In awe

Category: running

  • [650] Stone Mill 50

    Fifth year running. Every year is different. You never able to have same experience as the year before like they say, you can’t never step back in the same river. Each year is special though.  There are people you met that you will remember for a long time and even if you forget, they will remember you (maybe more on this later).  Here was last year report, [2023].

    I started running Stone Mill in 2020.  2019 was when I ran my first 50 mile at the JFK 50.  Stone Mill has a little to do with it in that it is taking place in November. I heard the race started because some people were bothered by how expensive some races have become (like the JFK), and there is not a good trail race around.  Stone Mill is challenging and even more so to be taking place right in the urban settings without runners having to travel far to get there (unless you live far away).

    My good friends David, Alex and I have ran this race together for the last three years in a row. We had quite a special thing going on.  This year is Alex last year with us because he is going back to his home country. 

    The first time we ran together was in 2022, I was like an expert to them and finished the fastest in 11 hours, while it was still light outside and I thought I was not that fast even though I PR’ed it. Last year, I was happy my two friends ran with me again.  I did in my opinion poorly.  Alex finished long before me. Both Alex and David were ahead of me most of the time. This year, I had a feeling I would be slower still in that I might need the extra time of the early start or that I might not be able to make some of the cutoffs.  So I started first at 5 AM.

    See my last year report on the pacing strategy. I usually have a pretty normal pacing. Start slow and run even slower still and hope for the best.  I have not run much since Grindstone 100, just like last year. I did not finish Grindstone, and my emotion and body was pretty beat up.  I need a good pick me up race.  I did do the Bimbler Bluff about two weeks back, though that race was a low commitment one and was not an intense all out fast time race. Stone Mill was not a pick me up race, but it could be if I can be fast again.

    I took the early start.  As mentioned in last year post, the pacing is easy of needed to maintain, because one has to run in about 15.5 min per mile pace to finish.  With the early 5 am start and a very late (8:20-8:30 pm) finish, You could lengthen the pace to 18 min per mile (almost a walking pace). In prior years, the early start was for a  special age group of people who think they needed the extra hour. This year, you still needed a preapproval for it.  However, I believed anyone who asked for it, got approved. 

    I was at Charm City Shoes store to pick up the bib the night before the race.  While picking up, I came across the race director, who overheard my conversation with another friend (Mike) about how I would like to have an early start.  My friend then turn and said to Ryan, the RD, and said why don’t you tell him.  I said, right now?  as in I still could do it now and there. Ryan said he just needed my bib number and took a picture of it to pass it along to the timer or the right people. I was happy to secure the early start. It was that easy.

    Having the early start remove the fear and the pressure of not making the cutoffs.  In past years, the first cutoff, I had a lot stress trying to get there (Pennyfield) by noon. Pennyfield is about halfway at mile 24. You would think I could run a marathon under 5 hours, I could make it to Pennyfield, but this cutoff always looms in my head. A 5 hour marathon on the trail is hard to do.

    Another critical cutoff was the 5 pm at Riffleford, mile 42.  We had to make it before sundown.  I remember usually the afternoon sun started fading as I got there and temperature dropping.  They say to leave a jacket and light at this station to pick up on our way back, so you could have them before the finish.  It gets dark by 5.

    With the early start, my mental image of when or where I should be at each cutoff changed.  It felt good to be feeling ahead of pace even though I was not.

    Back up a bit.  The race was about an hour from where I live (37 mins according to Google), but an hour and half for me to get there Friday night for bib pick up. So I compromised to plan for an hour of driving on race day.  I slept early at 10 pm.  Woke up before my alarm at 3 am.  I packed and had everything ready (even breakfast) and was out the door by 3:30.  I felt a bit rush but arrived by 4:15.  Finding a parking spot was not an issue. At 4:45, I was lining up at the start with 40 other early runners.  I felt good to be leading a group of runners. I was the first three to cross start line. An older guy led the way. My friend Eliot I met at the Catoctin last year started along side of me.  He and I was the last person to get lost (a fiasco to be lost for 2 hours) and did not finish the race in 2023 at the Catoctin 50k. But he ran Stone Mill 4 times previously and today, it was our fifth time doing it.  We told each other, don’t get lost. We all wanted to finish this one for a 5-year race jacket. Soon Eliot ran ahead of me and I would not see him until near the finish.

    Laudis and a few ladies caught up to me.  I stayed with them in the next 8 miles. Laudis had done Hard Rock 100 this year. She indeed is quite a strong runner and I could not stay on her pace.  In the short time together, she told me about The Bear and her experience at Western States 100.  We had a mutual friend in common, Mikala, whom I met at Western. Mikala is fast.  We expected her to pass by us at any time.  Indeed, she passed us and finished the race at 10 hour mark.  I did not have a goal time as a finish but was hoping for a 12 hour, mainly to finish before it was dark.

    It took me about 50 minutes to reach the first aid station at Rt355.  I sent David and Alex a message, wishing them a good race.  They were about to start at the normal time at 6 am.  I was hoping for them to catch up to me since I did not feel especially fast this year.  Alex definitely could catch me.

    The thing with the early start is, the people starting regularly would be constantly passing you.  Psychologically it makes you feel you were slower. Everyone seems to be stronger.  The front runners passed us around mile 6-7 as we were making our way around on the Seneca Shore trail. By mile 12, a decent number of runners have passed us.  I just told myself, it is to be expected because I was an hour ahead of my normal pace, I was running with the faster people. There was not anyone I could cling onto to keep my pace. I was pretty much on my own.

    Seneca Shore Trail, Clopper Lake, boat lauch, early hours

    There was no rush for me to go fast.  My legs felt heavy early on.  By Muddy Branch section, I was mostly walking.  A runner rolled his ankle. I was with him a bit to see if he was alright. He then took off.  He was a fast runner (Haider).

    I arrived at Pennyfield by 10:30 am, pretty much on pace compared to previous years.  Then we had the C&O Canal. My legs did not want to run on it.  We had a beautiful day. I remembered now why there were so many people walking at this section because those people were the early starters. So now it was me walking on the Canal while the normal people were passing me by.

    C&O Canal, just passed Pennyfield. What a beautiful day. I ran this race 5 years in a row and never have a more perfect day

    At Stone Mill Aid Station was a big celebration.  I stayed there longer but did not realize we had an ultra running celebrity among us. I was totally clueless.  Some later said they saw Courtney but I thought it was BS, only later a friend forwarded me a link to an instagram story.

    Stone Mill Aid Station. The ruins is a former Stone Mill, that make stones for many buildings in our area (DC).  The Iron Man dude and I traded place frequently in this race.  He did not know I was an early starter, so he was really an hour ahead of me

    There were two couples in turkey costumes.  I thought it was the headless horseman. One was a cooked turkey the other was the live turkey. I thought was funny.

    Apparently, Courtney (the famous Courtney) later stopped here to greet runners. I totally failed to recognize her

    The rest of the race was uneventful. I had chafing issue after Stone Mill aid station. I could not stop to fix it.  I carried lube but it felt awkward to stop and lube up my private areas in the middle of a race. Trees are bare at this time of the year and you can see miles into the woods. It was not too badly burned so I felt I could power through. The issue went away after another 10 miles or so, but was uncomfortable until truly dealt with.

    Apparently the lady in the very back who was checking in runners was Courtney! Some people gave her a hug as they came in. I was clueless of who she is.

    I started to keep on pace with a few runners and we leapfrogged couple times, though ultimately they won out.  Jill Diss and Christinana passed me on their way to Rt28 aid station.  This stretch always felt long to me. 

    At Rt 28, Guy (Twot 100 RD, a friend) came by to say hi.  He had cooked up some amazing hot food.  I stayed especially long here. My legs were toasted.  It was good to chat with the guy since he and I lost a mutual running friend (Tony) recently.  He is organizing a memorial run next weekend. There was Christine serving at the aid station and she said we ran together last year and I helped her by pacing her most of the way.  It was so good to see a familiar face.  Her name escaped me at the time, but I recalled I was with two women, who kept falling on the trail. She laughed and said that was her and pulled up a picture from her phone of us. Indeed, that was me.

    A fellow runner, stretching out after stumbling.  The dry trail covered with slick leaves over rocks and roots made it “fun” to run

    From RT28 to Riffleford, was a quiet stretch.  Ike, a fellow running friend whom I ran Old Dominion with this year passed me. This guy is an amazing athlete. Fast guy for his age.  He is Boston qualified. And he is like 10-15 years older than me but run like he is 10 years younger. We chatted and I said bye. A few more runners passed me, including Sophia.  I forgot her name too but she was the other woman I ran with last year.  She did not seemed to be in the race but just out for an afternoon run.  She told her running friend, I helped her. I said I remembered who she is, since her boyfriend is usually the one who came in first or near very top and the best story of all is he ran the wrong way one year and ended up with 60+ miles and still managed to finish.

    At Riffleford, my friend Ram greeted me. The Virginia Happy Trail people were there crewing the aid station.  It was a lot of fun.  It was a nice managed station (very organized, well staffed, and a lot of good food).

    I did not stay for too long. My goal was to still get it done before dark. My legs came back.  I felt I had the energy to run it.  There were only 8 miles left. I tried to close the gap by getting to mile 46 (RT355 aid station) by 4 pm. I arrived by 4:15, 15 minutes late, but still possible to finish while light out. I finally get to pass some people. There was a woman (didn’t took down her number) who kind of refused to let me pass.  It was all fine and good.  I was annoyed by her and some other runners with earbuds in, because they could not hear me coming up from behind. Even when I said I would like to pass, they were saying, what are you asking!  Boy! these ultra runners.  It was a common courtesy to let faster runner pass on trail.  It is not a road race.  Time is irrelevant.  So I passed when there was wide enough space on the trail and the runner was startled, like I did not give a heads up.  Dude (or lady) I have been followed from behind for a mile or so.  Not that she was not aware of me, but just would not yield. I was afraid, she might pass me back and we would have this dual till the finish, which I hate a lot, but then she faded away.  I passed more and more people and my legs came alive.

    At Rt355, we passed under an inflatable arch and some dinos.  I took some sodas (tailwind) and my last gel.  A dude did not stop, and I laughed at him trying to beat me.  In former years, there would be a time recorder here, but not this year.  The dude did finish ahead of me and he laughed saying I should not have stopped at the last aid station.  Indeed. I could have done as he did.

    I passed Eliot with a mile left to go, came in 5 minutes before him.  A woman was on my tail (a different one than before), and as a friendly gesture, I slowed down to let her finish ahead of me.  In my head, if she started at the normal time, she would be an hour ahead, so even if I came through the finish line a few minutes ahead, she still won by bib timing. I was happy with my time of 12:26 (89/133). About 300 registered.  200 finished. 100 or so Dnf or didn’t start. The race signup cost is inexpensive so many people rather not show up.  With 14-15 hours, this race is very doable.

