31 December 2010

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What a way to finish out my first year of ultrarunning. It couldn't have gone better, well, I guess it can always go better but I'd like to close out the year feeling content. And this race certainly gave me the opportunity to feel great about the way I finished out my first year of running ultras.

29 December 2010

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Well, this really wasn't a training run. I ended up with a short 3 miles. I had decided to renew my gym membership in anticipation of the New Year and my goal to start properly cross training, again. And since one of my running buddies (Richard) will be receiving his new favorite toy, a wifi treadmill, shortly, I figured I'd get out my dusty Garmin foot pod and head to the gym for a little jog on the dreadmill. I am a bit of a tech junkie, so I am all about tracking everything. Since I've been running outside without hitting the treadmill for over a year, I hadn't used my foot pod at all since I got my new favorite toy (Garmin Forerunner 310XT) six months or so ago. No use for GPS indoors so I wanted to use my firt gen Garmin foot pod to track my mileage. Like I said, I am a tech junkie. I started running at an easy pace and the 310XT displayed the proper pace as well as the distance...or so I thought. I kept increasing the pace slightly over the course of 15 minutes as I was trying to get a quick 4-5 miles in the books. I'm supposed to be tapering for a 50K this weekend, so no need for high mileage or intensity. However, when I looked at my watch I realized that while the current pace was accurate, it showed I had only run half a mile while the treadmill showed close to 2 miles. I guess the foot pod wasn't working as expected, so I headed outside to use the GPS signal on my 310XT to calibrate the foot pod. I completed that task after .5 miles or so. Afterwards, I just called it a night. I might have to do some more research on this problem, if it doesn't work the next time I head to the gym for a run. Of course, that won't happen unless Richard ditches James, Mike and me for his treadmill, but he promised that will only happen below 40 degrees;-)

27 December 2010

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All I can say this morning is "wow"! What an amazing background for our early morning trail run. With all that picture snapping, I was barely able to get my run in and the overall time it took us to run 8 miles this morning shows it. But how can you not take as many pictures as possible. These pictures are the last evidence of a White Christmas in Huntsville, Alabama. None of the true locals I know recalled ever celebrating a white christmas in Huntsville. And it wasn't just a little snow, we actually had upwards of 5 inches, which is quite a lot if you're living in the South. While driving conditions kept us off Monte Sano mountain the last couple of days, we were not going to miss this opportunity to run the mountain in snow and ice. The picture below shows Bluffline Trail heading down from the top of Waterline Trail.


James, Richard and I met up at Richard's house at the bottom of Monte Sano mountain at 6AM so we could catch the snow on the mountain in full daylight once we got there. We ran up to road on Bankhead Parkway and turned into Tollgate Road and onto Old Railroad Bed Trail, heading towards and onto Alms House Trail. James wantes to see what Waterline Trail looked like in these weather conditions, so we had decided to run up Waterline Trail and loop back down the mountain and home afterwards.


The picture above shows the bottom of the waterfall at the upper section of the Waterline Trail. There really wasn't enough rainfall this time prior to the snowfall and low temps to create large sheets of ice, but at least we spotted a couple of icicles;-) The trek up Waterline Trail wasn't as bad or icy as we expected. Hikers had pretty much cleared a path the previous day. It wasn't until we started to climb up next to the waterfall that it got a little more challenging. Once we reached the top, we had a great view of the winter landscape around us. The picture below show James and I at the top of Waterline Trail. It is really difficult to look cool in your winter running gear, especially when your face is covered by a mask;-)


But better warm than fashion conscious, I say. Once we reached the top of Waterline Trail we headed down Bluffline Trail. This section was easily the prettiest trail section we ran today. The snow cover made for some awesome pictures.


Like I said, I spent more time snapping photos than running today. Once we reached Tollgate Trail, we had to slow our pace once more to keep our footing on the icy rocks. I loved every minute of this run today. The picture below shows James and Richard continuing on as I stop again to take pictures.

23 December 2010

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Today, I decided to take Anya out for a trail run. Since she is training for her first half marathon, I figured I'd take her on a trail run to break up the monotony of her road long runs. However, to prevent injury so close to her big race, I decided to choose a flat trail and there is none better, or flatter for that matter, than the Wheeler Wildlife Refuge trail. This trail runs along the Tennessee River between Huntsville and Decatur. I ran this trail for only the third time, but it is quickly becoming a favorite run of mine. It has a few side trails and jeep roads to venture out on or you can just stay near the river.

Anya and I decided to run along the river out and back for two hours, which would end up being around 10 miles. It was a perfect day for a run, a little on the cold side (30 degrees) but the sky was clear and there was no wind to speak of. I actually ended up dressing to warmly, unable to shed any layers later in the run. My winter running jacket clearly needs to stay in the closet unless the temps are in the low teens. It ended up being a great run and I can't wait to do it again.

22 December 2010

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I woke up at 3:15 AM this morning unable to go back to sleep, so I went ahead and got ready for my 5:30AM run with James, Richard and Ed. We decided to run an out & back from Research Park to Rainbow Mountain and its trail loop. When we got to the bottom of Rainbow Mountain it was still dark. It also had been raining quite a bit overnight so we decided not to run the Rainbow Mountain trail loop but instead turn around for a nice 9 mile run. James had overslept, so he joined us at the bottom of the mountain only to have to turn around once we got back to their office so he could get his car. We all really enjoyed this run realizing that 50 degree temperatures would be a thing of the past for months to come.

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I went for a short 5 miler this evening around my old favorite running loop around UAHuntsville. The temps were really mild around the mid 50s and I figured I'd enjoy them, especially considering that it was the official start of winter today. I am sure these types of temps won't be around much longer. My favorite running partner Anya is getting ready to run her first half marathon very soon and I figured I'd join her on some of her training runs leading into her big race. I can use the mileage anyway as I am trying to ramp it up leading into my 100 mile trail race in February in Huntsville, Texas. While I have been running ultra races very frequently over the course of the year, my training mileage has not been quite what I'd like it to be. I need to get back into the 50-75 mile per week range much more consistently.

20 December 2010

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It was 5 AM and 25 degrees outside when I got up to get ready to start the week with a flat road run. James and Richard cme over to my house to run a new street route, also known as "Richard's Adventure Run"...according to Richard anyway. We took off at 5:30 AM and headed down Jack Coleman to turn left on Holmes Ave and Jordan Lane towards Drake Ave, where we turned left again. Richard had worked out a route that would lead us past Parkway Place Mall and through downtown before reconnecting with Holmes Ave to head back to my house.

We kept an easy pace throughout, allowing me to check out the different characters roaming the streets in the early morning. Aside from the occasional person on his or her early morning commute to work on foot or on their bicycle, there was one individual who had either started to party hard really early or he was still partying from the previous night. We actually had to leave the sidewalk and run on the road for a moment as he literally used the entire width of the sidewalk to "walk". I probably wobbled just as much as this gentleman when I crossed the finish line at my very first ultra just a year ago...obviously for different reasons;-)

18 December 2010

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I got up at 5:30 AM and picked up Richard. We drove up the mountain to meet James and his buddy Ed at the hikers' parking lot to go for a 17 mile trail run. Ed was a trail virgin and we were all wondering how he would handle running the first half of the Mountain Mist 50K course. He is actually registered for the race and today was literally the first time he went for a trail run.

To my surpirse, Ed handled it really well. I, on the other hand, was struggling a bit today. It appears my groin strain from a previous run is still a bit of an issue, so I had to back off little towards the end of the run. We ended up running about 17 miles in pretty cold temps around freezing. I opted for three layers on top (half zip base layer, short sleeve tech shirt and wind breaker) and compression shorts covered by running tights at the bottom. We also needed a headlamp for the first 30 minutes of the run as it was still dark around 6:15 AM when we took off. We ran a little over three hours and I was spent after finishing up. I think I need to learn to back off during training runs and training races, keeping my eyes on the big prize (or race, to be more exact).

15 December 2010

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4:30 AM...the alarm goes off...way too early. It's dark and cold...very cold. I started texting Richard, James and Mike to see if anyone else was feeling gloomy, lazy or whatever else you wanna call not wanting to get out of bed on a cold winter morning. Anyway, it appeared everyone was awake and asking themselves the same question. After a few minutes I was awake...no point in looking for excuses any longer so I got ready, had my cup of coffee and a half a bottle of Propel and headed over to Richard's house.

Mike had already arrived. We all jumped into my car and headed up the mountain. The forecast was predicting snow, sleet and ice rain, but not until later this morning so we figured we'd be ok to drive up to the state park for a quick loop on our favorite trails. When we arrived at the hiker's parking lot, it was still very much dark and the ground was covered by patches of snow. The ground was frozen solid for the entire run with some patches of ice thrown in for fun.

Richard came up with a loop a little different from our usual routes. We headed down the North Loop trail and turned onto the Kieth trail before reconnecting with the North Loop trail again to finish out the run. While I do feel a little sorry for the guy, I can't bring this topic up for one of our running crew and then fail to do so when another fellow runner experiences the same fate...and in miserably cold and unwelcoming conditions. Today it was Mike's turn to loose a sock. Sorry, buddy.

Anyway, after getting our heart rates to climb in unisom with the trail, we arrived at the top of the North Loop trail and headed back to my car. While I was reluctant to get out of the house intitially, once again I was so glad I did as it was another enjoyable run on the local trails. We ended up with 5.5 miles at an easy pace.

