In awe

Category: running

  • Day451 Stone Mill 50 (second time)

    The race came the week after the Rim to River 100 mile. Initially, I was not going to run it since it was too close to the big race, but after finish the 100 mile, I felt why not, I feel fine, let try it.

    I was not running for time and in most ultras I did this year, I was at the tail end group. I am usually not fast, but I finish. On average people usually finish around 10 hours. At Stone Mill, thanks to their extended time (2 hours) I was not the very last, but I did finished near the 12.5 hours, which is my average time for this distance.

    In the past, I did not race in the winter, because I don’t like being in the cold. Not that Rim to River changed my mind on cold weather running, but sometimes you have to suck it up and do it. I ran Stone Mill last year, (SM-Report1). It gives me an edge for this year because a lot uncertainties were already known. I felt it was a minor race or a long run and there was no pressure in finishing.

    As for what motivate to do it? I wanted to be out in the woods again. Last year it was cabin fever, and this year, there was that same desire, maybe was cabin fever too, but I was outside all the time! Also, I felt ready. Just a feeling if I don’t do it, I would be missing out. The race registration cost was cheap too.

    I ran plenty of races this year. Mainly for trainings and experiences that I thought I needed for doing the 100. 100 itself was not the end goal. I wanted to be a stronger, and more durable runner and run farther. People who could run long distances capture my fancy. I never thought I could do it myself back then or even a year ago. A little baby step here and there got me to where I am today. 100 distance is still daunting but it has become a little less so. I was afraid of the 50 mile distance a year ago, but now it is just a longer run.

    I enjoyed especially Stone Mill not for any special reasons. Given it is close to where I live is a plus. It is on trail. I saw a lot of local friends. Top of all, I did not expect this, but Stone Mill was my recovery run to destress the whole year of anxiety in preparing for the Rim to River Race.

    Recently, due to my mom’s poor health, I was faced with a decision to run or care for her. Of course, it is not one or the other, but it affected my recent trainings, though did not derail the 100 mile. With any race, being on the course is a miracle. I am more grateful because it is not just me but others who make it possible even if indirectly.

    I arrived early to the course and the lot was nearly full (because there were the early starters)! I stayed in the car to keep warm until near the start time before walking with the rest to the real starting place.

    You can signed up for an earlier start (it was not widely announced but was offerred in an email sent near the race date – the race is friendly to older runners who might need 15 hours, not a typo). The race director gathered us together. He made some announcement, I did not hear what he said (he did not use a bullhorn) since I was in the very back. It was probably about the course markings.

    Right on cue, he sent us off. He said he gave us five extra minutes at the end for some weird reason for he held up a few people from crossing the starting mat (I think to straighten the mat that was covering the timing device or wires) but I knew based on last year, he would give us an hour extra (unofficially/unnounced). Sorry for ratting on the race org. here.

    I know the cutoff time was not a concern. Still I wanted to finish within the 13 hour limit.

    Last year, it felt forever to get to the first aid station, this year, I was there in no time. It was pretty much the same sensation for most of the race. There was no point where it felt draging. I was mostly running by myself this time. The trail was empty but me – I figured, I am like a mile back from the bulk of the crowd. There was no pressure trying to keep up with anyone. Normally, I don’t want to be the last one, not because of embarrassment but you do not have a heads-up if a turn is coming, unless you are super good at finding your own way or being attentive to the trail. I don’t like looking for my way. I am one of those head down runners.p

    By the time I got to the first Aid Station (Rt 355), the morning has dawned. A fellow runner tripped. I felt sorry for her because I remembered her passing. Even the best of us fall. She had the image of an experienced runner unlike those around me. I forgot her name or number now. She was anxious or undecided whether she should stay in or quit. She did stay in because later she caught back to me. She did not say much and passed me.

    I started to catch up to people. I might have passed 20 or so runners by now. Quite a few. I know the race was still too early to be passing people but I would not want to be in the back. Some of these runners were a bit chatting loudly. I didn’t like that, so I wanted to pass them.

    We ran around Seneca Lake. Then we went to the 3rd Aid Station. Last year, I made a longer stop at the second Aid Station and took some pictures. Not this year. Last year I was freezing, but this year, we had warmer temperature, though later it got colder. I took some candies from Aid Station #2 at Long Draught. When we arrived at Aid Station #3 (Riffleford Rd), I refilled my hydration bladder and took more food/snacks. I was as efficient as I could be.

    The signage for this year improved. Last year was already good but this year was at another level. They were so much clearer. There were tapes on the ground marking the wrong way / do not enter and there were plates with clear arrows on trees at tricky turns (portion of this course is out and back, especially at Seneca Lake, couple three-way turns can be confusing for the new runners). This year, they were consistently marked the same way with the same material. The plates on the trees stood out. It was not that I need markings to know which way to run, just want to praise the race org for good course marking.

    I had no problem at all the first 15 miles. I ran through Muddy Branch just like during training. Mile 24-25 would be our first dropbag location and also the race halfway point. By now, I reached a group of stronger runners. They ran around the 10-12 min pace maybe, but I felt comfortable following them. For a while, there was a dude blocking the trail. He was a slower runner, but no one told him to step aside for us nor anyone was willing to pass him. About 10 of us were following him, and I was in the last position. We followed him at least over half an hour for two to three miles. Our group eventually passed him when he took a break. I was a bit annoyed by this, but our actually time lost at most was 5 minutes.

    As we got near Pennyfield Aid Station (the race halfway point), I felt stronger and surged on ahead, leading a new pack of runners, but unfortunately I rolled my ankle at that time as we were about half mile from the aid station. I am usually shy in leading anyone and when I lead, things like this tends to happen. They probably think I was showing off. It rained a bit during that time (11 am – 12). The rain came as forecasted. Light rain. The rain made me cold. I limped into the station.

    It might have taken me way more time than I wanted, I stayed for maybe 15 minutes. Yes, way too long. The fast people I was with left and even the slower people arrived. But I took time to change out my wet clothes and socks. My fellow friends (don’t know their names but seen them before) got me hot food and drinks, etc. It was a VIP treatment. I did not ask them but they came to me asking what they could get for me. I was busy with changing. I then had my lunch of the food they brought to me. Giselle, she is in her 80 and she still runs! I ran with her during one of Stone Mill trainings, she was glad to see me at Pennyfield. She was attending her friend who was sitting next to me. Yes we had chairs and might cause me to overstayed! She said, I come out to their every races now. Indeed! It was maybe my 5-6th time at their events.

    The pain on my ankle subsided. I warmed up after a mile or two of walking. I did walk-run. I was familiar with this method of running by now (recalled I learned how to do walk-run last year here). We were on the canal portion. Though it was not long, it was boring to run on. I don’t know why. The scenery was beautiful but just plain flat easy trail put me to sleep. I saw many others walking as well, but now we should have done 26 miles. I remember starting my watch (I knew I did not have enough charge for the whole 50 miles, so I only recorded the final 26 miles – Watch recorded it being longer; it should be maybe 24 miles). I felt like Rocky, with some heroric music playing in my head. Off I went. The next few miles were on the roads before we got back to the trail. As I started running again, I finally caught back a lot of people, because all of them were walking. I saw a fellow runner (Dan), whom I have seen earlier and I considered him one of the fast people that I wanted to keep up with, we later kept the same pace and were together for the rest of the day. We were running uphill, when most would walk.

    I reached Stone Mill ruins, like at mile 27-28, the namesake of the race. Dan seemed a bit low in energy and I encouraged him to keep up and he did. If he keeps at it, he would see a lot of people bonking – those who reach the proverbial wall, where they become super slow. He was checking his phone, but as I called to him, he got back on pace. Indeed, we passed a lot of people. I believe this section was what separated the normal marathon runners from the ultra runners.

    Soon a few others, a newer group of runners joined us. Dan (my newly made friend) led us for six miles to the next aid station at Rt 28 at an amazingly steady pace. This was the longest run without a station and also the toughest physically and mentally.

    After reaching Rt 28 aid station (don’t remember the mile, maybe around 32-34?), Dan was clearly showing fatigue – I think the faster pace finally got to him. He did not eat at the station. I hardly remebered him taking anything. I only remembered him asking for gatorade mixed with 50% water for his hydration – that was all the calories he was getting. I felt sorry, like I had used him to urge him to pace the group at 10-12 min pace (with no breaks!). I felt I had caused him to run harder than he should. Just my observation, not a critique. He waited for me while I got my food.

    The next section was longer (Seneca Greenway/Seneca Ridge), maybe about 8-10 miles, but we were back in residential areas, which means there were more sights to relieve boredom from the run. And there was an aid station midway, something I usually forget, because I set my mind on reaching Riffleford, but it was there at one of the road crossings. We took turns leading. Dan was doggedly keeping close. I did not discount him then. He was still in it but our pace was definitely slower.

    There was a guy called Jeremy. He did not introduced himself to us but other support crew called out his name. Maybe he is famous or a lot people know him. He was a quiet guy. He was normally in front of us and quite a strong persistent runner, sometimes our gap was wide, like quarter mile but we tried to keep up to him, keeping him in our sight as much as possible. We first saw him a long distance away, gradually we came up behind him. It was just me and Dan at the time. My eventual goal was to pass him. Everyone here would not easily give up like those we saw earlier. If we were able to pass them, they would remain strong. Jeremy and Dan were exactly that – everyone was resilient. There was an older woman too. She was always on the next hill (mountain) over far in the distance in front of Jeremy. Jeremy, Dan and I eventually caught up to her. Yet she would stay on our heels.

    We reached back to Riffleford. I saw more familiar faces. The Virginia Happy Trail People managed this station. I know some of them. Dan changed out for warmer clothes because evening was approaching and temperature would drop. I did not pack a drogbag for this location but carried my jacket on me, so theoretically I didn’t need to stop for too long. He had his headlamp back on his head and so I did too. We had maybe an hour of daylight. We have 8 miles left and we were 1 hour ahead of the cut off (2.5h to the final cut), there was no way for us not finish unless a freak accident occurred. I was still kind of holding that I could finish by around 6 pm. Because I was talking with Dan and self-absorbed at times, I missed a turn after leaving Riffleford, but luckily, I noticed it soon, either thanks to being more observant or the spider sense or just normal running ultra experience to notice when something is out of place. We backtracked.