    Some runners ariving at the finish

    My friends Alex and David came around 14 hour.  I stayed until the very end.  There was a couple, the husband was supporting his wife through the race.  It was her first 50 mile. So, as I was about to leave, he was standing at the finish shivering.  I said, where is his jacket.  He answered, he had given to his wife. I remembered him greeting me at each stop, so I said, I will stay and wait for her to come in too.  She made it. 

    As well as Alvin or Kevin (I must have misheard), a runner who turned 50 year old, by doing a 50 states and 50 mile.  Good for him.  It’s always my goal too to do that, to runy birthday miles in age. Then new friends I made, Dan and Joe as the last runners to cross the finish line along with two sweepers. It was a great evening. 

    We took photos at the end.  Joe, Dan and I went out for Pho.  No one ever knew, I meant me, that a Pho place would open until midnight when the surrounding restaurants closed at 9. I love eating Pho after a race, because the salty broth, noodle and beef, hits the spot.  It was very satisfying to replenish everything your body needs in one go.

  • [649] observation/race signups

    When I have too much time on my hands, I start to think of existential questions.  Why am I running? Maybe that stems from my recent question what (races) am I running?

    I like the why part.  I think of it a lot, like every year at about this time. Because I don’t feel like running. I lost my mojo. Signup season is upon us, and it especially hard to find why I choose one race over another or why I run again. 

    The thing is, if I don’t want to do it. Then don’t. Bit if I signed up, then I must put in the work to get to the end.  There’s no half measure.

    I seem to have a harder time in picking a race this year.  Generally I want to run all the races.  But time and money constraints do exist. Last year, I have 10 times the budget. I could go wild. Not this year. I am already 1.5k deep in the hole after a day of signing up (1st world problem). Then how do I choose to pick one race over another is an interesting question to me.

    The answer is I don’t know.  I go by ‘feel’.  I hate it because, sometimes I feel very strongly about doing a race but another time I feel strongly not doing a race.

    It might be some ethical issue.  Some say a race organization is ‘bad’ such as they brought out smaller local races.  They say the corporal world is here to take away the mom-and-pop ones (name unsaid, because I am running some big corps races).  You won’t get the same experiences, some say. Indeed.  But I still begrudgingly take part in the Big Corporation races next year. Its inevitable.

    This post is not about corporate races over smaller races.

    Going to go into note taking form. I write because I am trying to find solution to a problem. I seem to lost sight of the big picture of why I run each year and I need some. It happens every year during the “slow” season.

    My identity is tied to the things I do.  The things I do also bring a lot of satisfaction. This year has been very busy.  I tried to achieve something I thought was not possible. It  was a shooting the moon thing (Western States race and the whole grand slam thing, plus many races I did).  In the end I did reach my goal. All fine and happy.

    However, I can’t do that in every race or every season. There are things that only happen once. I can’t repeat the same next year.

    By definition, trying very best is the very best. It hard to believe I will even exceed the very best the following year. Well maybe.  We only dream we can reach an even greater height.

    Yesterday, I look at my race plan. It seems scattered all over the place.  What the story I am trying to accomplish? In a sense trying to “run every race, every where, whenever” no limit.  That has been my motto since I started running.  It has been my guiding light in how I signed up races.  I was over joy last few years, I made several friends who share the similar take, of taking running to the extreme. We eat, sleep, dream and walk with running. There is never an end. Even the day we die, we will die running is our hope. On a side note, My first

    This year, one of my running friends past away. Our running club wrote/posted a very nice article of his impact to those who ran with him!

    As I think of next year races, I want to reach something of value. We could run tons of race, but sometimes they ended up being hollow.  There should be a race I would want to remember. Occasionally, there are races that are like that, I do it and forget. But then there would be one race that change everything.  This year, Western States was like that for me, a race that set me on the path for a grand slam. One race that defines me and everything.

    I got a clearer sense now than a couple weeks ago.  At first I was trying to do another slam (the midwest slam. I think I can do it, because it should be easier than the slam I did this year.  So I was arranging my schedule to fit their races in. Then I asked myself do I really want to that those races all at once, in one go, just for a bragging right? Deep down is no. I don’t carw about the bragging right. I want something that is meaningful. Something that challenge me to the next level, but not something superficially hard for the hard sake.

    There is no desire for me to the slam, or even the every first race (The Mohican). I want a race that speaks to me (calling me to run it). I don’t sense it here for the midwest slam, maybe but two races. I would like to do the Burning River and the Indiana Trail 100. It is a weird way to sign up a race, but yes, that is my way. I need a deep down conviction to do it. Almost all races I do, kind of speak to me and they draw me to them. A weird way to make a decision.

    So, I was facing like 20+ races, and I could not hear their voices over one another and it was very chaotic.  Some races have a deadline pressure to sign up before they are filled (Eastern States almost is full, though only opened two weeks ago). Some have scheduling conflict. Some are too far away or too expensive to do.

    In the end, I asked myself, what do I really want. I wanted something simple and easy. I like doing marathons. So I should go back to my root of running marathons and running just for “fun”.

    I asked a friend if they have trouble deciding which races to run. They said no. They just do it, easy. There is no agonizing over months and weeks of should I do this over that.

    I think for me, since I reached kind of stage where I was in the spotlight of becoming a runner people admire. There is a certain expectation of the next level I have to reach, to keep up with my wow factor.  I think I was caught up to it just a bit when I ran Wasatch.  I glad I finished but it was not fun to be under the pressure for pressure sake. So when I do the slam for next year, there is no need to go through the insanity. Once was enough.

    I was thinking of trying couple harder races like the Bear or the Big Horn, or The Utimate Ultra Mountain Trail Run in Europe, everyone is taking about. It seems to be a natural progression pf doing harder and harder thing. Then I said, wait a minute. I don’t have to give into the pressure. I don’t have to be an over achiever! 

    One of the best moment I had was at the Burning River this year, when I ran with a 75 year old (Mr Randy). He teased me of being a show off of wearing the 100 mile shirt I got from the weekend before. We both finished the race together.  The achievement really belonged to the man who still is doing such a big run, and not me. I had a blast to have been able to finish with him and to share in his spotlight. I think a good race is like that, where my finishing time and ranking doesn’t matter, but that I made good friends along the way.

    I am still an overachiever, no doubt about that.  Recently, I tried very hard in finishing a race that ended up back fire. I was stressed about it and temper flew. Then I asked myself, did I really enjoy such behavior of flying off my handlebar. It was just a race. So what if I did not finish it. There’s always next year! Indeed, I am doing it again.

    A beautiful day on the trail

  • [648] Race schedule for next year

    Each year by now, I usually have a clear idea of what races I am going to do for next year.  I thought I would start running more marathons to catch back up on races I did not have a chance to do this year. 

    Anyway, I found some unfinished ultras I want to do and they are taking a higher priority.  So my 50 states marathon would have to wait a bit longer, maybe until 2026.  There are still a few more weeks left for the year. I might change my mind. I might have roon to throw in a few new states for my marathons.

    So what am I try to do in 2025?  When I ran the Burning River this year, plus other races, I wanted to go back to do them.  Burning River is part of the Mid-Western Slam. My goal is to do the slam, plus Eastern States. Of course I have Grindstone right after, which already signed up. I will through in a few other 100s. I need to decide if I really want to put myself through the same situation as this year of trying to run 10 100 mile races. It was tough!

    I am thinking of the New River 100, which is the Virginia newest 100. Virginia has about 8 one hundred milers. I don’t plan to do all of them.  It could be my 2026 goal to do them all.

    Currently, I am throwing a bunch of races on my calendar and to see which one would stick.  Some definitely are in conflict.

    I plan to enter the Western States 100 lottery again.  I should not be that lucky to be chosen again.  I need to enter.  If I am picked, I definitely want to run that again! Also, there are other lotteries for other races in Nov and Dec.  Nothing is certain.  I will try for UTMB and maybe Hard Rock. If I get in then it would mean a drastic change to my schedule. I don’t like hard races, but I told myself to try.

    Note, this is just a static page. The up-to-date page is kept at the usual place. Also, there is last year, 2023. It seems so simple now looking back to it. Last year, Western States changed my schedule around in a big way. 

    Somehow it seems my 2025 schedule is more complicated than last year. There are so many unknowns. Hopefully, I could make some tough choices to cut out some races.

    ~~~2025~~~

    Goal: (Mid) Secret Western Slam

    RI, Newport (was)

    —-

    Jan. 4. (to do) Mid Maryland 50k (Reg is open)

    Jan 18/19/20.  (likely) MMT Tr 1. Waterfall 50k. MLK weekend. (reg opens dec 18)

    Jan 25. BRR training #1. The North

    Feb 15. BRR training #2. Death by Do Loop

    Feb 15. (conflict, but maybe) Holiday Lake 50k (reg is open!)

    Feb 15. (would do/to do) MMT training #2. Guy  T as RD, One of my favorite training.

    Feb 22. (volunteer.) Reverse Ring, entry opens Jan 3. Need volunteering hours for Vermont

    Mar 1. BRR training #3

    Mar 15. MMT T #3 (maybe, date unconfirmed). Definitely prefer MMT. I think Elizabeth Furnace is on Sunday, need to check.

    Mar 15. Elizabeth Furnace 50k

    Mar 22. (?) Annapolis Half. Mar 22, reg is open*

    Apr 5. (not reg) Bootlegger 100 (ATL-Ga)

    Apr 6. (conflict) Coast Guard Marathon, (NC) got to choose between one or the other.

    Apr 12. (maybe) Blue Ridge Anthem (Double) Marathon., Maybe. done it in 2024, hectic schedule, 1 am start is not my thing. (reg is open!)

    Apr 19. (undecided) Promise Land 50k (date unconfirmed). Usually conflict with Roanoke.

    Apr 20 (night). Chocolate Bunny. MMT T #4. my favorite run.

    Apr 26-27 (to do) C&O 100, reg opens Jan 1, not intending to run again, but it is an easy 100.

    May 3 (to do) GSER 100k, not really intending to go back. They might have a 100 mile race. So I might go back.

    May 4 (canceled/refunded by Race Org) Providence Marathon, RI,  recommended by sherunsbytheseashore.

    May 4 (conflict) BMO Vancouver 26. Don’t intended to do it, but if my schedule is open, will go, to complete the west coast race, since I did the Toronto.

    May 17: (to do) Massanutten Mountain 100, on the fence for this. I ran it 3 times already, but kind of cool to do it again. Need a race to look forward to.

    May 23-26: (to do) Western States training runs, seems weird to run a training run when I am not in the race, but would be nice to get the feel. Pretty tough three-day training run.

    May 31-Jun 1: (to do) Mohican 100. Oh. First of the slam. (reg is open!)

