I tried to cover up my excitement. It is just the first one. A izzy bitzy race. Nothing to it.
All them is setting up for this month! My first true 100 mile for this year (coming in two weeks).
I will be running with a friend, Lynne, in two weeks and I am getting her excited too. (Trying to persuade her to sign up another 100 mile, Forgotten Florida, before we dive into this monster, aka, C&O100). I tried to hide it, like you not suppose to name it before the race start, otherwise bad thing will happen. Think of Burning River. I told my mom don’t get too excited before the race because you don’t know if there will be a finish at the end. Runners (me) are superstitious. Don’t jinx it.
Actually, I will be running with many friends. It is near where I am so a lot local runners will be doing it. Which race? The C&O Canal! I have been waiting for this race since the begining. A very long time ago. I will write more in my race report when it is done.
But for now, here for this week, I will be doing the Roanoke Double Marathon (last year event). This is also a marathon I wanted to do for very long time ago. I can’t remember when I did the first time, in 2019 maybe? It is billed as America’s hardest road marathon with 7000 ft of climbing (I think they lie, because they might of included the down elevation with the up, maybe only half of that is real), but yes it is very hard compare to a normal marathon, where usually you see 100-200 ft change with the exception of Lake Hayden in Idaho. Most people want to run on a flat course, but for those into bruishing themselves with hill workouts, come to run the Roanoke Marathon. It’s actual name is something like Blue Ridge Bluecross Anthem Marathon or something. I always call it the Roanoke Marathon.
Here is the kicker, I want to do a doubler, that is to run it twice. Run one at night before anyone show up and run it again with everyone in the morning. It is actually a thing.
Huhuhuhu. I am puffing myself up. Actually for trail runner, the elevation is not that much. It ia a lot but compares to trail, it is quite normal. A lot of my friends actually are heading to the Promise Land to do real mountain running. So I can’t really brag that mine is the baddest. Where for them, they would say what are you crying about.
Why I am doing it? I needed a bit of road running for my up and coming 100 milers. This is a good fit.
A bit of bad news, my one and only marathon in a new state this year, Providence Marathon in Rhode Island, has been canceled. That state is messed up. I should have run the New Port Marathon last weekend if I knew earlier it was going to be like this. There is another Newport Marathon in the fall. Yes, the state is messed up, trying to confuse out-of-state runners. How many new ports are there? (3)
I am a bit heart broken. Yet it is also an opportunity. I quickly signed up for a 100K in Atlanta, the Great Southern Endurance Run. I have been also longing to do this one since I started my 100 mile journey in 2020. Those who have been followed my post for long would remember couple summer ago, I took two trips to Atlanta but came back with nothing. This year is it! I am doing it. (GSER first attempt, second attempt). Granted those two times were a 100 mile attempt, this time it is just a 100k (62 miles). Also this time, we no longer need to climb up to Kennesaw Mountain to start the run. That was a wicked climb. We will start at the foot and no need to climb up. Park service would not allow us to go in. Oh well. I wish I could stay an extra day to snap a photo up there. Please let me finish this big project. GSER.
Why am I doing this? Last heat training session and last long run before everything goes crazy. (MMT and OD100). Yes everything. And Western States. Saying it 10 times fast. I am going crazy and hyberventilating. I will talk more about it in my race report.
Anyway, there are just too many races to keep track of. I will take one race at a time. If I am to die today, I am dying happy, but I always want to do just one more race! Just one more time.
Last couple years my spring training has been mainly for two races, the first is BRR 50 (Bul Run Run) and the second MMT 100 (Massanutten Mountain Trail Run). I read initially the running club VHTR came to be because of these two races. They still host them and they are still their signature races. They are as good as always.
I am late to the party. I ran many other races. I was only fairly recent I found out about BRR and MMT. I did MMT first before I did BRR. They are so good. They are hard trail runs. The club behind it made them so fun to run. I found people who share the same interest. Almost every trail runner in the area and also some from far and wide have at some point ran in one of these. So I am preaching to the choir to say these are good races.
I give both races a deep respect because, I felt they are just a bit beyond what I could do. It now seems silly to say this, but I trained for them to finish. Now I did it.
I don’t remember much from last year BRR event except it was hot and the run was slow and I was almost could not move by the time I finished. (report 2023) (I did reread it now, wow, that was a good race, to have so many memories). Today run was nothing less.
This year, I wanted to run faster. I usually don’t care about finishing times. You go out and run your best and I would take any results. Usually my goal is to finish. I had a few DNFs, so even if I get a DNF, I learned to live with it.
But a 50 mile can be used as a qualifier race for some bigger races like the Vermont 100, which requires finishing a 50 mile under 12 hours. I have done a sub 12 hour couple times (at Stone Mill 50 and at JFK 50) but that was more than a year ago.
I was disappointed last year, I didn’t get any 50 mile under 12. For me running that fast is hard because I am a very slow runner. 12 hours is usually the standard for a 50 miler (many people I look up to could do it in 10 or less). The minimum is 12.
It was a motivation that I want this year BRR to be under 12 hours. It came about as a wishful thinking. Having ran it once and I compared it to a similar race, Stone Mill (finished at 12:47), I ran six months ago, I did not think it would be possible. It was kind of shooting the moon goal when I told my friend, I would do it, half kidding to fool myself. I felt BRR should be harder than Stone Mill. I wanted it for the Vermont 100 mile qualification, to be doubly sure I can get in, even though I don’t really need it because my qualification race was a year ago.
Early in week, we checked the forecast. This year run would be pleasant in a cooler weather of 37F low and 50s high (around 10C), runner weather for us who just came out from winter. Heat exhaustion should not be an issue this year. For me, I am trying to heat train, so the temperature actually cold for me.
I decided to “camp” out. They offered free cabin camping for runners to stay the night before the run. For me is why not. It added the fun to spend more time at the race and to meet more runners. My friend who ran BRR gave me an impression that it would be a lot of fun. I had only MMT camping experience to compare to. However, there was only me and another guy who stayed the night. I met him a few months before during the Devil Dog, and we shared a cabin that time as well.
We had our dinner and quickly turned in for the night once it was dark. Volunteers would arrive starting at 4 am. I set my alarm for 5:30 and snoozed it for couple times. But as usual, I like to run in the clothes I went to bed with so there was no need to change. It saves time. When I woke up, I just pinned the bib on my shirt. Collected my bedding and stuff to take back to the car. I had breakfast laid out but it was still too early for me to find an appetite. When all said and done, the race was about time to start at 6:30.
I did not see a lot of my friends (Jesse was in it, but I missed him). I lined up in the rear. I did not prepare any dropbag (they allowed two). I figured I should be fine. This was completely different from last year. I grew up! I had my breakfast in one hand (chicken pasta from Costco, which was also my previous night dinner).
Cheryl would be waiting for me at Fountainhead, at about halfway point, I did not need anything from her, but it was good to know a familar face there. She hadn’t left the house yet, so she could could grab me any last minute things to take to the aid station. I wanted to tell her I will be there by noon but then held back because I did not want to put an extra pressure on myself to make a time goal. Noon was my internal goal.
Having done the run the previous year, I knew the start would be slow with 200+ runners trying to jam into a single track trail. They had us run around the parking area, through a water crossing. This did slow down the crowd a bit (and let the faster runners spread out). I knew it.
Vlad, the friend I met me the night before, asked me what my game plan. I am pretty poor in term of coming up with tactics. I love brute force method, but strategies, eh, while I am intrigue by them, I am not that good in coming up with schemes. My overall plan was trying to get to the turn around by 12 and I would be good. The back up goal if I couldn’t make the first, is to meet the cutoffs. I also remember not to go out too fast, because this course is hilly. Many runners burn all their energy early on. I have seen it last year. My plan is to be extremely patient with the “slower” runners.
While we were behind a bunch of slower runners trying to cross the water, I rehearsed in my head to go slow and to focus on my game plan.
I checked the crossing the day before and did not cross it thinking it was a foot deep. Then I told my friend Vlad about it and he and I went back to the crossing for a look. After taking a look, he started crossing it, in his clean shoes at the time. I was shock. We found out there was a concrete layer under the water. Water was not that deep. Maybe less than quarter an inch, but the reflection of the water made it seemed much deeper. So I saw him walked across like Jesus walking on water and not sink in, without his shoes even getting wet.
Now on race day, 200+ runners were not willing to step across this water, but trying to go around on either side. It was actually deeper on either side. Only Vlad and I and maybe a few other bold runners knew how deep it was. I waited until my turn at the crossing, and I showed off walking across like Jesus crossing the water. People behind me started shouting to others, hey it is not that deep! By then it was already too late, maybe only 20-30 runners are left. I was laughing inside. This crossing did not get my shoes wet, but I expect later crossings would. Pro tip: don’t afraid of water!
Bull Run Run takes place each year during the full bloom of the blue bell flowers. The course was lined with these purple bell shape flowers. It is quite a sight. The ladies in front of me were exclaiming, oh how beautiful. Me and a friend came back and did the loop again the following day to enjoy the beauty. For many, it was their first time running on this course. We ran toward Bull Run Regional Park first where there is a mile loop of just Blue Bells. It is our first turn around point, of this end of the Bull Run Trail (mile 9 ish).
While running near the Centreville aid station, where I volunteered there two years ago, we heard Kevin’s loud voice half a mile out. He was the former MMT race director, with his megaphone encouraging runners (and heckling them) — this year, he didn’t have a megaphone but his voice still carried. I always love the Centreville aid station. We would pass by twice. He was later back at the Hemlock station.
After Centreville, the course get muddier. Here we saw runners returning, so we shared the same trail. My coworkers and neighbors were out for their day hike, since it was a beautiful day. Kimberly called out to me, and I was surprised of having a local crowd supporter. Vlad was already back from the other direction. He was in maybe 15-25 places. Not bad. I was still in pretty far back. To me, I was even further back than last year. I expected he might try for the podium. We waved and called out to each other. He ended up finishing top ten!
