In awe

Category: running

  • Day514 Wrapping it up / Stone Mill 50 RP

    Stone Mill 50 mile race brings a close to my fall training season. It has been fun and a lot of grinding the past 10 weeks to get here. I know there are still four more weeks of fall, but weather is getter too cold for me to see that as fall. The fun of fall running is over after this race.

    Recap, after my attempted of the Iron Monutain 50 mile run on Labor Day weekend, I had a bunch of training runs and couple races to prepare me for the Stone Mill 50. Readers have been bearing with me from one training run after another. This year, I avoided the dreaded slump of doing too much.

    Stone Mill 50 was not a hard race in itself, due to it being held in the city (meaning lack of real technical trails and also closer to home) and a generous cut off time given (14-15 hours, 15 for those who started at 5:00 AM). I think it is doable and accessible to many first time ultra runners.

    This race attracts both the seasoned and new runners. For a repeated runner like me, this race was like a reunion. I started to recognize faces of runners from other races such as my friend Ram was there, also, Coach Phil who hosted the Stone Mill training runs recognized me, and Dan who refilled up my water pack. I met a couple runners on the course who have done this 4-5 times. One person, this was his 13th time.

    Iron Mountain, the race I did before this one, on the otherhand was much harder. As I wrote previously, I did not officially finished that race because I came in after 12 hours. That race challenged me to run Stone Mill 50 under 12 hours. 12 hour became a new bar for me to reach. You would think if I could run a marathon in 5 hours, doing in 12 hours should be easy for a 50 mile run. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that. Doubling the distance doesn’t mean doubling the time. Previous years, my times at Stone Mill were all over 12 hours. I really did not know how doable for me to aim for it.

    This year was my third time running. Here is a Report from 2021. It’s gotten easier, I admit. And third time the charm as they say. Fast-forward, I did get it under 12 hours, finished it at 11:16:48. It was a PR (personal record or personal best), beating my previous fastest 50 mile run by 15 minutes set at JFK50.

    This race is significant to me because the first year I ran this my grandmother passed away. Whenever I run this again, I remember her.

    In a marathon, especially in our area, often there are runners who run their race for a fallen soldier. It could be quite sober moment when I come across them. During Stone Mill, I passed one runner who had a photo of a soldier on the back of his hydration pack. It dawned on me, I was also running for someone.

    This year, I was excited to do again. Amazingly, two of my friends from my running club decided to join me. This always get me so excited.

    The first year (SM2020) when I ran Stone Mill, the race was like a Mt Everlast for me. It was tough. I have not done a 50 mile on the trail before then. I still don’t remember how I got through.

    Contrasting the first year, this year was much easier. A series of training run I did helped and so too were my prior years’ experiences. The number one thing was I did not get lost. My two other friends did like I did on my first year. They said the flagging was bad. I believe they were not used to the flagging system. Many Other races I did, the course usually flagged with streamers hanging from trees. The turns on this course were indicated by small rectagular flags on the ground. Two or more flags placed together means to turn. If they are on the left side of the trail it means to turn left and if they are placed on the right, to the right. However, flags could be easily missed if they are bended (or trampled) down or covered by leaves. I think that was a reason people got lost. I was used to seeing ribbons too but now I learned about flags, I began to like it too. I believe they are more predictable and you could run with your eyes down on the ground instead of constantly scanning the trees.

    Another factor standing out was I was quick in my passing through at the aid stations. Drawing from my MMT experience (a race I did not finish), I learned to be as quick at the aid stations as possible. This stems from a change of philosophy that I have to keep moving. I skipped some aid stations when I didn’t need to stop. My longest stop was at near the midway at mile 24, I stopped there for 7 minutes to change socks and shirt. It was a bit too long I know, but I was almost a magnitude faster than last year. I might have used about 3 minutes at the food table and 4 minutes for changing my shirt and socks. Wet socks were hard to remove. The overall result was still a quick in-and-out, much quicker than previous years.

    Now about the race, we arrived early at the race site at around 5 am, an hour before the race start. My friend David had just gotten back from his vacation in India a couple days before and so probably was suffering from a bit of jetlag. He almost couldn’t make it due to some complication with his travel. My other friend Alex hasn’t run for over a whole month and likely has not done any long training runs. Alex has done a 100K before, so this 50 mile distance was not much to fear. But I was worried for these two being out there and doing a 50 miler with me, having very little preparation, especially toward the end, as the time approaching cutoff.

    About 200 runners starting and 150 volunteers supporting us. We were waiting for the go signal

    The first few miles were uneventful. The sun was about to rise when we started at 6 am. I was surprised how early the sunrise was. I had expected that we would be running an hour in the dark but it was like 10-15 minutes after the start it got lighted. I had just entered the woods. We held a steady pace. We had 14 hours to finish (by 8 pm). The first mile was on the road. We ran down Watkins Mill Road to the Seneca Creek Trail. By 6:30, the sun was completely up. We had a beautiful sunrise. The temperature was unusually warm. I think the temp in the morning was around 60 degrees (15 C). And it would continue to climb to 70s. I like it hot but many other runners prefer it to be a bit cooler. For me it was perfect. I got a feeling I would do well on this run.

    The trail was a bit muddy since much weakened Tropical storm Nicole that caused major devastation in Florida passed through our area just the day before.

    My two friends were trying to keep their shoes clean and dry and they tried to go around mud puddles and such. For me, I ran through them. Mud is part of ultra runner life. I expected to have a lot of it. Fortunately, only a brief portion of the trail was muddy. Most of the trail in the later portion was on a ridge, so the trail drains well.

    I stayed with my friends for the first 9 miles or so. We all skipped the first Aid Station at Rt 355 (mile 4), but they stopped at the second one at mile 9. I did not stop but went on ahead. They were quick though, by the time I left the third Station (mile 11), they had caught back up. I only grabbed a cup of soda at the third aid station, so I was out less than a minute. After that, I did not see them again until at the finish. I was hoping they could catch back up by the time I reached mile 24, but I was probably going too fast for them. Normally, they would be much stronger runners than me.

    My goal always had been to get to mile 24 in 5 hours. This year I arrived at 5:03 elapsed time (11:03 am in real time). Compare to two other years, I was here around 11:45 am. So I was already 40 mins ahead the game. In a previous year, I stayed between 20 to 30 minutes at this aid station. This time I only stayed for about 7 minutes.

    As I arrived, a volunteer found my dropbag where I have clean clothes and other things I want, such as an energy drink. I then instead of changing out stuff, took care of my fluid needs first. I might have grabbed some sodas and fruits and various of sweets and crackers on the aid table, just stuffing myself. Another volunteer was so kind to take my hydration bag and refilling the water for me while I ate. I also grabbed a cup of chicken broth. The salty soup was refreshing.

    The ordering how I did is something I learned from MMT. Basically Water, food, then your feet, and everything else. It is the order of importance. At MMT, I did this in reverse, and so ended up did not drink or eat enough before leaving the stations and later low energy derailed my race. Stone Mill is a much smaller scale than MMT, and I know I could skip food if needed, but I still tried to perfect it, by taking care of my body. Water is the most important. I don’t need to drink it at the aid station, but I need to make sure my bag is full.

    Lastly, I then went to change. I couldn’t let my body cool down too much. In my mind, I still have a marathon distance to run (26 mile), I couldn’t afford bonking now so I got to get moving as fast as I could. A volunteer I knew called out “Antin, you have stayed too long, get back out there!” I left the station in full agreement, first by walking and then started to do a slow jog, then slowly got back into my pace in a mile or so. The key to ultra running is don’t stop (this is my current philosophy). The moment you stop, you don’t want to start back up again.

    In a previous year, this section was when I passed a lot of people because most people usually have hard time getting over the 26 mile hump because we usually trained to run a marathon and many runners, this is there first 50 mile run. They don’t have the ability to push much beyond their low moments yet at this point in time.

    This section to me was always the most boring section. We were on the C&O canal towpath. The view is nice but because everything is far away, you don’t like you are moving at all. It was 4.5 miles to the next station. This year I did great by focusing and kept a good pace through the canal portion. I had help.

    I ran with a runner (I think Jamie) and I recognized her from a few of previous races – such as at the MMT. She is a beast at ultras. She has done MMT like 4-5 times. And Stone Mill mutiple times. Same too for the Devil Dog. Plus she did Grindstone. She has seen it all. All these are races in my area and they are tough races. I wrote about these all the time. She is definitely my hero.

    With Jamie pacing me, I got to Stone Mill Aid Station without a problem (mile 28). She didn’t mean to pace me, but we were going at the same pace. It helped to pass away the boredom. The next Station Rt 28 was about 6.5 mile away. This was my toughest section this year. In the previous year, this was the section I became alive and passed a lot of people because I had someone who held me to a good pace. Not this time. I was bonking and people were passing me instead.

    I felt bloated from the food and drinks I had at mile 24. Those were not digested yet. In this section I could not find my pace. I had to walk a lot. My time was slipping. Runners from the rear were catching up. Then Jamie caught up again to me about two miles out, but I latched onto her, she and another runner got me back on pace. I also had to do a restroom break behind a tree and that relieved the pressure/bloatedness I was feeling. After that I was able to run again.