13 December 2010

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The Tashka Trail ultra was held for only the second time this year after having its inaugural running last year. It is a two loop trail race around beautiful Lake Lurleen in the aptly named Lake Lurleen State Park (duh!) just outside Coker near Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Race directors Mike Higgins and Walt White picked a fantastic spot for a trail ultra. For me, this race was a tale of two halves. It resulted in not one but two firsts for me in ultra running. Coming off a new 50K PR just three weeks ago, I clearly overestimated my abilities when I toed the starting line. More about all that later in this race report.

Pre-Race
It took a couple of text messages (close to ten, I think) to convince Richard to squeeze another ultra into our schedule. I just could not resist entering an ultra so close to home that I had read about on another ultra race website less than a week ago and I wanted Richard to partake in the fun, too, even if it took a little convincing;-) We decided to drive to Coker, Alabama the morning of the race rather than spending the night in a hotel. That meant getting up at 2:50 AM to drive down there in time for the race. After picking up Richard at 3:30 AM, we made our way to Lake Lurleen State Park in less than 3 hours including a couple of pit stops. We arrived in time to pick up our race packets, admire our newly acquired swag (see picture above) and put on our trail shoes. We got to the starting line just in time.

The Race - First Half
The race start was signaled with "Jingle Bells" (bells that were actually jingling, not the song;-) at 7 AM sharp. At this time, both the 25K and the 50K starters took off. The 5 mile race start was scheduled for 7:15AM. After doing some preliminary race research about the actual course elevation, which required some serious math (actually, guess work would be a more appropriate description) and looking at the results from the inaugural 2009 race, I set a couple of goals for myself. First, I would try to finish in the top ten for the first time in an ultra race (this goal was purely based on my evaluation of last year's results and ranking myself in comparison to last year's participants' rankings on a handy website called Ultra Signup). Second, if the course was as "flat" as I figured it could be, I would also attempt to shoot for a 5 hour finish. Looking at my previous results, the second goal was the loftier of the two, but I was going to try anyway.

With these goals in mind, I lined up in the second row. I was focusing on my pace with the goal of completing 6 miles for every hour and I was well on pace for the first 6 miles. Actually, I completed the first 6 miles in 57 minutes and if you think that was too fast, you are correct. It was way too fast as there was no way I would be able to maintain this pace. As expected I completed 12 miles in almost 2 hours flat, which meant I really slowed down on this section, but I was still on track overall. As I was following a group of runners for almost the entire first loop, I kept wondering if all of them were running the 50K or if all or at least some of them were running the 25K. I have the tendency to get sucked in with runners in front of me. Even though I knew the runners around me could potentially be in the 25K race, which meant that their pace would be much faster than mine to begin with, I stayed with them.

When I came around the corner and saw the finish line for the 25K runners as well as the halfway mark for us 50K runners, I checked my time...2 hours 30 minutes. If I continued this pace I would finish in 5 hours. Of course that would only be true if I had the ability to maintain this pace for another 25K. Had the course been flat, I might have had a 1:100 chance of doing so. It was not...

The Race - Second Half
While the course did not cross any mountains or dip into valleys, it did have its share of challenges in form of continuously rolling hills, a handful of switchbacks and a couple of very short but steep climbs. When I arrived at the halfway mark aid station at the South Trailhead and checked my time, I quickly realized that there was no way for me to finish in 5 hours. Although I had been feeling great for the entire distance so far, I was getting tired quickly. I had skipped a couple of aid stations and really didn't feel like eating. The pacer I'd been running really caused me not to be as hungry as usual. I had stuck to my schedule of one SCap per hour and one gel per hour, but I didn't eat anything else. I also was not able to check my fluid intake as usual. Not being familiar with the exact distances between aid stations, I was struggling just a little in calculating my appropriate amount of fluid intake. I did stay hydrated, but I wasn't as confident as usual that I was doing it as well as I should.

As I refilled my bottle, my mind started wandering and wondering how to proceed from here on out. I quickly decided to fall back on my secondary goal of completing the distance in just under 5 hours 30 minutes. Not knowing where I was in the field, I figured that would still give me a shot at finishing top ten (this guess was purely based on last year's results). However, as I took off running, I just did not feel the same anymore. The spring was gone from my step and I felt deflated for some reason. My heart rate was fine but I felt out of breath. I was about 2 miles into the second loop and realized that there was no one around to have idle conversations with. When I'm in a slump talking to fellow runners usually helps me find my rhythm back. I figured that I would soon see other runners as they would slowly but surely catch up to me. My pace had slowed significantly, by almost 3 minutes per mile. I was thinking to myself that this was even worse than by crash in my very first ultra just a little over a year ago. However, this time there was no one around to keep me going or to take my mind off it. Instead, I had to dig myself out of the hole I had fallen into.

I fell back onto my old tactic of "running from aid station to aid station", which was just a little sad being that they were only about 3 miles apart. But I needed something to get me going. What happened next really didn't help. As I looked across the beautiful lake I could see the finish area in the distance. I knew I still had about 10 miles to go when I heard the echo from the finish line race announcer proclaiming "and here comes the winner of the 50K in a time of 3 hours and 59 minutes". No joke, during the brief time I could see the finish area across the lake and hear the echoes of the crowd rippling over the water, the winner of the race was announced over the bullhorn. That really didn't do anything for my mental state. I started to do other calculations in my head as I slowly continued to move forward..."now it should only be another 2 hours before I'm done...not even a half marathon...just another 10K...I might still be able to finish in five and a half hours", etc. I am sure most of you have had these types of conversations with yourself at some point in your ultra running adventures. As the miles and minutes slowly ticked by, I waited for someone to pass me, but no one did. It was strange. Finally, with 5 miles to go another runner passed me...let me rephrase that, he smoked me...flew by me...made me feel like I was literally walking...yes, that's how fast he went by...a "now you see me, now you don't" kinda moment. Very humbling...no, actually embarrassing is probably the better term at that time. Sure, after the race I felt truly humbled, but during the race I just felt stupid.

As I was approaching the final aid station before the finish line, an out and back aid station at the North Trailhead, I was welcomed by the cheering and clapping of the volunteers. Knowing that I only had about 2.5 miles left to the finish kept me moving, but their encouragement meant so much more than that knowledge. However, this aid station also left me with the only regret of this entire race: Since I couldn't really stomach any food other than orange slices since starting my second loop, I missed out on the already world famous hot potato logs. As my running buddy Richard confirmed, they were to absolutely incredible.

As I was readying myself for the final leg of this race and the two short but steep climbs during this stretch of the race, the encouragement of the aid station volunteers got really loud again. This time it was for a lady runner that now appeared on the trail. She must have been a local because the crowd got really loud;-) It was at this point that I decided that I had to try to push one last time to try to finish strong. I am sure most of you assume that I didn't want to get "chicked", but honestly, I really didn't want to get passed by anyone with just over 2 miles remaining in the race. I had not seen a fellow runner over the last 2 hours or so and that little pride I had left at this stage did not want to get passed now. (The guy passing me at mile 25 was the exception, of course. I was convinced that he had to have been the winner of the 50k race going for an extra lap, lapping me in the process; he was just that fast when he passed me. As I found out later, he was just a fellow runner with a much better sense of pacing than me.)

I started to pick up the pace ever so slightly. I was ready to finish this thing. I knew there was not much left and I would still be able to put a respectable time on the board, at least from my personal perspective. I power walked the last two climbs and tried to push the pace on the downhill. As I was descending down the trail for the last time before being spilled out onto the final road section, I managed to turn my ankle just as I was entering the road. That figures. I had stubbed my toes a couple of times during the second loop as I was dragging my legs behind, but I did manage not to fall once. The trail was deceptively technical with its many roots hidden by the fall leaves. But it was mostly runable terrain.

The Finish
As I saw the finish line around the bend, I picked up the pace once more. I crossed the finish line at 5 hours 40 minutes and thirteen seconds. While I did crash badly during the second half of the race, I did manage that top ten finish (tenth overall) that I had set as a lofty goal before the race. I did not accomplish my original time goal, but how could I not be satisfied with a top ten finish? As I "collapsed" at the finish line to catch my breath before filling out my race card, Richard tapped my shoulder from behind. When he completed his first loop, he had decided that he would not wait for that hamburger for another 2-3 hours and instead opted to call it a day at the 25K distance and to enjoy the great food provided at the finish area right away. Having accomplished one of my goals at this race and having enjoyed the experience and the course, I am definitely going to be back next year to get that 5 hour finish I was striving for unsuccessfully this year. While this was a small race, I am sure this thing will reach its capacity in the near future. Thanks very much to the RDs for putting on a great event on an excellent course, with awesome volunteers, great food, and fantastic swag. I will be sporting that Tashka 50K beanie for all my upcoming ultras during the winter season;-)

08 December 2010

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Temperature dropped yet again for the coldest morning run to date. James, Mike and I met at their office at 5:30 AM and decided that the cold called for a shorter tempo run today. We just didn't want to be out there long. We chose the Research Park to Madison Square Mall loop we hadn't run in a while. We started out slow until Mike and James started to set the pace, slightly faster than ususal. I kept my eyes off my Garmin and just tugged in behind them, mostly trying to stay warm.