I finished the loop and came back to Centreville, but while doing a water crossing, which was about knee deep and maybe 6 feet wide, I tried to jump to the other side at the final few steps but missed, so I felt in and landed on my hands and knees. Note, later I found out one side is shallower than other. I took the deeper side since there was a rope there to aid the crossing. I was okay but got myself muddy. So when I got into the aid station, they were teasing me, that I won the award for the muddiest runner. Yes I felt into a mud pit. Twice.
Another incident while trying to head back to Hemlock (mile 17). I was about a mile out, just ran through some 3-4 big hills and now it was just a flat section before Hemlock aid station. I was feeling good at the time. I was in the flow, but I stepped on some mud and lost control. Usually I could recover my footing, but this time my calves seized up. Down I went again. It might look dramatic from the back the way I gave way. A runner came up to me and asked if I was fine. I was fine in term nothing broken, but my calves were cramping and I was in a lot of pain. I knew I could walk it off. It was a decision time, should I continue with the race or should I stop? It was only two hours in. I still had a full day ahead, but I also have so many races coming up, I did not want to aggravate any injury and so would miss my other races. I got back up, gingerly tested my strides. Aid station was not that far away. I reread last year report, I was saying how can people falling and tripping this early on, and here I was! I was laughing at myself here.
I got to the Hemlock aid station. I passed some runners who were in worse shape than me. I tried to encourage them, asking their gameplan like what they expect to get at the aid station. Some said they would change their shoes. Some said they would get salt, pbj (sandwiches), and water. I also prioritized in my head too what the most important things to do so since I want to be a quick in quick out. Hint! or Pro tip, before getting to an aid station, plan out what you need! This helps speed up your entrance/exit as when give you something to look toward.
Charleen, a dear friend, met me at the Hemlock aid station. She asked what I need. I had everything fine. I did get some food, some broth, etc. I reused the cup to stock up on food to carry some out. I pour some salt over it. That should help with my cramping. I gave her update on John, her SO. I passed John earlier. John was one of earliest memory I had while training for MMT, since I ran mostly at his pace. We had done many other events together since. There were a lot of people in many of races we did, but John and Charleen left me a deep impression because of their kindness.
From Hemlock to the next aid station (Marina) was hard for me. It was just four miles. I headed out from Hemlock with five or six others. They were stronger runners. They were not people who came into Hemlock with me. They had a bit of rest before going out, and they looked so strong. A few of them were friends in their own group. I knew I wanted to pass them but their pace was too fast for me to overtake. I followed like 10-20 paces behind and never could get really close for me to pass.
We came to some hills and I could close the gap a bit. It was maybe by mile 3, about mile 20 in the race, the guys got tired and I passed them on a straight away at the big soccer field. When I pass people, I want to pass them for good. I don’t want to do frog leaping kind of things on a trail because it can be very exhausting. Indeed, I passed them for good. I was getting stronger and I was familar with this area. I knew the aid station was about a mile out after another series of hill climb.
At the Marina aid station, a friend I met at last year CAT 50k was there greeting me. I did not remember him until he asked me if I do know him. Then memories came and he pulled out his phone to showed me the photo we took at the end of that race. I do remember that, like how can I forget since both of us finished dead last there (DNF). Indeed, I had another personal crew at every aid station! This was unplanned. He sat me down, refilled my hydration pack. He said he would wait until I came back later in the afternoon (5 pm). I did see him again. It was good to have a personal cheerleader. Another dude too, who often reminded my own time at my first MMT of carrying an Italian sub, and he said this time, our food is good but not as good as a Subway Sub. He was referencing my MMT run. I was balling. Gosh. It gave me the motivation to run harder. My subway hoggies is legendary.
From the marina, my feet were moving better. There was no more thoughts of quiting. The next section were much familar to me since my friend Caroline and I ran on it a few times. We did it when there were still snow on the ground and when it was flooded. I know the course. Every turn came as expected. I like knowing the course like the back of my hand. I passed a few people and finally got to Wolf Run Shoals. I love this aid station’s name. Again I had a personal crew! Jamie and Alex were there. Jamie got me everything I possibly needed. Alex said he loves me in a brotherly way. I again have my own cheerleader. Out I went. She was still there four hours later when I came back around 4 pm. Alex was the aid station head here. The goofy aid station. They gave me encouraging words.
There I left the station with Charlie P.. He was a friend of a friend, and we did the MMT together last year. He and several of us have become friends because of the MMT. He was moving at a good pace and I felt his pace was too much for me to keep up because I would start to breath hard and sweat. I did not want to push that hard just to keep up with my friend. So like before, I kept back running at my own pace, following in the back. The next aid station, Fountainhead, was only about three miles but it seemed long. The time was already 12:15 when I felt Wolf Run Shoals. I knew I was behind on my goal pace (since I wanted to arrived before noon) and so I shifted to my the next goal, which was to make the Fountainhead by cut off time. Fountainhead in my mind the cutoff was 1 pm, but actually was 2 pm. I needed to reach it before 1. I arrived at 12:50. This was about the same time I had from the previous year.
Sheryl was the time/bib recorder there. She came and helped me. I had been running a bit hard so my mind was all over the place. Seeing Sheryl slowly calmed my mind. She too asked me what I needed. I handed her my cup and asked her to fill it with food. I had all kinds of wraps. There were vegeterian options (she knew I was on a diet). I took some water. Then I sat down for a few minutes on a bench. This was the second time I paused. She offered me a Red Bull, but I said to hold it for me until I finish the Do-Loop, which was a 9 mile loop at the Fountainhead Regional Park. Charlie already left. My game plan was not to stay at any aid stations for too long. Being able to sit down couple minutes, helped.
Fountainhead was our turn around point but before we could run back, we had to go through this maze (at least to me), called the Do-Loop. It was not too hard, but when you are tired, and it is sort of a loop, some runners, would get lost here either doing the loop multiple times. Last year, I lost maybe half hour (20 mins after looking up) in getting lost inside the do-loop with a bunch of fifteen other runners.
This year, I was praying I would not get lost. The plan was keep my head up to follow the course markings and trust my training I had there. We trained specifically here several weeks ago. I got lost during my training too. Each time, I tried to remember, which wrong turn I took, so hopefully on the race day, I would not wander off onto a wrong trail. Ram a friend who guided me on this portion during my training run. A word, the course was marked well, with red tape over trails we should not turn on (but sometimes runner still went over them, due to brain fog).
The Do Loop section went well. I finally overtook Charlies and others. I passed a few more runners as I exited the loop. I noticed my pace slowed down but others too were slowing down more.
Coming back out at the Fountainhead, Sheryl handed me her Red Bull. Dan’s wife (her name escaped me) refilled my water pack. I gave her the update on Dan. Dan is the current MMT RD. I saw him on the Do-Loop along with some other runners. I knew he was cutting close to the cutoff and hope he would be able to make it. Dan ran the BRR several times in the past. He had some fast records, way faster than I could possibly run. When I first met him about 5-6 years ago at the VDM (I had a post of that day somewhere), he was no longer as fast a runner as before due to some knee issues. VDM run was what initially drew me into the running club and Dan was the first person I met. I didn’t see Dan finishes but checking the results, he did reach it with plenty time left on the clock!
The time now was 3 pm. I was pretty pleased. Last year, I was here at 4:00 and with cutoff breathing down on me that time. At least today, I knew I would finish, since I am an hour ahead (4.5 hours to cover 12 miles, I would have to run a mininmum 22.5 min per mile to finish, a very slow pace). My plan now was to chase the 12 hour goal. I felt I was still 7-14 minutes behind the 12 hour finishing goal. However, there is a chance. I would need to run all the way back. We had about 12-13 miles left.
By 4 pm (3:50), I reached Wolf Run Shoals station. I did not need much there. I only stopped to reset my pace.
I passed one more runner but the trail was completely empty afterward. In my mind, the 12 hour finisher group must be ahead of me. I needed to catch up to them. However, as I ran, there were no other runners. They were all going at my pace or faster. Normally, I pass people or people passing me. So today was rare.
Uneventfully, I reached Bull Run Marina again. I was strategizing when best to take my Red Bull. I felt I should do it when I felt I could not run any more. Just before the Marina, my foot felt dead. While climbing a hill, I opened the can and drank the Red Bull. I did not know how soon it would take effect. Normally I don’t drink this stuff. I can see it could be useful in a 100 mile race, but in a “short” 50 mile, it might be an overkill. I was not sure if my stomach could handle it. My head felt a bit dizzy maybe for running a bit faster than I should.
At the Marina, I got some fluid and fruits. I took some Gatorade with me. I stayed only long enough to reset. My other friend was still there but I don’t need anything. He was saying, he knew I would make it. This is not the CAT50k. I asked him if he would run the CAT again, he said he already signed up! I said me too!
Now there were only six miles left. Still I did not see any runner before me. In a sense, it was good. We had some technical sections and I could “breeze” through them without slower runners hindering me. In the previous year, a lot of people were there, not this time. I praised God there was no one on the rocky sections. I am proud of my footing skill. I am not the best, but I am better than many in this city running event. Most runners are too cautious to go fast on rock because one fall would mean a serious injury. I usually run at the pace of slower runners, and so would be around people who are extremely careful near rocks. Today I scrambled over them like I did during training. In my mind, I had to beat the clock. There was no time to go slowly.
While reaching the last mile, I saw a group of 4 runners walking on a flat segment of the trail. I found it just interesting. Were they the 12 hours runner? Why were they not rushing? I thought I was on the edge of the 12th hour mark. Any would be rushing to make it. So I passed them. Later of course, I learned they were part of a team, they stayed together for their friend’s sake. They made it under 12 too.
Maybe 500 ft ahead was another runner. This guy was gunning it for the finish. To me that is more like it. I chased him though he was faster so I was not able to catch up. In my mind, I said, I just have to keep up and I might make it under 12.
