I was already dreading this race before the start. It is popular, so I assumed that it would be an easy race. Even without the mud, it would be anything but easy. It is nonstop rolling hills. Some people, like Ryan, might like this style of course, but it doesn't suit me at all.
It was a little chilly at the start. I went with my shell over a short sleeve shirt. I dropped my jacket after the first short loop. That worked out well. It was chilly at times and cloudy most of the time. It got a little hot by the end, but it never was too bad. I managed the temperature at least okay.The start was interesting. It is a giant open field. It's like a cross country race. The snow was fairly nice and crunchy. It was very runnable, but did provide some resistance. I got in decent position.
The first short loop was mostly open fields, but there was some singletrack too. That wasn't bad either. The pace was maybe a little quicker than I would've liked, but it was easy running. I certainly wasn't going to push, but didn't back off too much either.
I got back my bag, near the start, at under 40 minutes. I was doing well so far. I stopped to fill my water bottles with more Tailwind and I saw Ryan run on by. He ran well and I knew that that would be the last time I would see him.
It was now on to the main loop. I settled in with plenty of other runners. There always seemed to be runners around. They were running more than I would've, so I did run more frequently. I still hiked some hills and was passed by plenty of people.
The course wasn't too bad at this point. It was still relatively cold and no one had run on the trail yet. There was mud here and there, but not too much.
It was rolling hill after rolling hill. We crossed the creek pretty early into this loop. That was part refreshing and part freezing cold. Luckily, after some running, it gets better.
After that, it was more hills and some more hiking. At some point in this early going, I was able to settle in and follow another runner. That helped a lot.
The open field section was a little messy, but not too bad at this point. I was able to run most of it. There was an aid station, but I was feeling good at this point, so I didn't stop. I did realize that I was using a lot of my Tailwind though.
We were now on the green trail. We ended up running this park the opposite way of last week's run. This has a lot of up and down. At one point, my friend Wayne caught and passed me. He was looking strong.
The course then goes through the campground and on to a dirt road. This was kind of nice, to go downhill and move faster, but my feet and legs hurt a bit. I ran this part though. After a couple miles, it was on to the aid station. This time, I stopped there. I grabbed a bunch of stuff. I hoped that that would help without having enough Tailwind.
I felt okay as we headed up the Ridge Trail. However, this trail was a huge mess. It was so muddy and tough to run. It was scary knowing that it would only get worse. I was doing a lot of running and hiking.
I looked forward to just finishing the loop. It helped that Destrie was volunteering at the aid station there. I kind of needed someone to complain to. The remainder of the loop was still a mess. The second creek crossing was even deeper and colder than the first.
It was great to finish the loop. I was still on pace for around a 6 hour finishing time, but I knew I wouldn't do that well. My quads had already been feeling like trash at about the half marathon point. It was setting up for a long day. Seeing Destrie and talking with her briefly was a big help.
Going out for the last loop was mentally tough. I knew once I started it though, I'd finish the race. I felt like such crap and thinking of all the mud made me considering dropping out. However, I've never dropped from an ultra and wasn't about to now.
I continued on. The first mile or two of this loop was nice, but then it was a struggle. The miles just seemed to click off slowly. Around mile 20, I nearly got a cramp.
I got to the field section and ended up passing someone that looked like Wayne. I figured that it couldn't be him though. There was a guy dressed like him that had been running around him. I got to the aid station and it turns out it was Wayne. He was struggling and had other plans, so he dropped out.
That gave me a slight boost, knowing he is tough and dropping. Now, I was just going to keep plugging away. The boost wasn't long lasting and we hit the brutal rolling hills of the green trail. They were even more muddy. I was just thrilled that I never fell. I slipped plenty.
I sort of looked forward to the road section, but it was tough. I ran a lot of it, but had to walk some too. It was slow, but at least I was moving. I was thrilled to go over the marathon distance.
I was more thrilled to get to the last main aid station. I took some time to grab plenty of food. My friend Alison caught me there and we got a photo. We ended up running together with another guy for several miles. This section was slow and muddy, but her company was outstanding. I ran parts that I might've walked. I led the way.
Time flew by, but I could only sustain this effort for so long. Alison seemed strong, so after a few miles, I told her to just go on. She flew away and the guy left too.
I got passed by more and more people. The combination of being tired, nearly cramping and the mud forced me to hike a lot. I saw a woman in front of me really struggling. She ended up falling in the open field section. That part was hard to run, as it was so muddy.
I was mixed about the last road section. Again, it was close to a mile and downhill. That made it faster and more runnable than the mud, but still a challenge for my legs. I was happy to not cramp up in this part, even though I came close.
Before this downhill began, we ran close to the finishing area. I could actually see others finishing. That was frustrating. More frustrating though was what was up ahead. More trail running to finish up.
I kind of had some energy left and could. Unfortunately, this wasn't really runnable. It was almost all gradual uphill. It was super muddy. There were even mud puddles. I ran very little, although I did pass the woman that was struggling. I passed only a few people and got passed by a ton down the stretch.
It was nice to finally be out of the woods. Now, it was about a quarter to half mile to the finish. The open fields were so sloppy. I walked some of that and ran some. A few more guys passed me.
I ran on the road, but nearly cramped, so I stretched my calf. I wanted to be able to run into the finish. It wasn't pretty, but I did it. I was so frustrated that I threw my visor at my chair afterward.
It was a well organized event. At least I finished it in tough conditions. Even without those conditions, I'm not a big fan of the course. Others would find it outstanding, but me not so much. I'd like to volunteer in the future, but highly doubt I'll ever run it again.
I battled through dead quads for most of the race. One day, I'll have to figure out how to better deal with that and run a good race. I've run plenty of ultras now, but only one of them has been good. Every other time, I've fallen apart. It's funny because I'm a good road runner, but hate it. On the flip side, I love ultra and trail running, but suck at it. I think do secretly enjoy the torture. If I ran these races well, I'm not sure how much I'd enjoy it.
The best part of the race was actually the social aspect. A ton of different friends were there. We stayed for at least two hours to chat. That was one of the main reasons that I signed up for this race in the first place. The company was great.
This was a nice way to get a long run in. That's something I haven't been able to do in the winter. I'm quite beat, so I think I'll wisely take off tomorrow. This week, I'll run some, but it is all about recovery. I have 40 miles to run again next Sunday. That course could be a mess too.
31 miles - 6:39:51 (12:53 pace) 5325 feet of elevation gain
Finished in 136th place
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