Chuckanut 50k is a race in Bellingham, WA, USA. It is a classic old school ultra marathon and the most well known 50km (31 mile) ultra race in Washington State. The 2024 edition of Chuckanut 50k was the 30th year of its running and it had 585 finishers that took over the trails on, March 16, 2024; a sunny, perfectly clear day to run for hours.

This was my first Ultra 🏃🏽‍♀️Race ever! Ultras are any distance over the 26.2 (42km) marathon distance and generally they are trail runs but can be on road (asphalt) or even a loop done over a specific period of time within a park (example: run as many loops as you can in 6, 12, 24 hours). Chuckanut is a 50km/31.4 mile race with 5400 feet (1645m) of elevation gain held in the Chuckanut Mountains in Larabee State Park (1.5 hours from Seattle or 1 hour from Vancouver, BC, Canada).

Chuckanut 50k is one of the biggest races (most participants) of trail in the US, it is well organized, competitive if that is your thing and is great for beginners for sure! For your information, the oldest ultra race in the US is the JFK 50 miler in Maryland which was born in 1963 and the oldest worldwide seems to be Comrades Marathon (88 km/54 miles) in South Africa from 1921 although most of the oldest races tended to start in the 1950s and 60s. Comrades is run on asphalt roads but I’d guess in the 20s it wasn’t paved! Technically if we are looking for the oldest trail race still running it is probably Sainté Lyon in Lyon, France which started in 1952 and offers an 82km/50M race (though 35% is asphalt).

I’ve been wanting to do Chuckanut 50k for years because the area around the Chuckanut Mountains is just so beautiful. Finally, at the end of last year I decided it was time. I signed up for it’s 30th running and started training late December to run.

Training was a slow build up since I was switching from mostly cycling to running. I had the fitness but I didn’t have the distance to train everyday so I spent a month slowly adding miles. I started with just 3 runs a week with one being the long run (usually around 10 miles). I finally got to 4 days a week once I got mileage up over 20 miles a weeks (on average I increased 10% weekly). Training during winter meant runs were mainly around the city and its roads and sidewalk for a long while. What I noticed most in training for an ultra compared to a marathon was the elevation gain and speed. In marathon training you hardly ever do more than 1500 to 2000 feet of gain in a week but for ultras I was almost always around the 3000-4000 feet of gain a week. Another huge difference was how you did a long run. As long as you put in the miles it didn’t really seem to matter if you paused along the way. For one training run I ran from donut shop to donut shop stopping for a treat at each until full lol. Ultra training seems to allow for more fun, less stress. In marathon training it is almost always non stop and set up with some changes in speed throughout the run. I’m not gonna lie, this was and is also included in ultra training too but it is less strict….because you know hills. The biggest elevation gain week for me was around 6000 feet (1800m) and my longest training week had 45 miles (72km) total. I’ve learned through years of experience that around 45 miles and 4-5 runs a week is better for my body. I focus more on quality than quantity these days.

During training everyone asked if or what my goal was, it was always just to finish since this would be my longest run and my longest trail run ever. Well into my training though I figured I’d be somewhere between 5-6 hours and I’m happy my estimates were right 🙂

While training I tried so many new things to prepare. One thing I was most excited about for this training block was getting runs in at various park trails that were either completely new to me or I’d only ever visited and walked around. I’m always down for exploring so training for the ultra allowed me to run in the forested parks of King County (Seattle/Tacoma/Bellevue areas) I’d been wanting to try out. I ran at Cougar Mountain or Tiger Mountain for long runs, checked out Squak Mountain for the first time ever, did a couple Discovery Park runs (one was even my first night run on trails so that was extra special) and finally got in a run down at Dash Point State Park! I also did plenty of road running since winter weather wasn’t always best for trail runs which luckily Seattle, with it’s plethora of hills, definitely helped get some needed elevation in on those city runs.

