The inaugural Indiana Trail 100 was on April 20 & 21 in northern Indiana at Chain 'O Lakes State Park.

There were about 180 signed up for the 100 and I believe 120 or so, for the 50.

The finish rate for the 100 was about 30%, due to some terrible conditions.

That area received 6+ inches of rain the days before the race.

As a result, there was a lot of flooding on the 16.67 mile loop and there was some rerouting before and even during the race.

The RDs handled the situation so well and made it the best they could.

Many 100-milers chose to stop after 50 miles and others were pulled off/dropped out during the night due to hypothermia concerns.

It was sunny both days, but temps were in the 30-40s and then dropped into the 20s at night with some winds blowing off the lakes.

Michele Yates - an elite trail runner - won the race in terrible conditions in 17:35:17.

We had numerous water crossings - some covered your foot up to thigh high.

Then there was the MUD - short and long stretches of creamy mud that really wore us all out.

I did 2 loops, but I got so cold that I dropped in the afternoon - a couple of nurses said I was on the edge of hypothermia then and it would get worse. I chose to heed their advice, though I really wanted to get 50.

The next morning, my wife and I got up and went to the finish to cheer on the 100-mile finishers - several were friends of mine.

That was a LOT of fun!

I actually felt pretty good the day after running/walking/sliding 33.34 miles, so . . ..  . .

After the race stopped, I went back out on the course and ran/walked another 16.67 mile loop in order to get 50 for the weekend.

I shot some video along the way in oder to make a followup video about the race and course.

If the course had been dry, the finish rate would, of course, been MUCH higher.

I can't wait to go back next year and do my first 100 miler and I will be ready.

Check out YouTube to see some video shot during the race.

Here is my video report of the Indiana Trail 100 showing the tough conditions:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3h2JW8a_yA&feature=share&list=UUe-2iqe00HXfojO2OAq4HRQ

You can control or try and control for many factors in a race but mother nature is sometimes not one.  Those were some serious puddles/ponds/lakes/rivers. You will get it next year!

Tough day out there, especially in those wild, wet and cold conditions.  Great job toeing the line and giving it a go.  The forecast must have been brutal.

Don’t want to sound rude, but just a thought, if you are trained up now and due to mother nature's curve ball you did less miles than planned.  Of course there are all sorts of non-running considerations, but running-wise, why wait a whole year to give it another go? 

Got it, it sounds like you have a plan of attack.  Good luck, we're all rooting for you.

I am doing a 50k in two weeks, an 8-hour ultra in August and looking at a 50-miler or two before the 2014 IT 100.

I honestly was not in 100-mile shape, 50 yes.

So . . . I need to really build up my endurance in order to get ready for the IT 100.

ANd I need to do it carefully - I am still a relative new runner (3rd year) and almost 62.

I bordered on overtraining lately, so I need to plan my schedule for me, not use a cookie cutter plan.

More B2Bs, more longer runs and some very long walks for many hours - especially at night.

Lots of work to get ready and too soon to try a 100-miler just yet.

I see the "almost 62" (which in my continued effort to make all age related numbers look

smaller I think of as 61), "bordered on overtraining" and "More B2Bs" and can't help but

wonder if the overtraining anxiety might be lessened by rethinking the need for B2Bs.

B2Bs can be pure heck for the somewhat-new-to-ultramarathons because they tear things

down--all explained by some mystical need to be used to running on tired legs--without the

explanation of maybe needing additional (not extra) recovery time.  A person can train for

successfully running ultramarathons without ever doing a B2B.

Preapology for butting in.

Another way to run on tired legs is to do some speed or tempo work for a shorter distance (say 5k or 10k) and then go run a long run at a slow pace.  For instance runa 10k at a race pace and then throw in a 20 mile long run.  By the end of the 20 miles, it will feel like 50.  Just another suggestion.

What a tough day, sounds brutal! Still, you made it through 2 loops, great job!

I agree with Jamie's suggestion, doing a fast run (or race) first, then add on a long run. I sometimes do that with small, local FA races - I run there (about 3 miles), or DH drops me off, then I run the race, and then I add on another 10 or 20 miles, so that the whole thing totals around 20-30 miles. And on the next day, I do somewhere between 6 and 15, depending on how I feel.

I am also working on the mental toughness, I have lost some in the last 6 months, not sure why, but I can see it on my uphill runs ("Why run - hey, I'll just walk!") and long runs. This might take some time to actually re-condition myself again and pull things through without questioning them. I hope the summer will help!

I was mentally just tired of fighting the water and mud. I did not mention that I rolled an ankle around mile 25, but the cold water helped "ice" it. : ) When I came into the finish after loop 2, I was not totally sure I was going to stop. I got to the finish line and they asked how I was. I said I was thinking about dropping and they quickly took my ankle timing chip off. I could have said something, but at that point I did not care as much as I should have, so I let it go. I regretted it some later on Sunday morning, when I woke up and felt fine. I could have gone back out and done a 3rd loop within the 30-hour limit and gotten an"official" 50 miles.

But in the overall scheme of things, I would not have been as satisfied with doing 50 that way.

It was actually more satisfying to go back out and do a 3rd loop on my own to get 50 miles in my body for the weekend.

But you could also call it a B2B - 33.34 miles, followed by 16.67. Either way, I got 50 and learned a lot for next year.