    Jamie paused at the RT 28. There were a lot people hovering at the RT 28 station, so I decided to skip it. It was a good chance to get ahead of them. I grabbed a piece of bread as I came through and headed out and I did not lose any time stopping. I was able to catch back up to people who passed me earlier. I remembered what Jamie said, that she normally finished Stone Mill in 11:30:00. It kind of giving me an idea of what my finishing time would be. I was definitely wanted to finish under 12 hours.

    sunrise over the lake (and my finger)

    We were on the Seneca Ridge Trail now, a part I was familiar with and liked it a lot. I was able to catch up with a few more runners. These (strong) runners were bonking here. They were big guys with long legs. They were walking and doing everything in slow motion. It was a common sight. It was a good opportunity to pass them. I swallowed some gummies and pressed ahead. Everyone was kind enough to let me pass. I said I tried to get it under 5 o clock and they cheered and encouraged me to go for it. I got to the next station where I refilled my water bag one last time. I might have used a minute or two off the clock. We had only 13 miles left to the end (in reality I think it was more like 15 miles). I wanted to be optimistic. I made good time to the next aid at Riffleford (9 miles left to the end. My goal was to pass Riffleford as quickly as possible since I already made a stop earlier.

    I was quick with my stop at the station here too. My goal was to reach here by 3:00 pm, but I arrived at Riffleford at 3:15. My goal now was to finish the race by 5:00 pm. With 8.5 miles left I believed it was possible. They offerred me broth, but it seemed they had to heat it first, so I did not stay for it. I chugged some cups of soda and off I went along with a few runners. Here I met a fast runner. He beated me up the hill I wouldn’t see him again (he was like spiderman, with a few strides he disappeared up the hill). I was able to catch other four or five other runners on the hill, until I got to Meg, who was leading the pack. She was too fast for me to overtake. I asked if she allowed me to follow her. She did not mind. It was her first time doing Stone Mill. I tacked onto her leaving the rest of the group as we ran up another hill.

    No others were in front of us. We had 8 remaining miles. This was long 8 miles. We were able to catch up to one more runner. In my mind it was like only 2 miles to Rt 355, however, Meg and I ran maybe another 4 miles before we got there. My goal was to get to Rt 355 by 4 pm so that I could have a good shot at finish by 5. 4 pm went by and were still not there yet. 4:15 passed. If I had any chance left, it would be now. We were still maybe half mile from the station.

    I don’t know when we arrived at Rt 355, maybe around 4:20-4:25 pm. Meg did not stop at the station and I praised her for that but I was pretty much drained. I stopped at the station and said goodbye to Meg. She seemed too strong and likely could finish by 5 pm. After maybe a minute or so breather at Rt 355, I left knowing only 4 more miles to finish the race. I knew I could finish and I had to finish before darkness because my headlamp was not bright enough and I don’t want to be on the trail in the dark (I forgot to check the batteries before the race and so they were about to die and at the time I did not know if I had any spares — I only know I did have spares later on after the race).

    Maybe about a mile later, I caught back up to Meg. She was walking. The two guys who left the station with her were nowhere in sight. So I was happy to pace with her again, hoping we might have a shot to catch up to them again. I assumed we might catch other runners when we reached the road. I could possibly pass her now and could finish with an earlier time (though 5 pm finish was no longer a realistic goal) but I like to remain with Meg. Meg’s goal was to finish by 5:30 pm. We had about an hour so I settled on 5:30 as well. I said to her we have only 3 miles left. We could run a 5K in normal condition under 30 minutes. So I told her, we don’t have to fast, we just have to keep going. She listened and responded. By 30 minutes later, (5 pm) we reached the wooden bridge where I knew we would be at the road junction soon, from there it was just a final hill climb up to Watkins Mill Rd. We got on the road by 5:06 pm. Meg was definitely tired. She was breathing heavily and walking from time to time even though the road portion was supposed to be easier.

    To me, we had to finish strong. Here I believed I could run all the way to the finish. I told her, it was just a mile left. For trail runners, running on the road is not fun. We just had to endure it for 10 minutes max, and we would be back at school (our starting/finish location). I walked with her whenever she paused to walk but I said if she sees the school, we got to run to the finish. What thrilling to me was whenever I spoke, Meg was able to draw strength and she was pressing harder. I felt I was fulfilling my job as a pacer. It couldn’t be more than quarter mile away. We did it. She ran up the hill. We finished at 5:16, way ahead of our 5:30 goal!

    It was a good finish. For me my goal was complete it under 12 hours. I was way ahead of that, coming in at 11:16. I still had what it takes to run fast. It gave me a boost of morale to attempt the Iron Mountain again next Labor Day where I will have to do that under 12 hours.

    Runners coming in straining toward the finishing mat

    My other friends finished too. One came 12:45 and the other about twenty minutes later. I was happy none were cut. I was happy for them. It was a tough run and they did it. They almost got me worry when we were near 13 hours.

    conclusion. I stayed till almost to the last runner. They say the sweeper is coming. There was a woman waiting for her husband. We watched him on the map on the phone and saw him going down the wrong road. He did realize and backtracked and made it to the finish. Unfortunately, the official time already expired so his time was not counted. He was happy nonetheless. I was happy to celebrate his finish. It made my day. I found out later, he was one of the people I talked to earlier on the course, Jared. It was so cool to make the connection.

  • Day512 long format runs

    I was just thinking while showering, why I run 100 miles.

    This has been explored before. I can’t think of the post and too lazy to search, but I am sure I talked/wrote about this probably in one of my race reports, e.g. SM-2021. Intetestingly, here now on the eve of another Stone Mill Run, I reflect on why I’m doing this.

    I reread all my 100 mi race reports, and I didn’t mention it. Maybe it was assumed I know why I wanted to run long races before even signing up those big races. So here is it why I want to do them, kind of a summary.

    For the challenge. I like running long races because they are hard. Maybe I feel happy when I overcome them.

    Marathons no longer give me the same challenge like a 100 mile race does because with the time given in a marathon usually ranges from 6.5 hours to 7 hours, I can finish it without any worries. I run a marathon between 4.5-5 hours. Only on a very bad day do I need 5.5 hours. The chance of where I don’t finish is pretty small. So far, my record is perfect.

    I moved onto 50K and I ran 50 milers hoping they would be harder. They are a bit harder but 99% of the time, I would finish those just like I would for marathons.

    50K, I can run a 50K between 6-8 hours. My average is usually 7 hours. My most recent one on a moderately hard trail took me 8:45 hours and I finished just within the 9 hr cutoff, and that was an exception. I think most races give about 7-8 hours.

    Fifty mile runs are much harder. I have done about 5-6 of these, I am confident I could finish any of them. Not as much of a leeway as a marathon, but I have not had any 50 miler killing me unless it was the very first one. Running the distance is not a problem for me. I finish them usually between 12-13 hours. I did not finish a recent one (Iron Mountain) because the time limit was only 12 hours, but I was very close in getting it. I was 20 minutes late. Most 50 milers I did, gave about 13 hours. I think that is the norm. As you see, I am pushing against the cutoff but usually I could do it.

    I conclude that I could do a marathon or any distances up to 50 miles at any time. I could do them week after week without feeling too exhausting.

    I generally don’t run two races within a given weekend, but I did it before, a marathon on Saturday and another on Sunday.

    That is the reason, I want to attempt even longer distance, something that I can feel fear when I go into it. I mean I still get jittery when I do a marathon, but now about those 100 mile races, they are what I find challenging.

    A 100 mile run gives the feel of desperation because the likelihood of failure increases many times over. It is weird to say this, but I want to feel afraid of a race. If you ask me about MMT, yes that race scares the living shadow out of me. I wasn’t afraid at the time, but now if you ask me if I am ready to do it again, I would have to pause, and say, let me think about that. Because the chance of not finishing is real.

    There is the dread going into a race knowing likely you won’t make it out in time.

    To-date, I only completed 2 one-hundred-mile races out of 5 attempts (GSER 1 &2, RockyRaccoon, RimtoRiver, MMT). That’s a 40% chance. Not a good odd compares to my other shorter distance races. Of those two times I did finish, I swore I wouldn’t try again. I guess I am addicted to the pain, so I have signed up again and again. I think I mentioned the trick I did was to sign up for the next one before running the current one. It is really another level harder.

    No matter how confident I went in, in the middle of the race, there is a real temptation to tap out when you are offered a quick way to end it. I tapped out in the MMT and the Devil Dog. This is not the case for a marathon.

    The longer format also has a different feel besides fear. It feels almost magical and even mystical. Yes there is the desperation too but when you see the sunrise and later the sunset and you are not even halfway through, I feel a sense of largeness / and being in an epic adventure. There is an other worldly feeling. It is an awesome feeling. I’m sure probably from the runner high or something, but there is the mystery of running through the night and darkeness. Maybe it is a feeling of loneliness and abandonment when the rest of the world is asleep. In the end, might be a bunch of emotions mixing up due to fatigue as well as sense of accomplishment as I get near to the finish. A 100 mile let you experience all the emotions over a long period. It is certainly an unforgetable feeling to see both the sunset and the sunrise during the whole 24 hrs.

    Is there anything else? There are other things like having the bragging right of been there done that. Until I see the horizon, it was hard to say I am an ultra runner. I think I mentioned in some other post, about feeling belonging to a special group of people who did what I did. I did not get the same feel when I did a 50 mile as when I did a 100 miler. I have not done a 200 mile, so I don’t know how that feels. I can imagine how special that is. On one hand, there is nothing to brag about, but on another, it is a significant distance.

    Along with being proud about it, there is also a sense of friendship (community) shared between those who did the race or finished that distance. There is a wide range of difficulty in 100 mile races, but still it is like in the community, we know what it takes to finish one. In a sense, it can be said the same about those who did a marathon or even a 5K. It makes me realize there are people (like my mom) who dream if they could finish a 5k.