    Jeremy was probably half a mile out in front. We were kind of slow at getting out the aid station. Jeremy later asked me what was taking us so long when I finally caught up to him like an hour later. He said he thought we were behind him. Getting lost did not help. Jeremy talked to me, but unfortunately, I was unable to understand his accent. Was it southern, country, west virginian, or maybe a combination? Not sure. I had to guess at his meaning every time he spoke. It was like I could almost understand but couldn’t. It could be I had runner haze too, now so late in the race. We were buddy buddy because I was gone for a long time and finally showed back up. However, now my concerntration was to press with all speed to the finish, leaving both Jeremy and Dan behind.

    I did not stop at the final aid station at Rt 355 Aid Station but immediately went out after reported my bib (we had to sign in/out).

    Everyone else stopped. I passed 5-6 people before the Aid Station and maybe another 5-6 at the station. I felt I had an edge.

    Night came. The final four mile section, though did not take me long to run earlier, but at night took me longer due to darkness. I had my light on at the brightest setting (recalling in West Virginia where I tripped and fell so many times, I did not want a repeat). There was no one immediately in front of me but a lot were behind me as I could see their headlamps bobbing behind. I did not get a chance to pass anyone else.

    The hill was alive with runners with their lights and sounds. It was all uphill. Behind were people who previously stopped at the Aid Station. Probably 10-15 people were behind me. I had to tell myself keep calm and keep a steady pace, but the adrenaline was pumping hard. I felt I was leading for the first time. I know we were near the end. I imagined being the fox and they were the hounds. Everyone was straining to reach the finish.

    I beat last year time by 20 mins. Jeremy came in about five minutes after me. Dan came in maybe 8 minutes a bit later after me. Good job! In ultras that is very close. A guy who said he almost beat me, he was like 30 seconds behind (a friendly competitor). It was very cold then. We grabbed our food and said our goodbyes. Dan wanted to go home immediately. He talked about his wife being away. I kind of wanted to celebrate it with him. I stayed a bit before going home. It was a good day.

    I ran it almost like last year except better (or maybe the course was shorter this time). Last year I was unsure of my ability and this year, I went in like I could not lose. I like having friendly companions such as Dan. Last year, I had two army guys, and I was the reluctant third camper. Giselle warmed my heart too. I only first met her this summer, but she remembered my name. Unlike her, I can’t recall her companion’s name. We all ran together before. I saw her couple times during the race. She was not running in it but was out on the course supporting her friend. She cheered and waved at me.

    My evaluation – it is a city race but also on trail. It is probably the hardest trail you could do in my area (oh, I forgot Devil Dog, we leave that alone). We had some entitled city runners, who littered on the trail. I was annoyed by that.

    Seriously, it was a good introduction to trail racing – like it was to me last year. After I have done some tougher trail runs, coming back to this race was a bit overkill, but then it is like visiting your high school reunion. I am proud to be a big boy now. I still might do it again, maybe quest for a daylight finish. It is a local race for me and I enjoyed seeing familiar faces as well helping new ultra runners.

    Indeed, after stressing out about the 100 mile race for a whole year, entering into Stone Mill was easy. It was still a cold, long, and kind-of-hard run, but overall it was relaxing. I can’t imagine myself saying that a year ago. It was a low key – truly a way to de-stress after a crazy hard race I did at Rim to River.

    TL;DR good race, nice day, nice people

  • Day449 Rim to River 100

    I was fortunate to take part in the Rim to River 100 at the New River Gorge National Park in West Virginia of their second year race.

    Monday quarterbacking – Of course I could still have done better, such as be more efficient at the aid stations. I noticed many people I was able pass on the trail, but they were able to beat me back when going through an aid station because they were able to get in and get out under 5 minutes, while it took me about 15 minutes to get through one. There were as many as 10 stations. Granted some people might have a pit crew helping them. I might able to cut an hour or two off the clock if I have been a bit more efficient.

    Second – toward the end of the race, I realized many people were much better at walking up hills than me. Their walking pace is my running pace. Their gait seemed to be effortless. It was not even a fast walk for them. I saw both male and female walking much faster than me. I don’t think height is an issue here. There were shorter females who out walked me.

    That said, I signed up after reading a blog post from trailrunning100 (go check out her blog, she is a race director and she runs 100 mile races everywhere), and also by word of mouth from a few West Virginia running friends. I did it mainly because of the challenge and also for the beauty of the course. I think many people also had the same idea.

    As for preparation, In hindsight, I would say running a 100 mile race was a good preparation – here I mean Rocky Raccoon I did in February. It gave me a good base. Jokingly, but so true!

    I orginally planned to go out to the course couple times to cover the entire portion (I had covered only 20 miles the first time I went, there were still another 35 ish miles not yet covered – the course being an out and back, and so it is not necessary to cover all 100 miles). My summer and then fall didn’t give me the chance.

    Trails. The trails at Rim to River are not hard to run. I mostly walked though and it was all walking by nightfall. I am the back of the pack runners. For those who can run, this race is a cinch. I met older people who finished it in 30 hours easy.

    There maybe a few sections that were iffy (meaning for pros only) – like the part climbing up from the Kaymoor mine, the Arbuckle trail, and the single trail out to Ansted. Some were just too steep to run. And I think the single trail section to Ansted also was not runable, due to the fact it being an out and back race, you are held up there for people to pass by because the trail being narrow.

    There were some harder climbs especially at the end, but they didn’t bother me much. I mean those who were able to get through halfway are not doing to give up just because of couple hills. Same with me. Most of the big climbs were on roads earlier in the race, such as one to Thurmond. Some say the race had between 11,000 to 16,000 ft. I take it at their words. Some runners said 13’000 ft, the race organization said 16,000. I felt it was much less.

    Expectation. For the Rim to River Race, I went in first expecting to finish around 28-29 hours (we had 32 hours total) like at my last 100 mile. However, as night progressed, I had to reset my expectation a few times.

    Pacing. Walk/run ratio. I think I walked as much as 75% of time. The first half, I could maintain about 15 min per mile including rest time at aid stations. The race cutoff pace was 19 min per mile. I believe during the night, I was moving around at 24 min per mile.

    Gears and equipment. I used standard stuff, hydration pack, some people didn’t. I didn’t use poles but they might have been helpful. Poles were a norm here – think 50% or more carried them. I think all did toward the end. I wore layers. I switched shoes but I don’t think others did. All boring stuff. Water is heavy that is a fact when you are tired and I carried a lot but I still ended up being dehydrated. I only peed twice during the whole race — maybe because it was cold and I did not want to drink. Peeing was painful (I know, I might damage my kidneys).

    Chafing and blister control: I was good till near the end. I lubed myself at mile 60 when it became uncomfortable, though I should have done it much earlier, but after lubing I felt great, and no more chafe. I could move painfree. I have gotten lazier of not lubing before the race. A surprised story (for those in the know) at the end of a race, I overheard a female runner saying it hurt down there and it did not matter what lube she puts she said! Ah, pain only runners know. And I thought only guys have that problem, and now female too. Solution is of course to lube and lube often, but I think she is new to the long distance running. I was laughing inside when I heard her talked. I didn’t offer my 2-cent. Yes, the first time I ran long distance (26 miles) it was very painful!

    I relied solely on aid stations for all my food and snacks. I drank only water and skipped the pop. I did carry a package of gel from home and I used it. I had no problem with my nutrition. No matter what, you would be under calories. I ate when available, mostly chicken broth and ramen. Nutrition was something I worry about before coming into the race – they said to test and work out what best for your stomach. I threw up before in a race. I felt nutrition was something I did not have the time to figure out. In the end it was a non-issue.

    Aid stations. They were adequate. People were always enthusiastic to serve us when we came to one. They were always full of people, not like some other races at night where everyone is asleep. I am from the back of the pack too meaning the buck of the crowd already went through and I shouldn’t expect VIP treatment! But I did receive good stuffs (food and water) at every single one.

    They had portable heaters at night and they were a godsend. They were so comfortable that we did not want to leave. We had three drop bag locations. I used only two.

    Most stations were between 6-10 miles apart. The farthest one apart was 11 miles. I heard some runners were saying a bit too far. This was from Cunard (mile 27) to Long Point (mile 38/39?). I ran out of water on that stretch (and I carried 2 liters) but it was not a dealbreaker – because I was not thirsty.

    Incident 1/Race Highlight: One main reason for a slower run in this race was — I tripped and fell and broke my glasses in the late afternoon, around 4-5pm and it became apparent running at night was out of the question. The fall did not hurt me, but my glasses was broken into several (“many” pieces in my mind at the time) pieces. It was impossible to glue it or tape it back at that point in time. Several others runners tried to help by offering tape or super glue, but deep down I knew I had to do the rest of the race without my glasses.

    The true solution is I should wear goggles when running. I am just lazy to get myself a pair. My balance was super good though and saved me from falling many times. You came to rely not on sight but to trust your feet.

    By nightfall, I could not see the trail any more when lighting was dim – I was blind to rocks, roots, stumps, branches, and puddles, because everything were invisible to me. I had my headlamp but they were not super bright and though the brightness could be adjusted – I had never tested how long the battery would last if I had it on the brightest setting. I am guessing, maybe 2 hours max. I didn’t bring enough battery for the 12 hour of darkness, so I did not want to set it on the brightest setting. A brighter light might have helped me in seeing better and so run better. The 12 hour night time was a huge setback for me.

    I fell or stumbled many times at night. Most of the time, I was not hurt. Couple times though my wrists and hands took the blunt of it. After falling enough time, I decided to “team up” with other runners. I asked if I could just stay with them, having them kind of pace me. They could help me avoid most of the branches and other obstacles. A lady “paced” me while pacing her runner. We got through maybe 10 miles together. This was around miles 65-75. It lessened the burden of me trying to find my way without able to see much.