As we made our way around the mall our pace continued to increase, but I kept going. I felt it but it felt good to go a little faster than usual. After mile 5,my lungs started to burn a little, but I couldn't slow down now. I had started to take the lead in our little running group and I didn't really want anyone to pass me. Mike continued to stay close, trying to make up time he lost retying his shoes. While this was "just" a training run, we often take the opportunity to push each other just a little bit. I guess there's a little bit of competitiveness in all of us...and especially me;-) When we finally finished the run, my lungs were on fire, my heart as racing and I even dryheaved a little. It was definitely a worthy training run

When I got home and uploaded my Garmin data, I realized we had run negative splits literally for every mile we ran. I definitely need to incorporate these types of tempo or speed runs more regularly into my training schedule. Oh yeah, I just registered for another local ultra I just found out about last weekend, the Tashka Trail 50K near Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Should be fun.

06 December 2010

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Nice, the coldest morning of the year, yet. On the schedule, our usual trail run from Five Points up to Monte Sano Mountain and back, basically a trail run straight up the mountain (on Tollgate Trail, Cold Springs Trail, State Park Ranger Station) and back down the mountain for a run close to 10 miles out & back.

We all met up at Richard's house at 5:15 AM, well most of us, Richard, James and I. Mike was stuck behind a train. When Mike finally arrived, we took off on our usual route. Richard had to turn around early and once we got to the to the Land Trust parking lot on Bankhead Parkway, we started picking up the pace a little, for no apparent reason. And once we got going,we really didn't slow down much. Instead, we ended up pushing down the mountain on the way back as well. The result was a time almost 15 minutes faster than our previous best. Once I got in my car, I realized that an actual sheet of ice had formed inside the bandana I was wearing around my neck to keep the wind out. Thankfully, we were all well prepared for a cold run. I was wearing three layers (one too many), long CW-X running tights, fleece gloves and hat as well as a neoprene half mask covering my nose and mouth. I had no problems with the cold at all. I was actually a little too hot. So, bring it on Father Frost! I am ready!

04 December 2010

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The weather was perfect for a race this morning. Upper 40s and a slight overcast. While the forecast predicted rain for the afternoon, I would encounter a light occasional drizzle during the race. I kept going back and forth between gear choices for the race and finally opted for a long sleeve tech shirt, shorts and a cap.

The "Over The River And Through The Woods 5 Mile Race" was held for the first time this year to celebrate and officially open the Flint River Greenway in the Hays Nature Preserve. Huntsville mayor Tommy Battle was in attendance to officially open the Greenway before the start of the race. The race start was conveniently scheduled for 9 AM, which meant I was able to sleep in until 7 AM;-) Being the first running of this race, attendance was rather small, with around 80 runners toeing the startline at 9 AM. After a short speech and a quick blast with the horn, we took off.

I started out just a little too fast, running the first mile in around 6:40 minute pace. My goal was not not try to race too hard but to stay just under 7 minute per mile pace. I haven't been doing any speedwork lately, so there was really no good reason to try to push for a PR. Instead, I wanted to try to stay relaxed and keep a good steady pace. With a little help from an unofficial pacer, I managed to keep the pace. Kathy, thanks for letting me run with you for most of the race. I don't think I would have been able to maintain a steady pace otherwise.

At the 4 mile marker, I still felt pretty good. I decided to try to pick up the pace a little bit, trying to ensure a sub 7 minute pace for the race. I even managed to pick off one more runner with half a mile to go to finish eleventh overall. I am usually too spent to pass anyone on the final stretches of short distance races. This was a fun race and I am sure it will just keep growing from year to year. Hopefully, the city will continue its commitment to expand and extend the already existing greenway system. Events like this race are certainly a great way to promote and utilize their existence.

03 December 2010

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Another freezing morning. The weatherman describes temps in the high 30s, but it was definitely the low 30s when I stepped out of the door. My car's windshield was frozen inside and out. When I finally made my way to the usual meeting spot at James, Richard and Mike's office, everyone was already waiting, ready to get going. While Mike was still out (work? sick? not sure, I am getting mixed information from my running crew), James brought along another runner and an ultra virgin, Ed, who joined us and who happens to train for his first ultra marathon, the Mountain Mist 50K here in Huntsville, Alabama on January 22, 2011 (Ed, you better get some trail running under your belt before Mountain Mist;-) The three of us opted to run mostly roads today, heading through Research Park and towards Bridge Street Mall and Target on the weay back for an easy 8 miles or so. Half way into the run, James and Rich thought it'd be a great idea to run down an escalator the wrong way. It definitely got my mind refocussed. Would have been too embarrassing to fall during a little challenge like that;-)

I had almost run out of warm running clothes, so I ended up running in my Brooks winter running jacket with a short sleeve tech shirt underneath and running tights, gloves and a running cap (I had run out of all my winter running hats). It kept me toasty enough and it didn't really warm up by the time we finished up our run.

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I decided to keep my running streak going and ended up getting a quick 4.5 miles in around UAH. Richard came by my house at 6PM and we left from there. I made sure I bundled up as it was already rather cold, maybe upper 30s. As soon as the sun goes down, temperatures have been dropping dramatically in the last month or so. Winter is fast approaching, even in the South. I ended up overdressing, wearing one too many layers, but I figured I'd rather be hot than cold, especially for a shorter run like the one we did. Richard's knee kept acting up. All systems are go for me right now with one little exception...the left (and sometimes the right) achilles tendon stays somewhat sore. It's not really a bad pain, jsut more like a slight twinge that stays in the background. I do want to get rid of it before February and Rocky Raccoon 100. Little twinges turn into major desasters during those distances.

01 December 2010

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Once again I awoke before my alarm went off. Looking out the window, I really would've rather gone back to bed for another couple of hours. The temps were in the high 20s and the raods were wet. It just didn't look inviting outside. Anyway, I pulled out some long running pants, gloves and a hat as well as a short sleeve underarmor type shirt, a long half zip running shirt and a running jacket. All bundled up I drove over to Richard, Mike, and James' office for an 11 mile run. When I got to their office only James was ready to go. Richard and Mike used work as an excuse not to go;-) James and I took off at 5:30am going our usual route towards Rainbow Mountain. James and Mike had found an interesting looking path on Google Earth and James was set on figuring out exactly what this path was all about. On our outbound leg, James and I headed straight for Rainbow Mountain, heading up and around the mountain loop. We were really booking it today, running all the way up the mountain without any walking or hiking breaks, which is pretty hard to do on those trails. On our way back, we turned left on Explorer Boulevard so we could pursue James' hunt for knowledge;-) When we arrived at the suspected entrance to the "new" trail, we noticed that a large construction site was located right at the suspected trail. As we entered the area, we realized that they were actually building a park at the site and that the "DNA" strand or helix shaped trail was a gravel trail running the length of about half a mile. It was surrounded by an asphalt road that was being built for park visitors and ran around the trail like a racing oval. Amazingly, Google Earth imagery was already showing this artifical trail that was still under construction. As we were running the asphalt loop, James and I started to wonder how long it would be until someone started marking the road for distances to do speedwork or intervals. I'm sure it won't be long;-) Considering all the exploring and trail running involved in today's loop, our actual running time was actually pretty impressive compared to our usual times, especially the section heading up the Rainbow Mountain trail loop.

30 November 2010

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I decided to go for a run after work today, which meant headlamps would be required as I was not interested in another road run. I stopped by Richard's house around 6pm and we headed up the mountain to Monte Sano State Park. As we drove up Bankhead Parkway we quickly realized that it would be an interesting run.Visibility was quite limited due to fog. It wasn't any better when we got to the hiker's parking lot. When we got out of the car, we noticed that the drizzle had actually turned into sleet. Once we started running the South Loop trail, we also realized that almost the entire trailhead turned into an ankle deep creek. Add to that temperatures in the low 30s and we had ourselves an interesting trail run, if only for 3.5 miles. It's definitely fall season. The weather was pretty nasty, but I truly enjoyed it. We got everything trail running has to offer.

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It's been a while since we had more than just two members of our running group. Today, James, Rich and I went on our new favorite hill workout trail run, from Pratt Ave to Tollgate Trail up to the Monte Sano State Park Ranger Station and back. The temps were in the mid 40s with occasionally strong winds. At 5:30 AM headlamps were a necessity for the oubound leg of the trail run. During the entire run, the trail surface was pretty difficult to navigate. Fall foliage covered the rocky and technical sections of the trail. However, oce daylight broke, the fall foliage is also what made this trail run quite enjoyable, with leaves covering the entire state park in multiple colors. Overall, I was feeling pretty good with only my achilles tendons still being a little sore early during and after the run. I will have to start coming up with good stretches to try to address these achilles issues. These little twitches could become much more serious during a 100 miler if I don't address them now.

25 November 2010

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Another perfect day for a race, the temps were in the low 60s and no real wind to speak of, really perfect conditions to try for a PR again. Well, I did say try, didn't I...cause it certainly did not work out that way. I did improve my overall finish result in this race, however, by finishing 30th overall out of 1100 or so runners vs. 39th overall out of 950 or so runners last year. Even though my time was 25 seconds slower this year than last. I dare to speculate that it was due to the slightly warmer conditions vs. last year. The fact that I haven't done any speed training to offset all of the ultra races and training runs could have something to do with it, too I guess;-)

It was a rather large field and I just lined up in the second row of the starting line. When the horn blew, I was off. There is one advantange to not having slower runners lined up before you...you will not loose any time due to having to get around them. However, the biggest caveat is the fact that, more likely, you will now be chasing the really fast guys, which will mean blowout before even reaching the halfway mark. Obviously, that's exactly what happened...and with that, my PR was out the window (or off into the road ditch).