    There are probably other reasons like I just like being alone out there. I like to escape from my daily life and worries. I like to travel. I like to combine both things I like (hiking/camping with running). These are reasons I rarely think about but they are true of why I love the longer format so much. All the reasons are the same as given im a previous post on why I run – day502.

    It is also a privilege. I met other marathoners, like Sanjay from my recent marathon, when I asked if he is aiming for a 50 states quest. He said he is old and not like me. We joked a bit of him never too old. It is what I fear too that age is creeping up on me. It is a prvilege my body can still allow me to do things that I might not be able to do some day not too distance away.

    I haven’t even mentioned about the financial aspect. I could only do the things I do, because I have money side taken care of. Indeed, it is a priviledge. Plus time and opportunity. I think I mentioned somewhere, that I am glad to not being tied down by a family. Not that those having family can’t run, but it does make my training schedule a bit easier. All these factors remind me to always to be thankful, when I get to stand at the starting line of a race and even more thankful when I reach the end of it.

    What are we suppose to learn from it? I was asking myself, how can I do better? This year, I failed three different races, a 100K (devil dog), a 100 mile (MMT), and a 50 mile (Iron Mountain), which was my first time of not being able to finish a race. They have been analyzed in many posts. I write race reports.

    Yes, the races were hard to me. I was not adaquately trained. If I were a little stronger, etc. They were somehow beyond me. But have I considered what can I do differently next time to get them done? I wrote out a template in each of those reports, how I can tackle them next time. I even reassured myself, that I failed because I chose hard races that were designed to hit my limit.

    As far as (life) lessons I can draw from a race, this is a tough question. I don’t really have an answer. I want to run and forget about them. Maybe one day when I can no longer run, I then can sit down and think about it more. The answer has to do with bigger question of why I am doing this and what it means to finish or not finish. I am grasping straws here.

    I want to run even farther than a 100 mile. I know there are way longer distances out there. Some say, I haven’t really know what ultra distance is unless I try those longer ones. I have heard they are a world apart from the 100. I so far haven’t had the gut to step into a 200 mile world. I think once I did that, I would be fully initiated. Truth is I don’t know when I will be ready (initially I thought by next year, I should be ready). Many people are content to just stay at the 100 distance. Not sure if the 200 mile races are for me.

    There are longer distances than 200. I want to run across Tennessee in real life (I have done it virtually for three years in a row). I think once you step into a distance measures in weeks, it becomes something else. Las’ races like HOTs and LAVS are something I dream of doing.

    I also want to run/hike across the country. I wrote about this couple times this year. Initially it was my secret new year resolution (D479: self-talk), but now I believe I have to bring it a step closer to reality by having it in the open. Ultimately, I hope some day, I get to try running around the world (there are hundreds (maybe even thousands) others who attempted or finished). Just saying, I won’t be the first. I know the chance for me to do so is low, maybe very low, but still it is a dream if one day I can. It’s A bucket list thing — need to get luck (opportunity), ability, time and money together.

    For those who don’t follow my blog, yes, I am couple months away from finish a virtual version of running around the world, called the CRAW (it deserves a separate post). I know it is not the same but it is like maybe 1 percent of the real thing, and is many times easier because there is no logistics to handle, but it really expanded my horizon to sense the vastness of the distance. It allows me to see the distance in a more concrete term, to know, whether it can be realistically done. I think if in real life, it would take about 10 years to walk/run around the world (it took us 3 years with 10 people each doing a portion). It feeds my dream to do the real thing.

    The reason for running such long runs (multi day runs), no longer because of the physical challenge but for being a wanderlust. I feel the reason I would do something like that is to explore places and to go to places. Yes, running probably is least efficient way to accomplish it. The reason I would still choose running is to be out there as long as possible.

    Of course, I run long races, because I enjoy doing them. Even if I fail to finish, I found them to be exhilarating.

    PS. I just looked at a race Heart Land 100. They offer a 125 mi option and I am tempted to sign up for next year or one after. It is the wanderlust in me.

  • Day511 no buyer’s remorse (MMT, round 2)

    Halloween can mean a lot of things to different people. Candies yes, lot of them. Staying up, yes. Partying yes. For me, I’m boring, and didn’t do any of that. Instead…yes, it was about racing!

    For me one of the most exciting and anticipating things this year and by somewhat an accident too, was signing up for a race on Halloween. No I mean “the race”, the one and only I have been talking about day and night, the MMT.

    MMT registration opened on October 30 at 8pm! I wasn’t sure if it would be opened at midnight or in the middle of the day, but by October 31, when I so happened to check, 100 people already signed up.

    At first, I said I was not going to sign up, not going to sign up. I didn’t know it was open but something in me kind of prompted me. You know that 6th sense of warning or weird feeling. So I checked the website. Note, I usually don’t keep checking a race website.

    MMT scarred me. So there was no reason for me to anticipating it. I received enough of a beating from it this year. My schedule is already full when I finalized it a couple weeks ago. Well it’s kinda of full. Well maybe I could squeeze it in. But I had the other hundred mile lined up for next March. I promised myself only to do one big race a season. OBX one is pretty big. It is on road so it is a bit easier and there are no mountains to climb. So maybe it is time to do step it up and do two one hundred mile in a season! And I was thinking about running the C&O 100 too. Screw the plan. Hey let do 3 100.

    But this MMT race is hard! It was super hard and I did not finish it last time. Maybe that was just a fluke you know. I got to try it a second time to be sure. I was so close to finishing it too, so this time I’m sure can tilt it over. I literally know every mile of the course. I will be so much stronger this time and I have been training whole summer already. I will be ready by May next year.

    I said even though I am not going to sign up but I am gonna check out the website and see what’s new. I saw this!

    What is this!? MMT registration is open! And what’s new this year is it added an extra whole hour to the cut-off — a 36 hour time cut-off! Last year we only had 35 hours. This time it is 36! One whole hour! I have not check the course yet, did they add an extra mountain for us to climb? Last time they shortened the time by removed one one of the mountain (Scothorn on the return trip, we still had to climb Scothorn going out). We worry about that later. I only needed just a bit more time (I was cut at the 34th hour at mile 95). Who know if I sit out next year, they might switch back to the 35 hour limit? Maybe this is the one and only chance I get of having a good shot at finishing this?

    (Aside: I spoke with the former race director, Kevin, over the weekend when I ran another of his race Bobcat-11 and he was surprised about the changes! He was asking what time I got at the MMT. I did not want to disappoint him like na-na-na I got to run it on an easier time after he stepped down…so I promised I will finish it in 35 hrs next year, I think I can)

    After checking the list of participants, Oh, they are in. My friends, my buddies. The list already had a hundred people! Let me be the 101! I got to sign up right now. FOMO kicking in fast (fear of missing out). I did. Oh and the price is so cheap too. It is two and half dollar for every mile. A bargain! A local fifty miler cost more than that! Money speaks.

    Note, I am putting a positive spin on this. Hope y’all enjoy my rationalization. This is how sign up an expensive race ;)…More to come!

    I signed up is all that mattered. Running part we will worry later. My readers will hear about MMT for another 6 more months.

    what’s next…I didn’t do much over my weekend so nothing to write about. I did the bobcat-11, but it was like a fun run. Next week is the Stone Mill. Hopefully a report will be ready soon after.

  • Day509 TR4 – Halloween

    What a weekend! In a bad way. I worked over this weekend so i’m kind of dead (a zombie) now. There’s no partying for me tonight. Certainly absolutely there was no party over the weekend. I’m boring. My mom wanted to kipnap me to celebrate my birthday, but I escaped. Oh there was the MCM, Marine Corps Marathon, but I deferred it, so no, I won’t say anything about that, except lucky runners had such a beautiful race. MCM probably will be my tradition birthday run some day. Yes, next year.

    I also did my training run over weekend. It was the last run before the race. What race? The Stone Mill 50.

    This race originally was not too special. I did my first 50 miler at end of 2019. My first attempt of Stone Mill was in 2020, during the pararoma. My grandma passed away while I was running it. Last year, I did not plan to sign up but I believed after attending one of the training runs, I got hooked and did a quick sign up before the race, ah I remember, the friday of, they didn’t even have my bib ready (or at least the volunteer couldn’t find it)! Last year on this day my mom was in the urgent care (Kaiser) after suffering a stroke (she has completely recovered now). So this race now has a bit of personal history, both sadness and celebration!

    This year I am happened to recruit two of my friends to run this. It will be two weeks from now, so knock on wood nothing will happen to us. My friend David probably gave up (deferred) his NY Marathon entry to run this. I am touched. I truly believe he can do both (like on back to back weekends). This guy could finish a 50 mile under 10 (while I am trying to beat 12 hours). He seemed modest in his approach but if I were him, I run both.

    The other guy Alex also super athletic. He said he won the age group award in a race. He probably could run it under 10 hours too.

    I don’t really need to do a training run myself but I know if I don’t go to them, I am too lazy to train on my own.

    So it is the end of the month and our company needs to close its book, which means a lot of work for all as we try to get everything done and recorded for this month.

    I was stressed out. But on Saturday, I showed up bright and early at the trailhead with several other people. This week run was long but the number of people coming out was fewer than previous weeks since there were two 50K races happening this weekend in our area. Most of the guys (and gals) normally came out were in those races. I, in fact, contemplated running one of them (PB&J 50k and the Patapsco 50k).

    The weather was beautiful. We went from around 35F to 65F during the day. I really wanted to be back out the next day to do it again.

