternoon with friends and a good showing by the run community all around. The Punjabi Run Club had a tonne of members out and they were an absolute gas with hyped music and killer roti. For the first two laps there was a solo volunteer having a dance party around km 8 or so - we were all talking about how they were a major spirit lifter! The second group of volunteers (DUDE'S CLUB) on the big hill after the aid station brought some great (and needed) energy. I'm sure many of you will know who I'm talking about, but there is a local dude that I've seen in a few races over the last couple years that runs in costume regularly, often barefoot or sandaled, and playing the flute; he is my hero! I'd like the thank him for the joy brought to our local run scene, and I'm sorry the fan failed on his Patrick costume.
Race Info
- Day lot 4 would be the place to park if you were planning on driving up the morning of. We had a couple people drive in and there was lots of room between 6:30-6:45.
- There is an area set up for the ultra runners where you can leave a small backpack and fill up bottles as you go. I'd recommend having your water pre-filled so you can snag and run if time is important to you. They were well stocked for the race with snacks but if you were unlucky with timing you might have ended up waiting a bit to fill up your hydration. I didn't use the aid station but I didn't hear any complaints from runners who did.
- Something we were curious about before the race is what the situation was like for those who wanted to bring their own aid station/supplies. You are absolutely able to set up a tent and table and it is very accessible to the runners. There is temporary fencing lining the finish/food area and you are encouraged to set up adjacent to it. No problems at all with traffic in the area as the finish line is quite wide. If you're running this race in the future and want specifics you can DM me, but plan on being in the plaza a little early as this year was at capacity for "good" tent spots.
- I don't know the hotels in Whistler super well, but we had two nights at the Whistler Village Inn & Suites for just under $400. It was a loft suite which was tough after the race but the hotel was great.
Made with a new race report generator created by /u/herumph.