    I know and think a few runners got annoyed with me tagging behind. I leave their names/bib unidentified/and I’ll leave out the details – not worth repeating. I somehow could not build rapport with runners in this race unlike other races, not sure if they were super competitive or super stressed out. In the past, runners, especially trail runners are like a family. When you meet up, it is like a long lost reunion. So it is easy to connect. Not so at this race. This is not indicative of all runners there, just a few who were around me throughout the race, for example, the few runners I were with in the first couple hours were kind (at least acknowledged your presence like you belong with them), but unfortunately, I don’t think any of them finish. You know if you spent 30+ hours side by side, they would at least tell you their name, at the very least after the first couple minutes! But no, not so here. Not a good bedfellow! Not even after we finished together! I was happy my friend and his group of friends were there and I had my own celebration. Enough said, I won’t bring race into the discussion. There were surprising a lot asians on the course. In the past, it is rare to see another asian running ultras. In this race, there was one with my name too! A first! He is quite amazing based on his ultrasignup page.

    I appreciated one pacer especially for her help (She later introduced herself again at the end of the race as Katlyn) though with me not wearing my glasses I couldn’t able to see what she looks like or to recognize her in the future. She said she only did 15 miles leading up to the event, but that night she paced her friend for over 45 miles! The audacity. What a friend. She stopped and pulled me up when I tripped and fell.

    Anyway, I strived out on my own later in the night when I believed the two ladies who I kept pace (and it was hard to find people willing to let you stay behind) with might not have a chance at finishing the race because their pace was much slower than I wanted (Spoiler: They did finish and only a few minutes behind me, right on my tail) and the chance of finishing was slipping away. I used myself as a measuring stick in many races, calling myself the course unofficial sweeper, basically those who are behind me are likely won’t able to finish. So I felt I was on a sinking boat when I was with them.

    I fell once more after I left all other people. But my confident was stronger than before because daybreak would be soon (still was maybe 2-3 hours away, but mentally it was the expectation that the night was more than half over). Also by now I was back on the same trail (Kaymoore Trail) we were on earlier in the daytime and I kind of recognized all the bends etc, so I didn’t have to find my way. As long as I could stay on the same trail and I would be good till the finish. I felt I could move faster on my own.

    Incident 2. Staying on the trail was an art when you are in a drunken state due to the lack of sleep. By 4 AM, sleep deprivation started to get to me. I started seeing stuff – and without glasses any shadow would become like real objects. I was avoiding fake trees and brushes and beautiful falling leaves and more so as the night wore on. I was by myself, no headlamp in front nor behind. The trail was pitblack, except my own headtorch.

    I saw electrical leaves in neon color – with fluorescene glow, a beautiful sight. To me they looked so real and natural (like in the movie Avatar).

    Once, I walked off the trail toward the cliff side. I slid off but luckily not too far, otherwise, I might have ended in the river down in the gorge (namesake of the race).

    As much as I told myself to keep awake, but the body won (The spirit is willing but the body is weak). Most of the time though the trail has wide enough shoulders, so it is impossible to fall off of the cliff. Why was I sleepwalking? I felt I could close my eyes a bit and walk and rely on my feet. It was a bad idea because I felt asleep for real. But I felt asleep too even with my eyes open (I caught myself with my mind blank out several times). I forgot to ask for coffee at the last aid station during the night. This lasted maybe an hour before I became fully awake again.

    Incident 3. Other than stepping off the trail, when the course turned away from the main trail, I had another near saved/end experience. The Erkins Aid Station on the map showed it was literally on the trail, but on race day, the station was like 500 ft off to the right and on top of a hill by a road, that it couldn’t be seen from the trail. And I missed it, and passed right by the turn off.

    By now it was day time and I was awake. It was probably around 8 ish (7 in post day light saving ended), and sun was up though we didn’t see it. In my mind, I thought the way should be straight ahead. I passed a running team just then and I was putting on speed. But my sixth sense got to me and turned my head around in time to see a flash of headlamp (from one of the people I passed) going uphill on my right. And so I had to backtrack. That was a lucky break, because if they had the headlamp off, I would not have seen them or if I did not turn around to check, I would have miss it too, because I was so sure the trail and the race course goes straight instead of turning (yes, I have been a few races, where runners behind don’t care if someone is off trail — I think this race is highly competitive).

    I followed the tapes/flags up the side of the hill and occassionally I had to get close to the ground because I can only see about a foot in front of my eyes. My nearsightedness is that bad. I kept kneeing and bending down till I reached the hill top. A slow process yes.

    Not too far away was a picnic area (in my mind someone’s backyard, remember I couldn’t see well), with a shelter. I could hear voices, music, laughter and celebration. In my mind they were having a picnic – never did it occurred to me to ask – who in their right mind would be having a picnic at 8 am on a Sunday in the cold, (actually was 7 AM with Day light saving just ended during the race at 2 AM that morning, but the race people decided to stick to old time to avoid confusion with adding an hour or substracting an hour) .

    A lady came out and asked – if I lost my running partner. I said no, I was not looking for my running partner, but I am searching for flags to know which way to turn. She then led me to the Aid Station. It then dawned on me, ah all those christmas lights – of course they were showing the way to the aid station, and who needs flags when the Aid Station is obviously in front. Note, when I read about Erkins Aid station, I thought it would be on Erkins trail, but it was not. It was before the Erkins Trail.

    The people there were not having a picnic but they were there for us. It was both funny and tragic of not having my glasses – I could have turned the wrong way or ignored the aid station completely, which would be ground for a DNF or DQ (Disqualified/did not finish) because everyone must check in and out at every aid stations. Mind plays funny tricks on you in the early hours even after I was fully awaken.

    Main outake from all three incidents, most tailend runners have a pacer! I didn’t, otherwise all those getting lost, etc, could be avoided. I did meet several runners who did not during the morning, with one at the Erkins aid station.

    I am happy I finished and did it within the cut-off without a pacer. My friend Aaron was there and so were many others. It was a warm welcome at the finish. Katlyn came over said her congratulations – she (her runner) finished just minutes after me but I didn’t realized at the time because I was just too happy. But again kudos to her for her kindness and being a good friend!

    Why run this race? For the beautiful course, there were plenty of aid stations (and fun ones), the race is hosted at a resort – which is easier for support crew, and not as remote as it seems – Cunard, Fayetteville, and Ansted, are convenient locations along the course for crew access. I would add it was an out-and-back course – some might not like rerunning on the same path, but I found it reassuring on the way back to have something recognizable when you are tired. Some said it is a good first 100 mile to run – I think it is a bit tough, but for the daring, sure doable for first 100. For me, I couldn’t imagine how I would do if it was my first.

    Why not to run? The time of year tends to be on the cold side with chance of snow or bad weather. We were lucky to have clear sky, but it is West Virginia. Still, it was not as remote or rugged as a true wilderness run as I first envisioned. 27 ish miles were on the Ace Adventure Resort site and many of their trails feel artificial. Artificial trails are trails you have in the city. They are made by machines and not by hands (or naturally occured paths). Not saying they were easy, but it felt as if the course were just looking miles to add up the 100 mile distance – and it can frustrating, knowing you are at the finish but not really there yet because you have to go around the same hill a few more times. We ran on mostly manicured paths, some roads, and gravel. By manicured, it feels flat (rail to trail). At this time of the year, leaves covered over rocks and trails and it is dangerous and risky and challenging. Lastly, it was an out and back, so the excitement kind of fizzled out after the turn-around, though it wasn’t exactly the same path back but majority was the same.

    Final Words. There you have it, the good, the bad and the ugly. 100 mile race is a beast to tackle unlike 50 mile or marathons. I glad I signed up and ran it. The race reached and exceeded my expectation. People and staff were friendly. I had fun. It boosted my confident that I did a 100 and can do plenty more.

    If I have a chance, I would run it again for sure, but then also there are plenty other races to do.

  • Day448 Run schedule

    2022 Edition. Part of the tradition is around this time of year, I will reveal my next year race scehdule. couple weeks (Day442) ago, I already hinted/ let it known a few races I already signed up.

    3 marathons I signed up were, the Newport News One City, Grandma’s in Minnesota, and Salisbury in Maryland.

    My goal as always is to chip away my 50-states goal. Grandma is the target for that And I might likely go down to Atlanta to run theirs. One City and Salisbury are states I already did. They are just races I want to run.

    I also, signed up for a 100 miler – Massanutten. It is the big boy race. It will be one that challenges me at the next level. What I mean is I will be running like never before! 2021 was a pop off year, and 2022, definitely the real deal in running if I get Massunutten down.

    Other than these, there will be some repeats of 2021 and some volunteering. Some races are not determined yet. Catoctin, Iron Mountain, Rock n the Knob, definitely I want to rerun those. Rim Tahoe, is a new race and is a maybe. It has a lottery and requires traveling. Lake Ridge too is another repeat, I would like to do it on a weekend like I did this year.

    Some were deferred races from 2020, such as the Marine Corps, Rock -n- Roll, and the Richmond Marathon. I also want to run the Philadelphia Rocky Fatass, Philadelphia trail marathon and the Devil Dog 100. All these were kind a deferred race from 2020.

    By the way, I am kind of on the fence too on Laurel Highlands – a race I ran this year, but I want to run it one more time.

    By the way, the live schedule is on the site, and it changes from time to time.

    I also as with thousands other runners tossed our names in the lottery for Western States – one of the most coveted races for ultra marathoners. My chance of getting in is like 1:20000. One can only dream that I will make it on first try.

    I do plan out my races a year in advance. Kind a. All in all, my races are not much a surprise. My goal (A) Race is probably the Grandma’s Marathon and maybe Massanutten.

    ~~~2022~~~

    Marathon Goal: MN

    (Dec/Jan) (doubtful) Holaday Lake?, VA

    (Mar. 5-6) (reg’d) One City Marathon, Newport News, Va (race is on Sunday). Check back in Sept.

    (March 26?) (likely) DC Rock n Roll Half. reg is open

    (April 2) (Reg’d) Salisbury Marathon, MD, sign up is open ($85)

    (May 14) (reg’d) MMT 100. Definitely

    (Jun 4) (volunteering) 1st Weekend. 100k. Worlds End, PA. Should consider running it. very difficult. might defer to 2023

    (June 11) (not likely running/maybe crewingvolunteer?) Laurel Highlands

    June 18, 2022: (reg’d) Grandma’s Marathon, MN. travel required

    Jul 9. (likely) Catoctin 50k. Real deal this year. reg open Jan 1.

    Jul 16-17. (considering) (Hyped) Tahoe Rim Trail (TRTer) 100/50. reg lottery open is in Dec 5. Drawing Jan 1, Stroke to sign up. race is on Sat. 8 hr trail work req for 100Mi. Travel.

