Liz and I left GA in the Winnebago on Tuesday morning (17 April) at about 1am en route to Las Vegas NV for Saturday's running of the 3rd annual Labor of Love 100 miler. It took just under 48 hours of driving, napping, resting, and food stops to make the 2000 mile trip. It was kind of exhausting with the only significant stop being about 6 hours somewhere in NM when we were both too sleepy to drive. Even though we were able to lie down and even sleep some in the bed while underway, there is still the constant bumping, grinding and swaying that is an inevitable part of being in a glorified moving van on the freeway at 65-70 mph. Once we arrived we did have two full nights to catch up on sleep and found a nice quiet spot near the race start to relax. Race morning we weren't 100% rested but we were both feeling reasonably well.
Race director Joyce Forier puts on an ultra extravaganza with multiple race distances from 10k to the 100 miler with races starting on both Saturday and Sunday, including a "Love Me Two Times" category for racing both days. I talked to one guy who had run the marathon on Saturday and did the 50k on Sunday. The course follows the Lovell Canyon Road which runs through the Spring Mountain NRA just outside Las Vegas NV. It's an 11 mile section of road that we did out and back 4 times with a 12 mile short leg to finish off.
Watching the weather as race day approached was concerning for the predicted heat wave. Lost Wages, I mean Las Vegas, was predicted to have highs in the low to mid 90's. Where we would be racing was higher and should be 10 degrees cooler but with nowhere to escape the relentless sun it could be tough. The night we arrived it was quite chilly at our camping spot but the next night, Thursday, was significantly warmer and Friday night was even warmer. We were preparing for a hot run. The 7am start found us with short sleeves and no need for gloves as it was already nearing 70 degrees. Even within a few miles of the start I was feeling the heat as the sun rose in the sky.
Liz and I had completely different races for this one. She does better in the heat and I was doing this run after a month completely off of running. The first two laps were brutally hot in my opinion. Everyone was running strong and hard and I was pulled along in this though I did fall back in the field for those first two hot laps. But the carnage started by mid-afternoon with many dropping out due to stomach issues and cramping from not eating or drinking properly due the fast pace and heat. By the end of the second lap I was already about 4 miles behind Liz. This gap would get even greater as the night wore on. By the end of the second lap I was really feeling wiped out even though I had backed off considerable during the heat of the day. The 11 mile stretch of road that we ran out on was basically all uphill with one sharp mile long drop in the middle. On the first lap almost everyone ran most of the way up this hill because it was a mild grade. I ran too much too but people were streaming past me all the way out.
I really looked forward to the sun going down and the temps moderating. And on my third lap I was able to really pick it up. It was my strongest lap but when I saw Liz on my way back she had actually gained ground on me. When I realized that I knew that she must be racing for the lead. I said as much when we passed and Liz said "She's not that far ahead." Crazy. If you've been following this blog you know what kind of schedule she has had and to be racing in the middle of it boggles my mind. She did go on to win and as if winning the race wasn't enough she admitted post race that she raced the clock also to finish under 23 hours. I do not have that kind of drive. She is incredibly tough.
On my fourth lap the sleep monster rode my back on the entire outbound trip, especially after the midpoint aid station. At this aid station I drank both a 5 hour energy shot and a Starbucks double shot espresso drink which I used to wash down a caffeine pill. And still I had to stop and lie down multiple times before I got to the turn around. And this is all in addition to stopping at the RV (we were parked along the race course about a mile out from the start/finish) for about 30 minutes to nap, wash my face, and change shirts and hat on that 4th loop. This loop ended up taking me about 7 hours.
The thought that plagued my mind as I did this slow lap was the fact that I was going to have to finish my partial lap after sunrise ... in the sun. I dreaded it. I started that lap at about 6:45 and was in the sun within about 2 miles. It was hot, I was drained, and I had blisters on both feet right on the ball of my foot between the great and second toes. I stopped at an aid station set up for the Sunday runs and sat in a chair to pop the blisters. They hurt even worse at first but the pain leveled off as I ran. Or rather walked, since the first 4+ miles are all uphill. After the first lap I walked 80+% of the outbound leg.
Liz had finished almost an hour before I finished my 4th loop and was sitting in a chair near the timing table. I told her to go to the RV since I'd be at least 3.5 hours to finish but she said she would stay and wait there. Which she did. I ended up finishing just under that 3.5 hour estimate and she was there, stiff and sore but awake. I was miserable. That last bit in the heat with blisters was not at all pleasant ... to say the least! But I sat there admiring the buckle and having one of the timing table volunteers' son's fetch me glasses of chocolate milk. Liz ended up winning the women's race in 22:54 while I limped in 3rd to last in 27:08. Results are posted here.
It is now Wednesday and we have the Salt Flats 100 starting on Friday morning. I was quite concerned with the blisters/swelling in my feet but they are getting better quickly and should be fine. We rested/napped/sweated/ran the AC on Sunday after LoL and did the 6+ hour drive up to Wendover UT which is right on the UT/NV border on Monday. We splurged and got a $30 room at the Red Garter Hotel/Casino last night to shower properly and sleep in a king bed. Sweet.
After Salt Flats we will fly home for a week of work and then back out to Las Vegas for the Zion 100 on 11 May. I am optimistic about my achilles issue being behind me now. I did feel some twinges during this race and there is still some tightness and "not rightness" in that ankle but I wore some road shoes and green Superfeet insoles left over from years ago when I had plantar fasciitis, and post race I feel no worse for wear. Thanks to Mark Swanson for the Superfeet suggestion! Maybe that month off is just what I needed but I still have the nagging thought that maybe I was being too cautious and should have finished NJ and perhaps soldiered on. Oh well, I'll never know and it is water under the bridge now. I hope that I can make up for the lost races later in the year and still get my 30 for the year. Time will tell.
Signing off 'til next week....
Race count Liz (11) Scott (6)
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
Wild Sebastian 100 mile
Here's Liz's slightly edited report on her Wild Sebastian run:
The Wild Sebastian 100 is a new Florida 100 on the East coast held in the Wild Sebastian wild life preserve. I flew into Tampa, so had a long drive across the state. I arrived at race headquarters just as the race briefing was finishing. Found a reasonable motel 10 miles from the start. Arrived a 6:30 am at the start, only to find out the race start was to be delayed by one hour due to rainstorms during the night. The race director wanted the course to dry out for us so we wouldn't get our feet wet.
The course is 25 mile long loops with aid very close together, never more than 3.5 miles between stations. When I reached the first of 2 water crossings on the course, I was pleasantly surprised with a "water crossing" sign posted. There were mile markers every mile which was nice. Unfortunately, on the back side and other portions of the course there was deep, snow white powder beach sand which after the first loop, most of us had to walk. Even this became very difficult...Sand soon filled our shoes. A mile section was deep grass, the Florida clumpy kind, with no trail. I ran over a very large snake, boy did I run to the next aid station! Also, there was an armadillo who ran right across in front of me. The best part was coming around a corner upon a small herd of wild pigs, they didn't spook until I was 8 feet from them!
This was a hard run for me, I had worked many hours the week before, night shift at the hospital. There were many first time hundred milers, who showed great preserverence. A lot of runners dropped. This is not an "easy" 100, nor hard, just challenging. Post race we were treated to music with outdoor speakers, a large shade tent, grilling with various meats. So much food!
The awards ceremony included additional awards for fastest lap, most consistant lap, etc. I napped in my rental car and had a second round of food before making way. I would like to comment on the second place woman. ( to the best of my memory, there was only 2 female finishers) The blisters on her feet were unbelievable, but she stayed strong, and endured to the finish. The second place male ran the entire course in five fingers. He stated they worked well in all the sand...there sure was a lot of it.
I must mention the course markings. Every turn was marked with left or right turn. Wrong way signs with a large X were posted. Yellow ribbon ran across wrong turns. At night....Every intersection was marked with flashing strobe lights. You could not get lost. I did take a wrong turn, running 3/4 a mile before realizing and turning back. Of course, right there, was a wrong way marker I had missed and ran right by not paying attention. All and all I have to give this race a thumbs up. It is well oraorganized with a great post party and a challenging course. My finish time was 25:02. First female.
