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  • [Day586] MCM48

    Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) is a favorite for many people. It has a cult following. I met many people who have done this race year after year. This year we are back to what it was used to be: a lot of people, heat, and thanks to the soldiers, the event was as well run as it could be. There were a few oopsies but they were quickly mitigated.

    First the heat. We knew ahead of time it was going to be a hot one. MCM sent out multiple emails on this regard. One of the small oops, was when people started fainting at noon, the race chose to “close” the race early by diverging runners in stages to a shorter course. I heard rumors that they ran out of water. They had more than a gallon per runner. I personally think that is more than enough. I carried my own water though.

    We knew ahead there were three cutoffs called the gaunlets. DC gaunlet was first to be closed and diverting running starting at 12:00 pm, 30 minutes early. Then the Bridge, not sure if this is the same as the DC gauntlet, but they started to close at 12:30 and moved people over to Crystal City. There was the Crystal city gauntlet, that also had a shorter version. In total, I think runners could shorten about 6-9 miles. However, many of those in the tail end were not doing that great. The sad part is they don’t receive an official finish.

    My MCM44 report is very different from this year. I did mostly the same thing. Woke up at 3 AM. I arrived at the Metro early 45 minutes before they were scheduled to be open. We could take the train at 5 AM. Last time, I took the train at 6 AM. I almost missed the race that year. This year, I did not have to do a transfer at Rosslyn, but instead I exited the station there and walked about a mile to enter the race area. I followed a runner who had used this way before. There was no crowd. Using the Rosslyn’s entrance was a vast improvement over the Pentagon exit.

    The best thing of this year was running with many people I know. I recognized several people I rode the Metro with that morning while on the course.

    There were also a dozen of my running friends who were in the race. However, due to the sheer size of the number of runners, it was almost impossible to recognize anyone I know. I only came across two people on the course. And one before the race began and one at the finish. So a total of 4 out of like a dozen people I knew that ran the race.

    My friend Tony E came from Colorado, and I met him at the first mile. Lynn came from New York, and I saw her before the 50K start. It was actually she saw me first and called out, because she went up to the 50K starting area, probably to look for me and someone, but she was actually running the marathon. She said her friend is the pacer for 6:30 hour group in the 50K. It was the group I was planning to stay with. That pacer had paced me before.

    Lauren lives in DC, but her sister Liz came from out of town to cheer and support her. I only saw them at the finish. They were wearing matching outfit. I would not have recognized her. I might have been ahead of her when the 50K rejoined back with the regular marathon course.

    My friend Scott, whom I met at Iron Mountain and Grindstone this year, drove from North Carolina for this. He said this was his first road race in 9 years. And he PR’d it, settling his personal record on the course and running his best.

    I saw Scott long after he had finished, and that was only by chance he was there at the exit area, waiting for his friend to finish. He kept saying how hot the weather was. He had changed to regular clothes by then, otherwise, I would tell him to take off his shirt. His friend did finish and might have walked past us, without us realizing. In the same way, many of my friends slipped past us, while we were waiting. We were just not that good at spotting people in a crowd.

    A few friends came out just to cheer me. Jana did the 10K that morning and then afterward went to the course to cheer the marathon at mile 17-18, probably my mile 22-23. I didn’t see them, but they told me they were there. I guess she missed me as well. There were just too many people.

    Another Lauren and Siri from my running club were also there to cheer. I only later linked up with them at the exiting area. They got drinks and snacks for us.

    They explained the tracking app was probably delayed in updating the runner’s positions. While they saw us passed by them on the tracking app, they said they did not actual see us on the course.

    They cheered nonetheless. We likely already passed by the time it showed up on the tracker, at least that what we like to believe.

    A note for future spectators, maybe go to one of the less crowded places. I think the steps at Lincoln is a good place. Somewhere before we get on the National Mall too would be a good place, such as the a long three miles around Hains Point on Ohio Drive. The pool outside the Capitol too had less crowd there.

    Some people held up big bubble head pictures. It helps runners to identify their friends or family from far away. Also, I saw some people held a big picture of their pets. Those signs stood out to me while running.

    I so happened to see coach Mike (one of the coaches from the Stone Mill training runs of the Muddy Shoes running club). He was not really my coach. He was one of couple people hosting the training I attended the day before the Marine Corps Marathon. I was not supposed to do a training run right before a big race. I did not tell a lot of people that I would be running it. He was cheering me as I made the turn onto Independent Ave, heading back toward the Congress. He was just at the right place at the right time. It was out of the blue I saw him around my mile 20. It did give me a boost.

    While on the course, there were 22000 runners (30000 later annouced, probably with the 10K runners included). I had crowd fatigue from staring at the runners for too long, every runner on the course became a blur. Even though I knew my friends were out there on the course, I did not get to see many. After the race, we did not get to link up, because everyone went their separate ways.

    During my run, I only came across Tony, who was running the 50K. It was by chance too. In the first mile, the runners had spread out a bit after the start. I was running near the end of the pack and I looked over shoulder and there he was, just like I when met him at Grindstone. I first met him this year at one of the MMT training runs. He was passing me when we were running on the mountain. I knew this old guy can run. He flew in that weekend just for the training run. Since then, he has always stuck in my head.

    Tony was one of the older gentleman maybe 20 years older than me. He did finish. He said it was his hardest run he had. He is also a friend of my friend, Caroline.

    The other person was my friend, Caroline. We ran a few races together recently. I had my eyes out for her throughout the day but I did not see her. I had given up by then. I passed her at her mile 12. It was my mile 18. It was so happened I looked over to the sideline and saw her, so I called out. She was walking on grass and off from the road where we were running. I guess, she was not feeling well and step off to make room for runners surging up from behind. This was after the Blue mile. I was not doing too well either. I guess it was hitting my wall (proverbial marathon runner’s wall), when the body has reached its glycogen’s limit and thus the point where it refuses to run any more. It did not occur to me at the time, that I was at my limit. I was walking along the other side. So I went over and joined her. She started running again and almost out-ran me. I told her in that case, I need her to pace me, jokingly of course.

    At the time, I came across two families offering us candies and water. I stopped by both booths. The second one was the best. The lady manning a small table had grapes, sodas, chips, Miller Lite beer, and shots. These are the fun stuff at an ultra. I was surprised many people did not stop for this. Maybe, many runners are not familiar with private aid stations or just being vary of meeting strangers. This used to be common in marathons, but this year there were not many private aids offer along the course as compare to other marathons I did.

    I, having run a lot of races, love this kind of imformal race supports more than the official aid stops. I think it is fun and the stuff they offered were actual the good stuff.

    MCM food wasn’t bad, but they are all processed stuff like gummies, honey waffles, apple sauce and gels.

    Those are fine, but nothing beat fresh fruits. I took some beer, and she poured me some Coke, and I ate some grapes. I stayed a bit there to reset my pace.

    It was worth staying. Caroline was already out of sight. I took a pong cup from her and this actually helped me at the next few refilling stations. People just poured water into my cup and I was set to go. I always carry on me a small cup, but I like the bigger cup better. This private aid station revitalized me. I know, some races, receiving outside help (away from an aid station) is ground of a DQ (disqualification). This is though a fun marathon. Those rules don’t apply. I don’t strictly follow this rule, unless it is a trail race, because it falls under the no muling rule or crewing outside the designated areas.

    By my mile 22, marathon mile 18, a family was offering me ice. That was the best I could ask for. It is better than beer or candies. I have been looking for ice on the course. I was sure they had them in the medical tents but I did not want to stop by a medical tent for ice, because they would then evaluate me for heat exhaustion. I know I was good on that front but I did not want any wasted time with a health evaluation.

    At this time some runners started having health issues due to the heat. One even had to airlifted out. They sent a helicopter right down on the grassy area. We were redirected at one point to the sidewalk away from the medical staff working on a runner I think.

    The ice from the family saved me. I put the ice under my hat. I carried some a spare sock, and I put some ice in it and kept it on my chest for the whole way till after Crystal city when it was all melted. The sock prevent the ice from melting too quickly. It took the ice a long time to melt under my shirt. I only learned of this trick this weekend. Got to keep a spare sock on you for situation like this. My pace picked back up afterward.

    I beated the bridge. There are several “hard cutoffs” they called it the gaunlets. There was the DC gauntlet, the Bridge, and the Crystal City Gauntlet. I had no problem in beating them. As long as we stay above 14 minute pace, we were good. Later, after the race, I learned they shortened part of the course early because too many people were fainting and overwhelming the medical staff. The 14 st Bridge cutoff was moved up to 12:30, instead of 1 pm and the DC gauntlet was moved up to 12 pm.

    Having experience the bridge section in prior years, I knew this was the hardest part of the course. Many people chose to walk across. It is about 2 miles long. It was also the hottest time of the day and humidity was high passed 70%. We reached a cupless water point midway. Many just drank out of the faucets because they did not bring a cup. Some let the water running down on them. I poured some water over me too to keep cool.

    We entered Crystal City. It was as I imagined it. Crystal City had good crowd cheering all the way from one end to the other. It was just a mile out and a mile back. I stopped for a fireball. I knew they were there from a previous year, people who handed out hard liquor. They gave me some. Someone offered me jelly beans and gummy bears. The fire department opened a fire hydrant and spayed water. I ran under one. There were slight breezes in Crystal City, so I was cooled off sufficiently.

    However, my pace continued to slow but I managed to finish. I haven’t checked but I felt beat previous time. I couldn’t find my previous result. I reached 26.2 miles under 5 hours (I think it was 5:54). I finished at 5:56:51 on the 50K. My previous time from 2019 was around that, close to 6 hours, at 5:58:45.

    There were several other friends running the race, but I did not get to see them. Alex did the 10K. Jeff (David’s coworker, who I met at package pick-up) was slower than me and was finishing at 6:10. Jeff did not get an official finish because he was part of the crowd that was diverted. Caroline finished at 6:00. Lynn was 14 minutes ahead of me.

    Only time I saw Lynn was at the start when she spotted me. My goal was to catch up to her, but it was not meant to be. I was hoping she would not run so fast. I am to pace her the following week at the Rim to River 100. I checked her pace, she seemed to handle MCM well. I just hope she did not exhausted herself. She ran the second half in a very controlled pace, so I guess she knew what she was doing. David finished half an hour ahead of me. Scott was 3:38, but luckily I saw him at the end.

    I was lucky to be spotted by Lauren at the exit. She was waiting for Lauren E. Soon Siri found us and brought drinks and snacks. We had a little reunion.