We entered the finishing chute. The time was 11:32:xx. I saw 11:31 from far away, but my head with runner fog thought I missed my goal by couple minutes. Somehow I read the clock as 12:32. I still held my head up smiling but in my heart, I felt a let down of coming in just a couple minutes late. There were a bunch of what-ifs. The guy next to me sense my mood and asked if I were I aiming for under 11? I said no, I wanted to be under twelve. He was kind of gave me a confused look. So I rechecked the clock again. Oh dang, it is 11:35! I did have it under 12! The euphoria rushed in. I was laughing from ear to ear. What a crazy thing expectation can have on me. One moment thought I missed my goal and the next moment, I bested it by a big margin. Yes, if I ran with a watch I would not have been so clueless. Lately running races without one free me.
I stayed to watch the race until the end. David, my DC friend came out. I glad he came. He was on indecisive if he should try this 50 miler. I told him do it next year.
Vlad, I thought he had left already because he was probably 6-7th place finisher coming in 2 pm ish, was there with his family. I chatted with him and some others.
Charlie came in under 12, though he did not stay but left immediately. I congratulated him since he said 12 hour was his goal as well. He came in on the dot and well done. We shared like 5 miles together.
A new runner I met, Laura from Alexandria, she finished under 13 hours maybe 5-10 minutes before the course closed. She was exactly at my pace the year before. I was happy for her. We ran together for a long while maybe the first 5-10 miles. She was asking me about ultras and MMT, and of course, I told her all I knew! Mainly to try it. BRR was her first 50! I hope she has some great memories. JFK 50 was my first and I would forever remember that race. I could have stayed with her the whole way, but I decided this year, I wouldn’t wait for anyone.
The guy who helped me when I felt, also came in. I went and congratulated him as well. I didn’t know his name, but I was glad he pulled it through. The reason I said it was I normally was the unofficial trail sweeper in most races, for coming in last or near last. I know how hard it is to struggle from cutoff to cutoff. When those final few came in, I could identify with them. Later, we learned there were two more came in after the clock expired.
I had a wonderful day. I was tired. My legs held up. While the race was hard, there will be many harder races coming up in the next few months. This was just the beginning. I do not need the extra qualifier for Vermont 100, but knowing I still could run a 50 mile under 12 hours give me a boost of confident, that is at least, I still met its minimum requirement.
I did many races. This is probably most awesome yet.
A year ago, I went to Toronto for my international debut. Yes, I felt like a hot stud. US is no longer my playground, now the whole world is. We are going international! Maybe one day, we get to run on the moon or another planet or galaxy! One can only dream.
Seriously, running in another country is not as easy as it seems. First of course is the cost. Airfare of couple thousand dollars is no joke. Then hotel and various expenses. Unlike in state, I can’t sleep in the car at the start to save on cost. Then also the culture and language differences, which can be a huddle to get over.
Anyway, since I started running, I wanted to go oversea. It might be since 2020, I set a goal to save up for an oversea marathon. Sydney was my target as well as Viet Nam, India, and Ireland. Maybe one day Greece.
Unbeknown, I ended up in Taipei, Taiwan as my first destination. Of course, it was not completely unplanned. My cousin informed me of her wedding about two years ago. I would be going to Sydney, however, the marathon I wanted to do there was not available (I couldn’t meet their requirement of running a 4:20 qualifying marathon time) and long story short, New Taipei WJS Marathon fits my schedule and there was no qualification for entry for foreigners. So I made a side trip to Taipei. For such a far away trip, it would have been a shame if I could not run a marathon.
The marathon registration website was not available until October. There was very little information if it would be happening. I was a bit nervous to plan a trip around this race. In the back of my mind, I was doubtful if the organization is reliable. Once it opened, I signed up. The website had partial English translation and it was a bit confusing to navigate but eventually, I got my foot in the door.
It was a competitve event for the locals. Many would enter through a lottery system. As a foreigner, I bypassed the lottery. I think they reserved 300-500 entries for foreigners. I felt lucky. There were about 6000 runners total.
It is an out and back course. I read up on prior reviews and watched Youtube videos. I knew I would be in a treat.
As for the logistics, they recommended to stay in Taipei. We would take a bus near the Taipei Main Station, at Kuo Kuang Bus to Wanli, Green Bay (Fei Cui Wan), in the direction of Jinshan Youth Activity Center. All these names and places meant nothing to me while I was in the US, because I had no frame of reference. I could not remember any chinese words I read. Once landed, it was not hard to figure out where my race was and things were very easy to figure out. Most signs and places in Taipei have English translation. Google Lens was an invaluable tool I learned to use by the third day. It can do Chinese to English translation on the fly.
The course had a time limit of 6 hours. The first cutoff was at halfway and we had 3:05 to reach it. It should not be a problem to me. Somehow, I had an impression that the course cutoff was 5 hours and I tried to run a 4:30 time to beat it, which I did handily (bib time 4:30:38). There was a bit of stress before the race because I felt everyone was a faster runner than me.
We had 4 different waves for lining up at the start. I was assigned Wave C. I decided that C might be a little too fast after taking a look at the runners there (5:00 hr pace team lined up in wave C). It did not matter. In most marathons, I usually in the last wave. I know once the race start, people would spread out. If I am fast, I could catch up.
Lining up for race
Because the gun time is the official time, some people in my wave tried to go as far to the front as possible. In many marathons I ran, unless you are an elite runner, gun time bears little significant. Most races place the emphasis on the chip time (such as sorting and ranking). But here, we are ranked by gun time, so runners wanted to be as close to the start as possible to get that couple minute advantage. Those who arrived late to the coral were pressing up to get to the front. We were packed in. I thought it was a bit rude to fight for a little distance. It created a bit of crowding at the front of the wave. I wanted to tell them calm down. We are all in D wave, and there is no point to fight for that bit of distance.
Once our wave crossed the start, everyone rushed forward and sprinted as if we were in a 5k. I found it quite funny. Many people passed me even though I think I ran at a very good pace. About a mile or so, I passed the 5-hour pacer. Still many in my wave were rushing forward.
The course was still very crowded even though we had both sides of the road to run. Later they ushered us to use only the left side of the road, and to leave the right side for the returning runners. I accidentally elbowed someone and someone accidentally tripped me from behind. It was fine. It was not until halfway when the crowd thinned out.
At 14km I saw the first runner coming back from the other direction. I estimate, it was about 1:20:00 into the race. The first runner finished around 2:10. They were fast. I think they were running around 5 min mile pace.
The course was scenic. We had good weather. The sky was mostly overcast. Temperature was 65-70F, which was hot for me but cool to the locals. I was sweating early on.
Crowd support came from the nearby town people and villagers. It was a joy seeing them as we passed through one town after another and they were there chanting and cheering us. However, there were very little fans from family or friends because the course was in kind of a remote place and many friends and family couldn’t make it out. They also blocked the roads so transportation was not so easy.
Our charter buses only transported runners but not family or friends. My mom stayed in Taipei and did not come with me. I could have planned better of having a hotel at the start so that my mom could cheer me. However, I saw many others also did not have friends or family there.
Unlike marathons in the US, there were no impromptu signs held up by fans and family. I normally love reading those while running. Also, there were no unofficial aid stations unlike many races I did in the US. I think it was against the running rules for runners to accept unofficial aids from crowd and so on. The race was so serious. Those rules normally only apply to the elite runners and not to us. I only saw one runner went to the crowd and someone handed him a beer and he drank it. Oh, how I wish I could have a beer. However, I did not want to risk a DQ (disqualification) for accepting aids.
The course was mostly flat but there were some hills especially toward the end section. At least this was my impression. For some, it might be a hard course. The hills got me too. I could not run on some at 35 km. Not that they were steep, but I was out of energy.
Aid stations were plenty and well stocked. At no point were we out of water. They had fluid at every station which was about 3 km apart. “Food” which consisted various kind of snacks were available at about every 6 km. I utilized them fully since I no longer use gels. Runners around me though mostly stayed away from snacks and gels.
By halfway, I started to make gain on runners. Those around me were strong runners but pretty soon after halfway, there were a lot of people slowing down to a walk. I take it there were a lot of first time marathon runners. They hit the proverbial wall.
I was not the fastest. There were a bunch of other runners passing me too. I swallowed my pride and ran my own race and walked when I needed. I knew I had started too fast and now I was out of steam. I leapfrogged with some runners.
We had distance marker at every KM. I found them useful but I preferred mile marker in mile. I had to translate km to mile in my head. It was not too hard. I knew every 5 km is 3 mile (roughly). I usually count by five to make it easy for my brain.
I ran enough to know my wall is around mile 20, so at 30 km, it was expected to get hard for me. I got myself to 35 km. There was brief periods when I regained energy and pressed forward again, especially after 35 km. There was a long section of downhill. I ran my heart out.
Near 40 km (tunnel), I met a lady. She could speak English a bit. She was going strong. I have been chasing her for over several km. She had ran this marathon in 2016 according to her shirt. I asked if she has done it every year. She said she is a slow runner. This was her 17th marathon. I congratulated her. I told her the last two miles usually is the hardest for me. I knew I should not quit now when the finish is so close. I knew no more than 5 minutes the finish line should come in sight. She said something to me I don’t recall now, but it put a fire in me to run my hardest. I ran without stopping, encouraging those around me to press forward too. A guy took up my challenge and ran along side. I sprinted into the finish.
My time was 4:30:38 (bib time), official gun time was something like 4:32:56. I had my medal. The rest was good. We had a lot of good food and drinks. We were given a towel for shower. I picked up my clothes from bag drop and changed into cleaner clothes. The swag was way better than many marathons I did. Most runners stayed behind to chat in the resting area tent. Unlike in all the US marathons I did, the race was a bit difficult for runners to go back to the finish line to cheer other runners. Everyone was waiting at the resting area. There was also no family reunion area, because many of our family and friends could not make it out to the country side.
My thoughts were, I am grateful to come from so far to be able to do this race.
