Author: Antin

[Day579] Grindstone

There is so much to write about this race. Over the weekend I ran Grindstone, which is a UTMB race from this year onward. It was their inaugural race, and in my “backyard,” because it was only two hours away from my home.

In brief, the race was a thrilling adventure. You could stop reading now. We had a storm. It was cold. I got to only halfway before taking the sag wagon back to the start. It is all worth it. I know the second half would be harder. I did not get to experience the severe sleep deprivation would bring while running. I did stay up to 6 pm to the second day, so about 36 hours without sleep. I can tell you, some rain puddles did turn into runners laying there when I looked at them. I slapped myself to stay awake. Yes holy bat-poop moments. I wonder how it would feel to stay up another 12 hours to the third day.

Yes, I ran part of the course many times. Hiked there as my first backpacking trip back in summer 2017. The course uses 75% of the Wild Oak Trail (TWOT), which I wrote about a lot because there was also a historic race (fairly old in ultra marathon history), the TWOT 100, which is an old school, “invitation” only and it requires an essay entry registration process for a selected dozen, to run where there won’t be aid stations, crowd cheering spectators, support crews, course markings, or buckle awards at the end. It is just you and the trail in either brutal “summer” heat or freezing winter cold.

Grindstone 100 is the opposite of any of the old school runs. It is a high marketing, corporate run and sponsored event. What you expect in a big city marathon is what you get from Grindstone (including food and candies that many people I know complained about, but we don’t talk about that), except for bathrooms out on the trail. It is a different feel than what I used to do with trail running.

Do we want to talk about the negative side or positive side first? There are probably a tons of negatives. A friend of mine said, he would not run it again. Not sure if it is this particular race or the whole UTMB style race. His reason was due to the food they provided. I found the food to be okay, but I heard the same from a few other people, even the volunteers complained about the food/drink they had because there were better options provided at other races. A friend told me they ran at other UTMB events, and this is the normal fare (candies and marathon-like nutrition). BYOB and food.

This leads to the second point: the race and experience is a little different from what we expect! Some I think are normal and some are not. There were a ton of “new runners” – first time running a 100 mile race. Well, not saying all of them did this, but I have noticed when you bring a ton of people together, they tend to “trash” the place. In trail running, we follow an unspoken rule like many (or all) backcountry hikers do of the “leave no trace” principle. It means no littering regardless whether at an aid station or on the course. And if you see some trash, I am not talking about baby diapers here, (which I did see), you pick it up, especially plastic gel or wrappers from trail bars we eat. They were clearly runner’s trash and recently left behind too. There were just too many. I ran the course maybe two weeks ago, they were not there. I ran many trail races and have never seen as many trashes left on the course as this one! I think it is the city marathon people, because in city races, we are “encourage” to throw cups down on the ground and volunteers would dispose of them. On trail runs, man, we don’t do that. It is ground for disqualification. And I only ran half of the way, and hopefully the other half is better. There was a heated discussion before about throwing organic matters on this course, like orange peels, if that is acceptable. The answer is no. The one who did it thinks it is acceptable because organic matters are biodegradable. But reason no is, it will become a trash dump once everybody does it. It takes away the enjoyment of runners who come behind them. Sorry, I had to get on my soap box.

Third negative, related to this is the attitude of some runners and their lack of preparation for a wilderness run. Yelling and get angry at volunteers is a big no-no for us, also another ground for banning from the race and/or disqualification. We should do it like in soccer or football, touching a race official is an immediate red card and ejection from the game. I couldn’t believe it happened. Well, unless it is baseball. I think it has to do with people not finding a ride back to camp and were grumpy (more below).

Sometimes, I think people just can’t have nice things. It seems to be coming from the city marathon running people, where they think they are entitled a full service out on the trail or maybe the high entry price they paid for the race. We don’t have “private” bathroom out there for once! Some have never use the woods before! My goodness. Yes there is no pot-a-johns even at an aid station. Go into the woods is what we do and “leave no trace”, I can’t stress enough. I saw TP and wipes on the trail. I have heard runners saying their wipes are biogradable. (The person is a male, so I am not pointing fingers at ladies — most if not all ultras are guys majority, females, they know how to take care themselves out in woods). Still, no, don’t do it. These were not there during my training runs. Sorry, I didn’t have enough gut to pick those up. Just gross. They looked recent too. Bring out your own waste is all I got to say. Put them in a ziplock, or double zip lock. Pack it in pack it out. At least burry them or put a rock on it so it wouldn’t fly away (I don’t advocate this, but at least, it is out of sight). Thank god we do have sweepers to sweep/clean up the course, but it is too much to expect them to clean up human waste and such. This is probably why we did not get permits to run on most National Parks.

We do have very good service from the volunteers at remote locations, but I read on social media after the race, that some runners were frustrated that were no “shuttle” available at every aid station to pick them up when they decided to drop or were cut from the race. Majority opinion seemed to side with the “victims.” Welcome to the reality of (ultra) trail running world. The whole ultra trail running is to be “on your own” and that includes when you bail from the race, it is up to you to safely get back to the start “on your own” or seek shelter and sometimes even on your own power — meaning walking back how ever long the distance is. I have done it. I ran halfway in an event before and did not make the cut, I chose to walk 13 plus miles back, with little to no support expected since the aid station had closed (at Catoctin 2023, and MMT 3rd training run of 2022). Note, I did it not because I was forced to, but I knew I could do it, you just take the shortest route back. Know your ability.

This is a tough love out there. A few were surprised they had to find their own rides when their bodies were cold and that they might lapse into unconsciousness. One raised the safety concern of being a young single female and had to share a ride in a stranger’s car. Comments were why there were no ride from the race provided (there were, but I think only at two locations and also time-bound, you had to get there by certain time or at least wait for a long time like couple hours or more before someone is available to drive). It is normal in other races to wait until the aid station closes before the volunteer’s shift ends (their shift typically goes from 4-8 hours or more) for them to give the person a ride back and some volunteers had clean up too, and it can take an hour or more, and most of the time, they also have to wait till the sweeper/last runner to come through before leaving the site, and this is usually an hour or more past the published closing time, so yes, prepare to stay on the course for a long time even after dropping (if a race is 36 hours, you better make sure you can stay 36 hours or more even if in the cold, well, especially in the cold). Tough love here. Ultra running is not like city marathon running. Basically, if you drop, you are screwed. I would be happy to have a ride at all if I drop from a race, much less complain about taking a rides from a family member of other runners. The issue was raised because a runner found out his wife’s car had full of mud inside from rides she offered. There are runners who wanted a ride but not willing to give rides to others too. They were caught again unprepared for ultra racing in bad weather. Not saying that their concerns are not valid, but just pointing out the unmet expectations some runners had. No one wants their cars to be dirty after a race, much less made by another stranger.

It is on them. It is a rude awakening for some less initiated. When I did my training run, I always make plans for backup — what if I can’t get to where I wanted to be — what do I do? You seek shelter if needed – because you have packed a space blanket or jacket and some other safety gear – you can survive, unless of course you didn’t have them! And you don’t run until you drop! Pay attention to your own health. I think some were caught off guard, especially by the weather. We all knew bad weather was coming, but how many did not expect to be wet and cold because of being under dressed, speaking at myself here. I knew I was going to be cold and still I was under-dressed.

That were some negatives I had not toward the race organization but my fellow runners. Unfortunate, many directed their frustration at the race. Maybe social media blew it out of porportion. It made me rant. Negative comments usually speak louder than many positive experiences we had. This brings to mind of the Toronto Marathon — boy was that fun, survival in a city center.

Now onto the more positive side. You have many good things from races by a famous organization. First it is glamorous! You get ranked globally! And if you reach 800 points you became an elite ultra runner! Second, the volunteers and supports are top notch (there were complaints too). You have course marshals, crossing guards, many signages, loud music and bright flashy lights that many have come to expect in a big city marathon. It was a very high energy atmosphere. Course marking was the best I have seen in an ultra race. You can’t get lost, period. Even on the trail! It was like trail running for dummies! Thinking about this, maybe because they gear toward this group of people, you get the complaints of not having bathrooms on the trails.

My only complaint was you do pay a lot from your wallet for all these frills and thrills. Some paid $600-1000 for this race, which is twice to 4x I normally paid. Ultras are not cheap, and famous ultras are even more expensive.

The race itself is not any easier. It kicked my butt. You think if you have paid that much, there would be someone to drive you around! Nope, you still have to run the course and it was not easy. I don’t think it was the lack of training, or the weather (we had a storm with a name, Ophelia, hitting during the race), or nutrition, etc.

