In awe

Category: running

  • [663] Icy 8 at Lake Anna and For the Love of it 10K

    I did a perfunctory showing at the Icy 8 this year.  I was hoping to put in a 50k but came out just about 4 miles short.  I ran 28 miles. 

    I ran it last year (report). We had the same format, 8 hours, 4 mi loop or 8 mi loop to choose from.  We could run as many loops as we want until the time is up.

    I finished with 3 long loop and a short loop with 20 minutes left.  There was not enough time to do a 2-mi exit loop.  I could have been close if I did it.

    My take of the day was sharing the trail of two runners who are heading to Western States 100.  I thought they were the same person until after the race and found they were not the same. My goofball.

    Also during the race, I was watching the Wasatch’s lottery drawing.  Two of  people I know got in.  My other friend though did not get in.  I was rooting for him though.  I might still end up going to Wasatch this year to either crew or pace.  I would definitely love to step on those mountains again.

    My focus was not there at Icy 8.  So I lost a lot of time listening to the Wasatch drawing.

    My feet and fitness too were not there for me to push hard enough to finish up four long loops.

    The day was good and sunny.  A good day.  We had mud too, lot of it. 

    We saw many familiar faces.  I wish I could stay longer, maybe to camp overnight in one of the cabins or camp sites.

    We were rushing back to a club event in the evening.  Yours truly had to be there to receive his award for runner of the year.  I felt embarrass when I realized I was up against truly great runners in our club. 🤭

    The next day though was my favorite event, a local 10K called For the Love of It, which I have been taken part almost every year.  It was the location where I started running, 8 years ago.

    It brought back a lot of memories.  I love the sunrise.  The fast run and the local community.  The photos were free.  I have not done a short race like this for a long time because last year I was focusing on the longer ultra trail races.

  • [659] Mid Maryland 50k

    Rinse and repeat of last year (2024).  I am not going to say this race is my favorite, but it was still a race.  It took place in the middle of winter.  It was as cold ad last year and maybe even colder this year relatively for our area.  I think the wind chill was down in the teens.  Weather is always a bummer for this event.  Why did I do it?  Maybe because there was nothing else to do. I went last year and so kept the tradition alive. The first real race of the year (Red Eye on New Year Day was my first event). This was a few days after of the first weekend of 2025.

    Because it is fun.  Eventually, yes, it became fun.  The race was a great place to catch up with friends.  I went there knowing two of my other friends were going to be there.  I went there again with Caroline. I saw a few others such as Judith and Tom.

    I knew what I was getting into.  Last year we had snow in the middle of the even and then it turned into rain and ended pretty bad weather condition that no runners would have wanted to be outside running. 

    We were a bit fortunate this year that it snowed a couple night before and we had a dry course. The snow/frost was not an issue.  The ground was hard and frozen.  Not slipery but I was always careful.  There were patches of ice here and there. 

    The course was cleared of snow when we started.  The trail was runnable. The cold and wind though was harsh.  I put on many layers of hats, shirts, jackets, pants, gloves, bluffs and everything.  I knew I would be cold out there for close to 8 hours.  Being warm during the run was the key to finish the event.  I’d rather overdressed than underdressed.  I started stripping off my layers eventually and found the right combinations in the middle of the race. It did slow me down and took a lot minutes off the clock putting on and pulling off shirts. 

    I was smarter this year, though unintentionally, I started the first three loops without my hydration pack.  I became thirsty though by the second loop, but the aid station was at most only 5 miles away. 

    I was not running to get a better finishing time than the previous year.  I always like a faster time but it like a pie dream.  I was hoping to just finish, having fun, and enjoying the race.

    It was six loops of 5 miles.  In my mind I thought it was 3 loops of 10 miles before the event.  I did not come into this race as prepared as I was for other races. I thought I would lost count on the numbers of loops in the middle of the race, but ended up I could remember which loop I was on.  I did the first three loops and then I did another three loops, by counting backward after the third loop of how many loops I had left.  Time went by quickly.  

    Originally, I was hoping my friend Jeremy would keep me company but he ran too fast and I was a bit too slow so I lost track of him.  Same with Caroline who outran both of us early on, and I could not run with her.  I decided to take my time and slowly reeled them in.

    The first loop took me about 1:20 (h:m).  I purposely went out slower because I wanted to talk to a few friends.  By second loop, I picked up the pace and finished around 1:10 (h:m).  A lot faster runners and relay people looped me by now.  It didn’t bother me because my speed and theirs were too different.  I was just slow. You just had to step aside and let them pass. 

    I struggled a bit by the third loop and it required some effort to get it in at 1:15. I was secretly wishing I could run a 5 mile under an hour.  It was a wishful thinking.  I was no longer as fast as what I used to be (I used to be able to do a 10k in about 50 ish minutes).  Looking back this is my eighth year since I started running.  My first year, was when I was at my peak and every year has been down hill then. 

    So I just had to accept the fact I am now much slower, but in my mind I was still fast like I was when I first started.

    I caught up to my two friends at the end of the my fourth loop, who had started out faster than me.  Secretly, I wanted to lap them but I knew in order to do that, I had to pass them by second loop, that plan was dashed when it took me too long to catch up to them.  I would have to run twice my current pace to loop them, which was impossible.  One of my friend decided it was too cold to continue.  So I put him in my car to warm him up.  I checked back on him at the next loop.

    The rest of loops were uneventful.  At least now I don’t remember much but was glad to be out on the trail.  I started to notice the trail was getting soggy.  The temperature was warming up but the wind was still strong and cold.  I really had to put some effort in and still my time and pace was sliding.  I was happy to finish the loop and I started the fifth loop and sixth.  My friend was still around so, I told him if he is willing to wait, I will finish my loop in about an hour.  I could not remember much about my fifth or sixth loop.  Loop event kind of do that to you where each loop kind of mesh together with the previous one.  I think I started to catch up to some few other runners, who were still left.  Many already finished.  I ran with some faster people, such as relay people.

    My last loop was all by myself.  Almost everyone had finished by now.  There were maybe one or two runners walking the course.  Some have friends joining them.  I knew I had two hours to do my final loop and so I took my time to walk as much as I could.  I still run on the downhills. 

    I am not too fond of loop courses.  They have their purpose.  Some people love them. It was easier pace myself on a loop.  You know exactly how much time it will take after the first loop.  Also, the trail becomes more familar the more loops you do.  You have the same aid station at the end of each loop.  It makes planing a drop bag, also the logistics of getting back to the car easier if you happen to quit.  We had our car right at the start, so we went by it each time. 

    I had a great weekend and it was a good workout.  We saw the last runner finished and we left around 5 pm and called it a day.  My time was 7:11:56. This year was not as exciting as the last year event (at least that my impression).  I reread my last year report, I had fun in the mud.  This year’s challenge was the cold and I overcame it.

  • [658] Maryland Height

    So much here I did not know.  I got a chance to hike up Maryland Height the next day after JFK 50. My friend who ran in it was recovering well.  People wonder, how can one still move after running a 50 mile.  We just do.  We love trails.  I was trying to get a short run in before the weekend is over.  It was to be ready for the Devil Dog. My friend and probably had the same idea to take advantage of the nice weather to do some trail running in the area.