    I put in 20 miles plus 5 mile hiking around Cloper Lake (I renamed it as Seneca Lake). The run itself, I was not putting too much effort into it. I was kind of the last guy in the pack. Mostly because my mind was occupied by work.

    I so happened to roll my ankle, because my mind was else where. First the left, then the right, and then the left again. Finally, while hiking, I really put too much force and I rolled it the third time on my left and boy was that painful.

    First time, didn’t hurt. Second time, hurt a little. Third, it was ouchie ouchie limping pain. I walked it off. Now they are better, but still there is a bit of soreness.

    Sunday, I did not go back out. It was a beautiful day. Here are some pictures.

    On the Seneca Ridge/Greenway Trail and at the Seneca State Park, where I will run a 50 mile race in November

    We hope we will have such nice weather on race day. Enough with all the training runs. Happy Halloween!

  • Day508 Atlantic City Marathon and TR3

    Race Recap: NJ Marathon, 11th state. One last far away trip for this year. I ran surprising fast.

    Maybe couple months ago, I heard of Atlantic City Marathon from Vanessa on SheRunsByTheSeashore. I got a promo code from the blog and signed up. New Jersey is a new state for me and it is also within my driving distance. I tried to save money recently of not flying to races after my trip to Michigan. My trip to Oklahoma was canceled due to cost. NJ seemed like a good replacement. I thought this was going to be an inexpensive marathon.

    I was looking to cross off more states on my marathon list before the year ends. This year I had run in Minnesota and the Michigan. Minnesota was a planned race from the start but Michigan and New Jersey were not part of my original plan. Oklahoma was in the plan but plan changed. I knew of Ann Arbor race since last year from a local runner whom I met at the Laurel Highland race. Somehow things just worked out and I got to go there at the beginning of October, just a few weeks ago. The plan for New Jersey too fell in place at the last moment. I kind of kept it quiet since this was a last minute thing, I did not want to be too upset if I didn’t get do it.

    One reason why I thought I was done for the year after the Michigan Marathon was I don’t like running in the cold. Winter (or late fall) marathons usually have to deal with the colder weather. We already had some cold morning here (35 F, near 0 C). I don’t like it.

    Plot twist, I made a new friend during the race (Sanjay), and he asked if I will join him at the Philadelphia marathon (Nov 20) — I think he meant next year. I told him I will think about it. Anyway…I will think about it.

    The forecast today for the race was 55-60F, with rain (50% chance) to start around 7 am and lasting for the whole day.

    I could stand the temperature (it was warm and stayed steady) but the rain was a complication and made it hard to plan for what to wear. I could run in T-shirt and shorts like the day before.

    However, I don’t like being wet. I could add a long sleeve on top. Still the rain could make that useless. I would be cold. I thought about wearing a thermo shirt –I have those thin nice ones from my hiking days– that could keep me warm even when wet. But I worried of being overheating. I could also throw in a rain jacket (I recently brought one of those super thin and light but durable wind and rain jackets for running/hiking) that hasn’t seen actions yet. I was afraid the rain jacket will definitely make me overheat. I still could get wet inside from my own sweat because I know, I wore a rain jacket while hiking and running before, and I would be wet from sweating. Basically, I was back to square one.

    In the end, I decided to do layering. It did not take long for me to feel it was too warm, so I removed the outer layer and went with just a t-shirt and shorts. The race had not started yet. I thought I could drop off the extra clothes at the bag check-in, but I forgot to bring a bag to store my clothes.

    I had assumed earlier they would provide us a clear plastic bag at the bag check-in. I didn’t know the bags they gave at the package pickup was for the bag check, because they were not the clear plastic bags normally used at a lot of other races – we had a black hangbag instead to put all our race stuff at the convention. Actually, they allowed us to use any kind of bags and I saw some checked in even backpacks and luggages — the airplane carry-ons (this was normally not allowed at other races for security or weight or storage reason).

    Without having a bag, my option was to take the extra clothing back to my car or just donate them to charities by leaving them on the course. I don’t like littering but this is what other runners normally do at any races. They would leave their extra shirt and jacket at the starting corral, hoping the stuff would still be there later when they finish (or that someone will dispose it for them). It was a reason some even made temporary jacket out of a black 50 gallon trashbag so they could ditch them any time without remorse.

    There was also the wind, because we were by the seashore, it was strong from time to time. It was around 15-mph (ish) and might be up to 25 mph or at least seemed so to me. They were not gentle breezes, but good gusts for flying kites. Mentioning this because the environment is what could ruin my enjoyment of a good marathon and a reason also I avoided running race set by the seashore in the past. Weather makes a race unpredictable. I just remembered my running friend David told me exactly this when he did it a few years ago but it went out my head until now that I finished it.

    It was fine for me to take my clothes back to the car, because the walk wasn’t too far. I came almost 2 hours early to the race, so I was not going to be late. (Tip: park in Caesar’s Colosseum. Their spaces are wider than Bally’s).

    It was good the start line was right in front of Bally’s and we could stay inside a building to stay warm.

    I was familar with the area. I was there the day before. I arrived to New Jersey on Saturday afternoon after my morning training run for Stone Mill. I did about 20 miles during the training.

    By the time I reached Alantic City, sun was about to set. I got my race package and decided to explore the boardwalk.

    Hotels in Atlantic City were too expensive for me. I did not book early so it was expected, but even if I received the host hotel deal, still it was not something I would pay for. I am sure they were good rooms but I couldn’t afford 200+ for a night, plus all the resort and parking fees on top etc. I think $200 was the minimum. The average was maybe around $300 and up. Even the Days Inn there was too expensive for me (I don’t remember, but I think it was around $250). If I could affort the host hotel price, then the race would have been right at the front door. I ended up staying in Absecon, about 6 miles outside. The price was much more reasonable there.

    Tolls on the highways were at another level – I think I spent over $100 on tolls going to NJ. In my state we don’t have many toll roads but this is starting to change. NJ has tolls for many years and I knew this, but still it was a surprise at how many times I needed to pay. I had an EZ Pass so I did not need to stop, and the fee was automatically deducted from my account. Yet, I know my trip was expensive.

    Gas (petrol) I paid was probable near $200. I drive a truck. Over all, my transportation cost was higher than my entry fee. I felt I was robbed blind by NJ before even gotten to their casinos. So NJ took all my gambling money. I was not going to gamble, but still, it decided I didn’t want to give away any more of my money. If I have to redo — I might take a bus or train and it would have costed me less.

    As about the whole casino scene, they built the whole city on the basis that people will come to gamble away their money. But with the pandemic and worsen economy, nobody goes there any more and their business model is in serious trouble. I think also because a shift in demographic. There is the online competition. The boardwalk was pretty empty even on a Saturday night to my surprise. It was not that fun when most people decided to stay away. Of course, I still enjoyed my race, but I had expected to have some fun the night before. Yet it felt like a ghost town.

    About my race: The course was interesting, though some questioned about this. Looking at whole it was flat as a pancake. We had couple early climbs over overpasses. Everyone was running up the hills. I was so proud of them and it’s rare in marathons to run the hill. Of course, if you are trained for it, you could run it.

    Everyone started together at 8:00 (half and the full). To me that is kind of late, but it gave me enough time to get ready. We went to the northern end of the boardwalk and then turned into the streets, looped around Borgata and other casinos there. Then we ran south to the end of the island. The half marathons turned around about halfway of the boardwalk to their finish back at Bally’s. The full marathoners continued on south on an out-and-back and we looped around city on the south side, probably Ventnor. Some think this was boring. For me, it was fine. I like looking at the seashore while on the boardwalk and at the casinos and condos. True, if I do this a second time, it is maybe a bit boring. Also I found it was interesting a lot of street names are familiar to me — because they were used in the Monopoly game.

    What got to me, was how long the race was. I know 26.2 is always 26.2 but at times it seemed, I was not moving because the landmarks did not seem to change much. We have a few tall buildings and though I was moving fast, the scene seemed to change slowly. I finished around 4:21:05, strava said it was my 4th fastest marathon. Sure. I was happy with my time. For comparison, I finished in Michigan with 4:30 and in Minnesota with 4:19. In Newport News Virginia with 5:01. I forgot my time for Salisbury Maryland (4:52) These are marathons I ran this year.

    AS: We had a lot aid stations. Course marshalls, and volunteers were especially fun and helpful. I found them more enthusiastic here than in many of my other races. They cracked jokes and all. Crowd support was good enough for me. This isn’t a New York Marathon, so I didn’t expect people to line along the roads for the whole way. We had bad weather, but a lot people still showed up. Maybe the course covered an area smaller than most marathons I ran (like the Newport News), so people were able to get to various points on the course easily. I think everything was within that 5-6 miles (we had a lot of loops and out-and-backs). Maybe this was a reason why some found the course a bit boring.

    Something particular to this race was the boardwalk. Running on it mostly is like running on solid ground but occasionally, some boards might give way a bit and they squeak. It was just a little but it can be scary when the board shifts underneath. Of course, planks could become slippery when wet. There was that concern.

    Lucky for me, I beat the rain at least the heavy portion. I had a few drops at times bit remained dry. For the 5 hours or later finishers, they ran in the real rain and it got a bit heavy. My friend finished a little after 6:00 and was drenched and he was cold, even though he wore wool cap and couple layers of shirts (exactly how I would have done). I was just lucky I did not have to suffer like him and others.

    We had plenty of gels at selected aid stations. I know those were not cheap and was glad this race provided them (I have done race where gels were not given out or very little provided). Gels helped me through this race. I did not bring my own this time. I think I at least used them 3 times (like at Mile 6, 17, and 21).

