May 11-12, 2018

Emotionally, there was a bit of a sad backdrop to this race:  leading up to, during, and after the race.  I had set a goal of 85 miles in 24 hours.  85 was not an arbitrary number, as it was the age of my mother when she passed away earlier this year.  9 days before the race, we finally put her to rest next to my father.  My hope was to make this a commemorative race to complete 85 miles for her 85 years of life.

To add to this, Mrs. Bert-o’s father has been very ill and in and out of the hospital for the past several months.  She has been travelling back and forth from New York to Virginia just about every week.  I insisted that she did not have to come to this race to support me, and of course, her father was without any question much more important.  But she came anyway.  He went back into the hospital again the week before the race, and she was on the phone with nurses, doctors and family members before, during, and after the race.

Anyway, I wanted to get that part out of the way.  Onward….

TRAINING

Since DW was out of town with her father most weekends, I had the time to do a lot of the crazy shit I assumed most ultra runners did… run back-to-back weekend long runs with both 20+ miles, run doubles on both weekend days, run 3 hours fasted, run 5 hours gorging on snack foods, hard boiled eggs, beef jerky, and cheese, then run-hobble-walking to the nearest bathroom b/c of said foods, run with horses, run with uni cyclists, run drinking booze and eating olives, run upside-down…. You get the picture.  Training went well.  Physically and mentally (deranged), I was as ready as I could be to venture into a race of this duration and distance.  My previously longest race and only other ultra was a 50K in December, 5 months prior.  To say I like to get myself in over my head might be an understatement…. Nah.

PRE-RACE

Arriving at the Hess Recreational Area in Danville, PA, we were welcomed by Alvin and the Chipmunks singing Christmas carols over the loud speakers.  I knew I was at the right spot.  As we setup camp, I watched Mrs. Bert-o slowly losing it from the RD’s music selection.  I could see the expression in her face… “if I have to endure 24 hours of this music, someone is going to die.  I don’t care who, but someone must die…”  Luckily for that anonymous someone, the playlist changed.

Just to make sure Daydreamer could find us.  I borrowed the duct tape from XT.

Mrs. Bert-o at Camp Bert-o

Shortly after we returned from getting last minute vital supplies (ice for the beer), Daydreamer found us.  We chatted for a bit.  He gave me some intel on parts of the course we’d be running.  He mentioned something about mud the prior year.  Mud?  What mud?  It was a beautiful day!  Just look at the pic!  He then left to do a little more recon of the course and I wouldn’t see him again until the race.

THE RACE

7:30 PM – 9:30 PM

After a brief announcement from David the RD (no mention of Kelly-business, despite the Porta-potties being right next to the timing mat), we were off at 7:30 PM.  My race strategy was to do 7 laps (~10 miles) every 2 hours that included a 5-10 minute break every hour, and see how long I could sustain that pace.  I figured if I could reach 50 miles by 12 hours, the halfway point, then I should be able to leisurely complete 35 in the next 12 hours.  Easy peasy.

The trail was in nice firm shape and had that crisp fresh feel under foot of a virgin pathway.  There were a couple tricky areas, but pretty easy nonetheless.  There was a long straight section about ½ mile on an old railroad bed.  Some runners didn’t like the gravel, so they ran on the grass next to it.  Smooth or crunchy, you got to choose.  Like my peanut butter, I chose crunchy.

9:32 PM – 8 laps, 11.4 miles.  Mistake #1.  Went out too fast.  I heard AT’s voice admonishing me in the back of my mind.

9:30 PM – 11:30 PM

Mistake #2.  I planned to eat a half pack of ramen noodles every 2 hours (~200 calories) and a bottle of Maurten (160 calories) in between.  Water throughout.  After the first bowl of ramen noodles, I resumed running and all that soup swished around in my stomach.  I was pretty sure that same bowl of noodles swished around for the next 17 hours.  Hydration plan, however, went well as I was peeing often and making sure that someone noticed I was headed in the correct direction coming out of the porta-potty.  I was determined not to be robbed of my glory!

