As I am sitting here contemplating how to tell this story I cannot believe this race has come and gone already. I first dreamt of completing a 50 mile event several years ago and was partially into the training program when I made a career switch and my training was sidelined. The flame continued to smolder in the back of my mind all these years and it was finally time to make the leap to this distance. The amazing thing is that it did not destroy me. It beat me up for sure but I completed my goal and am able to sit here today 4 days later and tell you about this adventure.
This journey actually started a year ago when I signed up for the 50K distance at this event. Unfortunately Mother Nature had other plans for the day. Torrential rains, flash flooding and lightening forced a hard decision on the Race Director to cancel the event an hour before start time. Part of me was relieved to not have to run in those conditions but on the long drive back home later that day the disappointment settled in as I had trained really well for this event. A short while after returning home an email came from the Race Director stating that we would all have the opportunity to use our registration for the following year if we chose to. This was a very generous offer that a lot of races do not have in place. After some consideration I decided to apply last year’s fee to this year’s registration. My husband’s Uncle Steve would run his final 50 miler while I ran my first 50 miler. Hubby Mark would crew us while his Sister and Brother-In-Law would run the Half Marathon and later join in the crewing/supporting effort.
Steve and I at the start trying to stay warm.
This year the weather looked promising and Mother Nature certainly made up for the year before. Start time for the 50 miler and 50K was 6:00am and the temperature was in the mid 40’s. A perfect start! The start and finish are in the Willard Middle School parking lot which is a stone’s throw from the Highline Trail which the race is run on in its entirety. We started on time with approximately 125 runners which left plenty of room to spread out.
The first 2.25 miles are paved but the balance of the trail is a combination of mostly crushed gravel with some grassy rutted areas thrown in to keep you on your toes. This is a rails to trails (old railroad tracks) trail with no more than a 3% grade.
The first aid station was at the end of the paved trail with a surprise porta potty. I say surprise because this was to be the only aid station lacking that amenity. I was relieved to see it there and made quick use of it before grabbing a cup of water from a volunteer. I was using my Nathan Vapor Howe hydration vest fully loaded with two soft flasks filled with Tailwind https://www.tailwindnutrition.com/and was supplementing with water from the aid stations.
The runners had spread out a bit by this point but I could still ahead that I had not lost sight of the large pack. My idea was to start slower than I would normally do as I had never covered this distance and did not want to crash “too soon” but I figured it was inevitable that it would happen at some point. My Brother-In-Law lovingly referred to me the night before as “rabbit” as he says I start to fast which is funny considering how slow I run! I did look down at my Garmin 220 watch to check my time and sure enough I was going faster than I thought, only 10:20 or so but still too fast for this distance. I slowed down and made it a point to not run any faster than an 11 minute mile, trying to keep it closer to the 11:30 pace. I felt good at this pace.
As I was running in to the 10 mile aid station there were signs indicating that there were BBQ Ribs, yes that’s right RIBS! Not only did they have ribs but they had BACON! They were actually cooking it there on site and the smell just immediately drew me to the table. I always thought that bacon would be the best aid station food ever and it surely was the tastiest and most satisfying food I have ever eaten at an aid station. As this is an out and back course I knew I would appreciate them even more the next time I passed through. All of the aid stations were great and all the volunteers were amazing but 10 gets my vote for best. Word has it that there may be a little competition between stations next year as all the runners were raving about this one! I was starting to feel some heat on my toes so off came the socks and shoes so I could reapply the Trail Toes lube I was using. Mark refilled my flasks and sent me on my way.