    Meeting people at the MCM was all happening by chance. Even with a phone it was hard to link up. Scott had a hard time to link up with the guy he came with. We waited like an hour and still did not find the guy, and they were in communication of where to meet. He kept saying he went to left or to the right. I think runners had runner’s fog at the end of their race so they could not communicate clearly. I think the best place to link up was by the UPS trucks where they returned the drop bags.

    I thought back to my first MCM, and I did not carry a phone at the time, but my mom did not tell me she was going to come, showed up at the finish area, just by wandering around and saw me as I was coming out. That was very lucky on her part. My mom did not know about the family link up area or any those things. Just by accident she saw me. I had completely forgot about this until she mentioned it. That was my first MCM in 2017.

    A race is fun when you get to do with other people or there are other cheering you.

    Rachel was asking after I finished, if I wanted to sit on the curb to stretch out my legs. We were sitting in a circle at the time. I was reaching down to sit on the road. I said, I used to running long distances and I am almost running just as far every weekend. I was not that tired. I sat cross-legged on the road just fine. It was good to have someone to celebrate with at the end of the run.

    Did I run hard? I did. I also had a 18 mile training run the day before. So my legs were a bit tired even before the start. I was built for endurance. So even without the training run the day before, I might not have done any better. Maybe a tad better. I should one day, train to run faster. Seeing couple of my friends to be able to run a 3:38 marathon was exciting. Mine, was like a 5 hour marathon.

    This was my third time running the MCM. I was well familiar with the course and how to get there. My friend Caroline has done it 25 times. The guy I rode the Metro with, ran it a dozen times. I like the race. Weather can be iffy. This year is one of the hotter years, but it was better than 2019, when there were floodings. We take it what was given. No complaining.

    Is it better than other marathons? Maybe not. I am a local, so I saw all the sights on my daily commute. The festival was subdue compared to other marathons I did such as Shamrock in the beginning of the year. It was a typical DC area with high transient. We came with a dozen friends, I only get a hold of one or two at most during and after the race. Locals wanted to leave as quickly as they could to avoid the crowd. Not a complaint. I went into the race and I enjoyed my time there. I would be better to celebrate the finish with someone, and I did, but it was never a planned thing. I sat at the steps leading up to the Rosslyn Metro. All my friends were gone by then, trying to beat the traffic out of Arlington. I had a bowl of Korean Rice and bulgogi. I was watching as the UPS trucks packed up and drove away. They had emptied all the drop bags. There were a few runners milling about, but the bulk of the crowd has dissipated. I was just taking things in. My two previous marathons, all I remembered was rushing there and then rushing home. This time I had the time to let it wind down. I finished my race at 1 pm but did not leave until 4 pm or so. Some races, I like it to be like this, just letting it go slowly.

    pre dawn photo of random strangers. They were giving an interview to the press. Later the startline would get crowded. We had a sold out event of 30000 people

  • [Day585] Race Report of Bimbler’s Bluff

    I feel so tired after running Bimbler Bluff 50k, an accidental 14th state completion.

    About this time last year, I reached a point when I did not know what to do because of a free weekend, I decided to look for a nearby state where I had not run before to run a marathon. I went to Atlantic City. I thought that was a long drive, but this year the drive was almost twice as long, 7 hours.

    Last year, I was walking by myself along the boardwalk. Shops closed early. A major casino had gone out of business and no other business had taken its place. It was dark and gloomy for a big section. I was thinking, I should not be there, but walking and hearing the ocean was quite relaxing.

    This year, it was a long drive from afternoon to night time. The drive was meh, uneventful. I got used to the droning noise of the engine. I had a friend coming along. We chatted all the way though I don’t remember what we talked about. Probably our discussion centered around running.

    At Atlantic City last year, I ran one of my fastest time, a little over 4:20. Note this time. I might get back to this, because, I needed that time as a qualifier for a race, I was going to sign up. This year though, at Connecticut, I ran a 8:16. It is on trail. They can’t be compared with one another, but I am significantly slower.

    At the present, is a time of peace. A calm before a storm, I think. I had a feeling I wish I could cross off a state or two in this waiting period, kind of time between some big races. I wanted to run in all 50 states. Last year I had reached 10th states. This year, I made some progress of getting to 14th, unexpectedly. I only planned for running in two new states, Texas. I attempted for Ohio and North Carolina too (but they were ultras, not that it matters).

    So by some coincident, I went to Idaho the week before and this week, I decided to go to Connecticut. To me it seems accidental, but my friend Caroline, pointed out everything is planned by heavenly father.

    Actually I did not really have any feeling for this race. My usual way of signing up a race is search for that feeling that draws me to a race. Bimbler Bluff did not have that attraction. Not saying the race was not great, it was. It fits me well because I love the hard trail races.

    I want my 50 states completion to be purely of marathons. Bimbler is a 50K, which is close enough but it is not the marathons of my first love, you know those that are pompous and have crowd cheering at every mile.

    As mentioned in a previous post, I came to it because a friend kind of wanted me to go, first to run Nipmuck and then this Bimbler. I did not get in at Nipmuck, because the registration had passed before I realized. I felt I do have to go for Bimbler.

    Anyway, I did not have a great feeling about the race. The only redemptive point is the race had a 10 hour cut-off. This is insane for a 50k. I knew I was in for some fun (hard) racing. I love hard races.

    Second redemptive point is the race price was quite low. You know now marathons are 100 to 200 mullars. This even with my late signup was only 65 mullars, which was like a local 10k pricing. I like cheap races.

    I had nothing to do for the weekend. My friend was going to run this race too. If not for her, I likely would not drive 6-7 hours to Connecticut. It was the farest I ever driven, besides Toronto, which for that trip I actually spent a night at Niagara Falls and we made multiple stops. This trip to Connecticut was one straight shot.

    We started late for our trip because I had a training run in the morning. On Saturday, I was preparing for Stone Mill 50. I ran 20 miles. It was a “hard” run. It was supposed to be easy but I had not been on running trail for some time so my legs were not used to it. Afterward, I was feeling it.

    Looking back, I probably should not have run a 20 mile before a hard race.

    We got to Connecticut about 10 pm. Only thing left was to sleep. The next day, we got up by 5. We left the hotel by 6. Race didn’t start until 8, but usually I wanted to get to race early. My friend wanted to run in the early start (7 am) for the full 10 hour.

    I watched her went off and went back to the car to prepare for mine. I slept with the clothes I was going to race in, a typical thing for me to do, so no change needed. I made minor adjustments. Ate breakfast. Since the weather should be warmer, I decided to run in t-shirt and shorts but brought along a long sleeves tied around my waist, just in case, since when I looked around everyone was mostly bundled up in couple layers. I felt I should do what the locals were doing. The temperature was supposed to be staying steady at 50F. The morning was 45-48 ish, and was a bit nippy cold. I was bundling up in layers too during the pre-race hours. This was the second time running the cold this season (Idaho, the week before, was my first cold running).

    The crowd of runners was of a decent size for a 50k. I think we had maybe 75 people. We received the briefing from the race director. I had it twice, since I attended the 7 o’clock one earlier. People were introduced. We went over a few gotchas of the course. The trails were well marked but my friend who had done it 7 times said turns can easily be missed. I paid attention. I did not have much time to study the course before hand. I could not get my hand on a trail map of the place, but I did look at the Google map. I had a general idea of the direction we were running, but I couldn’t run it without trail markings. Normally for a race especially trail races, I want to know the course well enough, I could run it with my eyes close.

    I have done enough trail races to know how to stay on the course. I did get lost once due to talking with another runner, but the turn was marked. It was my own fault for missing the turn. Some said they had 36 miles at the finish. We had 33 miles (I know GPS watches are not accurate, but I felt the course was a bit long). I don’t mind, trail races generally run long (and never measured to be an exact distance).

    The first 4 miles went by fast. I was not as strong as my usual self and even quarter mile in, I already dropped to the back of the pack. There were maybe 3-4 runners behind me.

    I stayed with a woman, but soon she dropped behind. A guy and another lady passed her. I followed.

    By mile 4, only Jessica was with me. I did not know her name at the time. We did not talk during the first couple hours, maybe until past noon (4 hours into the race). This was pretty strange, but I tried to be strange too, by refusing to talk. In fact no one really talked. I was able to have a few words with another woman who commented when I walked on the up hills. She was asking if that is how to do it. She said this was her first time on the trail. However, she was strong and passed me and I did not see her again. Only Jessica was still around.

    I tried to run away from Jessica and I thought I succeeded in getting away from her a few times, but every time I turned around she was still there.

    I got to mile 9, she was right on my heels. We made a big climb to the bluff. The scenery was impressive. I caught up to two other runners and passed them finally. Then I tried to catch a seemily father daughter team. We yo-yo passing and leapfrogging for a few miles and then finally Jessica and I were able to passing them for good.

    a look from the bluff. One of few times I got to see the leaves before it is too cold to be out. I am not a New Englander

    The race at this point was getting interesting (fun). The first few miles were technical but we were stronger at the time and because of the crowd we went slowly, but now, it was quite runable without the crowd in front of me and trail also became a bit more challenging, but runable.

    So Jessica and I were flying down hills and running up smaller hills. I leapt over blowdowns and rocks, startled some runners. I had too much fun. Soon though, my energy was drained by the time afternoon came about.

    This section was Jessica stumping ground and she said she ran these sections a lot because she lives nearby. She said it is easy for her to zone out because she got into a habit to running only certain trails during training.

    We paid extra attention because the course would go off on various side trails and then weaved back on the main trails. We kind of run in a zig-zag in and out on the main trail, and thus we had to be extra careful. We tried to suppress our tendency to stay on the main trail, which was the wrong way. We had to overcome our internal auto-pilot mode. Jessica at this point passed me and led the way.

    We got to mile 18. I finally chatted a bit with Jessica. She had done a 100 mile before. She is recovering from an injury about four weeks ago. She said she had a boot on but took it off for this race. I was thinking, oh no. She hoped to use this race as a qualifier for some other ultras, such as one in Zion NP. The course was less marked in this section. The RD sent out an email post race apologizing, since he marked this section. However, we believe it was course vandalism (someone removed the course markings).

    During this time, I missed a turn (the marker was on my side) while talking with Jessica. Jessica rolled her right ankle about this time too. Due to the distraction, we both missed a turn.

    We backtracked and found the house where the Race Director warned us about the owner used to pull off our trail markers in past races. I know now I we are more than halfway to the finish. We marched on.

    We arrived to the Renee aid station, a little after (maybe 45 mins later). I had my water filled. I ate whatever was available on the table. Food choice was good and plenty. There were enough choices. The most unusual was banana on bread (like baguette). It was interesting. It was like a banaba split. I wolfed it down.

