Good Golly this is long, so please don't feel like you have to wade through the whole thing....

 

I signed up for this 50k about a month ago on a whim when I came across it on the ORRRC calendar.  Only $25 entry fee, 25 minutes away, and coinciding with my last LR before Seattle, it seemed the right time to cross the Ultra barrier and also run my first trail race.  I asked for and received great advice from several ultra runners here (Arf, JJJessee, SkipAZ - thanks!), and they seemed to think that I would be able to do this.

 

This is a small race, limited to 120 entrants, and held at Englewood Dam Metropark, one of five natural areas created by the construction of earthen flood control dams in the Dayton area. The website said: The course consists of a 7.9+ mile circuit that will be completed 4 times for a total of 31.7 miles. The course is 73% dirt trail, 13% gravel/dirt road, and 14% paved bike trail and park roads. There are only 3 hills on the course of any significance. This is a fairly easy and flat course. 

 

(Let me just add here, that those 3 hills become 12 when you do 4 loops, and I discovered that “fairly easy and flat” has a different meaning for a trail race than it does for a road race.)

 

The weather for race day was beautiful – clear and sunny, 60 at the start and 80 when I finished, but with fairly low humidity.  When I pulled up and got out, I immediately I saw Ingrid, the ultra-marathoner who has a shop in my office building, and she greeted me warmly and we chatted for a bit. She encouraged me to just take my time and pace myself. 

 

These were my goals for the day:

1.  Don’t get injured.  (This is always my main goal, but especially this time since I have the Seattle R&R in 3 weeks.)

2.  Relax and enjoy my first ultra experience.

3.  Finish the distance, but not if doing so conflicts with goals 1&2.

 

Since the course was made up of 4 loops, I figured that I could stop at 3 loops if I got hurt, or felt like finishing was going to put me out of commission for Seattle.  Not that Seattle is a target race for speed, but I still want to be able to run it.  I had no idea of what pace to set, but the website listed the women’s course record as 5:18, so I thought maybe 6-ish hours might be reasonable for me. 

 

There was an aid station at the start/finish shelter with fluids only and a fully stocked aid station (fruit, cookies, PB&J sandwiches, bagels, chips, etc.) at the focal point of the figure 8 loop, so I didn’t carry water, just a belt with gels and s-caps.   Like Mariposai mentioned, the ultra crowd is very laid back, and many (including me) left drop bags at the start/finish, just casually set beside trees or picnic tables.  No one worried that their bags would not be safe: it was understood that they would be.  In my drop bag I had an extra pair of shoes and socks, water bottles in case I decided I wanted to carry one, more gels, Tylenol, New Skin, sunscreen, and a camera. 

 

Here’s a picture of the start/finish shelter, at the end of the race:

 

 

 

 

 

We were eventually called together and started off with a “Go.”  Each lap we crossed the Englewood Dam twice, once out on the upper path and then coming back on the bottom path.  Here’s a picture.  It doesn’t look it, but it’s nearly a mile from one end to the other, and the sun was unrelenting on this segment.  What a relief it was to enter the cooler woods at the end!

 

 

 

 

For the first lap, I hung with a woman in her early thirties and we chatted amiably throughout, and finished the first loop in 1:14.  But I decided that she was setting a pace slightly faster than I wanted to keep, being very concerned about burning out too soon, so I peeled off to make a bathroom stop and let her ease ahead and ran mostly alone after that.  (She finished about 12 minutes ahead of me.)

 

I found a comfortable pace and just soaked it in.  Ohio, in its natural areas, has lovely dense woods.  I ran on shaded, sun-dappled paths, smelling the heady scents of the damp earth and the lush vegetation, and blissed out.  This is the Ohio I love. 

 

I must say they did a wonderful job of marking the trails, hanging 18” streamers in pink and orange from trees at regular intervals and using yellow tape to block off trails when they forked.  If it weren’t for these blocks I could easily have wandered down the wrong trail as I got tired.  There were only a couple places when I had to stop and think carefully about where I was going.

 

When I got to the halfway point, I stopped and retied my shoes tighter.  While this wasn’t a hugely hilly course, the sharp downhills were making my feet slide forward in my shoes and my toes felt like they were taking a beating.  At this point I was already stiff and sore and tired, and wondering how my energy was going to hold out, not so much doubting that I would finish, just wondering how long it might take me.  Interestingly, it never got any worse than that for the rest of the race.  (In fact, the last lap I had more energy than that 2^nd lap – just a mental thing, I think.)  At the hydration station I dug out my ziplock baggie with s-caps.  The man behind the table said, “Are those performance-enhancing drugs?”  “They’re actually birth control pills,” I told him.  He laughed and said, “I KNEW I was working the wrong aid station!”

 

I was advised to walk the uphills and conserve my energy, and I was happy to do so.  As SkipAZ told me, “your definition of uphill begins to change as you get more tired.”  Like the website says, the course is mostly dirt trail, with some gravel road and some paved.  The gravel was a lovely path, but my least favorite to run on, because those sharp little rocks sort of hurt my feet.  Here’s a picture of the gravel stretch, and you can see one of the trail markers hanging from a tree.