    Jun 14: (to do) Kettle Morraine 100, reg opens soon on Jan 1, 11 am central

    July 10?: (maybe) Catoctin 50k, hard hard race. Now I proved myself I could run a hard hot Cat race, seems very little incentive to do this. 

    July 10? Iron Stone 100k is on the same day.

    July 18-20 (to do) Vermont 100, Maybe.  It is a crazy race.

    Juy 26: (to do) Burning River 100, part of the slam

    Aug 8-9 (to do) Eastern States 100, maybe. A very hard race

    Aug 9. (conflict) Martha Moats Baker., Would love to do this for preparation for Grindstone.

    Sep 6, (to do) Halluciation 100, (race starts Friday 2 pm, reg opens in Nov or Dec?. Slam

    Sep 19-21 (reg’d) Grindstone 100 UTMB

    Sept 19-21 (conflict?) Airforce Marathon

    Sep 27. Big Schloss. depends

    Oct 4 (to do, reg is open) DC Peaks

    Oct 11-12 (to do) Indiana Tr 100. Final Slam

    Oct 12? (conflict!) Newport Marathon, RI.

    Oct 10-12 (conflict!) West VA Trilogy, depends

    Oct 19 (to do) Blimber Bluff 50k, fun race. 10 hours in beautiful Guildford, CT.

    Oct 26 (maybe) Marine Corps 26, (Pre Reg is open.)

    Oct 26 or Nov 1: (maybe) Rim to River?

    Nov: (conflict) Masochist 50, never done it before. First week of November.

    Dec 1 (to do) Devil Dog 100, been doing it every year

    Potential races that might change my schedule:

    UTMB? Hard Rock? Big Horn?

  • [646] Blimbler 50k

    [2023] last year report here for reference.  I haven’t reread it before writing this post, so, my memory of last year might be a bit off.

    It seems I was fast last year (8:16). This year, it almost took me 10 hours to finish.  I finished just shy of 5 pm and I was granted an hour head start.

    I was dragged kicking and screaming to this race last year, or at least that how I remembered it.

    It was held in Connecticut, which means a long drive to get there from where I live. The six hours estimated time from the mapping software usually ended up way longer.  It was nine hours, plus the pure rush hour insanity on the US Interstate of I-95, on the way there and on the way back. We paid a toll at every half hour or so on this road.

    There was no easy way to bypass Washington DC, then Baltimore, then Philadelphia, New York City, and the Greater New York traffic, before we get to Connecticut.  On the way back, you have to sit in traffic at New Haven, and many of Connecticut towns before getting back to New York.  We left at 4:30 but did not reach Guildford until 2 am.  Pretty much same story on the way back.  We even skipped dinner this year. No thai drunken noodle soup with hangover Korean noodle bowl (or is it the other way around, drunken noodle with the hangover soup).

    Was the race worth it? Yes.  I love a hard technical race.  I won’t say the race is super hard but it is sufficiently hard.

    The trail is runable.  There are some elevations, though after having been to Utah, couple hundred feet here and there is something to laugh about.  The trail after a while like 15 miles in, you will feel it in your legs. I was sore and crampy even after first 5 miles.

    A friend invited me to come.  I don’t know anyone from Connecticut but one and she is not a trail runner.

    There are some annual runners, Roy, I met him at the Vermont 100 this year.  He is a good guy who kept me company for majority of this race.  Roy finished Vermont 14 times! And I believe he also has maybe as many finishes at the Bimbler.

    There was Nickmuck Dave. And a guy in a shirt, no, a kilt, forgot his name.

    The race is known for its characters.

    The RD, Raymond, has been at the helm for 4 years.  Last year I went with a friend to retrieve her trekking poles.  She had left at the race the previous year and he kept them for her until she showed up again last year.  What an RD.

    When I learned of the early start option available for those who think they are chasing the cutoffs, I wrote to him to add me to the early starting list.  I guessed he pulled up my record and wrote back, you know the early start is for slower people (heavily paraphasing here), and if you run it, the early aid station(s) might not be available for you. I wrote back, I think I can manage running for a long stretch without supports as an ultra runner.

    The race had good aid stations, which I completely skipped or overlooked the year before. 

    Not this year. We arrived a day early and ran into a local runner (Gretchen) at a shoe store. I brought a new pair of Altra, which I instantly tested on the course the next day.  Let just say, I would not prefer Altra on that trail. 

    Gretchen said look for her midway for her Grilled Cheese.  So for the first 15 miles of the race, all I could think about was the mouth watering grilled cheese cooked by lady Gretchen. I did see Gretchen when I got to the aid station and had the grilled cheese. People kept hustling me out there but I just wanted one more grilled cheese.

    We had the warmest ever at the start of the race.  I was still wearing three layers, a hoodie, a long sleeve, and a t-shirt under, plus a long sweat pant. The Race Director (RD) said, you don’t need that, trust me, he said.  OK, I ditched my hoodie.

    The early start at 7 (by the way, we were up by 5, my friend was up at 4 am). Both of us were excited to be back.  The reason I wanted the early start was I can’t wait at the start for an hour while my friend was having all the fun on the trail.  My intention was to keep up with her.

    So off we went. I was the last one.  All the old and young (youngest being 16 y o), and oldest was like 75.  They all beat me around the loop at the back of the school before hitting the trail.

    That’s fine.  I was used to running (walking really) by myself.

    A bit later I caught up to a 59 y o.  He was having a bit difficulty but was moving fine. So we chatted a bit.  He just did Grindstone.  So I told him my misery there having done 13 hours on a 15 mile section of that course.  He laughed. That was a pure hell.  We expected some of that today. Bimbler was his first ultra (50k) many years (15) ago.  He just had a hip replacement. Doctor said no more running for him.  He did the Grindstone and now here doing the Bimbler. He will be back at the Grindstone next year.

    A bit later I met Roy at the first aid station. I asked him if he saw my Friend. He said she’s just a bit ahead, if I hustle, I will catch up to her.

    Little did I know I wouldn’t catch up until a few hours later at 2 pm, maybe with 10 miles left in the race.

    We were also playing a guessing game of when would the first runner (at 8 am regular start)  caught up.  They caught us maybe by 9:30, at mile 10 maybe, before the first aid station.

    I did not have to fear of running too fast and missed the first aid station opening. They were there when I reached it.

    The rest of the wave caught me somewhere between the first and second aid station. I thought maybe 50 people had passed me.  I did not know there were 80+ that passed me by.

    I enjoyed the day out.  I knew I would not be particular fast.  Just as long as I don’t DQ or DNF I would be happy.  By the time we reached the third aid station, I knew the race was in the bag. 

    We reached the fourth and final aid station after 4 pm.  We had more than an hour to do the last two miles.  We finally finished just before 5 pm, 4:46 or something, almost 10 hours.

    I was sore but not too sore. I was happy.  I had my workout. The friends I made and beauty of the trails were wonderful. I told them until next year we will meet again.

  • [643] Grindstone 100

    I sat out of running in the Iron Mountain 50 this year, hoping to recover from Wasatch and getting ready for Grindstone.

    I had about two weeks of very little of running events.

    Grinstone 2024, was a repeat for me.  I did not finish (dnf) last year and my goal was to finish it this year.  A good report, here, reminded me I faced with similar circumstances as last time.

    The trail was familiar to me. Compared to Wasatch, there was not anything too big of a climb to scare me.

    The race started at 6 in the evening.  We (my crew and I) drove down to Harrisonburg a night before.

    The race went well for the first night.  I was moving at relatively same pace as previous year, maybe 10-15 minutes slower at the earlier stations. 

    By midnight, I made it up to Reddish Knob, unfortunately the aid station there ran out of water. They did have plenty of food (pizza), the best food in all aid stations, so I took a slice of pizza, and drank a can of soda (only liquid they had).

    By 3:15, I made it down to North River Gap, in line with my goal pace. I enjoyed the cheese and deli table there.  They served coffee out of a giant container. I did not take any, but went for refilling my water.

    My water pack was leaking, so I was drench the whole night. My crew later patched the hole found.  This helped kept me relatively dry for rest of the race.  The leak was still there but was not as big as before.

    About gear, just the moment before my race, I realized I left my hydration pack at home.  I quickly repurposed a small backpack into a hydration pack (I found a spare hydration bag, but leaky). My crew found me a soft flask, since it was a cupless race.  I tossed in a few required gear into my bag (a jacket with hood, lights, batteries, food). One thing I missed of not having my traditional hydration pack was lacking pockets in the straps in the front.  I was unable to keep my phone, pace chart, or food in the front pocket. There was no easily accessible pockets with this pack. Also the backpack hangs low in my back and it just does not move as well as a usual traditional hydration pack, which goes high in the back.

    I was concerned that the straps would cut into me.  In the early of the race, the shoulder straps were annoying, cutting into my neck and shoulders, but I got use to it and it was not a source of irritation later on.  One thing I did right in this race was carrying medical tape on me, so I could patch myself at any time.  I used tape to tape my nipples which were rubbing against the shirt I was wearing. Usually, I don’t have chafing issues but today, the shirt I was wearing was a bit rough. I was planning to tape my neck too, but the issue went away.

    Morning on Saturday brought me  renew energy.  I met my crew at 7:15 am at Dowells Draft, mile 45/46. My crew refilled my water. It was the first station allowed pacing. My crew left with me to her car. I told her, I will see her again in 8 hours.

    We had a 26-27 mile loop at Crawford Mt and Elliot Knob. I was pushing my pace a bit to make sure I could arrive back at Dowells before 6 PM.  Last year, I was cut at Dry Branch (mile 52), and I determined not to do it this year. I had to get there before 11 AM. It took about 2.5 hours to climb Mt. Crawford.  Last year, a friend and I tried to do the same but we were a bit late. This year, I was able hit the pace on the dot.

    I arrived around at Dry Branch by 10 AM and got back at Dry Branch by 2 pm.  Climbing up to Elliot Knob and then descending to Cold Spring was time intensive.  We arrived By then, I knew, we had plenty of time to get back to Dowells before 6.  I was feeling good to be ahead of pace.

    We (Wayne, a fellow friend and runner and I) arrived back at Dowells by 4 pm, two hours ahead of the cutoff.  Looking back, things were going downhill for me — my energy was low, and sleepiness started setting in. However, I was high on adrenaline at the time and did not properly diagnose my actual condition.  I left the aid station thinking I was fine.

    My crew fixed my feet with taping, refilled my water, and got me couple cups of ramen.  I did not realize at the time, I was behind on my calories. I should have eaten more solid food here as well as taking a nap if necessary since we were ahead of pace. Wayne, a fellow runner and who crewed for me last year, spent maybe up to an hour at Dowells to sleep and eat real food.  As for me, I stayed about 15 minutes. He was a smarter runner.