    (Sep 5) (considering/likely) Iron Mnt Ultra 50 – IMTR, labor day weekend. Don’t miss reg Jun 1.

    (Sep 12) (considering/probably) (Claytor Lake) Lake Ridge Endurance Run – 24 hr? defending my title 😉

    (Sep 25) (considering/but not likely) Pemberton 24x5K, Friday 7:00 pm – Sat 7:00pm. Reg open on April 28. only if i get in.

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

    (Nov 13, 2022) (reg’d/but need confirm, deferred from 2020 and 2021) Richmond Marathon. ahhh, going to be intense

    (Dec 4): (not likely) Rocky 50 PA Fatass. http://www.rocky50k.com/. Always been considering, 1st of Dec

    (Dec 4) (Considering the 100M) Devil Dog 100K/100MI, Triangle, VA. As such this or Yetti. The full monty (race reg opens on July 4)

    ~~~2023~~~

    Marathon Goals: ME, GA

  • Day447 Halloween

    I run because I like it. A more complex answer as to why has to do with the solace and peace I found when I run. There are other reasons too.

    Originally I had another post on the topic but it was difficult to finish, and in the end I decided to scratch it and rewrote as this to be a bit cheerful.

    The TL;DR (summary), something unexpected came up – It started from an emergency at the beginning of the month and the situation is still ongoing. It took time away from my running and my work. To many people, that seems reasonable. You deal with what is most important in your life. A question is whether my pursuit of my hobby is a selfish endeavor and whether that is undesirable (I wrote about this before). My answer is you live the life you choose. You always have a choice. That is the short answer. Anyway, it might take couple blog posts still to flush it out and I might not want to spend more time on it.

    Now that is out of the way, I want to go back to the regular programing.

    Just last week I received a message from a friend that he will be running the JFK 50 this year, which is coming up in a couple weeks. At about the same time, I found out from another friend, that his two other friends (who are also my friends) are doing this 50 miler as well. So, people I know are running it and it makes me want to run it too to join them.

    I found that is happy crazy, because we kind of talked about last year and I didn’t have much faith that they were going to do it though as a friend you don’t say that. Why this news means much to me is because when I first ran my 50 miler, these people were there to support me. They don’t necessary looking for a reciprocal but I do feel I owe them something. Anyway I am trilled they are running it.

    Lastly, there are just a few more days before my 100 mile run. I am not as ready as I want to be for various reasons. There are a lot of undercurrents (such as with my mom’s health being unstable – she might die during my time away). But to me the show should go on. I still want to run it. The reason I am mentioning is to draw to the fact of the pressure I am facing; it is not simply a binary choice to go or not to go, but what is the alternative? There are a lot I want to write but I am just leaving as that. The easy solution is don’t run it — but I wonder is it that easy? My answer still to do what I think is best (in my own interest) and don’t second guess. I’m going leave the post hanging. Readers have to wait for a time to find out if I went or not.

    Halloween – how does this post relate to Halloween? nothing. Most see Halloween as a spooky fun holiday. I could write how Halloween is tied to my nephew’s birthday and how annually we celebrate it with him. Not this year. I am in the urgent care center with my mom, who is not feeling well. I think it her fifth time there this month. Not that, it is scary. It is just the fact of life. Today just happens to fall on Halloween. Stay safe and have fun!

  • Day446 4th Hello World

    Can’t believe once again, I reached the end of another year on WP. Yes, this is the fourth. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd are somewhere. Readers can search for them.

    In similar vein, it is the close of my fifth year of running and beginning of the sixth. I am not always a runner before. It used to be a big deal for me to note the season because each season I had some sort of goal I tried to reach. Now it is just, run and keep up with things. I am probably in my 12th or 13th season by now … I have lost count, assuming two seasons a year (fall and spring). summer and winter are usually too short to do anything, so I don’t count those.

    These few years have gone by so fast. The first year was fall 2016 – I ran my first 10K, and then a half marathon. I trained through winter and till spring, (season 2) when I had my first and second marathon within a month apart. My marathon was on April 1, easy to remember. My family thought I was playing a joke on them. They did however went and cheered me in Charlottesville. There wasn’t any marathon like that since. It was also one of the hardest marathons I did.

    Fall 2017, Season 3, I ran the Marine Corps Marathon. I trained all summer. The result was not as I expected. I did not improve on my time. Reality set in, that this won’t be a quick thing to be able to qualify for the Boston Marathon.

    Correction: I think I ran NCR marathon in fall 2017 and I ran Marine Corps Marathon in Fall 2018. The story is the same. At NCR I met a lady who did like 22 marathons. And at MCM I came to understand that I couldn’t reach my goal in a year or two.

    Spring 2018, Season 4, I ran the Delaware Coastal Marathon, as the first or one of early out of state marathons. I guess the idea was forming that I wanted to do all 50 states. As I ran more races, I got to meet people who were on similar quest. I met someone who was halfway to the 50 states.

    Fall 2018, Season 5, history is a bit hazy here. I think I got accepted to the marathon maniacs club. At the time, I thought the standard was pretty tough, because one had to run 3 marathons within 90 days. Somehow I did it and qualified. I was thrilled. It led me down a path of endless marathons – yes I became a true maniac!

    A lot happening then. I might have started blogging then. And marathons were not as challenging as the next level – “Ultra Marathon!”

    No idea how I got introduced to the Ultra world. It just happened.

    Spring 2019, Season 6. The rest is history so to speak. Everything now is documented here on WP, of how I became an ultra runner. I ran so many races in 2019, I can’t recall them. We did many hikes too. Because this was the year, we would go to Patagonia. Plans were made in the spring. Ah I remembered how I came to the ultra world — I volunteered at an ultra event (Seneca Greenway 50K) that spring and then everything fell into places. Spring 2019 was very important in what led to me today — both as a distance runner and an outdoor man.

    Fall 2019, Season 7. I did one of the best ultra races – Old Glory and from then I fell in love with trail running. A week after, I ran the JFK 50 mile. That was one of the longest races – mind boggling long and epic. We finished the season by traveling to Chile and backpacked Patagonia. I think that always will be a high point of my life.

    Spring 2020, Season 8. Bad thing happened – Covid-19 came and all my plans and races crumbled. But I was able to do a race in California – Carlsbad Marathon. It was one of most scenic marathons I did.

    Fall 2020, Season 9. I was willing to up my game. Due to Covid-19, many races became “virtual” – basically you ran at your home of the distance the race required. One of the virtual events I did was to run the distance across Tennessee – about 630 miles over 4 months. That was the most miles I ever ran. I surpassed the requirement and finished with 1000 miles that summer. Also, I made two attempts to run a 100 mile in Atlanta and both ended in failure but it led to greater boldness in doing runs in all locations, any time, and any weather. There was the passion to be out on the street running day and night. I ran across my city for the first time doing 50 miles. My whole city became my playground/training arena. No place is too far to go on foot. I did a lot of miles alone, and self-supported. And that helped me in doing ultra races the following year.

    Spring 2021, Season 10. Finally I succeeded in my first 100 mile run. I traveled down to Houston, Texas, to do it. Not only did I run the 100 mile, I ran couple 50 miles, and a 70 mile. It was an ultra pop off year. races: Rocky Raccoon, Grayson Highlands, Laurel Highlands, Stone Mill 50, and Seneca Greenway 50k, oh I forgot about Iron Mountain. Each race was epic and an adventure in itself. The significance of this is I got tested on the trails. Sure I could run on roads, but what about trails? Doing those races gave the confident, yes and on trails too.

    Fall 2021, Season 11. As season comes to the close, I have another 100 mile lined up and several maybe-maybe ultras. I am committed to the Devil Dog, and very tempted to run either the Stone Mill or the JFK again. I know I got to be out of my mind to do them because I am sure the 100 mile race would drain all of me – the question is: will there strength left to do any other races afterward? We will see!

    What next year gonna be? It has not arrived yet. God willing, I will be running some more. My goal as always is to do all fifty states. And to be a better marathon runner – yes run faster and stronger. Also I am still part of a virtual race with a team of runners – and we are running around the world. This winter, we would be two-third way through (20,000 miles). Wow! we ran a lot. 2000 miles per person on average. I think I reached 3000 miles – maybe. Who is keeping count? More on this in future posts.

    Something to discuss on future posts, how has running changed me? Time is devoted to being on the road. I virtually disappeared the last year or so. The body adapted. What I thought was impossible, now seems easy. I am boasting I could do a marathon any weekend. Want to run 20-30 miles this weekend? Sure lets do it. While that is true, I want to be the person who can run 26 miles every day! This is a minimum for those who want to cross the country on foot. I have that bigger dream to cross the continent one summer on foot. Ya.

    There you have it. Thank you all for your supports. Once a year, I got to thank my fans.

  • Day445 Fall Classic 10K

    I have been doing a lot of longer runs and while they are fun, sometimes running a shorter race is a break in the routine one needs.

    I was originally going to go up to Philadelphia for their trail marathon race. I have been contemplating and maybe was even agonizing a little over it. Those who know, I am the person who is hard to make up my mind on anything.

    Maybe its a story for another time — but by the time I came to a decision to go ahead with the race – you know what!? the race registration had closed by then but if I want to still go I could register on race day. They closed the registration a week before the race to assign bibs (and to purchase the event insurance). So I was worked up to make that trip up to Philadelphia without the assurance whether I can race at all.

    TL;TD, I ended up didn’t go at the 11th hour. However, also I had a back up plan to run with local training group on their training run for the Stone Mill 50. Plus I signed up to run the Fall Classic 10K on Sunday.

    I pride myself now to run without much advance preparation a 20-30 mile distance. So on Saturday I woke up early and drove to the training run location in MD. I ran the Stone Mill 50 miler last Fall, as my second 50 miler. At the time then, I was nervous about the race and I put in weeks of hard training for that. I am not running it this year. For those who want to, you could look up the training runs and race report from last year.

    The training run this time brought back memories of my own race and training runs I did. We ran on a section I had the most difficult with because I got a bit confused there during my race. This time however, I know the way. It was a cinch. Except I almost ran out water on my run. Any way, I ran to a gas station and got some fluid to quelch my thirst.

    The run was over 20 miles and we finished it by noon. It was one of the quickest weekend training runs ever. Usually, I don’t start my weekend long run until after 12. This time, we finished by 12.