    Pace. I started out fast again (at 10:00 pace – min per mile) like my last marathon. I got a bit faster by 5-6 miles and until I passed the 4:10 pacer, so I was probably running at a 9:30 min mile pace. By mile 17 though, I was no longer keeping up the pace. By mile 21, the 4:20 pacer passed me back, and at this point my pace was down to 10:30 min mile. To me, it was fine. My goal was only to finish under 4:30:00. We had 5 more miles to go. The wind was strong at the time (storm was brewing). My legs were tired. This was probably not smart of me to have run 20 miles for training the day before. (Stone Mill training run, which I have been doing for the past few weeks)

    Exactly, why did I do that? If I tapered I probably could run this faster, but I kind of wanted to pile on a lot of miles. I know Atlantic City Marathon was not the last race, since I have Stone Mill coming up and then Devil Dog. I need a lot of miles. So both Saturday 20 mile and the Sunday Marathon also served as a training run. A good training run. I called it the 3rd training run.

    post race. I did not get my free beer (It was provided) but that was fine. We were at a casino so beer should be plentiful. There might not been much finisher food except a banana (I didn’t check out the Casino’s restaurant – the Yard, where they were directing people to go for finishing prizes). I was waiting for a friend and rain came down heavy. After he came in. We just went home because we were wet and cold. I was dry (because I changed my clothes while waiting) but cold nonetheless.

    Lunch: The casinos around were pretty cool. I am amazed with buildings so definitely was a paradise for me. Everything speaks of luxury and money. There were some good restaurants around like Hell Kitchen at Caesars, but I wanted something cheaper and I was more for comfort food, so I wanted to travel outside to where the locals (real) people eat.

    The rest of the afternoon was spent driving home (I left around 5 pm). I-95 is always crowded. It is the only north-south highway on the east coast. It was slow going. I ran into traffic going there and had traffic coming home. I didn’t have a good experience from my drive because I was mad at drivers of staying in the outside lanes and driving 15 mph below the limit. I think because of the speed camera or weather. There were other reasons too. I was keep getting brake checks by people whether intentionally or unintentionally who knows. I felt people did not know how to drive. I was having my road raging moment. Maybe it was the race mentality of needing to get to the finish fast. I was finally relieved when I got back to the DC area where people were driving more “normally” (leaving at that). They did say DC and NYC have the worse drivers in the country. I was happy to be out of NJ. I’m not admitting of being a bad driver.

    I put this in because, the race itself was good, but many other things (at least for me) were not as enjoyable as my other races, such as my hotel was not as good (though the staff was friendly) and I liked my pillows. I did have a good night rest before the race. Matress, curtains, the carpet, and lighting were more to be desired. I guess it all comes down to money. I think that was the theme for this race. I paid to drive fast. Need to pay for a nicer hotel, etc. Need to pay to have fun. Need to pay to have good food. I could have stayed at a 5 star hotel versus a 2-star that is operating like a $50 motel. Same for a lot other things.

    I have an axe to grind with NJ. I rarely traveled up to New Jersey and New York even though it was just a few hours away.

    Bottom line: I enjoyed the race but other things were not so great. If I had more money, then yes, it would have been a blast but for me looking for a low key no frills race, I got what I paid for.

  • Day506 Race Schedule

    End of October and the start of the month of November is usually for me the time to consider and plan on what races to run for next year. See last year schedule 2021 (I have been doing so for the last few years).

    2022, I have been affected by mission creep, i.e, adding more and more races outside of my scope, but that is okay. It is part of the fun to explore all dimension of running.

    Initially, started way back when, I only wanted to run marathons and to do it all in 50 states. I figured, if I run one race a year, I will finish all the states before I die. Say 30 y.o. plus 50 years, I will finish around 80-ish.

    Based on this metric I am on schedule, because I already have 10-11 states done.

    But the last few years since the start of the pandemic, I have been branching off into trail races and doing longer runs — also known as ultra-marathons. It has been quite fun and I don’t want to give it up. I think doing ultras is what I like now.

    Also, I kind of get bored with the idea of only running marathons because it became too easy for me. Only thing that is stopping me from doing them all in one shot is money. I can only affort one or two out-of-state races a year, unless I get creative (many do, such as sleeping in a car, or sharing a hotel room with someone).

    What is my budget? I spent about $7000 on running. Note, this goes toward everything related to my hobby (shoes, gas, travel, registration, and for all races local as well as far away), so I am not saying that a single race is costing $3500. Of course, if I am disciplined, I could get more races out of my money by only running marathons for my 50 states goal.

    Also, off topic, I spent about that much ($7000) on my other hobby this year on twitch tv, so I know, if I am a bit disciplined in my spending for other things, I could make more trips for my marathons. Good news is, I am likely to cut back on twitch (maybe a post for another time). In theory, I could easily squeeze out about 10 races (states) a year, assuming budgeting $1000 per trip ($700 flight, $300 for car rental/hotel). These are rough figures. Again I could get creative by camping out or sleeping in the car and might even double the number of races to do in a year.

    Because my interest has widen, there are so many races I want to run. Hopefully this post provide some order to my mess.

    My goal for each year is to “improve” myself. Mostly this means, I want to do something I have not done before. I think of going to another country — for 2023, it will be my international debut!

    My A-race will be Toronto Marathon. (May). I’m scared. I need to step up, sign up and run this. Registration is open, I need to commit. (I registered.)

    Second race, Blackbeard 100 (OBX) is something I will continue to challenge myself. (March). I committed to this. Signed up already last April.

    Third, I have my eyes on GSER, in Atlanta. I attempted it in 2020. Maybe this is the year I will do it. Registration has not opened. I need to commit to this as well. There is a long story why I want this race. I will leave it for another post. The short version is, Atlanta was my first attempt at 100 mile distance back in 2020. I had fond memory of this and wanted to complete this.

    On the 50 States marathon front, I am thinking to get Texas. I have not decided on which races. I signed up for Cowtown, but that is a 50k. Hopefully, races at beginning the year work better for me. If the schedule doesn’t work out, then I will do San Antonio in December. Again, I need to commit. Registrations for Dallas, Austin and Houston are open. Commitment seems to be a common theme for me. O am reluctance because I don’t want to break the bank.

    Georgia, (Nov), there is this race in Chattanooga, but it conflicts with another race I run every year (Stone Mill). I have not decided if I am will to sacrifice one of my races to take Georgia. Eventually, I would have to. I like running Stone Mill a lot. The Atlanta marathon in April conflicts with another of my race. It is hard getting Georgia down for next year. In short, if I want Georgia, I must be willing to let go one of my other races.

    North Carolina, is also up in the air. This race was not held in 2022, so I don’t know if it will be held in 2023. Grandfather’s Marathon in July. But if I get to do this one, I will be happy because it completes the Grandparent theme (I ran the Grandma’s this year.)

    Tulsa, Route 66 Marathon. This race was on my schedule last year, but I backed put due to budget. In fact, it has been bumped around from year to year. This one is money issue. I am unwilling to spend $700 for the airfare. If I save up, I can have this race done in 2023. At some point I will need to bite the bullet.

    If I am ambitious, I can do Portland Maine Marathon. I kind of want it, but I am not committed to it yet. May/October. I generally prefer May over October. I have too many October races. This race also has been kicked around from year to year.

    As for the Hundred Mile Races — Being ambitious, there are a couple 100 races. Pinhoti, some said it is hard, some said it is not. I am not sure if I am ready fro another 100. There is also the Creeper Trail 100 (Yeti), easy. Lastly, there is the Cloud Spitter, some said this is as hard as the MMT. Not sure if I am bold enough to step up to this. Any of these races, would be enough for me for 2023. I am currently fearful to commit to any. Help!

    Note this is only a plan. Things are subject to change. My biggest struggle is commitment, then money, third training and lastly continued desire to get myself over to the finish line. I have been good at keeping up my passion. I wish I can handle the financial aspect well so I don’t have to worry as much and then could make the commitment ahead of time.

    Here is the full schedule as of now. Of course, the most up to date one is here.

    ===== 2023 schedule =====

    Marathon Goals: TX, NC, OK, GA, ME

    (Jan 1) (likely) New Year Red Eye Run (prince william forest/WTF50) fatass run. Semi private run (club activity).

    (Jan 15) (thinking about it, but not likely) Houston Marathon

    (Feb 17) (thinking, but not likely) Austin Marathon. TX

    (Feb 24-26) (reg’d) Cowtown Marathon (50k) Ft Worth

    (Feb 26-27) (conflict w Cowtown) Atlanta Publix Marathon. hmm. I think they changed the course (reg open $100)

    -(Mar 25) (reg’d) Blackbeard Revenge 100 OBX. purchased shuttle return ticket to the start

    (Mar 25) (conflict) Georgia Death March (possibly support

    (Apr 22) (reg’d) 2023 Blue Ridge Marathon, double marathon. Too close to MmT

    (Apr 22) (conflict) One Day Hike on C & O. 100k

    (Apr 29) (possibly, volunteering or run) C&O 100, or running it! Q: Can I do two 100s?

    -(April 22) (confict) Promise Land 50k, Bedford, VA. Last weekend in April. Very interested!

    (May 1) (considering, but scare, conflict) GSER 100K, in-person. Atlanta, 2023?

    (May 7) (reg’d: but see GSER) Toronto Marathon! Intl Debut? May is better on scheduling than Oct.

    (May 20) Massanutten 2nd attempt? Q: Can I do 3 100s back to back? Is it even a question?

