Notes
Wow, what a day. The weather started out perfect, low 50’s and a cool breeze. The first 20 miles were great, a few aches and tightness from the usual spots but seems like I can never run more than 15 miles without some soreness some days. I ran the first few miles with a guy from Alabama (yeah I forgot his name), we kept pace and ran comfortably until he had to pee maybe around mile 6. I kept going and he eventually passed me a few miles later. At horseriders while I was filling up my water I got passed by 3 more runners going like the race was a marathon. One of them was the eventual winner Jim Sweeney. So far the weather was perfect, nice and cool, and I was enjoying the lush greens of the forest and that wonderful earth smell that comes in the early morning or after a fresh rain.
I got to Emma Carlin and threw off my shirt, preparing for the dreaded meadows being humid as hell. Surprisingly, they were not bad at all and I was able to move pretty fast through them. It wasn’t until I got to a stretch in the woods that I had to deal with anything steep and technical.
By the 50K mark I was in maybe 6th place, keeping the effort conservative but taking advantage of the cool. I came into Scuppernong (50k) around 4:45 which felt pretty easy grazed on some food and got out of there. I continued to roll pretty smoothly but my right hip flexor kept tightening up until about 40 miles in. By then, everything was generally tired but I could still run a decent pace. Near the end of the meadows stretch I could see a couple of runners ahead of me. Turned out to be Todd Nott and a relay runner. I caught up with Todd and we ran into Emma Carlin. I would later run with Todd for almost 9 miles and didn’t know it when we both came into the aid station.
At Emma Carlin (47 miles) I stopped for about 5 minutes to grab some gels but they didn’t have any. I had to find my drop bag and pull out some extras I packed. I was starting to get hot and I spent about 5 minutes pouring cold water on my head and trying to cool off. Todd was off a lot sooner and my competitive side was already started to gnaw at me saying go catch him.
Finally I got going and into the woods it got hot and humid which was totally unexpected. I figured it would be cooler in the woods with the shade but it seemed like there was no wind and the heat was just trapped. This is where I started to suffer, pretty much up until the last 15 miles of the race. I started walking the hills off and on, not because I was tired but because I could feel my body temp rising as I started to run the verticals and as soon as that happened I got nauseated and short of breath.
About a mile from the bluff road aid station I caught up to the fourth place Todd Nott. He told me to pass but I had already decided I need to slow down. I told him I would just tail him and I’d rather lose a little time in the heat then lose my race. We stuck together another 9 miles up to the 100K mark. While we ran, he asked me what my goals were and I told him sub 18. He said that would be awesome and was going for the grand masters record. We pushed each other during these miles and sometimes forced each-other to back off. It was a rare occasion I got to run with someone in sync with my own pace. I would have been happy to run the rest of the race with Todd but he took off pretty fast after we got the the 100K aid station. At this point we were in the top 3 and 4.
At 100K I met Kristen, and we went back out at a decent clip for about 4 miles then suddenly I was feeling the heat again and had to slow down. I was also gagging on gels now and went through a couple before I could finally get one down. She let me be my stubborn self and ran/walked with me as I tried to figure out how to keep moving as fast as I could. I contemplated dropping at bluff probably 10 times during this stretch...
Finally we get to Bluff road (70.X) and Keith and Francesco offered me a snow cone. Really? But so frickin good and I could eat sugar again (at least for 5 minutes). After bluff road it seemed like I had a little more kick back in my legs and I could start running again. Not exactly what I wanted but it was a start.
On the way out to highway 12 from bluff I passed two 50kers going the wrong way. I told them they needed to turn around and they wanted to have a conversation about how far, where the turn was, etc. I gave them some basic information about confusion corner and how to follow the signs but after repeated questions had to say: “sorry dude, I’m trying to run a race here” and keep going. Maybe that seemed rude but it is pretty simple, head back to confusion corner and look at the huge signs that tell you which way to go.
I get to highway 12 aid station and Robert Werner (RD of crusty 50k and glacial trail) is immediately helping me out, asking me what I need, have I eaten, etc. I’m kind of delirious but grab a couple gels and get going. He makes a point of telling me he will see me back here soon. Thank you Robert, that stuck with me. He is a very respected runner and race director and how could I fathom disappointing him.
On to Rice lake and this is where it gets interesting. Maybe ½ a mile from highway 12 aid station I see the leader, Jim Sweeney hauling ass on his way back. The guy doesn’t look tired at all and he is easily an hour and a half ahead of me. I keep going another 4 miles and about a mile from Rice Lake aid station I see Todd Nott. Holy crap he is #2? I remember I saw the guy that passed me on the outbound of Nordic sitting in a chair. So what happened to the other guy (Chris R.). I got to Rice Lake and grabbed some gels, poured more cold water on my head and saw Chris R. who was in second place most of the race curled up in a fetal position on the ground. That’s what happened.
I headed back out and within a mile had 3 or 4- 100 milers chasing me including John Maas who is a very strategic runner and usually crushes the weak in the last 10 miles. Oh crap. The good news is it is cooling off, and I am able to start to run and not worry about over heating. I can usually push through the pain but apparently I can’t control all the crap that comes with over-heating and it just shuts me down.
I get back to highway 12 and Robert is there again. He says I am doing well, 3rd place and seems to be on my wavelength about knowing I need to get moving fast. I get out and now things are starting to get real. 14 miles to go and I have 3 hours to finish sub 18. To a normal runner 14 miles in 3 hours seems easy, but after running 86 miles and knowing what walking a few miles can do to your pace I know it isn't that simple. I must keep moving and fast. Minute by minute it is cooling off and I can increase the pace as the alarm bells start to silence and it is just my mind against my body.
I see a lot of FLURs on the way back and do what I can to acknowledge their amazing efforts, but the reality is I can barely talk at this point. And oh my god my legs hurt. There is a big blur between highway 12 and bluff but the short story is I tried to haul ass as much as I could while trying not to wipe out on any rocks or roots that I am just too slow or tired to react to.
I got to bluff again and grabbed a gel, talked to Keith and Francesco quickly and grabbed some water. I was hoping Kristen would be there to pace me back but I didn’t see her. As I was leaving she saw me and said she would join me. After that I ran like I was possessed. I was sure I had 4 runners still on my tail and I did not want to lose 3rd place or first masters. I was amazed at how much it had cooled off and it was like someone installed a new radiator in this beat up car. I no longer had to worry about blowing up. Full throttle baby!!! Kristen and I rolled 2.5 miles with her cursing me for running so fast. Finally we got to the 5 mile aid station which I blew right through even though there was an emergency crew taking care of someone and and 30 seconds after that I see Todd.
This is where the line is drawn between racing and fun running. I caught up to Todd and told him to stay with me. He was obviously suffering pretty bad and couldn’t keep up. I kept going hard and hoped in my mind that he would not get passed by someone else. Kristen counted down the miles for me which seemed like an eternity, 4, 3, 2, and somewhere in between 3 and 2 I realized I was now racing for a $500 cash prize (2nd place), maybe more if I caught up to number 1. I had known about this but purposely dismissed it to avoid ruining my race. Then we are at 1 and at this point I know I can take on any amount of pain to finish as fast as I can…. Finally we are there. I see the clock 17:18:XX and sprint it in hoping like hell it doesn’t go to 17:19. I am done. <18, 2nd overall. 1st master.
295 race entrants
238 made to 100K
164 finished
Watch recorded a min temperature of 53 and max of 82 (about 12 hours in) although the average was 73-75 most of the day. Temps dropped below 65 after 10 PM.