Now why I did not finish. If anything, it was my lack of focus — and being lost track of time. I did have a pace chart made. Generally, I knew the pace and my time during the race and what I was doing. I had those information memorized. But I decided to run without a watch — I have done so for many races this year. It worked out fairly well except for this one. Yes, how can you run without a fancy Garmin sport watch or any watch at all? Exactly. I like to run by “feeling.” It makes me happy! No stress and all. Some of you think, that would drive one crazy of not knowing the distance/pace/time. Try it. I dare you. Double dare. It will free your soul.

Anyway, I think not having a watch was not a big issue. I had my phone on me. If anything I could check the time (and gps and map) from my phone. I just chose not to check as frequently unless I really needed to.

Back to the story, and I have to go back to maybe why I started running ultras. Maybe 2017-18? when one of friends in my running club did the JFK 50 (there is a post on this, here, about my first JFK run), I was so impressed by that and I said I will too run ultra marathons.

Of course, I did it in November 2019. 2020 came and I said, I want to run a 100 miler. Why? 1, I caught the ultra running bug. 2: maybe my main reason was Jen, who inspired me in the first place, if she ever attempts to run a 100 mile, I would crew/pace her. So I needed to run a 100 mile myself first. I don’t know why being able to run a 100 mile would qualify me to pace someone. Maybe that just the way it is. It became my motivation.

This of course was lost in the sand of time, until Grindstone. It all came back to me.

2021. I ran my first successful 100 at Rocky Raccoon, without a crew or pacer. Not that I didn’t need one, but I could not find one because I was too shy to ask.

2022. I had my first DNF (failed to finish) at MMT 100 and that opened my eyes that I need a crew/pacer or both for harder races. At the Devil Dog 100, I finally had my first race being crewed and what an effect it had on me. I said I am willing to crew and pace people, because they helped me in the race.

2022, also was when I met Tek at a race, who blew my mind. I think she ran like 22 100 mile races that year. I said, I have to step up my game. And I did. I signed up 3 or 4 100 mile races immediately. Blackbeard Teach’s Revenge, Massanutten, Grindstone, Burning River and possibly Devil Dog 100 were somewhat affected by this. All these races were within the past 12 months. I needed to run more and I can run more. Before I met Tek, I thought running more than one 100 was insane. As you know, I finished multiple of them (5 total), except for Burning River and Grindstone as I am about tell.

I went through this long digression, probably no one cares about to explain this, Sometimes you need to know why you run. It is the vision and mission for any race you do. And most assume that when you run you want to finish. That’s the prime directive. Grindstone flipped this up-side-down for me.

I trained a whole year for Grindstone. I signed up I think on January 1st or somewhere near that date and every since, every night before sleep, I knew I have this “difficult” race in September. And I would wake up each morning, all the runs I did, was for this one race.

I had expected to do well. I think I could. If I think I could not do it, I would not have stepped on the course or to be at the starting line.

It is a given: We all want to finish in a race. No one signs up a race and hope they would not finish.

I got myself a pacer, who is a wonderful friend of mine I met this summer at the Massanutten 100. He volunteered to pace me for 60+ miles. At the last moment, he got sick and switched to crewing for me instead. Shout out to him for being a great pacer and friend. I am forever grateful for him and many others who were wishing me well and supported me on the course or at home.

So here is the kicker, My purpose (mission statement) changed at the last moment before the race start. This is why mission statement should be written down and as well communicate clearly to others so that it wouldn’t be changed willy-nelly on the spot. But as I said, one reason I love running ultras is to be able to help others in their races even to the detriment of my own race (I had done this couple times such as at Iron Mountain in 2021 and 2022, and at Laurel Highland 2021).

In Grindstone, my mission was no longer to finish the race, but to help a friend to finish her race.

So here is the scope. As I was picking up my bib and taking it back to my car, for a final preparation since I had about 2 hours to spare before the race, I ran/bumped or encountered Tek, a friend who I haven’t seen in ages. Actually, I saw her at Old Dominion 100 the past June. I had no idea she was running Grindstone. She might had told me but I have completely forgotten. Memories rushed in. I promised to pace/crew her too back in 2022 too, but something happened that weekend and I never showed up at Grindstone. Suddenly, I felt a debt has to be paid.

We talked and caught up on things. When the race was about to start, she lined up next to me. I said, I would pace her through the night, since I expected her to be faster than me, she would be on her own the next day. Note, this ultra starts at 6 in the evening instead of morning, so you would have to spend two nights in the woods instead the usual one night. That what makes this race a tough cookie besides the terrain. Terrain and elevation are not as tough as the Massanutten 100 I just did. In theory, I had a good chance.

That is pretty much the end of the story. If my friend had finished, I would have finished too. However, she did not, and I followed her lead.

The first five miles were on the road with slight climbing. Everyone started strong. I was running a good pace. We hit the first aid station at Lick Run, at which the course became a gravel road and eventually led to a trail that took us up the mountain to a ridge.

When it goes up, oh it does. Many people started to slow down significantly. Tek was climbing hard but effortlessly and immediately was out of range (my sight). I dropped back to talk to a new friend, Hazel, who knows Lynn and Lynn knows Tek, all three were running this weekend.

First problem: After the climb, slower runners dropped back and faster runners sped ahead. Me, here, a slow runner, sped up too, except that my new headlamp was not working and evening was approaching. I used it at the Burning River, without a problem, but now it refused to turn on. It was locked in a flashing mode and I did not know how to get it out of it (later I found out, you have to press and hold for 30 seconds on one of three buttons in the back – I should use a marker to mark it — do not press that lock button, exactly, why would they made a lock button?). Anyway, I had to stop and get a spare headlamp from my hydration pack. Yes, always carry couple spares. I had two. That solved it. But my spare lamp was dim – normally I don’t mind it for city running, but on the trail, it does not do justice because I could not see rocks that blended in with their surrounding, especially black or brown rocks (moss covered). It was a recipe for disaster. That is also a reason to practice night trail running, so that your feet can run without seeing what you are stepping onto. Trust me. I did it, both the night trainings and the ability to balance without looking. Note, I could and do adjust the beam of my headlamp to shine farther ahead, so I do not look at my feet of where I am stepping while running. It would give you a natural running strides at night just like running in the day time. Of course you have to practice this. It is dangerous!

With the light problem solved, I could start running again. I caught up to Tek. Hazel was right behind me. We ran to Wolf Ridge, now maybe 12 miles in.

We were quick at the aid station, maybe only stayed for 2 minutes before getting back out. The next station was at the end of a long climb to the top called Reddish Knob (the 100k runners do not go all the way to Reddish Knob, fyi, they take a side trail that leads them to a road and from there New River Gap).

People say it is beautiful up at Reddish Knob but unfortunately it was night time and we had bad weather, so no sight seeing. We arrived maybe the back of the pack at midnight. Looking back, we were a bit slower than we should here of climbing these 9 miles up.

The next stop was to Little Bald, which was about 3 miles away with a slight uphill. Again we could have pressed harder here. Tek was falling asleep. I was too. She said she lost track of the time because she was afraid of getting lost, so spent a lot of time checking the map on her watch. I don’t assign blame here. If any, I should have taken charge on the pacing. However, because the race was still early, with 6 hours in and 30 hours to go, we didn’t want to be too aggressive with the pace. We always believe we could catch up later on.

Problem 2: Tek was having trouble eating. Tek is a nurse so I assumed she could take care of herself in term of meals. I was not too concern on this, but in ultras not being able to eat is a red flag, that things are about to get ugly. Indeed, it did. Reddish Knob did not have a lot of food, and they later ran out water was what I heard from Hazel, who were a few minutes (20-40 minutes) behind. They had about just two tables with some water coolers and some candies laid out. We know in ultras, not every aid station is huge. And not every station has enough water. I ran enough races to know. Some runners were caught off guard here. The station was dimly lit (maybe was unlit, and we used our headlamps to see.) I am not complaining, but just noting my experience.

Problem 3: We reached the next aid station, Little Bald, now past 1 am. Storm Ophelia hit. It started with some sprinkles of rain and winds were picking up. Temperature dropped, maybe in the 40s (about 7C). We were cold but could manage with a thin jacket on, since we were moving, and we did not feel too cold. Note, some people wanted to drop here, but were not allowed to (this is normal with ultra running, that not all aid stations allowed runners to quit).

Problem 4: Being cold compounded with the lack of sleep, and note that with 7 hours in the race now, and with little nutrition taken, at 25 mile mark, fatigue set in and the body started breaking down. Our pace slowed significantly.

Problem 5: Confusion set in. Remember what I wrote about not having a watch? We could not trust our GPS watch because the distance started messing up. Aid station at Little Bald said they are closing soon, but that they would be lenient to allow runners through. I think we were a bit behind pace, and we finally realized it. Tek asked how many miles to the next aid station, which was the New (or North) River Gap (NRG) and we all knew we had to reach there by 4 AM, and learned we were behind schedule.