Around 5k mark, beautiful course throughout. Everyone was so focused and no one was chit-chating except me. Also unlike in the US, not many rely on their watches for pacing. There is very little crowd on the roadside. No cowbells and such.
This week run was similar to one I did last week. It is spring so we have a lot of rain. As you can guess, it makes running “fun”, meaning running in mud and being wet and cold.
I take it all. Give me the toughest conditions for me to be ready for my future races. No complaints.
We ran a 50k on Saturday. In truth, it was not as muddy as the weekend before. We started our race with slight sprinkling. The temperature was warmer, at least by 10 (F) degrees than previous week. It was around 60F, so some runners ran in t-shirt and shorts. We knew rain was coming, so a jacket or a rain poncho or a houdini was a must.
I dressed pretty much like last week to make sure I was warm. I had long pants, long sleeves, an inner layer, and a jacket. It was not raining heavily, so I didn’t put on my rain poncho. I figured once it came down heavier, I put that on too to keep me completely dry. I was probably only one wearing hiking boots. Someone noticed and said, are those boots! Yep! The heaviest pair I got. At least they would keep my feet from mud, and that was the plan. Rain did get in later on, but for half of the race, my feet were totally dry.
We started on time. Several of my friends and running buddies were there. We started together but everyone quickly spreaded out.
Paul, the dude I recently met from Rock n the Knob and other races, like the Naked Bavarian, the previous weekend was there also. I was surprised to see him. We joked around. Since I arrived early, I was standing at the front of the line with Caroline and others. Paul joked we should go a bit to the rear. He was right indeed. We being slower runners shouldn’t try to claim first at starting out the gate.
So I went all the way to the last place. Paul shifted back too but to about middle. So I went to join him. He seemed to be familar with the course because he told me instead of trying to be first out the gate, we should get to the part where the trail narrowed and he and I would slow down to block off everyone from the rear. We were joking of course. Usually everyone slow down to a walk once we hit the trail. We saw some frustrated runners trying pass people there. For me, I knew the race will be long, and those who were trying to pass at this point, would get overtaken soon.
I ran this race, the Seneca Greenway 50k the last several years and so I knew that the race would get harder toward end.
The first few miles were the happiest miles. I ran with Paul for a bit until he left me, which was fine. He usually is faster. He has improved lately. Caroline my other friend was already long gone. Adeline, another friend, was a few paces in front but then she dropped back once we reached the creek near Riffleford AS.
Adeline usually is much faster than me, so once she slowed down, I did too. My shoelaces came undone a few times and I made frequent stops to have them tied again. It was unusual. Usually I double knot them so it would stay. They wouldn’t stay tight for some reason, probably due to sand and mud from the previous weekend that got into the fabric and the laces lost its elasticity.
By mile 4-5, I caught up to my friend Caroline. She was a happy runner, singing and leaping here and there. I followed from behind. Her pace was decent. We crossed a bridge, I took a wipe-out but was ok. She said something about suck it up, showing me tough love. I know, either turn around or press forth, there was no sitting around. I got up and caught back up to her. Everything was ok and I wasn’t hurt, just maybe my bum and pride.
We arrived at our first Aid Station. It was at where I expected. I have done this race a few times, plus the Stone Mill 50, which was on mostly the same course, they used the same location for their stops too, at Rt 28.
Here, I decided to leave Caroline behind. My goal was to catch up to Paul and the initial pack of people I started with. Slowly, I reeled people in one after another. The pack has dispersed but I recognized most of the runners when I passed them.
We crossed another creek and came to Mike and Mike unofficial stop (AS). Unofficially, because they said to pretend that they are not there, they were to support some biking event. I knew he was pulling my leg. I saw no one biking on a rainy day. These two were my “coaches” for my Stone Mill training runs back in November. Mike helped me at Devil Dog 100 each year, usually by reminding me to put on my jacket and then rushing me to the cafeteria for some hot food. They had true ultra food at their aid station and the food was glutin free. They proudly advertised it. Mike was grilling some hot food for us.
It was good to see Mike here. I started to feel tired, so I stopped and chatted for maybe 10 minutes. Mike E just finished a 200 miler two weeks ago. It was a race I wanted to do. He gave me some information for next year race (registration will start on April 1).
Now it started to get colder and rain was about to get heavier. Reluctantly, I left to continue with the race. I had to keep moving to stay warm. Once stopped, the body was cooling quickly.
I decided not to put on my rain poncho at this time until I get to the aid station, since it was a hastle to take it off to fill up water and my water was about to run out. I wanted to wait after refilling water to do it all at once. In the end, I didn’t wear it. My friend Caroline got very cold, but unfortunately, I was not with her to give her my poncho. She survived.
Trail became much worse and there was nothing dry but mud everywhere and on occasion there were pools of water, and they were so large there was no point but to go through it. My boots got wet on one of these crossings. I could not wait till reach the turn around point. There was nothing there, but it was a goal for me to push on. I put in more effort to catch up with people. We reached the road section. I saw three or four runners ahead. I was glad some slowed to a walk. I kept my pace and soon I passed them. I told them the next aid station, Berryville Road should be near, though exactly where I was not sure.
I reached the aid station. It was at the creek crossing (the Stone Mill Big creek crossing). They also had our dropbags. It was good to be refreshed. I recognized one of the volunteers. He said we finished together at the JFK 50. I did not remember. It must have been awhile ago. The next section was not too memorable. It was muddy and swampy. This section is same as the Stone Mill and I used that knowledge to recall some familar trail markings I would come across. All trails look alike for first time runner. It was hard for me too and I challenged myself to recall some specific things to keep myself from boredom. I remembered crossing two open fields, ran up some hill, and more fields, then couple bridges and a river crossing before seeing the highway. Often you hear it first before seeing it.
I passed more walkers and reached Rt 28. A runner felt on one of the bridges. I told him I did too earlier. He seemed to be struggling and had a knee brace on. I hoped he could make it. He said he was ok but he was limping. I believe the aid station was only a mile away.
From Rt 28, we had about a 8-9 miles stretch. It was less muddy here on the Seneca Ridge but we had many (big) hills to climb. This is the section that I usually get hurt or “destroyed”. The elevation here kills me each year. Hill were runnable but after 4-5 of them, legs just could not manage any more. I knew this would be a good training for me.
I was able to catch up to more runners, including Paul after mile 20. I joked with him on how many people he and I had blocked so far. He spreaded his arms to try block me from passing him. I knew we were only goofing around. I was hoping he would stay my pace, but not long later, he had dropped farther and farther back. He asked me how many more miles to go. I said, probably 4 miles, but I think now looking back, it was probably 6 miles instead of 4. Sorry, I always underestimated how long this section section for me. This section always seems too long.
I made it to the last Aid Station, Riffleford at mile 27. It was half a mile to the decision point and another half mile for the marathon finish (total 28 miles). I had maybe 4 miles left, which included a run around the lake. If I wanted to, I could take a shorter way back, but that only means a marathon finish. I wanted a full 50k. They called this part the decision point to whether choose for more suffering or have it done quicker. I think most would prefer the quicker end for a day like today.
I finished before 8 hours. I hoped to finish before her. I came in at 07:45, and she did it at 7:59. I was hoping to see her come in at the finish. However, I was too cold to stay outside to wait and I went to my car to change into dry clothes and missed her arrival. I only saw her half hour later when she went to her car for changing clothes.
I was 5 minutes slower than last year. My friend said to be thankful and enjoy the day. Indeed.
—
So what is the point. I am training for some tougher races, especially the Western States, plus the rest of the grand slam, which some are equally as hard or harder even.
People want to know how my training been. It is like that. Tough. Sorry for not posting much about my training because there was nothing much to share. I know the actual race (WS100) will be even tougher. I don’t have any confident on finishing. I gave myself maybe a 10% chance. My friend said stop being wishy washy. Yes, I hope to get my odds above 51-49.
Of the four grand slam races, I got into three of them. This week, I made certain to get into the last one (Vermont 100) through a coaching program. They would accept 5 entrants who are willing to be coached through their affiliated training program. They still had rooms for one or two more, so I contacted the RD (M) and she put me in touch with the program manager (R) and who got me a coach (V). Yes, I will reveal my coach once I did my race.
I am excited having a coach. My training will get tougher. When I am my own coach, I took a lot of rest days. I expect my new coach will push me much much more. I want to earn the compliant every single week. He said he plans to me stronger. I thought it was gym, but he said he would give me certain workouts to make my legs stronger (like box hopping). I totally agree. I need to be stronger for my races.
A runner at the creek crossing, I love rock hopping. My wolf pack for most of the race. I caught up to all but one runner in my pack
conclusion. I have my eyes on the big races, and use the smaller races as training runs. Things are looking good. Up next, I have some exciting news to share. Wait and see! Hint, 2024 International debut!
2023 Seneca Race report. I have been getting slower every year
My life consists of work work work and run run run.
When I was in school, we had the motto to work hard and to play hard. We often use a blowfish to represent us which can drink up 10x – 20x their body weight. Meaning, we take things to the excess. Not much is change now. I don’t drink or party in excess but I do love running.
For me nothing is more fulfilling than to be out on the trail and run.
This past weekend I was at the Naked Bavarian 40 miler. Of course, it has been raining the whole week. Luckily the race was not canceled. However, the Race Director had reduced the distance from 40 miles to 20 miles.
Many of us did not mind a bit because the trail condition was horrible.
It was a mud fest. Every inch of the trail was in a foot deep of mud. I might be exaggerated a bit but not by much.
It was slipping and sliding. By the time we finished the first 20 miles no one wanted to go back out for another 20.
This was my first time at the Naked Bavarian but the race organization is known to me. I ran their Naked Nick twice (the 50k in December). I got to know them through the Philadelphia trail marathon, though the year I wanted to run it, it was canceled due to the pandemic and I still haven’t had the chance to return to do it. I almost did in 2021, but decided not to at the last moment, so 2022 and 2023, I ran their Naked Nick.
