Notes
The Basics: Overall this was a GREAT weekend. Jane and I had a great time with her coworkers on Friday and were able to enjoy some beautiful days on Saturday after the race and Sunday. This was a very good weekend. Yet I must point out that I ran 23+ miles during this 22mi race. I knew that part of the challenge of the race was to follow the trail. Got off course for a just a little bit a few times. No big deal. Around the halfway point I added on at least a full mile though (click on the event url for a map trying to explain what happened). I'll explain the details later. I had a decent lead at that point but definitely couldn't afford to spot my comp that much time. Not exactly an easy course to move up on either. Overall I still enjoyed this race. It was exactly what others described it as though. So it was much more grueling than I imaged it would be. Probably the toughest race (in and of itself) that I've ever done. Every once in a while I get the desire to do a trail marathon or "short" ultra. A race like this makes me think I'm crazy to have those desires while at the same time makes me want to do it all the more. Anyway, here's the play by play:
Beautiful day for a race. Overcast and in the 50s. Slight breeze. Warm enough to not worry about layers but cool enough to not have to fret about the heat.
The race started with the half and full marathoners. For about 100m we were all together and then they turned left while the euro race turned right onto the trail. I wasn't really sure what to expect in terms of competition. Krump's write up from years past made it seem like absolutely no one would be with me early on, but you never know. I actually had two guys right on me for the early part of the race. They were clearly breathing heavier than I was. One guy was pressing so hard it as actually kind of awkward. Did he not know what we were running a full 22mi and that it wasn't going to get any easier? About 10min in we missed a turn and found ourselves at a dead end. I followed my steps back and got back on the path. The two guys we were with me just scaled the little wall that kept us from the actual route. That got both of them in front of me. I caught one pretty quickly. I took my time catching the other guy but eventually got him after a few minutes. I thought I as back in first place. After a few more minutes I realized that someone else had actually taken the lead. He must have not missed the turn and put in a big surge to take advantage of our mistake. I wasn't in any hurry to catch him. There was still a lot of race left. I was confident that eventually I'd get him. There were a ton of stairs - up and down - and really tight turns during this section of the race, so it was hard to really get moving. Eventually I caught him at almost exactly 30min. Anytime we hit open space I would pull away without any trouble. I wanted to focus on staying easy and relaxed during the first hour. Apparently I am really bad at going down stairs though. Every time we hit a longer staircase heading down, this guy would catch up to me. The last I heard from this guy was right at 40min. He caught fully up to me on some steps down. Then we hit an open stretch where you were just rolling through lawns. It was pretty hilly but at least I could get into a quasi-rhythm. I completely lost him over the course of the next few miles. The next 30min turned into my favorite part of the race. I was all alone and was just able to enjoy the scenery and the quietness.
Unfortunately, as we hit a bay at the far side of the lake I got thrown off course. I was trying really hard to follow all of the signs, but apparently I missed one or at least misread one. Instead of turning left to take a road bridge over the bay, I stayed close to the water and looped around. As I got to the other side I realized that the gate to get back underneath the bridge (hard to explain the exact layout...sorry) was closed. I tried to cut across some parking lots to get back on course but they were completely gated. By the time I got back on course I had added on at least a mile. I knew that I had been passed by some people but did not know how many. It was a little bit hard to control my frustration at that point and I think that took some energy out of me. I spent about 20min pressing the pace trying to catch people. During that time I only caught one guy who said we were in 5th or 6th. At no point could I even see another person in front of me. I tried to manage my frustration and just enjoy the race. Maybe I'd catch people, maybe I wouldn't. I went back and forth between dying and getting second winds. By about 2:10 I was really hurting though. I had passed one other guy but was hanging on for dear life by the time the end of the race came. I guess I as 4th overall (the online results are wrong at least for the time being. They have me a minute slower than I actually was and finishing behind the guy I know I held off at the end).
I can't actually guarantee that I would have won. I figure that I added on at least 6min and maybe as much as 10min. Hard to say what would have happened if I hadn't gone off course. I felt super good up to that point. Maybe the guy who actually won would have still caught me. I certainly did not run fast the last few miles. Maybe I would have maintained my multi-minute lead and still won by plenty. Hard to say for sure either way. Not signed up for next year yet but there's a good chance that I'll return. This race will certainly not be at the top of my running resume. They can't all be winners. But it certainly was a "fun" and super grueling race. Unlike anything else I've ever done. Running through people's yards while they were mowing them or laying down new bricks for the path. Constantly changing terrain - boardwalk, stairs (easily the hardest part), mud, sand, grass, limestone. Constantly bad footing. No mile markers. Water stops were nothing more than a case of bottled water sitting on a picnic table (being the first one to the water stop usually meant I had to to be the one to undo the plastic wrap on the case). Great change of pace.