Problem 6: We reached the first technical downhill. And this is a rather long descend. Wolf Ridge at mile 12 was technical, but not as much as here. Tek got a renew strength as panic of the impending cut loomed over our heads. We had less than 2 hours to get there. It seemed we might not make it or it would be cutting very closed. We had 7 or 8 miles to go.

Tek dashed down the hill. She was out of my sight. I had problem #7: which was my vision deteriorated due to rain and the fog on my glasses. There was actual fog as well. I needed windshield wipers and defroster for my glasses. Remember what I wrote about my headlamp, it was too dim to see. I tried wiping my glasses with my shirt, it did little to clear the condensation. Everything was wet. I then set my headlamp on its brightest setting (highbeam). It helped tremendously. I think it doubled the lumens. I started running confidently down the ridge, skipping on rocks, and dashing here and there.

Problem 8. This is a compound problem. We caught up a bunch of runners. We knew we were in good company, but good time does not last. Tek later said she rolled her ankle here and her pace again slow significantly again. The trail was rocky. I had no tapes on hand to tape her up even if I knew. I am not unfamiliar with ankle rolls, so I usually carry tapes, but not this time (I packed them in my drop bags). My left ankle just recently recovered enough from Burning River run. Tek’s ankle was swollen post race, when she showed them to me. She did not communicate this until after the race. (problem 9) and I did not ask, her reply when I did ask was the trail was rocky, but I have seen she could run rocky sections before. The main reason was she was injured. A good pacer should be well aware of their runner’s condition and give proper advices and guidances.

Our race was as well as over by then. I know I did not have to stay with her, however, I guess I overcommited. By luck or favorable blessing from above, we made it to New River in time with 20 mins to spare. I arrived maybe 5 minutes before Tek. I could get dry under the tent, though I did not have time in changing out my wet clothes. I thought we were about to head back out. In fact, I did not go for my drop bag. There were only two locations for drop bags, and here was the first one. It is critical to use them, because I had everything I needed in the bag! Problem 10, if I had a crew, they would get my drop bag, clean me up, feed me, and send me back out in no wasted time. Without a crew, we dallied. We did not leave until 3:50 AM as the station was about to close. Anyway, it would not make a different in hindsight if we had rush a bit, because we were 30 minutes over the clock at our later cutoff.

33 miles done so far. A 50k distance. I felt a bit tired by now.

Next, problem 11, or a missed opportunity and/mission creep. Initially, I told Tek, I can guarantee I could get her to New River Aid Station. I succeeded. But I broadened my scope saying I will get her to the morning. The next station was Lookout Mountain. They closed at 6 AM. We did arrive exactly at 6. This is a no drop location. They let us through. The missed opportunity was not taking care of Tek at New River Gap and let her drop there, so I could have continue with my race. I still had time to run my own race at that point. Mission creep, was I took on extra responsibility and being a captain to go down with the ship. If I needed to bail from my responsibility, New River Gap was a perfect place to do it. Bailing her at Lookout Mountain would have been a little heartless thing to do.

Problem 12 and 13. Recurrences old issues became a liability. Things started snowballing. Tek could not eat. She was throwing up the food she had eaten, which was a very bad sign. We could not drop her. Her ankle was bad. She was sleepy, but coffee would upset her stomach more. She could barely run. We were out of time. Day was dawning. If anything now was the perfect time to catch up on distance in the race, and speed our way to the next station, which is also a crew point, Dowells Draft, mile 45. I ran this section during training. It is very runnable. But I was screwed. My friend said, don’t let others take advantage of your kindness. I had expect to get there by 7-ish. We did not arrive until 8:30. Slow runners were passing us now. If anything, if you see a slow runner passing by during a marathon, it means you are in deep doodoo. We were moving slower than the slow runners.

Problem 14. I had a 50-50 chance that my crew would be at Dowells Draft. As I arrived, my crew was no where in sight. A little diappointed but my crew did not promise to be there in the morning. I told him, afternoon was when I needed him the most at mile 71-72, where I would likely decide to drop or go on, so he had decided to come there in the afternoon. Here though, I could help myself since I had a drop bag, (our second drop location) but because of the lack of time, I did not go for my drop bag to get warmer clothes or good food. The food at Dowells was excellent, but nothing beat your own that you had packed. I brought real food. If I were to finish, I need strong food, like rice and potatoes. There was also no cell signal to communicate with my crew, so that they would be aware of my delay.

Problem 15. Indecisiveness. Tek decided to drop. I decided to go on. Tek then followed me out. I tried to convince her to drop. We agreed, and I walked with her back to the aid station to hand in our bibs. However, I also believe I could reach the next one. The aid station captain also said, it is better to drop at the next location because they had shuttles there for us to take us back to the start, but there were none here. Tek was not convinced she could get to the next station in time, which was at Dry Branch with a cutoff at 11 AM. (Note: they should have made Dowells Draft station a hard cutoff station, instead of Dry Branch, or have Dry branch the place for our 2nd dropbag location). My reason for to drop at Dowells was my crew would show up eventually. I had dry clothes available for myself and Tek (Tek did not pack any, and we were wet and cold the moment we were not moving). We had less than 2.5 hours to get there. Tek believed she needed 3 hours. If we stay, my crew does not show up until 4 pm, and that is 8 hours away. 3 hours won. However, we could try too to beat the cut off. Tek said we lost so much time here, walking back and forth with our indecision. Indeed we did, though in the grand scheme, a few minutes here were nothing at the end. She said, in case we do reach the station and is missed by that couple minutes, we would kick ourselves of not getting out faster.

Nothing much happened now. It seemed we were doomed, 90% chance we would not finish. Even if I have left Tek and started running in earnest, it would be a foolish thing to do because it was a big giant climb for the next 13-15 miles to Elliot Knob. I don’t think I could survive the race at this point even if I put in full power. Sure, I might make the next station or even next few ones, but result would be the same.

Our only hope was to catch the shuttle at Dry Branch. Many people passed us. This was an out and back – lollipop loop of 27 miles, so the fast runners already finished the loop was heading back (inbounding) to Dowells Draft as we were outbounding. It was good to see them. I think we saw the first and second female coming in. For guys, probably were 10th to 20th place heading back. Then later many more. All these were sub 24 hour people. They would finish before dinner time, yet we were still less than halfway. I was not jealous. It actually boistered my spirit. I wanted to run the race as well as seeing the race. This was as close as it get to be along side with celebrities.

We did eventually reached our final aid station at Dry Branch. Mile 52. Some people do celebrate having run 52 miles. To me it was kind of deflated. I know people’s good intention to help me feel better. Keep eyes on the positives. We did it in 17.5 hours (almost half of the race 36 hour allowed). For those who were planning to run this race in an even split or a reverse split, then, they are deeply mistaken. We believed we could do a reverse split here or close to it. The next half had more road and we should be able to run faster. Also, it is day time, so we could see better and run better. However, 11 AM was the hard cutoff. We would have missed the cut anyway even if were did not have to deal with our tons of problems with our deeply held belief of doing an even/reverse split.

However, given the conditions, we had been out all night, wet, cold, having eaten very little food, taking the bus back to the start was a better choice. We did not argue with the aid station’s captain but gladly accepted the offer of the van ride. We considered ourselves fortunate to have a shuttle ready for us as we arrived and also being able to escape all the nastiness the storm later brought to the area. Thus our race concluded.

As they say there is always a next year. Many of the friends I knew, dropped from the race too. A few managed to finish. I spent the rest of the race, resting, recuperating, and enjoying the race. I headed out to Dowells Draft in the afternoon to look for my crew who did not know I quitted, because of no cell service in the area. Also I wanted to pick up my and Tek’s drop bags. At night after gotten some sleep, Tek and I went back out to see a few friends who were coming through at the New River Gap Station. My friend Wayne (my crew) cooked us a storm to eat, our first real meal of the day (well second meal for me as I smooched off Wayne’s food at Dowells Draft when I met up with him earlier)! He brought me the good storm not the bad one that was happening outside. He was crewing for two other runners. Becky, his remaining runner, came before the station closed at 1:30 AM. We stayed till past 2-2:30 AM. Here, some families were surprised that it was a hard cutoff station, at so “early” a time, since it was not mentioned in the handbook at 1:30 am. (Soft cutoffs are also a hard cutoff, though not communicate directly in the runner’s guide). (Hi Mel, a friend, who was upset by this, I didn’t know he was still on the course, and was later cut here at 2 AM because he believed he could still reach the finish in time, and the cutoff was too aggressive!) My advice: Always plan to beat the soft cutoffs or you be screwed. If I had continued running earlier, I would be cut here as well, because, my target was to get here around 2-2:30 am, like Mel. The aid captain finally kicked us out. We drove back to camp. Becky did manage to finish around 5 AM. She credited to Wayne for getting her through at mile 80-82, when the storm Ophelia was at its peak. It was as thrilling as being able to watch what she accomplished what we ourselves could not do. Intangibly, we felt in a sense of crossing that finish line with her as we watched her came in.