Naked Bavarian was at the same location as the Naked Nick at Blue Marsh, Leesport, in central Pennsylvania, near the town Reading. The course is run on the north part of the lake as oppose to the south side.
The trail is generally runable. We had a bit of climbs about 2000 ft total. There were about 200+ runners, which is really big for a trail race.
My friend Jana was there. She was there during my last two Naked Nick run too. This time I did not see her at all during the race until later seeing her social media posting. I finished first, but I was away from the finish line (in my car changing).
I generally don’t like rain or mud but once I am on the trail I don’t mind it. It was a hard run but fun.
I came prepared. I had on two raincoats (a jacket and poncho). One is enough but two…I don’t know why, maybe I like my legs being covered too. I felt better with two on me. The day was cold maybe around 40 F. It was raining but not heavily. The trail turned muddy once runners were on it. It meant every step, we had to put more effort in picking up our feet and also watched where we were stepping. In the end it did not matter, because everywhere was mud. Mud acts like suction cups, so our feet were stuck with each step. It was gross all over.
Aid stations were good. We had good supports. I stopped at every one.
A runner, Paul, was with me for the entire race. I have seen him at other races. He has become quite a runner like me.
We chatted and such. I finished around 12:38 (about 4:38 hr for the 20 miler). I stayed in my car the next hour or so to change and get warm before heading back out to watch the finish.
I then stayed till the last runner came in. The race closed around 3 pm. I had good soup from the station. The rest of the day and weekend was uneventful.
Ah the next day I went out to the Roller Coaster of the AT had a day of hiking. Nothing much to be said. I put in probably another 20 miles. It was my cool down day and I felt so much better after an intense Saturday. I could say a lot more. I got my training in.
Time flew by. I could not remember much.
The place where I almost lost my phone. Luckily two hikers (backpacker, or thru hiker) found my phone and brought it with them to the trailhead.
The Ring and the Reverse Ring. Those who are in the know know. It is not a secret but the Ring and the Reverse Ring is like a secret club run. I think because it is hard and very few people do it. It ends up as a clique thing.
First, it has certain entry requirements especially for the Reverse Ring. Runners cannot sign up unless they did the Ring (summer version first).
Typically, you are looking at a dozen of so runners and some years there were just a handful. When you finish, your name is written forever on tge club page and you are part of the fellowship of the Ring. It is like being in a selective club. The Reverse Ring they say is harder, though it is on the same course but run in the reverse direction (counterclockwise).
About the course, it is 100% on the Massanutten Trail. This trail is the central to many of the club runs with the most notably, the Massanutten 100, the 100 miler everyone knows and loves. The Ring only runs about 70 miles (71) on it, the northern half. You would think that would be easier for those who have done the 100 mile version to do this one. Maybe is true, but there is less fanfare about the Ring, so maybe runners are not seriously as prepared to run it as in the 100 miler.
I myself truly did not know for I have never done it. Like most races from the Virginia Happy people, I’ve heard of the Ring in passing but once come to running in it, it gets tricky in the signing up process. I usually don’t pay attention to when it is open for signup and usually a lowly club event falls off from my radar.
Thankfully the MMT 100 signup has moved to the normal website (ultrasignup) and thus, I was able to run it the last two years.
The Ring is the free version, a fatass they call it. Maybe because it is free, not many people sign up to run it.
Those who have done it love it. It is their Orange trail. Orange because the trail is blazed with orange color paint. I heard of the Orange trail etc. It is rocky and difficult. Those who did it always complain that they hate it but always will come back next year for more.
This year was doubly hard because in the middle of the event we had a surprise winter storm (snow) on the mountain. The race/run continued.
I had a free weekend. The two RDs for the Reverse Ring sent out a call for volunteers. It was their first time in charge. We had an unusual high number of participants (30+ signed up), 24 toed the start, but only about 10 finished.
I was put my name to join the first Aid Station at Woodstock Tower which was about 13-15 miles in the race. The race started at 6 am. I was at my station by 7. We had a bit of time before the first runner showed up, which was predicted to be around 8:10. Daisy and Jesse (the two RDs) said, let’s climb the Woodstock Tower since none of us never been up there. I always wondered in the past when I ran by it during my race or training run, exactly what’s the view is up there. Curiosity got better of us.
Lookout from Woodstock Tower, facing east
All three of us were scare of height and we quickly descended once we took some bragging selfies.
The First runner arrived right on the dot at 8:11/8:12. (He will be at the Western States 100). He was sure fast. Carl, another fast runner came not long after. Then there were a trickle of runners. Lastly all my slower friends came in, including, Wayne, Jamie, Q, and Carol. These were people I often get to run with.
Our AS was the first one so there was very little for us to do to help runners. All were happy people. Also the time spread from the first to the last runners were still kind of close, about two hours apart unlike at the later stations, which could be as long as 12 hours. We were done by 10:30 in the morning.
I had the rest of the day to myself, so I decided to drive about 45 minutes down Fort Valley Road to Camp Roosevelt (Camp Roo as it is known among us). This is the last crew station and final cutoff at their mile 50. It was still early and the aid station at Camp Roo had not set up yet.
I then went out for a run, decided to head up to Kerns Mountain intended to do my MMT 3rd training run. It would take about 12 hours for me to tackle this 35 mile run. Little did I know the weather had other idea.
I got on Orange around 11 am. Went down toward Duncan Knob. Duncan Hollow was as muddy as ever. Took Blue trail and climb up on Gap Creek. From Gap Creek to the little bridge, crossed over Crisman Hollow Rd and climbed Jaw Bone. Then I realized my mistake of not bringing a rain jacket or winter clothes because it started raining and quickly turned into snow. Soon before I reached Kerns Mnt, the trail started turning white. I heard later it was at least 4 inches.
Trail turning white.
The trail was completely covered. There was no longer any rock seen. It was slip and slide. A few runners from the Ring run caught up to me. The front runners (1-4) already had been through but these who were passing me also are pretty good runners and they were battling the element (Justin, Jaque and Luc).
I was glad the trial finally ended for me once I got back on Crisman Hollow Rd. The runners who were doing the Ring, they had to descend the Waterfall trail which was notorious steep. No thanks for me. I took the Road back to Camp Roo. The Road portion is same for MMT 100 and Old Dominion 100 (to Four Point AS). I have never ran from here to Camp Roo before so it was a good run for me. It was about 8 miles back. I was happy to be back.
Bird Knob was my original plan after Kerns Mountain but with the snow, no way would I want to ascend Bird Knob.
I stayed at Camp Roo from 5 to closing at 10pm. The three runners I met eventually made it to Camp Roo and they also called quit after arriving. I took the honor to drive them back to the start at Signal Knob.
A side story, was I became kind of sick afterward. The mountain road of the Fort Valley Road made my head dizzy. I made it back to camp Roo around 8/9 o clock but I was feeling dizzy. Wayne came in. I helped him with what he needed. He stayed about half an hour before heading back out. They were asking me if I would accompany him (pacing). I would but I was kind of sick so I turned it down. He did fine without me any way and finished.
Jamie came in. Her friend Larry helped her and paced her through the night.
John H and John C came in. Nick too. These were the final runners. John H decided it was enough of Orange for him. John C and Nick were cold. They also stayed a while at the camp fire to warm up. Someone donated a jacket to John and thank God, that got him through the night.
The Reverse Ring showed grit some runners had.
I took the easy way. I drove to Signal Knob after the last runner came through. There I slept till 6 am in the morning. Wayne said he would arrive at 6 am. I know that was just a prediction. He came in a little after 7. He was happy as so were other runners, John and Nick and Jamie. They all made it back.
I was not running in it. I was happy to experience their thrill. We were tracking them from station to station.
On a personal note, once the race was over, Dan, and his wife and I decided to climb the Signal Knob. It was about a 10 mile to go around. This is my stumping ground so I am pretty familiar. I took the Meneka Peak path. It was an awesome day for me.
I fnished my short version of the run and was exhausted. The night sleeping in the car was not fun, but it definitely beat being out on the trail that night. I heard the temperature was around 24 at the base. With wind chill factoring in and elevation, it might have been in the teens. Those runners survived the night. Hat off to them. Yes, the winter storm was not in the forecast. It was beautiful nonetheless. I slept the next 14-16 hours after I got home. I call that a great weekend.
We have a total of four training for MMT 100 mile race. The past weekend, we did the second run. Each run is about 30 ish mile and over four training, we would cover the entire course. For me, the training runs are more fun the the race itself.
Night before the run, we had a quick winter storm system swept through the area. The initial forecast was that we would received up to 6 inches of snow. Note, we had not had snow in our area for about two years until couple weeks ago. Now we had another. The governor did not declare a state of emergency but everyone was getting ready to brace the storm.
A friend asked if I would head to the training location ahead of time. To me that is silly talk. I love my sleep. I’d rather wake up early at 4 am to drive out than to camp out a night early.
As I was getting off work, the cars on the roads seemed getting nervous and maybe it was just me. I changed my plan to go home as soon as I could and packed my things. Everyone I know too was skipping town ahead of the storm.
I made it to the site by 8 pm. The night was cold. No snow yet. Our RD also arrived ahead of time and he built me a fire that potentially could last the night.
By midnight, he left to check the course and various locations. I let the fire died out and went to bed. It started raining a bit. By the time I woke up, the whole place was in a winter wonderland.
Everyone showed up. We left our cars at the finish and carpooled together to the start. I had a good day. My run was 30 minutes slower than last year. I was being careful of not to fall. And I was wearing my hiking boots instead of my trail shoes.
RD said, we need to carry headlamp in case some of us would be finishing at night. I had mine but I was telling myself, I don’t want to finish in the dark. I got back as the sun was setting and so were the last few of us.
It has been a quiet week. After the Icy-8, the next day I went out on the Bull Run trail to run. This is the trail in my neighborhood. We have a race called Bull Run Run (BRR) 50 (mile). I ran it last year. It is usually at the beginning of April and was a quite popular trail race, that usually sold out. Only last year was my first time getting in. They say, you have to be fast or lucky to sign up. I got in again this year, so I have to train for it. There used to be a lottery system because it was so popular.