    We were now at mile 22. I thought we had 8 miles left. I put in all my effort to pass Jessica and ran to the finish. She told me to go ahead. I felt a bit sad leaving her since she had been with me for 6-7 hours. Normally, in other races, I usually would stay with the person who had been with me. Not today. I was concerned about my other friend Caroline, who started the race ahead of me, but I never saw her on the course. It meant either she had gotten off course or quit or she was really still ahead of me. I needed to finish early to know.

    Most of this last section was easy to run. We were on a long jeep road, a double track trail. There were some long climbs. I ran until my feet were tired. I passed a few runners who walked. I wanted to walk as well, but I wanted to finish by 4. I had not reached the last aid station. My goal was to get there by 3:45. Someone then told me we had 5 more miles. I doubted, because I believed I had only 2-3 miles left.

    I finally reached the last station about 3:45 pm. The crowd told me I had 2.3 miles left. I caught up two more runners. These people were running it like me. I did not stay at the station long, but only enough to pick up an Oreo cookie and went back out. With only 2 miles left, I did not need anything substantial. They offered to refill my water, I declined. I actually wanted to empty all my water to lighten the pack.

    The trail at times became rocky. My feet were heavy. The lady I passed caught back up to me. She was too fast for me to stay with. Then another guy also caught up to me. He followed closely behind. Soon I let up and let him passed me too. I ran at every moment I could. Then I heard cheering and knew we had arrived at the finish.

    Jessica came in maybe 15 mins after me. I saw a few more people whom I passed earlier came in. At 5 ish, 5:20, the Race Director came to me said he had to cut my friend who was still on the course and had not arrived at the last aid station. The cut-off there was supposed to be 5 pm. I said I would go to pick her up there.

    I found my friend, who soon appeared from the trail. I almost decided to go back in to seek for her but fear that the course markings were already been removed by the sweeper and I would get lost, as night was approaching.

    She was in good spirit. I knew she had a tough day. People told me the early starters had more miles, 36 ish, due to running the wrong branch on one of the loops. We (based on Jessica’s watch) had 33 miles. We too, added extra miles for missing a turn. Personally, even without getting lost, I believe the course was a bit longer than 31 miles.

    Conclusion: I like the race. It ran like Catoctin, a race I DNF’d in the summer, but this was a bit easier. We had more time at Bimbler. Catoctin was too tight with the cut offs. I believe it was 8 hours. Here at Bimbler, we had 10 hours. I ran it in 8:16. I probably could have done it under 8.

    Looking back, if I did not do the training run on Saturday, I would have done a bit better. I felt I needed the double day long run for some future races. This race, Bimbler had everything for a good training. It was a good training to test all the system (hydration, endurance, fast run, climbing, technical rocky section, water crossing, muddy trail). It was the work.

    After this race, I will have the Marine Corps Marathon this following weekend. After that is Eastern Divide 50k and the same day pacing my friend at Rim to River 100, which will be a 80 mile day for me. It is probably my toughest day. Soon, I have Philadephia marathon in November and Devil Dog 100 in December. It was the reason why I needed a double hard run to prepare for the upcoming races.

    We drove back the same day. I had work the next day. Yes, the lack of sleep took a toll. My legs were a bit beaten up. My left foot hurt for some reason, probably from being over used. I took the week easy for it to heal.

    There is nothing much to add. I guess it was a good time with running with my friend. The day was fine.

  • [Day584] Hello 6

    I reached another year on WP. End of the fifth year and beginning of the 6th. See last year entry (here).

    This time I don’t have much to write. I have been busy doing so many things. Last year I wrote about mission creep (plan2023), indeed, I was drinking from the fire hydrant in term of running. I run in any races I could get my hand on. Each year, it seems I say the same thing, but each year I add on more and more races.

    I am a bit tired at the moment. I need to refocus of what I want to do.

    The idea I don’t need to do this has not occurred in my mind. Indeed, I don’t need to do it.

    I am happy though. 2023 brought me up on another level. At the start of the year, I did not know where I was headed. Somehow I managed. I can run some hard races and it was not a 1-off.

    I wanted to meet some awesome people and I did. This was one of the goal. I partly succeeded. People such as Greg, Wayne, Tek, Lynn and Caroline have made my running much more multi-dimensional. It has been an interesting year.

    I want to step out and be bold. I did. I traveled to Toronto and ran their marathon. I ran Blackbeard’s Revenge 100. I finished MMT 100 for the first time. I tried the UTMB Grindstone 100, which was one of the harder race. I did not finish but it was a leap of faith to try. Same for Burning River 100. Try something hard and even when I don’t succeed, I am still happy.

    Something new I did was pacing a friend in her 100 mile race and the emotion of seeing her crossing the finish line was exceptional, probably something I will remember for a long time.

    The question of what’s next is always on my mind.

    I want to do more. I want to do something unique and memorable. I want the next year to be new and different from before.

    Next year, I want to be radically different, yet still reaching my goals.

    I am imagining myself playing chess and then sweep all the pieces off the board and still play. I want to approach like that with my planning. Things currently are too messy. Let sweep everything aside and start fresh.

    End of a year and beginning of a new year is a good time to reimagine what and how I want to be.

    Simple is good. I need to simplify things. I don’t need to run gazillion races. Maybe one or two races is good.

    I think I got a bit race envy this year. I met some high power runners this year. Four or five people who are running (like me) every weekend in various places. It becomes like a friendly competition to see who can out do who. Not really, but our races were like our street creds.

    There is also kind of pressure I put on myself to do races so I could write about them. It is kind of silly. I am sure my readers what me to be healthy and enjoy the runs I do. It does not matter though if I don’t have fun. It has been hard for the last several weeks as I tried to set my schedule for next year. I know what races I want to do, but I was reluctant to sign up any.

    I am still looking for a race/run or an event that will define 2024.

    Less is more. What’s next. Soon. I don’t really know yet. To be determined. Hello Year #6

  • [Day583] slow news cycle

    From now to maybe the end of the year, I have a race or so every weekend. There will be plenty to write about. As of now, it is a waiting period.

    I know the end will come fast. I am waiting, because I haven’t decided what to do yet for next year. I touched on this a few times in earlier posts. I am procastinating.

    This weekend, there is a training run (for Stone Mill 50, which I will run next month). Then on Sunday I will run for my 14th state in Connecticut. Blimbler Bluff, a 50K.

    I never thought it would be a new state. It is a 50K. I might go back to run a bona fide marathon later.

    I don’t advertise things before they happen in case things don’t work out. Then there wouldn’t need for an explanation if things go down badly. I mentioned this now, so I will have to do well.

    I kind of decided to go to Connecticut at the last minute. I was originally bound for Vegas because I wanted to go to Twitch Con as well as a 6 hour race there. However, the price though for the airfare became too expensive. Prices nowaday are like that, but I felt I could have gotten it cheaper. Maybe for my pride, I am not going because I am not willing to pay more than I think I should pay. There is always next year, they say. $1000 for a party is maybe too excessive.

    My weekend opened up. My friend asked if I wanted to join her in Connecticut for a run. Sure, 50k in 10 hours. This seems like the type of race I like. If they give us 10 hours to do, it got to be hard. A 50k usually takes 6-7 hours. It was still open for signup.

    I needed the distance for my training. Training for what? Many runs, especially Stone Mill. I am excited about that. Lots to share in the coming weeks. Not just Stone Mill, but Marine Corps, and then Rim to River weekend.

    Now news of the day, I am still struggling of what races to run for next year. October is the planning month. I use this time to lay out all the trips and goals for next year. Here, I am being indecisive.

    Today, I signed up and booked flight and hotel for Space Coast Marathon 2023.

    Not sure I mentioned, Florida is on my target. I wasn’t going to pick Space Coast though I love space and technology because going to Orlando over Thanksgiving is so much more expensive than going there other time. I saw the price was falling, like by $50 the last couple days, and I jumped in this morning.

    I worked out the flight schedule and all. I tried many different ways and in the end, direct flight from my closest airport won out for less than $600. It is still a lot because I think normally, I could fly to Orlando for $200 ish.

    Couple weeks ago, when I decided to go to Florida, I signed up for Clearwater Marathon in Tampa because flight there was under $200. It seemed like a good fit. When I signed up, they offerred 50K as an option, so I picked the 50K. This will be next year. It should be my 15th state unless I fit another race before then.

    Finally, this is the race I have been on the fence. The New Taipei Marathon (they call it something else) in March has just open! I want to go while at the same time on my way to Sydney for my cousin’s wedding. I checked the airfare. It should be doable. I am nervous about committing it. I don’t get to go out the country much. I am sure there are people that can speak English in Taiwan, but still nervous to go to a chinese speaking country. My chinese is not that good.

    There is still so much to write about. I will stop now. What’s next is my 100 miler in February. Then maybe two or three more marathons. Baton Rouge, La Cruces, and maybe Myrtle Beach. I am so undecided.

  • [Day582] Hayden Lake Marathon

    Two weeks since Yeti, I was not doing or feeling very well. Usually feeling a bit of the blue after a big run is normal for me. Missing the Army Ten Miler last week really set me off in a bad way. Hayden Lake Marathon came at the right time to turn things around. There’s no depression that a little marathon could get me out of.

    My friend wanted to run in Idaho for one of her fifty states marathon goals back in the summer but due to some circumstances, she was not able to go during the summer. The race director allowed her to transfer her registration to the fall.

    I checked my fall schedule and it aligned to my goal of getting my 50 states marathon in. I joined her.

    It was a good choice for me. Originally, Hayden Lake was not on my radar. I wanted to do Lake Tahoe instead because I am more familiar with that, having been there maybe 10 years ago and I wanted a lot of miles (Tahoe Marathon was a three day running series, where on Friday if you like, to run 70 miles around the whole lake during the night). Because of lack of crewing, I did not sign up. Hayden Lake was my second best option.

    Before going, I knew the course was going to beautiful. Hayden Lake is near Coeur D’Alene. I have heard a lot of Coeur D’Alene. I didn’t know how to pronouce the name for this place, but the locals seem to say it like “quarter lane”.

    The Hayden Lake is just big enough for doing a marathon around it. People asked if I have driven around the lake as preparation. In my younger days, driving through the course is what I would do the day before the race. Now with plenty ultra distance races under me, I didn’t feel a need to do so. Besides, I flew in late the night before. There was no time for prepping as I normally would. There was no big chinese buffet for me as I normally do. And no pho at the end. (We went to a gas station next to our hotel, and brough cup of noodle).

    One word, the course was hilly. For me, I am fine with a hilly course. I like the extra challenge. We are talking about couple mile long climbs, something we don’t normally see in a marathon.