    Then on Sunday, I went out to Ashburn and did their Fall Classic 10K. It has been a while since I ran a 10K. This was the exact route of their spring Pot of Gold 10K. It was my second time on this course.

    The weather was perfect. It was maybe around 55F (12 C) in the morning. It maybe a bit chilly but I decided to go light and wore a T shirt and shorts. There were maybe 200 (177 results). I did not have a target time in mind or a target pace. Since my 100 miler is coming up, my so call race pace for the 100 miler is around 17 min a mile. So as long as I am able to run 4 miles an hour, I am happy.

    With such a long break since I last ran a 10K, I don’t even know what speed I was still capable of, so I started the race at a slow and steady pace, pretty much at my marathon pace. People left and right passed me. I stayed with a lady for the first mile…I think she was going out too fast though, because she was panting while I hardly broke a sweat. I didn’t bother her though. This was a 10K and not a marathon – no one talked. I dropped her after first mile because she couldn’t keep at my pace. There were a few too got drop behind too. I believed I maintained a pretty steady pace. It is fun to see those who blasted out the gate and died on after the first mile.

    Second mile came around. The course was familiar to me, all we did was making right turns. In a normal 10K I won’t stop for water…you pretty much can hold in (some marathons I did, water stops are spaced like 6 miles apart, and I usually only drink/stop at every 13 miles). But that day, I felt if I didn’t stop, I wouldn’t able to keep my pace. So I did a full stop and took a water bottle. I lost maybe 20-30 seconds on the clock but it was worth it. Those who didn’t stop were not that far ahead and I was able to catch back up to them.

    Mile 3, halfway. By now, my pacing was better. I felt I was breathing well and my legs were fine (even after running a 20 miles the day before, they were fresh that morning). I was hitting the pace well. So I started to pay attention on my ETA for the next mile. This stuff is like a second nature to me now. I was running like between 9-10 mins pace, so the calculation was very easy.

    Mile 4, we came to another water stop. This time I didn’t stop. It was unmanned. I ran through but was slow enough for me to grab a bottle and I ran and drank from the bottle without skipping a beat.

    Mile 5, I found a guy who was running strong. He was with me pretty much since mile 2. But he was pushing a bit faster and faster at each mile. He and I was passing a lot of people. Though at that time it did not occur to me, we were speeding up. I was just running my own race, but he was always like 5-6 steps ahead. We were always at an ear shot away.

    Before mile 6 there was a bit of hill climb (not that much but enough to get people to slow down). The dude and I basically crushed it and we started passing people now. I know it was just quarter mile from the finish. I expected maybe 2 min till the end. I called out to those around, we got to sprint to the finish. There is always that extra energy for me to sprint. I out sprinted the dude I was with, though he still bested me with his chip time since he crossed the starting line 20-30 seconds later than me. He did win. For me, it was still the thrill to be able to race with someone in a friendly competition.

    Note usually I don’t do race report for a 10k or training run. I did it this time, because it reminded me how much fun it was. The vibe was different. It was a fast race and I could run my heart out. I was able to do 6 miles under an hour. It was not my fastest 10K. I think I did it in 56 mins, but it was very reassuring to have the feeling – ya you still got it in you to run fast. I know fast is relative (1st place winner is usually around 30 mins), but it was fast based on my time. It felt really good.

  • Day444 High Bridge Ultra

    High Bridge was on my race-to-run list since after finishing the Eastern Divide in 2018, but things got in the way ever since as usual, so after three years, I was finally free to go down to Pamplin, Virginia, to run this 50K, the High Bridge Ultra. The race is part of the trail race series by the Trail Adventure, and I have run all of them but the High Bridge (HBU). The other races for the curious are Eastern Divide (EDU), Old Glory (OGU), and Lake Ridge (LRU @ Lake Claytor). I might have reported on those at some point.

    I am least prepared for this event than any other races I have done. I could wing a 5K or 10K without training but to show up at an ultra unprepared is asking for a lot of pain. Physically, I think I am decently fit, as I usually could run a marathon or two every weekend, but I had been slacking the last two weeks on my training. It is kind of crazy to do a 50K as a first run after such long break.

    I could of course not show up to the race and not run it, like I did the week before for a 10 miler run.

    Those who know me, giving up on a race is almost nonexistent in my lexicon. So, even though I was not that enthusiastic about driving the 4 hours to Pamplin, I got into the car Friday night and drove down and camped out at a nearby park. Not that I couldn’t affort-affort a decent hotel/motel stay but it would hurt the pocket and I am feeling the pinch. A camping spot costs like $15-25 and with inflation going on now, I started see even the cheapest motels are costing $130-140 a night, so camping easily won out.

    Pre-race. Due to many things happening, I did not arrive at the camp until midnight. I am not unfamiliar by now in setting up camp quickly without in the dark. So a few minutes later, I had a proper tent set up. If it was not for there being a chance of rain, I might even sleep under the stars. I could roll and sleep anywhere now, bugs not withstanding. I did feel better though to have a tent.

    I set my alarm for 4:25. This time I said there would be no over sleeping like I did at the Eau Claire race. You learn a bit at each race and try to improve from it. Last race for me was the problem of sleeping and waking up. When the alarm went off, I forced myself up this time, though I was drowsy, I quickly followed the plan to pack up. Normally, it would take me an hour to pack up, but I told myself, I don’t have the luxury this time. I needed to leave the camp by 5 am and get to the race by 6. I even skipped the bathroom and breakfast. I had some munchies to chew while driving to the race site though don’t remember what I ate by now. I did this time around stopped by a convenience store the night before on the way down and I had brought bread, cereal, and milk with me. I didn’t eat them though. I remember in Eau Claire I didn’t have food because Mc Donalds were not open. This time, I was prepared.

    My morning haziness was quickly gone by time I got to the package pickup. I was greeted by familiar faces. I ran with this organization a few time, with the most recent race at Lake Claytor last month. They said, there is no way to not remember me after supporting me almost 24 hours that day (there were only like 10 of us in that race). I received my bib. We took the bus from Pamplin to the real starting place, somewhere 30+ miles to the east. The race starting location was not the same as our bib pickup location by design. This was a point to point race. 31.1 miles on the High Bridge Trail. We were to run back to our cars.

    It was my first time on the course. There were about 40-50 of us, not that many but maybe a third of us were first time running an ultra. I fondly recalled when I did my first ultra. I was no stranger to this distance by now though. Even without a recent run, I was not afraid to tackle this distance. As long as I can get to mile 26, it is a sure finish.

    We started on time. There was not much fanfare. 8 o clock came and the race director said go and we were off. The trail is wide, and can fit maybe 5-6 of us side by side. Mostly, I was running by myself. The morning was cloudy and warm. There was a chance of rain, but it never came until long after I finished. The trail was on a hard compact limestone surface. It felt like running on concrete. Initially, the hard ground did not bother me, but about halfway through, my knees and calves started to feel the pounding. I had to run off the trail a few time to rest my feet.

    The course was marked by every half mile by trail markers. So I was much more focused on my pace than in any other races. You could in theory have a very controlled run.

    A fellow runner from a previous race recognized me. We ran the 12 hour event at Lake Claytor a month ago. She and I had pretty much the same pace. There were no official pacers for the race. So I used her to gauge the proper pace to run. But by halfway, she slowed down and I lost her.

    In my mind, having done the Eau Claire Marathon, I know how fast I should be running. experience for that race was still fresh on my mind and was easily transferred to this one. I knew I was going way too fast. However, everyone around me were doing 9 mins or less. So we were running extremely fast for this event.

    pacing: I told myself to run at 12 min per mile or slower, for this event since my ever fastest 31 miles was 6 hours. I know I was not planning to surpass my best time.

    I added in a 30 seconds walk at the end of every mile to slow down my pace. I told myself I would keep doing that for as long as I could. The race director had warned us that this race would be deceptively easy, because the monotonous pace would cause us to run too fast. It means there would be no chance for our muscles to take a break — unless we are disciplined to control our pace.

    By halfway, I already found I couldn’t maintain my pace and I was easing off on the pedal. I still forced myself though to make a 12 minutes mile. Pretty soon, that was unsustainable either. I started counting how many more miles to the next aid station.

    Mile 20 seemed extremely far. I hit the wall again and again before then. Pretty sure, the first wall was somewhere at mile 16. Then 17, and 18. So I don’t even remember how I got through to mile 20. Mile 20 is important because it is 2/3 of the race in and to me it is more meaningful than the 50% mark. You know how after halfway mark, every step is one step closer to the finish. However, I want to consider how second half is usually harder than the first half. So I prefer setting the 66% as a mental halfway point, that every step I take should be easier than the first 66%. I must have passed through an aid station by then, but I can’t recall now. There was another one at mile 24. Then one more at mile 29. My concerntration was taking a toil. Runner delusion I called it.

    Mile 26 was my next goal. I know if I reached it, there would be no way I would not going to finish. I walk if have to in order to finish.

    My concern was not so much of not able to finish the race but how my body feels during it. I know for 100 mile run, I will be doing this like 4x. So I am supposed to be still fresh after doing a marathon distance. So during the run, I was comparing my breathing, and how my body feels and so I was pretending I was doing a 100 miler instead of a 30 mile race. Did it work? After 26, miles, I was just trying to survive, and I was no longer pretending it was a 100 mile race. It didn’t work.

    Ending. Mile 29 would be the last aid station. It was also the farest one apart from the previous one. The race director had warned us about this. For me, it was indeed very far especially when you are tired. I was mostly walking by now, 2 mins of walk for every 15-30 seconds of running. It took eternity before I arrived. After reaching it, the finish line was not too far away.

    A redeeming feature for this race for me was the final two miles on the road. I love and romanticize running on a single lane country road all the time because we don’t have that luxury or the deprivation in the city where I live (because we have the money to have sidewalks and bike trails and all the good stuffs of city living). My fellow runners think this is the most dangerous part of the race because we faced oncoming traffic with cars going as fast as 45-55 miles flying down the one lane road. Sometimes there were not enough room on the shoulder either. You pray hard the car sees you and would slow down. Others didn’t share my thrill of running with cars. They think this part of the race was totally unnecessary dangerous because they could have shifted the start line 2 miles back and we would finish it before we get to the road portion. But I love it because it got us out of the repetiveness of the rail to trail section. It was exciting playing frogger. It was really a short section (and most of the traffic were runners who had finished or family members/friends of runners). I think it was worth it.

