Bre Mirynech.

If you know me, you’ll know that I am not the most “go with the flow” individual. I’m a girl who loves to have a plan. It’s not that I can’t go with the flow, I just prefer to know what the flow is and what time it starts at- haha! As you also may know by now, my A goal this year- Death Race, did not go to plan. My training leading up to race day was the best training block I’d ever had, and I was so excited to see where that fitness was going to lead me. Even though I DNFd and did not have the fun day out that I planned, I woke up the next day with barely even sore legs. I felt so strong, and it left me wondering what I could do to still get my fun day out there and celebrate all the training I put in. I started to think… 

There’s a race that had been on my radar for a while called Backcountry Rise. It takes place in the backcountry of Mount St. Helens, and the trails and scenery from the course are what caught my eye- it looked BEAUTIFUL. I really wanted to do the 50km this year, however it took place only two weeks after Death Race, so the timing wasn’t going to work out this year. However, after dropping out of Death Race early and feeling so good the day after, it wasn’t long before I wondered to myself- could I pull this off? Before I headed back to Vancouver from Death Race, I met up with my coach Liz and told her what I was thinking. We spent the rest of the week seeing how my body felt and recovered (I mean, I still ran 63 km), and then on the last possible day to sign up for Backcountry Rise, Liz gave me two big encouraging thumbs up and I decided to go for it. See, I can go with the flow! 

Before I knew it, I was packing my Rav with all of my gear and starting my road trip down to Mount St. Helens. I decided to do the trip solo, as there aren’t really great options for having a crew, and if I am being honest I really just wanted to do this for me and on my own. The drive took way longer than expected thanks to Seattle traffic, but soon enough I was coming around a bend in the road and seeing Mount St. Helens for the first time- wow! I had to pull over and snap this picture. It absolutely took my breath away.

Not much longer down the road and I made it to the visitor center where the race was being hosted. Unfortunately thanks to all the traffic I missed the racer dinner, however there was still enough daylight left for me to get camp set up for night (read: blow up my thermarest in the back of the car) and get my gear organized. One great thing about this race is that they allow everyone to camp out in the parking lot the night before! The views from the parking lot were even beautiful. It made me so excited to get out on the course the next morning. I got to chat with the other runners camped around me as I was getting organized, and then I was climbing into my sleeping bag for the night.

I woke up the next morning and was immediately filled with excitement. I made some oats and coffee, filled up my bottles, applied all the chafe butter and sunscreen, picked up my bib, got my mandatory gear checked, tied up my shoes, and made my way over to the start line with a few minutes until we were due to start. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day out there, but hot hot hot!

Soon enough everyone was counting down and we were off. It was a quick run through the parking lot then within a few hundred meters we were on single track trail heading down towards the lake. When I tell you this race has views- THIS RACE HAS VIEWS! It was beautiful from the start and there were incredible views already just minutes into this race. The first section was around 8km with just over 100m of gain, and it had you running down to and then alongside the lake. With the quick transition to single track, I started off a little more conservative than I would have liked as it quickly became a conga line of runners moving at a shuffle, but after a few km or so it spread out. I reminded myself this was ok- I had a long day ahead of me.

After the first aid station, we started climbing. This second section was around 16km or so, with about 1400m of gain. With most of the elevation gain being in this leg, I didn’t stress about pace and just focused on feeling good, eating, and managing the heat. The trail just kept getting more and more beautiful, and the day also kept getting more and more hot. On the uphill I shared some nice conversation with a man named John who was running the race with his daughter, and then eventually started running with another girl whose name I forget. It was nice to share some trail time with these people, and it helped to pass the time- although if I’m being honest, I was in no rush to pass the time because I was absolutely head over heels in love and obsessed with this trail. This race route is very remote and exposed, and as such they give you a heads up to be prepared for no water refills along the trail between aid stations. I made sure to carry 2L of water with me, and by the time I got to the next aid station I had sipped every last drop of it and was eager to refill. 

With a full water refill and some candy, I felt refreshed and had a big energy boost leaving the aid station. This next section was around 20km and 600m, and included an out and back up to Coldwater peak. I really felt like I made up some time on this portion, catching up to people who were previously way ahead of me. I felt strong and stoked! The wildflowers were popping, the views were still doing their thing, and I just couldn’t stop smiling! Eventually my speed slowed with the climb up coldwater peak, but I stayed consistent and on this out and back I noticed only 2 women were ahead of me. I started to wonder how many were in front of them.

From the top of cold water peak at 33km, the trail is incredibly runnable from there with like 90% of the vert being done. I enjoyed the down and tried to keep myself moving strong! After a lot of enjoyable downhill and few GI stops (oops), I found myself at the last aid station finally. It was HOT again on this section, and I had gone through all 2L of my water and was counting down the time until I hit that next aid station. Lucky for me, the incredible volunteers had sponges to cool everyone down and when they offered, I happily accepted. They told me it was only about 5km or so to go from here and I was happy to be getting close to the finish. After pushing that last section, my excitement was high but my energy was starting to fade.

With 5km and about 200m to go until the finish with a combination of road and trail, I kept up my pace on the road even though I was tired. As I got to the final climb and final km’s I played Liz’s game of challenging myself to run 20 strides before walking. The last km seemed to take the life out of me, but once I hit the parking lot I knew the finish line was just right around the corner, so I ran as fast as I could to secure a sub 8 hour finish and 10th place female! 

I sat down on the pavement in the parking lot and tried to process what just happened. That was one of the most beautiful routes I’ve ever ran, the strongest I’ve ever felt at a race, and I just couldn’t be happier. I called my parents, stuffed my face with a burrito, changed my clothes and then hit the road to drive back to Vancouver. Hot tip: I don’t recommend running 50km and then doing a 5 hour drive on your own.

Backcountry Rise 50k was the race of my dreams. It was the true culmination of consistency, hard work, self belief, the best coach, an incredible training block, and some race day magic. The course was hands down one of the best races courses I’ve run- rugged, exposed, tough, and wildly beautiful. I can’t recommend it enough. If it’s not already on your list- add it now!

The magic in the day came from all of the various stars aligning, but it was truly the first time that I felt my potential shine through. It’s like I’ve known I have it in me, but couldn’t quite crack it open until this day. I have Liz to endlessly thank for that. She helped me crack it open, cause she knew and believed it was there too. Her training and approach, encouragement and push, and fierce belief that I am capable of big things- it got me to this start line to have this special day. The fire is very fuelled now, and it looks like it’s taking me to Broken Goat 50k and Fat Dog 100k next!