I want to run better than last year when finished with only 15 minutes to spare. My secret goal (or not so secret) is to run it under 12 hours. This is hard.
It has some good climbings. Nothing too serious but the first time I ran on it, it was a what-the-hell moment. Now a year has past, and hills there are not too threatening. I would still walk up on most of them instead of running. I am no longer get out of breath. The goal is to be good enough to run on them even when I am tired.
So the last few Sundays, I have been covering the Bull Run trail. Usually I put in 25-30 miles. I call it my long run day.
This past Saturday, we had an official Bull Run Run training run at one of the notorious sections called the Death by Do-Loop. I suspect whoever came up with the name is a computer programmer because there is something called the Do While Loop. The concept is the same, you keep doing until it expires and for computer, it means go on forever (in an infinite loop). So our training was to run on the Do Loop until we can’t any more.
The portion we ran was about 7-8 miles long. There is a 1.5-2 mile loop at the end where many people usually get lost. I got lost there last year during my BRR race, so this year, I said I must run it so much that it would be impossible for me to get lost again.
I did get lost. I ran only two loops that day. My first loop was fine as I was following other runners. By second loop I was by myself. It was when the fun began. I was mostly deep in thoughts. And somehow I never exited the Do Loop but kept walking and running back and forth. I was not really lost but the trail was still new to me and I was surprised how it looped me around at some portion when I was not paying attention. So I went back and investigated how that happened. A friend, Ram came along and helped me and led me through the whole Do Loop again and I finished it. I did a partial 3rd and 4th Loop with another friend until it was near sunset before quitting. I had a good day.
I had an admirer who was impressed because I got into the Western States 100. We talked about Wasatch (another 100). They laughed when they found out I signed up for about ten 100 mile races this year. They said I must be rich! Not only is the race expensive, but flying there and the hotel cost would be through the roof. I said, I haven’t told my boss yet for the days I would be off. I am counting all my PTO.
My left ankle took some beating from the weekend training. I did not roll it. It felt numb after spending a day on the Do Loop. I have not been on trail that much the last couple months since the Devil Dog. Now suddenly I am back on the trail my ankle is complaining.
The very next day, I hit the Bull Run trail again. While it was raining a bit, a friend came and join misery. There was a lot of mud. We slipped and slided around. It was fun, satisfactory fun that we put a good training. I finished the day with a bowl of hot soup.
I am proud that I have been consistently trained on the Bull Run. Definitely, I will run better this year.
Where was I the last two weeks? I have not been training much since coming back from Florida. There is very little to report. Time flies. Summary, I trained for first 6 weeks. Took 3 weeks of easy running. Took last 3 weeks off. We are now at week #12 of 25 weeks, midpoint. Another 12 weeks of training comes race day.
We had the warmer weather back. Mid February usually means icy and cold. I signed up to run Icy 8 just to fill my schedule. It was one of those last minute sign up.
It is a local race about an hour away at Lake Anna, a well known location for the Virginia triathlon in warmer time. This was my first time there
I know some local runners would be also running in it. I met the race director from other races I ran. I ran their OSS/CIA as well their 12+hour ATR maybe last year. It was good doing a race from the same organization because I know what to expect even if this was the first time running at this particular event.
The race format was new to me but nothing too difficult. We had eight hours to run as many miles as we could. We had two courses to choose from, a short course of about 4 miles (more closer to 5 miles really) and a long course of 8 miles (I think a bit less than 8). Then there is a mini 1.5 mile loop as a last loop for those who still have time for it. During the 8 hours we could choose to run either the long or short. I ended up doing a short, 3 long and a short, so ended with about 32 miles.
The terrain was trail with some rolling hills, nothing too technical. It has 600-700 ft (640) of elevation over 8 miles, which translates to couple steep hills and a bunch of smaller ones. They are runable. Not too bad but not a walk in the park either. I ran the hills initially but over time, it got difficult by the second loop. Most people on average could do about 38-40 miles. The top crowd could put in 50 miles. For me of getting 32 miles is not bad, but I wish I could push a bit harder. My race at Clearwater had sapped my strength and I was not recovered yet from it. I did use up most of my time allowed. I finished my last loop with 10 minutes left. It was ideal.
A walk on the beach after finishing Icy 8.
It was a peaceful day for me. I arrived super early around 5 ish. The race doesn’t start until 7. I wanted to make sure I had a spot to park. Certainly, I did. I had the first spot near the finish. We could set up our aid station. I did not need to place a dropbag, so I did not set out anything. It was very cold that morning being so early. I think the temperature was around 32 but I knew it would rise to 65 later. I made myself to stand outside to acclimate. Many runners stayed in their cars after picking up their bibs. I wanted to chat with the RD because I was interested in maybe having him to be my coach.
15 minutes toward 7, we had the usual race briefing. We started off exactly at 7. The half marathon start around 9 (I think). I did the short loop first because I was running with a friend (Charlie). We ran the MMT last year together. I met him and his few other friends again during the OSS/CIA and of course at Redeye 50k too. He wanted to do 8 loops for 40 miles and to focus on running just the small loop. We did the first loop together and finished just before the hour was up (like 4 minutes to spare). He was humoring me by keeping my pace since he is a much faster runner. We wanted to get back out quickly. We did. We only stayed at the aid station for couple minutes to refill our water.
Then I focused on my race. The long loop actually did not feel that long. I was expecting it would take me 2 hours to do but I finished the extra section within an hour. The Long loop actually connects back into the short loop with about two miles to the finish. I checked the clock and I would arrived back before the hour was up (9:30 I think).
The half marathon had started. My goal was to refill and head back out hoping to catch up with some half marathon runners. The faster people would already near finishing but the slower ones (walkers), there was a chance I could. I did catch some.
I finished my third loop some time after 12. I don’t remember the time. Now it was a decision, should I do a short loop and then push for a long loop at end. I know doing two long loops was out of my ability (due to time constraint). I really wanted to have a short loop in. The smart way is to put in a long loop first, so I decided to run smart. By now I was tired. I stayed at the aid station for over 15 minutes. It was way too long but I felt I needed the food, etc. I took a hot dog and some ramen soup. Also I refilled my water. I knew this was probably my last loop.
I got the long loop done and I still had an hour 10 minutes left. Some runners already called it a day and was packing up. I knew I could fit in a short loop so I went back out. Some who knew me was surprised. I said I can’t leave time on the table (I see time as money).
Halfway through the short loop, Charlie joined back in. He came out the long loop extension and caught up from behind. He was tired and so was I but seeing him brought my spirit up. He said the same that caused him to run faster. I stayed on his pace for a mile or so. We knew we still had 30 minutes left on the course so we tried to push to the finish. Charlie took off at the last mile. I at first was encouraging him to go faster hoping both of us could get back with 20 minutes to spare to do the mini loop (1.5 miles). Charlie did not believe we had time left. I said, lets decide once we get to the finish. We ended up did not have the time. I finished my loop with only 10 minutes left. I knew doing 1.5 miles (closer to 2 miles) was out of the question. Charlie finished ahead of me and was waiting for me to come in. I was happy with my 32 miles.
We had the award ceremony. Everyone got something. There were some goofy awards such as oldest runner, happiest runner, and other categories. The day was beautiful. We finished early. I was glad it was one of those rare day in where I could just run and enjoy.
I thought I have a good sense on my ability after these last 7 years. My fastest runs all have been in the early years 2016-2018. I went into Clearwater Marathon to do a 50k with more like a vacation in mind and not expecting to set a record. It surprised me when I finished faster than I ever had before. Must be the nice weather and water.
Clearwater is a destination marathon. When I checked the entrant list out of habit to see if anyone I know, I saw there were a lot people from out of states.
It has been on my list of places to visit since couple years ago. My cousin has been there. He isn’t a runner. You can’t go wrong with a visit to Florida in the winter. I searched and found they do have a marathon. So I registered. It served for me to cross off one of the 50 states. At least that was last year plan. This was before I decided to run at Space Coast.
I did an impromptu visit to Florida over the Thanksgiving and ran the Space Coast Marathon (report). I picked Clearwater over Space Coast because it was the cheaper option (my logic, ended up doing both, the irony of instead saving money I spent twice as much). A marathon in Florida wasn’t technically needed any more. Still, I like to run as many marathons as I possibly can. It was in the pipeline, and the show must go on. Other justification was this was a last fun trip before the hard work for the 100 milers.
Clearwater was kind of my first 50k for 2024. Road marathon, that is. Now here I view 50k and marathons to be equivalent. Yes, a 50k is almost 5 miles more, i.e, 31 mile instead of 26.
I ran a 50k not long after the new year at the Mid Maryland 50k race, which was a trail race in bad weather. Also I ran Redeye 50k on New Year day. Those kind of runs did not count because rail runs are a different beast. Trail runs are almost training runs. I don’t put all my effort in it like road races. Mostly it is the pacing. Trails, I run at 15-17 (even 18-20) min a mile but road races, my speed is higher and this time at 11-12 mins per mile. Road running is what I like the most. I like the fast pace, big hype, and many people. I don’t know why I like it. I just do. All those things are what many ultra people do not like (true, UTMB Grindstone, left a bit of sand and aftertaste in my mouth). The debate of road race vs trail race can go on forever.
Clearwater Marathon was held on a sunny weekend with 65-70F on a beach. It was a worthy vacation in the middle of winter. I can’t say enough, no wonder people love to go to Florida. Back home for me was still cold and in near freezing temp. Two different worlds.
My mom chose to come along. I don’t mind. I did want her to come along. Trips are better when they are shared to have someone to witness my performance and fun. However, I have gotten used to traveling alone, so having an extra guest kind of change the dynamic.