However, a much better overall finish and a bunch of friends I got to see along the way and before and after that race still made this a very fun event. A perfect way to get yourself ready for the chores of the day...eating Thanksgiving turkey until you pass out that is.

The PR goal still stands...break 20 minutes before 2011, and there are only a couple of races left to do that. We shall see if I will have to wait another year. However, it will not be for a lack of trying...training maybe....but not trying;-)

23 November 2010

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A few questions came to mind during today's training run. Is it too late to duck once you hear a gunshot? How fast are alligators? And do they eat German meat? While I won't be answering these questions, my training log will explain why I am asking them;-)


First of all, a big thank you to Mike Giacobbe, the manager at the local running shop Runner's Depot in Sunrise, Florida. He was kind enough to point out a great spot for a run after I unsuccessfully scoured the internet for a decent trail run while on business in Sunrise. Proof again that local running shops are a great resource for local running information and not just the latest gear.

Mike recommended a fire trail (dam) along the edge of the Everglades Wildlife Management Area accessible through the Markham Park in Sunrise. The section of trail that I ran on started at Everglades Parkway, also known as Alligator Alley. That name was the reason for my concern related to alligators, especially when a rather large animal scurried away from the trail very quickly and back towards the swamp. While I couldn't tell exactly what this creature was, it was moving lots of branches and groundcover suggezsting it was rather large. It was doing this at a speed much...much faster than I was running which was the basis for my concern. Whatever it was, I wasnt going to outrun it. Reminder to self, do NOT do pickups early in a training run, especially when there is a chance you have to outrun a large animal late in your run;-)


While Mike didn't mention alligators, he did say that I should not be alarmed when hearing gunshots during my run. Aparently, Markham Park also is the site of an open air shooting range. So when I did hear gunfire, I did not drop and crawl as my eight years of military service had taught me. Instead, my mind started wandering...wondering if a stray bullet could somehow find its way through the thick forest separating the trail I was on from the shooting range. The mind is a funny things, especially when you are out on a run by yourself with nothing else to do except enjoy the scenery and the occassional mind game.


About 3 miles into my run, I realized that the sun was slowly going down and that while there probably weren't any alligators anywhere near the trail I was on, I didn't really want to find out for sure in the dark in an area unfamiliar to me. So I opted to turn around for an even 6 miles for the day. During the return leg of this nice out & back run, I noticed how quickly the sun went down. By the time I reached the end of the fire trail about half a mile from my car, the sun was gone. That's what I call perfect timing;-)


The scenery on this run was quite beautiful, the swamp of the Everglades on one side and a water canal on the other side of the fire dam I was running on. While I was trying to keep my tempo up just a little more than in recent runs, I did take the time to take some nice pictures of my surroundings. Hopefully, they will convey some of the beauty swamps can provide. I enjoyed the silence around me...aside from the occasional gunshot...or the scream inside my head when I thought I was about to make the acquaintance of an alligator.
Pictures to follow...

21 November 2010

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Well, I made a promise and I intended to keep it...and I did...partially anyway. After running the Dizzy Fifties yesterday, I knew a rest day was definitely in order. However, I also promised my better half that I would try to accompany her for at least part of her longest training run to date. Her half marathoin training plan called for a 10 miler and while I knew 10 miles would just not be a good idea for me today, I figured 5 wouldn't be too bad if used to loosen up my joints and muscles. I actually felt pretty food. The weather was just right, upper 50s to low 60s with a light breeze. The sun stayed hidden behind the clouds, which made for a very enjoyable experience. Our pace was just right for me today as it allowed my body to relax. I'll be traveling to Florida this week, so hopefully I'll find a nice spot for a training run while down there.

20 November 2010

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What a great day for an ultra. What better way to complete my first year of ultra running than by running the race that started it all for me. I have to admit, the signs for the race for me personally were not that great. I had just experienced my first DNF at my first 100 mile attempt at the Pinhoti 100 two weeks ago due to some serious never before experienced knee pain and after laying off running for a week to recover and easing into running with 20 miles of easy training runs, I was not sure how my body would react. I knew mentally, I really needed a good race experience to make up for my disappointment. But physically, I had no idea what to expect. I had already registered for my next 100 mile attempt (Rocky Raccoon 100 in the "other" Huntsville in February 2011) and I knew I needed to be smart about this. In other words, as soon as I felt any kind of twitch, I would have to stop. Any race between now on February needed to be a training run. Ah, who am I kidding, I will always try to better myself when I participate in a race. I guess the trick would be to find a balance between both my competitiveness and my health concerns;-)

Pre-Race
Race day didn't start out very promising. I had to ask Richard to pick up my race packet Friday afternoon, since I wasn't returning from a business trip until Friday at midnight. By the time I got my stuff ready for race day and went to bed, I had 4 hours of sleep remaining until I had to get up. I got up at 5AM, had my obligatory pre-race coffee to get things moving and left my house at 6AM for a 15 minute drive to the start of the race at Monte Sano State Park. Most people had already arrived and were making final preparations at the staging area, a picnic pavillion right next to the race start that we could use to leave our personal race stuff and any dropbags as we would come by this station 6 times before the race was over. Some runnrs would visit the aid station even more often since there also was a 40 and a 50 mile option. The race is laid out as a figure eight loop and the pavillion is located at the center of the figure eight. We would have to report to the timing table every time we would enter the station to confirm our arrivals after each loop.

The Race
Around 6:25AM Race Director Jeff Kyser got all racers together for some last minute instructions related to the course. At 6:30, we all lined up on the road and without any further comments, Jeff sent us off with something like "Let's go!". It was funny, some folks were not sure if this was the actual start of the race until they saw everyone taking off.

My plan was simple, hit a target pace of just under 11 minutes and run until my knee or other body parts would start acting up. At that point, I would drop out of the race. After all, my long term ability to run is more important to me than finishing a couple of races. The first little loop (2.3 miles) was pretty uneventful as I tried to find my running rhythm. This loop is only run an the start of the race. Afterwards, 50k Participants would run what's known as the North Loop (4 miles) and South Loop (5.59 miles) a total of three times each. I settled somewhere in the middle of the pack and hit my stride early on, chatting with a couple of different guys on the way, all from the Southeast area. I would meet some of them again later in the race. As always, this type of conversation makes time fly and before I knew it, I had completed the first North and South loops.

The North loop is the more technical section of the race with a few ups and downs, while the South loop is a rather flat loop with very little elevation changes. However, both of them are mostly single track trails and both provide some beautiful views across the Tennessee Valley, especially in the fall. Some would consider this trail 50K a fast race course, providing many the opportunity to shoot for a personal best. The total elevation gain for the 50K distance is slight over 2000 feet (according to Garmin Connect), not bad at all.

I completed the first full loop in just under 2 hours, if my memory serves me right. At this point, I took in my first SCap aloing with my second Gu. I wanted to stick to my usual plan of 1 gel and 1 SCap on every hour starting 2 hours into the race. I did choose to take in a gel after an hour just because it felt right, not because I felt I needed a boost already. I keep telling myself to take in food early and regularly, always expecting to one day "loose my lunch" late in a race at which point early food intake might prove essential to surviving a race to the finish.

I was using my Garmin Forerunner 305 during this race as my Garmin 310XT was acting funny the last couple of days. Unfortunately, I did not activate the auto-lap feature, so I had no immediate/constant feedback on my pace per mile. Instead, I ended up doing a little math in my head after each loop. Half way into the race, I was dead on track for a 5:30 finish, which would have been a PR. I ran a 5:58 here last year in my very first ultra. During that time, I was also on track for a 5:30 finish, only to blow up with 4 miles left in the race. I was afraid the same would happen again, so I stuck with my original plan...to run how I felt without being lazy.

When I completed the second full loo, I was still on track. My body was doing fine, my heart rate was well under control and fatigue had not become an issue, yet. I decided to try to keep it going and to push a little more on the downhills and to recover on the uphills during the final North Loop. It paid off. By the time I stopped at the aid station one last time before entering the final South Loop, I had slightly over one hour left to finish the race. If I could maintain my pace, I would possible finish in the 5:30 range. Fatigue was starting to set in and memories of my crash during last year's final loop started to creep up. But instead of getting down on myself, I kept reminding myself that I had a couple more ultras under my belt now and that stopping or even walking was not an option anymore. I knew I would get close to my target if I jsut kept moving...so I did.

The Finale
As I approached the finish line past the state park restrooms, I could see the race clock, 5 hours 29 minutes and 14 seconds. I actually broke the 5:30 mark I had set as a lofty goal for today. Not only was this almost 30 minutes faster than last year, but I even surpassed any other 50K mark of mine to date for a new 50K PR. To top it all off, Jeff and his crew were servinf cheeseburgers and cheesecake. What else could one wish for. This day was definitely a great leap to mental recovery after a disappointing DNF at Pinhoti 100. I am regaining confidence in myself and my abilities to finish a race and finish strong.