    It had rain (a thunder storm moved in) as we descent from Crawford. I was drench from head to toes.  So I dried off myself with changing into a bit drier clothes from the morning.

    Rain started again after leaving Dowells.  I was surprised arriving at Magic Moss by 6:30 pm (early).  I did not stay long except grabbing some M&Ms and off I went.  It rained hard as I made my push to Camp Todd, arriving at 8 pm in line with my goal.

    Looking back, this was a turning point.  I stayed at Camp Todd, maybe for 5 minutes, fixing my feet and shoes.  My crew now turned pacer showed up. Originally, I planned to have my pacer meeting me at mile 92 to do the finally 13-14 miles with me.

    My pacer believed I needed help earlier on so plan changed (at 4pm) to meet up with me earlier.

    This was supposed to be the final hardest climb, and race would be easier after this.  We were at mile 82, with 10 hours left to finish the race. At the time, there were no doubts the race would get done. As long as we could walk, we would finish.

    The short version, the next 11 hours, from 8 pm to 7 am was the hardest part of the race for me.  I was extremely weak.  We had couple thousand feet of climb, and we did get up to the top.  It might had taken us two hours. 10 pm, we arrived at Little Bald.  There was no aid station there, though I wish there to be one.  I had expected the next 6.5 miles descent to take another 2 hours, which would still put me on pace for reaching mile 92, by midnight.

    Soon, it was apparent midnight goal was impossible to reach.  By midnight, I had moved only 3 miles, there were three miles left.  I was moving at a 40 minute mile pace. It was a rude awaken (for not wearing a Garmin watch). I had no idea of my location and how many miles were left, until I asked a fellow runner. I was heartbreaking to know still how far away was the aid station.  I was already in this trail section for 4 hours.  My water I carried on me was empty by now. 

    The conversation between me and my pacer were at the worst.  Language flew and feeling hurted we carried on.  We still had to get down the mountain even if we decided not to continue with the race.  There were still only 1 hour and 45 minutes left before the cutoff.  Every minutes count.  Many runners passed us by including many friends. We stumbled down with a few struggling runners in conditions like me.

    I had mentally checked out. My pacer refused to let me dwelled on the negatives but to me there were no way to finish, much less reaching the aid station in time.

    In my mind, I believed we had 2 miles left, but the aid station just happened to pop in front.  I saw a car, went past at the edge of the forest and I thought I was seeing things.  I could not believed it.  In dazed, I arrived at the aid station with 15 minutes left.

    Here, volunteers helped refilled my water. Another volunteer looked for my drop bag, so I could change into fresh socks and get a new head lamp. Another volunteer asked if I would like some broth and broght me a cup.

    We made it out mile 92 (North River Gap) before the cut along with couple other runners.

    Little did I know, the next 7 miles, had just as much climbing as the previous 10 miles.  It was a struggle bus from 2 am to morning.  We went up and up maybe with couple thousand feet climbing.  Then we descended just as many thousand feet to a valley onto a jeep road.  Time no longer was a concern for me.  I was still hoping to only get to the aid station by 5 am, hoping once I reach the road/asphalt portion, I would maybe still move at 15 min pace on the road and still finish.  5 am came and gone and then 6 am.  I was actually moving at 45 min pace, even slower than before as expected (runners only get slower not faster, in late stage of a race).

    The sweepers caught up to us.  They know my friend, having been to another event couple weeks ago.  Together, we climbed the 1.5 miles jeep trail.  By 6:55 we finally reached the last aid station at Lick Run. 

    It was probably two hours after the aid station closed when we arrived.  No one was there. Luckily the tent and all supplies were still there. I could take some refreshment (self-served) but soon I realized I could not eat much and food wanted to come back out. I was done.  All I wanted was to sleep. We still had 5 miles left to the finish.  We were still in the middle of nowhere. The group said, we had to run to the finish because the station here is closed, but I asked if I could sleep a bit. (to do a self-extradiction).

    In moment of despair, a volunteer drove up on the road. We were saved. He was there to take down the tent and take supplies back.  He agreed to give us a ride back to the finish with him.  My 11 hours ordeal was finally over.

    Looking back, I made several tactical mistakes.  1.  I was moving at 10 miles in 6 hours (35 min pace).  There was no way I could pull 4 hours in the final 14 miles (18 min pace). I should have dropped at mile 92, in order to avoid delaying the sweepers at their job, and everyone else, plus putting myself at risk of serious injury for being out longer than allotted.

    2.  I pulled my left calf before 8 pm.  I should have aware of it as early as 4 pm (Dowells) to take care of it or even fix it at Camp Todd, such as putting on an ice pack or applying Biofreeze (which I had in my drop bag at Dowells) at the aid station.  I should have carried oilment on me for issue like muscle ache.

    3.  I should have eaten more food, at Dowells and at Camp Todd.  What different between Wasatch and here at Grindatone was I filled up my hydration with electrolyes (calories), sometimes doing 50-50 mix, but at Grindstone I drank only water.  So I was behind on electrolytes and calories. Dowells Draft had good food. Camp Todd, does not have much food (we had watermellons). Their ramen soup was too thin to do me any good. Here, I should have brought my own food.

    4th. sleep, sleep as much as possible during the day, because the race has a night time start. I was kind of tired during the afternoon before the race start. I should have taken a nap.

    Final words, I would like to run it again and get it to the finish next time.  I had a good time over the weekend. My pacer arrived at the right time.  It could have been worst if I were by myself.  It was bitter sweet.  I came so close yet so far.

  • [642] Grand slam and Wasatch Front 100

    I had not written much.  After Western States 100, Wasatch was my next biggest huddle to get over.  I was not even remotely confident I had it in me to do the grand slam.

    By any measurement, Wasatch is hard.  I read about it and I watched enough Youtube videos.  There is not enough training one can do to have the experience running at 10000 ft high and climbing 24,000 ft of elevation especially near where I live near sea level. 

    I was concern about running in the high elevation.  I spoke with couple people in my running club who has gone to Wasatch before.  Some went out a few weeks before. One gave me the statistics of how long it takes the body to acclimate.  And he basically said, I could show up Wednesday and I would be fine.

    I took a gamble, since I don’t have two weeks or even one week. Hotel cost would add up quickly.

    My crew and I arrived in Salt Lake City two nights before i.e., Wednesday night.  Looking back, I wish I arrived a week earlier since I traveled for Labor Day anyway, so the cost, was only couple more nights for hotel.  I think the best place to stay at would be Brighton, which was at 8000 ft. 

    Our location at Layton (near Kaysville) was not bad (3000 ft).  It was actually a blessing since it was actually only 15 minutes from the start and 30 minutes from the airport.  It was about 90 minutes from the finish.

    The next day we dropped off my drop (supply) bags (I packed some change of clothes and socks, and warm clothes). I had three, for Big Mountain, Lambs Canyon, and Upper Big Water. I did not have one at Brighton because I would have my crew there. I have my crew at Big Mountain and Lambs too, but these two locations are too important, if my crew missed me, I would be screwed, (too cold to run without night gear).

      Then we went to couple places on the race course, including the start, Lambs aid station and Brighton aid station. Because each location was far apart (like an hour or more), before long the day was over. We did not have enough time to check out Big mountain, Alexander, Washington Park or the finish, or do a small training run at Bontiful B etc.  Having three more days would have been ideal. We also did some shopping beforehand.

    I was blessed in that, a guy I met at a local running club  referred me to his friend, Sean, who would be my pacer at the race.  I would not able to have a smooth race if not for my team of pacers and crew.

    The night before, we went out for dinner at a Korean BBQ, which was a first for me at 100 mile race, but it provided me ample of calories.

    It was my first time meeting my pacer. Sean fed me well.  Sean had met Caroline, my crew chief, prior in former running events.

    Sean asked what things I think I would need and he would provide.  I said I could not find my winter running gear (cap, and gloves), so he brought those along.  It was not too cold but at night it did get cold enough. Those gloves and cap kept me warm.

    Next morning was the race. We woke up around 3 AM.  Note the race is unusual that the start time was on a Friday (and not Saturday).  Weather was typical good, blue sky, with very little wind.  We showed up an hour before 5.  I had a can of Cambell soup for breakfast.

    There were very little fanfare, no race briefing, no music, no celebration.  I did not know who was the race director until few hours into the race at an aid station called John Grobben’s Shed. Some old timers filled me in about the lores and factoids.

    We staged at a parking lot by the trailhead.  I started in the rear as typically. It finally sank in of how tough the course was as I started climbing the first 8 miles.

    My friend Wayne also ran.  We were pretty much together in the early phase until Lambs (9 pm).  He was a stronger runner and I did not want to hold him back.

    We climbed the first eight miles with no sight indicating the end. We actually knew where the end was because we can see from the parking lot up toward the radio/radar station at the peak.  It took us several hours before we arrived there. 

    As we climbed, I can see those who could and who couldn’t do it around me.  Of course, the front runners were strong.  Those in the mid pack too were strong.  Wayne was part of that group.  I was at the tail end, like the last dozen. And we could see everyone were all walking up, and not just normally walking, but extremely slow one step at a time.  Even then, some had to double over to breath from time to time.  I was blessed with a strong body that I did not need to stop but maybe twice. 

    The attitude was affecting some.  Some seemed unable to go on. You could see they started to lose their footing as fatique set in. I asked them to take a break and they did and they let me pass.

    Once we got to the ridgeline, it was easier. The trail was wide and we  all starting running in an easy trot.  I ran with Mary from Washington, a runner my friend talked with before the start.  She was strong and I had no doubt that she would finish.  We passed some older folks and arrived at the aid station together (John’s Shed, RD). The race director was there serving us drinks. Mary then took off running, but I needed more time to catch my breath. I wouldn’t see her again.

    The rest of the morning and early afternoon, the race course took us up to even higher mountains, like at Session Take Off. The scenery was something I only have seen in movies, like in the Lord of the Ring or The Sound of Music.  It was stunningly beautiful.  We felt blessed being just a few of us given the chance to run across those mountains.  The race motto, 100 miles of heaven and hell. We were in heaven.

    We climbed one peak after another.  The Big Mountain was the last summit before we descended to the first crewed aid station also named Big Mountain AS.

    My crew, Caroline was waiting for me as I arrived.  She probably was there the last 8 hours. I reached it at 3:45 pm.  I would not see her again until 9 pm.

    Wayne, a fellow friend and runner had arrived probably 10-15 minutes ahead of me. He was still there when I arrived.  Wayne initially suggested he would pace me from mile 70 onward at Brighton.  I was hoping for that too, but our race pace was too different.  We were not sure who would arrive at Brighton first. In the end, I gained like 45 minutes ahead of Wayne, so the plan was not workable. By the way, Wayne provided me his pace chart, and I used it.

