Ailsa MacDonald didn’t anticipate to complete on the rostrum ultimately weekend’s Western States 100. She did, nevertheless, come ready to run a well-executed and good race. This yr’s WSER was MacDonald’s second, and her fifth accomplished 100-miler. We caught up together with her post-race.
And in 17:46:45 for 2nd place, within the tenth quickest time in Western States historical past, Canada’s Ailsa Macdonald. pic.twitter.com/aYG5Loas3s
— Western States 100 (@wser) June 26, 2022
MacDonald, an completed endurance athlete who calls Cochrane, Alta., dwelling, mentioned that familiarity with the course was enormous for her. “I went into the race with the aim of not getting too caught up within the competitors, which is tough. It takes persistence and self-discipline,” MacDonald says. She made that mistake in 2018, which she says was a “priceless lesson, since on this course, there’s a powerful tendency to exit sizzling. I used to be struggling in 2018 earlier than mile 50.”
This yr’s expertise was totally completely different. MacDonald centered on operating her personal race, whatever the competitors. Whereas she skilled moments of struggling, she says, the race was “a lot, rather more gratifying than final time.” She mentioned her preliminary slower tempo, and her race technique of “staying completely happy and shifting ahead” allowed for her to truly respect the course, one thing she wasn’t in a position to do in 2018.
“I needed to run 100 miles of smiles,” she says. “I centered on placing a smile on my face and placing one foot in entrance of the opposite. This yr, as I topped the escarpment, I wasn’t as caught up within the competitors, so I used to be in a position to flip round and look again on the dawn.” MacDonald lists off some favorite moments: “operating by the excessive nation and seeing all of the wildflowers, having fun with all of the spectacular views, and simply appreciating my environment. Crossing the Rucky Chucky was actually enjoyable, too.”
At mile 78, Ailsa Macdonald of Canada runs in second. She’s 24 minutes off the lead. “I’m having the perfect day of my life!” #WS100 pic.twitter.com/RsUxEC0nZn
— iRunFar (@iRunFar) June 26, 2022
As any ultrarunner will attest, each race has highs and lows, and MacDonald had just a few challenges together with her ft. “The excessive nation we ran by obtained my ft very moist, after which there’s an enormous descent following it the place my toes began to really feel overwhelmed up. By the point I used to be operating on pavement within the lead-up to Forest Hill [aid station], my ft felt like one huge sizzling spot,” MacDonald says. The magic that notoriously happens at Forest Hill labored, although: “the vitality is so contagious at Forest Hill, with all of the spectators that come out, and seeing my associates and crew, that by the point I left I had nearly forgotten in regards to the ache and my ft began to really feel higher.”
MacDonald used tried-and-tested diet from her earlier ultra-experiences: peanut butter and banana wraps, Lara vitality bars and hydration combine. When her abdomen began to really feel queasy, she quelled nausea with ginger ale and pretzels. Whereas the warmth was intense, MacDonald didn’t discover it as unhealthy as in 2018: “It felt prefer it took longer to warmth up, and there have been some shady spots. The river crossing helped, too.” MacDonald additionally has a crew that has been together with her by some challenges, and is aware of how you can preserve her going. “My husband, Barry Inexperienced, and our associates David and Leslie Roche have been my superb crew,” she says.
MacDonald was having fun with a full restoration week off after we talked to her, and mentioned she would observe that by easing again in with some yoga and delicate cardio. Her subsequent race will likely be Finlayson Arm 50K in September, however she says, “it’s not going to be a breakout efficiency or something, Western States was my aim race this season.”
A Western States podium end earned MacDonald her ticket to Extremely-Path du Mont-Blanc (UTMB) 2023. After dropping out round 130 kilometres into 2021’s UTMB race, MacDonald says she has “some unfinished enterprise on the market.”
MacDonald will undoubtedly put her expertise and self-discipline to good use when she heads again to Chamonix. Along with her remarkably well-strategized race and a second-place end at WSER, she’ll be a contender to look at wherever she competes.