The weekend was Amazing. Some considered it a bitter sweet moment. I had no regrets. There always are what-ifs. Could I have run and finish in spite of the storm and hundreds of problems we faced? Maybe. We always believe we can. The moment we doubt ourselves is when we fail. Also, we accept our limitations. This was one of races we just could not finish. Someone told me, we tried our best in the circumstance given at this specific moment in time. We just have to accept it. Yes, there are things we could have done differently, but now it is water under the bridge and the ship has sailed.

At first it was difficult to write this post. Many wanted to know why and how I did not manage to finish. I seemed to be so strong, mentally and physically. I came into this race as prepared as I ever be. I still think I was unbreakable. The race did not break me like MMT or Iron mountain did or Burning River. In hindsight, I am more appreciative of my pacer there at the Burning River who similarly stayed with me through all my ups and downs (mostly downs) at the toughest part of the night. Maybe there is some wisdom in that. I thought about it, my purpose when I started the run was to help people and it gave me great joy. Even though with a DNF and I was satisfied. I am just returning the favor.

2023-09-26
[Day578] forgotten race

It’s that time again where I am thinking what races to run.

I have a thing — fear of commiting. I know what races I want to do, but when it comes to time for registering, I hesitate. Not sure why.

I stayed awake last few days, thinking over and over, I should or should not register.

There are 4 things: Twichcon in Las Vegas. There will be a race there, but I also want to go the Twitch convention. If I go, I will write about it.

2. Anime NYC, Friday only since Saturday is sold out. I have a race in Philly on Sunday. I have to pick up my package on Saturday anyway. I would like to go to NYC for some good chinese food

3. Louisiana Baton Rouge Marathon, last night was the last day before it raised the price. I missed it. I stayed up and then fell asleep and woke up before midnight, but could not make myself to click it

4. Space Coast Marathon in Florida. I have been playing around the idea of running on Cocoa Beach over Thanksgiving, but could not being myself to buy the air ticket. It is expensive to fly over the holiday. In normal time, I could fly there at half the price. Do I really want to pay that much for the experience? A marathon is a marathon right? The alternative is go to Tampa in January and run the Clear/Crystal Water Marathon at a much cheaper price

5. finally Red Dirt 100 miler in Lousiana. I have been dragging me feet on this one. My friend gave me an idea to run the Forgotten Florida 100 instead. Forgotten Florida is definitely a superior choice. I don’t know, I have not register led for either of them

As for which marathons I will be running, I will release this shortly. La Cruce in New Mexico, Mississippi River Delta, Baton Rouge hopefully. That’s all I could remember at the moment.

I said 4 races, but well there are more than 4. Let’s do them all!!

I might write more later. Been thinking on what my mission/vision, and why I have to run in all 50 states. And why I am stressing out something that might or might not happen. Why do runners put themselves in a miserable condition? I am talking about running my upcoming race – the Grindstone 100 — it will be one miserable weekend!

2023-09-21
[Day577] Rock n The Knob

Claysburg, PA. I ran the Rock n the Knob every year since I first discovered it in 2020. Reports from the 2022 run (here), 2021, and 2020 are linked for those who are interested.

Each year is a bit different. One thing constant is the course is hard. I love this race. It is small but in my mind it is one of my biggest races. I usually sign up once it opens and I waited whole year for this. It is definitely the hardest marathon I did.

Having prior years experience helped. The course changed a little bit from year to year. They always say, “we added more climbing to the course.” This year, the new section added did not seem too bad. We had two new river crossings. I don’t like getting my feet wet but it would not have been a true trail race without dipping one’s toe into the water.

The climbing was a lot but I did not struggle as much as last year. I think if I remember correctly I threw up last year (It was actually 2021).

Maybe this year I have gone out a bit slower, so I was not rush climbing up hills, so I was not as winded.

I felt this year, there were less people, which made me a bit sad because this was a fun race to do. We had more time too, 1 whole extra hour, 10 hours total. I think that was messing with our heads. The last runner only needed 9 hours (there were a few who dropped and usually, it is for other reasons but time). The race started at 7 AM instead of 8 AM. I finished in 8:20:52. Last year, I finished under around 7:50. I was 30 mins slower.

I camped out the night before. Originally I intended to be there for two nights. My friend, decided to join me on the run and asked for a ride and to camp with me. She was going to sleep in her car at the start, but I said, I had a tent spot about 3 miles away. More the merrier. So we left work early and rode up to Blue Knob State Park. It was long 4 hour-ish drive in rush hour traffic. Having a friend to talk to on the way up though, makes time pass by quicker. Normally for me any drive over 2 hours is too long for me. I could run 10-20 hours but could not stand driving more than two hours. I would fall asleep behind the wheel.

The race was uneventful. I knew the course almost by heart now being this was my fourth time doing it. There were a lot of side trails or we usually would take one of the unmarked ones. The first couple miles were on a rocky path. I went slower. I know soon it would become more runnable. Occasionally, I kicked over some roots or rocks. I did roll my ankles a few times but each time, I was not hurt. And it was my strong ankle that was stumbling. My weaker ankle was alright. I was so afraid of hurting myself since a big race (Grindstone) is coming up the following weekend. I need my feet to be strong and healthy.

Then the group I was with started to separate out. Note, I did not claim the front position but was in the rear. I believe I was one of the last few runners left. I could not catch up or stayed with the main group. In the past, I usually could stay with them because I had a fast short range burst. Not this year. At the downhill section, I could speed up some, but there were a lot faster runners who could take the downhill and out ran me (like Sarah did, bib 65). The few I happened to catch up, passed me back in no time.

In the beginning, I could power up the climbs. I felt I did better than last year. About maybe about 4-5 miles in at Pavia, I started to get tired a bit. I walked more. There were some pictures taken by volunteers and I looked beaten up. We went down to the Lost Children. (This year, post race, I finally understood why they called it the Lost Children, it is sad story of what happened about 150 years ago, when two children disappeared from the town Pavia; they had a memorial there called Cox Memorial). I wanted to go back after the race to pay a proper visit.

This year, we did the new loop there. I enjoyed this section. We had a huge climb up back to Chapell Field/Blue Knob Campground.

From there, we went to the next section where we had another big climb – Teal is Real. This year it did not feel that bad. I met a half marathoner, Jake. Soon I was at Raven Rest/Roost. Previous year, I felt like dying here. Maybe the course changed somewhat, I felt I missed an aid station, but I was with other runners, I don’t think I had gotten off course. Yes, I just reread last year report, this year course was a slightly different, there was no Pavia’s Aid station. Instead of climbing up to the Pavia’s Aid station, we descended down. We climbed Saw Mill. We climbed Rocking Ridge. I met a lady from Pittsburgh who will be at the Grindstone 100. She will be voluntering.

It was about 4 miles from Raven’s Rest to the Heavenly Hairpin. Last year, I barely made the cut, and I was the last one in. This year, I was surprised when I got to Hairpin early, I caught up many half marathon runners. Of course this section had one of wicked climbs in the whole course. It was like 4 miles straight up to Pavia Overlook. Many runners felt exhausted at “I will Neetle do it again” or Beaver Dam. I was a bit tired, but climbing up was nothing to me. I was not even out of breath. I was sweating profusely though.

At the Hairpin, I felt I was at least an hour ahead of the cut. I think the time was 11:45 or something. I wanted to make it Quitters Rows by 12:45-1 pm. It was only 2 miles-ish, but we had a huge ski slope to climb. This section though I hate it was also most fun because on the big ski slope, we got to run down first then climb back up. On the way up, you could see a long line ahead. I actually started cramping on the climb. It took much effort to reach the peak.

It might not look that steep, but o boy, it was one of the hardest ascends (26% grade they said). Note, the top is not actually a top yet. People were tiny dots on the hill.

Then there was the steep double diamond descend. It was fun for me but it was too dangerous to run down this year. I know in one previous years, I bombed down the hill. I did not have to sit on my butt to go down because I was bolder, but running down on it was no joke.

There was the part everyone like, I needed a Sherpa. It was just a small climb but it was like mountaineering. I got down on my hands to crawl up. I reached the Quitter’s Rows at 12:50, and found out the aid station doesn’t close until 2:45. It was because the extra hour they gave up. The previous years, I felt I had to fight the cut off at here.

I was demotivated on the final 10k. We marathoners had an extra section to do. It was not bad. I ran it in prior years but this year, I had no energy to do it. A guy who was with me, seemed effortlessly walked faster than me. He soon left me behind. Previous years, there were so many other runners on this section, but this year I was alone. So I continued walking at my own pace. Halfway through, Sarah caught up. She was a downhill runner. So with her, I got my motivation back to run. Maybe also, I had rested enough after couple miles of walking. She wanted me to go ahead. I did. We rolled into the final aid station, “throat punch“, having caught up to the guy who previously left me.