This time of night, the frogs started to sing love songs near the creek.  I thought of how Moonlightrunner might describe the dusk hours with the frogs, trees, long grass, and quiet thumps of the passing runners.  This part of trail reminded me of Algonkian Park that runtrail recommended when I was in NoVA.

11:39 PM – 15 laps, 21.5 miles.  Still ahead of planned pace

11:30 PM – 1:30 AM

Mistake #3.  What was that saying?  Never try anything new on race day?  I never wore a headlamp running before, always a handheld.  So after wearing the headlamp for a couple hours running, the base of my neck between the shoulder blades got tight and sore.  I had to constantly stretch and rub it whenever I went into walking mode.  The pain started to consume my attention and away from my gut feeling like crap.  Around 1 AM a steady rain started, and my pace started to slow a bit.

1:45 AM – 20 laps, 28.8 miles

1:30 AM – 3:30 AM

Mistake #4.  As the steady rain continued, I noticed it was becoming more difficult for me to see.  Every now and then, a relay runner would come up behind me and it looked like a car was approaching me with high beams on.  Was my BD Spot not bright enough?  Damn that warden!  I fidgeted with it, thinking I didn’t have it on the brightest setting.  I stopped at camp, sat, took it off, fidget again and it seemed bright enough, but back on trail, I couldn’t see very well.  Was I going blind?  Crazy?  Both?  After several laps, I finally picked up a knuckle light passing camp and could see again.  It was the batteries in the BD Spot that were dying.

Around 3 AM, my clothes were soaked and I was cold, so I stopped by camp to put on dry clothes and a dry jacket.  It didn’t matter as the steady rain turned into a freezing downpour.  After a couple laps, I was soaked to the bone again.  Even while running, I was cold.  I realized I had to turn it in and wait out the rain, as I had nothing else dry or warm enough to wear.

3:38 AM – 25 laps, 36.3 miles

3:30 AM – 6 AM

After drying off and putting on some dry clothes in the tent, I huddled in my NYC poncho and laid down.  I was upset because I knew AT would yell at me I wasn’t feeling tired or drowsy at that point and didn’t want to stop.  I felt like I was in Sandy’s time zone, wherever in the world that was.  Mistake #5.  We hadn’t planned on sleeping, so we didn’t bring any sleeping bags or mattresses.  So DW and I huddled on the cold hard tent floor and dozed on and off trying to stay warm with rock-n-roll playing in the background.  She set the alarm to go off every ½ hour to check the weather.  Mistake #6.  The rain stopped around 5 AM, but I was sleeping and didn’t want to get up and ended up losing about an hour of running time.  I had a vision of Mr. or Dr. Jamie pouring sugar on me and saying, “you’re doing it all wrong”, even though I never met him.  I quickly woke to the sound of Def Leppard playing Pour Some Sugar on Me.  It was 6 AM.

5:30 AM – no change

6 AM – 7:30 AM

While the rain had stopped for the most part and runners were gradually resuming the race, the first lap pretty much sealed the fate of the race for me.  I entered the trail like a clueless turkey waddling toward LB2 patiently waiting behind a blind to deliver the inevitable.  After the first lap of the morning, I stopped to grab my phone to take some pictures on the next lap.

7:42 AM – 29 laps, 40.9 miles.  Just past half way.

Trail the next morning.  So much for that crisp fresh feel underfoot.

Not much choice here

Yesterday, this was among the most runnable sections of trail

Some “clean” water to wash the mud off the shoes

One of the two “hills” – Warden and Gatsby would die laughing

Back down and into the swamp

They fell a little short with the logs

Just in case you weren’t sure if this arrow was meant for the runners

I’ll probably never eat another bowl of ramen noodles again

7:30 – 9:30 AM

As more and more runners passed through the trail, the surface quickly deteriorated into molasses.  I noticed the difference every passing lap.  Initially, with only 40 miles half way through that included 2.5 hours of unplanned stoppage from rain and sleep, I had hoped 45 miles the next 12 hours could be possible.  With every step through the mud, that possibility quickly vanished.