Race count: Liz (10) Scott (5)
The Wild Sebastian 100 is a new Florida 100 on the East coast held in the Wild Sebastian wild life preserve. I flew into Tampa, so had a long drive across the state. I arrived at race headquarters just as the race briefing was finishing. Found a reasonable motel 10 miles from the start. Arrived a 6:30 am at the start, only to find out the race start was to be delayed by one hour due to rainstorms during the night. The race director wanted the course to dry out for us so we wouldn't get our feet wet.
The course is 25 mile long loops with aid very close together, never more than 3.5 miles between stations. When I reached the first of 2 water crossings on the course, I was pleasantly surprised with a "water crossing" sign posted. There were mile markers every mile which was nice. Unfortunately, on the back side and other portions of the course there was deep, snow white powder beach sand which after the first loop, most of us had to walk. Even this became very difficult...Sand soon filled our shoes. A mile section was deep grass, the Florida clumpy kind, with no trail. I ran over a very large snake, boy did I run to the next aid station! Also, there was an armadillo who ran right across in front of me. The best part was coming around a corner upon a small herd of wild pigs, they didn't spook until I was 8 feet from them!
This was a hard run for me, I had worked many hours the week before, night shift at the hospital. There were many first time hundred milers, who showed great preserverence. A lot of runners dropped. This is not an "easy" 100, nor hard, just challenging. Post race we were treated to music with outdoor speakers, a large shade tent, grilling with various meats. So much food!
The awards ceremony included additional awards for fastest lap, most consistant lap, etc. I napped in my rental car and had a second round of food before making way. I would like to comment on the second place woman. ( to the best of my memory, there was only 2 female finishers) The blisters on her feet were unbelievable, but she stayed strong, and endured to the finish. The second place male ran the entire course in five fingers. He stated they worked well in all the sand...there sure was a lot of it.
I must mention the course markings. Every turn was marked with left or right turn. Wrong way signs with a large X were posted. Yellow ribbon ran across wrong turns. At night....Every intersection was marked with flashing strobe lights. You could not get lost. I did take a wrong turn, running 3/4 a mile before realizing and turning back. Of course, right there, was a wrong way marker I had missed and ran right by not paying attention. All and all I have to give this race a thumbs up. It is well oraorganized with a great post party and a challenging course. My finish time was 25:02. First female.
Race count: Liz (10) Scott (5)
Wednesday, April 4, 2012
Umstead 100
I haven't been to the Umstead race in about 5 years and I must say that Blake and his army of volunteers have kicked it up a notch from what was even 5 years ago an excellent race experience. The quality, quantity and variety of food, the quality and quantity of volunteers, the prettiness of Umstead Park in early April, and the overall organization of the event make this an event with few peers. I'd mention names from the organization of the event but I'm afraid of leaving some out. A lot of people work very hard to make this the popular event that it now is. This was the 18th running and it filled within, I've heard, from 1-3 minutes.
As you probably know I sat this one out babying my achilles tendon which was hard but at least I had time to catch up with lots of friends from my time living in the area. It was wonderful to see so many old friends! It was painful to see Fred (Doom) Dummar on crutches after his extensive knee reconstruction after landing wrong in a parachute jump. Best of luck with the speediest of recoveries, Doom! That injury really keeps things in perspective on my minor annoyance of an achilles!
Liz finished her run in style runnning around 22:30. She says that she feels strong but has no speed. She is so steady right up to the end of the runs! She's not fast but that steady forward progress gets things done in a very timely manner. She definitely has increased pain and is feeling the strain of so many races in so little time (9 in 3 months) struggling to recover but nothing seems to be threatening to stop her yet. Both of us will be skipping the Philadelphia 100 this coming weekend. Me to let the achilles rest and Liz to let everything rest. The following weekend Liz will be going down to FL for the Wild Sebastian 100. I will be staying home to work.
After Sebastian we will load up the RV and drive out to NV for the Labor of Love 100 mile and the following week the Salt Flats 100. Then we fly home from Las Vegas for 9 days to try to get in some work before returning to Las Vegas for the Zion 100. If anyone reading this or anyone you know has someplace to stow the RV for those 9 days (1-9 May) to save us some parking fees we would be much appreciative. We'll also be needing to leave the RV in the Denver area from 15 May until 12 June. The RV is a 24 ft Winnebago View and not one of those monster 40 foot bus rv's.
My plan is to probably start the Labor of Love monitoring the ankle and running in shoes with plentiful toe drop. There is definitely some tightness in the achilles area and some serious knots in the calf muscle but no pain at all. I've been having some serious doubts about whether I'm being too conservative but I'm following my gut which tells me that as it is now it would not allow me to continue with our schedule. I'm doing a lot of self massage with The Stick and rolling my foot over a golf ball to loosen the plantar fascia. I'm also doing some gentle stretching and wearing (but not enjoying!) the Strassburg Sock.
Being a spectator at Umstead I got to witness a lot of inspiring efforts last weekend. I saw Ed Demoney, at 78 years young, attempt 100 miles. He had to stop at 50 but hey, 50 miles! I saw 4 people 70 or older finish 100 miles including good friends Bob Calabria and Tom Sprouse. Tom had a serious lean going at 90 miles and with 5.5 hours didn't think he could finish but got some massage and later in the final loop used some ingenuity to help fix the lean. He picked up and carried what I would say was about a 4lb rock the rest of the race! I got to see the incredible Mike Morton break the course record and run an uncontested 13:11. He is now 40 but the sky is the limit on what this guy can do. He is as smooth and effortless as anyone I've ever seen run, even after 80+ miles. Garth Peterson broke 17 hours at 48 years of age. And women's winner Traci Falbo nearly broke 17 hours with a 17:02. Congrats to all! Joe Lugiano is a technical wizard who, with some colleagues, has completely written the timing software and web interface. The searchable results can be found here.
I'll post a report on Liz's run at Wild Sebastian when she gets back.
Race count: Liz (9) Scott (5)
As you probably know I sat this one out babying my achilles tendon which was hard but at least I had time to catch up with lots of friends from my time living in the area. It was wonderful to see so many old friends! It was painful to see Fred (Doom) Dummar on crutches after his extensive knee reconstruction after landing wrong in a parachute jump. Best of luck with the speediest of recoveries, Doom! That injury really keeps things in perspective on my minor annoyance of an achilles!
Liz finished her run in style runnning around 22:30. She says that she feels strong but has no speed. She is so steady right up to the end of the runs! She's not fast but that steady forward progress gets things done in a very timely manner. She definitely has increased pain and is feeling the strain of so many races in so little time (9 in 3 months) struggling to recover but nothing seems to be threatening to stop her yet. Both of us will be skipping the Philadelphia 100 this coming weekend. Me to let the achilles rest and Liz to let everything rest. The following weekend Liz will be going down to FL for the Wild Sebastian 100. I will be staying home to work.
After Sebastian we will load up the RV and drive out to NV for the Labor of Love 100 mile and the following week the Salt Flats 100. Then we fly home from Las Vegas for 9 days to try to get in some work before returning to Las Vegas for the Zion 100. If anyone reading this or anyone you know has someplace to stow the RV for those 9 days (1-9 May) to save us some parking fees we would be much appreciative. We'll also be needing to leave the RV in the Denver area from 15 May until 12 June. The RV is a 24 ft Winnebago View and not one of those monster 40 foot bus rv's.
My plan is to probably start the Labor of Love monitoring the ankle and running in shoes with plentiful toe drop. There is definitely some tightness in the achilles area and some serious knots in the calf muscle but no pain at all. I've been having some serious doubts about whether I'm being too conservative but I'm following my gut which tells me that as it is now it would not allow me to continue with our schedule. I'm doing a lot of self massage with The Stick and rolling my foot over a golf ball to loosen the plantar fascia. I'm also doing some gentle stretching and wearing (but not enjoying!) the Strassburg Sock.