19 November 2010

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What a fantastic afternoon for a training run. No cloud in the sky and just the right temps not to get hot during the run. I had the opportunity to squeeze in a great run during my business trip. I managed to convince Gerry and Mike, two colleauges from Ireland, to accompany me for part of this great run. I ended up running from Fisherman's Wharf to and across the Golden Gate Bridge and back for a total of close to 12 miles. It took close to two hours, but it was well worth it. Considering the many times I stopped to take pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge, the 10 minute pace was acceptable to me. Thank goodness to the hotel concierge, who was certain it was only a mere 2.5 miles to the bridge. If Mike had known the real distance (close to 4.5 miles) he would probably have told me to "buzz off" and to go by myself. However, he did come along and made it to the bottom of the bridge, after a nice climb through Fort Mason and a beautiful run along the beach of San Francisco. Until today, I didn't even know that there were beaches along the bay (see below).


The run literally had a little bit of everything, roads, trails, climbs, stairs, tunnels, and a magnificent bridge section, of course. I managed to get some great shots of the different San Francisco landmarks along the way. Running through Fort Mason National Park (see below), the different marinas, the Presidio, and Fort Point (by accident) was a lot of fun and gave me a lot of different views of the city and its sights.


Aparently, it helps to pay attention so you dont miss a turn. As a result, we ended up at Fort Point, where a nice police officer informed us to turn around to get to the trailhead leading up to the Golden Gate Bridge. Otherwise, we would be arrested for trespassing a secured area and who wants that, right? Anyway, after this little half mile detour, we finally found the trailhead leading up to the bridge. At this point, Mike decided he had had enough "fun" for the day and turned around to head back to the hotel. I proceeded up some wooden stairs, which induced a brief Laurel Valley flashback, followed by some nice uphill trail that snaked its way up the hillside. At one point, I actually had to duck to run through a short tunnel before arriving at the South end of the bridge (see below).



After taking in the sight for a moment (see below, Fort Point is in the bottom left corner of the picture), I proceeded to run across the bridge for a 3.5 mile out and back section that was both breathtaking and a little scary at the same time.


Half way across the bridge, Gerry was crossing my paths as he was on his way back to the South end. He had opted not to trust the hotel concierge and instead hailed a cab that took him to the bridge, allowing him to have all the fun with half the effort;-) Just kidding, well done Gerry. Around this time, I also noticed a plaque with an interesting inscription describing the history and people involved in building this magnificent bridge (see below).


While I am not really scared of heights, running along the edge of the bridge with the water hundreds of feet below was imposing to say the least. I kept thinking about the engineering effort it took to build this bridge and the maintenance required to keep it safe. I'm gonna have to do some reading on Wikipedia to brush up on my GG Bridge history.

On the way back, I decided to really put it in cruise control and just take a break when needed to take pictures (The image below shows one of the beautiful ships docked at one of the marinas in San Francisco. Alcatraz is in the pictured in the background).


While pictures are a great way to remember the sights you've seen and to share this with others, they don't replace the actual opportunity to be there and take it in first hand. If you ever get to do this run, I strongly suggest you bring your camera. Otherwise, you"ll have to copy my pictures and what fun is that;-)

18 November 2010

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My second run since Pinhoti was a nice short trail run in Fremont, California at the Coyote Hills Regional Park on the Bayview Trail (The picture below was taken from the parking lot at the trailhead).


Because I was getting to the park late in the day, the time I could spend at the park was limited as they would close the gates at 6PM. In addition, my calculations of the trail distances were way off, so it only added up to a 5K loop. On a positive note, I didn't have to venture out on my own, as a friend and colleague of mine from Ireland, Mike joined me on my run. Checking out the park map prior to arriving, I expected it to be a flat course running through the marsh. Instead, the trail was nestled at the base of rolling hills, leading us along the bayfront at about 50 feet above the waterline. The views were fantastic, with the sun slowly disappearing and the moon rising behind the hills. This was just the right type of run to test my knee and thankfully, it held up just fine. As soon as the sun went down, the temperatures went down as well. Hopefully, I can get another fun training run in while in California.

15 November 2010

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Wow, what a great feeling to be back running, again. After taking a week off to recover from my failed 100 mile attempt, everything felt great. My knee pain was gone and, more importantly, stayed gone. There was no muscle soreness to speak of and I felt pretty good. This run marks the beginning of training for my next 100 mile attempt at the Rocky Raccoon 100 in Huntsville, Texas in February. Three months to prepare should be plenty as I already have the base from my previous training. However, I will take EVERY ultra race between now and then as a training run. No more pushing late in a race only to risk reinjury or deflate myself before the big race. Today's run was a very slow 4.5 miler around my familiar neighborhood. Flat roads with no elevation to speak of, perfect for a recovery run coming back from the worst pain I have xperienced running to date. I am still not sure of the cause, but I will assume that is related to overuse, running a 50 mile trail race and pushing late into the race just three weeks prior to my first 100 miler. The temps were in the 40s and it was great to run with my fiance and two of my usual running buddies together for the first time. Richard looked pretty good, going for his first run since his successful first time 100 mile finish. No one to run with after I dropped out at mile 60, he managed to finish his first 100 mile race without a crew during the night, without a pacer and without a running mate, very impressive. BTW, Richard, thanks for signing up to crew/pace me during Rocky Racoon. Your help will be invaluable.

11 November 2010

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There is a First For Everything
There is a first for everything and this was supposed to be my first 100 mile race and finish. Unfortunately, it ended up being my first DNF. It took me almost a week to sit down and try to write about this race. It's been a real downer for me. I had such high hopes and I had prepared for and looked forward to this race for quite some time. In the end, I decided to write this race report to get this race off my mind for now to start focusing on my next big event. For me, that will likely be the Rocky Raccoon 100 Miler in Huntsville, Texas in February of 2011. I just can't wait longer than that to get this DNF monkey off my back.

Pre-Race Packet Pick-Up and Carbo Dinner
Richard and I loaded up my Jeep and left for Sylacauga, Alabama at 12PM sharp...well, sort of. We left Richard's house and had to turn around to get his cell phone charger. At 12:15PM, we were finally off to the race...uuhm, not really. After grabbing lunch at a local Subway shop, Richard remembered that we had to turn around again, unless I wanted him to run without shorts. I certainly didn't want to expose my fellow runners to that. He somehow managed to pack 6 drop bags and other gear, yet forgot to pack this very basic piece of running gear, shorts. Once we finally left town around 1PM, we expected to make it to Sylacauga in about 3 hours. Once we arrived in town, we checked into the race hotel (Jameson Inn) and left for the pre-registration site to pick up our bib numbers, drop off our drop bags and enjoy the pre-race carbo dinner. The first thing I noticed once we received our bibs was the cool swag we all received (see picture above). There were Pinhoti 100 socks, a tech shirt, a t-shirt, Moeben sleeves for every runner and even more giveaways after the dinner. I have to say, top notch stuff that by itself was worth every penny of the already low entry fee. At the dinner, we met a bunch of nice folks from all over the country. More than one Richard and I asked ourselves what we were doing here with all these folks that actually looked like seasoned ultra runners. I couldn't explain to you what qualified someone as "looking like an ultra runner". I can only say that I don't resemble one and I certainly felt like I was in way above my head. Unfortunately, that would prove partially true the following day.

I had prepared 4 drop bags well in advance of the race and ended up shufflling them around the day before the race due to the rather cold weather conditions expected for race day. Actually, I prepared drop buckets as suggested by someone on an online forum. I just sounded like a great idea to have a "seat" readily available when changing shoes late in the race.

Drop bag #1 for Bald Rock at 41 miles (aid station 7) contained the following items: Chocolate Ensure, Strawberry Ensure, Clif Bar, Energy Gel, Band-Aids, Vaseline, Cap, Fleece Top, Tech Shirt (long and short sleeve), Headlamp. (Expected temps were 52 degrees)

Drop bag #2 for Adams Gap at 55 miles (aid station 10): Chocolate Ensure, Strawberry Ensure, Clif Bar, Energy Gel, Band-Aids, Desitin, Body Glide, Winter Hat, Winter Jacket, Winter Pants, Tech Shirt (long and short sleeve), Trail Shoes, Socks, Gloves, GPS Watch (backup). (Expected temps were 38 degrees)

Drop bag #3 for Porters Gap at 68.75 miles (aid station 13): Chocolate Ensure, Strawberry Ensure, Clif Bar, Energy Gel, Band-Aids, Vaseline, Tech Shirt (long and short sleeve), Fleece Gloves, Face Mask. (Expected temps were 29 degrees)

Drop bag #4 for Bulls Gap at 85 miles (aid station 16): Chocolate Ensure, Strawberry Ensure, Clif Bar, Energy Gel, Band-Aids, Vaseline, Cap, Tech Shirt (long and short sleeve), Road Shoes, Socks. (Expected temps were 32 degrees)

I had also prepped a Finish line bag containing the following items: Flip-Flops, Socks, T-Shirt (long and short sleeve), Pants, Boxers, Jacket, Soap, Deodorant and a Towel.