9:23 AM – 33 laps, 46.7 miles

9:30 AM – 11:30 AM

At some point I told Mrs. Bert-o that I wouldn’t make my goal.  She asked how many miles I did, and after I told her, she said, “how about 58?  The opposite of 85?”  I laughed and resumed running.  Despite the conditions my paces were consistent, even if slower, so physically I wasn’t struggling.  Mistake #7.  Since my stomach was rubbish anyway, despite trying to eat some more and drinking ginger beer, why didn’t I stop by the aid station and start drinking the beer on tap?  After all, my goal was shot.  Golden opportunity lost.  I was certain Q-o-N, Mandy, and others lost all respect for me now.  But FTYC might still have my back.

11:21 AM – 38 laps, 52.9 miles

11:30 AM – 12:45 PM

After thinking about it and with the help of the mud, I decided to take DW’s suggestion and stop at 58 miles.  Then as I was doing the math on my fingers and toes, I knew it would only take 3 additional laps to make 62 miles, or 100K.  I told Mrs. Bert-o that I wanted to do 62 miles.  She disagreed with me, but she was also not familiar with 100K being a staple distance in ultras.  A little later, I changed my mind again to settle for 58.  I figured that if I were to accomplish 100K, it should be where I can complete it with a proper and respectful “Come to Jesus” effort.  Also, I could see that Mrs. Bert-o was getting impatient from sitting in the cold rainy weather for countless hours.  There were more important matters that needed her attention.

Early on my final lap, I caught up with Daydreamer.  We talked while waddling through the mud together.  I was very glad to get to share that lap with him, and it was fitting that it was the last for me.  Daydreamer looked good at that point in the race, and I was happy to see him continue on.  He would make the Trailer Trashers proud.

12:45 PM – 41 laps, 58.3 miles.  Towel thrown in.

Last time across the timing mat

POST RACE

After crossing the mat, I found the race timer to notify him this was my last lap.  He said to just stay away from the mats so it wouldn’t record any more laps.  While packing up and carrying stuff to the car, Daydreamer spotted me and asked if I got my finisher glass.  Oh crap, I forgot!  Another fortuitous Daydreamer run-in.  I briefly talked to David the RD and thanked him for his efforts and this fantastic event, despite the rain and muddy conditions, but that’s also what makes some events more memorable over others.  He gave me a finisher glass and a sticker saying I completed 50 miles.  Mrs. Bert-o and I packed up before the afternoon storm would arrive.  A guy watching the race across from us said he has a time-elapsed video of us breaking down camp.  I laughed but also thought he might have been telling the truth.

As with any big race, there were many could of’s, would of’s, should of’s.  I learned a lot in both preparing for and executing a race of this magnitude.  Even though technically, by the RD’s rules, I did not DNF, in my heart I did DNF, my first ever, because I didn’t finish out the 24 hours.  While there was still plenty of life in my legs, there wasn’t much left in my heart.  Yet by Monday morning I found myself poking through ultrasignup for another race.  Any suggestions?

If you made it to the end, thanks for reading!  I wish I had a sticker to give you.

Hey, I read the whole thing. Sorry that you were unable to get the memorable distance you wanted but geez that trail looks awful after all that rain. I did not realize this race had a night start. That is an interesting twist. Too bad you did not have better trail conditions as it seemed your training was strong going into the race. I guess it happens, but still you stuck it out for quite some time. I think you made the right call to wrap it up per your wife's suggestion. Maybe next time, shoot for a p2p or big loop ultra race instead a short loop where the foot traffic adds to the mess in rainy conditions. Hope you are recovering well!

Nice job, Bert.  Yes, I wish I was there to push you through the funk. A 24hr is a totally different beast, and takes a certain mindset.  The pull of the Tent / Chair / Car / AS as you pass it every 1.44 miles is tough to pass up.

I was wondering why the 58, but now I know.  I think with Mrs. Bert-o, you made the right call. Crewing can be miserable and especially in bad weather.  With her mind elsewhere, she needed to go, and as a good husband, you saw that.