Being a spectator at Umstead I got to witness a lot of inspiring efforts last weekend. I saw Ed Demoney, at 78 years young, attempt 100 miles. He had to stop at 50 but hey, 50 miles! I saw 4 people 70 or older finish 100 miles including good friends Bob Calabria and Tom Sprouse. Tom had a serious lean going at 90 miles and with 5.5 hours didn't think he could finish but got some massage and later in the final loop used some ingenuity to help fix the lean. He picked up and carried what I would say was about a 4lb rock the rest of the race! I got to see the incredible Mike Morton break the course record and run an uncontested 13:11. He is now 40 but the sky is the limit on what this guy can do. He is as smooth and effortless as anyone I've ever seen run, even after 80+ miles. Garth Peterson broke 17 hours at 48 years of age. And women's winner Traci Falbo nearly broke 17 hours with a 17:02. Congrats to all! Joe Lugiano is a technical wizard who, with some colleagues, has completely written the timing software and web interface. The searchable results can be found here.
I'll post a report on Liz's run at Wild Sebastian when she gets back.
Race count: Liz (9) Scott (5)
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
NJ Ultra Festival 100
This is a tough report for me to write. It looks like my attempt to run 30 100's this year may be over. Liz is still going strong though getting her 8th 100 mile finish this weekend with a 3rd place finish in 23:17. I mentioned in my Graveyard 100 report that I woke up the Monday following with some achilles tendonitis. I rested, iced, and did anti-inflammatories and felt fine going into NJ. But by mile 20 I could start to feel something not quite right in that left achilles area and by 50 miles I was ready to stop. I decided to change shoes from some Solomon's to my Saucony Grid Roadster's and I immediately felt better. When I ran in these shoes I didn't have the feeling that I was irritating the injured area.
During my 7th lap, though, I again could feel that same area getting irritated. Shuffling easy on the pavement was okay but in the areas where the tread was more uneven each step caused just a bit of discomfort. All during that 7th lap I debated with myself on whether to drop or not. I never had any debilitating pain. I'm sure that I could have finished the race unless the discomfort increased a lot. I was taking Celebrex which does a great job for me for pain relief and what I was worried about was doing more damage to the tendon and putting myself in a position of 8+ weeks of recovery rather than a shorter timeframe. I debated and debated as I did that 10 mile loop and even came to the start/finish and told co-RD Rick McNulty that I was probably going to drop but that I wanted to sit and think about it first. I finally decided to drop after about 15 minutes.
As I told Rick, I was absolutely fine mentally, and my legs felt fine to finish the run. I wasn't even limping or changing my stride that much due to the achilles. My real worry was that I was doing greater damage that would cost me down the road. I had had two weeks to recover from what seemed minor irritation and it obviously was not fully healed. I've dealt with overuse injuries to my right achilles, my plantar fascii, my shin, my IT band, and my knees which has all made me pretty cautious. I knew that I could not just run through all this with my schedule and that I was going to need to take more time off. So my decision to quit this race was really damage control.
Right now my thought is to stop running and to rehab this thing the best I can and give it a try again at Salt Flats on 28 April. That gives me almost 5 weeks off. When I start back I'll also probably run with heel lifts which might well have saved me this weekend. I wish now that I had worn some but it's too late now. This means I'll miss 5 races in our schedule and these 5 are some of the easiest. I'm really interested in the Salt Flats course and the Zion run the following week so if I can get healthy and stay healthy through these I'll be happy and may be able to save much of the rest of the year. It seems a long shot right now but you never know what's going to happen.
So for me for the next month it is going to be supporting Liz, gentle massage and very gentle stretching, icing, and wearing my nifty new Strassburg sock to bed each night. It's not ideal to start back running with a 100 miler but I'm hoping with my experience it will be okay. I'll start slow, make sure my heel is lifted with inserts and/or shoes with a big toe drop, and keep my fingers crossed. Also on my radar is Hardrock which I definitely do not want to miss or to start injured. It's the highlight of my running year and it would kill me to miss it. Enough of the injury report and on to the race report.
As expected Jennifer and Rick McNulty, along with their entire family, put on a great race. They do this as their livelihood and they have it dialed. The Ultra Festival is an event featuring distances of 100, 62, 50, 31 and 26 miles. There were a lot of people on the trail in the early hours but the course was able to accommodate the numbers with relative ease. The 100 milers started at 7am, 15 minutes behind the 100k folks and we started around the familiar loop of the 3 Days at the Fair course. After 3/4 of a mile though we kept straight rather than turning toward the start/finish area and headed out to a 1 mile out and back, followed by a 2.5 mile out and back and then returned to the start on the back side of the fairgrounds on a combination of grass and asphalt.
The trail portion was more or less grassy and beat out but by midday it was in much better shape after the repeated travel of so many runners. There were a few muddy spots and even one stepping stone water crossing but it was easy to keep the feet dry. One other obstacle on the course were the old rail-to-trail trestles which had been reinforced with strips of particle board. In spots these boards started to break and several runners, including myself and Liz, stepped on a board and had the end flip up catching the front of the other ankle. The male leader even sprained his ankle on some of these boards on his 9th lap ending his race. Jennifer did go back out around sunset though and reinforced it all making it much more secure. Next year I'm sure they'll have a better platform built over these trestles.
One peculiarity of the festival format was seeing so many runners having finished their marathon or 50k while we still had 70 miles to go. Those beers sure did look good! It was nice to have so many runners out there though. It kept things interesting with so many people to watch and talk with. By even the 70 mile mark it had thinned out a lot though with the two out and backs you did still get a chance to see other runners pretty frequently. This was the first year at the fairgrounds venue for the Ultra Festival and I think it will work well for the races. The fairgrounds has a large concession stand that they use for the main aid station which really works great as it has a huge walk in freezer and fridge as well as great cooking facilities which they use to make burgers, pizza, hot dogs, taquitos and more! And it is, after all, all about the food.
The volunteer staff is not huge but Rick and Jennifer design things so that they don't need a lot of volunteers so it never feels like there isn't enough help. In fact, it's just the opposite. And Rick's sister Marie is a human dynamo worth 4 volunteers all herself! It was also a special treat to see Marcy Beard working at the aid station at the end of the 2.5 mile out and back. Thanks Marcy! While this is the family's business you still get great value with all the swag and aid station food. It never feels at all like any corners have been cut. I highly recommend any race they might put on. It's sure to be well run.
I won't have any race reports of my own to write for a while but I will still post with reports of any of Liz's races. Right now we're looking at possible schedule changes and Liz might end up dropping a race from this long stretch but no definite decisions have been made yet. This coming weekend we will be driving the Winnebago up to NC for the Umstead 100. I lived in this area from 1998 to 2006 so I'll get to see lots of old friends and work at my old post at Tom's Ptomaine Tavern during the run. Umstead was my first 100 back in 2002 and while I haven't run it since I did help out each year until I moved away. I'll post a report when we get back.
Race count: Liz (8) Scott (5)
During my 7th lap, though, I again could feel that same area getting irritated. Shuffling easy on the pavement was okay but in the areas where the tread was more uneven each step caused just a bit of discomfort. All during that 7th lap I debated with myself on whether to drop or not. I never had any debilitating pain. I'm sure that I could have finished the race unless the discomfort increased a lot. I was taking Celebrex which does a great job for me for pain relief and what I was worried about was doing more damage to the tendon and putting myself in a position of 8+ weeks of recovery rather than a shorter timeframe. I debated and debated as I did that 10 mile loop and even came to the start/finish and told co-RD Rick McNulty that I was probably going to drop but that I wanted to sit and think about it first. I finally decided to drop after about 15 minutes.
As I told Rick, I was absolutely fine mentally, and my legs felt fine to finish the run. I wasn't even limping or changing my stride that much due to the achilles. My real worry was that I was doing greater damage that would cost me down the road. I had had two weeks to recover from what seemed minor irritation and it obviously was not fully healed. I've dealt with overuse injuries to my right achilles, my plantar fascii, my shin, my IT band, and my knees which has all made me pretty cautious. I knew that I could not just run through all this with my schedule and that I was going to need to take more time off. So my decision to quit this race was really damage control.
Right now my thought is to stop running and to rehab this thing the best I can and give it a try again at Salt Flats on 28 April. That gives me almost 5 weeks off. When I start back I'll also probably run with heel lifts which might well have saved me this weekend. I wish now that I had worn some but it's too late now. This means I'll miss 5 races in our schedule and these 5 are some of the easiest. I'm really interested in the Salt Flats course and the Zion run the following week so if I can get healthy and stay healthy through these I'll be happy and may be able to save much of the rest of the year. It seems a long shot right now but you never know what's going to happen.