The final two miles were on a big climb (Soul sucker) back up to Blue Knob Resort. I started cramping again, but this year the cramp was not as bad as last year. I rested maybe a minute or so until the cramp went away. Then the climb was not too bad. I caught up with Sarah again on the way up. From then it was the last stretch to the finish. I could hear Sarah and the couple guys behind me. Occasionally, on one of the switchbacks I looked down and saw them. I waved and shouted, saying I am up here. They looked up and shouted, Thanks. They kept close and I thought they would overtake me up at the top. They never came close. At the top, there was about half a mile to 3/4 of a mile relatively flat section, but a bit rocky trail leading to the finish. I walked because I could not make myself to run. Last year, I was running with another runner all the way to the finish. (That was the year with Jen).

I ran in when I saw the finish line banner. I amazed afterward that my legs were not cramping like last year. I basically could still walk. I remembered last year, it was painful to walk (because I was cramping up for over an hour last year). No more cramping this year. My friends were there cheering me. Surprisingly I was not the last one finish. There were 9-10 runners behind me. We stayed till a bit after 4 pm, (last runner came in) before going home (45 mins or so).

Have to cross the wire line to avoid getting shoes wet. I was too afraid to try

Pavia Overlook – so beautiful

Was the car flipped before? Apparently for Cadillacs parking only. (yes someone flipped it over since last year; see last year picture)

I regretted in the new section of not going hand-over-hand on the wire line. I did not think my balancing and acrobatic skill is that good to try. I waded across the water instead.

It was good thing I reread the last few years’ reports. My memory of the last year race while writing this report was actually from 2021. I did not realized until I reread those two years. Last year event was blanked/erased from my brain already until I reread the report. I did not remember Brian and the 65 year old man. I did remember Sean. Sean and his wife ran it this year. They were at the finish this year cheering me as I came in.

This year run was peaceful. There were no people chasing me. I wasn’t chasing anyone. Sarah, popped up from time to time. I think she was either immediately ahead of me or behind me. I did not get to know her until after we finished when Caroline called her over to our table. She ran Rim to River last year and will pace a friend this year. I plan to be there to cheer, because a friend Aaron, who introduced me to this race (actually both Rim to River and Rock n the Knob and Camp Anderson) will be running the Rim to River. I said, I hope to see Sarah again at that race.

Last year, I wrote, why do I love running? It was because somehow from seemingly a series of inconsequential events, we have a story to tell.

Some I chose not tell because they seemed not good to the flow with the story. In my mind, they might make sense, but why did I remember something like this but not other things.

Mike, who was doing the sweeping this year, remembered me as the guy who found his iPhone. He shot some wonderful pictures of many runners including me and posted on Facebook with his iPhone.

Sean will be running the JFK 50 this year. Couple other people asked me if I will run it. I haven’t planned to run in it yet, but I kind of want to do it now Sean is running in it.

The woman at the Throat Punch Aid station, told me that she always gains weight while running ultras. She gave me chocolate covered coffee beans last year but none this year. Maybe I did not ask.

Keith, Aaron’s friend was at the Throat Punch station, but Aaron was not around this year. The race felt somewhat different for me without seeing Aaron.

This year, I had Caroline, though we did not run together, but we shared the same course (she did the 13 miles) and she enjoyed it. I thought the hills might be too much for her, but apparently that was her best part. She likes also the stone steps on the trail. She likes the Chalets on top of the hill. She took many pictures and they were posted on Facebook. She made the drive to PA a lot more enjoyable.

Weekend is too short. The race was enjoyable. Good things always have to end so soon. I did wish to stay for another night. With Caroline though, we had to make it back the same night. I would feel bad to make her stay another night. My feet were sore. I spent the whole Sunday sleeping in and did not wake up until 4 pm. Slept in too on Monday morning.

2023-09-18
three races [Day576]

update:

Two weeks out before Grindstone. I am kind of nervous.

They say now is time to taper, meaning reducing my run volume.

My weekend: Race 1

Instead, I signed up for and ran three races last weekend. No comment. Abebe Bikila, Arlington 9-11 5K, and the Parks Half Marathon.

I did it because a few weeks ago I checked my schedule and said, hey, this year I am not going anywhere for the 9/11 weekend. I only had a 5K for the 9-11 Arlington Run. Why not throw in a marathon. And I found one, the Abebe Bikila International Peace Marathon, near home.

Then after I signed up, I happened to remember oh I have a half marathon the next day, which I signed up like 6 months ago and forgot.

The weekend ended up being a triple header. I did something like this maybe back in 2018 or 2019. I will see if I could pull up the link to that race report. It would be interesting to see what happened, like how I was able to do it. (I tried but my site is hard to navigate, and I couldn’t find it).

I had very little sleep the night prior to the Marathon. The race was not early. It started at 8:00. However, I usually get to my race an hour ahead. Driving into downtown, usually takes an hour too. I need an hour before at home to get up, have breakfast and get my things together. It means waking up at 5 AM. I think I was up around 4:30 or so.

Abebe Bikila International Peace Marathon from Health & Safety Foundation, and ACE Physical Therapy

I got to the race on time. Parking was plenty for me. There were three wave starts (7:00, 8:00 and 9:00). I actually wanted the 7:00 AM start but I was a bit slow getting to my car and was late for that. Generally for this race, they recommended people to start at 8:00. 9:00 AM was for really fast people. They also had the half marathon at all three time starts.

I don’t remember when was my last time running a marathon. Probably it was during spring, when I did my last marathon. Though I run a lot ultras, running a marathon has a special feeling. Marathon is truly my jam.

I have been on the same course a few times. I remembered the past events. One of my very first race in 2017 was the Fall in Love 5K, where I met my first (and only) running club and I am still involved in. None of them were running in this marathon today, but I remembered them because that was the first time I got involved with others in a race. I also volunteered for their races before.

I also recalled the last marathon I ran on the C&O Canal towpath. It was also my first half marathon there in 2016. I ran until I cramped up. I think my mom was with me on that very first race. That was so long ago.

Today was hot and muggy. I loved it. In the past, I prefer cold weather running but recently, in the past two years, I have grown to love the hot sweat drenching run. This was the day where the heat and humidity would cake up around me. It would be a slow going race to battle it out.

Indeed, my time was not great. I reached halfway at 2:18 (hh:mm). I normally could run a half marathon in a faster time, like under 2 hours. By the time I finished it was 5:18 (officially was 5:12, since it was bib time). The second half was much harder for me.

I had to walk early. However, I was able to keep ahead of a couple people. I was catching some younger runners. It motivated me to not stop. It was an out and back course, so on my 2nd outbound, I could look at people on their way back. Eye candy, some call it. I love people watching. Many runners were kind and returned the smile or said some encouraging words. They were super fast. I recognized some Korean runners, having seen them in other races.

I finished around 1 pm. I was too tired. Supposingly that day, my mom told me to go a family gathering, which doubled as a memorial service for my great uncle who recently passed away. I felt I was not properly dressed. Also, I had intended to start the run earlier, but that plan fell through. So I hung around at the race until the 6 hr runners came in. I met many of them on the course during my run and it was good to see them came in at the finish. Many of them were first time running a marathon. Rain came and I sheltered in my car till it was over. Now it was mid afternoon. My next race was in a few hours at 6 PM.

I went to grab sonething to eat. I had just enough time. 3:30-4:30. I was able to change into dry clothes.

Race 2: Arlington 9-11 Fire, Police, E-services, etc 5K

This year, I parked at the Metro (East Falls Church station) instead of driving to the Pentagon. Later, I found out, they closed off the Pentagon parking lots. They were always restricted but in years past, we always parked in the Pentagon lot (at least a few of us without issue). There was no exception made this year. I glad I took the Metro train like many other runners did to avoid all the headache.

I still had to pick up my bib. I felt I was running a bit late when I arrived in Arlington to Pentagon City Mall. We had a 10 min walk to the Double Tree Hotel where the race would be held. A lot people were already there.

Then it started to rain again, with lightning and thunders. The race was postponed until 6:25 pm.

I tried to run but my body froze up. I had hard time breathing. I guessed I was too tired from the earlier marathon. About five minutes in and caught up with a friend. He and his friends ran this every year since the first event, like 20+ times. This year was my third. He was walking the course instead of running because his doctor told him he no long can run due to his knees. I ended up walking with him. We finished the 5K less than 50 minutes.

Race No. 3: Parks Half Marathon

The next morning, I had the Parks Half Marathon. This was even earlier. The race started at 6:45. It was about an hour drive too. I had to be up around 4 am. I think I was up by 3:30. I only slept for a few hours. I was excited by tired.