    I have been up there before to look over Harpers Ferry.  It is an amazing sight no matter how many times I have been up there.

    Apparently, it was also a good training run location, if only I have an annual pass for the National Park parking.

    Theorectically, I could park at Weaverton cliff and run there, or Bunswick, because I am an ultra runner and I can do the distance (maybe about 4 miles from parking to trailhead, 8-9 miles round trip). If I need more climbing, I could climb up Weverton Cliff a few times.

    That what we did.  We started at Weverton Cliff before sunrise only to find I did not bring a headlamp.  So we waited for dawn in the parking lot.  It was also too cold for me to run that early.  Once it was light enough to see, we climbed.  We had a long workout that morning running back on the portion of JFK 50 course on the Appalachian Trail.   The AT always has plenty of hill climbs and steep descents. Due to time constraint and also we did not pack much for food, maybe only a candy bar or some cookies, we took a break for brunch back in Boobsboro maybe about 20-30 min drive. It was too much to do a run to the Maryland Height too without a proper meal. Also we were out of time because we had to move out from our  hotel room by noonish before we could get back on the trail in the afternoon.

    There is also a lower parking lot for the AT hike (maybe at Loundon Height), but that gets filled up fast.

    Anyway, a friend showed me a place she usually parks on Sandyhook Road, just before it turns into Harper Ferry Road.  It was kind of iffy because, there’s a sign says tow away zone, no parking. Loading only.  Ok, we did a four-hour loading there and, 3 more cars joined us at doing so call loading. They proved me wrong that the tiny strip can only fit two cars. I guess, we were lucky that we didn’t get a ticket or the car being towed away. I don’t recommend others to try this, unless they are willing to risk their cars not being there after a long hike. Better parking would be at the National Park Parking and they have buses to drive you where you need to go (mostly into the historical town and then you can hike over).

    There was much more to see on Maryland Height.  First we had many a mile of hike on the C&O Canal Towpath from where we parked to the trailhead.

    After the canal there was a climb, a very long climb maybe a mile, to a place where the trail split.  Red trail is to the Overlook, where everybody goes to.  In the past, I thought that was it. I forgot there is a trail that continue onward up. We went the less traveled path before ending up at the overlook.

    The Overlook is definitely worth seeing.  In the past, I think our mistake was to hike to the Overlook first, which is still a hard climb, so we were tired by then and did not want to continue up the mountain afterward.  So for so many times I have been on Maryland Height, I have completely forgot there is more. I always have gone there with friends so we always considered the group ability instead of just myself.  I of course could climb the distance many times over.  Some do use the loop for ultra marathon training.

    On the left, there is a much smaller trail about 4 mile loop, that will take one to the true pinnacle of Maryland Height.  There was some ruins of the old fortification during the Civil War up at the top.  It was definitely worthy of a visit. There is one spot where you can see 360 view around.  It is where they place the big gun up there during the Civil War.

    The trail though is rocky and technical.  For ultra runners, rocks are not an issue, but for everyday folks, this is a good workout and if not a pretty hard hike. 

    Along the way, there are placards about the Civil War history.  Apparantly, the Confederate took the hill, and led to the taking of Harper Ferry.  I think 2000 soldiers held off a much bigger 12000 Union soldiers on this hill.  They were able to haul a 10000 lbs gun up the hill.  How it was done was beyond imagination.  It was quite a feat.

    The trail was improved and repaired  and reblazed it since the last time my friend told me, so it is impossible to get lost.  There are signages and such.

    Harper Ferry, Maryland Height is definitely a good training ground for me if I ever go back. Parking is a problem.  I do need a NP annual pass, so I could park at the NPS Visitor Center.

    So much more happened that day.  The Bathroom.  At the end of our hike, we met two runners on the C&O Canal asking if we know there is a bathroom facility nearby.  They are females.  I laughed.  I turned to my friend maybe she can show them where.  They got the hint.  There’s none that I know of unless of course back in town or at the NPS parking lot, which was like 3-4 miles away.  Not that far but far enough.  I don’t remember if I ever needed to go that day.  I probably did. I ran a hundred miles on the canal before.  I don’t know what I did. We also don’t drink that much so we could hold it in. There’s must be porta johns along the way.  Either hold it in until there’s a facility or do it discretely as a runner. It is one thing we don’t talk about.

    I remember weird things. There was time still before evening, so we sat near our car looking at the river before sunset.  It got too cold then when we were not moving.  We called it a day.

  • [657] Boyers Furnace 40 Mile

    It was going to be a nasty winter run. Cold, wet and a lot of rocks.

    Initially 90+ people signed up but ended up about 50 runners started.  Still a lot of runners, but 50 was usually the size for this event.

    40 miler is no joke.  30 mile or 50k is what people could do.  10 miles more put it in a different category.  This one was like a 50 miler.

    It was my 2nd year doing it (last year, here, I had a better write up than this year).  I was looking foward to it.  There were several friends signed up and I was hoping to have a good time with them out on the trail. The MMT gang.

    Weather was a disrupter and a few of those I was hoping to see could not make it, which was fine.  They messaged me that they couldn’t make it.  A run was still a run and I went out to have a good time even if running by myself. I was hoping a good strong run, but I ended up walking most of the course like last year and ran maybe for 6 miles in the afternoon to avoid the cutoff.

    I went out the night before.  I was not the only one because by the time I arrived at Camp Roosevelt, there were a few other cars camping out too.  We carcamped and secured our parking spots for the morning since the lot was small.  There was no way to fit 90 cars in there but we usually do fit everyone, not sure how, but people are creative.

    I woke up while it was still dark.  I would not say the night was comfortable one but I was able to sleep on and off and was fresh when morning came.  It rained during the night so, I could not really sleep on the flatbed of my truck or set up a tent in the woods (well technically, I could, but did not want to do it in the rain). I arrived at camp near midnight and I did not want to spend too much time fidgeting with a tent setup and I wanted to fall asleep as soon as possible. I opted for the back of the car.  Sleeping in the back seat was passable. I was smart enough to bring my pillow and a blanket. Those two are my comfort items and would allow me to sleep anywhere.

    A few showed up very early the next morning. My friend Mordy came from Ohio and parked next to me. We had a kind of catch up on things during the early hours as we waited for all the rest to show up.  Eventually, more showed up. We started the run on time at 7:30.

    Rain stopped.  I saw Jeff P started early, he said he started at 6:45. He believed he was a slower runner and asked for an early start. I was hoping to catch him on my run.  I did not see him until the final 9 miles.

    I wanted to walk in the beginning, so I was in the back of the pack walking with Ram and Tracy.   I ran with Tracy couple times at the MMT 100.  Ram was my pacer (safety runner) for Old Dominion 100 this year, plus an unofficial pacer at MMT before, last year I think.  He saved my race at Camp Roosevelt that year. We chit chat by recalling prior years’ races we had together.