    (Jun 20) (considering) Highlands Sky 40. Lanesville (dolly sods, WV). Fall back option. reg opens in Feb.

    (Jul ?, 2nd week) (considering) Grandfather’s Marathon

    (Oct 4) (considering) Maine Marathon, Portland is likely the play. There’s also Acadia one, but it is a bit far.

    (Oct 15-ish, 2nd weekend) (considering) Tahoe Marathon 70M. around Lake Tahoe. highly desiring

    (Oct 25) (reg’d/but need confirm, deferred from 2020 & 2021) MCM 50K, again! 6 hr course limit. Need to re-reg in April.

    (Nov 5~) (considering, but scared) Alabama Pinhoti 100. something worth considering or, am I dead focus on Massanutten?

    (Nov 13) (considering; likely) Stone Mill 50. would want to run this again?

    (Nov 13?) (considering but conflict) Chickamauga Battlefield GA, Marathon. desiring.

    (Nov 21-22) (considering) Route 66 (Tulsa City) Marathon – Oklahoma (fall), might defer. maybe this is the year.

    (Dec 3-4) (not likely) San Antonio Marathon.

    (Dec 4) Rocky Phily Fatass Run 50k.

  • Day505 Stone Mill TR2

    Stone Mill 2nd Training Run. For those who like to compare what it was like last year, I was able to find the last year entry (SM TR21, day445).

    I have nothing much to write about since I am grounded. No, I mean I have no where to go and it felt like being grounded. It was fun last couple months when I traveled everywhere to run. Now, I am back in my local area every single weekend.

    Training runs are as exciting as they get. I don’t actually need to train for Stone Mill. It is a race I’ve already done twice and I am familiar with it but it wouldn’t hurt to go for the training runs. It also gives me something to write about.

    Note, I just reread last year entry, and even with this close to the race day last year, the surprising thing was I at the time did not intend to run in the Stone Mill for a second time. I guess I must have sign up later after the training run.

    It has been my policy not to rerun a race. Apparantly that was no longer apply to this year plan. I knew very early on I was going to do Stone Mill the third time (and as well as the Devil Dog, and Iron Mountain).

    Last year, around this time in the season I was burnt out from running. I start to have that feeling again. I started to think do I really want to do this. I don’t remember how I got over it. Maybe it was a new season that got me out of my mood.

    I still run a lot. In fact, I just signed up a bunch of races. Nothing too earth shattering. I added the Bobcat Trail 11 Mile Run. A short one but I think it is technical – the stuff I like. It is from the famous director of the MMT and the Cat 50. I had ton of fun and heartache from his past races.

    I also added a 5K, this weekend, nothing to write about except that I can still run fast! This is probably my 2nd 5K this year. I almost thought I couldn’t be able to run it under 30 mins. I did it in like 25 minutes! I would like to have 24 or less, but I will take 25 mins any day.

    I added a marathon (NCR) for the Saturday after Thanksgiving. At first, I was going to do the VDM (Vicky’s Death March, a self run), but then I am probably too lazy to get myself to do it, so NCR it will be. I have done the NCR before. Usually, I don’t rerun a race unless it is very special. NCR doesn’t meet that standard. oh well. It is something to do on an empty weekend.

    Note, in last year entry, the focus was on the race following the training run, but this year, I didn’t want to talk about the race. Not that it was anything bad, but I felt my experience was so more exciting at the training run.

    Now about my training run, we met on an early Saturday morning. The meeting time was 7:30 but I wanted to be the first guy arriving, so around 5-ish I was up already. In fact, I did not sleep much after 2 AM.

    The run was 18 miles on easy rolling hills. This will be my third time running Stone Mill, so nothing in race really challenges me. I am aiming to get a faster time (maybe under 12 hours). The race will be in about 3 weeks.

    Was the training run necessary for me? No, but I like having a refresher of the course. It also motivates me to run, otherwise, I would be lazy and stay home.

    I wanted more miles so I added 10-12 miles. I did not know how many miles to add to it, but in my mind, I wanted to run until I bonked — that is couldn’t run any more. Later, while on the course, I settled to go around Lake Clopper which was about couple miles away and would take four miles to run around. This gave about 12 miles. Of course, I got lost a few times trying to find the trail and that added couple more miles. I finished with 32.5 miles for the day.

    One thing I like about the run was we had beautiful fall weather. I took a few photos.

    A deer blocking my way. I had to wait till it moved out the way

    There was one new thing I learned. The trail was blazed (color painted on trees to give direction) with a blue bar. Occasionally, the blazes changed to a slash. In previous years, I had no idea why they did that. On this run, it occured to me the slash indicates the trail is turning. Forward slash (slash to right) means the trail is shifting to the right. And the backward slash, (slashing to the left) means the trail is curving to the left. I just thought that was interesting. I have been hiking for 5-6 years, and only now I got it. Actually, I haven’t seen this convention being used on any other trails.

    I also noticed on bike trails, the trail blazes and markers are painted near the ground (because) bikers keep their eyes glue to the ground, instead of higher up at eye level. I did not take a picture of this, but I thought it was interesting.

    I have two more training runs in the next two weeks. Another neat thing was I got to see how the Lake change from week to week. I didn’t take photos the first week, but trust me, the leaves were still green the first week, and last week, the leaves were turning. I wonder what the leaves going to be next week. By race day, I bet there won’t be any leaves left.

  • Day503 Run – Stone Mill TR1, plus weekend

    Columbus Weekend with lot more running

    This brings an end of my 5 week streak since Labor Day where every weekend I ran a big race.

    Post marathon blue kind of set in this week. I kept it from me since the Iron Mountain 50 mile, after Labor Day. Maybe I did not have time to be sad, when I had the Lake Ridge 12 hour run to do. After that was Pemberton 24 hour 5k, and right after that was Ann Arbor Marathon. Rock n the Knob was somewhere in there. It was just one big event after another. I woke up each weekend and asked what is next. Finally, this week is calming down a bit.

    This weekend I had just the Army 10 miler. What could I be stressed out about? Nothing much except for the logistics of getting myself to the race and running on tired legs. I still treated it as a simi big race because I haven’t done a 10 miler for a long time.

    What was so crazy right, was I did a long run the day before. I was wondering if I could still run fast the next day. The 26 miles was to stay in shape for my longer race later in the year. The 10 mile though did drain everything from me.

    I don’t know what I like better, the Saturday training run or the Sunday race. I guess I like them both together.

    I have been trying to up my mileage to 50 miles on the weekend trying to get ready for a 100 miler race in December. This weekend, I started the Stone Mill training series. Don’t worry about all the names I am throwing around. I am using races too as my training runs. Readers will hear a lot about races like Stone Mill and Devil Dog here as the season intensifies.

    The training was a “short” 20 mile run long and so I added an extra 6 miles at the end to make it a 26 miles just for the fun of it, and to brag I did a marathon again. My take is, my body can do a marathon every weekend.

    I was tired from it, indeed. The run started early at 7:30 and I had to be up before 6 to get ready. I think I set my alarm at 5:30 or something. It was god early hour. I did not want to get up. Normally I don’t get up this early for anything. but for a run? You bet, I didn’t want to miss the run.

    The training run was easy the first 13 miles. I ran with a friend who kept me on a nice easy pace. We were behind an older gentleman who looks like he is in his 60s or more. Not really that old when compare to my age. He was leading the pack for the first 4 miles until his pace started to lag and people started to pass him.

    My friend stayed with him. I personally wanted to pass the guy, but for the sake of my friend I stayed back too. My friend will be doing the Stone Mill 50. It will be his first, but it will be my third. I have a bunch of 50 milers under my belt. The trails are not unfarmiliar to me since I also ran the Seneca Greenway 50k there too annually, which uses almost the same course.

    I was pretty sure my friend could run faster. He finished his first 50 miler last year around 10 hours, while I’m still trying to bust my butt to make it under 12 hours. Soon the older gentleman stopped and turned back (our run was an out and back). My friend and I wanted at least another 5 miles, and we continued on. By mile 10, my friend turned around. There was another runner with us (Jackie), so my friend wasn’t alone. I didn’t want him to get lost. I wanted some more miles by myself.

    I stayed on the Seneca Greenway for 3 more miles and then ran along a road south to the Seneca Ridge Trail. I took Seneca Ridge back to Rifleford where I separated from my friend earlier. But it was a slow march back for me especially without a companion. I did not get back until after 2 pm. Hours after I was supposed to be back. The last mile crushed me. I like this kind of exhaustion training though. I like runs where I just lay everything down and had nothing left to give.

    What does my run have to do with what I am about to tell next? Nothing really. I just like flexing.

    The next day, getting up for the Army Ten Miler was hard. I had to get up even earlier so as to be out of the house by 6 am. The race did not start until 8, but knowing I would be fighting for a parking spot with 20,000+ other cars, I had to be there early. I was right. Roads were closed by 5:30. Google map estimated driving time was way off. Luckily, Google map was aware of the road closures and was able to direct me around them. The remaining open roads were congested (at least for those who used Google map and such). We had to make a few big detours.

    I headed south away from the Pentagon where to race was to be held and looked for a parking in Crystal City. Off topic, they renamed part of the area as Capital Landing for where the Amazon HQ2 is located (new to me) — also Crystal City shopping area has become a ghost town to my disappointment.

    I took a long stroll (maybe 2 miles), from my parking to the Pentagon — but we followed a wrong crowd who wanted to see the sunrise and so we all ended taking a long way to get to the Pentagon. Normally, they say it would be about a half mile walk. The walk became a good warm up.