    The total elevation was 2600 ft, which is not typical either. The two big climbs are at Mile 4-5 and mile 17. There were also a lot of descents but the course is on rolling hills, so it went ups and downs. A few descents were over a mile long, which were fun for me.

    In getting to the race, we flew into Spokane, Washington on Friday. The race was on Saturday. I arrived late near midnight (intended), but I also ran into some delays and flight changes. My friend picked up my bib for me.

    Going from the east coast to west coast for a race is usually beneficial. Though I arrived late, I slept on the plane. I slept too on the way back.

    We woke up early around 4 AM, the next morning, since our body had not adjusted to the time zone changes, it was not that early for us.

    The temperature was a bit chilly for me. It was my first “cold weather” running. I wore a buff, arm sleeves, shorts, and a CC t-shirt. I was still feeling a bit cold. I wanted to stay in the car, but my nervous pre race jittery, required me to walk around. I had on a light jacket before the race, but I knew I like to run without the jacket on because I tend to warm up pretty easily.

    The race did not have many parking spots on site (Honey Suckle Rd). There were two satellite parking sites about a mile away. They had shuttle running through the race to bus racers and spectators to/from various parking lots.

    We originally parked about a mile away but seeing no one, we were not sure it was the right place. We did not know we were to park inside the construction site as there were no signages as to where were to park. A few cars pulled up next to us, but they soon drove off. We followed them and they led us to a parking off the side of the road right outside the marathon start (within a walking distance, 0.2 mile away). I was prepared to walk a mile as a warm-up but Caroline wanted to ride the bus. We walked back and forth without realizing the start was right there literally.

    For future runners, it always good to go early to get a parking closer to the start. We did not need a shuttle to our car.

    The Lake was beautiful. The leaves were turning. I like the pine trees. I couldn’t tell if some were douglass firs or not. There were some very tall trees.

    The event was not big. There were only about 75 runners for the marathon. The half marathon started half hour later. They also held a quarter marathon and a 5K. Probably a big event when all were combined together. I heard they had street food trucks. We had plenty of pizzas when we finished but the local food trucks were gone. Those shorter distance events were all finished by the time I got back to the start.

    I like hills. Running trail prepared me well for the hilly course. One person asked me how we trained for this. I think you just have to run on a lot of hills. There are training plans out on the web. As for me, I have built quite a good base, so not much training was needed to do a marathon, whether hilly or not I run it the same way. Most runners were from local areas so they were well trained on the hill aspect as well. I could tell, because though it was a hilly course, people were running up on all the hills, a rare sight in a marathon.

    I started off with my friend. I usually started off slow and today was no exception. I kept at her pace for about a mile. We talked to runners around us. I surveyed the field. We made good friends. Again, something you could not do at a big marathons, but in a smaller marathons everyome are friendly.

    I did not come in with a set goal of how I would run it. Only goal was to finish so I could cross off the state. I know my usual marathon time for this year was around 5 hours. My last marathon in August was a bit over 5. I was hoping I could finish in 5 hours. My Toronto Marathon was my fastest time this year at 4:30. I was not sure if I could get a 5.

    Runners were friendly. We talked to many people. Jeff, started with us and I got to know him. He and I started to run a bit faster and we soon left my friend Caroline behind. I did not intend to pace her in this race, knowing she would do fine by herself.

    Jeff had run a backyard marathon recently. I knew he should do quite well. Soon his pace was too fast for me to keep up, but he was too polite of not leaving me behind, and I did not want to hold him back, so I told him to run on ahead. He did. Later, I found him at the end of the race. We joked that our conversation at the beginning had kept him from getting the marathon under 4 hours.

    I enjoyed the scenery and I made a few stops to take some pictures after the first long climb up. Couple people also stopped with me and took pictures of the valley and the lake.

    I just love our first long descent. There were hardly any traffic

    We had a good decent after mile 5. I love a long descent but I was careful to reign in my pace lest I exhausted myself.

    Miles passed by quickly. My goal was to reach halfway. By mile 12, I was feeling a bit tired and stopped for more pictures.

    Fishermen in their boat out on the lake

    Mile 17 finally broke me. This was a second long climb. I was a too tired to run up on the hill. It was over a mile long and so like most people ahead and behind me, I walked up.

    By mile 19, I had recovered enough to run again. I came across a runner who was struggling kind of badly. He did not know he missed an aid station. Apparently it was closed earlier and by the time I reached mile 19, they just reopened it. However, the runner in front did not see that. He was bending over stretching his legs. I passed by to see if he was OK.

    We were already some distance away from the aid station, and so only way was to go forward instead of turning around to return to the aid station.

    He had gel on him and I urged him to use his gel now. It would enable him to get to the next aid station. He took my advice. I also ate mine. We paced him, with run and walk to mile 22. It was his first time running a marathon. He was experiencing hitting the wall. He said he felt a cramp was about to happen. I urged him take it easy and not to force it.

    I knew he would be fine soon with only a few miles left. Mile 20 was my pick me up time. I started running in earnest to catch back up of a few runners who passed me.

    There was a lady, she was quite strong. I saw her still could run up the hills this late in the race. I kept pace behind and closing in a bit at a time. Soon I was within earshot and heard her breathing heavily. I knew her pace was not sustainable. Soon she paused to walk. I could have passed her but I decided to pause my pace and walked with her too and I offered to pace her. We were maybe 3 miles from the finish. I got her to mile 25. She ran a good pace behind me.

    Mile 25 had the last aid station, there she rested. I ran ahead to get water then to pour it on myself to invigorate me for the final push. The cold water helped shocking my system awake. I ran at my full speed then.

    I caught up with another runner. We ran into the finish together. I finished under 5 hours, at 4:48.

    I was happy. The sun came out. They offered pizzas and fruits. I had many plates while waiting for Caroline! I saw Jeff again as he was going home. I asked him how he did, guessing he must have finished under 4 hours. He was close and got 4:01. We laughed at that because he slowed down to talk with me and my friend Caroline and caused him to miss the 4:00 finish.

    Caroline came in around 6:00. She made a few friends who were around her pace. The two ladies were running their first marathons. One of them (Nene) said we must be pros. We laughed. I said it was Caroline 45th marathon and mine #13. Actually my real count is around 50 something for full marathons. 13 is my state count. We had our meal and pictures taken, then we parted our ways.

    I am completely satisfied with my trip and the race. My trip home was a long one due to a fairly long layover in Seattle. I went out the airport for lunch at Pike Place (farmer market/wharf) about an hour train ride away. Something I wanted to do anyway. Originally, I wanted to go to Vancouver for couple days too.

    I have been the Wharf before but this time I took the public transport out, called the Link. It was a good tour of the greater city, riding the electric train (bus). Yes, there are tent cities etc. There are more homeless people than last time I visited. There were some weird people even on my train. As I rode, a guy behind me was explaining the local history and what he encountered with some scary people.

    See the mountain in the distance! I did not remember seeing that on my last trip. People said it’s Rainier. I called it Mt Fuji (sorry)

    The rail is a technological wonder to me. We had to pay to ride but I did not see anyone paying. I went to a booth and brought a whole day ticket for $6 (fairly cheap in my opinion). They did not have a fare gate to separate outside/inside. I saw everyone just walked through a painted area. I followed the same. I doubt my ticket stub is a RFID enabled. Later on my way back to the airport, I saw one passenger (out of a thousand), scanned his Orca pass at one of the posts at a corner. I did not have an Orca pass but just a normal ticket stub. Weird. I walked through the painted line like everyone else. I don’t know how they enforced fare evaders. I am just curious because in the DC Metro area, we are pretty serious here, with alarm beeping if one tries to hop over a fare gate. I think for most people, it was a free ride.

    The rest of the trip home was uneventful. My flight home was on-time. Well, I rather not say about my trouble with Uber/Lyft. Maybe the lesson there was to get a flight in earlier. I eventually reach home but not until after 2 AM, that is for another time.

  • [Day581] off week / non racing week report

    Life happened. I don’t remember much what happened during the last two weeks.

    Running front not much to report.

    I was going to run the Army 10 Miler, which I ran last year during the Columbus Holiday weekend. I was not going to do it again this year but couple of my friends wanted to do it, so I decided to join in (was pressured to join) for the fun of it. We signed up probably back in June or July. For some of them, that would be their longest run ever.

    Supposingly I’ve heard my friend looped in 20+ of us to sign up, but only about 8 showed up for the run. The one who gathered us all to run this jokingly said she should collect a fee from all the no-shows. We should have paid her instead of the Army Ten Miler! Easy money.

    Something happened to me and I did not get to run it though I signed up and paid for it.

    It was on me. I lost track of the day for picking up the bib. No bib meant no racing. They did not allow race day bib pick up.

    I was planning on going after work on Friday for the bib pickup because my workplace is closer to downtown where the race and pickup was. However, a last minute urgent task came in at work and I was stressed over in completing the task. I am blaming work but I know it was on me.

    In my mind, I already crossed off picking up the bib and so did not plan to go to downtown on Saturday. I had a training run scheduled on the Saturday. I did the training Saturday morning and went straight home afterward totally forgot about going by downtown for the bib or the next day event.

    It completely escaped my mind. By Saturday evening, I was mentally rehearsing through what I would be doing on Sunday and preparing for it. It then occurred to me I did not have my bib.

    I knew it was too late then. I did not know anyone who worked for the race organization to get it for me on a private channel. It is such a big event and there bound to be someone who know someone and possibly can get it during off hours. There were still 12 hours before the race. It was not happening. No way could I reach someone to get me a bib for the run.

    To say I was disappointed was a mild way to put it. I was frustrated at myself and the whole thing. I was fuming the whole night and all Sunday. I was sulking the whole Sunday (the reason I didn’t post this).

    I had this long 3 day weekend, normally I would fill it up with a long trip, like running or camping at somewhere far away. Now what was I going to do. I ended up doing nothing.

    The race fell off my schedule. I had nothing to cover for it. Ended up I did not do anything on Sunday either.

    Monday came. The holiday. Columbus Day. I was going to use it for my training. Then my good mother wanted me to take her to a park. That basically messed up whatever plan I had left for the weekend.

    I did not want to do it. I was like, my Saturday was ruin. My Sunday too and now my Monday. I wanted to head up to Shenandoah. My mom believed she “saved” me from my trip. She thinks I went on too many trips. I was a bit miffed and irritated by it. I took her to the park.

    In the end, no one to blame but for myself. I am very jealous of my own time. There is a tug of war: me or the world. I have been “winning” for a long time and this weekend was one of the “bad lucks” in that I did not get to do what I wanted. I gave in not because I lost, but because my heart was not in it any more.