    First overlook a mile into the race with Wayne. I was planning to run with him but he was way too fast for me, just like last year. We made a quick stop for pictures before rain clouds and fog rolled in

    The first 17 miles we had no aid stations so we carried all that we needed.  Surprising it was not that hard in term of how much water we needed to carry.  This was somethingthat worried me last year. I drank maybe half of my 1.5 L pack.  I ate a few candy bars.  I arrived at Veach Gap, our first aid station, feeling great.

    I wanted to be there earlier but ended arriving around 12:30, probably half an hour later than last year.  We had a good aid station with hot food and all.  Close to a dozen people were there and two long tables full of food.  My friend Jeremy, who initially was going to run with me, but instead came out to the aid station to cheer.  I ate some food.  They had hot soup. Then we set out again. 

    A flashback, decending on Veach brought back my memories of the Old Dominion 100 Run.  Now, in the day time, I could see what the trail actually looks like.  It was not that bad.  It was gravelly and where you kind of be careful of where you are stepping but it was not too technical. During the Old Dominion, I felt this section was terrible besides Sherman Gap. I was waiting for Ram to rerun this section with him (also I was just up on Sherman Gap two days ago).

    The next section was 6 miles on the roads.  We had to climb up to Woodstock Tower.  The section is similar to the Old Dominion Run. I believe during OD 100, we came down the other way, but now we were climbing up. Ram was tired and he could no longer keep up with me.  I did not wait for him.  He said, during Old Dominion I was running while he was walking, now today we were in reverse position, he was running while I walked by him. The course again brought back memories of my Old Dominion Run.  It was good to see the course now in day time and to have a refresher.

    Kate, a seemingly fast runner who passed us earlier on Orange while we were still on the ridge before descending to Veach, told me she would drop out at Woodstock and asked me to let the people at the aid station know.

    I outran the people around me (just one guy, Bill?, he did the Devil Dog this year) so I got to the aid station first at Woodstock. I passed message from Kate to the aid station’s captain, who then told us that no one was allowed to drop at Woodstock since all the volunteer’s cars were full.  I am guessing then Kate took a ride back with a random stranger happened to be there or she made a call for someone to pick her up. 

    I expected the run from Woodstock to Edinburg to be long and tough.  The afternoon was not bad.  Timewise, I left Woodstock about the same time as the previous year, at 2:30.  I made to Edinburg in two and half hour by 5 pm, half hour before the cutoff.  This was the exact time as last year. We had one of the best meals of the day once arrived.   I might have stayed there for whole 15 minutes before heading off. It was not a race, so might as well enjoy some good food.

    We had 9 miles left, which I did not know at the time and I was guessing at most 6 miles were left. It was a long climb up to Moreland Gap and then a long descent on Moreland Road down.  I finally caught up with Larry and Jeff on this stretch.  We together with two other runners (Morali and another dude who did not talk), plus Larry’s dog, Max, finished the last stretch together.  There were only about six of us left in the race at the time. It was good we made it back to Roosevelt.  It took me 12 hours, about 20 mins slower than last year.

    I sat at the fire ring for an hour or so waiting for the last few runners to make it back.  I was surprised I passed Charles, who know when, and he and his friend came in with the sweeper, Erin.  Erin said he did this for the last five years.  We then helped break down the aid station and called it a night. 

    This year was unlike the previous year, there were only couple of us left at the end.  Many had finished many hours before and left. I helped put out the camp fire. Q gave me a whole lot of water, maybe 5 gal. I made sure all the ambers were put out.  It was kind of sad, because the fire was so strong earlier, but we had to leave, so putting it out was a must.

    The day was good.  I was relatively dry even though we were rained on briefly.  Feet had some blisters but that was on me of not clearly the grits from my shoes. I did not feel tired at the time, but the body took a beating.  The next day, it felt like I did some hard training, because I could hardly crawl out of bed. This was the kind of runs I love.

    Another lookout point.  Fog and clouds eventually enveloped us. I loved it. We hardly could see the aid stations ahead until we were on top of it. Wayfinding was hard because (though the trail was lightly marked) the fog made turns invisible to see.  I was glad I was with some experienced runners toward the end who know the area.

  • [656] Hone Quarry Trail Preview

    A friend suggested to go out to check on a race course, the Hone Quarry 40, which we will eventually do in March, God willing.

    I wanted to run the race this year but my trip to Sydney prevented it.

    Its trail was a mystery for me and I was curious about the level of difficulty. 

    I can read about it on other people’s race reports but to truly give a sense of how the trail is but being on it yourself.

    Going out in the winter required me to do some research and preparation.  Luckily a lot of the course information was readily available on the race’s website, including the gps track and the trail description.  Note, most races only provide one or the other and not both.  Descriptions were well written.

    Next off was to find some trail maps.  I used the site HikingUpward and found some small 5 mile-ish hikes.  They were part of my bigger loop.  I needed more and I stared at google topographic map to do my planning.  Luckily, I realized I do have a paper map at home of the area.  With that I was more confident in planning my route.

    We arrived at the trailhead I guess a typical time of 9:00 in the morning, maybe kind of late for ultra runners, but standard for normal hikers. 

    The day was forecasted to be cold with a high of 30s and low of 14F, without factoring in the windchill.  I expected teens and might be single digits temperature after dark.  It is no fun to play around in such weather. We had to get it down before nightfall.

    The previous day and night was windy but wind died off in the morning.  We had the whole day of calm condition, not a breeze.  The day warmed up a bit as expected as we started our ascend. Soon a mile in we shreded our outer layers.  Both of us we were double layering everything, headcaps, shirts, pants, jackets, and socks. So those layers had to come off.

    The full route was 40 miles but because time constraint and some of the course was just not too appealing, such as the out and back of first three miles on the Hone Quarry Road, to me is BS. 

    We wanted to hike on the trail not the forest roads to the trailhead.  I believe I trimmed our hike down to about 25 miles. The exact distance is unknown because I did not turn on my Strava to conserve my phone battery.  I normally don’t care about my tracking to be posted on social media afterward.

    We did the normal (race route) of counterclockwise (CCW) direction.  The hiked up to the first ridge was amazing.  I enjoyed the steady 3 mile climb.  Then we skipped the out and back to what would be the first aid station (forgot the name already) and decided to descend to Hone Quarry Road.  We had a chance to turn around here and end the day if needed but it was still early in the day. 

    We saw snow on the ground.  In fact most of our hike up was covered with snow until there was enough snow to get my shoes wet.  I think maybe half and inch to an inch.  I had considered wearing my boots but decided to be a true trail runner to go with my Altra trail. So there were a lot of sliding on the slippery snow as we descended down.  I love a sense of near falling. This was the best time to run with just a thin layer of snow where rocks roots and everything was invisible. Indeed, not lying.

    Note, the descending was not truly a one long downhill.  We had to climb up maybe couple more ridges before finally went down.  I was started to wonder where is this road we were supposed to meet.  It was around noon by now, 3 hours since we started.  We took a bathroom break and I looked around a bit and saw the road maybe few hubdred feet below and rejoiced, we did it. I did not know we were literally on top of the road.