The next two aid stations were each 5 miles apart so I knew this was going to start getting harder. A longer time to let doubt start creeping in. A longer time without seeing anyone else. Just. A. Long. Time. I made it to and through each of the next two aid stations without any doubt creeping in however. By the time I hit the 20 mile mark I was starting to add in walk/run intervals. I was getting tired and it was getting hot. The forecast predicted a high of 68 but it felt closer to 80 in the sun. It felt like I was running on the skillet used to cook the bacon! I grabbed a peanut butter and honey sandwich which tasted amazing and headed out to the turnaround point at 25 miles. This was another rough patch and I started thinking that once I reached that point I ONLY had 25 miles to go – Ugh! I still thought I was doing pretty good and had seen several runners (50k & 50m) coming back which was encouraging. When I got to the turnaround however I was told that there were only 2 other 50 mile runners behind me. What?! I did not see 50+ 50 mile runners pass by me did I? Oh well, I shrugged it off and was on my journey back – looking forward to more bacon.
It is funny how much hillier this course seemed on the way back. Mark made several stops at road crossings to cheer me on which really helped but each time I saw his orange shirt in the distance I would think that I made it to the next aid station and I perked up a bit only to realize I had not made it just yet. That only meant that I got to see him again soon! After one of these Mark sightings a song came on my iPod that reminded me of him and how amazingly supportive of me he is and I started crying. (Train, I got you – “You’re the sun through my window warming my skin, I got you”) I have always known how lucky I am but knowing that he was out there driving all over and waiting for me and having just as long of a day as I was having along with the heat and exhaustion I was feeling was overwhelming. I am a lucky girl!
I was starting to do a bit more walking than earlier and was starting to play games with myself to keep moving forward. (Walk to the next shaded portion and then start running. Walk for this next song and then run the next song, or if you run faster for ¾ mile then you can make up the time from walking). At mile 40.5 my watch died! Now that can mess with your mojo for sure. I felt like I was running the same pace as earlier but had no way of knowing or no way of knowing my mileage or how far to the next aid station. This happened right after I refueled with bacon so my mood was good!
One of the many road crossings on the trail
Less than 10 miles to go! This had been the longest run I had done to date. I thought I would get emotional at some point over that fact but it never happened. I just kept moving forward. Walk. Run. Walk. Run. I took in all the sounds of the birds and barking dogs and appreciated the sunshine and the shade when it came. I was surprised that there was not more tree cover on the course.
As I approached the last aid station which was 2.25 miles from the finish I told myself I was going to run it in, no walking this last portion. As I sit here recalling this now I cannot remember if I actually pulled this off. I thought I did and told everyone I did but now I am not so sure. I feel like I might have had some short walk segments. Isn’t that funny?
I saw Mark’s orange shirt in the distance as he was standing near the after party tent which was now being taken down. I was not disheartened by this as I felt a great deal of satisfaction knowing that I had made it (and that he would have an IPA waiting for me). He ran the last few hundred feet with me and let me run through the finish shoot with my arms up in the air in victory! I was greeted by one of the female volunteers with a huge enthusiastic hug, a finisher’s medal and the special ultra-finishers award. My official finish time was 12:09:38.97.
This same volunteer along with Mark helped me take off my shoes (ahhh) and helped me into my Oofo recovery sandals. I then said thank you to everyone and made my way to the car for a quick wardrobe change. Hobbling over to a large rock I sat down and began to enjoy a Springfield Brewing Company Greene Ghost IPA and waited for Steve to come in. As we discussed the day I recounted stories of cheerful volunteers and happy friendly runners I had met along the way. The course was in great condition and there were many bridges to cross. I laughed as I told of my “camel” sighting which turned out to be a camel colored horse. That was only at 15.5 miles so it was way too early to be hallucinating!
Greene Ghost IPA from Springfield Brewing Company tasted so good after 50 miles!
I was so impressed by the volunteers and the organization of this event. I was the third from last finisher and not once during the day did anyone make me feel bad about this or show any signs of fatigue. Each and every volunteer encouraged, helped and advised me as if I was one of the lead runners of the event. I am so grateful for all of them as they helped make my first 50 miler a success!
As it turns out I did not see 50 runners pass me after the 25 mile turnaround because 11+ runners dropped at some point and several never made it to the start line. A total of 36 runners completed the 50 mile event.
A long day came to a close and yet another adventure in my bad ass life is only a memory, but what a great memory!