    I got to my corral in time, maybe about 30 minutes prior to the start. We saw the paratroopers landed as we were arriving at the pentagon and we made it before the singing of the national anthem. There was the helicopter (I don’t know the model) fly-by.

    I was assigned to the fourth wave. It was not bad. I think it was right for my pace. Though during that morning, I had no idea whether I was with the right crowd or not since when I went to pick up my bib, they asked me to pick a color and I randomly picked blue. I did not know that each color corresponds to our pace. I was aiming for a 1:40:00 run, a 10 min mile pace.

    The first mile, I did it in 10:05. It was about the right pace. I was a bit behind the pace needed for the 1:40 finish but I did not let that worry me.

    Generally everyone run their fastest on the first mile. I think I did too. My left back side started to have stitches from the lack of oxygen and from the lactic acid build up. I always had them in weird places (most people have them in the front). They made me hard to breath as with each inhale my back was hurting. I continued to press the fast pace until the pain was gone. There was a guy in front holding a big the flag and I used him as my target. By mile 2, I passed him.

    Because we ran with a lot of people, there were a lot of faster people in the rear and they caught up and passed me all during the race. I passed many people in the front of me too. I don’t think I was slow.

    When each wave started, they fired off the cannon (not sure what gun, probably a howitzer). I was keeping track of the sound. We could hear the cannon blast through out the course. Those people from the back waves surged up to us.

    I was trying to find the gap between my wave and the immediate wave before us. We had a seven minute separation, so in theory, there should be a gap. I never was able to find that dead space. I think over time, the space was filled in. There were always people around me.

    I tried to look at the bib color. I started with the light blue bib crowd. The white bibs were the wave behind me. Green and red were ones ahead. The yellow (gold) bibs were for the fastest runners. There were no exclusive elite runners as with the Cherry Blossom Ten Miller. The elite runners join in with the gold bibs.

    Supposingly we were seeded into our wave based on our predicted finishing time. They want the fast people to line up in the front and the slower people in the back. During the race, all the color were mixed up. I saw many of the supposingly slower people ran fast and sped their way to the front. The front crowd supposingly the fast people were dropping back and I passed so many of them. I caught up with a lot of the green and red bibs people. This usually means someone lied about their estimated time or they were really clueless and might have used their 5K time to estimate their pace.

    How did I do? I finished around 1:29:45. I think 1:20 was my fastest 10 miler ever. Not a bad time. I was aiming for a 1:40 finish. I must have gotten a bit faster after the first mile. Indeed, after checking the 5 mile split, 10k split, and 15k split, each time I was a second or two faster. I was averaging a 9 min mile pace. My first mile was probably my slowest mile of 10:05.

    I believe I had enough breath to sustain me on my run. I was kind of sad about the race not being a half marathon, so I could run longer. No point in the race was I out of breath. Somehow though I was not able to push myself hard enough to run faster. I hit a sweet spot of a 9 min pace and hang on to it most of the race. I tried to go a bit faster but was unable to do it. Not sure if my leg muscles were not strong enough or what was holding me back.

    I ran this race when I was 18. I did not remember much about that run, only that I woke up very early ran it and we had to leave as soon as possible to get back to our college. I did not have a car back then, so when people I was carpooling left, I left too. I tried to look up my 18 y.o. time, but it was no longer available online.

    The experience this time was fuller. It also gave me a perspective that this race overlapped the same course as the Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) and it is a blessing for us locals to test run our race strategy for the Marine Corps using this race. Note, MCM will be taking place on the last weekend in October, a couple weeks from now. It is a big race for us in the area. Light went up as to why some people ran this. Why did I not think of this when I was training for the MCM a few years ago? I am not running the MCM this year, but I defer it to next year, so the Ten Miler is not helping me much.

    I stayed till 12:30-ish and went for lunch at the Pentagon City Mall because Crystal City mall was kind of dead. I actually walked to Crystal City first, but did not find anything appealling before going to Pentagon City Mall. I remissed on the memories from my first run even though they were hazy and I don’t remember much.

    P.S. I met a man who ran this 24 times!

    Some pics.

    bright and early at my starting Corral

  • Day501 Ann Arbor Marathon

    TLDR – 10th state completed. I enjoyed my weekend stay in Ann Arbor, Michigan, brief as it was.

    I was nervous when I arrived on Friday in Detroit, Michigan. This is a cold place. Though I run well when it is nippy, I don’t like the cold. I packed a bunch of sweaters and long pants, and all my other winter running stuff seeing the temperature might reach down to the 30s.

    The cold weather ended up being not an issue. We had a great and warm day. Overcast in the morning and became sunny later on. The temperature was little cold for some, but for me it was perfect. It stayed almost constant around 60F, about 15 C. I ran in tee and shorts, though I wore a double layer tee I got from the Duluth marathon and a thick shorts, I think of wool like material. The shorts were a bit too warm later on.

    The race started at 8 AM so, to me was kind of late and it allowed me to sleep in a bit. I like starting after the sun is up. Many races usually start at the crack of dawn.

    I stayed in a motel not too far from the race location, at about three miles away. I could have run to the start. Ann Arbor is a small sweet town. It has all the city anemities without the big city’s headaches. There was plenty of time for me to get to the race. I left my hotel around 6:30 and felt kind of late, but did not have to rush.

    Ann Arbor being so close to Detroit, its marathon get over shadowed by the Detroit Free Press one that will be taking place in a couple weeks. That one is an “International” Marathon, because the course takes you into Canada and many times more people from all over will run it. It is always fun to say you run in another country.

    But today, Ann Arbor is just a “boring” two loops around the course. It seemed kind of a let down. Nevertheless it was a great marathon, and I did not regret my choice. A pacer asked me why I didn’t choose the Detroit one. I said because I did not like the cold. Plus, I was really over with the big marathons. I like the flexible low key races offer. Did you know, you could still register for the race on the morning of the race? I never heard of a recent marathon that allows you to do that! And you can pick up your package on the race day morning too! You couldn’t do such thing in any bigger marathon. Even several smaller races I did in my city, they wouldn’t allow a race day bib pick up.

    My impression is it was well run. Crowd support was tame, but they had volunteers almost at every block and I was never alone. Most of the crowd was at the start and finishing area (and at the park, mile 8-ish, and 21-22).

    They had buses to take spectators to the park (Gallup Park). Hence, there were more crowd support there a little past midway. It was also the relay exchange point.

    The course was well marked. Signs were at ever mile for the half and the full too! I noticed they replaced signs for the first loop and put up signs for the second loop (not sure how they did it)! That is attention to detail. Since the course is lap course, they really did not need signs on for the second lap (both laps should be 13.1 miles), but they did. Usually in many events, marathon is a second class citizen compares to the half marathon (nobody cares for the full once the half is done). I have been to races, where mile markers for the second half of the course were not provided (not naming which one).

    The first six miles, we followed the roads out of town. We passed through the University of Michigan. I have been through some big campuses, but this was on another level. It is a big campus. I imagined myself being on a quest in the game Final Fantasy. I already ran on the course the day before so as not be distracted by the sights on race day. I have a particular attraction toward big tall buildings and such.

    The other six miles, we were on some kind of rail to trail (I’m guessing) called the B2B (Border to Border) trail. It is paved. Nice and smooth. My first time running on a trail paved with concrete. Yes, it is same as running on the sidewalk. We were on it for maybe three miles before we reached the Arboretum. It is just a short section, maybe half a mile but there was a tough climb (I think about couple hundred feet). Later, I found out this was called the Arb Hill. Most walked up the hill. I tried to run it. On the first loop, I did it well, but on the second loop, it almost broke me. I made use of a relay team person to pace me up the hill. She was the only other person running up on the hill. Then we were back at the university and back at the start. Marathon runners were diverted to the back streets to run around the block and back out.

    The half marathon started with the full. There were many more running the Half than the full. My goal was to run fast enough so that the first place runner doesn’t lap me and that I could lap some half marathoners. I thought it might be impossible for me because I was expecting the first place to come in between 2:15-2:30. I didn’t see the first place runner passing me nor was I able to catch up to some who walked the half.

    The course was not crowded nor was the street dead empty. I have been in races where I was the only one running. Being alone doesn’t bother me, but when I do marathons, I like having some crowd around, maybe to witness me and fan my pride. I ran a 4:30-ish finishing time, so there were always people around me. Honest truth, I didn’t run slower just to be with people.

    I came to the race not sure what pace to run in or time I would get. I got a fast time back at a marathon in June. I did not feel I would be able to repeat it at this race. Any time around 5 hours would be good and was an acceptable goal for me. I lined up with the 5:00 hour pace group. Erwin, one of the pacers was pretty fun to talk to. We had done the Marine Corps the same year a while back. I didn’t know him before, but his races tied us together. By mile 2, I felt I could start pushing my pace a bit harder. I felt great and left the pace group. I was on my own. Usually this could spell disaster because I would have gone out too early and too fast and could suffer by the second half.

    The day before, I checked out the course and ran about 15 miles of it. (Not really advisable, because part of the course had no sidewalks, and required sharing the road with cars, which can be scary; this was before the race, during the race, they closed the roads, so no danger). I was a bit tired after a few miles in but not too much. In the back of my mind, I was thinking whether that “long” run I did was a smart idea, because now I started with tired legs. However, I was glad for the pre-run because I knew every turns and everything what to expect for the course. I could be more aggressively tackling the hills because I know how long they would last. Indeed, I will boast a bit, after doing trail racing, no hills in a marathon really scare me.

    By halfway, 13.1 miles, my time was around 2:18. (first place finished at 2:48).