    Is the race worth running? Yes, the race description from the race site is accurate. It is a good first ultra for the uninitiated runners. Because the course has very little of hills. And the direction to stay on the course is easy. It was just one straight way. The course passed the High Bridge, the race namesake, which is considered the highest and longest bridge (I think for railroad) of that particular era. So those who ran got a bit of history to see. High Bridge is worth the visit for those who are into history and landmarks.

    Small town. This Pamplin is tiny like any Virginian towns! There are like one or two stores. Some runners might also use this time to check out the more famous nearby towns such as Appomattox or Farmville. Aside, I can see why or how General Lee and the Confederate troops were being helmed in/driven to this remote place and ultimately surrendering nearby at Appomattox. Today, this region is still just as remote and not easy to get to (for lack of interstates). You get to experience what small towns in Virginia are like. Farmville, which we passed midway in the race, is probably the place to stay and visit for the out of town runners (unfortunately I didn’t do any sight seeing). A few people drove in the morning of from far away places. They had to be up like 2-3 AM. Or be like me, camp out in a nearby state park!

    Critique. A few said this is a once and done race. I agree. While High Bridge, the actual bridge is a historical landmark and deserves visiting, it doesn’t have enough draw to come back year after year. And the race was not truly a trail race. The ground was too hard. Those planning to do it, should treat it like a road race.

    I don’t regret running it though. I found it interesting and happy I did it.

    Out take. I ran it because I wanted to jumpstart my running again and also it was on my schedule. I think and hope it helped me to shake out my final preparation for an upcoming 100 miler. It did get my mind ready for that race, but in term of nutrition/gears and pacing, it was not an ideal shakeout run – because I came under prepared. It was not an ideal run for trophy either. It was more like a super long run … . Other than that, I loved the run.

  • Day441 Eau Claire Marathon

    That was the Eighth marathon-state and 42 more states to go. If I count the Rocky Raccoon I ran in February in Texas, it would be the nineth. Rocky Raccoon was an ultra marathon, and it is not the same as a normal marathon.

    When I run a normal marathon I feel I am fast again, relatively fast when compares to my other races. I am able to push more until I hit a breaking point. I feel good doing that.

    Eau Claire was everything I like about running a marathon. Maybe my first marathon was like that. Beautiful, and I feel successful. I was doing my thing and in my own separate world. There was the hype and race atmosphere. Many people tried to do their first marathons etc.

    I started off slow. Maybe I blame the weather. It was a bit nippy. Leaves in Wiscousin already were turning yellow, but the day was going to be great. Our pacer encouraged us to finish the run early to avoid the heat (80 F). We started off around 45 F though. I tried to stay in my car with my hoodie until the time of the start. I already decided to run in shorts and tee. I was willing to stand the shivering of the first hour or so. Hey this might be my last race before winter.

    The fact I did not have my breakfast was kind of suck. I did not pack my meal the night before, thinking I could get something from a McDonalds or 7-eleven. I was feeling lazy. Making sandwiches is a lot of work to me. Google said Dunkins and McDonalds would be open by 5 am. I was in a small town though and on a Sunday – the general hour doesn’t apply. Nothing was open. I kind of woke up late too around 5:30 am. Plus a half hour drive to the race, I had very little time left. The race started at 7:00.

    Last time I ran an “official” fast marathon was almost two years ago in Carlsbad, California. The Moonlight Marathon in West Virginia I did a month ago doesn’t count because that was like training and also that was “hilly”. Also Gettysburg marathon I ran last October doesn’t count – that was not a new state for me. I finished Eau Claire almost an hour ahead of my Moonlight Marathon. This is what I mean by fast. I needed to feel I was near my max performance.

    Parking was going to a problem I thought since they would block the roads. I arrived before they put down the barricades. So I was lucky. They actually only put up the starting arch like 15 minutes before the start. It felt unreal that they were behind schedule. We were going to run in the middle of the road. Things looked like last minute flash in the pan operation to me.

    The race place felt empty. Later I found out less people ran it this year than in previous years. Maybe about 40% less people, likely due to the pandemic. Not that it bothered me whether there were 40 people or 3000 people, a race is a race. There were 200 of us but it seemed even less – like 75 or 50 people.

    We started off on time, just after a beautiful sunrise behind us. I warmed up in no time. We had wave starts – and I was in the last wave because I put 5 hours as my finish time. I think the race average finishing was 4:20 in the past. This year was 4:10. Yes, there were a lot faster runners than me. I met a few during package pick up such as a runner called Steve and another Braxton.

    I had no idea exactly of the course. I did my homework but still. It was a road marathon and I knew it would be a lot of turns. The course markings were more than sufficient and they had volunteers at every turn, so following the course was not a problem. It was more a thing for me not knowing what ahead, that I had to be more conservative with my pace.

    I followed a pacer ahead. Very early on, I stuck with the 4:30 group. In my mind, many times in the past the 4:30 group would pass me in the middle of the race because I normally run a 4:45 or 5:00 hour marathon. I had a bit of age discrimination that day because pacers for 4:45 / 5:00 and beyond were all led by older guys. They look like they were in their 60s. I know I am not that young (and my hair is graying like them) but I wanted to be with the younger crowd. I didn’t want a grandpa to pace me. I felt embarrassed.

    Initially the 4:30 pace group only had me and a lady. After a few miles, we picked up a few more runners. I had to pee at the time. I felt I could hold it but better if there was a place to let it out. We had aid stations every couple miles and I hoped at one of them should/would have a porta potty. I think at mile 4 they had one but it was still locked (zip-tied). So shoot. Then I saw someone ran into a local park and I followed. I thought the dude knew a place for bathroom. Then he ran around the corner of a building (probably was a public bathroom – but the door was locked) and I found him squatting with pants down around his ankles once I came around the building. He quickly got up but he already had a big pile of poops on the ground. I was disgusted both at myself for the discovery and at the dude. Any runner would have done their business before the race! And why not go into the treeline at least! Leave-no-trace man. Now it means someone would have to clean up after him. Why did we wait till after the start to look for bathrooms? I was fuming.

    Anyway, I could go into the woods and do my business but I held it in after finding the guy shamelessly making a mess in public. So I ran back out to the race course and tried to catch up with my pace group again. I believe, it was not until mile 6 or 8 before I found a potty from a construction site where I finally could pee – that was like an hour later.

    The rest of the race was uneventful. I left my pace group by then and ran by myself till halfway. I settled into a kind of new group of people but we were all kind of far apart. I could still see the guy who pooped still running ahead. I told myself – I am not visiting any aid station after the dude. I was sure he didn’t wipe. I kind of felt sorry at the same time. If I had any wipes I would give it to him. My goal was to pass him but he ran freaking fast, maybe so that he wouldn’t have to talk to me, but I was trying to chase him at the same time. Yup awkward.

    Later I did pass him – he and a bunch of people were finally ran out of steam. Or maybe I was really speeding up. I felt strong and I think I was actually steady with my pace. Then for a few miles I was with a lady – later on, she said she is Annie. I did not start a conversation and neither did she. I just tried to keep my pace steady. I could see she was fast and in my mind, I had no intention to over take her. There were times she was way ahead of me and times when she dropped behind. However, after a while, she was constantly at my side or I was by hers.

    The race course took us out onto a gravel road. I was hoping being a more experienced running on trail I might be able to lose some people. I think at this time, We ran into the 4:20 pace group. It was like running into a wall. I was surprised that Annie had no intention to pass the group. At the time, the trail was a bit crowded and so I did not pass either. I felt it was awfully slow.

    The pace leader Paul, introduced himself. He might have gone off to the bathroom too because he ran out of nowhere and started chatting first to Annie and then to me. He asked our names and where we from. He took back the pace stick from a fellow runner (Cooper). It was a social group. We had lot of people and there might be as many as 12-15 of us behind Paul.

    The race had couple hills. I think maybe 200- 300 ft or so. They said this was a new course. It made no different to me. Not a super big hill, but Paul had us do 30-30, a 30 seconds of walk and then 30 seconds of run. We would repeat until we crested it. He was right, we felt great coming out of the hill. He said, we would make up time on the down hill portion. We did.

    Miles flew by. 14, 15, 16. I started to feel the pace getting to me and I believed I would need to slow down. A few times, after slowing down at aid stations I could not keep up with Paul and the group any more. Also our group of 15 now shrunk to like a group of 5. Every mile we would lose someone. Cooper would call out, we lost so and so. Paul also had Cooper to call out our last mile time. We should run at a 10:05 pace, but usually we are a bit ahead, e.g. 9:55. Annie, Cooper, Paul, me, and another lady were only ones left. I told Paul mile 20 is likely the last mile I will be with them. For Annie, mile 18 would be the longest distance she ever ran. We passed mile 18, 19, 20. Miles were getting tougher. Soon even Cooper disappeared. Cooper had ran in 18 states. Paul had like 50 or so and lost count. Me, I had 7 states but lost count of my marathons either (around 33, now I checked).

    Annie and the other lady I think Kim, took off. I felt a burst of energy too and ran off with them leaving Paul behind. From experience, I know I couldn’t sustain the pace, but it felt good at the time. I don’t remember where but eventually, I was not able to keep up with Annie, probably at around mile 22. Paul caught back up, maybe at mile 24. I told him I couldn’t do it any more. He said, to run with him hip to hip. Ya sure. I really couldn’t. I dropped to a walk. That was really suck that I hit the wall. I will myself as much as I could but I couldn’t get going. Later someone said, you could actually hear the finish noise because we were literally just a block away. However, I was not as familar with the course as I should and I had no idea where I was. We still had two miles to run (an extra loop from the finish). It took us to the school – University of Wiscousin – Eau Claire campus. The students were all out cheering. They called it the Gold Blue or Blue Gold mile. I don’t think they helped but I got back to a jog. At least I was moving. Like with any marathons or races, the last mile was the hardest. I gradually picked up the pace again and arrived at the finish.