 

 

 

 

 

The dirt path was my favorite, the damp earth feeling noticeably gentler, but it was also the most treacherous for shufflers like myself, fraught with those occasional roots and rocks that, in the sun-dappled lighting, weren’t always easy to see.  At about mile #18, the inevitable happened:  I tripped.  But with some spectacular acrobatics, I caught myself and didn’t fall.  Then, a mile later, I did it again, still managing to catch myself and remain upright.  At mile #20, though, I wasn’t so good: my right foot caught on a root and I went flying, coming down hard on my left side and rolling.  I gazed at the treetops for a moment before concerned faces popped into view – the men running behind me stopped to help me up.  I thanked them and waved them on, dusted myself off and walked for about ¼ mile, took stock of my painful parts and eventually decided I was unhurt and able to run.  This happened one more time at about 27 miles, I tripped and went flying, landing facedown somehow with one cheek in the dirt.  At least there was no one to witness this particular piece of indignity, but I rolled up, rubbed some dirt on the hurt spots, and kept going. 

 

 

 

 

After 3 loops, I changed my shoes out.  They were just my regular running shoes, both the same model, but this pair was older and rubbed in different places, giving my feet a break.  After a mile, I had to stop and re-lace these tighter as my toes were complaining again on the downhills.

 

The only restroom stop I made was at the end of the first loop, and I didn’t feel a single twinge from my bladder after that.  Since I generally feel like I have to pee the entire time of any race, this meant that I was not hydrating enough.  It hit me right after I started the last loop.  All of a sudden I realized I was thirsty, not just a little bit, but REALLY thirsty, Good-Golly-Where-the-Heck-is-That-Aid-Station kind of thirsty.  I’ve never encountered that during a race, and have always heard that if you’re thirsty you’ve waited too long, so when I got to the next aid station I stopped for a few minutes, drinking 3-4 cups of water and choking down a Powergel.  It was hot by then, nearly 80°, and I was concerned about getting too dehydrated.  I also took a few bites of a peanut butter sandwich, some grapes, strawberries, and section of banana.  I tried a bit of bagel, but had to spit it out after trying to chew it: my mouth was just too dry to process it.  Feeling refreshed and hydrated, I set out to finish my last loop, (shortly thereafter doing that last face-plant), ultimately finishing feeling surprisingly good.

 

After the race I drove along the park roads and took the pictures that are here.  The prettiest sections of the loop were deeper in the woods than I wanted to hike at that point, but these were parts of the loop that were easily accessible.

 

Nutrition: I took 5 gels and 5 s-caps, roughly one per hour with water, separately, plus the light munching at the aid station on the last loop, and had Gatorade at the other stops.  I should have hydrated better, but the nutrition felt about right.

 

Results:

Time: 5:36:26

12/28 women that started (4 were DNF)

57/110 runners that started (11 were DNF)

 

The previous women’s record of 5:18 was shattered by a 48yo named Linda who came in at 4:25.  She was very impressive, tough and speedy, the CNYrunner or Jdmom of trailrunning. 

 

Here’s me at the finish, tired but elated.

 

 

 

 

Conclusion: 

 

I really had a great time at this race.  The weather was fabulous, the course was beautiful, and the people were friendly and encouraging.  Trails add such visual interest that the time really flies by very pleasantly.  I expect I could have gotten finished sooner, if I had walked less and sped through the aid stations, but honestly, I wouldn’t have enjoyed it nearly as much if I had.  My big concern was about running out of steam before the end, but I felt that I paced it well.  I was tired, of course, but never hit “the wall” and still felt pretty good at the end, like I still had another mile or two in me.  Who knows if I actually did, but it felt like that.

 

I definitely want to do this again.

 

 

Thanks for listening. 

 

 

 

Wow "Dam" good Race and RR (I read it twice) Holly, that was such an enjoyble read with all the details, and you made running a 50K seem almost easy....but I know it wasn't. You my Friend are a very gifted - talented, and HARD WORKING athlete and runner! Your passion for running is an inspiration to all of us, that have had the pleasure of knowing you. A BIG WTG Holly. (Boy, ya sure looked great after running that far, and a few trip ups) Tim

Yippee!

 

What a pleasure to read this report.  You obviously soaked it all in and it doesn't get any better than that.  I really need to run with you sometime.  I could learn much - as I try in vain to keep up!

 

Bill

I also remember when you first joined CR/RA and were a sponge for running information.   You still are,  and it is impressive how you are trying different experiences and enjoying each one.  Great job and welcome to the Ultra world.  I guess a 50 miler is now on the table?

 

 

Steve

 

PS: great RR!

Holly, we all expected you to do well and you came through with flying colors.  Thanks for the great report and pictures.  In addidion to doing so well, it's neat you had such an enjoyable experience.

 

TomS

Awesome job, Holly.  I remain in awe of you! 

 

Eliz

That was a great read.  Nice work, Holly.  I'd say you're ready for Seattle.

What a greta report and *YAY* pictures!! That sure looks like a nice race, Holly, and a very nice introduction to both some trail running and ultras! I'd say you did pretty well as a last long run for Seattle... Big congratulations and I'm so happy you decided to take this on. (I got interrupted a few times reading this so went back to re-read it... then put my phone on call fwd so it would leave me alone!)