    After the road, we made a right turn.  We probably only had to run maybe 50 ft or so to cross a bridge then the trail would be on the right.  However, it felt so good running on solid ground we continue down the road for quarter mile more before I realized that it did not seem right.  Minor mistake.  Gps track showed I missed the turn off and we back track back up.  Later in the hike, I did miss turn offs too and most critical one came in late afternoon, when we were pressed for time to finish.  I remembered the trail incorrectly during my trail planning, thinking I had to cross a road (but in fact not needed), so confidently went off trail – this kind of unforced error is the worst. I really hated it.

    The second time hiking back up to the ridgeline was hard.  It took maybe an hour and half.  The views were stunning.  People scrawled on posts writing this was the worst trail ever.  I disagreed.  I felt the trail was well maintained.  Rocky in part but that is typical.  The trail is a bit steep but not eroded. I feel it is in excellent condition.  It is a multi used trail, horse, bike, and people, so I do expect it wouldn’t be smooth at typical trail like the AT or in the Shennandoah NP.

    We entered back into snow country up top. The forest road was layered in hard packed snow.  I slipped on ice a few times usually while I was doing something like looking at my map or taking off my jacket while running that I fell. No major injury, just hurt my bum bum and such.

    We entered back on the trail late in the afternoon.  Sun was setting.  We had to make better effort to reach back our car before sunset.  Bring headlamps always a must on a hike even if you think you can get out before sundown. I brought them.  Temperature was cold up on the ridge but as we were descending, it warmed back up.  Though every time I stood still, I quickly needed to put back on my jacket.

    We took a shorter way down.  The trail was blazed yellow the whole way so it was not hard to follow.  We arrived back at the car the moment last light was gone, just a bit after 5:30, maybe at 5:45. It was a good day.  

    I liked it.  It is just next to the grindstone course (maybe 10-20 miles away).  I did not know of this trail before and now I do.  It can be worked into my training.  The twot, grindstone and now Hone Quarry.  Throughout the day, we did not encounter any other hikers or runners out there.  We saw fresh tracks and prints on the snow, likely the person and their pet should not be too far ahead but we never caught up to them. I think it was a peaceful hike.

    By the way, it is near Harrisonburg. 20-30 mins away.  We used Harrisonburg as our base, for food, our stay and the resupply. I recommend Quacker Barrel for meals. There are of course tons of choices at Harrisonburg.  Great food and good wind down or for pre run meal.  We did both for our adventure, going to Quacker Barrel twice (my friend humored me).

  • [655] Naked Nick 50k

    It was my third year going to Naked Nick, which is a low cost, usually cold weather 50k run in Leesport, PA (Blue Marsh).

    Per tradition of last year (2023, 2022-no report year), we departed on Saturday, visited Baltimore for Celtic Soltice 5 mile before heading to PA.  I did not run in the 5 mile because the race was sold out when I tried to sign up.  It was fine. I stayed at the finish line enjoying the fire bin while my friend ran.

    It was a different experience cheering someone than running in it myself.  I did not like the 5 mile race in the first place because it was expensive when I ran in the previous year and it was crowded (3000+ runners). Rumor was they lower the cap this year, so it did not feel as crowded. 

    Also I did not like to run hard before my big race the next day. My friend did a double header.  I did not mind  being a spectator this time. It was like a win-win situation for me. I did not really want to run but get to cheer others. We spent the rest of the day in Baltimore, just having a time off, which something I have not done in a while.

    As for Naked Nick, it was always foolish to sign up this race after my 100 miler. Still I did it, like the past three years. With a week coming off from Devil Dog 100, my legs were in no condition to run.  I went in with the wait and see attitude. I had in mind to possibly drop after the first loop (which gave my friend a scare, when she did not see me on the second loop, thinking I might be hurt out on the course, but I was alright, and running ahead).

    The race this year had 300+ runners, which is a big crowd of runners for a trail race. Anyway, it did not feel that crowded to me once the race got underway.

    Yes, why I was doing it is curious.  I think because it was hard, yet doable that got me to sign up year after year, for three years in a row now.

    The race was two loops, 15 miles each, out and back with a lolipop like loop at the top, i.e., a stick and a loop at the end. The course was well flagged, though I still saw a few went the wrong way, not sure how. There is always some one who get off course.  There were two aid stations, plus one at the start/finish where we could stop between the loop.  We ended up having an aid stop at every 3-4 miles, which is not bad for an ultra. We can also have a drop bag at the start/finish area.  I did not really use my drop bag except to stove my clothes between loops and to hold dry clothes to change into at the finish.

    We had decent weather. Dry, but cold in the 20s early in the morning but the temperature warmed up to 40s by mid afternoon.  No wind.  It was doable for some of us to run in short sleeves and shorts.  I think those are crazy.  I wore a few layers and started shredding mid run, and I changed out into shorts (and it was cold) by the second loop. Then layered everything back on as evening approached (the run was 9 hours). The race is “walkable” for some as long as you build enough cushion early on.  It billed as walker friendly for the 25k (the one loopers).

    My first loop was about 20 minutes slower than my past years.  I felt I hit the pace correctly with not many people passing me and I passed maybe less than 10 people, who later passed me back. I finished the first loop by 11:45 am (3:45 h:m). I was aiming for no less than 3 hours and no more than 4 for the first loop. Ended up more toward the 4 hours.  A fellow runner (David) told me the cut off for the first loop was 12:15 pm (4:15 h:m).  I had plenty of time.

    Unlike past years, I was not in a hurried and knew I had enough time to finish even if I had to walk.

    On my second loop, I went out with Christine and Marish. Marish said he could not run and I should run ahead of him.  We chatted a bit before I took off. 

    We had 5 hours and 20 minutes to do about 15 miles.  I reassured him he had enough time to do it.  We calculated that we had to maintain a 20 minutes pace, plus 5 mins at each aid station, and still would be able to finish. 

    Christine was aiming for 4 pm finish (8 hr), and so was I, meaning we had 4 hours and 15 mins to do it. She and I ran on. At times, Christine would pass me.  I later passed her back when I felt stronger.  We chatted a bit when we were together.  She usually not too far ahead or behind me.

    I invited her to do Boyers Furnace in a couple week. She said, she is looking to do the Twot, another famous race in my area that I haven’t done yet, but I do know a lot about it.  I found out I met Christine at the Catoctin 50k this year, when we both were waiting for her friend Tina.

    I did not remember my finish time from my previous years during the run, so there was little to aim for, I thought it was 3:30 pm (7.5 hrs).

     I was pacing according to how I feel.  It was a mix of run and walk.  My second loop took also about 3:45 (h:m), maybe 5 mins slower.  It was actually maybe 25 min, since I stopped for aid station for maybe 5 mins at end of the first loop. I finished by 3:30 pm, total time of 7:30 on the course. I felt I did great. Legs were tired.

    Later I checked my previous year time which was 6:45. And 2022 time was 6:40.  I was about 45-50 mins slower this year.