    Annie finished like at 4:16. Paul arrived on time at 4:19:55. His wife owns the pacing company and he said he could not finish a second late or his wife would kill him. We were ahead of pace by 30-50 seconds during the run. Paul must have slowed down to make the perfectly paced finish. I arrived at 4:21:27. And Cooper came in around around 4:30. I did not wait for any others. Steve whom I met during package pickup waited for me. He finished around 3:30 (hr/min). He said Braxton was around 3:00. Braxton wanted to qualify for Boston. We all revered Steve who ran in the Boston in the past.

    It was a fast finish for me too. It was not my fastest. My fastest was around 4:12. And my second fastest was 4:16. This should be my third fastest time. I did not intend to make a PR (personal best/record). You kind of know at the start of the race whether it would be your fastest. I felt I goofed a bit by not warming up before the start, or to use the bathroom, or to get up earlier. So I did not expect making any record. I knew I was running generally better than other marathons. I did want to run a fast one since my last one of 8:25 was awfully slow and kind of want to prove myself I can still do it. To be able to keep up with the 4:20 pace group for most of the race was an achievement. Also, Annie kind of pull me to an even faster pace near the end and this either helped or messed me up – I rather take a positive look that it helped me reached my third fastest time. Everyone runs their own race is the motto. It was a win in my book.

    Is Eau Claire worth going for others? I think it was well managed. They had a half marathon and 5K event too. The course is generally beautiful. It is in a small rural town but not so small like Damascus, VA. I think a decent size. There are many bridges. I think the place is calming and beautiful to run. It is not like big city marathon such as the Marine Corps with many thousands of people, but Eau Claire definitely put up a good race like any big races.

    It is one of those destination races for me. Once and done. If I live nearby I might run it again, but it is halfway across the country and the nearest airport is about 2 hours away. The drive from the airport was boring to me. I am the guy that hate driving. It was mostly woods on either side of the highway. Camping is one of the recommended activities and the second recommendation was to see the country fair/rodeo show. I love those stuffs but not when I am there for running.

    I did not visit museums or any historical buildings. Another recommended thing was to see their trails and parks. I ran out of time so I did not go on their trails. I would have if I had a bit more time or I had planned better.

    My remaining time was to eat. None of the places I would recommend on here. Not that they were bad bad, but I chose some places in a bad neighborhood. It also helped me see a city in a different light. Restaurants in the Mall of America were pretty bland – your usual standard chain restaurants. I visited Mall of America, supposingly America biggest shopping mall. There were some eating guides available, but again I didn’t have the time or energy to seek those places out – I kind of hate any crowded downtowns and the lack of parking and all so, I did not even go there.

    I flew into Minneapolis/St Paul of course. Other than that, I did not find much to do in the city. To me, Minnesota felt like Texas of the north – that everything is big. The airport MSP is one of the nicer ones – I explored the whole airport since I spent about 4 hours there. It needs a bit more arts is what I can say. An airport is airport – after a while, you kind of hate it no matter how nice it is. I flew Delta – the service is nice. I got my can of coke and cookies. I was happy. I slept on the way back. It was a direct flight. Happy to make it home.

    Epilogue – I am thinking of running Grandma’s Marathon in Deluth in the near future. It means I will be back in St.Paul/Minneapolis. I only learned of Deluth from the lady at the car rental counter, when I asked her what is there to do here in St. Paul. She said I should visit Deluth. De-lu what? The town near Canada. What!? I thought it was a restaurant or a park. Later, I was able to find the city on the map, oh, that is too far. Ya, I know, Deluth is not in St. Paul, it is like two hours away.

    Oh also I don’t know how to pronouce Eau Claire…I think the people there say it as Oh-claire. I have been saying it as oo-claire. I don’t think anyone there speak French. Maybe it was a historical leftover from a french origin. I think it was headwater of the Mississippee. No it was another river. I should have read up more on the place I visited.

  • Day440 Rock ‘N the Knob Marathon

    Here is a big post. A fellow runner Greg, who ran this did a video. He gave a better description of the course better than me.

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    With couple (decently hard) ultras under my belt, Rock ‘N the Knob was not an impossible race, though this one literally knocked the air out of me. I think I say this for all my races. It was hard hard, yet it was only 26.2 miles. It felt like I was running 30 or 40 miles.

    I came into the race humbled by last year experience of doing a Half Marathon there under 4 hours (report). Note normally I could run a Half under two hours. I also became familarized with the race organization since last year (I ran their Camp Anderson 8 hr event). These people are involved in some hardest trail races in the Atlantic region (e.g., Black Forest, Eastern States, and World Ends), none of those races are within my ability to do at this time, except for this one.

    There was no doubt I would finish it. The question was more like when and how soon. We had 9 hours to run the full marathon. I did not really set a goal how fast I would do it beforehand but while out on the course I was kind of aiming to finish under 8 hours after talking to a few people. It was a soft goal. I really believed I could do 4 miles an hour, so 8 hours were not that strange. Spoiler, I finished at 8:25.

    Last year I started way too fast and then choke around mile 3 with cramps and all. I was gentle with myself this time and I did not try to keep up or pass anyone. It really came with the experience of able to lock into your own pace and ignored everyone else. We had a strong field too because most people were gone by the time I get going!

    I actually started way back of the crowd like the last 5 or so people and did not push on the quarter-mile of the road portion. I remember in other races the road usually is where I would push hard because you want to get into the woods with a sufficient lead over the slower people since most people slow down a lot on the trail.

    We entered into the trail portion at a speed I liked. Of course everyone slowed down too, but not too slow. I knew I was at the right pace. We were kind of walking for another quarter mile before the line thinned out even more. We trail runners would roll our eyes at those walking on this portion so early on since it means they were not properly trained for trail racing. I was a patience guy though and used this time to chat with the couple runners ahead of me.

    The guy in front of me remembered me from the Laurel Highlands Race I did in June – but unfortunately, I didn’t remember him. For me, I usually only recall people by what they wear and the hydration pack they carry. We ran for a mile or so as the crowd continued to thin out more. I used the chance to pass him, since he was pacing his friend and the pace seemed like unbearably slow. Normally I don’t pass people this early in the race. I called myself the course unofficial sweeper because usually I am the last couple guys on the course and you kind of know who would finish and who would not especially in a trail race.

    Miles flew by under me. By mile 6, we reached our first big climb. The race had a name for each ascend and descend — as a way sometimes to demoralize/tease runners rather than for identification purposes. I don’t recall the name of that particular climb but it was a long climb like going up on the side of a cliff. Many of the big climbs were like that. They were not impossible but nearly there. I talking about getting down on hands and knees if not careful. I doubt unless you are the top 10, everyone would walk up these climbs. For me, even walking up on them were tough. On some of them, we had to crawl.

    Unlike in my previous race, this time the hill really got me dizzily out of breath. No matter how many ultras I had run before this, it was a challenging section. I was no longer able to keep up with the group pace. I was not necessary in a group, but the people I were with ran on, Greg and Dina I think, whom I kind of stayed with for an extended time. By the way, if you want his perspection, check out his video recount.

    This was when I also caught up with Jenn at the top of the climb as we pulled into an aid station (Raven’s Nest, I think).

    Initially Jenn was just a random runner. I wanted to pass her quickly and leave her behind. No more waiting for people – I told myself.

    I did not really stayed to chat or what not with anyone at the Aid Station but left for the next section as soon as I could. This was mostly downhill for next few miles. We reached our second long climb. Jenn caught up to me. I was kind of surprised. We leapfrogged each other couple of times afterward. Jenn was one of the nice runners (everyone were nice, but she was especially so) because she offered me her food, not that I needed any, since I packed my own as well. We did chat a bit by then. I don’t remember what, but I showed her my granola bars. We got to the third climb – I called it the waterfall but the real name was Beaver’s Dam or “I’ll neetle do this again” as the director called it.

    By then I might have a bit of heat exhaustion. I could not keep up with Jenn, not that she was going fast but I was definitely not feeling great and slipping in my pace. I did not want her to wait for me or anything. And she didn’t. It was everyone their own race. We just passed a runner who was sitting in the creek. He certainly did not look good. Later he told me he threw up 4 times.

    We continued the ascend. Not long after that Jenn was way ahead and was out of sight. I felt like I was about to faint by then so I quickly looked around for a place to sit, maybe that would help. This was from my experience of previously fainting on the trail when I had Lyme Disease. You kind of know all sudden that you don’t have any strength left and you feel as if you were walking on air.

    I sat on a tree stump or a limp of a fallen tree. Then immediately I started throwing up all I had eaten and drunk that morning. It wouldn’t stop, like a fire hydrant, stuff kept gushing out in torrent. The poor runner behind me arrived and told me it had happened to him too – he was the guy we passed at the creek and he asked if I were OK or needed anything like salt tablet. I did not have strength to reply. I did not feel ok. I wanted to quit the race right then because I had no more strength to move or do anything. I was done. He told me to sit for a while and I should be ok as he had sat at the creek. I listened because not like I had a choice. I was too weak to move.

    Throwing up was good because I was no longer fainting. But now one of my ears was ringing. It was as if it got stuffed or maybe like swimmer ear. I didn’t pay attention at the time but later on it was very distracting to me when I started to run. I felt I had vertigo.

    After a few minutes, I was no longer throwing up, I felt I could stand up again. I made it to the top of the climb, which was not that much since we had climbed a lot already. I was at mile 16 by now. I slowly walked to the next Aid Station – I think it was the Heaven Hairpin at mile 18. The section was not hard after the climb. I remebered running it last year and was probably one of the few runnable sections in the race, but this time, I was walking because that was all I could muster. Once I arrived, I plopped down on a chair a volunteer offered up. Volunteers served me with water and sodas and chips. I might had the look of a seriously ill runner because the way they treated me. My friend Aaron was there. He was sweeping the course for the half marathon event. They had an earlier cut off time but they ran almost an identical course, just without a six mile side track nor the six mile extra loop at the end of our course. I was about 20 minutes from my cutoff. Time was not a concern to me at all, though the aid station captain was kind of concern about me she might have to cut me. I might have rested way too long at the station. The next Aid Station was at mile 20 about 2.4 miles away. I knew at least I got to make it there. The time then was about 2:20 pm. I felt much better physically when I left the station. Aaron asked if I wanted to run with him as he would sweep the rest of the race. Hell no. Any day would be fine but not today. It was kind of a joke at the beginning of the race we made – I said I would see him out on the course and we know probably not likely since sweeper means being the last person, and we know I wouldn’t be that slow to able to meet up – but we did anyhow.