I parked at the Shady Metro station. Note to self, for next year, try parking on the West Lot instead of the East Lot. They closed the Metro tunnel from the East to West Lot. It took me half an hour walking around all over the place trying to get to the other side. Later, they had volunteers directing the way.

The race in itself was pretty good. It was my best experience for the weekend. This race always hit a special spot. Half marathon is short. This was my third time running it. I kind of remembered the course. It was hilly. Then with my ultra training, the hill was less than I remember. I was much stronger than before with my hill run. I did not have a fast time. I was fine with it. The course allowed 2:45 (h:m), and I was originally lined up with the 2:45 pacer. Later after a mile in, I realized I could keep a 11 min mile pace, I moved up to around 2:15-2:20 finish pace. I finished at 2:22 (hr:min).

I also found a friend at the finish. We haven’t seen each other since winter. We ran into each other quite frequently this past year as she has dabbled into the ultra world. She came out for a lot of local trail races. She told me about the ocean to ocean race in South Africa. I said, we should plan a trip there.

I stayed for the food and then it started to rain around 9 am, so I went home. I slept for the rest of the day to catch up on the much needed sleep.

Conclusion:

Not my usual race report. If anyone is wondering should they do either of these races, yes, run them. They are fun.

The Abebe Bikila Marathon, this course is offerred several times a year. They are basically my training runs for much bigger race. I love the vibe of every time I run it because I am surrounded with new runners and first time marathoners. It does make me feel like an expert on the course! One guy, I saw was “dying” slowing down at the halfway point, so I called out to him, telling him to move relentlessly forward (say you have to shuffle, that is, drag your foot), he misheard me and thought I said, you have to suffer to finish. When he came in at the finish, he was a mess, yes he suffered. I replied to him, that is true, we always suffer too. We laughed.

5K is fun. I would recommend it too. A lot of out of town people run this. It was a solemn run every year due to the serious nature. Many of us were old enough to remember 9-11 when it happened.

Parks Half Marathon, it is a beautiful wooded course outside the DC area. I found it relaxing. This race has over 1000 runners each year. You would be running with a crowd, but not too big a crowd. The course is paved, but on a trail. City trail race. There are probably many better report out there than mine. It is not a flat course, so don’t expect running this in a fast time, but for ultra runners, it is a pretty fast course!

2023-09-15
Re(view) 23:14 [Day575]

Midterm review / Summer-Fall 2023

Summer has gone by too fast for me. The last review was around April (Re 23:13). The goal back then was to train to run faster for the Iron Mountain 50, especially Grindstone 100.

Let just say, it has not been easy. I have gotten slower instead of faster. I blame my left foot, which still gives me problem. I DNF’d in couple races. And Grindstone is about two weeks away.

I started the summer full of confident from having conquered the MMT100 (finished under 35 hours), and I finished the Blackbeard 100 (OBX) last march in 28 hours. I felt I could now tackle any 100 miler. I felt I have matured in tge sport.

I went and signed up for Burning River 100 thinking it is comparable easy like Blackbeard and I should not have trouble of finish it.

As superstition has it, I took the finishing photo before runing the race, and I was thinking, it would be an embarassment if I don’t finish, and so it turned out to be a self-fulfilling prophesy. I stopped after 28-ish hours at mile 86-ish (I ran 89). It was a mess of a race. It rained heavily as the race got underway. I was soaked thrpugh and through. I was not prepared for the rain, and did not pack as many sets of dry clothes as I should. I had shirts but no extra shorts and underpants or socks. It was a struggle throughout the day. I was severely chafed by mile 26. I felt several times. The trail was muddy and slicked. I did not wear proper trail running shoes. It was like skiing downhill. During one fall, I might have rolled my ankle and it was swollen by midnight. And I could no longer run. It was as bad as could be.

One of the lessons learned was I “over”-trained before the race and did not taper and so during my big race, I was out of reserve. By midnight, I was pretty much done. There was no reaching deep in my heart to draw out that energy to push me through. I slogged through the night only moving another 20 miles. It was too little too late. I DNF (did not finish/cut) when I failed to reach the last few aid stations in time. My pacer was pleading, it is just half a marathon left, which on a typical day, would be a morning run. Shout out to an amazing pacer, Amanda.

Burning river 100 left a big impression in me (full report here). I will definitely will do it again. This was one example of how my whole summer was.

The other race I DNF’d was the Iron Mountain 50. (report can be found here). My summer was supposed to run faster so I could do this race. Somehow, maybe the time required to recover from the Burning River and also from an earlier 100 mile race (MMT), I was not able to train as much on speed as I should. Iron Mountain was a bloodshed. I was destroyed. I finished an hour later than my goal. Good thing was I was not injured from the race.

As for other races, I ran the Catherine’s Furnace 50K more as a training run. It took me 10 hours to do it. Normally, I should/could run it in 6-ish hours. I did not really write a report. This is as close as it get.

An highlight of my summer was I went to Toronto and ran the Toronto Marathon. It was not a fast time, but I was pleased. The report can be found here. Note, my report was mostly negative, but due to other reasons.

As for other races, MMT100, OSS/CIA50, Catoctin 50K, readers can read their reports. I am tired so not going to write much on those. They were all good race.

So what is ahead? Fall season is about to start. I have plenty of races, both big and small ones. Grindstone 100 is ahead. Devil Dog 100 is in December. I have been reluctant to commit to 2024 so I have not signed up too many races for next year especially the 100 mile races. I promised to help my friend at what to be her last 100 mile race, Cowboy 100 in Nebraska. More on this as the date approach.

Red Dirt 100 is in February. Burning River 100 is in July. I plan to run MMT 100 again in May. Iron Mountain 50 in September. Cowboy 100 is in September too, but I won’t be competing, so won’t be stressed out about it.

As for marathons, I will run a few of those. My goal is always the same – to run faster so that I could finish some harder races, and not be embarrassed. I don’t mind the DNF, but it is a like a mosquito bite of plain annoyance of not being able to finish when I feel I could do it.

I have an international trip planned. Likely will be a marathon in Taiwan.

Conclusion if any, I am a bit jaded after this summer. I kind of see it coming. I am still in love to run and run far, but I am a bit at lost of which race to run. I know which race I want to run, but I am not as aggressive as before. I don’t want to run because I have to; I want to run because I am passionate about doing it. My nightmare is might fall out of love with my running and next year might be my last year.

My next review will be 6 months from now (early January or February). I will likely do and end of the year thing, new year resolutions, and an anniversary post.

2023-09-09
IMTR, so close [Day574]

This might be a long addentum to my last post. A week before, I was thinking of skipping the Iron Mountain 50 mile race and instead to go on a backpacking trip.

In the end I chose the run because the other trip did not pan out. The friend who invited me never got back to me with the details (5w 1h).

I might have gotten cold feet about the run because I was not confident I could finish the 50 mile under 12 hours. In the end, I just had to show up and do my best.

If the title is any hint, I did not finish in time but I did finish. It was not close at all unlike last year. But it was so close that I could have made it. In the end It took me 13 hours. I was hoping originally to at least have a repeat of last year of 12:15.

I knew the race would be a nail-bittingly close for me to finish under 12 hours. I have done 50 mile under 12 (JFK), but this was on trail and significantly harder. Last year I came in 12:15, I knew I could cut down those 15 minutes over the course of the race. I was trying to run differently.

First off, last year I started the first 5 miles very slowly. I think I was the last guy. I learned in ultras you have to go slow. I was patient and mostly took my time the first 8-13 miles. Not this year. I started the road section with more of my 5K speed. I was determined to run fast but not out of breath fast on the road portion. I thought I did fairly well. I was mid pack in the 40-milers. As for the 50 milers, I was probably at the tail end. Both the 40 milers and 50 milers had 12 hours to finish. For the 40 milers, they could walk (fast) and finish.

Then there was a mile-ish climb. I was going up pretty well. I am usually a strong uphill hiker. No one passed me except a 40 miler, Andy from Durham. He was strong, and much stronger hiker than me (he finished the 40-mile in 10 hours). After the climb, we had maybe 4-5 miles of more gradual uphills. I wish I could have pushed on this section harder. I did chase some 40 milers. Passed one of them.

The 30 mile runners who started maybe half hour later caught up to me. I knew in the past, it normally took them more time to catch up to me (like 8 mile in). But today, they seemed to reach me a mile or two sooner than I was expected. Usually they did not show up until I get to the FS 90 aid station. It was this section to the second aid station, I was a bit slower.