As evident by the previous section, if anything, I was overprepared, at least from a logistics perspective. Now, all I had to do it run for a few hours;-)

The Big Day
Richard and I had set our alarms for 3AM Saturday morning. I got up on time, took a quick shower and went to the hotel lobby for a cup of coffee. By 3:45 AM we were off to the Sylacauga Rec Center, from where a bus would shuttle us to the start line. We left just after 4AM and arrived at the trailhead about an hour and a half later. After a couple of folks got checked in and some of the race bib issues had been resolved (long story), the race got underway just a couple of minutes after 6AM. Richard and I had lined up in the final third of runners, expecting to start slow and get slower as the day wore on. It was bitter cold at the start and it wouldn't warm up significantly over the course of the day. After about an hour into the race, daylight quickly lit up the trails and we no longer needed our headlamps that were required at the start. We also warmed up just a little and decided to drop our top layer and hats at the 13 mile aid station. Bad idea. While the sun did provide warmth whenever it shone down on the trails, we didn't really get to see it much as were were mostly running on the side of the mountain ridge opposite to the sun. Warm-ups due to the sun shining on us were sporadic at best.

This created the first major problem of the race for me. I wouldn't have drop bag access with warmer clothes for another 20 miles and if the day did not warm up more, I would end up being cold for most of the day. Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened. Note to self, learn to layer properly and do not shed excess layers until I am absolutely certain I will not need them.

I also experienced heavy legs just 15 miles into the race. This has never ever happened to me before and all I can figure is the North Face Endurance Challenge 50 Miler I ran three weeks prior to Pinhoti. It wasn't the distance but the fact that I pushed hard for the last 10 miles of that race because I felt so good. As a matter of fact, I actually ran the final 10 miles as fast as the first 10 miles of that race. There were no fatigue issues immediately following the race either. I was back to running Monday morning feeling great without any soreness whatsoever. Still, pushing late in that race must have caused the problems I experienced at Pinhoti. Note to self, treat every run immediately preceeding a big race like a training run, meaning, DO NOT RACE.

Richard noticed my fatigue issues very early on. But he did what every good running buddy does, he didn't comment on it hoping that I would be able to run through it. While I never really did feel fresh or great on this day, I did manage to push through the early fatigue and soreness maintaining the pace we had settled into, continuously gaining on the cutoff clock. That's what kept me going. As the miles clicked away, we kept on gaining time. Our goal was to just finish below the thirty hour cutoff. There were no specific time goals other than to finish and we were well on track. Richard let us most of the day, dragging my tired body behind him, keeping the encouragement going. He could tell I wasn't having a good day. He heard me breathing heavy all day and that's not something he (nor I) was used to.

While the entire course had uphill and downhill sections throughout, the climb up Mount Cheaha has to be the highlight of the race. It was during this section of the race (between miles 34 and 41) that I actually led the way up the mountain. I was pushing a pretty good pace and was feeling good. Once we reached the top of Bald Rock, the view was absolutely spectactular. The spot just before you climb up to the boardwalk leading to the parking lot presents one of the coolest views ever, allowing you to see the valley and other mountains for miles and miles (see picture below). Richard and I did manage to take a quick snapshot there, although I am not sure they turned out ok. I plan to post the picture as soon as Richard remembers to send it on;-)



Throughout the race, I had been very strict to myself about taking in an SCap and a gel about every hour to make sure I keep my nutritional balance. At aid stations, I would grab a piece of banana, some prezles and potatoes, whenever possible. Starting at mile 40, I really looked forward to and took advantage of hot chicken noodle soup that was provided to us by the aid stations. It kept me going for the next 20 miles. In past races, ice cold coke had had that affect on me, but due to the rather cold temps, chicken noodle soup did a much better job. We had also staged our first drop bags here and I was eager to put on an additional layer of clothing. That fleece top felt like heaven. Luckily, I had kept my mitts on for the entire race until now and I never felt the need to shed them. Another sign that this really was one very cold day. Richard and I managed to get out of this major aid station in just over 2 minutes, still gaining on the cutoff clock;-) Now we made our way down "Blue Hell" and Silent trail. Just after finishing the blue hell section, I started to feel a very slight twinge behind my left knee. I figured I'd just run through it, certain that it would loosen up again later on. I had never had any knee problems so I figured it'll pass.

Unfortunately, it never did. Over the next 10 miles, it would slowly get worse, but not quite unbearable, yet. I also had the worst fall yet during any of my races. With roughly 50 miles under my belt for the day, I tripped over a root and ended up on my back heading downhill on the trail, flailing my arms and legs like an upside down turtle. I literally did not know how to turn my body around and get back up. Luckily, Richard just told me to stop moving and grab his hand. Thanks buddy! After I was upright again, I did a quick systems' check. Other than a bruised right hip and elbow, everything was fine. But that left knee kept on hurting. I remember telling Richard that somehting had to give if I was to make it all the way, either the knee pain or the cold had to go.

Once we reached Adams Gap at mile 55, we finally met up with Richard's parents, who were kind enough to crew us for part of the race. We really were supposed to meet them earlier, but we were making such good time that we missed them at an earlier aid station by just 5 minutes. Anyway, they were nice enough to make their way to Adams Gap with hot cocoa and McD cheeseburgers. Those burgers were awesome. I also had acecss to my next drop bag at this aid station, so I put on everything in my bucket. Winter jacket, long pants, hat, etc. Finally, I got warm. But that's were the good news ended. Leaving the aid station with new and warmer clothes and refueled, I thought I was ready to push on. We were doing really well on time, but the pain in my left knee had literally doubled in intensity since entering the aid station. I guess stopping to change really had a negative effect on my body.

I was literally unable to run. And even walking started to hurt as soon as the jeep road we were on started to incline just slightly. We were still able to speed hike at about 113-15 minute pace, but I knew it was all over once I'd hit the single track trails again. I knew I couldn't maintain this pace on the trails and I really didn't want to get stuck in the middle of the night on the trails, forcing Richard to stay with me, not allowing him to continue his quest. Therefore, I had to make the difficult decision to drop at mile 60. After announcing my bib number, I notified the aid station crew that I was dropping out. Richard's parents had made their way down the jeep road to meet us again at this aid station and they were kind enough to drive my beaten body all the way back to the hotel in Sylacauga, were I was able to get a room for another night at the Jameson Inn. I got some food at the Huddle House next door and went to sleep. I hda set my alarm for 10 AM the next morning in order to make my way to the finish line to cheer on my buddy Richard as he entered the stadium and crossed the finish line. I am proud (and a little envious, I'm not gonna lie) that Richard completed his first 100 mile attempt in 28 hours and 55 minutes. Way to get that belt buckle, Richard!

Final Thoughts
First, I'd like to thank RD Todd Henderson for putting on such an excellent event and being the great host that he was. Hopefully, I can try again next year. Second, I would like to thank Richard's parents for making their way to the race and supporting Richard and I the way they did. Their help and support was invaluable. Finally, I want to congratulate my running buddy Richard for earning his first 100 mile buckle and I wanna thank him for immediately offering to pace me in my next attemt at 100 miles. Richard, you better get ready! I am about to sign up for Rocky Raccoon! But first things first, I need to figure out what's wrong with my knee. After a couple of days, the pain is almost completely gone and I am experiencing only very minor pain after having been using an anti-inflammatory to address the problem. If I am completely pain free after a week, I will test myself with a walk. I am convinced that this is an overuse pain/inflammation, nothing more nothing less. Hopefully, I am right. I am going to try to run Dizzy 50K the weekend after next (hey, it's paid for;-). I plan to jog it, not race it. Should the knee problem flare up, I will be quitting the race right then and there and walk back in followed by a call to make an appointment with my Sports Med guy. Hopefully, that won't be necessary;-)

05 November 2010

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I'm not sure if a training log entry was even justified for this morning's activity. After waking up earlier than I wanted, due to pre-race jitters and related stomach problems, I got ready and waited for Richard to come by, so we could go for a short walk to loosen up our legs. I used the time to check the weekend weather reports, reshuffle gear, and worry about the race. Once Rich arrived at 6:30AM, we went for a short 2 mile walk discussing the events to unfold this weekend. To say that we are scared is an understatement.This is the most nerve wrecking personal challenge I have ever faced and that means something to me personally. I have done solo scuba dives at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, on a ship wreck, in the middle of the night. I wasn't scared then. I have faced a 300 lbs man in a kickboxing fight in a ring. I wasn't scared then. I am about to attempt to run 100 miles through the Tallageda National Forest and that scares the crap out of me.

