The day after the race I couldn't do much so I set down and wrote up some notes. I was going to edit this down to a much shorter version but figured that would take too much time so here's the long version. Very few pictures because I took none and there are very few posted on FB.

Training:

Plans were to do several long runs of around 30 miles on the same type of roads that I would be running on. While the hills wouldn't have been quite as long I thought that the steepness would be about the same. In the end that didn't happen. My longest training run was around 17 miles with several others that were about 15 miles. While all uphill and downhill there just weren't enough of them.  Doing the Boulder Beast, while fun, wasn't a lot of help because that was almost all technical trails.

Gear:

Bought a new pair of Hoka Bondi 4s and they didn't disappoint, feet, ankles and knees were never a problem. I broke in a new pair of the double layer Wright Sock.  I wore a pair of heavier shorts because I thought it was going to be colder, While I didn't overheat, I would have opted for a lighter pair had I known how warm it would get.  Initially I was going to run with a long sleeve base layer and a short sleeve shirt and take along a light rain jacket. Then temps were to be in the 60's so I went with just the shirt, left the rain jacket in the vehicle and placed the base layer in the backpack.  Since I have cold hands a pair of gloves were tucked in a side pocket as well.  Decided to run with my UD pack and only put in about 30-36 oz of water to keep the weight down. And while I'm sure it looks weird I carry a water bottle for my Perpetuem.  Topped all this off with my trusty Blues Cruise hat.

Nutrition:

Started off with 36 oz of water mixed with 3 scoops Tailwind, a bottle of Perpetuem (780 calories),  two Granola bars (360 cal) and 3 hammer gels (300 cal), and two packets of Tailwind (400 cal).  I had two drop bags. One at 20 miles, the other at 35 miles both with additional Perpetuem, granola bars and Tailwind.  When I tallied everything up that I was taking along it was over 5000 calories.  In addition to that I would have the aid stations to get extra stuff at.

Elevation Profile

The Race:

Located in Rothrock State forest.  It's a 50 mile loop that draws about 120 ultra runners every year and whole bunch of relay teams with anywhere from two runners to as many as eight.  It starts and finishes at the same place where Rothrock 30k does but this is run all on the dirt roads in the state forest. There is some paved roads but not a whole lot.  There is no flats, it's all uphill or downhill.  Any flats are just an illusion.  There are 11 legs ranging from 2.9 miles to a little over 5 miles.

Day of the Race:

I started off in my normal place, dead last.  I prefer that as there is no jostling of being in the crowd jockeying for position.

Leg #1: 3.2 miles.

Surprisingly most people started out at a reasonable pace.  No 5k sprint for the first several miles.  At 7am it was still dark so we needed some lights and I had brought mine. Some people didn't.  The start is one of the flatter sections for the first 1/2 mile then It's uphill for almost three miles. Not very steep and easy to run at a easy pace. Didn't talk much but could have so I kept at that pace. One thing I like about this race is that there is a porta-potty or restroom at every aid station.  Of course I had to stop at the first one. Also grabbed some water and flat (not) coke. The fizziness kind of bothered me for the next mile or so.

Leg #2:  4 miles.

Chatted with a couple of people just doing a nice easy pace. All gentle downhill with nice easy running, probably about 9:30-10:15 pace.  Grabbed some light snacks at the aid station and drained my again full bladder in the porta-potty.

Leg#3. 3.8 miles.

More downhill, more nice easy running. Caught up to a runner wearing a shirt advertising all his heart problems, bypasses, stents, heart attack, pacemaker, and asking why you were behind him.  Started a conversation, heard about how bad my one employer screwed him up (I don't doubt it for a bit), followed with how my other employer fixed him up. Turned out he's a well known runner from central Pa, who also puts on two fatass events in Perry County.  Rolled into aid station 3 where I needed to add water and Tailwind to my bladder then use the rest room......again.  (Feeling like Jack at this point) .

From a previous years race and lifted from FB. There was a lot of color like this this year as well.

Leg#4. 5.6 miles.

This one started to climb back up with about 850' of climbing. Some descending as well but a lot more climbing.  At this point I was either running by myself or with relay runners who had started later but were now catching us.  It was on this section going up one of the gentler inclines that I passed a man with a 75-79 age bracket sticker on his back.  Huffing and puffing like a steam engine. I made some small comment and got back a dour reply. Because he was huffing so much or because he was from Maine I'll never know.  Hit the aid station at mile 16.6 and did my normal. You know, use the porta-potty. Oh yea, I grabbed some food and water and headed out. Really would have liked to have a drop bag at this point because I was out of Perpetuem. Gels and granola bars were OK but getting Perpetuem would have been nice.