There is no DNF in a timed race!!!  (unless you skip a lap in the port-o-pot) Many people run just to get a goal distance. I run the Labor Pain 12 hr quite often and always go for 50K and then the beer garden.  

Don't think I would have liked the 7:30pm start. If running for the whole 24 is a goal, then waking up after a night sleep is important and the morning start time is the way to go. I saw a few on the FB page say they liked the late start, but more said they hated the late start.

Peter M, the winner, is a good friend. He's won the Sole Challenge several times and we did the 48 hr event last year.

+1 to your new distance PR.  You upped your old PR by a marathon.  So add another marathon (+) and you'll get the 85.

Video of course from FB

As with any big race, there were many could of’s, would of’s, should of’s.  I learned a lot in both preparing for and executing a race of this magnitude.  Even though technically, by the RD’s rules, I did not DNF, in my heart I did DNF, my first ever, because I didn’t finish out the 24 hours.  While there was still plenty of life in my legs, there wasn’t much left in my heart.  Yet by Monday morning I found myself poking through ultrasignup for another race.  Any suggestions?

 

What are you leaning toward? trails, 50K, 50M, another fixed time race? Are you willing to travel or have a specific area you're looking at ?

Thanks Everyone!  Despite the challenging (rainy and muddy) conditions, it was a lot of fun.  I guess when that happens, I should not feel disappointed when readjusting goals (easier said than done).

RE:  Night start.  I really have no comparison to starting in the AM vs PM, but it did weigh on my mind that I would be awake and about for about 13 hours before the race started.  In hindsight, I never felt sleepy until I laid down in the tent.  Even getting up after a couple hours, I was fine once I got the legs moving.  Never had any coffee or felt the need for it.  The short nap helped, I'm sure.

AT / WC - Thanks for the reassurance that there's no DNF in a timed event.  In any case I would like to take another shot at a 24 hour sometime, just to finish out the time.

AT - Where do you get the info on the results?  I haven't seen anything sent from the RD yet, and I can't find anything on the FB page.

WC - I'm still processing what should be next, but I'm thinking a 100K if not another 24 hour race.  I knew I could have completed the 100K distance at Montour, but I want it to be a 100K race.  A couple I'm considering....

Catskill Mountain 100K (8/12) - It's all road but has a 15.5 hour cutoff and a relatively low finisher rate (not sure why, I'll need to do some more research).  About 4,700 ft elevation gain - not terrible.  Maybe being in mid-summer makes this a difficult race.

Pine Creek 100K (9/8) - Easy trail and little elevation. Would be a homecoming of sorts, since this is near where I grew up in Wellsboro.

Boulder Field 100K (9/15) - Don't know much about this race. Hope some PA folks have some info or have done this one.

There's another shorter timed race - BUS Pajama Romp 6 Hour (7/28) - but as the name suggests, it will be for fun. 50K+ goal.  Evening / night format will help being in summer.

 

The timing wasn't updated too often, but I was able to follow along for most of the race.

 

Falcon Timing Montour 24 2018

Thanks.  Looks like I got 21 / 64 OA and 7 / 13 AG.  I also miscalculated the finish, as I only officially completed 57.2 miles.  Oh well.

I understand the feeling that you did not accomplish what you set out to do. However, and it probably little consolation, forging ahead through that muck is impressive. Just get out there and give it your best on the next time.

I’m sorry about your mon’s passing and your FIL’s health challenges. A sad backdrop indeed.

Totally get that you feel down about not making your goal, but I hope that with time, you will realize that you accomplished something pretty darn awesome, and on only your 2nd Ultra.

That mud mud looks miserable. Weather can be such a wildcard.  Yes there were some things you could have done differently, but that kind of mud could rip the heart out of anyone’s race.

Lots of great races out west if you feel like traveling, including a couple 24 hour races at the Presidio in SF where you will not have mud, guaranteed.  You will get your 85 mile goal, I’ve no doubt.