In addition to new routes, I tried a bunch of new gels or nutrition options, different socks, shoes, hydration and overall set up. I found I don’t like using sunglasses on the trail because of the difference in lighting under trees and with many roots it seemed dangerous to me so I decided a hat was all I would used to keep the sun out. After trying many gels and various nutrition options I found my stomach can’t handle much solid food while running or just before other than bread which kind of sucks for ultras because aid stations offer so many good options for food but I just could’t deal with any elaborate forms of food…even a honey waffle was a problem… I settled with using Spring Energy gels, Gu gels and Gu gummies. Working at a running store also allowed me to try several socks, the thinner ones won (Saucony and Feetures), while for me Balega socks were always too thick and CEP compression socks felt scratchy on long runs.

As far as hydration I got a trail running pack by Salomon but was using the bladder from my Camelbak in it on training runs. Most runners seemed to only carry two bottles that they refilled at aid stations and no bladder, shit, some didn´t even have a pack just 1 bottle that they held in their hand and refilled every 5 miles at the aid stations. I also had a bottle but I used it for electrolytes and this was in addition to the bladder. Honestly this setup worked for me but I know now after racing that just taking two bottles was plenty and would definitely reduce weight carried by a lot! I found you could even get by without a pack at this distance so if you wish to save those $150 there are options! As far as clothing, it was all weather dependent but I swear by my Patagonia Houdini Jacket which is super lightweight and thin…perfect for any bit of chill or light rain while you are moving.

For shoes I wanted Vibram soles, space in the toe box, comfort and a higher drop so I tested out plenty! I mainly trained in my Pegs (Nike Pegasus) but when running long runs on the trail I could feel all the rocks so it was time to invest in actual trail shoes (more traction, durable shoes). I really wanted the Nike Wildhorse that I used to love but I also wanted Vibram soles for grip and given they haven’t added that to them yet I sided with Hoka and went all out with Mafate Speeds! I also liked the Topo MTN Racer (for toe box space) but I know my body can’t handle distance with low drop shoes so I moved away from them (even though this model actually has a 5 mm drop). I mean even with the Mafate at 5 mm I was a bit worried but at least the brand was one I’ve tried on trails before…the Nike’s I wanted had my ideal drop on the trail at 8 mm but no Vibram sole and they also tend to run narrow as well so with no boxes checked, they were out for sure. Choosing shoes is hard so I actually tried many on at the local trail running store Seven Hills Running (Seattle´s Magnolia neighborhood) before deciding and making my purchase which thankfully worked out really well for me.

The Race:

Chuckanut 50k Start/Finish in Fairhaven Park

I enjoyed most of the race, I felt well trained, I was happy that most types of terrain and elevation gain were familiar to me (except chinscraper – a double black mtb trail we walked up for a mile…ha ridiculous!). The only real pain I had while running was from my feet, my arch and some toes were bugging me (in fact I retied my shoes on chinscraper for this reason) but I finished without blisters or any lost toe nails, yippie! I was also happily excited to find I was able to walk just fine once I stretched. Recovery post race was comparable to what I felt after climbing Mount Rainier last year, rather quick just some light soreness. I will say getting the free 15 minute massage after any race is a lifesaver every time!

The meat of this race is the 18 miles in the middle. The first and last 6 miles are basically flat on a gravel bike path which for me was perfect. I needed that first 10k to warm up and wanted the last to be flat and fast! The middle was where you had those 5400 feet to climb but not all was uphill. Once you headed off the flat 10k bit you climbed up to a lake; one I’d hiked to before (Fragrance Lake). Going around it was flat and I kept my eyes peeled for this downed tree in the lake that I remembered. Shortly after the tree we headed up again and then onto the most fun trail of the course that wrapped it´s way down until it ended at a gravel road where we climbed it for what seemed like forever! I mixed in my running with walking here based on my heart rate. I’d trained on a similar road and could have very slowly ran it but didn’t see the point of wasting energy plus on a training run I realized that I don’t understand why people would want to run up a road, I much prefer the narrower single track trails in the forest. Thankfully this was basically the only bit on this road until mile 25 or so!