Leg #5:  3.4 miles.

For some reason I don't remember much about this section. It was mostly downhill and went along pretty well.  I do remember eating a granola bar and my stomach saying, bleh. Rolled into this aid station at the 20 mile mark and grabbed my drop bag. Replenished my Perpetuem and got my extra Tailwind and other items and headed out, but not before hitting the port-potty.

Leg #6.  4.1 miles.

Straight up the mountain. really narrow road and by now there were tons of support vehicles passing. Most were really nice and gave as much room as possible. Lots of cheers and cow bells, especially for the Ultra runners.  Juniata College had two vans on the course. One a older blue one was driven sensibly. The other one was driven like it was in a NASCAR race. Surprised the idiot didn't hit anyone or roll it down over the side of the mountain.  It was here that I started to have stomach problems. I had got my Perpetuem a little too late.  I walked the entire hill so this really hurt my time. The old guy from Maine and I traded spots several times.  Got to the top of the hill and the aid station was jammed. I wanted some coke. All out. Really other than having a porta-potty the station was a waste  and at this point my stomach wasn't liking granola bars.

One of the few scenic overlooks

Leg#7: 3.7 miles.

Left there and my stomach turned sour and the bloating started. Couldn't eat, had just water in my bladder as I had decided to take a break from the Tailwind.  About a 1/2 mile out I was at the point of walking only. Talked with one other ultra runner who was suffering. He had run some 50ks this summer and after the last his body wouldn't recover and now he could only walk. Another lady passed me and said that she had struggled on the hard hill but had recovered and thought we had plenty of time to finish and off she went. Me, I staggered along trying to puke but not able to. Finally about 1/3 of a mile from the next aid station I did. Just my normal, all a release of pressure, but damn when I barf it's violent and loud.  Jogged into the aid station, cleaned them out of coke, scarffed  a bunch of other stuff down, filled up with Tailwind and headed out down the road.  It was here that I found out that there were only two other Ultra runners behind me.

Leg#8: 4.3 miles.

I ran every inch totally invigorated.  Passed a few relay runners, the old dude from Maine and dueled with a relay runner who finally beat me in to the next station. A lot of downhill and my legs felt energized although my quads were starting to hurt.  Got to the next aid station and found no Coke. Come on people, the stuff is cheap. Some guy waiting for some relay runners had some extra and gave me a small can. A little hard to defizz which wasn't the best but it worked.

Leg#9: 2.9 miles.

Uphill. This was a walk/run and I was feeling pretty good. It was also here where It started to rain. Nothing biblical, but a nice steady rain nonetheless. When I was just about to the next aid station I caught the lady who had passed me earlier. She was now a little concerned about the last cutoff since we had one more climb to get there.  This aid station was manned by what appeared to be a younger husband and wife team who knew what they were doing. Well set up with a canopy so everything was dry and they still had supplies. I think some of the other aid stations had allowed relay runners to help themselves which they were not supposed to do.  Got a lot of help with resupplying from my drop bag and getting things together.

Leg #10:  5.5 miles.

Just a easy little uphill they said then downhill to the next aid station and the last cutoff time. I didn't call the climb up easy, damn thing was steep.  Got over the top and headed downhill. Felt like I was flying but really was only turning in about 11 minute miles. Steep enough that my quads were starting to cry.  The final mile or so was actually through a residential area and on paved roads. I ran on the edge of some yards to avoid the abuse of the pavement.  This aid station was at a real nice lake but was pretty much stripped of food.

From FB. Looks like around mile 42 of this years course. One of the few sections that wasn't in the woods.

Leg#11: 5.3 miles.

Almost all uphill. At this point my legs were shot and I ran out of Perpetuem. Stomach was tired of Tailwind. I had hoped that if I got out of the last aid station before the cutoff that I would not get pulled. When I was leaving the one volunteer that was directing the runners told me to pay attention to my pace. Wasn't real nice about it. Kind of acted like a grumpy cop who is always yelling at people.  Basically at this point I wasn't able to run so I was just hiking along although I was actually turning in some really good times for walking.  Now I was regularly getting passed by a car from Maine and one from Virginia. They would pass me and park along the road and I would pass them. I figured out that it was the wife of the old guy from Maine and the husband of the one lady that I passed several times.  As this progressed I could tell that the runners were catching me.  Sure enough when I got to the last aid station the lady came in right behind me and headed out. This station was manned by two older ladies. Considering that it was damp and dripping rain as well as getting dark they were fabulous.

