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Hyner View 50k RR (Read 37 times)

Daydreamer1


    Saturday was the Hyner 25k/50k race in central PA. This was my third time doing it. THe last two times were the 25k portion. Last year I intended to do the 50k but busted up my ankle and hobbled through the 25k instead.

     

    Normally this race draws a lot of the RA folks from the Pa area, last year we had a group photo that showed 6-7 of up if I remember right and that didn't include BrianRunner. This year it appears that only he and I were there. Rik Keener was signed up but apparently didn't make it cause I didn't see his name among the finishers.  By the numbers: 25k had 1169 signed up with 959 finishers and the 50k had 158 signed up with 128 finishers. DW said that she walked through the registration area after the race started and there were a lot of bibs for the 50k that were still there so there must have been a lot of no shows.

     

    The weather was almost perfect. 42 at the start with a high of about 60 predicted. I chose to run with my Ultimate Direction pack, which I really like. Many thanks to AT for posting that they were on sale otherwise I probably still wouldn't have bought one. I debated between wearing my Hoka Bondi B's or my NB 1210s with the 1210s winning out. There is a lot of water crossings and I knew they would drain well. Since it was rather chilly and windy at the start I wore a long sleeve base layer and threw a white shirt over it. I learned my lesson last year, white is cooler. I was going to take my trekking poles but forgot them at home. I missed these on the long rocky downhills more then on the climbs.  I took my camera since part of the plan was to stop often for pictures. This was a way to help pace myself. Unfortunately there has been some technical difficulties so there will be no pictures.

     

    We started at 7 am. The first 3/4 mile is on road which thins out the crowd somewhat. This is a much more relaxed start then the 25k with it's 1000+ runners trying to sprint to the trail-head. I started at my rightful place, the back of the pack. At the trail-head I was in the back third. This is single track that is mostly flat with only easy rollers. I wished I would have been a little farther to the front as a couple of runners were content to walk too much when I would have been more comfortable jogging. The first climb is probably about a 25-30% grade. I felt strong on this and passed a few people without really stressing myself. After that short hill it become more flat before pitching straight up again. At the top of the hill is a overlook that the area is well known for. About 4 miles into the race with the worst climb behind me and I was about 55 minutes into the race.

     

    From here it was a long, sometimes steep drop back down into the bottom of Johnson's run. Made up some nice time here. Johnson's run is just full of creek crossings. It's amusing to watch people try to get across without getting their feet wet. I just plowed through the water and picked up several more spots. In the middle of Johnson's Run the 50K course breaks off for it's own 25k loop. This starts with a nice 1 mile climb with about 1000' gain. I walked most of this with another runner. I could have ran some of it but decided to use him as a pacer. At the top I refueled at the aid station. 5 miles to the next one they said. In reality it was over 9 miles. The middle one was only a unmanned water dump. This is the best part of the course. A lot of nice running on old forest/logging roads with a very long downhill into Ritchie's Run. This is like Johnson's run except more scenic. It goes up through the hollow following a creek with a lot of crossings. Very beautiful with a lot of nice waterfalls and cascades. Nothing spectacular just very nice. These were the pictures that I hoped would turn out nice. No such luck. At the top of Ritchie's run it was mostly flat running to the 18.5 mile aid station.

     

    I rolled into there feeling decent but needing the porta potty pretty bad. No place in this area to go in the woods. It's very open and you can see for hundreds of yards. Also it was here that my stomach started to act up, right on cue. I had been eating banana's, gels and granola bars. I think if the aid station would have been a little sooner with some real food my stomach would have been happier.  I spent almost 20 minutes here trying to get things under control. From here to the next station was only about 2.5 miles and was nice running but I wasn't able to run as much as I wanted to. I was getting my bloating and belching. Oh well, I still had plenty of time to finish in under 9 hours. At the next stop my stomach was in full rebellion. I tried to eat a little and took a banana  along with me. About 1/2 mile down the trail I suddenly puked, well not really, as it was just retching. Instant relief, not only was I able to start eating again but I was able to run at a nice pace. This lasted for about 2 miles and got me over most of the next climb. By this time the course had rejoined the 25k course and there is a really rocky uphill to the next aid station.

     

    Here it was more bananas and some of my own granola bars then on my way. This is a long rocky downhill and my stomach started acting up again. Unable to actually swallow the amount of food I wanted to I had a difficult time running much of this part. By the time I got to the last long climb I was running on fumes. I still passed quite a few 25k hikers going up the hill. The last 100 yards are so steep that you almost have to crawl up. No energy meant I was hoping that the boy scouts from the aid station there would pull me up. No such luck.

     

    After getting some calories in and refilling with water I headed out. At this time I had about 1:15 minutes to go about 4 miles to hit the nine hour mark. Hell I can walk this out easily I told myself. Final words of a fool. Just after leaving the station I again puked. Great. Now I could eat again which I did while I shuffled down the mostly level trails. Even when I couldn't really run the best I was still able to hike quite fast. I had little concern that I was not going to finish under 9 hours. Then I got to the last down hill. About 1225 ft drop over 1-1.4 miles. All of a sudden my day was over. My left leg below the knee cramped, really really bad. I was reduced to a slow painful hobble. I could have run uphill for another 4 miles better then I could go down that little over a mile. Person after person started passing me. People that had cramped on the uphills were now loving this downhill. I could barely walk without the leg locking up. This was not a big surprise, I always struggle with the downhills more the the uphills in regards to cramping. This year I tried to do a lot of downhill training for that reason. To make a long story short the last mile down took me almost a hour. At the bottom it was about a mile of flat running and I was able to run that except for the one downhill dip. Anything downhill I cramped. In the end I finished in 9:30:45. Disappointed and upset but I got the medal.