Once off the road we headed back onto trails and then along this ridge trail where views of Mount Baker appeared to our right. Signs dotted the whole race sending words of motivation but here it said “views ahead (maybe)” HA. I laughed because given the race is in the Pacific Northwest, that “maybe” is probably more often than not but this day it was sunny and 60 degrees out…super clear! I’d never been up this trail so I decided to stop, take photos and enjoy the view. Stopping was short lived since this was a race and people began passing me and I’m a tad competitive so I started running again pretty quick. Trail running in a race is crazy because you want to go fast but you also want to take in the views and you can´t really do both because in the end every minute counts…you are still racing others, yourself, goals, etc. This ridge, besides the view is also littered with roots and rocks so you were always watching your step or if you are like me bouncing off everything. I really like technical (non wet) terrain so I enjoyed this section a lot. At some point we exited the ridge and made our way down then up a long steady incline on the back of the mountain that was similar to my last long run that I did up Squak Mountain the week before. This was also the section with the most mud and luckily the rest of the course overall was dried up for race day. During training it was super hard and awful but now with experience I made sure to stop every now and then and walk a bit to retain energy…this was mile 19, so I still had plenty to go! Around this time I also pulled off to stretch my hips as sometimes they bug me at about this distance but to my surprise they were loose and ready so I popped up and continued…nothing wrong with prevention though!

After this steady beast we found ourselves on the front of the mountain now with views of the San Juan Islands in Puget Sound and again crystal clear views of more mountains, the Olympics! Had this race been later in the year these views would be hidden by leaves but this was the perfect time to see them through the empty deciduous trees! Of course I stopped again but very briefly as this was a nice downhill you could really fly down and enjoy, not steep! One had to enjoy this part because what came next was stupid! But before it got stupid, I decided to finally refill my water bottle at the second to last aid station. The next section is called chinscraper…now had I actually research the route I may have come prepared but I didn’t, I just signed up and ran the course so that everything would basically be new to me. Well, chinscraper is this vertical climb up a black diamond mountain bike trail, some 850 feet (259m) straight up for a mile! A place no one can run nor should be included in any race yet here we were going up this steep ass section walking as fast as you can, because it is still a race! I have issues with steep sections as they kind of hurt my hips so I just took my time, I wasn’t running to win anyhow, this was my first ultra ever. It was incredible to witness, that here, on chinscraper, so many people passed me! I guess they just knew what to do or had the proper experience. I did not and I was ok with that…I was just trying to keep the legs fresh, this was only mile 22 HA! I eventually made it to the top (yes, highest point of the race) and then of course the race director wanted to torture our muscles so it was straight down from there…from firing calf muscles to straining quad muscles we went (oh, my!). Luckily my body knew how to respond…somehow.

I made it, down, down, down to the last aid station and onto the flat after running a bit of road and passing quite a few day hikers on the switchback trail into that aid station. By this time I needed real food because I was getting hungry and gels were at the fine line of not useful anymore. Going up chinscraper I used so much energy that I had to take 2 gels in less than a mile! I’d stuffed some emergency pizza crust in my pack and it came in handy as I munched on it heading down into that last aid station. When the body needed real food, it got me out of a potential rut and onto the final flat miles. At that last aid station I took two pieces of banana and a gel, again refilled my water bottle, said hi the few people I knew and then threw down some 8 minute miles all the way to the finish!

I had one person on my support crew and he met me at several aid stations. At the first one I exchanged some warmer layers for a hat, at the next I only said hi as I was quite focused and didn’t expect him there. Then I saw him at the last aid station and the finish…again super focused. It was nice to have support like this as he kept family and friends updated, took photos, cheered me on without expectations and took care of me afterwards. Such great support and I’m super grateful I had someone so excited and helpful following my every move as I made my way through my first ultra. Thanks David!