    My feet felt a bit stiffer and heavier but miles still flew by under me. Little did I know, I was faster on the second lap than the first. My goal was to break it down by 5k, knowing recently I did 20 5k in one day, so 5k distance was fresh on my brain and easy to see in my head.

    Normally in the past, I didn’t focus much on calories. Today, I brought couple candy bars (those sticky granola bars). It was something I learned from the MMT race to be prepared for the bonking. I ate a bar for breakfast just right before the race. I did not want a heavy breakfast this time and I was too lazy to go for a real breakfast. I had another one by mile 8-ish when I was hungry. I was originally saving it for mile 13. I figured I need another bar by mile 20. Then I had a gel left for the final hill climb.

    I started hitting the wall at mile 20. So I popped my last granola bar. My strength came back and I could get to mile 23. Before mile 23, the aid station offered me gels. I took one. It kept me going to the big hill at Mile 24. By then, I lost track of the 4:30 pace team (they out ran me). According to plan, I then used my last remaining gel. Going up the hill was tough. I was able to pass some people because most were walking except the relay team people.

    There were about two more miles to go and pretty soon it was down to one mile. I love running through the school. It gave me some extra boost when I could see people around.

    I might have pushed a bit harder here. The bonking was completely out of my system. My legs felt great. No longer was I fake running. You know when you are tired, you kind of gingerly tapping you feet with each step (I called that fake running because you are in the motion of a run but you are not going anywhere fast). Real running is when you pound the pavement hard. Probably the gel kicked in by now. At this time, I knew no matter what, I would finish. Always in a race I doubted my ability to get to the end, but there is always a turning point. This was my turning point. It came kind of late, but I felt a rush of power. I reached Hill St. Basically the end is in sight, just down the road and make a right to the chute. I crossed the finish around 4:31. (The actual bib time was 4:30:01).

    Because I had a flight to catch at 4:00 pm, I did not linger long. I figured I had to absolutely leave by 2 pm in order to make it. I normally would like to wait till the race is closed before leaving. It is part of the fun. This time, I left by 1 pm (at the 5 hr mark) after my pace group came in.

    It was a small race, so I think by 5 hours, many already finished. There was no post race celebration for me. I took couple water bottles and a cookie and a banana. I was not sure if there were free beers given out like in many other marathons. I just tried to leave as quickly as possible, since I needed to return the rental car, get gas for it, and take a bus from the car rental to the airport, go through security and get to my gate. There were many unknowns that could ruin my trip home. Luckily everything worked out smoothly, I still had about an hour left before boarding when I arrive at the airport and I finally could relax. To me that was the real finish. I celebrated it at the airport and I grabbed lunch.

    Compared this to my other marathons, I enjoyed it just as much. We had great weather, and that like 75% making the race better. It was a repeated (double) loop course. I generally do not like doing a marathon of this format (because it’s boring), but the plus side was there were plenty of aid stations. My finish time was decent. I did not finish with cramping like in some of previous marathons. I think I ran at a relaxed pace, and it was alnost like a morning stroll or a training run. Weird for me to say that. My 10th state in my 50 states quest was easily completed.

    The race course and various sights

    Milesflyby also ran in the Ann Arbor (Half) Marathon. Her report is way better at describing the course. Congrats to her for a fast finish.

  • Day498 Pemberton 24

    How do you run a 5K every hour for 24 hours? How do you even train for it?

    At Pemberton 24, we were given the opportunity to run a 5K every hour for 24 hours this past weekend. A 5K race starts at every hour. The rule is unless you are at the starting line at the beginning of the hour or else you couldn’t run it. You have to finish before the hour ends or it doesn’t count. It was a novelty to me.

    Running a 5K in an hour was not that hard, but how many I could do was a challenge. Exactly how should I approach this race? I tried to run it like an ultra, by starting very slow — basically walking it.

    I figured this is a good way for me to test out some ideas on preparing for the Devil Dog 100.

    First of all, I needed some practice time for night time running and second, I wanted to experience sleep deprivation. It seemed silly to beg for suffering, but my last two 100 races, night time was where I struggled.

    My strategy was, to walk as many 5Ks as I could and hopefully to do all 24 of them.

    The result was: I found early on, power walking is tough! I initially thought I could walk the whole thing and maybe at the end, run, but to me walking is actually harder than running! because it uses different muscles and I was not as fit in walking, to my surprise.

    Even early on (like by 5 loops or so), I realized I couldn’t do all 24 laps of these by walking. I started feeling soreness on my feet and others those minor muscles, exactly like if I were at the end of a 100 mile run. It was a big “oh no” moment. My goal was at least then make it to daybreak, to get 12 hours in (we started at 7 pm).

    Sleep deprivation was not as bad as I anticipated. By morning, 6 -7 am, I felt a bit of tiredness. Sleep would be nice but in theory, I think I could survive for another few hours. I did not test how much longer I could stay up.

    I decided to tap out, since there was no need for me to claim the bragging for me of doing a 24 hour run. I came to test some theory and I got my results. I got my training time in. Beside, I was not really arrived ready to do all 24 laps. Having that done would be nice, but I was not going to kill myself over it. I also have a marathon the following week, so I need a quick recovery.

    I mean I was prepared for the run but some last minute changes threw a wrench in my operation. I was working that Friday, when I should have taken the day off. I thought I could do both working and then leaving early for the race. I had things packed up and loaded up my car before the trip. However, I did not check the forecast the night before, and weather had turned colder than I was prepared for. I had long sleeves and pants but I did not bring a jacket. I did not realize it was that cold until I got to work (as I walked from the car to the building). The temperature was to drop to 45F (cold for me) that night and with the rain, it would be more than unpleasant without a thicker outer layer. I had to make a decision, to brave the cold for the night or to get the jacket, which would delay me from arriving at the race on time.

    I chose on getting the jacket. Then I just sat in the traffic for the next five hours watching the clock eating my time away. Google map always say only two and half or 3 hours to get there. It never predicts the traffic correctly for me. I made it to the event just barely. I got right in to the event without changing from my work clothes and ran 12 hours of 5k (12 laps). I just put on my bib and got into the starting coral just in time. Luckily, I had my running shoes on. They were not trail shoes, but they were sufficient.

    I knew no way would I try for another 12 hours without proper clothing and shoes, or else I would be miserable. My feet were beginning to have blisters. I felt hot in certain parts and I knew I need to take care of them.

    I had exactly the same tiredness in pretty much the same places as I had at last year Devil Dog event. My lightbulb went on, aha, I realized what costed me that race must have been the power walking that stressed my different set of muscles, since when I train to do an ultra, we I do not train on the power “walking”. Hardly ever do I take a weekend out to power walk for 12 hours. Now my feet were tired because I power walked for 12 hours straight. I felt I was about to fall over. But if I run, I should be okay.l, I think.

    I decided to take some rest and get some sleep first. I had not set up a tent yet, since I arrived late and I had not even unpacked. My personal aid station and all the things I needed were not available to me. They were there. I packed them but they were locked away in the car. At the end of the first couple loops, I tried running to the car and geting them out. Usually I only had a small window to do it. Because my car is so far away, I gave up getting all my things. I had my tent. So I set up the tent, unpacked, crawled inside and slept. Not sure if I did really sleep or not, but having my eyes closed for about an hour and half was good. Couple hours later, I got up, changed, rehydrated myself, and ready for some more laps. I fixed up my feet, etc. They were starting to go bad and I was glad I stopped just in time to fix them. Cleaned, then lubed and all. I changed shoes too. People around me joked about, wishing someone would massage their feet too. These, sleeping, unpacking, and cleaning took 3 hours off the clock. I missed the starting for the 9 AM run, so I waited for the 10 AM. I was now ready for round 2.

    some other people’s aid station, compares that to mine
    Mine. Just my pile of stuff, but I got everything I needed. I did not set up my aid station in time. Beside, my tent is too far from the starting line to make it an efficient stop for every loop. I still stopped by a few times during my 24 hour out there

    For the rest of the day, I decided to run instead of walking. True enough, my running muscles were unhampered. My legs were as fresh as they could be. I did another 8 laps easily (with one lap I sat out for lunch – I did not need to, but decided this was not a do-or-die race, and so I might just relax and enjoy the race’s local food from a food truck). I finished with a total of 20 5Ks done and that is 100k or 62 miles. Not bad for a weekend. And I did not feel as tired as if I truly ran a 62 mile race straight.

    My run was not hard, since we had an hour to do each 5K, I took my time with the running. I only ran “hard” in the last few laps and still, it was not really tiring. I put in a lot of miles but it was not stressful at all.

    There were many who completed all 24 5Ks. I did not stay around too long to celebrate with them because I was wet and cold. The race event allowed us to camp out for a second night. I did. I knew I could probably drive home, but just be safe, I decided to stay for the night. Glad I did, I had a foggy mind even by the next morning. Effects of sleep deprivation hit me much later even after a good night of sleep. I was all goggy the whole Sunday.

    I liked the camping aspect. Many came for their friends. It was a festival. We had theme run every hour. I was not into dressing up, and so kind of forgot about that part. I think it was a lot of fun if I had come with friends and dressing up.

    Take out – I might come back next year to get a true 24 hour 5k. I feel though this race gears toward the general public. There were some serious runners but many (non runners) joined us only for a few laps, which was not bad at all. I am not complaining. 4 laps is a half marathon and 7 laps a full marathon. I saw many were hook into doing 4 laps or more. Grandpas and kids and do it. It was like introducing the public to running and trail running no less. I think it was fun and well done.