    I was feeling a little bum of not matching or nearing the last year’s time and I was significantly slower this year. 

    Anyway, I felt it was always good to have run.  The run was great  for my recovery from the 100 miler, and for that I am happy. Because, once I am recover, I could run more.

    For rest of the day, I watched some people I have met on my run finishing the race.  I cheered them.  They came in not long after me. David from Bethlehem, PA, finished his first 50k.  He was a cheerful young man. I was happy for his accomplishment. We took couple pictures together. His whole family was there to celebrate. He seemed to be able to run way faster than me, but he dialed back his pace according to his coach’s instructions.

    It was a long journey home.  We had some rain and snow during our drive.  We had couple pit stops. I did not have to drive.  I came better prepared this year with dry clean clothes to change out and food for post race. The race served hotdogs and potato soup, but I like eating my own snacks too.

    I was able to change into clean warm clothes at one of the stops  and was super comfortable for the rest of the way.  It was also good that because I did not run too hard, I was not overly tired for the trip home.

    Next up would be Boyers Furnace 40 after Christmas. 

  • [654] Devil Dog Ultras (100 Mile)

    Another year another ultra. I started running in the Devil Dog since 2020, with a baby 50k, they branded as the Devil Dog lite edition (2020).

    Then I came back intended to do a heavier one, the 100k the following year, but I dnf’ed at mile 41 (2021).

    That did not feel so good, until I finished a true 100 mile the following year (2022).

    My intention was always to go back to do a 100k that I DNF, but every time I signed up, a 100 mile seems to tuck at me.  It was the same last year (2023) and this year. I tell myself, some day, I need to do that 100k.

    Devil Dog, I learned since my first race is it is “sneaky hard”.  Many races and ultras I did were on the mountains. Devil Dog course is in the suburb, just outside of DC, in the Prince William Forest Park. There are no mountains here. However, the constant rolling hills easily sap one’s strength over the course of the race for those who are unprepared.

    Each year, I learned a bit of the lore. The race started in 2016.  This is its eighth year.  We have at least one person who ran it every single year. For me, it was my 4th time.

    The race always has taken place in December.  We do usually have a mild winter but the weather is unpredictable.  There are those who still can remember the ice year (was it 2017 or 2018).  Night time temperature could be down to teens or possible into single digits. This year was my coldest Devil Dog (at 19 F the night before the start). Luckily that was the coldest time, and through the race, the temperature rose until 60s by the time we finished.  I prefered warmer than cold, but the wild swings in temperature is an extra challenge of what to pack.

    Previous years, we had rain. Last year was worse for me.  This year, we had dry but cool running weather. I got by fine.

    I stayed in a bunk house the night before the race like the previous year.  I guess words got out that this is more ideal than camping in a parking lot.  The race had no parkings available for runners or crew at the start.  So runners were shuttled in couple hours before the race unless you are one of the few who stayed at a cabin.

    Two of my friends stayed with me.  They all slept well but me. I brought my earplugs too but it did not seem to help.  The room was warmer than I would have liked.  I ended up sleeping on the floor to be cooler until of course it got too cold and I went back on my bunk bed, by then it was almost morning. I did have an hour or two of closed eyes. It was sufficient.

    Logistics is always my challenge.  I overplanned things, which I like to do a lot. They say I carried a whole kitchen sink to my race. I did. I packed three bags, 3 drop bags for all contingencies, and a food bag.  I even had a tent too in case the cabin did not work out, I would be outside camping in the woods. I made a backup for my backup plan, which was to hike back to where the car was (I think no more than 2 miles) and slept inside it. My friend Caroline liked that idea. (Back up to a back up plan is a joke between me and another runner).

    So, I packed for night before the race, the night after the race (I knew based on experience, I wouldn’t make it home before bedtime and might as well plan for that), and I had to pack the stuff I would need during the race itself.

    Then there is the food aspect.  For prerace dinner, I planned for Thai drunken noodle.  I also reserved two dinning tickets for Chipotle, which the race would brought for us.  It was quite an embarrassment I forgot to pay ahead and I did not have cash on me. Randy, my friend, spotted me before I got Venmo to work (there were dead zones in the park and cellular was unreliable unless you have Verizon). I gave myself the option either eat the Chipotle or the drunken noodle.  I later chose the Chipotle since those kind of food are easily spoiled.  (By the way, I had some left over Chipotle rice, but I could not find them the next day. I think I misplaced and someone tossed them out for me). I packed couple cans of soup, some coffee, a gallon of water, and a can of coconut juice, some candy bars. 

    Plus, I had a crew.  Cheryl, a friend, agreed to come out to crew me. Because of the cold weather, I asked her only to come at 5 pm to prepare my evening meal and I should be able to pull it through for the rest of the race.  The food from the aid stations were quite sufficient in previous years.  I had ramen and rice in my dropbag for her to use, but of course, she brought her own. Her hot food was way better. She came out four of five loops and we (my pacer and I) had a full course meal when ever we passed by. It was a tremendous help. I would say, I probably would not have finished if not for her food.

    Lesson.  Ultra is so interesting.  Way back in the beginning, when I ran marathons, the key was to carb up and eat a lot before the race.  Nutrition is everything.  You have some people calculating how many calories to consume per hour, like at Wasatch, a guy I ran with said, we should eat a candy bar every 20 mins.  Then, I went through a period where I learned carbing up the night before is not that critical.  The key is to eat the same as usual.  Carbing up too much is bad for health, as I have experienced.  I dialed back on my carbing. The focus shifted to eating during the race.  There was a period I spent too much time eating at the race stations that costed me my race.  I learned then to pack and carry food on me on my run and reduced my time spent at the aid stations.  You can get by with a candy bar here and there too. I was known as the guy who carried a bunch of subway foot-longs on my hundred miles (one in each hand when I did the MMT 100, there’s probably a picture of me doing that) and I would bite off pieces of it from time to time. However, it was not really working out for me and I don’t do that any more after my first MMT. So the last couple years or so, I went kind of minimalist, especially during the last few hundreds until it did not work out at Grindstone 100. It was a turning point for me, I believed I DNF because, I was out of energy for the last 20 miles due to not eating enough.

    So for this race, I made sure, I loaded up with lot food the night before and the morning of. I had a full drunken noodle for breakfast and that took me over an hour to eat. I finished it just before the starting gun went off.

    Having a crew who brought me food was a luxury I did not have at my other races.  I did have a crew at Western States, though I did not rely on them for food. This year Massanutten, Cheryl too was my crew, when she met me couple times (she was voluntering at the race, and remote location made it hard for crew to get to).

    This Devil Dog was I actually had a dedicated crew throughout the whole race.  I lived or ran like a king, like in youtube videos of runners with a full group of people helping them.

    Cheryl was there at 10 am (4 hours after the start).  I munched some too from other aid stations I passed. Then at 5 pm, I had really good food. Then again at 10-11 pm. It was very cold for my crew and I appreciated her being there.  I was relieved that she did not come out at 4 am.  I munched something from the aid station. The next round was at 11 am the next day.  By then finishing the race was certain, so my pacer and I sat down at a picnic table and we all had a short picnic before doing the last six miles with 3 hours to spare.