    I left the Big Mountain thinking I had everything I needed.  Apparently the afternoon was hotter than expected. Future, Wasatch runners, day time is Hot!  Big Mountain is Very Hot! I finished all my water in a mile or two after I left and I was still hungry and thirsty.  This was like 13 miles, which took me like 5 hours to get through.  I regretted I did not stay long enough and sufferred while out on the trail.  I rewatched some youtube videos, they said one should not rush through the first crew aid station at Big Mountain.  Indeed. It was my mistake.

    I took my frustration out on my crew. One thing I needed and failed to receive enough fluid and food before I left.  I was calorie deficient, not having been eaten much because the distance between earlier aid stations were 10-11 miles apart, so I did not have the recommended calories (300 per 20 minutes, equivalent to a gel pack, 3 packs every hour). Basically, I have not eaten the whole day. A crew station is a place to get some real good food.

    While the trail from mile 30-45 was generally runable, I was not having fun.  Once I reached Alexander, the Aid station before my next crew location at Lambs, I sent a list of tasks to my crew, also, I was a bit ahead pace (an hour).  I would like my pacer to know that.  My crew chief arranged all that while I was at Alexander.

    I arrived at Alexander with Wayne again. This time I stayed awhile to get enough fluid in me as well ate my fill. It was my second mistake of eating too much in too short a time that I did not feel good by the time I left.  From Alexander to Lamb’s Canyon is generally runnable.  I was targeting to arrive Lambs by 8 pm.  However, I was too full to run.  Sun was setting and it was cooler now.  So I arrived at Lamb’s after dark at 9 pm.

    I met up two fellow grand slammers (Berg and Eli).  Eli is a stronger runner, but he was cramping up. He said he stayed over an hour ar Big Mountain.  He had expected to pass Lambs an hour or two ago before nightfall but now caught in the dark without a headlamp. 

    I lended mine to him since I carried two (one from the morning, and one I just picked up at Big Mountain).  I usually use two on my run. I knew I was a slow runner and had expected to arrive at Big mountain at 7pm and Lambs after 10 pm, so I needed all the light early. Eli was grateful. I might have saved his race.  Imagine he had to descend 2-3 miles to the aid station  in the dark, but I am sure he could have double up with another runner, but sometimes that is still hard.

    At Lambs, my crew and pacer were ready for me.  I was tired but they got me ready for the night.  I had blister forming on one of my toes. My crew (Caroline) cleaned up my feet and taped it. Sean got me plenty of food and drink. I put on an extra shirt and jacket for the night. We were then on our way.  I felt proud, we only used about 10 minutes. My crew took care of my cramping. The leg cramp did not come back at all, even after I finished the next day.

    From Lambs to Brighton was just one humongous climb, like for 9 hours. It was good having a pacer.  Sean kept me engaged.  At each aid station he took care of my needs before attending his own. He helped keeping my stop at the aid station to as short as possible.  We reached Desolate Lake I think, and the aid station had a nice warm fire going and five or six runners were sitting around. We could not stay too long.  Sean reminded me to go.  He got a coffee for me and we headed off.

    We continued to climb until we reached Scott (?) Pass. It was the highest point in the race, I think.  I did not remember much afterward.

      There must have been a long descent.  At times we passed other runners.  There was (#87) he kept with me all the way using me as his pacer.  It bothered me when someone constantly hiking behind me, but since he did not want to pass, over time I accepted his presence.

    Initially, my goal was to reach Brighton by 6 am.  While nearing Brighton, I was doing mental math in my mind, and noted I needed to run  33.3 miles at every 12 hours.  So by 5 am on Saturday, I should have reached mile 66.6.  I felt I needed to reach Brighton, mile 69.6, by 5:45 am, in order to be on pace.  So Sean and I picked up our pace.  We reached Brighton around 5:35. I told Sean, I had to leave the station by 5:45.  (my watched was 5 minutes fast, so I think I left actually left at 5:40). I only used like 5 minutes.

    I had expected my crew to have my stuff ready for me at Brighton.  There was a miscommunication because my crew never knew I needed help and what kinds of help. 

    As I came in the station, my clothes, a change of socks, were in the crew’s car.  It was too late to grab them.  I wanted to fix my feet because it seemed more blisters were about to form.  Sean did what he could, he made sure I had enough food and fluid before I leave. Whereas about my feet, I just had to tough it out for the final 30 miles. My crew said it as much since I need to make cutoffs, I must go.

    This I knew, but in gamer’s term, I was tilted (mad/frustrated). It was a fire raging in me for much of the day for the next 9 ish hours.

    I had expected the last 30 miles to be easier.  I did not check the elevation chart.  I knew we had one big climb.  We did.  Ant Knob aid station too had a very big climb and apparently that did not show up on the elevation chart.

    I reached Pole Line.  Pole Line too had a decent climb.  And it was way farther than I anticipated like 3-4 miles longer.  It might have been in my head and I was getting tired.  From there to Decker was about 11 miles. It was known as the Dive and Plunge.  For fast sub 24 hour runners, this was a dangerous section.  Even in day time, it was hard running downhill, because one misstep would mean plunging many feet down the mountain.  I reached one more aid station at mile 88. 

    By then, I started worry that I might not have enough time to reach the finish before 5 pm.  It was 1:30 pm. I had 3.5 hours for the final 12 miles. The math was very hard to do in my head at the time.  I knew I needed to run to make it.  Earlier in the morning, I could go at 21 min pace and still would finish.  Now, I had to go at 17 minute pace.

    I wanted to reach the Top-of-the-Wall (final 8 miles) by 2:30 pm.  That means I needed to do 4 miles in 45 minutes. The sun was very hot at this time. Everyone around me was running. I sprinted down with them and arrived at 2:15, meaning I am in the game.  Caroline was there waiting to pace me of the final 8 miles. I did ask, but did not expect that she would since she had a slight injury. I had expected the last 8 miles to be on the road but there were 3 miles of trail left and we had some serious descending (maybe 1000 ft or more). I was afraid the trail might be too hard for her. Caroline seemed to have a blast of time.  I just followed.

    It was final a relief when we arrived at the aid station 5 miles out. We had 2 hours left on the clock.  By now, we knew, we could walk and finish.

    I did not want to walk, fearing the course might be longer (some 100 mile races are 104 miles long). Caroline assured me not this course.  The last five miles were on the road but we had rolling hills, with a net down hill run.  It seemed forever before I saw the finish line.  I finished at 35:27. Happy to have it done.

    We had a small gathering.  I did not know that # 87 finished after me. Eli finished couple minutes ahead. I thought I was the last grand slammer to finish but there was another who came in after me.  Berg was still at the finish.  Wayne had dropped at mile 92, unfortunately. He met us back at the finish.  The race closed at 5 pm.  I went and collected my drop bags. There were food out but I did not feel like eating.  The race officials were friendly. A few came by and chatted with me.  Berg and I went to collect our grand slam trophy and had our photos taken.

    It was surreal. I did the grand slam. It was an incredible run.  My phone blew up with many cheering messages. I had it on airplane mode  most of the time until I had finished.  Some had followed my journey since Western States.  Some followed my live tracking the whole Saturday and night before.  I was cutting close to cutoff at some point, giving many of my followers a scare. We all breathed a breath of relief once I crossed through the finish line.

    I accomplished only a few (14) had done this year. A lot people run a 100 miler but only a handful went for a grand slam (in a given year).  Nowaday, there are so many type of grand slams, but this one is the original and contain 4 of 5 oldest 100 mile races. So now my name is entered into the grand slam list as runner #418, listing along with many who were/are much more accomplished runners than me.

    The start, up the slope over Kaysville (to the right, back of me). We were maybe a mile up from the trail.  We explored the start line a day before the race
    I wish I had taken more pictures because it was just so beautiful, though I was very focus to get the race done. Salt Lake City was the location for 2002 Winter Olympics

  • [641] Iron Mountain

    An annual event.  This was an annual event for me for the last few years.  I had set my goal to run this race since 2018/2019 when I first hear of it.

    After some setbacks, I finally attempted in 2021. 2022/2023 did not fare any better. 

    This brings us to this year.  Because of my 100 miler schedule, I did not sign up to run in it.  I still wish to be there.

    I was tapped to serve at the first aid station’s captain (mile 5), Straight Branch on the Virginia Creeper Trail.  I pulled my mom into coming with me. She was an amazing helper. As captain with two strong helpers, I could relax and talked with runners.

    We were expecting bad weather, wind, rain, and thunderstorm. Luckily, storm came the night before and the second one came during lasy half hour of the race after most had finished.

    The trail was wet and slick.  Several runners, maybe as many as a dozen or so runners out of 300 fell on the relatively flat terrain, before reachingy station a mile 5. 

    Oh Boy, I was expecting a long day.

    We served sport drinks and water at our station and helped runners along their way.  After our station, they would enter the first major climb and many other steep ups and downs before reaching their next station at mile 9.

    I was prepared to face with 300 runners coming through.  They were spreaded out over four events, so it was not too much a shock.  Each event was about half an hour apart. They came in waves. 

    By 9:30 we were done (actually by 9:15).  Couple runners trickled through right after the cutoff. We let them through. Shh, hope they reached the finish.  They did. They seemed be strong enough to continue and we did not have to drive runners back. The sweep arrived and we could close our station.

    During my watch, I saw familiar faces.  Many runners from previous years were running again.  Some stopped to chat with me, including Lance (C&O race director), whose wife was running in the 30 mile event and won it. I spoke with famous Horton. I spoke with the Cato, whom we saw again the following day when we hiked the Grayson’s Highlands. I met the Cato this year at the Waterfall 50k.

    Next, we moved to work at a later aid station (SkullS Gap, mile, 27 and 37).  Note, Skulls Gap had two locations and it shift during the day.  We moved to the later station, mile 37 down the road. The front runner was supposed to show up around 11:03, which he did.  We were ready around 10 am readying for him.

    We joined with couple others volunteers in setting up the aid station at Skulls Gap.  The first runner of the 40 mile event came, with only couple minutes behind the predicted pace, 11:05. 

    The second and third runner were about 9 mins apart. 

    The early hours at the second Skulls Gap Aid Station, were relaxing.  There were very little to do.  

    I spent time with some families/friends of runners while they waited.  It was a good thing they talked to me because they found out they were waiting at the wrong Skulls Gap station.  They were waiting for their runners who were doing the 30 mile event, which was one up the road.  The 30-milers do not come through our second station (but a different Skulls Gap station). I sent them along their way.

    Later, more volunteers and runners came.  A runner was dropped off along with some dropbags. I helped unloading them and spreaded them out.

    We then drove back to the start/finish area. Reason was a runner had dropped and we were providing him a ride back.  Also I wanted to show my mom the way back since ahe would have to do it later in the day while I was sweeping the course.