    The next section had one of the steepest climbs and descends. We climbed to the top of a ski slope, ran to the bottom and climbed back up and ran to bottom again and guess what, climbed back up the third time all within the two miles. I believe we might have done half of the course 6000 ft of elevation within the two miles. So it was mostly walking for me and very slow walking. Time flew by.

    I had part way with Jenn for maybe couple hours earlier or even 3 hours since the Beaver’s Dam but on the way up on the final climb after “I need a sherpa”, Jenn showed up at the foot of the hill. I caught my breath and waited while she caught up. Of course I was suprised to see her again because she should have been miles away by now. She explained that she and a friend (Carrie/Careen) had wandered off the trail the last mile and only finally found the course again. She was dispirited (and frustrated) and wanted to quit and was going to if we get to the next Aid Station aptly named the “quitter row.” She surely can run, so it was mostly a mental thing.

    This was her second marathon and I don’t blame her for quitting. I was thinking of the same too. Though physically I think she was doing fine. She was just in an emotionally turmoil. Running or not running at this point in time did not matter to me. I felt I did my best. We were 5 minutes from the cut-off by then (I didn’t know at the time but Jenn did and might have felt pressured by the deadline). My body had recovered enough to run by now and I was able to keep up with Jenn’s quicker pace. I did not try to convince Jenn to go on or to quit. I felt I should give her room to sort it out at the Aid Station. It was her decision either way. Ultra/trail races can be dangerous and if the runner doesn’t want to be out there it is many times more so. I didn’t want her to get stuck out there and be miserable.

    Even without Jenn I believed I could make the last 6 miles in two hours to finish the race. Jenn seeing me prepping when we arrived at the Aid Station and asked if I was going back out. Sure I said. She decided not to quit as well and rushed me through the Quitter Row.

    What so tempting to quit at the Quitter Row is that was conveniently located next to the start and finish line.

    Our friends though wouldn’t let us quit. We too wouldn’t quit. The final 6 miles were just one long descend of maybe a mile or two to the bottom and then a last scary ascend. It was a section I truly enjoyed in this race because I finally felt like I was in my element again. We were greeted with the last and final aid station at the bottom. There was no time cutoff at this station. Then we had couple almost impossible climbs back up.

    This was the Cadillac Alley because a Cadillac was found here a week before the race on a narrow trail where it was impossible for car to get there since we are miles away from any roads. The Cadillac was still stuck there on race day. There is a lore passed down of what actually happened.

    I was pretty strong at this point in time in my opinion but my legs were cramping occasionally if I was not careful at the way I bended them when crawling. We literally crawled our way up on our hands and knees up. Several times I slided back down as I climbed and it was frustrating. I just couldn’t get good traction.

    Jenn started showing signs of fatigue too. She felt at mile 5 earlier in the day (I wasn’t present at the time) and her knees were hurting she said. She took several breaks during this final climb (I felt I didn’t need to stop) – and she apologized to me repeatedly for her delays. I did not rush her nor leave her behind this time. Her boyfriend charged me to get her through this section at the Quitter Row and I felt a bit responsible because of that, also by now I was pretty sure we would finish the race, and there was no rush to finish quickly or beat the cutoff (I might have saved 5-10 mins if I went on ahead without her but so what). In my mind we had to go slower than half a mile an hour to not make the 5 pm closing. Jenn and I were pretty much hitting a 4-mile an hour pace (This is fast for ultra). However, I think time was mostly on Jenn’s mind as every so often (like every half mile) she would update me on the mileage and time, which I didn’t ask her to do it. Her watch was still working. For me, my watch died at mile 18 so I was no longer fixated on the time or distance (because I forgot to charge my watch the night before), but in general I was kind of aware the pace and distance – it just comes instinctively having done so many races even without someone telling me.

    The last mile was flat. I was already basically in my celebratory mood. I was strong and was getting stronger with every passing mile. I ran and led the way here. We caught up to a few people. I told Jenn we are not taking prisoners – basically we are to pass them as quicky as possible. We finished strong at 8 hrs and 25 mins. I think the guy who encouraged me to rest did not make the cutoff as Jenn later told me we only had 5 minutes to make it to the Quitter Row and he was like 10 minutes behind us. I did not see him again even at the finish.

    I think a dozen or so dropped from the race. (90 ish people signed up, about 60 or so finished). I don’t think the friend from Laurel Highland finished either. This was kind of sad. I saw the last person came in.

    This was one of few races my friends were there and we relaxed and enjoyed the food. They exchanged stories and jokes. I had a great time winding down – like did you know a game trail runners play called hashing? It was a game to get a bunch of friends into the woods. Someone would leave behind signs using chalk/flour and the group would follow and leave new signs. Basically I think you get lost in the woods together. We talked about stuff like that. I felt so good to be in the company of runners.

    It was a good hard race. I always love a tough one. My friend compared it to a mini 100 miler of the Eastern States. I can see why. It had many climbs and technical challenges. Jenn too was a good trail buddy and I was glad to met up in the final portion. We finished it together.

  • Day438 Lake Ridge 12 hrs Run

    Call it a lack of discipline on my part when I signed up for a race I know I shouldn’t since it was so close to my marathon date. But I am an addict to running, I confess.

    I had a free weekend and it felt weird of not running in something officially sounding event. I want to go somewhere far since the pattern has been to drive couple hours way each week to run.

    The race Lake Ridge Endurance Run was held at Lake Claytor this year. It was their inaugural event. They had it last year but it was low key due to the pandemic (officially it was canceled/probably for insurance- liability issue) and was a fatass event for people who were willing to show up.

    This year was for real. I drove down to Lake Claytor in Dublin, Virginia. I had a camp site reserved but there was very to no sleeping to be had. In the end, I didn’t sleep.

    I could pick my start time at among the four choice 1 pm, 7 pm, 1 am the following day, or 7 am the following day. The race ended at 1 pm Sunday, so the 6 hours had more choices and no choice of start time for the 24 hour people. Almost all picked 1 pm since that was the most logical choice. No one wanted to run at night if they could help.

    I originally chose 1 pm for sanity’s sake. But I accidentally/incidentally woke up late that race day morning and arrived to the race just 5 minutes after it started. I blamed the hour long traffic I encountered while traveling to the race site or the side stops to get breakfast and lunch, or partially gotten lost when I didn’t check what I entered into the GPS and it took me to another part of the Lake Claytor that was 5 miles away from the actual race site. It was not a good morning. I packed on the morning of too hence a bit late getting started on the road. The trip was 5 hours drive away. I was lucky that I was only 5 minutes late! But late is still late and missed the start.

    There were not a lot of us, about 20 ish. Many were signed up for the 24 hour event. I signed up for the 6 hours but felt the distance might be too short, so I switched to 12 hours. This meant I would be running from sunset to sunrise. I always wanted to have a night time training (without sleep) for my upcoming 100 miler. This was a perfect opportunity to do it.

    By midnight, the wind picked up a bit, not strong but soothing. The temperature was supposed to drop to around 50 F, but I felt hot though. I picked up my long sleeves when I arrived back at the aid station but didn’t wear it.

    The adventure started. It was not much to be said. Time flew by. I did loop after loop. Sometimes I passed people during my loop, other times I was by myself. It was lonely when I didn’t see anyone. There were only 20 of us. Actually by night fall, half of them were already finished (The 12 hr people who started at 1 pm were done and so were the 6 hour). I was the only one who started at 7 pm. My chance of seeing anyone was slim. One was attempting a 100 mile, and I was hoping to get to see him on the course. I ran pretty much at his pace. In the end, didn’t get to see him – I think at one point he was at the station when I was there.

    I like night runs due to not able to see things clearly. I like the sensory deprivation. I sometimes tried to close my eyes and run, except that I would trip on rocks and roots. I called them branches because they were like branches laying across the path. I tripped on the same root on every lap! Luckily each time, I didn’t fall. Only in the morning after the sun came up did I see what I have been tripping on. They were wickedly big roots.

    One point at night around 3-4 am I got spooked. I don’t usually afraid of ghosts or creepy stuffs. But earlier in the night I was scared by some deers and some smaller critters, probably a raccoon. I saw their shining eyes staring at me. I jumped. I knew they were deers in my head but still the hairs on my back did not believe me. It was an auto response. At 3-4 am, there were no animal but the cool wind blew on my back. I felt like it was a spirit. It was a section of the course that the temperature noticibly dropped a few degrees and it was especially windy. I was genuine scared. I did not want to be out on the course any more.

    Then came 5 am and 6 am. I knew the night had passed. I was uplifted. I knew I was out of time to do one more left. My race would end at 7. I tried very hard to get back by 6 so I could do one more lap. I came in at 6:24 am. It was not enough for one more lap unless I run at a 7 min pace. (Sun rose around 7, probably like 6:45). I went back out for one more lap even though I know it wouldn’t make it. It was the best lap – mostly because I was happy.

    I finished strong. People congratulated me on finishing. I love the race a lot especially seeing the sky getting brighter and everything was alright on the last lap. I put in 52 miles (only 48 miles were counted, the other 4 miles were done beyond the 12 hours so they were not counted). It was my first time doing a 12 hour race so I was not very good at managing my time. Looking back, I could have squeezed in that last lap if I had spent a bit less time at the aid station.

    This post is not much a traditional race report. The course is 4 miles long. Mostly runnable trail. Some sections had a bit of root and rocks. I ran on all. Those who were not used to the distance or the trail complained about it being rocky. A few ate dirt. I almost did many times but my balace was good (I trained myself by running on a balance beam or road curbs). The elevation was not much but over 10 loops it started to get to me. I think I had done over 3000 ft change overall. Aid station was at the start. I was able to keep the pace of one loop every hour. People volunteering were nice as always. We had people serving us through out the night (I told them to sleep, we runners can help ourselves). We could set up our own station too. I did but did not use it. Their food was better than mine. I stopped at every lap and that might have been way too much. If I do it again, I might stop only every 3 laps.

    It was a small event so everyone would know everyone after the first loop.

    suggestion to self. Prepare a whiteboard/and (own) extra dry eraser makers to count loops. They had electronic tracking, but for sanity sake, I like something visible and tangible. RD gave us some markers but their markers dried up by middle of the night due to usage/exposure.