     

    At the finish my stomach was totally shut down. It was very difficult to eat or even drink for the next 4 hours. I'm not quite sure what causes my problems with this although I have some ideas. The cramping may have been brought on some by the stomach but I don't think it was the main reason. I was taking in endurolytes and drinking quite well for all but the last 2 miles of the race. The cramping was from lack of downhill training. The downhills on this race are relentless.

     

    I see that Brian posted his report and I'm anxious to see how he made out, but now it's off to work for me. There is a 72+ hour week scheduled so that's a lot of recovery time.


    Occasional Runner

      That's a rough ending to a very tough race. I hope you have a fast and full recovery. Thanks for writing your report.

       

      BTW...This is what I looked like when I finished the Hyner 50k in 2012.

       

      jonferg67


      Endless trails

        Sounds like you had a hell of a day out there. Based on other reports about Hyner I think

        you were being generous about how tough those climbs actually are. Nice job finishing.

        Watoni


          Brutal course .... you finished, which is great.

           

          The closest analog in my life is finishing a 206 mile ride with food poisoning. Dry heaving for 112 miles = about as much fun as it sounds like you were having, and I mean that in the best way possible. One of my proudest finishes of any event ever

          runtraildc


            Congrats on your race, DD1!   With your schedule, I don't know how you fit in the time to train, let alone race.    Sorry to hear about the cramping and stomach issues-- I hope you figure it out.

            AT-runner


            Tim

              Nice job on a tough course.  Agree with runtraildc on not knowing how you can train with your busy schedule.  Glad you like the pack.  I use mine on most of my long runs and love the bottle-bladder combination.

              “Paralysis-to-50k” training plan is underway! 

              TrailProf


              Le professeur de trail

                The bottom line is you got the job done.  Hope you enjoyed yourself (minus the puking).  The 50k "loop" is beautiful isn't it? The lack of people in comparison to the 25k is part of what makes it so appealing - the solitude, the trails, the views.

                 

                One question though - did they say why they changed the start time to 7am? I thought is used to be 8am.

                 

                Maybe we can have a bigger RA group for it next year.

                 

                Great job! Only those who have experienced the hills of Hyner know how tough this course is.

                My favorite day of the week is RUNday

                 

                 

                Daydreamer1


                  Lace - I flopped down on the grass at the house, stretched out and couldn't get up for 1/2 hour without severe cramping.

                   

                  Jon - the climbs can be brutal but I felt strong on them. It's always the downhills that get me.

                   

                  Watoni - I've always wished I could puke to see if it made me feel better. It did.

                   

                  runtraildc - Time to train? What's training? My long runs prior to this were 20, 21 and 22.3 miles. A few 10-13 mile runs but just not enough to get the legs in good shape.

                   

                  AT - I have found that certain bottles don't fit the holders but it's a great place to put stuff like cameras.

                   

                  Jame - I had a lot of fun until mile 22-23. The 50k course is much nicer then the 25k. I think they started at 7 am so the runners finish earlier in the afternoon.  I'll definitely be back next year if possible. If my son decides to run it next year I may decide to do the 25k with him.

                   

                  In general my cramping is better then what it was last year. Last summer I would start to cramp 5-7 miles into almost any run. This year I'm not having that problem. Last year I was taking Prilosec for reflux. After doing some research I found that Prilosec can cause mal-absorbtion of some nutrients so I switched to occasionally using Zantac. Had virtually no cramping all spring until yesterday.

                   

                  On another note I saw that the last runner to finish the 50k took over 12 hours. While that may seem like a long time he's 60 years old and is a amputee!!!

                  muppy


                    Daydreamer, way to tough it out on a tough course, congratulations! I hope you can get some solutions for the problems you had.

                    Sandy-2


                      Great job DD1, congratulations.

                       

                      It's those tough days that give you the most satisfaction (once you're finished).

                       

                      I do need to time one of my visits out that way so I can do that run.

                      2/17/24 - Forgotten Florida 100 Mile, Christmas, FL

                      jamezilla


                      flashlight and sidewalk

                        Nice job on getting it done.  Rough to hear about the stomach issues and cramping.  At least you got the finish.  I'll sign myself up as a definite maybe for next years Hyner...gotta see what all the fuss is about .  Congrats!

                         

                        **Ask me about streaking**

                         

                        jbyram2


                        Eat to run, Run to eat

                          Great job finishing a tough, tough race.  Sounds like pure hell.

                           

                          When does registration open?

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                          Queen of Nothing


                          Sue

                            Nice job DD sounds pretty rough all the stomach issues.

                             05/13/23 Traverse City Trail Festival 25K

                             08/19/23  Marquette 50   dns 🙄

                             

                             

                             

                             

                             

                            Brian Runner


                              The hard days teach your more about yourself than the easy ones. Way to "gut" it out on a tough course!

                              FTYC


                              Faster Than Your Couch!

                                Congratulations, way to stick it out, despite all the trouble.

                                 

                                The 50k is hard on the legs, with that long, tricky downhill at the end. I think you can make or break the race there.

                                Hope you've recovered nicely.

                                Run for fun.

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