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  • [656] Hone Quarry Trail Preview

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • [655] Naked Nick 50k

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Next up would be Boyers Furnace 40 after Christmas. 

  • [654] Devil Dog Ultras (100 Mile)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • [653] Thanksgiving week

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • [652] Richmond Marathon

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Similarily, I finished the Grand Slam.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

  • [650] Stone Mill 50

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Some runners ariving at the finish

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

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

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

  • [649] observation/race signups

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

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

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

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

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

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

    This post is not about corporate races over smaller races.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    A beautiful day on the trail

  • [648] Race schedule for next year

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    ~~~2025~~~

    Goal: (Mid) Secret Western Slam

    RI, Newport (was)

    —-

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

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

    Jan 25. BRR training #1. The North

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

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

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

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

    Mar 1. BRR training #3

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

    Mar 15. Elizabeth Furnace 50k

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Sept 19-21 (conflict?) Airforce Marathon

    Sep 27. Big Schloss. depends

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

    Potential races that might change my schedule:

    UTMB? Hard Rock? Big Horn?

  • [647] hello world (7)

    A new year means a new beginning. A new year?! Yes. It’s my anniversary of being on WordPress for 6/7 years. I started this blog 6 years ago, something like that and posted my first hello world on here. [A look back at Hello World | No. 6]

    I wanted to blog about computer/technology, running, and about life. This was not my first blogging platform.  I had another site that started about 10 years before that, mainly on technology, kind of on issues I dealt with at work. That site’s host has changed owner several times and went out of favor with the general public.  This is quite common with social media. Then there’s tumblr and twitter (now X), and BlueSky. I have not migrated to BlueSky yet. WP lately has its tantrums, and I am not getting in to it. It is bad for everyone is my take.

    I am still blogging frequently. It might not be as frequently as before, but I try to release something periodically.

    Yep, not much running’s being done. I am at a crossroad. I know, I am not at my full potential.  Years of my running is almost as long as my blogging. I ran for 7 years. This blog started when I ran my first ultra, The Seashore 50k in December. My experiences of first year of running during 2016 unfortunately was not recorded. Anyway, from my first 50k to my 1st 100 mile are all kept here. Not sure if I will reach my first 200 miler.

    I am a bit at a lost of where I will be heading. Hopefully I will run many more races in the coming years.

    This Hello World is a bit longer than a paragraph. Until next time~