    We arrived at the finish when the 30 milers were coming in.  We were able to part take in the excitement. We stayed a little bit before heading back to Skulls Gap.

    I signed up to do sweeping duty. It was what I look foward to do. The radio team did a good jump in communicating who had dropped and once we had that clear that no more runners were expected to arrive at Skulls Gap, I could start my sweep.

    The last runner had came through my station at least 15 minutes prior. I was hoping they wouldn’t run too fast so I could catch up to some of them.

    I caught a runner near the final station and walked with him.  He arrived as the station closed. It worked out he wanted to drop.

    I continued my sweeping duty from FS90 and I tried to run fast to catch more runners. I caught up to Javon at the final two miles.  I encouraged him to run so as to make the final cutoff. 

    It was thrilling.  In my own race several times, I could not make the cutoff.  Javon is youngnand had the potential to sprint. Indeed, once we were off the mountain, Javon took off.  Unfortunately, he did not have enough time and was over by couple minutes.

    I was a few minutes behind. I was happy to finish the sweep so early. The race director was happy too and we could close the race and clean up.

    The following day, we drove up to Grayson’s Highlands and did a short run. Then it was a long drive home.

    This year, my friend Caroline joined us.

    Various cutoff times, we had to be aware of and I am all to familiar with them for having to chase them every year

  • [640] update

    I’ve been quiet lately.  Not much going on in term of running.

    My last race was Burning River.  Then I did a training run/club event MMB 50k.

    From that event, a friend, Robert, hooked me up to his friend in Salt Lake, who will be my pacer for Wasatch 100. I am blessed with a string of coincidents.

    I don’t consider that I have Wasatch ready.  I am actually very anxious about it. It is the same feeling as when I prepared for Old Dominion, Massanutten, Western States, Vermont, and Burning River.

    Some might think I have done so many 100s this year, it should be easy. No, Wasatch is like 10 times harder.

    Then there is Grindstone right after. I am concerned about that race too. I wish I could be on the course and do a few more laps.

    I said I was going to look into my fall schedule. I haven’t. Guess what? Fall is here!

    —-

    I was able to put a tiny bit of training last weekend.  I traveled down to Damascus (VA) to do course marking for the Iron Mountain race for the Labor Day weekend.

    It was such a fun course to run on.  I have been doing this last couple years.  This year, the trail condition is good. Trail is clear and dry. I tried to run my fastest while on the course. I love it. (I spoke too soon, it is forecasted to be terrible weather on race day).

    The drive down was long though.  I had to work late that Friday and did not start on my trip until almost 9 pm.  I got to Salem, which is like 2/3 of the way and I was too tired to continue.  I stopped at the hotel for the night. Slept for maybe an hour and had to get up. 

    I felt refresh though and continued down, arriving on time. The marking did not take too long.  I marked the same section as the previous year.  Finished a little over 3.5 hours. (I finished in 3 hours, but I went for a little more).

    Somehow, I used a bit less ribbon this year than before.  I only used a little over 1 roll.  Two years ago, we used 4 rolls to mark the same section.  I am praying that no runners would get lost on this segment.  It is the same prayer every year. They shouldn’t get lost since, three of the major turns should be heavily marked and one of them is an aid station.

    How I have so much left over ribbons?  I was given 3 rolls of 150 ft. I was estimating my section was about 13 miles (actual 11).  I cut 4 ft per ribbon. I figured I could mark 8 times per mile, so every 8th of a mile. At my pace, it would mean marking every 3 minutes.  I must have either run too fast or did not keep an accurate time, so my eighth of a mile might have been more like a quarter mile or 0.3 mile. So I had a lot of left over.  I should have marked at every tenth of a mile 🙂 Anyway, that is for next year, yes to mark every couple minutes.

    The rest of the Saturday, I rented a bike and biked up to White Top.  I only reached Green Cove.  It brought back memories from last year when I paced a friend in Yeti 100.  We spent the whole night, about 12 hours to travel up to White Top and Back.  Biking only took me like 4 hours. 

    It was so fun though.  Riding up was hard but coming down was all cruising.  The bike rental even gave me a discount since I showed up toward the afternoon. I think was a 25% off.  I ate lunch at the Wilson’s Grill next door. Biking and eating in Damascus is highly recommended. 

    Sunday, I stopped by the Grindstone 100 course on my way home and did a bit of out and back on the Crawford Knob and Chimney Hollow trail.  Apparently the mountain (on the former Grindstone 100 course) is a private property. I am not sure yet, because it could be I’ve gotten lost the Crawford Knob trail and wandered into someone else property.   I hope it was not so, since I love to run around those mountains. Anyway, I’d stay away from there now that I knew it is private (or assume it is).

    Damascus, near the swimming pool, I think is a mill
    I asked a biker to pose for me on the Virginia Creeper Trail, I rented a bike and did the same
    Highest point, I think.  Last year, I thought I reached at the highest point at the junction of Chimney Hollow, a mile more down (up) the trail, you get here with a sign of 3728 ft
    Visitor Center at Green Cove (an aid station during Yeti 100, not shown)
    The actual AS during Yeti (now in day time). I sat here and nap during Yeti while waiting for my runner to recover

    Running in Damascus always brought back memories, of my early trail running days. It is still a race I haven’t conquered. It gives me an incentive to go down here every year

  • [639] MMB / Grindstone training

    Last year, I did this training run for Grindstone (here).

    So much happened since last year.  They say you could never step into the same river twice.

    I planned my schedule like last year. There were so much going on this weekend. There was a training run down at Damascus (VA) for the Iron Mountain.  I have been going there every year, but not this year.  I will be there on race day to volunteer.  I missed being there for the training runs. I have redeemed so many of my races, Devil Dog, GSER, MMT, and finally Burning River.  The only race I have not been able to “finish” is this Iron Mountain.  So ever since 2019, I have been trying to run it.  I have showed up at the training run years after years, but it is not happening this year.

    Instead, this year, I hope to do better at Grindstone, a race I DNF’ed (did not finish) last year.  It hurts a bit but it was also a very hard race.  Last year, I started training for it since February.  This year, this weekend was my first training run.

    I am familiar with the Grindstone course by now. Still, every year I learned something new.  This year, I explored the road portion a bit more than I needed.  So, I know can tell my crew how to get to each aid station because I hiked all those roads. 

    I booked two nights at Camp Stokesville. This is different from last year, when I only showed up on Saturday night for a Sunday run.

    The run is still on Sunday. Most people did trail work on Saturday. 8 hours of trail work is required to run in this race. I fulfilled my trail work with the PATC (our regional Appalachian Trail club), so my Saturday was free.

    For me this year, instead of heading down to Damascus for Iron Mountian training run on Saturday, I joined the vhtrc people to do the MMB (Martha Moats Baker) Memorial Run. It is a 50k/60k.  The story goes, Martha (I don’t think was a member of the club, yep, about 100 years before our club was founded) died one winter while hiking the trail here (the Wild Oak Trail – Twot), so our club made a run in her memory. Twot is a wicked hard run.  Sorry for so many acronyms, but Twot, etc, is one of my favorite trails.  It is probably the very first trail that I know besides the Shenadoah, and Blue Ridge.

    The Martha Moats Baker’s course is almost identical to the new Grindstone Course and has almost 40 miles of it.  I found out about this event from last year when some people who showed up for the Grindstone training and said they did the MMB the day before.  I said what? How come I did not know about the MMB. So this year I was prepared.  MMB run is the best training you can have for Grindstone and will mention below, way better than the official/unofficial training run (why unofficial? UTMB Grindstone training run no longer wants to be officially recognized or being affiliated with its training run — the run was still managed by the two race directors but Grinstone did not provide money for the weekend; I still called it the Grindstone training run).

    So, I did this other run, MMB, which is not part of Grindstone, but it really helped me to get ready for it, because it runs on the same course, just a day before the official/unofficial training run. Hope I did not confuse anyone.

    My whole purpose was going down to Twot to do the Grindstone training run, but instead, I ran the MMB.  I would recommend future Grindstond runners to do likewise.  MMB gives far greater value.

    MMB though a 50k is one of the hardest 50k you can do.  There is actually a 60k option. The mileage might be 30-32, but the climbs total to 8000 ft.

    I was planning to run the full 60k route but after the first 6 miles, my thighs started felt cramping up. I knew it was not my day, so I took the shorter route.

    I ran with Costi and Robert.  Soon Robert felt behind and Costi disappeared ahead. He was fast and strong climber.

    I then ran with Claudia. She is a fast lady.  She did Grindstone 100k last year (and finished). She also ran the Iron Mountain too. I was impressed.  Two races that I could not finish but she did. She also when down to Copper Canyons to run with the Tarahumara. Ureka, Chihuahua, Mexico, which was a race on my bucket list. So she was telling me about that.  It was a race (and a place) I always wanted to visit but was fearful of security concerns.  They say don’t let that be your last bucket list item, or you never will come back alive. Claudia said it was not that bad. Security has gotten better over the year, and there was heavy police force present when she did it.

    After we reached the first aid station at Reddish Knob, she raced down ahead. She is a fast at going downhill and there was no way for me to keep up.  We had the next 15-20 miles of downhills.

    A little fact, I have been to Twot so many times and heard about the Reddish Knob but this was my first time ascended to there, because it is like 4-5 miles out of the way. The view was incredible.  Too bad I did not have time to grab a picture. At the Grindstone race, we would be here around 9-10 pm, so we won’t be seeing anything, even with a full moon or not.

    For the rest of the day I was mostly by myself. I was hoping to catch back up to Claudia. I caught up to Nick, who normally was fast. Then an older guy, Allen? (he was over 60, but is still going strong. He taught us how to use poles. Then Two older couples (Christiann and Andy, also over 60).  Lastly, a mile from the finish I caught up to Costi on Tillman Road.

    Costi too originally wanted to do the full route but due to time constraint, chose what was known as the party route for a 50k finish.  I already decided to go the party route, so he and I ran the last mile in instead of climbing Grooms Ridge for a quad buster 3+ hours up and then descending the Grindstone Mountain/chestnut hill — I could not tell which mountain is which.

    I think it was a great decision to finish early.  We got back before 4 pm.  It took us nearly 9 hours to do a 50k. The 50k course closed about then at 4:30. The sweeper (Charleen) came in.

    We stayed to watch the 60k runners finishing. Our in house chef Jeff cooked us an amazing meal. It was a free event but the food beated all other paid races including UTMB Grindstone or Western States. We had shrimp and chicken Tacos. They were all you can eat good food.  I love the watermellon salad the most.

    I stayed the next three hours eating. I was waiting for Claudia to finish, hearing that she and Nick were the final two people out on the 60k course.