So for me for the next month it is going to be supporting Liz, gentle massage and very gentle stretching, icing, and wearing my nifty new Strassburg sock to bed each night. It's not ideal to start back running with a 100 miler but I'm hoping with my experience it will be okay. I'll start slow, make sure my heel is lifted with inserts and/or shoes with a big toe drop, and keep my fingers crossed. Also on my radar is Hardrock which I definitely do not want to miss or to start injured. It's the highlight of my running year and it would kill me to miss it. Enough of the injury report and on to the race report.
As expected Jennifer and Rick McNulty, along with their entire family, put on a great race. They do this as their livelihood and they have it dialed. The Ultra Festival is an event featuring distances of 100, 62, 50, 31 and 26 miles. There were a lot of people on the trail in the early hours but the course was able to accommodate the numbers with relative ease. The 100 milers started at 7am, 15 minutes behind the 100k folks and we started around the familiar loop of the 3 Days at the Fair course. After 3/4 of a mile though we kept straight rather than turning toward the start/finish area and headed out to a 1 mile out and back, followed by a 2.5 mile out and back and then returned to the start on the back side of the fairgrounds on a combination of grass and asphalt.
The trail portion was more or less grassy and beat out but by midday it was in much better shape after the repeated travel of so many runners. There were a few muddy spots and even one stepping stone water crossing but it was easy to keep the feet dry. One other obstacle on the course were the old rail-to-trail trestles which had been reinforced with strips of particle board. In spots these boards started to break and several runners, including myself and Liz, stepped on a board and had the end flip up catching the front of the other ankle. The male leader even sprained his ankle on some of these boards on his 9th lap ending his race. Jennifer did go back out around sunset though and reinforced it all making it much more secure. Next year I'm sure they'll have a better platform built over these trestles.
One peculiarity of the festival format was seeing so many runners having finished their marathon or 50k while we still had 70 miles to go. Those beers sure did look good! It was nice to have so many runners out there though. It kept things interesting with so many people to watch and talk with. By even the 70 mile mark it had thinned out a lot though with the two out and backs you did still get a chance to see other runners pretty frequently. This was the first year at the fairgrounds venue for the Ultra Festival and I think it will work well for the races. The fairgrounds has a large concession stand that they use for the main aid station which really works great as it has a huge walk in freezer and fridge as well as great cooking facilities which they use to make burgers, pizza, hot dogs, taquitos and more! And it is, after all, all about the food.
The volunteer staff is not huge but Rick and Jennifer design things so that they don't need a lot of volunteers so it never feels like there isn't enough help. In fact, it's just the opposite. And Rick's sister Marie is a human dynamo worth 4 volunteers all herself! It was also a special treat to see Marcy Beard working at the aid station at the end of the 2.5 mile out and back. Thanks Marcy! While this is the family's business you still get great value with all the swag and aid station food. It never feels at all like any corners have been cut. I highly recommend any race they might put on. It's sure to be well run.
I won't have any race reports of my own to write for a while but I will still post with reports of any of Liz's races. Right now we're looking at possible schedule changes and Liz might end up dropping a race from this long stretch but no definite decisions have been made yet. This coming weekend we will be driving the Winnebago up to NC for the Umstead 100. I lived in this area from 1998 to 2006 so I'll get to see lots of old friends and work at my old post at Tom's Ptomaine Tavern during the run. Umstead was my first 100 back in 2002 and while I haven't run it since I did help out each year until I moved away. I'll post a report when we get back.
Race count: Liz (8) Scott (5)
Sunday, March 18, 2012
Graveyard 100
Sorry for the slow report but Liz and I didn't get back from NC until after midnight on Monday morning and I've been working every night since. 12.5 hour shifts, commuting and sleeping, not to mention unpacking and all of life's other little time consumers doesn't leave much writing time. But I got called off tonight so here we go!
The Graveyard 100, another inaugural event, went fantastically well. This unique event follows state highway 12 along the Outer Banks in NC for all but about 4 of it's 100.7 miles. We were running forever within a stone's throw of the Atlantic Ocean. As this race goes forward look for some crazy stories to come out of it. The name comes from this section of the coast being called the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" due to the number of shipwrecks that have occurred just offshore here. March is also know for its nasty weather and I believe that is why RD Brandon Wilson and his wife Heather decided to have the race this month. They didn't want the runner's to get bored! Ha! I think that's also why the website poses the question "Will the graveyard sink you.....?" While the course is almost dead flat and paved, it is also exposed to the elements like few parts of the country are. How easy or difficult the race is will be entirely dependent on the weather conditions on race day.
That being said, we were watching the weather closely as the weekend approached and it looked dicey. There was a major frontal system that was set to hit the coast from the west right around Friday and Saturday. The chance for rain and wind on Saturday steadily decreased as the week wore on and by Thursday it was pretty clear that if there was any rain during the race it would only be briefly on Saturday morning. It turned out that the rain ended on Friday but the wind did not. It blew and blew and blew on Saturday. More on that below.
For this race we had the pleasure of Liz's brother (Robert) and sister-in-law (Jane) as crew. They drove up from Charleston, SC and picked us up at the Raleigh airport late Thursday afternoon. As we drove toward the coast we caught up with the storm and ended up driving through some light rain. We found a cheap room in Rocky Mount and settled in for the night. It was nice to have the extra night and extra time to sleep in and not have such a hectic Friday. Getting away Friday morning it was still overcast and a bit drizzly but the big weather issue was the wind, and as the day progressed it got colder and colder. Pulling up to the race briefing building, which was part of a pier jutting out into the ocean, the wind was blowing a gale and it was definitely down jacket weather. The thought of being out in this cold and wind at 5am was daunting to say the least.
The briefing started right on time and Brandon did a great job of outlining what we could expect the next day. He had one of the unmanned water station contraptions in the hall so we'd know what to look for and he was careful to describe the few place where one could take a wrong turn. Given the course he had the pleasure of not needing to do hardly any course marking though there were a couple of aid station where you had to go slightly off hwy 12 but in those spots he had people on the road to direct you in and out of the station. There were some logistical details having to do with transporting people to the start and back from the finish but with Liz and I having crew we didn't have to worry about all that. Soon we were off the hotel to try to get some rest before the early wake up.
Waking up in the morning it didn't feel nearly as cold as Liz and I thought it would so we settled on slightly less clothes than we thought the night before. The start is truly at the end of the road. We were standing in sand as we started the race. Very cool. I love point to point races and the thought of following this same highway the entire race along this narrow ribbon of land, past historic lighthouses, and through Cape Hatteras National Seashore was exciting. So while it didn't seem as cold as we expected that isn't to say it wasn't cold. It was! The wind was blowing probably 15mph and the temp was probably around 40. The good thing (and a very good thing indeed!) was that the wind was from the north and we were running south. Have you ever run 100 miles straight with a tailwind the entire time? I hazard to guess not many have, but the finishers of the 2012 Graveyard 100 have!
It was awesome! It was chilly and windy but with the wind at our backs it was very comfortable. The sun was out the entire day (enough to give me a nasty sunburn on my lower lip) and the wind never really let up. I'd say it blew from 10-20 mph the entire day. It was just pushing us along. You'll never hear me say that running 100 miles is easy but this one was about as easy as it gets. It was like a gentle downhill the whole way. The first 30-35 miles are all through pretty heavily developed areas but then you hit the National Seashore which has no development at all. After that it was off and on developed and desolate with more development towards the end. The highway was busier than I had expected and that got to be kind of a drag but most drivers courteously gave us room. And there was a generous shoulder the entire way with sidewalks also available in many of the developed areas. I never felt that the course was at all dangerous.
The course is designed with only 4 full service aid station but water stops inbetween at about 6-7 mile intervals. Some of the highlights of the race were the lighthouses at two of the aid stations. With gps they're no longer used for navigation but they had been maintained as sort of museum pieces and were quite striking and large. Another stand out from the race was the 2.5 mile long Bonner bridge. Liz and I ended up running the bridge together in the late afternoon. This was the one big hill on the course rising almost 50 feet above the water. About halfway it turned to east a bit and we had the wind off our shoulder rather than directly behind us and that made a huge difference in how cold it felt. We didn't freeze but we weren't hanging out enjoying the view either.
