The first item to note about the race was the abundance of rain throughout the entirety of the event. My shoes were wet well before the race even started, as I stepped from my car into a puddle upon arrival and check-in. The Race Director, Running Bear (that’s right, I said Running Bear, which is a terrific race director name) best described the course conditions in his race recap, “But contrary to rumors, we did not have rain. Rain is when the ground gets wet and there are puddles and you see drops on the windshield. We had a monsoon, with creeks appearing out of nowhere and covering the trail and coming down the access road, and through the s/f tent, and rising to waist deep in the woods. There were no puddles or mud, just ponds to run through.” In fact, the race has been dubbed, “The Year Everyone got their Muddy's Worth.” Suffice it to say, the conditions greatly slowed the finish times, and transformed what would normally be a fast course into a slow, slippery one.
It became clear very early on that staying dry was not an option, so I chose to run like Luke by splashing through every puddle, creek and stream. Why bother tip-toeing around the water? Just go straight through. I must admit, it was fun and humorous, even in the late stages of the race. I ran the first 28 miles with John Clinthorne from Michigan, who would later finish 2nd, and we had a good time laughing about the water and talking about ultras in general. We both had a specific run-walk strategy coming into the race, but we quickly abandoned that due to peer pressure. Neither of us wanted to slow the pace to walk, so the walk breaks were few and far between. We both commented that this would likely cost us in the end, but we kept running anyway.
The race was divided into four loops. The first three were identical 12.5 mile loops, while the final 12.5 miles was a smaller 6+ mile loop that was run twice to the finish. John and I came through the first loop in 2 hours, or 8 a.m. This was the precise start time of the 20k, so we began the second loop surrounded by 20k runners just beginning their race. We decided to pick up the pace to clear the trail and again joked about the pace being quicker than we intended, but neither of us cared enough to slow down or take a walk break. Plus, there is always something motivating about passing other runners, even if they are part of a different race.
The second loop was mainly uneventful, aside from some stomach discomfort that I began to have at mile 20. We completed the second loop in exactly 2 hours, making the cumulative time just under 4 hours at the halfway point. John and I began the third loop together, but my stomach discomfort was becoming more of an issue. I found myself lagging a bit behind John and having to press to cover the gap that would arise every few minutes. Finally, after a brief bathroom break where I discovered slight signs of dehydration, I told John to press on at mile 28 while I focused on fixing my stomach and increasing my fluid intake. Fortunately these issues were short-lived, and after a longer stop behind the bushes, my stomach felt much better, then I simply focused on drinking a lot over the next mile or two to get my hydration back to normal. Soon I was back on track and running well. Due to these issues, my 3rd loop was slower than the first two, 2:13, for a cumulative 6:13 after 37.5 miles.
I began the first short final loop feeling great and energized. At the first and only aid station on the short loop I was told that there were only three runners in front of me, with one being just a minute or so ahead. I walked from the aid station while downing a Hammer Gel and during that walk another runner passed me, but I didn’t worry about it too much, although I did note that he looked strong. That put me in 5th place with just over 10 miles to go. There were four miles between the aid station and the start/finish, which was also the beginning of the final 6 mile loop, and my goal during these four miles was to run hard and move into what I hoped was 3rd place. Fortunately I was able to do so and came into the start/finish area with what I assumed was a couple minute gap on the next runner, but there was no way to be sure.
I knew that moving up another place was not likely, so I sought to run hard to keep a hold on 3rd place, or at least what I thought was third place, during the final small loop. At the final aid station at mile 46, four miles from the finish, I was told that either two or three runners were ahead of me, so I didn’t know whether I was in 3rd or 4th. Oh well. At that point it was simply put my head down and plunge through more water (which had been steadily rising throughout the day to waist deep at several creek-crossings) to the finish, and run hard in hopes that no one would catch me from behind.
The finish line was a great feeling. Sally recognized me from a distance and was there to greet me with Luke, Anna and my parents. It was a great sense of accomplishment made even more special with my family being there. Plus, upon finishing I was presented with the 3rd place trophy, so there were in fact two and not three runners in front of me at the last aid station. Of course I would have been happy either way, but finishing in the top three in my first 50 mile race was extra exciting. Final loop was 2:08 for a total finish time of 8:20:53.
Special thanks to Sally for all her support during training for this race and for bringing the kids out to the finish in terrible weather, my parents for being there at the finish, John from Michigan for the company and advice during the race, all the volunteers and race officials for putting together a fantastic event under tough weather conditions, and Andon Briggs for the company during training. Andon would have easily finished the race for his third 50 miler finish, but the Forest Service cancelled the race around the 9:30 mark due to the weather and was not allowed to finish. Tough break my friend. At least you'll be better recovered for Oak Mountain 50k in less than two weeks.
Food/Beverages consumed during the race:
20 Gels
1 PB&J Sandwich
1 Fun Size Nestle Crunch Bar (Too tempting to pass)
8 S-Caps (1/hour)
2 Cups Heed
Tons of water