    Then it was getting late. I was getting sleepy and also badly need to use the bathroom (not because of the food). I needed to clean up. My things and car was at the Stokesville campground about a mile away so I started walking back to the camp. As I left, I heard shouting of Claudia’s name and the claps.  I knew she made it in around 7:30. I wish I was there to see it but also I had my own needs to take care of. (I had a ride back to camp, from someone, I forgot his name, one of the older folks).

    The rest of the night was taking care of camping stuff. Showered, set up tent, cooked a second meal and prepared for bed.  By the time all said and done, it was already dark.

    I slept like a baby that night for almost 10 hours. We had to meet at 6:30 am for our Sunday run, so I had to be up when it was still dark. My body did not want to run. Getting up was hard. I dragged myself out the tent. Packed up everything.

    I came for this Sunday run and there was no way I would skip out. The whole weekend was planned around this one and only event.  MMB was a side thing that happened to be nearby.

    I was smarter this year to pick a campsite right across where we were going to meet. So I had a bit more time to get dress and had breakfast while watching everyone gathered.

    I did a last minute check on the route we would be running and was surprised that we were not doing the same route as last year.  Instead we were going to run the first 20-ish miles of the race course, which was the course I ran on Saturday. 

    I did not like it.  I felt I already knew the first 20-30 ish miles. I ran on those miles the day before.  I preferred doing the true Twot loop, which was a combination of mile 30-50, and 70-90.  I felt this was a bit better and longer.

    I understood the race directors’ reason for having a shorter training course this year (16/24 miles), because he wanted everyone to finish by noon, so we could all go home.  They had a long day on Saturday doing trail work, so no one wanted to stay too long on Sunday. Last year, I did not finish the run until 3 pm and we had a runner stuck on the mountain until 6 pm. So the RD was smarter this year to choose an easier and shorter route in opinion for the training run.

    There were 36 people signup but only about 13 people showed up for the run. I was kind of hoping the other half were doing their own run out on the trail, though that did not seem to be the case.

    They might had done it the day before.

    Instead of joining them, I went and did my own route, primary the Twot route.  My opinion is the Twot route is way tougher and better as a training run. 

    I ran with them from the camp to the park the while they took a right turn on Tillman, I went on and took a left to Twot and climbed the Lookout Mountain and did the Twot loop clockwise. I loved it.

    When I descended from Magic Moss (Dowell Draft, on Betsy trail) or Hankeye Mountain, I took a right on the road, ran to Lake Todd and from there used the road FR95 back to Stokesville Campground. I glad the map on my phone worked, otherwise, I could have gotten lost in the park. Hence, this training helped me understand all the roads in the park.

    This year, the trail was not busy. I did not encounter even one runner or mountain bikers. This was unlike the previous years where some runners started at night so in the morning we saw them  finishing while we started out.  No runners at all this year when I did the Twot loop.

    While on the road, there were a few cars, but usually they were far and between.  Probably at most 10 cars during my two hours while on the road. I saw couple fishermen at a creek.

    I got back to camp by 1:15. Most people had left.  I assumed maybe the RDs were still there. Camp felt empty. I heard and saw couple cars still at  camp spots up on the hill. The signup sheet was still at the pavillion.  I went by to check if my name was on there and to cross it off to indicate I was back. It was not necessary because my name was not on it.  I purposefully did not sign in during the morning briefing since I took a different route and I did not want people to look for me if I did not get back in time. It seemed all other names were checked off, meaning everyone was back. There were a bunch of left over food from people’s dropbags. I wanted to have some but was not sure if it was acceptable. I had food back at my car anyway. Note, last year when I got back, my friends and RDs were still waiting in the finish area, but this year was completely empty. It was just a different feel.

    I went home.  Conclusion, I mentioned it was not like last year. Reason being, last year, I came to this camp with a few friends and we ran together. This year, everything seemed different.  I came a day ahead. My friends did not come. Not that I expected them to come since they are not running in the race this year.  Everyone was new. It was one of those things, if a tree falls in the forest, does it make a sound if no one is around. I went to Grindstone trainimg, though mostly I wasn’t there.

    Claudia said she would be joining us but I did not see her.  I bet the MMB event from the previous day wore her out as it did to me. Her drive back home was longer than mine and I bet she left earlier, probably on Saturday night. I ended up doing the Sunday training by myself. It was fine.  I enjoyed being out on the trail on my own. 

    For the last two weeks after Burning River, I knew I needed to train for Grindstone.  It was hard to plan things on my own.  I planned them but usually I ended up not following them through.

    Why?  They say its the post Marathon Blue! It is real.  I ran a lot of marathons and at the end of each of them after you gave your all, you enter a period of exhausion, mental, and emotional emptiness.  A very dark place. It was very hard to get myself back out on the trail. I needed the group run to give me that extra motivation to do it even though I was mostly by myself while on the trail.

    This weekend was great that finally, I got to do something I enjoyed deep down on my favorite trails. There were so many memories and thoughts from previous years. I almost know every rocks by now.  The trail was not as hard as the first time I did it. It was a joy to be on it again.

    Looking ahead, September is coming.  Meaning Wasatch 100, then Grindstone. But before these, I have Iron Mountain (trail marking, plus the actual race I will be volunteering in, I hope to do some running there too). It is a lot of activities.  Then there is Rock and the Knob. And then Stone Mill. Yes. Fall is an amazing time, like Spring is.  And then we will do it all over again next year.

    My whole point is, sometimes when you plan for one thing, like the grindstone (un)official training run, then there are better options to do. Keep your eyes open. Also even when I tried to attend the same event, it did not turn out like in my memories.

    What else I did? I watched a lot of Asmongold TV reaction videos.  Yep, he has quite insightful on how to be a Twitch streamer/content creator. I do consider myself one, even a small one. His primary take is be yourself and don’t be big head.

  • [637] Burning River 100

    Last year (report here), I could not finish the race even when I was so near to the finish (mile 85-ish, stopped at Botzum Park, 8 am).

    This year, I decided to challenge the race again, Burning River 100, at Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, near Akron, which is south of Cleveland. Akron is headquarter of Goodyear (Didn’t know that). I flew into Cleveland but stayed in Akron. On a side note, I wish to be back to visit Ohio in the future.

    Burning River was indeed on fire one time in the past due to pollutions and it rallied a massive clean up and environment movement across the country. Today, there is a water treatment plant there and a nice park system along it. And so it was almost pleasant when we ran along it.  The river still smells bad in certain portions (and has a strong chemical smell near the treatment plant). I assume it is so much better today than couple decades ago.

    Early Start: We had an option for a 2 hour early start at 2 am this year.  This would give those of us who are chasing cutoffs in a normal 30 hour race two additional hours to finish. Last year, I was thinking if I only had two extra hours, I would be able to finish!  My wish was granted!  Note, this year, I finished before the 30 hours, but it was still good to have the buffer time, so I did not feel pressure of getting it done before the aid stations close.

    However, the trade off was, the early starters would not have supports from aid stations until closer to 6 am, which means about 4 hours of unsupported run. Aid station opening times, were based on a 16-ish min pace, my pace in the early part of the course was closer to 12-14 min-per-mile pace, so I outran my supply line. This included not having water, fluid, and food. Nada. It was a bit tough. Also, overall awards were not given (or included) for the early starters. These restrictions were I think to discourage the faster runners from starting early (The fastest runner in the early start finished after 26 hours).  Definitely, it was not intended for the sub 24 runners. It did not stop me from trying.

    I made sure I carried enough water for the first 4-6 hours. It worked out fine for me.  I carried a candy bar and ate it during the early morning hours.  By the time, I got to a fully aid station with real food (Oak Hill), around 8 am, I was hungry.

    Two races/rationale:  I knew I wanted to do Burning River after last year disasterous ending. I would not want the clip to be on my shoulder.  I signed up right after the registration opened to get the early discount. Note, this was before I knew I would be running the Vermont 100 (a week before).  I knew it would be hard on my body to do two 100 races back to back. I wanted to run Vermont as well as Burning River and there was no way for me to wait for another year. I just had to do it and finish both. I did finish Vermont last week, report written and posted.

    Also a friend of mine would be there too.  I think it would be fun to do a race together.  I have done a few races with her in the last few years. I like going to races with people I know.

    So, since it was my second time around, I drew from my previous year’s experience, mainly to not stay too long at aid stations, especially, the earlier ones.

    Doing better. What killed my race last year was staying over 30 minutes at Oak Hill and Pine Hollow, which was too long (so, out-and-back course, I used over 2 hours at aid stations). Those two hours could have been on the trails for 6-8 miles. Normally one only needs a few minutes at an aid station.  If I had done that last year, I would be within 5-8 miles from the end, with two hours to go (enough time to make a dash for a finish). I tried to avoid last year mistakes.

    Drop Bags. I packed only one drop bag this time (and ended up did not need it). Since it was an out and back course, we would pass each drop bag location twice (unless it was at mile 50, the turn around point). I left my drop bag at Kendall Lake.  A related note is the less you pack, the faster you get out the aid station. Normally, you need less than you think (such as changing clothes, shoes, or socks, or food — these are good to have, but not really essential). Drop bags are good at a race that has fewer aid stations.

    Sleep/pre race:  I confess it was hard waking up at 1 am to get to the race by 2.  It was an weird starting time. I ended up feeling like 3 nights without sleep. I woke up just a bit after midnight so I could be at the race location at 1 am. I was ready.

    I started out the race with Randy, another friend.  I did not know he was running in it, until before the race, the race director gave a brief introduction of calling out the who’s whos. Randy was their race oldest participant. Randy is a strong runner and had outran me in previous 100 mile races we have done together such as the Massanutten 100. In fact, that how I met Randy, was at the MMT100 training run several years ago!

    I finished. Long story short, Randy and I finished the race together when he found me snoozing at one of the last few aid stations. I latched onto him and paced with him and we arrived to the finish under the 30 hours, with a time of 29:35:21.

    Now about everything else with the race!  The Weather – Last year we had lot of rain, so the whole trail was wet and muddy  — ankle deep mud. Not this year.

    Course: This year was dry, and the course was very runnable. There was only a little bit of technical sections.  Note, we did have a runner felt and broke their wrists while running and needed emergency service. The course is not dangerous, but risks of falling are there. We had about 30% on road, then like 65% on single track trail and the rest were harder stuff.

    Temperature. The race is usual run on a hot day.  This year was no exception. Some runners ran without wearing a  shirt. Some had ice bandana. For me, I felt I had enough heat training (after Western States and Vermont 100), I did not have to do anything special for the heat.  My body has adapted to it.  I found it was not too hot. It helped too that I had the earlier start time, to get through the early road section before sunrise. There were some folks though who had to quit the race because it was too hot (from medical issues like dyhydration or heat exhaustion).

    Hot – The heat was unavoidable. It was impossible to avoid the hot sun in the later afternoon, especially near the mile 50 turn around point where the course is exposed to the afternoon sun for about 12 miles (3 hours).  I reached the turn around by 3 pm (13 hours).  I was aiming for a 26-ish finish.