My trip started with a lot of rough spots and mishaps, though many were out of our control. First was the last minute need to go back to my house for my ID card (because I wouldn’t be able to board the plane without one). I didn’t plan to take the day off work, but situation forced me to leave my work early.
Then I had to pick up my mom, which was not on my agenda. She was going to meet me at the airport originally but some complication came up, too long to share. My mom always wants to do thing her way. She had arranged without my knowing, my transportation by asking my cousin for a ride for me! It was quite convoluted, in that I had to drive to such and such place, leave my car, etc, meeting her, wait for my cousin. Also on the way back, I would have to find a ride to my car etc. It is like 9-10 steps to get one thing done. At the time, we were expecting a snow storm on our return. I wouldn’t like planning things depending on contingency, like what if we won’t make it back in time. In our area, with snow, all plans are off. And indeed, we couldn’t make it back. Why don’t I just meet her directly at the airport, just one step. I can get myself to the airport just fine as I have done so on many of my trips. I don’t need my travel plan to get more complicated involving myself with everyone in my family and hers. Then the argument became, if I can get to the airport so easily, why don’t I go pick her up too. But she lives literally next to the airport. The drama. The planning differences between someone who flies once every 10 years versus one who does it 10 times a year.
It changed my travel plan a bit from taking the rail to driving and parking at the airport. It ended up being a better plan to have a car instead of taking the train, because I went straight into work once I came back. Having a car at the airport was nice (I could also leave my car at work). The cost was about the same (I got a discount for parking at the airport).
At the airport, the airport’s internal rail to our departing gate (concourse) was not available. We were not sure what happened, nor did the staff. No announcement was made. They must have taken one of the trains offline or trains were required single tracking (sharing the same rail going both direction). We waited on a crowded platform for 30-45 minutes at the busiest time with no train appeared going to C Gate and it brought undue stress for my travel companion whether we should walk or continue to wait for the train. A side comment, after being in many other airports, our airport at IAD is a bit over complicated and over-engineered. It also lack of signs and such of where and how you need to go if things go wrong, this time, train was not working. Taking the train was the main (and only) way to go from Gate (concourse) to Gate (concourse). And hmm, the planner never expected the train to not being available.
The train did come, and it was packed already. People were smart to take the train to B Gate then rode it back to C — which might seem logical but not, because the line is is not linear, anyway, they were smart in beating the crowd. Don’t ask why B Gate is in the opposite direction as C and our location we were at was not A but T, which is in the middle between B and C, yes Dulles is confusing; the staff told everyone not to board for B Gate train because it was going the other way, however, many did and ignored the staff. Luckily, we managed to squeezed in and we got to our gate just in time for boarding. The parking and train delay used up our two hours we planned to be at the airport. I was planning to work remotely at the airport as I had done in past trips. Not this time. We barely made it to our departing gate. I don’t usually use gate C either, being I don’t usually take this particular airline. I did it this time because it was the cheapest direct flight. When it comes down to traveling on 3-4 major airlines, there is not much choices. Each airline like cable companies carved up routes where they have a monopoly over. My opinion, air traveling is dreadful, yet the only way. (I heard stories of those making 3-4 connections to get to a place, such as my Idaho trip).
We arrived late Friday night in Florida (when all settled, it was past midnight). The car rental was a breeze though, because we got into line before the crowd showed up, but I was given an electrical car, which I did not want due to lack of charging stations available and the time (7 hours) required to charge it before returning it. I did not want to complain too much seeing the long line and took what they gave me. I know I could “upgrade” or change or cancel my reservation and pick a different car, but it was late and I wanted to get to bed as soon as possible because we would have to be up before 5 for my 5k in Saturday. I was grumpy because my trip started out since noon, and I missed both real lunch and dinner. A couple hour trip has turned into a 12 hour ordeal (yes, first world problem). All the while, back of my mind, I needed to sleep. I have been training my body to shut off around 8 pm. I was cranky by now because it was way past my bedtime.
It also added extra burden to learn how to drive an electrical vehicle. It was not hard, but took me time to google how to turn on/off the car. There was no on/off button like I expected. Basically, step on the pedal and go. There is the little shifter thing but it has only three positions (not marked) forward for reverse, shifting back to drive. No one cares about neutral, unless of course your car breaks down and it needs to be pushed. There is a button for park on the side. You could go directly into park from either the forward/reverse mode. I was playing with the thing since it was so simple to me and didn’t know I had it on reverse, so when I let go the pedal, my car accelerated backward. I thought pushing the stick forward was to start the engine or go forward. Yes stupid me of not reading. Polestar was aiming for the minimalist look and feel, so instructions and words are few. Luckily, no one or car or pillar behind the car. The car was okay. I had a scare. I quickly, changed direction and headed out the lot. A fun learning experience. This is like in a movie. Comical at best.
Our hotel was satisfactory. It was one of the cheaper ones but it was along the race course. Ideally, my mom could wait for me there while I run. I would go by it twice during my race. Ideally, but things never work out like that. It was only a mile from the start and finish. However, the plan fell through due to my mom unable to get to the finish line on her own, so she had to come with me at the start of the race and waited, so much for the hotel.
I needed the walk and training for my hundred mile while on the trip. By training, I chose to walk to most places because most places were quite close and I did not want to pay for parking. My mom walked along with me but however, due to her footwear choice of wearing sandals, she got blisters early on (first couple minutes into the trip). I told her to go back to the hotel to change shoes, but she wasn’t sure she could find me again, so she stayed close to me. I was not going to go back with her. I got a race to do.
By Saturday, I had to sleep early for my Sunday race. I slept well, but my mom was up and about. She blamed the coffee that kept her up at night but I think it was her being on the phone the whole evening. She got very excited when she talked with her friends. For me, I needed my sleep.
She also did not bring enough warm clothing. The weather was not hot as she expected but got windy and “cold” in the 50s. It was 45F in Atlanta during our layover. By any measure, it got chilly on Sunday even down in Florida.
Her wellbeing became my another thing I needed to check off. It was not a game stopping moment but issues like these put a damper on the trip (things like not getting enough sleep, not wearing the right clothes or shoes or bringing an ID or whether she has her medications). I felt like taking care an adult child. I don’t check these things unless it is taking a newbie on a backpacking, where safety issue comes into play, even then, everyone is on their own if one chooses to bring less things. It must have been so long since I had a trip with my mom.
Even toward the end of our trip, we ran into issues. We ended up being stranded in Atlanta after not being able to make our connection flight due to our earlier flight being delayed nearly an hour. We might have made our connection (with only 5 minutes for the transfer) but I went to the wrong gate previously shown on my phone/pass (they didn’t expect me making it, so it was already changed; I thought I could beat the system by going there anyway), which did not help. Delta gave us vouchers for hotel and food. It was not bad, but we were separated from our luggages. Our luggages made it onto the plane and arrived safely home (Delta held our bags for us; and we were grateful), but we were left behind in Atlanta.
There were also major oopsies trying to get to the hotel in Atlanta during our layover with many other stranded travelers like us. There were two hotels having the same name (they are different tier) and my taxi driver took us to the wrong one somehow assuming we were rich people (what, is it because we took a cab rather than wait for the shuttle?)! We were not aware of it until at the check-in counter. My mom said I was scammed. The receptionist told us to wait for the shuttle, which might take us to the other hotel. I thought not. I decided to call an Uber to get us to the correct hotel. I guess, I should have gone with Uber instead of the airport taxi to avoid such mistake. Only good thing was we beat the other hotel shuttle van, which carried all other stranded travelers. The hotel shuttle only runs once every half hour (we did wait almost that long but it seemed never came). We had our room first. It was near midnight by the time we had everything settled down. Things like these made me angry, but I swallowed my pride and rode it out. By then it was the third day of having very little sleep.
We did not even talk about the TSA. Yes, Unlucky me. I was stopped by the TSA. It delayed me at least for 30 minutes when normally takes only a minute for me to get through. I had to be checked like 5 times. The first time, they said I was a pre-check passenger so they waved me through (I had to hold a sign so that people knows I was a pre-check; weird that I was the only pre check there, and maybe because I was the only one), but I think my laptop was causing an issue. I think some areas, like in the South, there is a deep distrust of the federal government, so people do not use the pre check program. They needed me to go back to be rescanned along with everything. I took off my shoes, my jacket, my hoodies, everything they wanted. I don’t mind. I’ve been through three airports on this trip and each airport TSA procedures were a bit different, but yes, I knew carrying less is better, clothes, shoes, belts, no papers or phone in pockets. Funny, they said I was not listening to their instructions because I started to take off my shoes. There was absolutely nothing on me. The guard had no clue what was setting off the alarm. It was flagged by probably people in the backroom. They couldn’t find anything. I think because my bag also used for backpacking and has been to many places, so it might have picked chemicals like propane that might trigger the sensor, but nobody knew. Yes, I had a water bottle too I forgot to empty. 5 times I had to go back through the security! The thing is each time they had to search my bag again and scanned with their special x-ray machine and made me stand aside waiting. Each time they needed a different person to check. Each time, I had to request permission to let me back out through their special gate (they said I had to go back out and I can’t just walk back through the medal detector, which makes sense to have one-way direction to avoid confusion of who being checked) and I had to cut back in line with everyone staring at me. Note, I couldn’t touch my bag. They handled it. They tried placing in different direction (somehow orientation matters). Five times, so almost all its 6 sides were scanned. They didn’t put it upside down. Each time, I was flagged again to step aside. Each time, the guards there acted like they never seen me before. I was ready to do a full body pat down, which they did. Luckily, they did not say they wanted a further interview me, they did ask where I was going and who I was traveling with, and my flight number, which are routine questions. You know you must be in deep doodo. I could not think of why I was stopped. Must be the Florida water. It was all part of the procedures. Why 5 times, my best guess was the machine malfunctioned. Yes, I hate traveling. Insanity is to do the same thing over and over and expect a different outcome. They could have said, I need to bagcheck it because it wouldn’t pass their sensor.