    Summary, very little running was done comparing to my usual volume. My ankle though does need the rest. It recovered much since July trip to Ohio, but it never is at 100%. It does not hurt any more, but it does not feel strong. It always feels like I bump on the funny bone type of sensation when I run on it. It is a strange feeling. I don’t like the cracking sound it makes whenever I try to stretch it. It probably missed a bit of cartilage there.

    Whatever happened, I know it was meant to be.

    Other than running, I have been ruminating on my next year run schedule. I have been at this for a month with very little progress.

    I know what races I want to do. Yet unlike this year, I don’t have anything bold I wanted to try. This year was the Massanutten 100, Blackbeard’s Revenge 100, and Grindstone 100.

    I will run the Massanutten 100 and the Grindstone 100 again, but they won’t feel like I will be shooting the moon. They are not as challenging as before. All my runs of these past few years always have been me trying push the boundary of what I am capable of. Each time I pushed past one, it felt I have reached a new level. Eventually, I reached where I am today. It makes me pause like what’s next.

    I have to find my focus.

    I am proud of what I have become. I like running long. I don’t get tired. 30-40 miles are good distance for me. 50 mile runs feel really good. 26.2 are really easy now.

    I have a vague idea of where I am heading. A few new friends have a goal to attempt the grand slam (run 5 famous 100 milers). It would be nice for me to try those harder races.

    A 200 miler is also in the play. I think I can do it. Next year is not the right time yet. The one I wanted is cowboy 200, but I promised to pace a friend there. I am not serious yet to run a 200 at the same time. Maybe 2025.

    Another idea was to do fifty states for 100 miler. Two friends of mine are attempting. I don’t have to follow them. I know I will eventually do it since 26.2 no longer as appealing. I started on it already. However, I can’t run as many races as marathons. I already ran 50 marathons to-date but only 5 100 milers.

    I am paralyzed by indecision with regard to what races. I want to feel sure about what I am going to sign up. If a race no longer has the “feel” than I don’t want to force myself to run it. In the end I am running because I like it and not because I have to do it. Forgotten Florida 100 seems like a good race on paper, but I don’t have the passion for it, while Red Dirt 100 doesn’t seem to be as a good race, but I really want to do it. They are both on the same day. Normally, yes follow your heart! My head would not let me though. Red Dirt is “harder” in term of logistics.

    My next event would be pacing a friend at Rim to River 100 in West Virginia in November. Yes, I gave her my word I would do it. It is coming up in three weeks.

    That’s that. Nothing new to report except for my whining. Until next time.

  • [Day580] giving back at Yeti 100

    Grindstone 100 is still big on my mind. After a few days of rest and pondering, I committed myself to the next year event. Pre-registration actually opened before we even ran this year event. Some runners were offended by the “money taking” move. However, I am glad they open the registration already! Because I can sign up at a discounted price. It is about $20 more than than last year, about 6% increase. Inflation, what can we say, but please take my money.

    I have been feeling great so far. After Burning River in July, I was crushed, not so much because of the DNF, but something about that race just did not sit well with me. I did not run much for two months after that. It just sapped my energy.

    I was in motion but was not getting anywhere. I tried to sign up for other races next year, but was not able to will myself.

    After reading a friend’s post, it reminded me that, I possibly was having a burnt out at the time. For doing too much in things I no longer find joy in.

    I don’t mean that I have been running too much. As for the amount of running, the “much” part is relative. Some considers running 100 miles in a month being too much. I do that amount in a weekend.

    Grindstone helped me find or rediscover my mission. I did not want to run races just for the sake of it. I know I have a longer term goal of to run in all 50 states, because that was fun to me and it gives me a reason to travel, which I really enjoy. But that my mission has a component to help others achieve their running objective! I think that what energized me over the weekend.

    Something about Grindstone, that my neighbor said I looked more recharged. This is rare because usually after doing a 100 mile, I am beat up. My neighbor was asking what has changed in me. I said just a race!

    This was for the first time, I actually finished the race feeling more refreshing than going into it. My outlook changed too. The past whole week has been great. I have been asking myself, what races to do for next year. I am upbeat. I did sign up for Grindstone again for 2024.

    This weekend, I helped a friend with her 100 mile race. She was with me at Grindstone (Lynn). It was tough for her to do two big races back to back. Her third big race is in a month from now (and I might help her in that one too). On a side note, I checked the entrant list, and saw a few familiar names of those who ran Grindstone with me last week. There are some amazing people out there. I was rooting for my runner. I am excited for her and of her ambition, and so I was willing to help what I can to get her through this.

    From Grindstone, I had more realistic expectation as a pacer. My experience helped Lynn through her difficult times.

    Just a small update, I originally wrote this entry before Lynn’s race, and was going to publish it, but somehow did not have the time. Lynn finished her run. As a pacer, I could not take any credits for it. It is her own strength, she found somewhere to get her through.

    I was with her from mile 49 to miles 85. 34 miles-ish.

    I met her around 6:30 from Damascus crew station and we arrived back 6:30 in the morning.

    She was the first person I paced who actually finished! It was not easy for her. My job on the otherhand was quite easy. I just stayed with her and made sure she’d keep moving.

    The exciting part is sharing her finish. It was her hard work, yet I got to say, I helped! Back to the topic of finding joy! Yes, I had a good time. I met several other runners at the finish, and they were surprised to see me there, and I said, I paced my runner!

  • [Day579] Grindstone

    There is so much to write about this race. Over the weekend I ran Grindstone, which is a UTMB race from this year onward. It was their inaugural race, and in my “backyard,” because it was only two hours away from my home.

    In brief, the race was a thrilling adventure. You could stop reading now. We had a storm. It was cold. I got to only halfway before taking the sag wagon back to the start. It is all worth it. I know the second half would be harder. I did not get to experience the severe sleep deprivation would bring while running. I did stay up to 6 pm to the second day, so about 36 hours without sleep. I can tell you, some rain puddles did turn into runners laying there when I looked at them. I slapped myself to stay awake. Yes holy bat-poop moments. I wonder how it would feel to stay up another 12 hours to the third day.

    Yes, I ran part of the course many times. Hiked there as my first backpacking trip back in summer 2017. The course uses 75% of the Wild Oak Trail (TWOT), which I wrote about a lot because there was also a historic race (fairly old in ultra marathon history), the TWOT 100, which is an old school, “invitation” only and it requires an essay entry registration process for a selected dozen, to run where there won’t be aid stations, crowd cheering spectators, support crews, course markings, or buckle awards at the end. It is just you and the trail in either brutal “summer” heat or freezing winter cold.

    Grindstone 100 is the opposite of any of the old school runs. It is a high marketing, corporate run and sponsored event. What you expect in a big city marathon is what you get from Grindstone (including food and candies that many people I know complained about, but we don’t talk about that), except for bathrooms out on the trail. It is a different feel than what I used to do with trail running.

    Do we want to talk about the negative side or positive side first? There are probably a tons of negatives. A friend of mine said, he would not run it again. Not sure if it is this particular race or the whole UTMB style race. His reason was due to the food they provided. I found the food to be okay, but I heard the same from a few other people, even the volunteers complained about the food/drink they had because there were better options provided at other races. A friend told me they ran at other UTMB events, and this is the normal fare (candies and marathon-like nutrition). BYOB and food.

    This leads to the second point: the race and experience is a little different from what we expect! Some I think are normal and some are not. There were a ton of “new runners” – first time running a 100 mile race. Well, not saying all of them did this, but I have noticed when you bring a ton of people together, they tend to “trash” the place. In trail running, we follow an unspoken rule like many (or all) backcountry hikers do of the “leave no trace” principle. It means no littering regardless whether at an aid station or on the course. And if you see some trash, I am not talking about baby diapers here, (which I did see), you pick it up, especially plastic gel or wrappers from trail bars we eat. They were clearly runner’s trash and recently left behind too. There were just too many. I ran the course maybe two weeks ago, they were not there. I ran many trail races and have never seen as many trashes left on the course as this one! I think it is the city marathon people, because in city races, we are “encourage” to throw cups down on the ground and volunteers would dispose of them. On trail runs, man, we don’t do that. It is ground for disqualification. And I only ran half of the way, and hopefully the other half is better. There was a heated discussion before about throwing organic matters on this course, like orange peels, if that is acceptable. The answer is no. The one who did it thinks it is acceptable because organic matters are biodegradable. But reason no is, it will become a trash dump once everybody does it. It takes away the enjoyment of runners who come behind them. Sorry, I had to get on my soap box.

    Third negative, related to this is the attitude of some runners and their lack of preparation for a wilderness run. Yelling and get angry at volunteers is a big no-no for us, also another ground for banning from the race and/or disqualification. We should do it like in soccer or football, touching a race official is an immediate red card and ejection from the game. I couldn’t believe it happened. Well, unless it is baseball. I think it has to do with people not finding a ride back to camp and were grumpy (more below).

    Sometimes, I think people just can’t have nice things. It seems to be coming from the city marathon running people, where they think they are entitled a full service out on the trail or maybe the high entry price they paid for the race. We don’t have “private” bathroom out there for once! Some have never use the woods before! My goodness. Yes there is no pot-a-johns even at an aid station. Go into the woods is what we do and “leave no trace”, I can’t stress enough. I saw TP and wipes on the trail. I have heard runners saying their wipes are biogradable. (The person is a male, so I am not pointing fingers at ladies — most if not all ultras are guys majority, females, they know how to take care themselves out in woods). Still, no, don’t do it. These were not there during my training runs. Sorry, I didn’t have enough gut to pick those up. Just gross. They looked recent too. Bring out your own waste is all I got to say. Put them in a ziplock, or double zip lock. Pack it in pack it out. At least burry them or put a rock on it so it wouldn’t fly away (I don’t advocate this, but at least, it is out of sight). Thank god we do have sweepers to sweep/clean up the course, but it is too much to expect them to clean up human waste and such. This is probably why we did not get permits to run on most National Parks.

    We do have very good service from the volunteers at remote locations, but I read on social media after the race, that some runners were frustrated that were no “shuttle” available at every aid station to pick them up when they decided to drop or were cut from the race. Majority opinion seemed to side with the “victims.” Welcome to the reality of (ultra) trail running world. The whole ultra trail running is to be “on your own” and that includes when you bail from the race, it is up to you to safely get back to the start “on your own” or seek shelter and sometimes even on your own power — meaning walking back how ever long the distance is. I have done it. I ran halfway in an event before and did not make the cut, I chose to walk 13 plus miles back, with little to no support expected since the aid station had closed (at Catoctin 2023, and MMT 3rd training run of 2022). Note, I did it not because I was forced to, but I knew I could do it, you just take the shortest route back. Know your ability.