I think I reached the FS90 aid station by 9 am. I was still in the game. It was two hours after the start. It was about the same time as last year. We were maybe 8 miles in. Averaging 15 mins a mile is not bad. I could go a bit faster. (We needed to maintain 14:24 min mile pace to finish under 12)

However, the next segment to Skulls Gap at mile 16-ish, I was a bit much slower (note they say it is 4 (correction: 6) miles, I think it should be 4, but it is the 30 mile turn around point, so could be 8 miles). It took me two hours. Same on the way back. I was not as aggresive as I used to in attacking the hills. This section has steeper rolling hills. I was slow on the uphills and just as slow too on the downhills. Still I think was maintaining a 15 mins mile pace but that was a bit too slow to make the 12 hours cutoff. I was hoping the 7-mile road section at later on (mile 20-27), I could make up the time.

I arrived at Skulls Gap at 11 am (right at the cut off). ~~I think I was behind the soft cutoff of 10:50.~~ My goal was to get there by 10:30. Last year I was there around 10:40-10:45. Last year, I spent more time at the aid station changing shoes and socks, so this year, I was hoping to cut down on my time at the aid stations to give me that 15 mins needed to finish on time. But this year, I was 15 mins slower, so I would have to make up that 30 mins. Hurricane Gap would have the hard cut off.

From Skulls Gap to Hurricane Gap was about 5 miles, with one steep climb and then mostly a downhill run. Again I was not as aggressive with my run. Last year, I went a bit faster and was able to catch up to several other runners, but not this year. I was the last runner. There was no one to catch, not even the 40 milers. Last year I caught a bunch of 40 milers. I expected to be cut when I arrived at Hurricane Gap, but I made it with 5 mins to spare at 12:15. So I decided to continue on. It was going to be tough to make the next cut.

The next section was also mostly downhill and on road – the infamous quad ripping 7 miles of downhill run and then a hard climb back. This is what makes Iron Mountain so hard. It requires fast running on the road as well as on the trail. The downhills just destroy the legs.

Barton Gap had about a mile of trail, maybe half mile of uphill and half mile of downhill, but it seemed like 2 miles to me. Unlike last year, I could not run at all going uphill. The road was fine, occasionally, I could break out into a fast jog/run. I tried to keep an even pace. I walked some. It was a mental game. I tried to count mile. I got to the Rowland Aid Station by 2 pm. Happy to get there. The aid station people treated me like king, because I was their last customer!

I then had a four mile climb to get back to Hurricane Gap by 3. (I did not know the cut off was 2:45, and the aid station workers did not pull me from the race). They said I could make it but I had to work on the flat sections before the 1000 ft climb. I did not think I could. This year though there were not much mud so this section was ok to run on. It was a bit rocky. The uphill was not as steep as I remembered it but still about a mile of decent grade climb. It was not long until ~~I reached the top. I surprised I made the cut off by 10 mins~~. I did not think I was that fast, but I was faster than last year.

The next section would be to go back to Skulls Gap on the road with two miles of trail on the Iron Mountain. This is supposed to be an easy section. I know from last year this section was long. I have an hour to get to Skulls Gap by 4 pm, amd felt like a 5 mile long. I arrived at 4:03. (The actual hard cut off was at 3:45, and I was 20 mins late. I did not know at the time.) I had a sinking feeling it would be hard to make the cut. I know if only I could hustle a bit in that 4-5 ish miles, I would have made the cut. My race technically ended here.

I was now at mile 37. There were 13 miles left. I would try to get back to the finish by 7 pm. 3 hours for 13 miles is doable. I did not feel that tired.

The sweeper offered me her car to give back but I refused. Usually, it is somewhat a difficulty for runners to find a ride back to the start after having dropped from the race. Here she was so excited saying you got to drive my car back as if I won the lottery. It was good news but I had already decided to run back, like last year. I needed the long hard run.

One reason, was after 37 miles of running, I was not ready for a drive. It was kind of her, but no way I would be driving. I prefer to run back. She stayed for maybe a bit more to find another driver to take her car back to the start before begining her sweep. I was trying to get as fast away from her. It is never fun to be chased by a sweeper. (By the way, the sweeper duties were to make sure no other runners on the trail, and to take down the course markings).

It was supposed to be 4 miles (correction: 6 miles) to the next aid station at FS90. I know they would be closed at 5 and last year, I reached there by 5:15. The situation was about the same. Last year, I left the aid station at 3:50-3:55. This year I left at 4:08. Still I should not be too far off. If not by 5:15, then 5:30 would have been acceptable to me. I felt I was running better than last year, but because the pressure was off from having to make the cut off, I did not arrive at FS 90 until 6 pm. I guess I was walking more than I should. By then the sweeper had caught up to me. I also caught up to a 40-mile runner, Dave Lance (apparently that was a fake name) from central West Virginia. It was the first time I caught up with anybody this late in the race. He was timed out by now being close to 6 pm. Later I learned he refused to be pulled from the earlier aid stations after being cut and so was disqualified. He was not moving that fast. The sweeper was pulling the course markings. Unless he knew the way, he was not allowed to be on the trail. I just he was being stubborn. Night fall was in an hour ish and he did not have a headlamp. They tried to convince him to take a ride back to the start. Finally, he gave in. The sweeper was not having it and so did not wait on him.

I had 9 miles to go. Last year, it took me two hours to get off the mountain. Because the last section where there were supposed to be only 4 miles took me over 2 hours, it might take me 3-4 hours to do the final 9 miles.

Now the sweeper was chasing me again and she passed me like 10 mins later and it was me chasing her. It was impossible. She was fresh and super fast, looked to me running a 9 min pace or faster. Still I did not want to be on the mountain after dark. Apparently, now after 12 hours, I finally found my running strides. I made longer strides and lept over rocks and stuffs. I was amazing flying down the trail. I was not that fast per se like the sweeper but I was moving much faster than any other time in the whole race. If I had moved like that during earlier, the race would have been well within reach. I reached the finish before 8 pm. I was faster coming off the mountain this year than last year. One thing I noticed, the final rocky section was not as rocky as I remembered it to be. I was able to run on it.

How to do better next year: I really need to practice hill run both going up and coming down. This year unlike last year, I just didn’t have the energy to run until the final 12th hour. Not sure what is wrong. How did I hold up onto my reserve until the final hour does not make sense to me.

The 4-mile section from Skulls Gap to FS90 really hampered me both on the outbound and inbounding. If not for that extra slowness on this stretch, the race would have been in the bag. Outbounding caused me being cut at Skulls Gap later on (3 mins over). Inbounding, I was 45 mins over my expected time.

I did well on the Rowland (mile 27-31). I did especially well on the final 9 mile descend (under 2 hours). This was on tired feet.

Thank you for all volunteers and aid stations. My friends waited for me at the end. Adrien, Scott, Eileen, and others. They gave me a lot of goodies, left over aid station food, sodas, pops. It was another unforgetable year. Adrien was the last to finish and how I wish I could have caught up to him.

[updated for some corrections]

2023-09-03
IMTR 2023 [Day573]

Finally the week is here. Usually I don’t write anything before the race for fear of jinxing it.

Thinking back to the Burning River 100, I arrived on Friday afternoon. We saw the finish chute and arch. My mom suggested me to take some pictures there since it is not fenced off yet. I had a feeling it is bad luck to pretend crossing over the finisb line before the race. I did took pictures of myself before the finish line. Lo and behold, I jinxed it. I did not finish that race.

Since now I am again at the start line of the Iron Mountain 50 mile race, many effort was spent for this. Last few weekends I have been driving over 300 miles to train on the course.

In the last post, I mentioned the possibility of going backpacking. It turned out the plan fell through. I am at the race now.

It is an out and back race. My ankle has been much better, though not 100%. I don’t think it ever will get back to 100%. It is better than when I ran the Burning River last month.

Because the race is an out and back, I could turn around accordingly if my ankle could not handle the trail anymore.

That is all for now.

Last weekend was amazing. Though I am too tired to write about it now. I did the course marking for tomorrow race. Then I went to the Grindstone course in the Washington Forest. There I did a night run. It was once in a long while since I did a night run. It was worth it.

2023-09-01
[Day572]

More training. This week I will “run” it back. Between last entry and now had been two weeks. I have been lazy in posting. I am repeating what I did in last post. Almost exactly. I drove down to Damascus (VA), going to run on Saturday (course marking day), and then immediately, going to Mt Solon tonight, and then tomorrow, will run on the Grindstone course.

Labor Day is next weekend, which means IMTR – the Iron Mountain Trail Race.

I have been looking toward it since last year. It was going to be a redemption since I did not “finish” the run last year. If you look for my name on the ultrasignup list, I was not listed, because I came in after 12 hours, though I think my name was on the excel results sheet at the IMTR website.

Anyway, the past Tuesday, a friend reached out asking if I am free on Labor Day, whether I am up for some backpacking they were planning. I said I have IMTR coming up in a week. They were not a runner. So I said I plan to run 50 miles that weekend (actually just one day, Saturday). Of course they are impressed. They might be planning to hike about 50 miles over 3-4 days.