    Summary or outtake for this race, I had my ups and downs, the nutritional aspect was not one of them.  I glad I had enough food and it provided me sufficient energy even until my very end.

    What I could do better is on time management.  I made way too long a stop at aid stations.  Every time, it was 10-15 mins. We had three aid stations per loop for 5 loops.  I must have spent at least 2 and half hours being at rest. 

    Even when we were behind on pace, I still made pretty long stops because I was betting I could run fast on my last loop.  I glad that panned out fine otherwise, it would have been a dnf.  I did have to run and hustle to catch back up on pace during my last 20 miles and was chasing cutoffs.

    Over all it was an enjoyable experience.  I had a full cast of supporting friends.  Charlie ran the whole race with me.  Randy was too, I ran first three loops with him.  Wayne paced me three final loops.  I had a crew.  Caroline was my support at the start and finish as well somewhere in the middle of the race after she finished her race.

    Pacing, my strategy was to walk the first four loops and run at the last loop, 20 miles.  The goal was to do 6 hours per loop (around 18 min pace). By second loop, Charlie was experiencing cramping issues, so we slowed down the pace a bit, but was still making about 6 hours per loop.  Third loop I was with Randy, we were moving faster, but it was night time, which our pace got bogged down.  Fourth loop, we were behind on pace by 30 mins compared to last year, because we started it a bit past midnight, we need to make it back for the fifth loop by 7 am (in 6.5 hours).  I arrived back at 6:45, which was great.  Changed clothes and went out thinking it would now be a cake walk to the finish.  However, I went out the wrong way.  That ate up a lot of time. By the time we made it back where we got off course it was 7:20, half hour later.  It meant, I was about 20 minutes behind on thr needed pace to finish and I was risking being cut at the next aid station, which my friend told me they would close by 8:30.  We ran and made it (station doesn’t close until 9 as I thought).  This was actually the same time I arrived there last year, but I did not know at the time. 

    There were almost no more runners on the trail by then unlike last year.  I passed like only two people. We then rushed to the next station.  My pacer charged me to make it there by 11. And we did.  I finally caught up with Charlie again, whom I haven’t seen since maybe 5 am, 6 hours ago. Charlie this time took off while I stayed and ate at the aid station.  My pacer and I knew, we had enough time to finish. Afterward, it was just a nice brisk run.  I was not rushing. I knew I could do the final section in about 2 hours and was aiming to arrive at 1:30.  Race closed at 2 pm.

    It was a surprised when we got to the bottom of the hill of the finish line at 1 pm.  We were ahead of my expect finish time. We ran it in and finished at 1:10:14 (cumulative, 31:10:15).

    We were all happy.  I beat my previous time of 31:45, about 35 minutes better. It was also relatively low effort too.  I believe I could have gotten 30 hours if I put more effort into my run. 

    I made a few new friends. This was my last 100 for the year.  9 in total. 8 successfully completed. What are the 9? (1. C&O, 2. Massanutten, 3. Old Dominion, 4. Western States, 5. Vermont, 6. Burning River, ,7. Wasatch Front, 8. Grindstone, and 9. Devil Dog). It has been an amazing year.

  • [653] Thanksgiving week

    Some regrets.  This fall I made a decision to sit out of some of the races, and looking back, I have a bit of regrets of missing out on them.

    Rock-n-the Knob. (no race report)  I was one of the race sweepers.  I enjoyed my sweeping duty but running in it would have been more fun.  I don’t remember why I sat out. Probably was in preparation for Grindstone.  I know, one can’t go back in time to change the past. Still, I think about the what-ifs. My philosophy has been, run every race I could. By sitting out, it didn’t help my Grindstone race (report).

    Iron Mountain.  (race report) Another race I run almost every year.  I sat out too on this race this year.  I was volunteering and one of the sweepers.  I did enjoy the fast run as a sweeper.  Usually, sweeping is not a fast duty.  This one was.  I was trying to help the last guy to make his final cutoff.  We were also chased by the rain.  The guy out ran me at the final  couple miles.  It was fun.  Yet, looking at the big picture, I have my regret of missing out.  If I have run, I likely would not have finished the race.  I felt I was not as strong as previous years. I think I made a good decision to sit out, but the regret comes from the my fear-of-missing-out, not sure if there is a term for this (probably regret is the word I’m looking for). Can’t shake the feeling that I had definitely missed out.

    JFK50. This is not a race I run every year.  This was the race that started me on the ultra trail running.  I ran it only twice, 2019 and 2022.  I said, I would run it again if any good friends of mine would do it with me. I sat out this year, like the previous year. It was not even in my plan to do this.  Last year, I was on the course to watch some runners.  I had a lot of fun cheering some familiar faces.  This year I was crewing for two runners. One is a good friend of mine and another is a guy who needed my help at the last minute.  I love helping people regardless if it was at a last minute.

    It was good to help a friend especially a very dear friend who has been instrumental to my very own success of this year’s grand slam run.  I think for my part, I have done my job.  The crew transitioning could have done a bit faster.  There were questions I could have asked, like are the feet hurt, what can I do for them? (note, to carry Icy-Hot for future crewing). My runner required very little from me.  We did chat a bit longer at one of the crew stops.  Others tried to get their transition time down to a minute, I think ours were around 5 minutes.  My runner did not blame me. One runner finished the other did not.  There were nothing much I could have done for either of them.

    I was doing pace calculations throughout the day on my runners, especially on the one who was struggling with the required pace. The cutoff was getting close.  I tried to believe finishing was still possible, but supported the decision when the runner called it quit. My runner accepted the inevitable.  As a runner myself, sometimes, I have trouble of calling it a day, like at Grindstone, I grinded out for another 6-7 hours, when I should have quitted earlier.  As a crew, it was good to not have to sway the runner one way or the other. Whatever the runner decided was the best course of action.

    My runer did a good job of almost reaching 40 (39-ish) mile in 10 hours.  She had to maintain about 15 min-mile (15.5) pace to finish on time. Yes, she dropped 7 minutes before the cutoff call. She was on a 15.5-16 min pace. If she continued, she might make it there or might be 5 min after the final cut. It would have been a epic battle for the final 11.8 miles. I only had rough pace estimation throughout the day, so I could not decide one way or another to egg her on at the decision point, according to my own hand calculation, she was behind pace at the time, maybe by 10 mins, not saying she would not have a chance, but it would definitely difficult to play catch up. Personally, I think she needs to get to Taylors Landing by 4:15-4:30 pm, to give that buffer time needed for the final set of rolling hills.  Interesting, in 2022, she was at Taylors Landing’s timing mat at 4:28 pm,  (almost 10 mins ahead of this year). She was a bit slower this year, but not by much.

    My regret at JFK was I did not get to run in the race. I saw a few friends who ran it.  I am sure they loved seeing out me there cheering. I do too to be a spectator for once. However, it would have been so much better if I have run. Probably it is, I was thinking to myself.  Even though, I think, it might have been a hard race for me. I made my decision not to run it was because of cost. There’s always next year.