02 November 2010

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I picked up Richard at 6AM this morning for a nice and easy 6 miler on the Monte Sano trails. We parked at the Hiker's parking lot and went out on the Dizzy Fifties North Loop which is around 5 1/2 miles total. I was pretty dark when we left, giving us our last opportunity to play around with our light options for this weekend. I think it's safe to say we will both be sticking with the headlamps we've been using. I am actually still waiting to receive the headlamp (Petzl Tikka XP 2) I plan to use during the Pinhoti 100 at night. It is a model identical to the one I am using now (Petzl Tikka Plus 2), just better lighting. I will be using my old one for the first morning part of the race. Since I might drop this one after daybreak, I plan to place the new one in one of my drop bags for the race. Today's run was easy and uneventful, well almost. Let's just say one of us literally lost a sock during the run and it wasn't me;-)

30 October 2010

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It was redemption time. I had had a couple of "bad" short distance races over the last couple of months and I really wanted to erase those bad memories as soon as possible. It would be a nice confidence builder anyway right before my big race next weekend. Last Fall and Summer I had been very close to breaking the 20 minute time for the 5K and I had fallen behind a little on those time goals. It's probably largely due to the fact that I had not done any speed training in the last few months, instead I had focussed on longer runs in preparation for my ultras. I had already promised myself to get back to speed trainign as soon as I completed my attempt at the 100 mile distance, but when I toe the line of a race, I always end up pushing for a PR. In short, I came pretty close today, finishing the 5K distance in 20:14 or so after having to "fight" my way through a field of 50 or so runners that had lined up in front of me. Usually I try to line up in the second or third row, but I somehow ended up more in the middle this morning. Anyway, that required me to really play catch up for much of the first half mile and my heart rate showed it. After I hit the 1 mile split, I was able to settle down in a consistent pace. Unfortunately, I settled at too slow a pace to go for a PR. Once I saw my 2 mile split, I picked up the pace again just a little to keep myself in the running. However, I pushed a little too late to break the 20 minute mark, instead finishing 38th overall out of a field of over 600 runners and third in my age group. No PR but a top three finish and I am quite happy. I am finally back closing in on my PR. Once I get back into speed training, I am sure the 20 minute mark will be broken. And now I get to mostly rest for a whole week before my 100 mile attempt.

/

Just over a week to go before the Pinhoti 100. Richard and I met after work to do some trail running, getting in some hill work and night running at the same time. This was going to be our last effort training run before the big race, but we focussed on staying relaxed. The temps went down rather quickly as soon as the sun went down. We added a couple of new sections to our usual Ranger Station Out & Back adding sections of the Sinks Trail and Cold Springs Trail to our usual route. We ended up running a little over 10 miles in just over 2 hours. This run gave us another change to run very technical trails in complete darkness, just like we expect to encounter during the Pinhoti trail run. I ended up not taking a water bottle and I had no hydration or fatigue issues whatsoever during the run. However, my achilles tendons were pretty tender after the run, not sure where that came from. I have never had issues with that before. The only thing left before our big race is a little "tempo run" on Saturday morning, the Spooktacular 5K in downtown Huntsville. After that, we will only go for one more 6 miler Monday morning and a nice casual 5 mile jog/walk Wednesday morning to keep the legs loose. It's all about rest now.

26 October 2010

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The plan was to go up Monte Sano to the ranger station for a nice 10 mile out & back. However, Richard's legs were shot (probably still after effects of the 50 miler last week) and we ended up cutting the run in half, which was perfectly finew with me. We still got some hill workout in and we are not killing ourselves in the process. With Pinhoti  barely two weeks away, tapering is the word of the day, every day, anyway. We'll try for another easy jog tomorrow just to keep the legs turning over. The weather was unseasonably warm this morning, in the mid 70s. And that after a serious thunderstorm yesterday and another one on the horizon for later today. I ended up running in my second pair of Montrail Mountain Masochists that I bought last week. I am trying to break them in before Pinhoti, so I can use them in my drop bag at mile 50 together with a new pair of socks. That should help minimize foot problems as well. The small blister problem I had after North Face has all but dissappeared. I cut away the skin layer on top to eliminate any friction during my training runs and that has worked. I am sure the area will toughen up just in time for the 100 miler.

25 October 2010

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One word: taper. Two weeks until the Pinhoti 100 and I am getting excited and nervous all at the same time. I know I am in way over my head, but I want to give it a shot. I promised myself that if I can just finish the race somehow within the 30 hour cutoff during my first attept, I will do whatever it takes to actually push for pace in my next event. I am still learning to handle the miles on my legs. I feel once I have managed to run these distances, I can then start to focus on getting faster. Anyway, today was day one of the final two weeks of taper. I went for a short and easy 4 1/2 miler with my fiancee Anya, who just so happens to prepare for her first half marathon in January. It had rained all night, so the temps were nice and cool, perfect for running. We chose the usual UAH loop. I am still feeling the effects of the 50 miler from a week ago, but I feel that I am recovering and tapering nicely. Two more weeks to heal up, rest up, to taper and stay loose. I plan to start itemizing my drop bags and their content over the next few nights.

/


After resting most of the week with only a short run on Monday, I decided to plan for a run while at a soccer tournament in Memphis, TN for the weekend. Turns out they have a great little trail system in the heart of Memphis and its suburbs including paved and unpaved trails along the Wolf River as well as multipler park systems connecting different greenways throughout Memphis. I opted to run a trail section along the Wolf River, aptly called the Wolf River Trail. I chose to go for a 10 mile out & back run at 7AM and there were hardlty any folks out running on these trails aside from a couple of other cars parked at the trailhead. The unpaved trails run along the North side of the river and the paved trails run along the South side of the river. Not having run here before, I was getting nervous every so often when I came upon a trail crossing. However, I just decided to always turn towards the river which should keep me right on track, and it did. This trail was really perfect for a run, it had a few very slight inclines and dips, just enough to keep you honest. Some trail sections must have previosuly been washed out as there were a number of what I would call sandboxes (trail areas filled in with soft beach like sand). These areas felt like you were running in quick sand, a great workout for sure. With the exception of a couple of powerline cuts the entire 5 mile section of trails that I ran was covered by a tree canopy. You were barely ever exposed to the sun while running alongside the river. Overall, it was a great trail run. I even managed to pass a couple of mountain bikers which was a weird feeling. They were struggling up a hill as I was "flying" past them;-) They wouldn't catch up to me for at least a quarter mile. I definitely made me pick up my pace for a time as I did not want to look like an idiot passing them on the uphill only to be immediately passed by them again. However, after a quarter mile, I slowed my pace and let them pass once they caught up to me. Hey, it was fun while it lasted. Once I made it to my 5 mile turnaround point, I started to come across a lot more runners that before. I guess these were the 8 AM runners finally hitting the trails for their morning runs. Lots more runner traffic than I usually witness on our local Monte Sano trails. I kept my pace above 9:30 minutes per mile, just the right pace for a recovery trail run during a taper week. Two more weeks of tapering before the big event, the Pinhoti 100 Endurance Run, my first attempt at a 100 mile race.

18 October 2010

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One word describes today's training run at lunch: recovery. I ended up running 4.5 miles with Richard and it felt much better than expected. We went at a very slow pace just trying to loosen up our legs from Saturday's 50 miler. The weather was a mild 70 degrees. We spent most of the run talking about the Pinhoti 100 in three weeks and whether we have a chance in hell to finish it and if we should even try. I felt that we should while Rich was hesitant to commit. However, a text I received just 15 minutes ago confirms that he is in, too. I'm sure that's the 50 mile victory beer talking that he enjoyed after work;-)

/

Not only was this my longest trail race to date, it most definitely had the longest name of any race I've ever run, too. Part of the North Face Endurance Challenge series, this particular race was run for the first time as a replacement event for a race that had originally been scheduled for the Seattle, Washington area earlier this year, but which had to be cancelled for logistical reasons related to the permit process. Well, one region's loss is another region's gain. I would be able to use this race as a final tune up and measuring stick for my upcoming first time attempt at the 100 mile distance at the Pinhoti 100 Endurance Run in  Alabama in early November.


Race Packet Pick-up
Richard and I left Huntsville around 1:30 PM Friday afternoon, thinking that we would arrive in about 4 hours, just enough time to pick up our bibs and swag and listen to Dean Karnazes and other North Face sponsored athletes talk about racing. Well, because I forgot all about time zones (CST vs. EST, duh!) and because neither my Garmin GPS nor Richard's highly touted iPhone were able to direct us to the appropriate location of the host hotel, we ended up running late getting our packets. As a result, we listened to about 5 minutes of the panel discussion before heading to the hotel registration desk and to our rooms before getting dinner and heading to bed. We ended up seeing Candy Findley (from the GUTS posse) at the pre-race pasta dinner, who we had met at a couple of ultras earlier this year and who was attempting her first 50 miler this weekend. After a quick pasta and salad dinner, Richard and I headed for our room in hope of getting much needed sleep before the race. However, our "overhydrated" bodies had different ideas and I ended up sleeping about 5 hours in 45-60 minute intervalls.

Race Day
My alarm went off at 3:15 AM. I had my almost ceremonial cup of coffee before we headed out. We had to leave the hotel by 4 AM to head to the shuttle pick-up and drop off location, where we would ned to leave my car to catch the ride to the race start/finish area at F.D. Roosevelt State Park. After a very short ride we arrived at the trail head and race festival location. I was still pitch black outside and the only light and warmth came from the spot lights and portable heaters the event staff had placed at the race festival area around the start/finish line (blow-up North Face arch). It whole area looked like a little tent village in the shape of a horse shoe. Although I hate corny lines, here is one for you: "Excitement was in the air!" Runners were buzzing about, dropping off bags and engaging in their own personal pre-race rituals. Richard and I took the time to actually take a picture. As you can see, we didn't look too nervous about what might lay ahead of us.


Our training had been less than stellar for the last 4-6 weeks due to injury and other commitments and I wasn't even sure if I could finish this thing. Richard on the other hand was quite confident that finishing wasn't even an issue. After all, the final cut off time was 14 hours. Fast forward about 90 minutes and that confidence was gone, completely gone.

