2018 Golden Gate Dirty 30

For the past year or so, Ben has been telling me about the Golden Gate Dirty 30 ultra marathon in Golden Gate Canyon State Park. He had a really good experience last year during his race, and he knew I would like this race given my running and trail running background. I kept it loosely on the radar throughout the year, but never too seriously. 32.2 miles on single track is a big commitment to train for.

But fast forward to this spring, and I was starting full-on training mode for an upcoming trip to the Cordillera Blanca. Ben and I happened to get out on a 12.5 mile run up Waterton Canyon together, and he nudged me yet again about this year’s Dirty 30. I wasn’t quite sure if I had enough time to get in shape for it, but I decided I’d put in the work to see if I could.

It actually worked out quite well. Over the next couple of months I cranked up the mileage with the primary purpose of getting ready for Peru, but I figured if I could get in shape enough to reasonably do the Dirty 30, that would be an added bonus. After knocking out a few 20+ mile Saturdays on trail, I decided I was ready and signed up for the race with about a month to go.

Taken on a Sunday morning run through the woods in the Indian Creek area, on one of a few training runs Ben and I were able to do together. This Spring was weird. We had 3 Sundays in a row that were cool, misty, and rainy. Unusual weather for sure, but the timing made for 3 straight weekends of perfect Sunday morning long runs. (Photo by Ben)

On an other training run in Roxborough State Park, looking down from Carpenter Peak (7,166′). Just think, in a few more years this view will be vastly improved by the addition of 12,000 new homes once the Stirling Ranch Development is completed! /s

Anyway, by the time race day arrived, I was super excited about the whole thing. It’s a really cool event with an awesome vibe, a fantastic course, and a great culture overall. Hanging out at the start of these things always reminds me why I enjoy running so much. Of course, the prospect of getting to push myself beyond a marathon for the first time was an added bonus.

The full course and map. It covers 32.2 miles with 5 aid stations spaced throughout. I’d never been to this area really, so this was a super cool way to explore the state park.

There’s also the pesky 7,250 feet of vertical gain to consider. As any trail runner knows, it’s the gain more so than the miles that can eat you up.

Hanging out waiting for the start and for the sun to warm us up from the morning chill. We had pretty good weather all things considered. It was super sunny, but a high of 65 and a light breeze kept things reasonable all day I felt (Ben might disagree).

All smiles now. Best not to think about the 6-7 hours of running about to happen.

Just before show time at the 7:00 AM start.

Right around 7:00 we all lined up, final announcements were given, coats were shed, the national anthem was sung (no “son of a bitch” NFL players knelt from what I could tell), and the race was on.

Ben had a goal of breaking 6 hours this year to join the prestigious 360 Club, so we set a good pace right out of the gate. My overall goal was just to finish and stay uninjured for my upcoming trip; I figured a 7:00 ish time would be good enough for me, especially given that I didn’t quite get to put in the training that I’d usually want to beforehand. So, we decided we’d stick together as long as we could and I’d drop back once I felt like it.

Most of the race itself is a blur. It’s difficult to describe it unless you’ve done one of these. Hours and hours of rolling hills, various trials, ups and downs, and excellent aid stations in between. Probably one of the best elements of the day was the course itself. The trails went through a beautiful combo of woods, open meadows, sweeping vistas, and even the ranked Windy Peak at the end.

Here are a few shots from along the way:

(Photo by Ben)

To recap my day specifically, I ran from the start to Aid #1 with Ben. He was setting a really good pace, which was nice to follow to get out ahead of the crowded start. But by the time we hit Aid #1, I knew I could probably keep that pace up for another 10 or so miles, but beyond that it was going to all come crashing down. So, I sent Ben on his way and found a rhythm of my own.

The miles from Aid #1 – Aid #2 featured the biggest climb of the day, followed some great views of the Continental Divide and beautiful open meadows. Speaking of the aid stations, these things were downright ridiculous with their assortments of snacks. 10+ full picnic tables were stuffed to the brim at each one, filled with every sort of fruit, drink, gel, and snack you could imagine. I tried to move through these really quickly, but each time I was sad to leave the smorgasbord behind.

Back on the trail, at around 2 hours I had one of those transcendent moments where I looked at my watch and thought to myself, “I’ve been running now for two straight hours. That’s a really long time. And I still have FIVE hours to go.” I could only chuckle at the preposterous nature of what we were doing. But hey, the only way to finish is to keep moving.

This was actually a really useful strategy I employed throughout the day. There is plenty of walking / fast hiking on the uphills at a race like this, but the cardinal rule I kept all day was just to never stop moving.

This served me well past Aid #2 up one of the steepest sections of the course beyond it. From there, there were a number of more technical sections of trail + some bonus easy scrambling which I though was a cool thing to splice into a race. A long downhill to Aid #3 led me to the busiest station (it was on a road so people could come watch) where four awesome high school girls filled my water, gave me some PB&Js, and dunked my hat in their baby pool. Nice!

The second big uphill of the day came out of aid #3, from miles 17.5-20.5. This section was tough and I had to do more hiking than I would have liked. But beyond this was a nice reprieve through the woods. I spent a lot of this section semi-alone as I ran, so it was a really nice way to just reflect and enjoy the mountains.

After Aid #4 at 24.5 miles came the real kick in the nuts: the climb up Windy Peak. This ranked 9’er offered a steep, 1,000′, south facing climb in the heat of the day – all of it well past marathon distance. I was really feeling it here, and slowed more than I would have liked. Salt depletion was leading to some cramping, so the peak sort of kicked my ass. Thankfully another runner offered me a few salt tablets. After those kicked in I felt much better.

That was good timing too, as the summit of Windy Peak leaves a long downhill with just a few lurking ups beyond to the finish to ahead.

I rolled into the finish right at 7:17. Not as fast as I knew I could go, but I finished strong and felt really good about the effort for where my training was at. My goal had been to finish, do it with some degree of respectability, and remain uninjured. I had accomplished all three of those in spades.

Coming in strong to the finish. and feeling pretty good.

I was pleased at how well the Dirty 30 does swag. I scored a finisher’s t-shirt, a cool hat for completing my first ultra, a new running buff, a medal, and I bought a pull-over. Not a bad haul.

Ben had a great day too. He was a bit short of his 6:00 goal, but he beat his time from last year, which you have to be pretty happy with. I think the heat of the day + the brutal Windy Peak made the 360 club wait one more year. But no worries, we’ll both get it together next year I’ve decided.

Ben and Al hanging out at the finish.

Katie and I.

One more for the road!

All in all I’d call this a fantastic day. The race itself is a combination of great organization, an awesome course, great people, and overall a pretty terrific experience. I’m really glad I ended up doing it and I can’t wait to slash an hour or so off my time next year.

Thanks for reading if you did!