A few weeks ago, I completed the 7 day, 6 stage, 273 km Grand to Grand Ultra, North America’s only unsupported stage race. I’d left the North Rim of the Grand Canyon in Arizona, along with an international field of 116 other runners, with 91 of us arriving at the Grand Staircase in Utah a week later after running through sand dunes, slot canyons, river beds, and cactus fields. We carried all of our own food and supplies for the week, aside from water provided on course, and shelter and hot water at camp each night.

I managed to finish in 4th place overall and 1st in my age group, in a cumulative time of 34 hrs 45 mins, just 1 hr 34 mins behind Yukon Ultra champion Tommy Chen in first, 1 hr behind 5-times Marathons Des Sables winner Mohamad Ahansal in second, and 32 mins behind Swiss machine Peter Osterwalder in third. I couldn’t be happier with my performance in what was my first stage race, but I definitely learned a few things both in my research before hand and during the race itself.

Here are the 7 things I learned in my first stage race.

My goal for the 2015 Mountain Madness Fat Dog 120 mile had been to finish strong within 32-35 hours. The race is said to be Canada’s most scenic ultra, starting in Cathedral Lakes and continuing through Manning Park on an almost point-to-point course with 8,673 metres (28,455 feet) of climbing through the Cascade Mountains. It’s also considered Canada’s Hardrock 100, and is one of the few races in the world tough enough to be a Hardrock qualifier.

It was to be my longest run ever, both in mileage and time on feet. If I could just pace myself properly through the first day, then make it through the night, I’d only have one more day of running. Just three shifts.

While I consider my race a success, things didn’t go entirely as planned.

My training was a little rocky leading up to the 2015 Sun Mountain 50 miler. The week after my first race of the year, the Diez Vista 50k in April, I managed to strain my left hamstring. A couple of weeks after that, I rolled my ankle pretty bad while running on some technical trail at night, resulting in a grade 2 sprain.

Rainshadow Running’s Sun Mountain was my first 50 miler back in 2013, and I’d always wanted to go back to see by how much I could improve my time. After getting injured at the 2014 Diez Vista 50k, I had to skip last year’s race, so there was no way I was going to miss out on toeing the line this year. I just wasn’t sure if I’d be able to finish. But if I was gonna run, I would aim for about 7:45 and top 10 overall.

After getting injured during the race last year, my goal for the 2015 Diez Vista 50k was nothing short of redemption. For me, this would mean improving my time by at least 5 minutes to finish well under 5 hours and, if possible, to finish in the top 5.

Heavy rains in the two weeks leading up to the race resulted in flooding along the West side of Buntzen Lake, forcing the closure of a key trail and the floating bridge used during the race. The hope had been that BC Hydro, who maintain the trails around the reservoir, would be able to restore water levels in time. But in the days leading up the race, the organizers had to make the difficult decision to re-route the course. This would make it close to the rerouted course from 2011 after similar flooding, with the addition of one other trail that had since been opened which would allow us to avoid a section of paved road.

I’d never finished an ultra feeling like I had really left it all out there and, given the last minute course change adding almost an extra 3k and more elevation, I decided to throw my splits out the window, caution to the wind, and to run with heart instead of head.

According to Greek mythology, the Chimera was a monstrous fire-breathing lion, with the head of a goat arising from its back, and a tail ending with a snake’s head. According to the website for the race of the same name, those who have run the course refer to it simply as “The Beast”.

The Chimera 100 miler takes place on a figure eight course that starts and finishes at Blue Jay Campground, in the Trabuco region of the Cleveland National Forest southeast of LA. With over 22,000′ of elevation gain, it’s rated one of the toughest trail 100 mile races in the country.

I had originally planned on running Cascade Crest in August as my first 100 miler, but after being side-lined for two months from an injury during Diez Vista 50k earlier this year, I was forced to look for an alternative in late-Fall. My buddy Dave suggested I join him for this fairly small race with what would turn out to be a big reputation, and I didn’t hesitate for long. “Chimera eh? I hear that course has got some bite!” was the reaction from another friend. “Just remember to save something for the last 30 miles.”

My goal would be simply to finish feeling strong and hopefully in under 27 hours, although that was very much an arbitrary time goal. The truth is I would have been happy with anything just under 30 hours so I could get the special nickel buckle (and well under the cut-off time of 34 hours). But the change in schedule made it difficult to wrangle a crew or a pacer, so Dave and I would be on our own.

It turns out that mine wouldn’t be a story of pain, suffering, or any of the horrible experiences common with first 100 mile races. No puking, no bonking, and not a single blister. I wish I had a better story to tell, like having to dig myself out from the darkness after an epic low point to come back to slay The Beast. The best I can do is tell you about what I think went right in my training and in my execution during what was a difficult but overall a very enjoyable and memorable race.