    Race start line’s atmosphere. We lined up at 2 am.  Having been to last year race at 4 am, 2 am start was much subdued. We arrived before the race was set up. I usually arrive to a race an hour ahead.  So at 1 am, there was no music. I think too was to avoid waking up the neighbors. There were one or two other runners warming up and milling around.  Couple volunteers were beginning to layout the starting chute on the road. There were a few police cuisers setting up the blockade on the road.  They would later lead us out when the race start.  Some of the restaurants had just closed (they opened late till midnight).  So it was just a weird feeling walking down the street in the middle of the night.

    By 2 am, we had quite a size of runners.  I think there were 42 of us (out of 220) choosing the earlier start. (17/42 DNF, 40% typical ultra rate, I was hoping the numbers to be lower). I think most of us who chose the early start finished. When the gun went off, we shuffled out the gate.  I was running along with Randy.  I was quite happy to see him.  We talked and such.  Soon we picked up another runner, Doug, from Illinois. 

    We had quite a good time.  The trail was not packed like last year at the 4 am start. I never like following a long line up on a trail (the conga line). We still see runners this year, but it was not crowded.  We ran with 5-6 other runners.  We were all decently spaced.

    Finding direction and trail marking. One thing I usually worried was getting lost.  The race provided the Race Joy app.  Randy found it was useful to have turn by turn direction and other announcements.  I could not get mine to work (I think because I had the power saving mode on). I did have a backup gpx offline map, so I checked that from time to time to make sure we were on course.  The trail marking was generally good (It was heavy marked at every 0.1 mile), still some turns could easily missed because their flag markers, and turn signages are very tiny (like an index finger). They could  easily missed at night.  We ran the first 4 hours in the dark!

    Once, we reached the road section around mile 15, Doug and I picked up our pace, and we left Randy behind. 

    Doug is doing the midwest grand slam. This is his second race in the series. He finished Kettle Moraine earlier. (We were waiting for Doug to finish the next day and somehow missed him when he came in (we might have been looking for our drop bags at the time)).

    At this time, the fast 4 am runners started too started to catch up to us.  It was fun to see them running so fast, passing us by.

    First aid station stop. My first aid station was at Oak Hill, mile 22.  I reached it around 8 am.  It was first full aid station with pancakes.  I probably, did pass Valley Picnic or Robinson field and had water refilled, but I don’t remember now. All I knew was I was glad to reach Oak Hill because I was getting hungry. Water was not an issue for me. I carried a full pack, plus a handheld bottle.

    I did not leave a drop bag here, so there was not a reason for me to stay there long.  After taking a few pancakes (probably top off on my water too), I headed out.  I felt comparing to last year, I did great. Only spent 3-5 minutes here instead of 25-30 minutes. It put me on a 26 hour finishing pace.

    My next goal was Pine Hollow Station, mile 33.3.  It smacked at a third of the way, which makes pace calculation easy. I normally divide my race into 4th or third (like at every 25 miles, or every 33 miles). 8 hours, every 50k would put me on pace for finishing a race.

    Crew and spectators.  I remember coming into to Pine Hollow quite early, maybe around 11 am.  It was not as hot as last year.  Pine Hollow, like Oak Hill is a crew accessible station, so we had a lot of fans cheering us as we came through. It was good to be near the front pack (even though, we started 2 hours early). I went through this station quickly. I was suprised that unlike last year, Pine Hollow is no longer a drop bag location!  I did not stay here too long.  I got some watermellon slices and some popsicles, refilled my water and electrolytes and headed back out. 

    Other events occuring concurrently. We had some marathon distance runners joining in at this stage.  They outran us regardless of their physical fitness or age. They had two different start times, like us, I think 6 am and 8 am. Those I saw were probably from the 8 am.

    The next section would be Kendall Lake and Silver Lake (mile 50). Kendall Lake was my dropbag location (mile 40, and 60). It is also a crew accessible location.  I passed by them uneventfully. 

    By now it was around 2 pm (12 hours into my race) and heat was getting there. We had a long straight-away on a rail-to-bike trail (about 6 miles).  They called the bike and hike trail.  The Rt 8 aid station at mile 45 was my savation both for the out and back.  It was so hot by this time.  I stopped here for the longest time, to use the port-a-johns, eat, and drink. This aid station was more crucial to me than Silver Lake at mile 50.

    The good thing about running on the out and back course is you get to see the whole field of runners of those who were ahead of you when they turn around and those coming up from behind. It was a joy to wave and cheer them or receiving their greetings and cheers in return.

    I saw Randy after 15 minutes from reaching Silver Lake, the race halfway point. So I knew I was two miles ahead of him. I did not know if he were able to catch up. Indeed, he did later the next day.

    Randy had his struggle during the night. He told me he considered quiting at one time but a runner Laura Range urged him to continue. He also took a fall.  I had a few close calls because some areas were rooty. They both finished! That with running ultra, one minute you felt it was the end of the world, and the next moment, you were alright. He was pretty ok when he caught up to me.

    My struggle during the night was sleepiness. By sunset, I was feeling it. I have been going to bed early around 8 pm, so it was natural for my body to want to sleep once at nightfall.

    My goal was to get back to Pine Hollow by 9 pm, which I did.  I knew then I had 33.3 miles left. I knew I had 13+ miles to do.  I reached Pine Hollow around 8 pm and mile 75 around 10 pm, which was then just a marathon left and everyone can run a marathon! A finish was guaranteed.

    Night time running. There were families and friends at various locations through the night cheering for us. This of course, was not permitted. Spectators were only allowed at a few selected locations (such as Silver Lake and the finish) and not at various places in the Cuyahoga Park even though there were parking lots. Fans did obey the race rules earlier in the day to stay away, so normal park visitors could use the park, but by night time came, they bended the rules a bit!  It was good for us runners to have a bit of crowd support like at 2 am in the morning. Well, the crowd might be from relay exchange points (but I could not tell for sure).

      I remembered passing through those places in the dead of night with no one around except for park rangers or local police in the previous year.

    I was feeling the effect from fatigue by the time I reached Oak Hill (mile 78).  I kept telling myself, it was good to get here before midnight than at 3 am in the morning like last year. In my low points, I recalled how much worse it was the year before, and this year it seemed I am flying through from check point to check point. A helpful volunteer helped me filled up my water, and later I saw him back at the finish.  He and I ran Vermont 100 the previous weekend and we both were wearing our Vermont 100 shirt!  Randy teased me of being a show-off of running two 100 milers back to back at the finish. He took a picture of me. He joked I should point at my shirt where it says Vermont to let the world knows!

    Randy has been to Western States too and ran a fast marathon time (I believe a BQ’d time) in his younger days.

    The rest of my race from mile 22 was a blur. At some aid stations, I slept.  I slept on a bench at one of the parks. Runners would come up to me and woke me up, asking if I needed anything, defeating my intention of trying to sleep.  I set an alarm clock too.  The few minutes of shut eyes helped, for I was swaying around while running.  Cuyahoga park (or Summit Metro Park) has plenty of benches to sleep on. I already scoped out places during morning, knowing I might need to stop by some of them at night to sleep.

    Randy, I believed caught up to me at mile 12 at the Chestnut aid station or the one after that around 5 am (It took me about 6 hours to go just 15 miles).  It was good he saw me resting in a chair otherwise he would have passed me without me realizing.  It was around 5 am, and hour before the trail get lighted. I quickly got up and followed him out.  It would be nice to have a pacer, but if a pacer is not available, a friend or anyone in the race to run together is fine too. My sleepiness was gone.

    We ran the remaining section together. I had a great time to catch up on his stories and his struggles of the night. I was glad to see him all fine.  We were estimating our arrival times.  He thinks it would be 6-ish or 7 o clock.  I was guessing more like 7:30.  We want to make it under 30 hours (8 am). The other runners who were running around us were probable going for 6-6:30 am. Randy asked if I wanted to run to the finish.  Nope. I have recovered enough to run now  but I was also happy with my current pace.  I was sure I could finish, and there was no need to rush.

    The final section was mostly on the road, which is my element. They made us do the longer way back with going down some hills and climbing back up.  It was all worth it when the finish line came in sight. Randy and I ran it in.

    Friends waiting at the finish. We stayed till the end watching other people finish. Lynne and her friends were there to cheer. One of her friends from Toronto ran this race under 24 hours.  He had a previous finish. Jennifer, another of her friends also ran the 50 mile the previous day, she was working at the finish line handing out medals and serving meals.

    Aftermath. It was a great race. I finished with a time of 29:35:21.  There were a lot to do after finishing. I was hungry, sleepy, dirty and wanted to get back to my room.  The first order of business was of course to take a finisher photo.  Lynne was quick to took some for me. Then, Randy and I went to look for our drop bags. Then we changed out of our dirty clothes. We went back to the finish line (they only served pancakes, so it was unappealing for me, because I was looking something more substantial). Randy and I decided to go for “lunch” in one of the restaurants at the finish but we did not realized at 9 am in the morning, none of the places were open.  Brain fog at the time. Both of us were in need of much sleep. Food would have to wait.  Randy slept in his car and I slept in mine for a couple hours, before attempting to drive back. 

    Lynne had checked out earlier and drove back to the DC area. If I have known earlier she would be coming back to DC, I could have carpooled with her. I stayed an extra night and flew the next morning. This concluded my journey.

    Swags. As for thoughts and such, it will need to wait for future posts once things get sorted out and if I have any thoughts. I have done so many races, and many of them were A+goal races. It is like having too many good things. It just need some time to appreciate.

     Ram (my safety runner during Old Dominion 100), congratulated me.  He waited till 2 am at the start to text me a well wish. He was tracking me and knew I finished. What a thoughtful guy. Saying this because other of friends and family were asleep at the time. Not that I care to have supports, because everyone else have their own life. Virtual crowd support, though good to have, could not meaningfully affect my race.

    It was such a good race.  I ran some tougher ones like Western States, Old Dominion and Vermont where the stakes were high and everyone was watching.  Those races were good also. Burning River was my personal set of grand slam (Massanutten, C&O, Burning River and Grindstone) before I embarked on the traditional classic grand slam. Burning River, though not easy, reduces the level of stress (and competitiveness) down a notch. Compare to other races, this was like a vacation and a fun run.

    Aid stations were fun and volunteers were great.  I am grateful for the supports and friends (and coworkers) who made this trip possible.  Last but not least, thank to Mordy who recommended this race to me a couple years ago! I almost forgot the guy, because of him I went. Plus, Tek, and Lynne too who had done the race couple years ago. From their stories, I was hyped up about it.

    The swag from the race was a nice big thermos to keep drinks cold or hot. I love it more than having a race shirt. Some chose a shirt or a bagpack. Also, the race sells stuff as well