    In the past, I don’t have such a regret of missing out on things. I know I can’t run in every race.  I guess having regret is pretty normal. My own race will not be for another week. 

    On a personal note, I am very thankful that this thanksgiving, I am in a relationship with a fine lady, who has been giving out hints for a long time. It goes down something like this: I think someone joked at our last marathon together a week ago, asking if we were a couple, and I said, “no way!” and looked at the woman and realization dawned, and asked back, “We are a couple?” out of embarrassment. “Seriously? we are?” “Oopsie,” from me and ran away as fast as I could, but the lady was still behind when I turned around, and how could I get away if I was holding her hand, taking her along. Life is full of surprises. This is definitely not something I regret.

  • [652] Richmond Marathon

    I had a good experience at America’s Friendliest Marathon, in Richmond Virginia.

    This is my home state and I have wanted to run it since I started running marathons 7-8 years ago.  

    Richmond Marathon being in the fall, means the race date usually conflicts with my other races.  

    I aim to do all 50 states and Virginia was the first state I completed (Charlottesville Marathon in 2017).  So, it was never a do-or-die for me.  I just was bidding me time to find the right opportunity to do it.

    Richmond would have been my first marathon, but I was not ready in 2016.  By Spring 2017, I did the Charlottesville one because I could not wait till November.  Then I did the Marine Corps, so Richmond was put off.  2018, 2019, not sure why I did not sign up, but each year was busier than the year before.

    In 2020, I signed up, but it was canceled due to Ro’na and deferred for next three years since for various reasons.  In the end, I ran it as a virtual marathon in 2022, because it could not be deferred for another year. 

    I did not get to run on the actual course until now.

    2023, I did not sign up since it was conflict with Stone Mill 50, a race I have been doing for four years in a row since 2020. 

    2024, this year was my 5th time at Stone Mill.  I thought I would not be able to run in the Richmond Marathon again.  But the way calendar works, Stone Mill was a week ahead or the Richmond Marathon was a week later, so when I checked my schedule, I found I could run it. 

    It was just a week after Stone Mill 50. It was fine.  I ran plenty of back to back week of long runs. This is no different.  My pace at Stone Mill was not too fast, so I saved my legs.  My body and legs were ready.

    We had a lovely weekend.  By now I know plenty of people, so every I go, I would run into people I know.

    We went down the night before to save the early morning trip.  I still woke up at 4.  The race was set to start at 7.  It was not my first time in Richmond, so I know, how to battle against 30,000+ cars seeking a parking spot, by going in two hours before everyone.  By the way, if one is willing to afford staying at a hotel near the start, then theres no need to worry about parking. We stayed at Ashland, which was about 20-30 minutes away, so we did not pay a lot for our hotel.

    We arrived at 5:30.  My friend needed to pick up her bib.  They already closed some of the roads.  Lucky for us, we found a street parking on 7th and Cary.  This was near the finish. It was very convenience for us.  Note, the start and finish is not the same, but is maybe a mile apart. I think most parking places, were closer to the start.  They do have shuttles at the end of the race to bus people back to the start.

    So after we got our bibs, we went back to the car to wait.  I had to use the potty.  They had plenty at the start.  But I headed to the finish line, thinking there wouldn’t be a line there for the potty. Lucky for me, I found one from a construction place, but that probably not a good idea, because most potty were locked.

    Traffic filled Richmond roads as last minute runners arriving trying to find a parking garage.

    The sun rose. It was magnificent. Temperature warmed up.  I wore a long sleeve, plus a T-shirt inside. The temperature high was 65F (15C). Many people wore extra jackets, and you could ditch your outer layers at the start on the side of the road. They would donate them afterward.  I love all my shirts, so that never would be my way.  I just tied my shirt around my waist when it got warmer.

    A runner, spotted my friend, we took a picture together. By 6:45, we sang the anthem.

    Wheel chair division started first.  Soon they let the first wave out.  We stood in the middle on the sidewalk watching runners ran by.  Soon, we saw the 3:30 pacer, then 4:00 hr pacer.  We joined in somewhere before the 4:30 pacer passed. Note, we did not bib mule!  We just did not get into the coral until it was time to set off.  They did not block the sidewalk with fences.

    We set off at a brisk pace.  I normally could run a 4:30 marathon, but I knew early on this one was not it. 

    Many people passed us by. This marathon, they had a special design on the bib (a bib 1st, sticker)  to indicate a runner is a first time running a marathon. So, I and the crowd started cheering for all the 1st time runner passing us.

    The course boasted about being the friendliest marathon.  Indeed there were people cheering us, almost every where.  It was very lively. They had live bands. Even first mile, the adult beverages were laid out, and were labeled as “H20”. This was from private citizens.  However, virginia still has some older laws that prohibit serving alcohol in public. There was one stand that labeled as “Roullete”.  I think every drink is alcoholic. Maybe one is water to make it interesting.

    We had aid stations almost every couple miles.  Near the finish, it was an aid station at every mile.  I never felt crowded.  They spaced them on either side of the road.  Each station table was spaced out.  The sport drinks tables were placed farther down.  So, as least for me, the mid-to back of the pack, it was never where we would run into a wall of runners.  And most importantly, they were never out of water.

    Some aid stations, had towels, and some stations had gels for us.

    For me, I carried a hydration pack.  As an ultra runner, I feel naked without my water pack while out running.  I know I could probably run with just the aid station water.  I carried about 1 L on me.  I still stopped at the aid tables for gels and Nuun, their sport drinks of choice for the day.

    I got candies at many places from the crowd.  I had a shot of fireball.  Most of the good stuffs were on the left side of the road or in the median.  I ran usually toward the right side, so I missed out a lot of stops offerred by private citizens. Also, I did not run to the tangent in this race as I have done in many marathons. It might be half a mile different!

    It might be I made too many stops, my time was slower than my average. 

    By halfway, my pace degraded significantly.  I left my friend to fight for herself.  One had to manage his own race.

    Course.  Richmond is not a flat course.  I don’t think it was as hilly as Baltimore, but we had constant ups and downs.  All hills were runnable.  I rarely saw anyone walk on the hills.

    The course was scenic.  We ran along side the river somewhere.  We ran through Richmond, then to suburb then back to downtown.  My friend likes the older buildings and platation shutters.  It is a historic place.  We ran through VCU, Virginia Commowealth University. 

    Traffic was not an issue for us as it was at Baltimore.  They had police at every intersection and we had whole road to run on most of the time. There was milage sign for every mile.

    Marathon started before the half.  I did not have to merge back with the half, since they were (mostly) finished before I got to back to the merge point. I don’t know if the front runners would be running into a wall of half marathon runners.  I saw they do have direction signs to let the half marathon runners know to stay to left side of the road and I guess marathoners run on the right side.  I did  not get to see this in action since everyone around me were marathoners with maybe one or two half marathoners. Half marathon started a bit later but not too late, so it was almost instantaneous.  They also have an 8k event.