    This is a tough love out there. A few were surprised they had to find their own rides when their bodies were cold and that they might lapse into unconsciousness. One raised the safety concern of being a young single female and had to share a ride in a stranger’s car. Comments were why there were no ride from the race provided (there were, but I think only at two locations and also time-bound, you had to get there by certain time or at least wait for a long time like couple hours or more before someone is available to drive). It is normal in other races to wait until the aid station closes before the volunteer’s shift ends (their shift typically goes from 4-8 hours or more) for them to give the person a ride back and some volunteers had clean up too, and it can take an hour or more, and most of the time, they also have to wait till the sweeper/last runner to come through before leaving the site, and this is usually an hour or more past the published closing time, so yes, prepare to stay on the course for a long time even after dropping (if a race is 36 hours, you better make sure you can stay 36 hours or more even if in the cold, well, especially in the cold). Tough love here. Ultra running is not like city marathon running. Basically, if you drop, you are screwed. I would be happy to have a ride at all if I drop from a race, much less complain about taking a rides from a family member of other runners. The issue was raised because a runner found out his wife’s car had full of mud inside from rides she offered. There are runners who wanted a ride but not willing to give rides to others too. They were caught again unprepared for ultra racing in bad weather. Not saying that their concerns are not valid, but just pointing out the unmet expectations some runners had. No one wants their cars to be dirty after a race, much less made by another stranger.

    It is on them. It is a rude awakening for some less initiated. When I did my training run, I always make plans for backup — what if I can’t get to where I wanted to be — what do I do? You seek shelter if needed – because you have packed a space blanket or jacket and some other safety gear – you can survive, unless of course you didn’t have them! And you don’t run until you drop! Pay attention to your own health. I think some were caught off guard, especially by the weather. We all knew bad weather was coming, but how many did not expect to be wet and cold because of being under dressed, speaking at myself here. I knew I was going to be cold and still I was under-dressed.

    That were some negatives I had not toward the race organization but my fellow runners. Unfortunate, many directed their frustration at the race. Maybe social media blew it out of porportion. It made me rant. Negative comments usually speak louder than many positive experiences we had. This brings to mind of the Toronto Marathon — boy was that fun, survival in a city center.

    Now onto the more positive side. You have many good things from races by a famous organization. First it is glamorous! You get ranked globally! And if you reach 800 points you became an elite ultra runner! Second, the volunteers and supports are top notch (there were complaints too). You have course marshals, crossing guards, many signages, loud music and bright flashy lights that many have come to expect in a big city marathon. It was a very high energy atmosphere. Course marking was the best I have seen in an ultra race. You can’t get lost, period. Even on the trail! It was like trail running for dummies! Thinking about this, maybe because they gear toward this group of people, you get the complaints of not having bathrooms on the trails.

    My only complaint was you do pay a lot from your wallet for all these frills and thrills. Some paid $600-1000 for this race, which is twice to 4x I normally paid. Ultras are not cheap, and famous ultras are even more expensive.

    The race itself is not any easier. It kicked my butt. You think if you have paid that much, there would be someone to drive you around! Nope, you still have to run the course and it was not easy. I don’t think it was the lack of training, or the weather (we had a storm with a name, Ophelia, hitting during the race), or nutrition, etc.

    Now why I did not finish. If anything, it was my lack of focus — and being lost track of time. I did have a pace chart made. Generally, I knew the pace and my time during the race and what I was doing. I had those information memorized. But I decided to run without a watch — I have done so for many races this year. It worked out fairly well except for this one. Yes, how can you run without a fancy Garmin sport watch or any watch at all? Exactly. I like to run by “feeling.” It makes me happy! No stress and all. Some of you think, that would drive one crazy of not knowing the distance/pace/time. Try it. I dare you. Double dare. It will free your soul.

    Anyway, I think not having a watch was not a big issue. I had my phone on me. If anything I could check the time (and gps and map) from my phone. I just chose not to check as frequently unless I really needed to.

    Back to the story, and I have to go back to maybe why I started running ultras. Maybe 2017-18? when one of friends in my running club did the JFK 50 (there is a post on this, here, about my first JFK run), I was so impressed by that and I said I will too run ultra marathons.

    Of course, I did it in November 2019. 2020 came and I said, I want to run a 100 miler. Why? 1, I caught the ultra running bug. 2: maybe my main reason was Jen, who inspired me in the first place, if she ever attempts to run a 100 mile, I would crew/pace her. So I needed to run a 100 mile myself first. I don’t know why being able to run a 100 mile would qualify me to pace someone. Maybe that just the way it is. It became my motivation.

    This of course was lost in the sand of time, until Grindstone. It all came back to me.

    2021. I ran my first successful 100 at Rocky Raccoon, without a crew or pacer. Not that I didn’t need one, but I could not find one because I was too shy to ask.

    2022. I had my first DNF (failed to finish) at MMT 100 and that opened my eyes that I need a crew/pacer or both for harder races. At the Devil Dog 100, I finally had my first race being crewed and what an effect it had on me. I said I am willing to crew and pace people, because they helped me in the race.

    2022, also was when I met Tek at a race, who blew my mind. I think she ran like 22 100 mile races that year. I said, I have to step up my game. And I did. I signed up 3 or 4 100 mile races immediately. Blackbeard Teach’s Revenge, Massanutten, Grindstone, Burning River and possibly Devil Dog 100 were somewhat affected by this. All these races were within the past 12 months. I needed to run more and I can run more. Before I met Tek, I thought running more than one 100 was insane. As you know, I finished multiple of them (5 total), except for Burning River and Grindstone as I am about tell.

    I went through this long digression, probably no one cares about to explain this, Sometimes you need to know why you run. It is the vision and mission for any race you do. And most assume that when you run you want to finish. That’s the prime directive. Grindstone flipped this up-side-down for me.

    I trained a whole year for Grindstone. I signed up I think on January 1st or somewhere near that date and every since, every night before sleep, I knew I have this “difficult” race in September. And I would wake up each morning, all the runs I did, was for this one race.

    I had expected to do well. I think I could. If I think I could not do it, I would not have stepped on the course or to be at the starting line.

    It is a given: We all want to finish in a race. No one signs up a race and hope they would not finish.

    I got myself a pacer, who is a wonderful friend of mine I met this summer at the Massanutten 100. He volunteered to pace me for 60+ miles. At the last moment, he got sick and switched to crewing for me instead. Shout out to him for being a great pacer and friend. I am forever grateful for him and many others who were wishing me well and supported me on the course or at home.

    So here is the kicker, My purpose (mission statement) changed at the last moment before the race start. This is why mission statement should be written down and as well communicate clearly to others so that it wouldn’t be changed willy-nelly on the spot. But as I said, one reason I love running ultras is to be able to help others in their races even to the detriment of my own race (I had done this couple times such as at Iron Mountain in 2021 and 2022, and at Laurel Highland 2021).

    In Grindstone, my mission was no longer to finish the race, but to help a friend to finish her race.

    So here is the scope. As I was picking up my bib and taking it back to my car, for a final preparation since I had about 2 hours to spare before the race, I ran/bumped or encountered Tek, a friend who I haven’t seen in ages. Actually, I saw her at Old Dominion 100 the past June. I had no idea she was running Grindstone. She might had told me but I have completely forgotten. Memories rushed in. I promised to pace/crew her too back in 2022 too, but something happened that weekend and I never showed up at Grindstone. Suddenly, I felt a debt has to be paid.

    We talked and caught up on things. When the race was about to start, she lined up next to me. I said, I would pace her through the night, since I expected her to be faster than me, she would be on her own the next day. Note, this ultra starts at 6 in the evening instead of morning, so you would have to spend two nights in the woods instead the usual one night. That what makes this race a tough cookie besides the terrain. Terrain and elevation are not as tough as the Massanutten 100 I just did. In theory, I had a good chance.

    That is pretty much the end of the story. If my friend had finished, I would have finished too. However, she did not, and I followed her lead.

    The first five miles were on the road with slight climbing. Everyone started strong. I was running a good pace. We hit the first aid station at Lick Run, at which the course became a gravel road and eventually led to a trail that took us up the mountain to a ridge.

    When it goes up, oh it does. Many people started to slow down significantly. Tek was climbing hard but effortlessly and immediately was out of range (my sight). I dropped back to talk to a new friend, Hazel, who knows Lynn and Lynn knows Tek, all three were running this weekend.

    First problem: After the climb, slower runners dropped back and faster runners sped ahead. Me, here, a slow runner, sped up too, except that my new headlamp was not working and evening was approaching. I used it at the Burning River, without a problem, but now it refused to turn on. It was locked in a flashing mode and I did not know how to get it out of it (later I found out, you have to press and hold for 30 seconds on one of three buttons in the back – I should use a marker to mark it — do not press that lock button, exactly, why would they made a lock button?). Anyway, I had to stop and get a spare headlamp from my hydration pack. Yes, always carry couple spares. I had two. That solved it. But my spare lamp was dim – normally I don’t mind it for city running, but on the trail, it does not do justice because I could not see rocks that blended in with their surrounding, especially black or brown rocks (moss covered). It was a recipe for disaster. That is also a reason to practice night trail running, so that your feet can run without seeing what you are stepping onto. Trust me. I did it, both the night trainings and the ability to balance without looking. Note, I could and do adjust the beam of my headlamp to shine farther ahead, so I do not look at my feet of where I am stepping while running. It would give you a natural running strides at night just like running in the day time. Of course you have to practice this. It is dangerous!

    With the light problem solved, I could start running again. I caught up to Tek. Hazel was right behind me. We ran to Wolf Ridge, now maybe 12 miles in.

    We were quick at the aid station, maybe only stayed for 2 minutes before getting back out. The next station was at the end of a long climb to the top called Reddish Knob (the 100k runners do not go all the way to Reddish Knob, fyi, they take a side trail that leads them to a road and from there New River Gap).

    People say it is beautiful up at Reddish Knob but unfortunately it was night time and we had bad weather, so no sight seeing. We arrived maybe the back of the pack at midnight. Looking back, we were a bit slower than we should here of climbing these 9 miles up.

    The next stop was to Little Bald, which was about 3 miles away with a slight uphill. Again we could have pressed harder here. Tek was falling asleep. I was too. She said she lost track of the time because she was afraid of getting lost, so spent a lot of time checking the map on her watch. I don’t assign blame here. If any, I should have taken charge on the pacing. However, because the race was still early, with 6 hours in and 30 hours to go, we didn’t want to be too aggressive with the pace. We always believe we could catch up later on.