After the bridge there was a long stretch where the road had sand blowing across it and there were even some small sand dunes forming across the road. Here's a couple of pictures from that stretch:
I can't emphasize enough how nice it was to have the wind at our backs. It would have been an entirely different race if we had been running into that relentless wind. Not only would it have been physically harder to run into the wind but it would have been freezing despite the sunshine and in some of these sections the blowing sand would have been nasty. And if the race had been one day earlier we would have been out in that wind AND rain. One year runners will have different conditions than we did and there will be some stories to tell.....
After the bridge there was a long lonely stretch going into the next aid with 3 water only stations inbetween. Having a crew at this race really makes it a lot easier logistically. Uncrewed you would have to wear a pack with food and extra clothing while the crewed runner can see their crew not only at the water stations but at many other spots along the way as well. My hat is off to Claude Hicks and Mike Smith who were uncrewed and finished ahead of me. (There are probably others but they're the only one's I know of.)
As usual the final 15 miles seemed the longest. Having only worked one day in the week before the race I didn't struggle so bad with sleepiness though I did curl up behind a trash barrel for about 10 minutes around mile 90 or so. Another cool thing about this course is that the finish is at the end of the road where one needs to get on a ferry to cross a channel to continue on hwy 12. This is also the exact spot where the Graveyard of the Atlantic museum is located. The whole point to point aspect on the barrier islands has a wonderful aesthetic appeal. This race is sure to stand out in my mind as one of the most unique and enjoyable races I've ever done. I haven't worn a watch for any of these races yet this year and I was really surprised to find out that I had finished the race in 21:12 for 8th place over all. I really thought that I had slowed in the last 15 miles and I also thought that there were a lot more runners ahead of me. Liz finished shortly after me in 21:39 for 3rd place among the women. Congrats to winners Brenda Carawan in 16:33 and Andrei Nana in 19:27. Results are here.
I can't say enough about how great of a job Brandon and Heather did organizing and executing this race. There was obviously a tremendous amount of thought and planning that went into the weekend. And I can only imagine all the permitting and legal stuff they went through to be able to run through so many towns, parks, and a National Seashore. Brandon did relate to me some of this related to the National Park Service but I'm sure that was only the tip of the iceberg. Many thanks to you two for all your hard work. One unexpected and very pleasant surprise that really shows how these two took care of all us runners is the rooms at a nearby hotel that they rented and provided for the runners to rest in and get cleaned up in after the finish. This was unadvertised and as I understand it, a last minute (and expensive!) decision. I don't know if that will be a regular feature of the race but it sure was nice to be able to shower and nap in a bed before starting the drive back to Raleigh.
Once again the volunteers were exemplary. We didn't see race volunteers all that often in this race but they were there when they were needed and very very helpful as well as knowledgeable about what a runner wants and needs to get in and out of an aid station with all that they need in as little time as possible. The burgers and hot pizza were awesome!
A special thanks are also due to Robert and Jane for giving up their weekend to help Liz and I. Robert had brought some LED christmas lights that he was able to plug into the car and drape all across the top of the car so that we could pick out their car from all the other crew cars after dark. What a nice and thoughtful touch, Robert! He and Jane met us at innumerable spots along the way in addition to the aid and water stops. They got no more sleep than we did once the race was underway. Thank you!
Our next race is the NJ Ultra Festival this coming weekend. We've participated in the McNulty's 3 Days at the Fair and are looking forward to a great weekend.
The one fly in the ointment for me after Graveyard is some achilles tendonitis. When I woke up late on Monday morning my left achilles was sore and having experienced achilles tendonitis before after my first 100 miler I reached down and pinched the tendon as I flexed and extended my foot. Sure enough, I felt that familiar creaky, grinding feeling indicating inflammation. So soon after the race I couldn't really assess it fully due to the edema and general soreness but now I'm hoping that it is a relatively minor case that I can get it resolved before NJ. I've been taking 600mg of ibuprofen 3x a day since Monday and icing the tendon when I can. The creakiness is gone but there is still some soreness. After my first 100 I had it in the right tendon and it was much worse but I was out for about 6 weeks then. I'm hoping I'll be able to stay healthy though these next busy months but only time will tell. Any advice on managing this would be much appreciated as long as the advice isn't "Stop running so much you idiot!" : ) I'm planning to stop the ibuprofen in the next day or two and know I need to stretch my calves but I don't know if that is wise at this point or not. Any stretching I do will have to be VERY gentle. Wish me luck!
Race count now stands at: Liz (7) Scott (5)
The Graveyard 100, another inaugural event, went fantastically well. This unique event follows state highway 12 along the Outer Banks in NC for all but about 4 of it's 100.7 miles. We were running forever within a stone's throw of the Atlantic Ocean. As this race goes forward look for some crazy stories to come out of it. The name comes from this section of the coast being called the "Graveyard of the Atlantic" due to the number of shipwrecks that have occurred just offshore here. March is also know for its nasty weather and I believe that is why RD Brandon Wilson and his wife Heather decided to have the race this month. They didn't want the runner's to get bored! Ha! I think that's also why the website poses the question "Will the graveyard sink you.....?" While the course is almost dead flat and paved, it is also exposed to the elements like few parts of the country are. How easy or difficult the race is will be entirely dependent on the weather conditions on race day.
That being said, we were watching the weather closely as the weekend approached and it looked dicey. There was a major frontal system that was set to hit the coast from the west right around Friday and Saturday. The chance for rain and wind on Saturday steadily decreased as the week wore on and by Thursday it was pretty clear that if there was any rain during the race it would only be briefly on Saturday morning. It turned out that the rain ended on Friday but the wind did not. It blew and blew and blew on Saturday. More on that below.
For this race we had the pleasure of Liz's brother (Robert) and sister-in-law (Jane) as crew. They drove up from Charleston, SC and picked us up at the Raleigh airport late Thursday afternoon. As we drove toward the coast we caught up with the storm and ended up driving through some light rain. We found a cheap room in Rocky Mount and settled in for the night. It was nice to have the extra night and extra time to sleep in and not have such a hectic Friday. Getting away Friday morning it was still overcast and a bit drizzly but the big weather issue was the wind, and as the day progressed it got colder and colder. Pulling up to the race briefing building, which was part of a pier jutting out into the ocean, the wind was blowing a gale and it was definitely down jacket weather. The thought of being out in this cold and wind at 5am was daunting to say the least.
The briefing started right on time and Brandon did a great job of outlining what we could expect the next day. He had one of the unmanned water station contraptions in the hall so we'd know what to look for and he was careful to describe the few place where one could take a wrong turn. Given the course he had the pleasure of not needing to do hardly any course marking though there were a couple of aid station where you had to go slightly off hwy 12 but in those spots he had people on the road to direct you in and out of the station. There were some logistical details having to do with transporting people to the start and back from the finish but with Liz and I having crew we didn't have to worry about all that. Soon we were off the hotel to try to get some rest before the early wake up.
 |
| Unmanned water station contraption. |
Waking up in the morning it didn't feel nearly as cold as Liz and I thought it would so we settled on slightly less clothes than we thought the night before. The start is truly at the end of the road. We were standing in sand as we started the race. Very cool. I love point to point races and the thought of following this same highway the entire race along this narrow ribbon of land, past historic lighthouses, and through Cape Hatteras National Seashore was exciting. So while it didn't seem as cold as we expected that isn't to say it wasn't cold. It was! The wind was blowing probably 15mph and the temp was probably around 40. The good thing (and a very good thing indeed!) was that the wind was from the north and we were running south. Have you ever run 100 miles straight with a tailwind the entire time? I hazard to guess not many have, but the finishers of the 2012 Graveyard 100 have!