We started the race pretty close to 5AM and Richard and I lined up in the back of the pack of about 150 runners. This was definitely not a race distance were I was eager to be in the front or even middle of the pack. It would be a long day with plenty of opportunities to blow up and I figured I'd delay that as long as I could. After a very brief 150 yard run across a grassy field, traffic stopped completely as runners tried to turn into signle file to enter the single track trail. I think I spent more time waiting to enter the trail at this point than I did at any aid station during the race;-) Pretty soon after we entere the single track trail, we (or rather Richard) are officially introduced to the race. He twisted his ankle, just very lightly the first time, a little more severe a mile later, and almost race ending another mile and a half down the trail. Having hurt his ankle a few months earlier in a desert ultra, Richard continued to struggle with that particular ankle when it came to running in the dark. At this point, we still had another hour of running in total darkness ahead of us and I was pretty certain Richard would drop out of the race at the first or second aid station.

Aid Station #1 - Country Store
I normally do not use numbered aid stations or their names as paragraph headers in my race reports, but this time, they had a purpose. Rather than break down the race and counting doen miles as we went, I opted to only use aid stations as my progress indicator, one down eight to go...you get the idea. And it worked perfectly. I jsut had to make sure to tune out Richard, who kept counting down the miles every time he heard my 310XT signal another mile split;-) The first five miles of the race up to this point were dominated by Richards ankle problems. As a result, our pace was comfortably slow, which was probably a good thing anyway. I usually have the tendency to speed up as soon as someone passes me and it was just too early in the race to do that, so Richard's injury was probably a blessing in disguise at this point...sorry Rich.

Aid Station #2 - Fox Den
11.2 miles into the race, two down, seven to go. Again, we tried to keep a steady pace, Richard was still trying to find his rhythm, avoiding to roll his ankle for the fourth or fifth time. Instead, he twisted that tender ankle a couple more times and once daybreak hit, he slowly but surely found his stride...thank god! While the pace felt pretty slow, Richard and I ralized that we actually felt pretty good at this point, thanks in large part to the slow pace, I'm sure. But maybe, just maybe, our bodies really needed some rest and our lackluster training regimen over the last few weeks was actually a good thing. The entire length of the course was peppered with climbs between 200-300 feet at a time. Taking it easy on the pace early on would pay off later.

Aid Station #3 - Mollyhugger
16.1 miles into the race and Richard and I are following our food and supplement intake schedules pretty closely. We started taking one SCap each every hour after we had been running for about two hours. I would also consume one gel every hour as well as finish one bottle of Gu electrolyte drink between each aid station. At each aid station, I would eat a piece of banana and some pretzles, nothing more nothing less. Three down, six to go.

Aid Station #4 - Rocky Point
23.1 miles into the race and my food and supplement strategy had worked perfectly. Well almost perfect, with the exception of this section of the course, which happened to be a 7 mile stretch through arguably the toughest section of the entire race course, both in distance and terrain. Not only would we climb to the highest point of this race, we also ran through a section that had been hit by a recent fire. This part of the course looked more like a trail I would expect to see running in Arizona, very desert like in certain areas, but in a very pretty kind of way. Not sure if that makes sense, but that's what it looked like to me. My only concern was the fact that I ran out of liquids with about 3 miles still to go to Rocky Point. It wasn't really that I needed the liquids, it just felt wrong not to have any readily available to drink. While I was still feeling pretty good during this section, Richard had hit a major wall at this stage, both physically and mentally. He later said that he was ready to drop out of the race at this aid station, if it hadn't been for the magic of Coca-Cola. He drank about three cups of Coke in addition to other liquids and shortly after we left this aid station, he was a new man...or should I say runner? Four down, five to go.

Aid station #5 - Tower
28 miles in and Richard was still leading our small group of runners. Miguel Perez, a first time ultra runner, had joined our little group at around mile ten and he was sticking with us and looking strong. We were finally past the half way point of the race and while I experienced a short phase of sluggishness during this section, I was feeling pretty good considering that we had already covered close to a marathon at this point. This section of the course also covered a ton of creeks and small waterfalls and while running these sections was nearly impossible at times, it certainly made up for it in beauty. Richard was still feeling it and he continued to lead us out of this aid station as well. We had gotten into a pretty good rhythm concerning getting in and out of the aid stations quickly. I don't think we ever spent more than 1-2 minutes tops at each stop. Five down, four to go. Mentally, the counting of aid stations really worked for me.

Aid station #6 - Dowdell Knob
32.2 miles down and more than a 50K done. Half way between this and the previous aid stations, I took over to lead the group around mile marker 30. Richard had left the group for the last 10 miles and while providing some assistance to a runner on the side of the trail, I continued at a walking pace to let Richard rejoin our group as soon as he made sure that we could leave the runner. We decided to notify the next aid station of the runner in distress but didn't have to as emergency crew was already making its way to the runner before we reached the next station. Thankfully, the runner is question turned out to be ok. While she did not appear to have been able to finish the race, we saw her later on in the race festival area walking around on her own. Once Richard caught up to us, I started to run again. I was feeling good, probably catching a second wind myself at this point. Before I realized it, we had reached Dowdell Knob, six down, three to go.

Aid station #7 - Fox Den
37.5 miles are in the books and I am still feeling great. Once we reached this aid station, all I wanted to do it wash the sticky Gu past off my hands as well as clean the salt residue off my sweaty face. After identifying cups of Gu electrolytes and Coke I went for a couple of cups I assumeed to be water, proceeding to pour it over my hands and face to clean off the sticky mess. While doing so I noticed a nice refreshing scent coming off the water. That just didn't make sense, why would the water smell like fruit? I got my explanation when I asked for confirmation. The clear liquid I assumed to be water was in fact Nuun, another electrolyte drink that did not use any food coloring for this particular drink and as a result looked like water. Hey, at least I didn't eat any lube thinking that it was engery gel. When I finally got my hands on some "real" water, I was able to wash all of that mess of my hands and face. Seven down and just two to go.

Aid station #8 - Mollyhugger Hill
42.4 miles are complete and I am confident that I am going to finish the race. Even if I walked the remainder of the race, I would still finish with time to spare. Instead of walking, however, I decided at around mile 40 that I was going to push the pace a little bit, at least as much as I could at that point. Richard and Miguel started to fade just ever so slightly and I felt I could try and push for a sub 12 hour finish, which was all I had hoped for at the half way point of the race, anyway. I just couldn't believe that I actually felt good 40 miles into a trail race. My goal was to maintain pace and to pick it up on the downhills whenever I could. The volunteers at this aid station were once again first class. They helped me refocus, replenish and get ready for the final stretch. Eight down, final aid station to go.

Aid station #9 - Buzzards Roost
47.8 miles are logged and I can smell the BBQ at the finish line. Well, not really, but I was looking forward to that hot meal promised in the participants' guide. During the section preceeding this aid station, I really cranked it up a notch. I must have passed between 10-15 runners during this section, some of them marathoners using the same course, some of them 50 milers. Either way, I was passing runners and it felt good...nope, it felt great. Instead of running out of gas, I was running the uphills, even if just slowly. I was running nonetheless. Every runner I passed gave me new energy. Nine aid stations down, just the finish line ahead.

The Finish at 50.4 Miles
This race provided an elevation change of around 8000 feet, which isn't too shabby. The final 2.6 miles felt the hardest, just because they seemed to take forever. Physically, I felt fine and mentally, I was exstatic. After 12 hours and 9 minutes, I crossed the finish line, happy to have completed an awesome ultra and physically feeling good. The icing on the cake for me personally was the fact that I finished 43rd out of 125 or so starters. I am competitive, after all.

Final comments
Everyone I ran with today finished the race, Richard, Miguel and Candy. Congratulations to all of you for a great personal accomplishment, especially considering that the race only had 95 official finishers out of 150 or so registrants. Congrats also to Geoff Roes, who smoked the course in less than eight hours. And a very special thank you to all the volunteers at this event, who made this race absolutely fantastic. I always try to thank them as our paths cross during a race as I am sure they have better things to do than to read my birong race reports, but that does not keep me from thanking them again in writing every now and then;-)

US STATES WITH 100 MILE RACES COMPLETED (15)

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COUNTRIES WITH ULTRAMARATHONS COMPLETED (13)

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RACE CALENDAR

  • Mount Mitchell Heartbreaker 50M (Old Fort, NC) - March 23, 2024
  • Oak Mountain 50K (Birmingham, AL) - March 30, 2024
  • Southern States 200M (Delta, AL) April 12-16, 2024
  • Cocodona 250M (Black Canyon City, AZ) - May 6-11, 2024
  • Mohican 100M (Loudonville, OH) - June 1, 2024
  • Bighorn 100M (Dayton, WY) - June 14, 2024
  • Crazy Mountain 100M (Lennep, MT) - July 26, 2024
  • Eastern States 100M (Waterville, PA) - August 10, 2024
  • SwissPeaks 360 (Valais, Switzerland) - September 1-8, 2024
  • Indiana Trail 100M (Albion, IN) - October 12, 2024
  • Rim To River 100M (New River Gorge, WV) - November 2, 2024 (WAITLIST #99)
  • Charleston 100M (Mount Pleasant, SC) - December 27, 2024
  • The Montane Winter Spine 268M (Edale, UK) - January 12-19, 2025

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