    Problem 2: Tek was having trouble eating. Tek is a nurse so I assumed she could take care of herself in term of meals. I was not too concern on this, but in ultras not being able to eat is a red flag, that things are about to get ugly. Indeed, it did. Reddish Knob did not have a lot of food, and they later ran out water was what I heard from Hazel, who were a few minutes (20-40 minutes) behind. They had about just two tables with some water coolers and some candies laid out. We know in ultras, not every aid station is huge. And not every station has enough water. I ran enough races to know. Some runners were caught off guard here. The station was dimly lit (maybe was unlit, and we used our headlamps to see.) I am not complaining, but just noting my experience.

    Problem 3: We reached the next aid station, Little Bald, now past 1 am. Storm Ophelia hit. It started with some sprinkles of rain and winds were picking up. Temperature dropped, maybe in the 40s (about 7C). We were cold but could manage with a thin jacket on, since we were moving, and we did not feel too cold. Note, some people wanted to drop here, but were not allowed to (this is normal with ultra running, that not all aid stations allowed runners to quit).

    Problem 4: Being cold compounded with the lack of sleep, and note that with 7 hours in the race now, and with little nutrition taken, at 25 mile mark, fatigue set in and the body started breaking down. Our pace slowed significantly.

    Problem 5: Confusion set in. Remember what I wrote about not having a watch? We could not trust our GPS watch because the distance started messing up. Aid station at Little Bald said they are closing soon, but that they would be lenient to allow runners through. I think we were a bit behind pace, and we finally realized it. Tek asked how many miles to the next aid station, which was the New (or North) River Gap (NRG) and we all knew we had to reach there by 4 AM, and learned we were behind schedule.

    Problem 6: We reached the first technical downhill. And this is a rather long descend. Wolf Ridge at mile 12 was technical, but not as much as here. Tek got a renew strength as panic of the impending cut loomed over our heads. We had less than 2 hours to get there. It seemed we might not make it or it would be cutting very closed. We had 7 or 8 miles to go.

    Tek dashed down the hill. She was out of my sight. I had problem #7: which was my vision deteriorated due to rain and the fog on my glasses. There was actual fog as well. I needed windshield wipers and defroster for my glasses. Remember what I wrote about my headlamp, it was too dim to see. I tried wiping my glasses with my shirt, it did little to clear the condensation. Everything was wet. I then set my headlamp on its brightest setting (highbeam). It helped tremendously. I think it doubled the lumens. I started running confidently down the ridge, skipping on rocks, and dashing here and there.

    Problem 8. This is a compound problem. We caught up a bunch of runners. We knew we were in good company, but good time does not last. Tek later said she rolled her ankle here and her pace again slow significantly again. The trail was rocky. I had no tapes on hand to tape her up even if I knew. I am not unfamiliar with ankle rolls, so I usually carry tapes, but not this time (I packed them in my drop bags). My left ankle just recently recovered enough from Burning River run. Tek’s ankle was swollen post race, when she showed them to me. She did not communicate this until after the race. (problem 9) and I did not ask, her reply when I did ask was the trail was rocky, but I have seen she could run rocky sections before. The main reason was she was injured. A good pacer should be well aware of their runner’s condition and give proper advices and guidances.

    Our race was as well as over by then. I know I did not have to stay with her, however, I guess I overcommited. By luck or favorable blessing from above, we made it to New River in time with 20 mins to spare. I arrived maybe 5 minutes before Tek. I could get dry under the tent, though I did not have time in changing out my wet clothes. I thought we were about to head back out. In fact, I did not go for my drop bag. There were only two locations for drop bags, and here was the first one. It is critical to use them, because I had everything I needed in the bag! Problem 10, if I had a crew, they would get my drop bag, clean me up, feed me, and send me back out in no wasted time. Without a crew, we dallied. We did not leave until 3:50 AM as the station was about to close. Anyway, it would not make a different in hindsight if we had rush a bit, because we were 30 minutes over the clock at our later cutoff.

    33 miles done so far. A 50k distance. I felt a bit tired by now.

    Next, problem 11, or a missed opportunity and/mission creep. Initially, I told Tek, I can guarantee I could get her to New River Aid Station. I succeeded. But I broadened my scope saying I will get her to the morning. The next station was Lookout Mountain. They closed at 6 AM. We did arrive exactly at 6. This is a no drop location. They let us through. The missed opportunity was not taking care of Tek at New River Gap and let her drop there, so I could have continue with my race. I still had time to run my own race at that point. Mission creep, was I took on extra responsibility and being a captain to go down with the ship. If I needed to bail from my responsibility, New River Gap was a perfect place to do it. Bailing her at Lookout Mountain would have been a little heartless thing to do.

    Problem 12 and 13. Recurrences old issues became a liability. Things started snowballing. Tek could not eat. She was throwing up the food she had eaten, which was a very bad sign. We could not drop her. Her ankle was bad. She was sleepy, but coffee would upset her stomach more. She could barely run. We were out of time. Day was dawning. If anything now was the perfect time to catch up on distance in the race, and speed our way to the next station, which is also a crew point, Dowells Draft, mile 45. I ran this section during training. It is very runnable. But I was screwed. My friend said, don’t let others take advantage of your kindness. I had expect to get there by 7-ish. We did not arrive until 8:30. Slow runners were passing us now. If anything, if you see a slow runner passing by during a marathon, it means you are in deep doodoo. We were moving slower than the slow runners.

    Problem 14. I had a 50-50 chance that my crew would be at Dowells Draft. As I arrived, my crew was no where in sight. A little diappointed but my crew did not promise to be there in the morning. I told him, afternoon was when I needed him the most at mile 71-72, where I would likely decide to drop or go on, so he had decided to come there in the afternoon. Here though, I could help myself since I had a drop bag, (our second drop location) but because of the lack of time, I did not go for my drop bag to get warmer clothes or good food. The food at Dowells was excellent, but nothing beat your own that you had packed. I brought real food. If I were to finish, I need strong food, like rice and potatoes. There was also no cell signal to communicate with my crew, so that they would be aware of my delay.

    Problem 15. Indecisiveness. Tek decided to drop. I decided to go on. Tek then followed me out. I tried to convince her to drop. We agreed, and I walked with her back to the aid station to hand in our bibs. However, I also believe I could reach the next one. The aid station captain also said, it is better to drop at the next location because they had shuttles there for us to take us back to the start, but there were none here. Tek was not convinced she could get to the next station in time, which was at Dry Branch with a cutoff at 11 AM. (Note: they should have made Dowells Draft station a hard cutoff station, instead of Dry Branch, or have Dry branch the place for our 2nd dropbag location). My reason for to drop at Dowells was my crew would show up eventually. I had dry clothes available for myself and Tek (Tek did not pack any, and we were wet and cold the moment we were not moving). We had less than 2.5 hours to get there. Tek believed she needed 3 hours. If we stay, my crew does not show up until 4 pm, and that is 8 hours away. 3 hours won. However, we could try too to beat the cut off. Tek said we lost so much time here, walking back and forth with our indecision. Indeed we did, though in the grand scheme, a few minutes here were nothing at the end. She said, in case we do reach the station and is missed by that couple minutes, we would kick ourselves of not getting out faster.

    Nothing much happened now. It seemed we were doomed, 90% chance we would not finish. Even if I have left Tek and started running in earnest, it would be a foolish thing to do because it was a big giant climb for the next 13-15 miles to Elliot Knob. I don’t think I could survive the race at this point even if I put in full power. Sure, I might make the next station or even next few ones, but result would be the same.

    Our only hope was to catch the shuttle at Dry Branch. Many people passed us. This was an out and back – lollipop loop of 27 miles, so the fast runners already finished the loop was heading back (inbounding) to Dowells Draft as we were outbounding. It was good to see them. I think we saw the first and second female coming in. For guys, probably were 10th to 20th place heading back. Then later many more. All these were sub 24 hour people. They would finish before dinner time, yet we were still less than halfway. I was not jealous. It actually boistered my spirit. I wanted to run the race as well as seeing the race. This was as close as it get to be along side with celebrities.

    We did eventually reached our final aid station at Dry Branch. Mile 52. Some people do celebrate having run 52 miles. To me it was kind of deflated. I know people’s good intention to help me feel better. Keep eyes on the positives. We did it in 17.5 hours (almost half of the race 36 hour allowed). For those who were planning to run this race in an even split or a reverse split, then, they are deeply mistaken. We believed we could do a reverse split here or close to it. The next half had more road and we should be able to run faster. Also, it is day time, so we could see better and run better. However, 11 AM was the hard cutoff. We would have missed the cut anyway even if were did not have to deal with our tons of problems with our deeply held belief of doing an even/reverse split.

    However, given the conditions, we had been out all night, wet, cold, having eaten very little food, taking the bus back to the start was a better choice. We did not argue with the aid station’s captain but gladly accepted the offer of the van ride. We considered ourselves fortunate to have a shuttle ready for us as we arrived and also being able to escape all the nastiness the storm later brought to the area. Thus our race concluded.

    As they say there is always a next year. Many of the friends I knew, dropped from the race too. A few managed to finish. I spent the rest of the race, resting, recuperating, and enjoying the race. I headed out to Dowells Draft in the afternoon to look for my crew who did not know I quitted, because of no cell service in the area. Also I wanted to pick up my and Tek’s drop bags. At night after gotten some sleep, Tek and I went back out to see a few friends who were coming through at the New River Gap Station. My friend Wayne (my crew) cooked us a storm to eat, our first real meal of the day (well second meal for me as I smooched off Wayne’s food at Dowells Draft when I met up with him earlier)! He brought me the good storm not the bad one that was happening outside. He was crewing for two other runners. Becky, his remaining runner, came before the station closed at 1:30 AM. We stayed till past 2-2:30 AM. Here, some families were surprised that it was a hard cutoff station, at so “early” a time, since it was not mentioned in the handbook at 1:30 am. (Soft cutoffs are also a hard cutoff, though not communicate directly in the runner’s guide). (Hi Mel, a friend, who was upset by this, I didn’t know he was still on the course, and was later cut here at 2 AM because he believed he could still reach the finish in time, and the cutoff was too aggressive!) My advice: Always plan to beat the soft cutoffs or you be screwed. If I had continued running earlier, I would be cut here as well, because, my target was to get here around 2-2:30 am, like Mel. The aid captain finally kicked us out. We drove back to camp. Becky did manage to finish around 5 AM. She credited to Wayne for getting her through at mile 80-82, when the storm Ophelia was at its peak. It was as thrilling as being able to watch what she accomplished what we ourselves could not do. Intangibly, we felt in a sense of crossing that finish line with her as we watched her came in.