It was awesome! It was chilly and windy but with the wind at our backs it was very comfortable. The sun was out the entire day (enough to give me a nasty sunburn on my lower lip) and the wind never really let up. I'd say it blew from 10-20 mph the entire day. It was just pushing us along. You'll never hear me say that running 100 miles is easy but this one was about as easy as it gets. It was like a gentle downhill the whole way. The first 30-35 miles are all through pretty heavily developed areas but then you hit the National Seashore which has no development at all. After that it was off and on developed and desolate with more development towards the end. The highway was busier than I had expected and that got to be kind of a drag but most drivers courteously gave us room. And there was a generous shoulder the entire way with sidewalks also available in many of the developed areas. I never felt that the course was at all dangerous.
 |
| Lighthouse at aid station 2 |
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| 2.5 mile long Bonner bridge |
After the bridge there was a long stretch where the road had sand blowing across it and there were even some small sand dunes forming across the road. Here's a couple of pictures from that stretch:
I can't emphasize enough how nice it was to have the wind at our backs. It would have been an entirely different race if we had been running into that relentless wind. Not only would it have been physically harder to run into the wind but it would have been freezing despite the sunshine and in some of these sections the blowing sand would have been nasty. And if the race had been one day earlier we would have been out in that wind AND rain. One year runners will have different conditions than we did and there will be some stories to tell.....
After the bridge there was a long lonely stretch going into the next aid with 3 water only stations inbetween. Having a crew at this race really makes it a lot easier logistically. Uncrewed you would have to wear a pack with food and extra clothing while the crewed runner can see their crew not only at the water stations but at many other spots along the way as well. My hat is off to Claude Hicks and Mike Smith who were uncrewed and finished ahead of me. (There are probably others but they're the only one's I know of.)
As usual the final 15 miles seemed the longest. Having only worked one day in the week before the race I didn't struggle so bad with sleepiness though I did curl up behind a trash barrel for about 10 minutes around mile 90 or so. Another cool thing about this course is that the finish is at the end of the road where one needs to get on a ferry to cross a channel to continue on hwy 12. This is also the exact spot where the Graveyard of the Atlantic museum is located. The whole point to point aspect on the barrier islands has a wonderful aesthetic appeal. This race is sure to stand out in my mind as one of the most unique and enjoyable races I've ever done. I haven't worn a watch for any of these races yet this year and I was really surprised to find out that I had finished the race in 21:12 for 8th place over all. I really thought that I had slowed in the last 15 miles and I also thought that there were a lot more runners ahead of me. Liz finished shortly after me in 21:39 for 3rd place among the women. Congrats to winners Brenda Carawan in 16:33 and Andrei Nana in 19:27. Results are here.
I can't say enough about how great of a job Brandon and Heather did organizing and executing this race. There was obviously a tremendous amount of thought and planning that went into the weekend. And I can only imagine all the permitting and legal stuff they went through to be able to run through so many towns, parks, and a National Seashore. Brandon did relate to me some of this related to the National Park Service but I'm sure that was only the tip of the iceberg. Many thanks to you two for all your hard work. One unexpected and very pleasant surprise that really shows how these two took care of all us runners is the rooms at a nearby hotel that they rented and provided for the runners to rest in and get cleaned up in after the finish. This was unadvertised and as I understand it, a last minute (and expensive!) decision. I don't know if that will be a regular feature of the race but it sure was nice to be able to shower and nap in a bed before starting the drive back to Raleigh.
Once again the volunteers were exemplary. We didn't see race volunteers all that often in this race but they were there when they were needed and very very helpful as well as knowledgeable about what a runner wants and needs to get in and out of an aid station with all that they need in as little time as possible. The burgers and hot pizza were awesome!
A special thanks are also due to Robert and Jane for giving up their weekend to help Liz and I. Robert had brought some LED christmas lights that he was able to plug into the car and drape all across the top of the car so that we could pick out their car from all the other crew cars after dark. What a nice and thoughtful touch, Robert! He and Jane met us at innumerable spots along the way in addition to the aid and water stops. They got no more sleep than we did once the race was underway. Thank you!
Our next race is the NJ Ultra Festival this coming weekend. We've participated in the McNulty's 3 Days at the Fair and are looking forward to a great weekend.
The one fly in the ointment for me after Graveyard is some achilles tendonitis. When I woke up late on Monday morning my left achilles was sore and having experienced achilles tendonitis before after my first 100 miler I reached down and pinched the tendon as I flexed and extended my foot. Sure enough, I felt that familiar creaky, grinding feeling indicating inflammation. So soon after the race I couldn't really assess it fully due to the edema and general soreness but now I'm hoping that it is a relatively minor case that I can get it resolved before NJ. I've been taking 600mg of ibuprofen 3x a day since Monday and icing the tendon when I can. The creakiness is gone but there is still some soreness. After my first 100 I had it in the right tendon and it was much worse but I was out for about 6 weeks then. I'm hoping I'll be able to stay healthy though these next busy months but only time will tell. Any advice on managing this would be much appreciated as long as the advice isn't "Stop running so much you idiot!" : ) I'm planning to stop the ibuprofen in the next day or two and know I need to stretch my calves but I don't know if that is wise at this point or not. Any stretching I do will have to be VERY gentle. Wish me luck!
Race count now stands at: Liz (7) Scott (5)
Tuesday, March 6, 2012
Double Top 100
The nice thing about this past weekend's run the Double Top 100 just outside of Dalton, GA, is that it was less than an hour away driving, saving us the expense and hassle of a plane trip, rental car, and motel room. We drove up late Friday afternoon for the packet pickup and race briefing. We ended up parking the RV near the start getting to bed quite early. The forecast had been for a 100% chance of severe thunderstorms through the night with 1-2 inches of rain. It rained a lot but had mostly stopped by around 3am or so. We certainly heard a lot of thunder but it wasn't too crazy and certainly less severe than we were expecting. During the day we heard about how bad things had been to the north with tornados and loss of life. Here in GA we got lucky and avoided rain completely during the run though it was quite foggy early in the run.
I had another tough stretch of work going in to this run with almost 90 hours of work in the 8 days leading up to Thursday morning. It sounds crazy and I would never have thought I'd say this but, I'm looking forward to the stretch where we have a run every weekend because it seems like it will be easier just running rather than working a bunch and running every other weekend. I'm sure after 5 weeks straight I might change my tune but that's how it feels now. Liz was also a bit beat down going into this one after her last minute decision to run the LOST 118 the previous weekend. Liz says she's going to write something up for her runs but hasn't come up with the goods yet. If she does I'll post it here. The short story is that she had a great run and won the women's race handily without much damage. She says she ran very slow and very steady throughout the race enjoying the trip immensely. On now to Double Top.
When I first heard about this run it was described as starting at Fort Mt State Park then to the Pinhoti Trail which goes north and ends at the Benton Mackaye Trail where we would turn right and follow the BMT to the turnaround. I thought "How cool!" I know both of these trails well and they contain some primo singletrack trail running. I hadn't run from Fort Mt to the Pinhoti but I knew all the rest so I had this picture in my mind of where the run went. I carried this picture in my mind right through Saturday morning. Unfortunately, the race route had been changed and nothing had been said about this at the race briefing. The original race website and the facebook page both still have a description of the race passing by the Gennett Poplar which is where myself and 4 others (including Liz) realized we were off course. 4.7 miles off course to be exact. With about a 1200 foot climb included in those miles.
John Dove saved our race and the beer is on me next time, John! John was out on the trails riding his mountain bike and was coming back down the Pinhoti Trail meeting us at the Poplar. He told us we were off course and I said "But this is the Pinhoti!" He said yeah but you're still off course. A close examination of the race map, which had been given us at packet pickup, showed the truth - we were WAY off course. So back it was. Crap. Here's how it happened.... We had been running on the Pinhoti Trail since about mile 5 or so of the race and had just passed the Double Top aid station at just over 21 miles where we headed up a forest service road for about one tenth of a mile. At this point the Pinhoti turns to the right off the FS road and heads up into the woods. There was some flagging on the road past this turn but that was the extent of the marking. I (and many others) never even looked up the road, thinking that we continued on the Pinhoti. A simple piece of paper or sign on the gate warning us off would have saved us this detour but there was nothing.