Time from start to finish was 5:11:55 minutes. It was funny looking at the awards board after because I forgot that I recently changed age group. To my surprise I was only 4 minutes behind 3rd place in my age group. I finished top 4% among all racers and 4th in my new age group he he. Had I still been in my old age group (it changed a month before) I would have placed 18th, hum.

Recovery the next week included a lot of stretching, massage gun or foam roller, compression sleeves, lots of eating, an hour massage, epson salt bath and a full day of rest. The day after the race was a well deserved rest day but once past rest day recovery included two day where I cycled an hour (one day flat, another moderate hills), a day I swam for 30 minutes and finally by day 6 I started running again…a nice flat and easy effort….I noticed that week that my knees didn’t like any rapid movements (they hated the kickboard at the pool and pedaling faster). I will say the more distance events I do the quicker I find that my muscles recover.

Reflections:

Reflecting back on the race, I’m happy to say I can run a 50k! For a while I was pretty unsure if I could do this distance even though I know when I finish marathons I generally have tons of energy left….well, I still had energy after 5 hours and 31 miles. I’ve thought about what others might wonder, for instance…thoughts runners have while running this long. I know running for me can often be a time to think, brainstorm, relax the mind etc but it’s different when running on trails. I literally only thought about when to drink, eat, next aid station, the people ahead/behind, the view, the trail in front of me, when a section would end, the mile I was at, how similar a section was to my training, what place I might be in (aka how many runners ahead of me) and how to not stress about the distance (I did this by breaking it into 5ths – instead of focusing on when I’d pass marathon distance, my longest distance. I focused on how close I was to being done, for instance at 24 miles that I had 1/5 left!). I guess many also wonder why we sign up for these longer races. Besides that I like endurance sports I signed up just to see if I could do the distance, really try trail running out, for something different, a new challenge, a race I was interested in running and to see what all the ultra marathon hype is about.

The competitiveness of it I liked but I still prefer walking in nature and taking my time seeing everything before me than running it. For me it is less so about covering distances quickly and seeing more views over less time like you would trail running than it is going slow and taking in the details. That is why trail running has never been my focus. I’ve run trails to train and even done several shorter 21k trail races prior to Chuckanut but I’ve noticed I don’t get as excited as the general trail community so I doubt I’ll do any races much longer than this. A 100k (62 mile) race just doesn’t sound as competitive and I don’t see the point, it sounds better to me to walk that distance over a few days and maybe run while doing it (which is something I’ve done before). Don´t get me wrong, it is still very impressive (with a tinge of crazy) to know people can run these distances. As far as training on trails, of course I will continue but probably not needlessly steep trails and boring ass mountain roads just to reach a high point… give me single track trails and I’ll be happy training while keeping the joints in good shape!

I find that lately I keep signing up for races but very few get me excited. This was another big race that I was once again not excited about. I sign up, I’m excited for a bit and then just want to finish and be done with it…and not because training is hard, simply because I’m not excited for it….Does anyone else experience this?? I think this time it was due to a lack of knowledge about the distance, like it was an unknown that I hoped I was preparing well enough for…maybe I just need to stop coaching myself and let another person give me the reassurance I´m missing…

Lastly, since each ultra course is so different regardless of the distance, you can’t really compare times ran to other courses like you can with marathons. You would literally have to run the same trail race again all while hoping for similar conditions. I’m more excited by novelty so I’m less likely to run the same race twice therefore not having an easy comparison between ultra races for me makes my competitive side less interested in ultras but maybe that would change if I got a second opinion.

Sign up for Chuckanut 50k Here

Bellingham Distance Project held a couple training sessions a few weeks before race day on the route but unfortunately I couldn’t attend.

Other WA local trail races to consider

Other 50k ultra races in US to consider