    The weekend was Amazing. Some considered it a bitter sweet moment. I had no regrets. There always are what-ifs. Could I have run and finish in spite of the storm and hundreds of problems we faced? Maybe. We always believe we can. The moment we doubt ourselves is when we fail. Also, we accept our limitations. This was one of races we just could not finish. Someone told me, we tried our best in the circumstance given at this specific moment in time. We just have to accept it. Yes, there are things we could have done differently, but now it is water under the bridge and the ship has sailed.

    At first it was difficult to write this post. Many wanted to know why and how I did not manage to finish. I seemed to be so strong, mentally and physically. I came into this race as prepared as I ever be. I still think I was unbreakable. The race did not break me like MMT or Iron mountain did or Burning River. In hindsight, I am more appreciative of my pacer there at the Burning River who similarly stayed with me through all my ups and downs (mostly downs) at the toughest part of the night. Maybe there is some wisdom in that. I thought about it, my purpose when I started the run was to help people and it gave me great joy. Even though with a DNF and I was satisfied. I am just returning the favor.

  • [Day577] Rock n The Knob

    Claysburg, PA. I ran the Rock n the Knob every year since I first discovered it in 2020. Reports from the 2022 run (here), 2021, and 2020 are linked for those who are interested.

    Each year is a bit different. One thing constant is the course is hard. I love this race. It is small but in my mind it is one of my biggest races. I usually sign up once it opens and I waited whole year for this. It is definitely the hardest marathon I did.

    Having prior years experience helped. The course changed a little bit from year to year. They always say, “we added more climbing to the course.” This year, the new section added did not seem too bad. We had two new river crossings. I don’t like getting my feet wet but it would not have been a true trail race without dipping one’s toe into the water.

    The climbing was a lot but I did not struggle as much as last year. I think if I remember correctly I threw up last year (It was actually 2021).

    Maybe this year I have gone out a bit slower, so I was not rush climbing up hills, so I was not as winded.

    I felt this year, there were less people, which made me a bit sad because this was a fun race to do. We had more time too, 1 whole extra hour, 10 hours total. I think that was messing with our heads. The last runner only needed 9 hours (there were a few who dropped and usually, it is for other reasons but time). The race started at 7 AM instead of 8 AM. I finished in 8:20:52. Last year, I finished under around 7:50. I was 30 mins slower.

    I camped out the night before. Originally I intended to be there for two nights. My friend, decided to join me on the run and asked for a ride and to camp with me. She was going to sleep in her car at the start, but I said, I had a tent spot about 3 miles away. More the merrier. So we left work early and rode up to Blue Knob State Park. It was long 4 hour-ish drive in rush hour traffic. Having a friend to talk to on the way up though, makes time pass by quicker. Normally for me any drive over 2 hours is too long for me. I could run 10-20 hours but could not stand driving more than two hours. I would fall asleep behind the wheel.

    The race was uneventful. I knew the course almost by heart now being this was my fourth time doing it. There were a lot of side trails or we usually would take one of the unmarked ones. The first couple miles were on a rocky path. I went slower. I know soon it would become more runnable. Occasionally, I kicked over some roots or rocks. I did roll my ankles a few times but each time, I was not hurt. And it was my strong ankle that was stumbling. My weaker ankle was alright. I was so afraid of hurting myself since a big race (Grindstone) is coming up the following weekend. I need my feet to be strong and healthy.

    Then the group I was with started to separate out. Note, I did not claim the front position but was in the rear. I believe I was one of the last few runners left. I could not catch up or stayed with the main group. In the past, I usually could stay with them because I had a fast short range burst. Not this year. At the downhill section, I could speed up some, but there were a lot faster runners who could take the downhill and out ran me (like Sarah did, bib 65). The few I happened to catch up, passed me back in no time.

    In the beginning, I could power up the climbs. I felt I did better than last year. About maybe about 4-5 miles in at Pavia, I started to get tired a bit. I walked more. There were some pictures taken by volunteers and I looked beaten up. We went down to the Lost Children. (This year, post race, I finally understood why they called it the Lost Children, it is sad story of what happened about 150 years ago, when two children disappeared from the town Pavia; they had a memorial there called Cox Memorial). I wanted to go back after the race to pay a proper visit.

    This year, we did the new loop there. I enjoyed this section. We had a huge climb up back to Chapell Field/Blue Knob Campground.

    From there, we went to the next section where we had another big climb – Teal is Real. This year it did not feel that bad. I met a half marathoner, Jake. Soon I was at Raven Rest/Roost. Previous year, I felt like dying here. Maybe the course changed somewhat, I felt I missed an aid station, but I was with other runners, I don’t think I had gotten off course. Yes, I just reread last year report, this year course was a slightly different, there was no Pavia’s Aid station. Instead of climbing up to the Pavia’s Aid station, we descended down. We climbed Saw Mill. We climbed Rocking Ridge. I met a lady from Pittsburgh who will be at the Grindstone 100. She will be voluntering.

    It was about 4 miles from Raven’s Rest to the Heavenly Hairpin. Last year, I barely made the cut, and I was the last one in. This year, I was surprised when I got to Hairpin early, I caught up many half marathon runners. Of course this section had one of wicked climbs in the whole course. It was like 4 miles straight up to Pavia Overlook. Many runners felt exhausted at “I will Neetle do it again” or Beaver Dam. I was a bit tired, but climbing up was nothing to me. I was not even out of breath. I was sweating profusely though.

    At the Hairpin, I felt I was at least an hour ahead of the cut. I think the time was 11:45 or something. I wanted to make it Quitters Rows by 12:45-1 pm. It was only 2 miles-ish, but we had a huge ski slope to climb. This section though I hate it was also most fun because on the big ski slope, we got to run down first then climb back up. On the way up, you could see a long line ahead. I actually started cramping on the climb. It took much effort to reach the peak.

    It might not look that steep, but o boy, it was one of the hardest ascends (26% grade they said). Note, the top is not actually a top yet. People were tiny dots on the hill.

    Then there was the steep double diamond descend. It was fun for me but it was too dangerous to run down this year. I know in one previous years, I bombed down the hill. I did not have to sit on my butt to go down because I was bolder, but running down on it was no joke.

    There was the part everyone like, I needed a Sherpa. It was just a small climb but it was like mountaineering. I got down on my hands to crawl up. I reached the Quitter’s Rows at 12:50, and found out the aid station doesn’t close until 2:45. It was because the extra hour they gave up. The previous years, I felt I had to fight the cut off at here.

    I was demotivated on the final 10k. We marathoners had an extra section to do. It was not bad. I ran it in prior years but this year, I had no energy to do it. A guy who was with me, seemed effortlessly walked faster than me. He soon left me behind. Previous years, there were so many other runners on this section, but this year I was alone. So I continued walking at my own pace. Halfway through, Sarah caught up. She was a downhill runner. So with her, I got my motivation back to run. Maybe also, I had rested enough after couple miles of walking. She wanted me to go ahead. I did. We rolled into the final aid station, “throat punch“, having caught up to the guy who previously left me.

    The final two miles were on a big climb (Soul sucker) back up to Blue Knob Resort. I started cramping again, but this year the cramp was not as bad as last year. I rested maybe a minute or so until the cramp went away. Then the climb was not too bad. I caught up with Sarah again on the way up. From then it was the last stretch to the finish. I could hear Sarah and the couple guys behind me. Occasionally, on one of the switchbacks I looked down and saw them. I waved and shouted, saying I am up here. They looked up and shouted, Thanks. They kept close and I thought they would overtake me up at the top. They never came close. At the top, there was about half a mile to 3/4 of a mile relatively flat section, but a bit rocky trail leading to the finish. I walked because I could not make myself to run. Last year, I was running with another runner all the way to the finish. (That was the year with Jen).

    I ran in when I saw the finish line banner. I amazed afterward that my legs were not cramping like last year. I basically could still walk. I remembered last year, it was painful to walk (because I was cramping up for over an hour last year). No more cramping this year. My friends were there cheering me. Surprisingly I was not the last one finish. There were 9-10 runners behind me. We stayed till a bit after 4 pm, (last runner came in) before going home (45 mins or so).

    Have to cross the wire line to avoid getting shoes wet. I was too afraid to try
    Pavia Overlook – so beautiful
    Was the car flipped before? Apparently for Cadillacs parking only. (yes someone flipped it over since last year; see last year picture)

    I regretted in the new section of not going hand-over-hand on the wire line. I did not think my balancing and acrobatic skill is that good to try. I waded across the water instead.

    It was good thing I reread the last few years’ reports. My memory of the last year race while writing this report was actually from 2021. I did not realized until I reread those two years. Last year event was blanked/erased from my brain already until I reread the report. I did not remember Brian and the 65 year old man. I did remember Sean. Sean and his wife ran it this year. They were at the finish this year cheering me as I came in.

    This year run was peaceful. There were no people chasing me. I wasn’t chasing anyone. Sarah, popped up from time to time. I think she was either immediately ahead of me or behind me. I did not get to know her until after we finished when Caroline called her over to our table. She ran Rim to River last year and will pace a friend this year. I plan to be there to cheer, because a friend Aaron, who introduced me to this race (actually both Rim to River and Rock n the Knob and Camp Anderson) will be running the Rim to River. I said, I hope to see Sarah again at that race.

    Last year, I wrote, why do I love running? It was because somehow from seemingly a series of inconsequential events, we have a story to tell.

    Some I chose not tell because they seemed not good to the flow with the story. In my mind, they might make sense, but why did I remember something like this but not other things.

    Mike, who was doing the sweeping this year, remembered me as the guy who found his iPhone. He shot some wonderful pictures of many runners including me and posted on Facebook with his iPhone.

    Sean will be running the JFK 50 this year. Couple other people asked me if I will run it. I haven’t planned to run in it yet, but I kind of want to do it now Sean is running in it.

    The woman at the Throat Punch Aid station, told me that she always gains weight while running ultras. She gave me chocolate covered coffee beans last year but none this year. Maybe I did not ask.

    Keith, Aaron’s friend was at the Throat Punch station, but Aaron was not around this year. The race felt somewhat different for me without seeing Aaron.

    This year, I had Caroline, though we did not run together, but we shared the same course (she did the 13 miles) and she enjoyed it. I thought the hills might be too much for her, but apparently that was her best part. She likes also the stone steps on the trail. She likes the Chalets on top of the hill. She took many pictures and they were posted on Facebook. She made the drive to PA a lot more enjoyable.

    Weekend is too short. The race was enjoyable. Good things always have to end so soon. I did wish to stay for another night. With Caroline though, we had to make it back the same night. I would feel bad to make her stay another night. My feet were sore. I spent the whole Sunday sleeping in and did not wake up until 4 pm. Slept in too on Monday morning.