It seemed like I was just complaining a lot but like running an ultra, when I set my mind to run my race, no matters the costs or problems, I will accomplish my goal. So I pressed forward relentlessly getting past all unexpected things that always crop up. Only this time, there were more issues than normal.
I ran my race and got it done. I got myself back home to prove I did it. I was angry. The trip was exhausting for me and was many ways different from my trips in the past. It was no holiday for me. Each thing was not much, but thousand things, I was dead by a thousand cuts.
As for my run itself, I enjoyed it a whole lot. I arrived a day early so, I could run a 5k on Saturday and to check the marathon course beforehand. Sunday was the main event.
The race organization was good. It was in tip top shape like many of my races. The police and course volunteers were plenty. The course was well marked with cones. Almost every block had volunteers. Aid stations were about a mile or two apart. I did not need them but it was good that they were there. People were friendly. Only one thing that could be average was they had to reopen the road at 1:30 pm. It was enough time for me to finish a marathon, but for some people, 6.5 hours is not enough time. (Space Coast kept theirs open for 7 or more hours, I believed the last guy finish at 8 hours — officially 7 hr course but unofficially 8 hr). No such thing here. I left about 2 pm when everyone too left. The last guy came in at 7 hours (30 mins after closing).
The double loop course made things easier. We ran two loops. I think looped marathon courses are kind of boring to run. It does have the benefit of not getting lost and to go a bit faster on the second loop. I did not go faster on my second loop though.
The half marathoners were with us on the first loop. There were plenty things to see. I did not talk to anyone but #40, he said his name is Deco but I couldn’t him on the finisher list. He did finish though. Reason I mention is for trail races, we like to know who we are running with, but road marathons, people usually don’t talk. It is two different culture. The competition is more intense. There was a half marathoner who tried to race with me, and she did beat me at the last mile. She was with me for at least 10 miles. I tried to engage her in conversation, but she had her earbuds on. I was ignored. Yet, I was aware she was next to me, running side by by side. I ran hard. So because of that I got exhausted before halfway.
I did start off faster than I knew was wise. We crossed over three bridges. Those were the tougher sections.
We started at Sand Key Park. There were plenty of parkings. Race started at 7:00 but we were there by 6:00. We ran to Clearwater Beach (on the road, mostly main road). Then we were moved to a wide sidewalk/bike lane around mile 3-4. We crossed over to mainland. From there we entered some residental areas. We passed by a golf course. Basically running in a big rectangular shape on the map and we crossed another bridge to get back to Sand Key Park.
As with most races once the half marathoners left us, it was very lonely. I hit my wall early around mile 13-14 to my surprise (normally I don’t until mile 21-23).
There were about 1000+ half marathoners but only maybe 300-400 marathoners. The ultra runners were even fewer, about 100 of us. So the course felt a lot empty after the half marathoners left us. There were a few marathoners and ultra (50k runners) around me but everyone was far apart. Unlike before, there was no more running elbow to elbow. It really cut any chance of a conversation.
I have been in the rut before so I knew I just had to keep moving regardless if people were passing me and leaving me behind. Aid stations were about every couple miles apart. I persisted to go from aid station to aid station. I did not use aid stations much on my first loop since I carried my hydration pack. On the second loop though, stopping at the aid stations gave me a target to get to. Soon I got back into my running pace by mile 15 and 16. As an ultra runner, I learned to set mental goals, such as reaching the next bridge or the next aid station. No matter how long or far, you just have to pull yourself together. You just got to do it over and over again. It is a mental thing.
I was able to catch back up with some runners now. I also know there would be many new runners and they would too hit their walls for the first time in their life. Pretty soon I saw a few started walking. This was still early, not yet at mile 20 when majority of people would start dropping into a walk. I urged those not to give up. I was surging forward.
At mile 17, the 50k runners (myself included) we had a 5 mile section spur of an out and back (2.5 miles out and 2.5 miles back) and we were separated from the marathoners. I knew, it would put me an hour behind the marathoners by the time I rejoined their course. This also was my second low point because we were leaving all the familiar people around us.
I knew I had to do it, to make this trek. I signed up for a 50k so this was my race and my course. Luckily, once I made the turn, I was with many 50k runners. There were at least a 100 of us. It was a surprise to me because for the past couple hours, it was hard to find any ultra runners and suddenly everyone I saw was an ultra runner. It was an out and back, so on my way out I could see the faster runners already on their way back and after the turn around I could see the slower runners who were behind me. I was not so lonely after all. It was in about 40th place, mid pack, dropped to 46th after the official result released. We all gave each other encouragements when we passed because we know how boring the out and back course could be. This cheered me up considerably when I saw people, especially those who were struggling, making myself feel lucky that I was still running. I started to feel my pace was not bad. At the time, I did not know I was running at my personal best. It was just natural. I was not straining. It did not feel like a record breaking run. Runners call this finding the flow. I was swimming in the current.
I regained my momentum on the way back after rejoining the marathoners. I did not feel extremely tired as before and I was moving. I took some gummies that were available at one of the aid stations and swallowed down some Gatorade. My fastest 50k run was a little shy of 6 hours at the Marine Corps Marathon (around 5:56 time). I was not certain I could beat that, since I have been much slower recently since October of last year.
As I rejoined back the marathon course, I saw an official pacer ahead. I was not sure what pace she was pacing, since she reached already at the end of the street (maybe 100-200 yards away – 300 meters).
I asked the aid station volunteers what pace she was running but they seemed not to understand my question. I asked a few other volunteers too, none of them know or understood me or they were ignoring me. I did not want to waste too much time at the station. It was late in the day (for they probably were out there for 4-5 hours) and volunteers were tired. Unlike volunteers at ultra events who are usually knowledgeable and ready to help, these volunteers were only there to pour water for us and probably hoped their shift would end soon. They felt they had down their job with all the cups available on the table and I was ignored. Maybe I surprised them as the only runner who needed more than water. Only way for me to find out what pace the pacer is pacing was to catch up to her. It gave me the motivation to keep the pacer in my sight.
Less than a mile later, I caught up. She was the 6 hour pacer. I knew if I stay in front of her, I would get my 6 hour 50k finish and likely PR (setting a personal record). I told her how helpful she has been for me to have her as a target. Even though, I did not run with her at the beginning (since I was doing an ultra and ran faster than marathon crowd, but having her at the end helped; note, 50k people did not have pacers; some races do, but not here), but in my mind I was expecting the 6 hour marathon pacer to be around once I rejoined the course. My goal has been to keep the pacer in sight.
Funny, I did not see the 5:45 pacer. Probably there was not any 5:45 pacer. Maybe I did but did not remember. Somehow now that I was on the marathon course again, I was catching up the marathoners. Ultra runners were moving much faster compared to the remaining marathoners. Most 6 hour marathoners were either walking or doing walk and run. For me, I got a second wind and I was running. It felt good to show off. Soon there was only 5 miles left. I sent my mom a message to let her know I am expected to arrive on time. It was 11:50, and I had only 4 miles left. In my mind, I know I could reach the finish in an hour.
Then there were 2 miles left. The resorts and condos near the start came into view. I started to see many more runners, because many were moving slower, but I was moving faster. Everyone was like 3 ft to 10 yard apart. I continued to catch up to people closing the gap on many. I finished at 5:39 (race clock, bib time was 5:37). I was just happy to get it done and set a personal 50k record while at it. It was 14 minutes faster than my previous record. Not earth shattering fast for a 50k, but it is 30 seconds faster per mile. I ran at a 11 min pace. I know there is still room for improvement. I take it and PR is a good thing. Note, a 12 min mile pace is my normal pace. It felt good to run fast. Of course, I would like to do it in 9 min or 10 min, because in an ultra, that translates to hours or more of early finishes. In a race, every second count!
Unrelated. After I just finished the race, a running friend texted me that I got into Wasatch 100 on lottery! He was the same guy who first told me about my entry to Western States, a bearer of good news. The drawing was the day before but they did not post the entrant list until Sunday. I was following the lottery but they had computer issues, so we did not know the results until Sunday. Not many people were aware of me getting into Wasatch than Western States.
What this means, it is a grand slam (to do 4 of 5 historically prestigious races in a sunmer; I got into 3 so far) minus Vermont! I am on the waiting list for Vermont 100. Come on Vermont! Let me in. A friend said I should write to the RD to petition for an entry (they do have provision tickets available for grand slamers, however, I did not select it during the initial signup). I rather try my “luck”. I am 73rd on the waiting list at the moment. My chance to get in is not that great but there is a chance. We still have 4 more months before panicking. If I get in, that would be great, if not, I won’t cry over it.
Also unrelated, I had a EV rental car, believe to be a Polestar 2. It drove fine but finding a charging station and charging it to the full 100% was impossible. We did find an EV charging station in an empty office building parking lot across from the Buccaneers stadium, and it was cool I got to see the Stadium as a side trip. The office parking was secluded (dark) and kind of creepy to stay there to charge the car. We felt like trespassers. We charged it for 2 hours and it got it from 75% to 87%, which was good enough if it was my personal car, however, our rental agreement required it to be at 100%. It probably would take another 3-4 hours to get it to 100%. I had to pay a surcharge for returning it less than a full charge. The fee was almost as much as my rental. Yes, my rental cost was quite low, cheaper than hiring an Uber. I was not happy nonetheless. I wouldn’t want an EV again but the experience of driving an EV the first time was well worth it.
Conclusion: We encountered a host of minor annoyances on this trip, but we were blessed with the warmer weather compared to back at home. Be thankful. We (I) had fun running my race and setting a personal record. I have been a slow runner, so it not typical for me to do a marathon and break a record. I take that gladly when it happens. Clearwater is definitely a destination marathon. I recommend it. I would go back if not for the other 35-36 more states I want to visit.
With my 100 mile races getting in the way soon this year, doing marathons would have to wait a bit till next year or later. There is at least one more marathon this year (Delaware in May). Clearwater definitely was a time to be treasured and remembered.
In awe 