Leg #12:

A short climb then all downhill.  My stomach was really starting to get bad again and I couldn't barf so all I could do was walk. Soon it was cold and dark so I pulled out the gloves and light. I heard something behind me and sure enough it was the old guy from Maine. Plodding along, huffing and puffing and looking like he was dead but still going.  I left him go then started to get concerned that I might not make the 12 hour cutoff and might not get a medal and official time. 10 miles ago I couldn't have cared less but now I kind of did.  An then I suddenly barfed. Sounded like someone was getting killed by Sasquatch but damn it felt good. From then on out it was just jog through the dark. About a mile from the end I got really close to the old guy and probably could have caught him but just couldn't do it to him. I crossed the line 10 seconds behind him in 11:56:48:28. Don't know if I would have gotten a medal if I was over 12 hours but it doesn't matter.  The lady from Virginia was still there looking pretty beat up. It was her first 50 miler as well. The guy from Maine just said a curt  "good job", just think he was a typical Mainer, not super talkative. He looked pretty much done in.

Aftermath:  I left DW drive home. I couldn't really eat anything and had several episodes of dry heaving. Got home and my stomach just wanted to churn like it was full of acid. Tried light foods along with taking a Zantac, a Priolsec and even a Zofran.  Nothing worked and then I got severe hiccups. As long as I was reclining there were no hiccups but if I set up or stood up they were violent and painful. Never had anything like that in my life.  I took several Endurolytes on the way home and in the hours afterward. I finally fell asleep in my office chair and woke up about a hour later.  Headed off to bed and woke up this morning, tired, stiff, sore and with a stomach that just doesn't want a lot of food.

I wish I could figure out why my stomach reacts the way it does. I probably consumed a good 5000 calories on the course.  I've had the same problem when I take in a whole lot less except then it starts much earlier.  I lost track of how many Endurolytes I took because they had them at the aid stations.

Will I do it again? Probably not unless it's as a relay. If I were to do it again I would want DW to drive the course and crew for me.

Nice job and very introspective RR.  Love the Jack line.

Don't know about the stomach thing but since you had so much relief vomiting, it sounds like an acid issue (lactic acid build up from the running and/or acid production from stomach)  Ginger works great for me to get rid of that feeling. Usually give a pretty good belch too.

I'm betting you do it next year.

Congrats on your first 50... one could say you really gutted that one out!

Seriously though, it seems you do have some fueling issues in your races. Granted the 50 is longer that others that you have done but I seem to recall similar issues at other distances? Hope you can figure it out. I do like coke during ultras but typically not until much later in the race when I want a sugar/caffeine like kick. Early on not so much...granola bars, I don't think much of those for racing, but it's such an individual thing. I hope you can get it dialed in.

You met Don Halke!!! Great guy.  Muppy knows him too.  His FAs he puts on are nice too.

You should try your hand at a trail 50 - like Stone Mill.  I think you would like it.

Not sure about the stomach thing.  Have you asked your doctor about it?

Good job though! Hopefully you don't regret doing it.

I have contemplated this race for a few years now.  Maybe in 2017.  Maybe.

Way to get it done Dreamer! Big congrats man! It amazes me that you can puke not just once but twice and continue on strong. I have never puked in a race and would probably curl up and lay down if I did. You are a tough runner man! Lets see that medal!

AT - This is a bet I probably can win . Oh I've been thinking about doing it next year, but the issue is that it's on my weekend to work. I could take off some time but DW also works that weekend and if we end up in Montana for a mountain man/woman rendezvous , she wouldn't be able to get off for this as well. So the only way I'll do it is if DS would decide to get a few friends together and we would run it as a relay.

As far as the stomach issues go, I've been thinking about this a lot lately.  Looking back over the years I've always had a problem with some burning/nausea/bloating when my stomach gets empty. That goes all the way back to my early teenage years. It seems like as long as there is something in there digesting the acid is under control.  If It's liquid calories or a steady stream in small amounts it doesn't seem to bother me to take in a lot of calories other than I may have to take a few poops along the way.

I think what I'm going to try next is to reduce the concentration of Perpetuem. I'd been putting in 5-6 scoops in 20-24 oz and that goes down really well. The problem is that can cause a lot of bear attacks so I try to ration the calories by not drinking as often. I'm hoping that if I reduce to 3 scoops per bottle and drink more steadily that may keep the acid at bay.

I did a comparison between this race a COTW. AT COTW I used almost 4 bottles of Perpetuem, plus Tailwind and other food. That was for a 28 mile race that took me 9:45 to complete.

Congrats!!  Way to go.