I said, if the backpacking trip is near Damascus, I would like to join them after my run. Now in my head, I am planning, like during the race, I will be running in the woods. Nearby (maybe about 50 miles away) is Grayson Highlands. If their trip is around Grayson Highlands, then during the run, I just run there, of course, I would be DNF/DQ. IMTR is an out and back route, so I will just run out and not come back to the finish. I will let the last aid station know when I pass by that I will drop, so they don’t have to look for me.

Yes anyway, that only if the trip is around Grayson Highlands. Iron Mountain is kind of connected to Graysons Highlands. I have “done” this route vaguely couple times. My friends said Grayson Highlands is 6 hours away for them and they don’t want to drive that far.

When I told this plan to my other friends who were going to do IMTR too, they said how sad that I would not finish. True. I don’t think I will finish even if not for the backpacking trip. This summer, I was going to work on speed, but I have been too lazy and did not spend a lot of time training. So, I don’t think I am capable of running 50 miles under 12 hours, especially on the Iron Mountain Trail.

I have been driving long distances these past few weeks. Last weekend, I went to Fayetteville, WV to do some trail work with the River Gorge park service people (nps). I intended to afterward run on the trails there, since that was part of the course for the River Rim 100, which I ran few years ago as my second 100 race. There were a lot of fond memories.

The section I worked on the mountain bike trail. It finally dawned on me why during my race there there were so many turns and small hills. During that race, I broke my glasses so I could not see much. I kept getting lost on the trail because every couple steps the trail would turn off to a different direction and I kept on bumping into trees. Later on in that race, I found a buddy, who would kind of leading me, so I was no longer getting lost and bumping into trees. That was a wild night for me for sure. I might have mentioned that in the race report.

All these memories came to me as I stepped back on the same trails, but this time I could see clearly and in the day time! After my service work, I was too tired to actually run. I went to my camp and slept for 15-16 hours till almost noon the next day. That goes my running for the weekend. I did do some light running around the ACE Resort campground, then headed home. It was a long drive that night, and I did not get home till midnight.

My weekend last week was the service project and long driving. This weekend is pretty much the same. I drove about 6 hours Friday. Probably another 5-6 hours today. Maybe run for a few hours. Will do the same on Sunday. The bulk of the run will be Sunday if I am not too lazy. Then will drive home.

I was thinking to myself, why do I drive so much. Why can I just drive 30 mins to somewhere nearby and run instead of driving 300+ miles away? Because I am usually lazy. Whole summer I have been thinking to do that but if the place is too close to my house, I ended up staying home every weekend and ended up not running. Going somewhere really far forces me to run after arriving.

Anyway IMTR is next weekend. I will be meeting a lot of my running friends. I might or might not do backpacking on top. I already booked the hotrl for all four days.

Wrapping up, I had nothing to post so I went of on some tangent. The sci-fi series I was reading turned out be boring and frustrating. I am on book 9. Yep, my week has been like that. I spent time reading. I started this since 5-6 weeks ago, since Burning River. As you know, I have not been training much for my races since that one. However, fall season races will start soon. Some even say now is fall. We had some really nice fall weather this week. I think I have lined up myself with a race every weekend from now until Thanksgiving!

2023-08-26
training day [Day571]

IMTR and Grindstone – These two races are finally on my radar.

IMTR is Iron Mountain 50 miler, which I ran last year and the year before. I did not finish it and was hoping this year would be the year I will finish under 12 hours.

Things seemed to be moving in the right direction with how seriously I trained for my early races such as the MMT 100, until the beginning of summer, when my plan was coming apart.

I have been slacking off after MMT. I failed to finish Catoctin 50k within the time limit in early July. Two weeks ago, I failed to finish the Burning River 100.

Each of those races were hard, and no doubt I knew that beforehand. They were somehow suppose to vault me into Iron Mountain and Grindstone. These two are much tougher.

I don’t want to doubt myself but I am now on shaky ground with the two earlier races gone bad. Anyway, the show must go on.

The past weekend, I had a chance to go down to Damascus (VA), to do a training run on the Iron Mountain course. I completed 23 miles. My time was not fast. The mileage was not great. I originally wanted to 28 ish and even 30. I was moving much slower than I wanted and so ran out of time. It was not yet able to reach race day pace. Everyone who showed up out ran me. It was fine, I know.

I enjoyed my run out there. My foot was feeling better. Pain finally is gone. I ran in my brand new trail shoes I brought at Burning River. It was not my first time wearing trail shoes but it has been a long time since. I finally appreciate what good trail shoes can do. I felt I could step on anything on the trail again without the fear of falling or twisting my ankles. It is a world apart to run with trail shoes than on road shoes I have been using.

The next day, I went to Solon, VA, to do the Grindstone training. It is on the Wild Old Trail, which I had run there plenty of times. I was again the last one in my group because there were many more powerful runners than I was on the trail.

The Grindstone run was easier than I had anticipated since most of the run was on a downhill and there was even a portion on the road. I ran 28 miles. It skipped two of the mountains I normally would go on, so we saved 4-6 hours from the run.

The hardest part of the run was to climb to Little Bald for 3 miles. There I was able to over take couple other runners. One runner went off course for 10 miles and did not return until later in the evening (3 hours later). I had no problem with directions since I know the course.

The good outcome of the both trainings was I got to meet up with an old friend and met couple new people. I met Scott, who led me to another friend Adrien, whom I met last year. It was a little reunion. Scott helped bail out Mel who was lost on the mountains for hours. He went out to find him and drove him back to camp.

It was some memorable experience. I don’t know whether I could finish either Iron Mountain or Grindstone this year, but I already had some good time while training for it.

This coming weekend, I plan to go to West Virginia for my service project, and as well some training run. I plan to use the Rim to River 100 course. I won’t be running in it this year, but the course is beautiful and I needed the service hours for Grindstone to meet one of the requirements.

On a personal level, my great uncle passed away couple days ago. I am sadden by the news. I have been thinking what it means. One reflection I got (same when my grandma passed away in 2020) is that there is an end. All races have an end. It made me think back the last couple races I did. Some had a happy ending. I guess there are always celebrations when one crosses the finish line. But as you know, at Burning River, I did not get to cross the finish line. I did finish (at mile 86). The experience was I poured all my energy into it. I was empty and I was done at that point. There was no more I could give. No way I could take another step.

I did not see my great uncle took his last breath, but we were there with him five hours before. His breathing was started becoming more laborous when we left. I did not expect him to depart from us that night though we knew it would be soon. And there he finished. We might have wished that he would live a few more years, a few more days, or even a few more hours. Yet it was expected as was unexpected that night as he slept, he left this world.

There is no why or how. It just is. Death is an end. The analogy of a race and death kind of break apart from here. I might be selfish to be all wrapped up about my not finishing the Burning River. Why did I not train harder or run a bit faster or being smarter in how I go through the aid stations. There is a lot of I could have and should have done this or that. In the end what does it even matter? It was a race and I ran it. I have fought the good fight (as Apostle Paul wrote about his life as he looked back on it). I hope I could one day say the same. I ran the race and fought the good fight.

2023-08-19
[Day570]

Nothing much to report. Been distracted by various things.

Into reading some wushu fatasy novel (I shall seal the heaven), on book 9 now.

Not much running done since the Burning River, only did about 4 miles in the last two weeks. Training for Iron Mountain and Grindstone this weekend. They are both super hard races. After what happened in Ohio, I have so little faith that I could do either of them, but the show must go on.

Eastern States Race is this weekend. Two of my friends are running in it. One will be my pacer for Grindstone. The other gave me the super duper headlamp I used in the Burning River. I am cheering them from afar. Of course, I would like to be present on the course to support and all, but I have my own training runs to do.

My friend Caroline dropped some ideas about which races to do bext year. Big Horn 100 in Wyoming in June (hopefully it won’t conflict with Old Dominion). Also Nebraska 100. I don’t know the detail yet. Nebraska would her last race she said and her last 50 states. I said I would pace/support her. Is she thinking about the Cowboy 200? That is the race I have been eyeing the past year.

When I wrote my race report, Burning River did not rub me that hard, but now as time sinks in, I am asking myself why I did not finish. The answer was obvious. All the what and how were mentioned in race report. But now the feeling hits me. I am feeling beaten up by it. It is like a black hole eating me up inside. There is nothing I can do. I just need to move forward. My two friends who had done the Burning River comforted me. One shared of her experience how she also did not finish it the first time she tried. She said she tried again the following year and finished it. My awesome pacer Amanda, also said she did not finish it the year she attempted it. I am pretty sure, if she tries again, she will be able to do it.

What am I getting at? I am itching to sign up races for next year.

Oh about me foot, The swelling has gone away. There is some pain still. It is not broken, but dang it still hurts. This is worse than in January.

2023-08-11