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2/7/2015

7:31 AM

50 km

4:33:39

8:49 mi

Weather

35 F

Race Result

2

http://www.badgerlandstriders.org/DefaultFilePile/RaceResults/JohnDick/JD2015results.pdf

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John Dick Crusty 50K

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Notes

I get to the start and the car says it is 18F... I go inside to register and see a few familiar faces, Michael Borst who makes a habit of winning ultras and could be called midwest elite, his dad Mike who is no slouch and easily won the Manitowoc marathon with a 2:50 in 2013, and Hank Southgate who definitely has some leg speed with a 1:19 half at March Madness (tough hilly course). I chat with Borst who says he has been training on the trails all winter...

Unlike the last time I ran this where I started out slower and hoped to catch the leader (which didn't work anyway), I knew I was going to have to do my best to keep on Michael's heels the whole time. Michael loves to be in the lead but if I could push him to far he might just melt down. The course is 4x6.7 mile loops and one out and 5 mile out and back. I am the only one wearing shorts (at least at the start, a number of runners changed during the race), and besides that I only wear a long sleeve tee and a zip pullover. It's probably 24F at this point and people look at me like I'm crazy, but I know by the end of the race I will be wearing nothing but shorts and a long sleeve tee.

The gun goes off first loop was pretty fast, Borst is out ahead maybe a minute at most and his dad Mike and Hank are right with me the whole time. The course is not too hard yet as the snow was still packed down from snowmobiles. I am running at a pretty hard effort and even with the snow somewhat packed down it is making me work. The cool thing about this course is you get to see lots of runners because of the out and back nature of the first section. I see about 5 runners from the MUDD group, another 3 flatlanders, and a few NLURs. All of them cheer me on and high five, and Hank is like: "what do you have your own fan club?". It is pretty cool getting to share the trails with so many great runners. We get through the first loop and Borst is about a minute ahead, his dad stops to take off some layers and Hank has already dropped back.

Heading out into the second loop the snow is now a complete mess with huge craters shifting under your weight to the point where you are almost losing your balance. Most of my energy goes into keeping my form, staying upright, and trying to pick a line where you can run without sinking in or slipping every step. I slowly increase my gap on Mike and Hank while trying to stay within minutes of Borst. By the end of the 2nd loop Borst is 2 minutes ahead of me and his dad is 2 minutes behind.

The 3rd loop snow is even worse. Nearly 50% of the course is so chewed up that I couldn't really run more than 5 steps without having to pick a new line hoping it wouldn't cause me to sink in 6 inches deep or slip. I see Borst at the turn around and he is now about 5 minutes ahead. I can tell from his wry grin that he is mentally fatigued but his form is good and he looks pretty calm. This pretty much mirrors how I feel except my legs are trashed and I don't know how I'm going to finish off another 15 miles of this. I see Mike after the turn around and he is about 5 minutes behind and soaked in sweat. Hank is easily 10 minutes back and looks like he has decided to just finish this off at an easy pace.

Coming into the 4th loop Borst is still 5 minutes ahead. I'm happy that he hasn't gained anymore time but I know I am going to slow down if conditions don't improve. Luckily they do near the end of the 4th loop because the snow started to melt and pack down, but by then my legs were so trashed I couldn't really speed up that much. About 50% of the trail is now runnable with solid footing, with another 25% still being trashed and the rest a mix.

I get to the aid station for the last loop and throw off my zip pullover, hat, gloves and take off. They tell me I am 7 minutes behind Borst now and I know I am not going to make that up in 5 miles. I haul ass as best I can to finish this thing off strong. I see Borst coming back about 5 minutes ahead of the turnaround, so he now has a 10 minute lead on me. I give him a thumbs up try to go faster. No dice. I finish off with a respectable 4:33, given the conditions at least. I don't know Borst's official time but they told me he was less than 11 minutes faster. Wow, what a tough day...

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