I appreciate the work of the RD's Perry Sebastian and Vikena Yutz giving us the opportunity to do this run but would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed in the quality of both the course marking and apparent amount of thought that went into the race briefing. According to a couple of aid station workers almost every runner got off course at some point and did extra miles. This was the first year for this race and certain hiccups are to be expected but more care should have been taken. Liz and I ended up running the entire course plus our 9.4 mile detour and extra climbing. Two of our fellow detourees I know dropped and one runner, Jenn from WV, who was ahead of us going back, may or may not have dropped (I don't know because the results have not been posted yet.) Another two runners that I talked to continued on the Pinhoti past the Poplar all the way up until they were back on course at the "top of the Pinhoti" aid station. They never did go back so effectively did not complete the course. I'm sure there are many other stories of bonus miles.
I'll stop griping now and go on with the report of the run. After getting back on course we had a long steep climb up a gravel road in perfect weather. The sky had mostly cleared and the temps were very pleasant. Liz and I ran together back to the gravel road and Liz decided to continue straight up without any aid despite the detour and the fact that it was only .1 miles backtracking. There was a man from the aid station there with his truck who offered to fill my bottle for me. I asked if he had any food but he said he didn't but offered a ride back to the aid station. I took the ride to the aid station where I chowed down and filled my bottle with water and my pocket with gels. He gave me a ride back to the junction and I started up the hill. I caught Liz at the next aid station and we proceeded for the most part together all the way to mile 80 or so.
As the day waned, there remained a thin cover of clouds and the wind was relatively calm. This was welcome as the forecast called for clearing skies and strong winds through the night which meant cold conditions. We thought maybe the weather system had stalled for a bit and we would get a break tonight. We were running south on a ridge of the BMT as the sun set and what a sunset it was!! There was a layer of clouds to the west which stopped just before the horizon so there was just a sun-sized gap. As the sun hit this gap it was a giant orange ball of fire which turned all the trees a deep orange. It was one of those magical times in the woods which don't come all that often but remained burned into your memory. At this point it was still pleasant and fairly calm. As the night wore on though, the skies would clear and the temps drop while the wind picked up.
We hit the turnaround which was mile 51.8 or so just about 10 minutes before the cutoff. There had been mention of extending the cutoffs due to the detour but it looked like we would be okay. A quick fuel up and we were on our way back. A good feeling for sure. At the turnaround the weather was still pretty pleasant so I decided not to bring a thermal shirt but just continued on with what I had been carrying all day which was shorts, a thin tech shirt, moeben sleeves, gloves, and a rain jacket. From the turn there was a 3 or so mile section to the next aid station and then a long 10 mile section with only two water drops while traversing a remote section of the BMT. At the end of this section was the next drop bag. We loaded up on food including a yummy grilled cheese sandwich and headed into the wilderness. And I more than Liz proceeded to freeze my a** off. The skies had cleared and the wind come up. It was soon at or below freezing and it seemed like there was no escape from the wind. This section includes lots of ups and downs on single track that was rocky in places. I was way cold and despite running well I could not generate enough heat to warm up even on the uphills. I was miserable and would have been quickly incapacitated by the cold if I had been unable to keep moving.
We did finally reach the next aid station where I had a thermal shirt, warmer gloves and a stocking cap rather than running cap. We continued on running a long gravel road high on a ridge exposed to the wind and cold. Despite the extra clothing I was still cold as was Liz. All we could do was persevere, continuing on, knowing that it would end ... eventually. Of course the aid station folks could have given us a ride out but if you know Liz and I you know the likelihood of that happening! We had been running to the west with the cold north wind hitting us from the right and even after we had turned south away from the wind it was still hammering us! We could not get away from the wind. Finally we reached the Double Top aid station again as the sky was brightening with the coming day. We sat here and I changed shoes from my now favorite MT101's into some road shoes for a break. I did about 90 miles in the 101's and they performed great, even on the rocky gravel roads. While we were sitting the aid station guy (the same one that gave me a ride Sat afternoon!) fired up a giant kerosene heater/blower. It felt so good to have that hot air blasting us rather than the cold wind. Unfortunately we had to leave it and probably felt even colder after all the heat. But the sun was rising and the air did get warmer.
I soon pulled ahead of Liz and and ended up finishing about an hour ahead of her. My race time was about 32:16 and hers about 33:13. We steadily gained time on the cutoffs as we came back to finish. We both feel very beat up after this one. We're both still walking like Fred Sanford today on Tuesday afternoon. We have the Graveyard 100 coming this weekend which should be a fun time as long as our bodies can recover some. This race starts at the beginning of hwy 12 on the outer banks of NC and continues to the end so staying on course shouldn't be a problem. Not to mention that the outer banks islands are very narrow. If we get off course we'll get wet!
One thing that stands out from this past weekend's run is the volunteers. A huge shout out to the volunteers!!!! There were folks there who opened and closed their aid stations with no relief and did it all with a smile and a great attitude. We runners are so lucky to have these folks out there giving up their weekend to stand out in the cold and wind filling bottles and making pb&j sandwiches for grumpy runners. Thank you specifically all the volunteers from Double Top but thanks also to anyone who reads this who helps out at these runs. You really are special. After this year is over I'm going to spend less money on race entries and more time helping at aid stations.
Thanks also to Perry and Vikena. My report was critical I know but I do appreciate all that you did and hope that what happened this year works to make future runnings of the race all that much better. Maybe next year I'll personally make and hang the 'Do Not Enter' sign where we went wrong and help out with the course marking rather than criticizing it. We musn't forget that this is all for fun. It really is just a game. And it's all good.
Race count: Liz (6) Scott (4)
I had another tough stretch of work going in to this run with almost 90 hours of work in the 8 days leading up to Thursday morning. It sounds crazy and I would never have thought I'd say this but, I'm looking forward to the stretch where we have a run every weekend because it seems like it will be easier just running rather than working a bunch and running every other weekend. I'm sure after 5 weeks straight I might change my tune but that's how it feels now. Liz was also a bit beat down going into this one after her last minute decision to run the LOST 118 the previous weekend. Liz says she's going to write something up for her runs but hasn't come up with the goods yet. If she does I'll post it here. The short story is that she had a great run and won the women's race handily without much damage. She says she ran very slow and very steady throughout the race enjoying the trip immensely. On now to Double Top.
When I first heard about this run it was described as starting at Fort Mt State Park then to the Pinhoti Trail which goes north and ends at the Benton Mackaye Trail where we would turn right and follow the BMT to the turnaround. I thought "How cool!" I know both of these trails well and they contain some primo singletrack trail running. I hadn't run from Fort Mt to the Pinhoti but I knew all the rest so I had this picture in my mind of where the run went. I carried this picture in my mind right through Saturday morning. Unfortunately, the race route had been changed and nothing had been said about this at the race briefing. The original race website and the facebook page both still have a description of the race passing by the Gennett Poplar which is where myself and 4 others (including Liz) realized we were off course. 4.7 miles off course to be exact. With about a 1200 foot climb included in those miles.
John Dove saved our race and the beer is on me next time, John! John was out on the trails riding his mountain bike and was coming back down the Pinhoti Trail meeting us at the Poplar. He told us we were off course and I said "But this is the Pinhoti!" He said yeah but you're still off course. A close examination of the race map, which had been given us at packet pickup, showed the truth - we were WAY off course. So back it was. Crap. Here's how it happened.... We had been running on the Pinhoti Trail since about mile 5 or so of the race and had just passed the Double Top aid station at just over 21 miles where we headed up a forest service road for about one tenth of a mile. At this point the Pinhoti turns to the right off the FS road and heads up into the woods. There was some flagging on the road past this turn but that was the extent of the marking. I (and many others) never even looked up the road, thinking that we continued on the Pinhoti. A simple piece of paper or sign on the gate warning us off would have saved us this detour but there was nothing.
I appreciate the work of the RD's Perry Sebastian and Vikena Yutz giving us the opportunity to do this run but would be lying if I said I wasn't disappointed in the quality of both the course marking and apparent amount of thought that went into the race briefing. According to a couple of aid station workers almost every runner got off course at some point and did extra miles. This was the first year for this race and certain hiccups are to be expected but more care should have been taken. Liz and I ended up running the entire course plus our 9.4 mile detour and extra climbing. Two of our fellow detourees I know dropped and one runner, Jenn from WV, who was ahead of us going back, may or may not have dropped (I don't know because the results have not been posted yet.) Another two runners that I talked to continued on the Pinhoti past the Poplar all the way up until they were back on course at the "top of the Pinhoti" aid station. They never did go back so effectively did not complete the course. I'm sure there are many other stories of bonus miles.