    The rest of the miles were not interesting.  Maybe at mile 14-15 I met a lady, Kelly.  I was trying to pick up a discarded gel pack, thinking someone had dropped it, then found it was opened.  So I threw it away.  Kelly saw me, and offered hers to me showing she has three or four she just picked up at the aid station.  I thanked her but did not take any since I did just use a gel at the aid station.  We talked.  She was a much faster runner than me so she was off.  Few miles later, I saw a sign held up by some family member, with the name Kellie, I shouted, go Kelly. Kelly replied back, go Antin. Wow, it was the same Kelly, because, who would know my name? I was laughing because by then I had forgotten her and then found her again.

    Mile 20 onward was hard.  We crossed a bridge to be back to the city.  The city does not seem to be near.  We directed to run north on Arthur Ashe.  I was wondering when will we every turned back south.  Then aid station came at every mile.  A lady who was pacing her friends (note pacing is not allowed), but here two women were pacing her friend on each side.  She turned to me, giving me some encouraging words, so I had the kick again. I knew them, from since mile 13.  I passed them earlier and now they were passing me back.

    I ran on to the finish.  It was downhill.  I turned to my left. It was another woman. She looked older than me but very happy.  She smiled back. We said something, none of us remember, but the crowd was cheering.  I said, lets race to the finish. All out.  We all ran full stides down hill and finished, side by side. 

    I was very happy to got in before 5 hour was up. 

    We had a lot of swags.  We were offerred our medals and water. My friends from the Happy Trails were serving at the towel and hat stations.  I love my towel. 

    Then my friend Caroline finished.  There were others too but we did not get to see them.  We went for the pizza tent and then the beer tent. It was a good day.  So good, I could not remember where I left my phone.  So we spent the next couple hours retracing our steps and stopping by the info and merchandise booths.  In the end, using where-my-phone website, we found it to be in the car.  Haha! It was there the whole time. The day ended well. It was then a long drive home (kind of, we went camping, but that’s another story).

  • [651][24.2#17] I goofed – Fall Review

    Day650 should have been a reserved for a review as I have done in the past, that every 50 posts is a “quarterly” review. I wrote less than before, so now every fifty posts is more an annual review. My last year review here Day 600 and also here last midterm, Day634.

    I accidentally published Day650 on  Stone Mill 50. I have not decided if I should resequence the post numbering after the fact.  I might just keep this as Day651. It doesn’t matter.

    I like to do reviews on myself to remind me I am aiming to accomplish something meaningful in life.  It is easy to say just do it. Yet, life is chaotic. And we are forgetful.  I can think of how many new year resolutions I have “accidentally” forgot.

    I love space and NASA at how each of their launch has a mission number.  I would like that very much for my life. Planning is a way of managing the unexpected so I could “boldly go where no man has gone before.”  Yes, I like my mission statement to be something that bold. I grew up watching Star Trek.

    I know what I want to write, but harder thing is how to write them. 

    The last 50 days (weeks actually), I wanted to train for running in the Western States 100. 

    I was not sure at the time if I would attempt to do the Grand Slam, which was 4 toughest/oldest ultra 100 mile marathon in the US. The  Western States was one of them.  Doing even one of them for me was like shooting the moon, but to do all four was beyond measure.

      Western States went well (report on WS100). My group of friends and supporters got me over the finish line in the nick of time.   I thought of quitting so many times, but lo and behold, I did it.  There indeed a lot going on than I can retell. I was beyond grateful. 

    Similarily, I finished the Grand Slam.

    I got Old Dominion 100 (report on OD100) already at the time. I still needed to do Vermont (report of VT100) in July and then Wasatch Front 100 (report of WF100) in September.  They were each amazing in their own adventure.  I still could not believe that it is true, that I got the slam.  It went more perfect than I would have hope.

    It has not been all ups.  After Wasatch I had the Grindstone 100. It was a race I thought I was ready for, but out from the left field, my body failed me.  I got to mile 99 but the time to finish already expired and I did not finish. There is always next year, which I signed up already.  (The full report of GS100 is here). It was a learning experience.  There were reasons that I could not get to the end. It was a good reflection for me to do better next time.

    I have been at a bit of a lost since my last big race.  Initially, I wanted to do two more 100 mile races to close the year with a perfect 10.  So, even though I got a spot in another highly coveted race at Rim to River 100, I turned it down. In the interim, a friend passed away. It helped me to do some soul reflection.

    At times, I gained clarity of what I wanted to do and why I would doing them.  But those moments were fleeting and hard to remember what I learned from them. 

    I had a some sort of race schedule hammered out.  I am pleased I will be committing to do some races next year. As for why I am doing them is still a bit vague. 

    Some asked how will I top what I did for this year.  Sure, I want to top it.  Every year should be better than the year before.  But doing it by the normal way is tough.

    Two years ago, I had run between two to three 100 milers in a giving year (Rocky Raccoon 2021, Rim to River 2021, Massanutten 2022 and Devil Dog 2022).

    Last year, I have done five (Blackbeard’s Revenge, Massanutten 2023, Burning River 2023, Grindstone 2023, and Devil Dog 2023). 

    This year the number increased exponentially. Besides the four races of the Grand Slam mentioned earlier, I ran C&O Canal 100, Massanutten 2024, Burning River 2024, and Grindstone 2024, totalling 9 big races for the year. Devil Dog 2024, my 9th race of the year, has been signed up, and the race will take place in several weeks.

    Doing quantitatively more than this year is not the way or that it is even possible. Also, I was thinking about quality over quantity, if I could do races on similar level or harder than this year.  Some asked if I will do the Bear or Big Horn or one of the Hard Rock qualifiers (such as Cruel Jewel). In the previous years, none of these races were even on my radar, because they are too hard.  I am still proccessing through if I have what it takes to finish them. The short answer is still no. There is no reason to top this year’s work.  I should be asking myself a different question. Truly, what do I want to do.

    It brings me back to focus on what is important for me.  I will close like last year report.  I like running marathons.  I should focus on finishing the 50 states.  I like running spontaneously.  I should do more of that.  I like to be on the mountain.  I should travel more.  This is very similar to what I wanted to do last year.  One of my deep goals is to travel to Nepal and do some crazy trekking.  I need to look at how to turn that into reality.  This is probably the easiest of all my big goals.  I would like to cross the AT, which is a very big goal in itself. Same as running across the continent.  I met some people who have done it.  There is also a Rim to Rim thing I like to do.

    Like last year, I won’t able to do all in one go or even accomplish one in the amount of time/resources/energy but putting it on the big board will get me to start thinking about them.

    Not race related, I visited Australia this year.  It was a goal long in the making, maybe the last 8-10 years.  As a bonus, I got to stop by Taiwan and ran a marathon there.  It was like a cherry on top. Of course, now Sydney Marathon is one of 7 marathon majors, I will have to go back to do it, some day. I found this trip to be better than all the big races I ran. Not to say, those races were insignificant, but there are other things worth doing and they come unexpectedly. Until next time, …