I'll stop griping now and go on with the report of the run. After getting back on course we had a long steep climb up a gravel road in perfect weather. The sky had mostly cleared and the temps were very pleasant. Liz and I ran together back to the gravel road and Liz decided to continue straight up without any aid despite the detour and the fact that it was only .1 miles backtracking. There was a man from the aid station there with his truck who offered to fill my bottle for me. I asked if he had any food but he said he didn't but offered a ride back to the aid station. I took the ride to the aid station where I chowed down and filled my bottle with water and my pocket with gels. He gave me a ride back to the junction and I started up the hill. I caught Liz at the next aid station and we proceeded for the most part together all the way to mile 80 or so.
As the day waned, there remained a thin cover of clouds and the wind was relatively calm. This was welcome as the forecast called for clearing skies and strong winds through the night which meant cold conditions. We thought maybe the weather system had stalled for a bit and we would get a break tonight. We were running south on a ridge of the BMT as the sun set and what a sunset it was!! There was a layer of clouds to the west which stopped just before the horizon so there was just a sun-sized gap. As the sun hit this gap it was a giant orange ball of fire which turned all the trees a deep orange. It was one of those magical times in the woods which don't come all that often but remained burned into your memory. At this point it was still pleasant and fairly calm. As the night wore on though, the skies would clear and the temps drop while the wind picked up.
We hit the turnaround which was mile 51.8 or so just about 10 minutes before the cutoff. There had been mention of extending the cutoffs due to the detour but it looked like we would be okay. A quick fuel up and we were on our way back. A good feeling for sure. At the turnaround the weather was still pretty pleasant so I decided not to bring a thermal shirt but just continued on with what I had been carrying all day which was shorts, a thin tech shirt, moeben sleeves, gloves, and a rain jacket. From the turn there was a 3 or so mile section to the next aid station and then a long 10 mile section with only two water drops while traversing a remote section of the BMT. At the end of this section was the next drop bag. We loaded up on food including a yummy grilled cheese sandwich and headed into the wilderness. And I more than Liz proceeded to freeze my a** off. The skies had cleared and the wind come up. It was soon at or below freezing and it seemed like there was no escape from the wind. This section includes lots of ups and downs on single track that was rocky in places. I was way cold and despite running well I could not generate enough heat to warm up even on the uphills. I was miserable and would have been quickly incapacitated by the cold if I had been unable to keep moving.
We did finally reach the next aid station where I had a thermal shirt, warmer gloves and a stocking cap rather than running cap. We continued on running a long gravel road high on a ridge exposed to the wind and cold. Despite the extra clothing I was still cold as was Liz. All we could do was persevere, continuing on, knowing that it would end ... eventually. Of course the aid station folks could have given us a ride out but if you know Liz and I you know the likelihood of that happening! We had been running to the west with the cold north wind hitting us from the right and even after we had turned south away from the wind it was still hammering us! We could not get away from the wind. Finally we reached the Double Top aid station again as the sky was brightening with the coming day. We sat here and I changed shoes from my now favorite MT101's into some road shoes for a break. I did about 90 miles in the 101's and they performed great, even on the rocky gravel roads. While we were sitting the aid station guy (the same one that gave me a ride Sat afternoon!) fired up a giant kerosene heater/blower. It felt so good to have that hot air blasting us rather than the cold wind. Unfortunately we had to leave it and probably felt even colder after all the heat. But the sun was rising and the air did get warmer.
I soon pulled ahead of Liz and and ended up finishing about an hour ahead of her. My race time was about 32:16 and hers about 33:13. We steadily gained time on the cutoffs as we came back to finish. We both feel very beat up after this one. We're both still walking like Fred Sanford today on Tuesday afternoon. We have the Graveyard 100 coming this weekend which should be a fun time as long as our bodies can recover some. This race starts at the beginning of hwy 12 on the outer banks of NC and continues to the end so staying on course shouldn't be a problem. Not to mention that the outer banks islands are very narrow. If we get off course we'll get wet!
One thing that stands out from this past weekend's run is the volunteers. A huge shout out to the volunteers!!!! There were folks there who opened and closed their aid stations with no relief and did it all with a smile and a great attitude. We runners are so lucky to have these folks out there giving up their weekend to stand out in the cold and wind filling bottles and making pb&j sandwiches for grumpy runners. Thank you specifically all the volunteers from Double Top but thanks also to anyone who reads this who helps out at these runs. You really are special. After this year is over I'm going to spend less money on race entries and more time helping at aid stations.
Thanks also to Perry and Vikena. My report was critical I know but I do appreciate all that you did and hope that what happened this year works to make future runnings of the race all that much better. Maybe next year I'll personally make and hang the 'Do Not Enter' sign where we went wrong and help out with the course marking rather than criticizing it. We musn't forget that this is all for fun. It really is just a game. And it's all good.
Race count: Liz (6) Scott (4)
Schedule update
There have been a couple of changes to the schedule including Liz squeezing in a run of the LOST 118 run in between Iron Horse and Double Top. She had a great run at LOST, winning the women's race in 25:43 for the 118 mile run.
The other change is a substitution for the Potawatamie run in IL. Instead of that one we will be doing the Wild Sebastian 100 in FL on the same weekend. Wild Sebastian is a new run that just showed up on the list of 100 mile runs maintained by Stan Jensen. This is in the middle of our busiest stretch and swaps a tough race for a flat, sandy FL run with a 32 hour cutoff. It's a amazing how these new 100 mile runs keep popping up every few weeks!
So here's the revised schedule with completed or registered for runs highlighted in yellow:
The other change is a substitution for the Potawatamie run in IL. Instead of that one we will be doing the Wild Sebastian 100 in FL on the same weekend. Wild Sebastian is a new run that just showed up on the list of 100 mile runs maintained by Stan Jensen. This is in the middle of our busiest stretch and swaps a tough race for a flat, sandy FL run with a 32 hour cutoff. It's a amazing how these new 100 mile runs keep popping up every few weeks!
So here's the revised schedule with completed or registered for runs highlighted in yellow:
| Jan 7 | |
| Jan 14 | Hurt - HI (Liz only) |
| Jan 21 | Long Haul - FL |
| Jan 28 | |
| Feb 4 | Rocky Raccoon - TX |
| Feb 11 | |
| Feb 18 | Iron Horse - FL |
| Feb 25 | LOST 118 - FL (Liz only) |
| Mar 3 | Doubletop - GA |
| Mar 10 | Graveyard - NC |
| Mar 17 | |
| Mar 24 | NJ Ultra Festival - NJ |
| Mar 31 | Umstead - NC |
| Apr 7 | Philly - PA |
| Apr 14 | Wild Sebastian - FL **sched. change** |
| Apr 21 | Labor of Love - NV |
| Apr 28 | Salt Flats - UT |
| May 5 | |
| May 12 | Zion - UT |
| May 19 | Keys - FL |
| May 26 | Nanny Goat - CA |
| Jun 2 | Old Dominion - VA |
| Jun 9 | |
| Jun 16 | Big Horn - WY |
| Jun 23 | Black Hills - SD |
| Jun 30 | |
| Jul 7 | |
| Jul 14 | Hardrock - CO |
| Jul 21 | Vermont - VT |
| Jul 28 | Burning River - OH |
| Aug 4 | |
| Aug 11 | |
| Aug 18 | Leadville - CO |
| Aug 25 | Lean Horse - SD |
| Sep 1 | |
| Sep 8 | Pine Creek - PA |
| Sep 15 | Mark Twain - MO |
| Sep 22 | |
| Sep 29 | GA Jewel - GA |
| Oct 6 | Arkansas Traveler – AR |
| Oct 13 | Heartland – KS |
| Oct 20 | |
| Oct 27 | Javalina – AZ |
| Nov 3 | Ozark – MO |
| Nov 10 | |
| Nov 17 | |
| Nov 24 | |
| Dec 1 | Cajun Coyote |
| Dec 8 | Bartram? |
| Dec 15 | |
| Dec 22 | |
| Dec 29 | |
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