Tag: race report

[694] Devil Dog 100 (4x)

December – another year gone by.

I finished the year with my own tradition of running the last ultra at Devil Dog Ultras (100). I have gone to this race for the last five years. (2024 race report).

To me it is a low stress, fun, but also known as a sneaky hard race, which it still surprises me after so many times how hard it is.

I usually don’t train for it but just go in and wing it.

Some people got a natural talent. Mine is to squeak it out and that I did it again.

I think the downfall comes when people underestimated how hard the race is. Pointing finger at me!

Speaking from experience, I did not finish (DNF) this race on my first try at their 100k distance. Ever since, I got a bit better at it.

The finishing rate for this 100 miler is around 50 percent to a low 30%. This is surprisingly low since the trail is not that hard (just my opinion) and is in the suburb of Washington DC, meaning it is easily accessible for training and the terrain is nothing like on top of a mountain or something. It is in a Forest Park, meaning both easy and hard.

This year 61 runners finished out of 112 started, and 8 did not show up, which put it right over 50% and this is a good year with the most finishers ever. The race was sold out too this year. I remember a year when only 37 people finished, was that last year maybe? That speaks a lot. The race is definitely sneaky hard.

I think it is hard because there are slight elevation changes (rolling hills) and roots and a little bit of technical footwork where it feels very runnable, but as the miles pile up, with a slight unfavoritable condition like a drop in temperature (always since it is winter) would easily derail one’s race plan. Even obe slight fall would do it. I took two falls this time and twerked my ankle twice. Each could have been a race ending event, but I walked it off.

While I love running other 100 mile races, such as The Massanutten 100 or Vermont 100 and calling those my favorites, my action proves stronger than words, that Devil Dog 100 is the one race I have come back again and again. I might want to get a 1000 mile, joke one would receive a puppy.

I almost could not finish it this year or the last year or the year before that. I have always firted with cutoffs and this time around too.

I thought I had a plan coming into the race. I set a goal to run 17 min pace first 33 miles and 18 min pace for 2nd third and 19 min pace for the final third. And it is a slow progression, easing my way to the finish two a 31 hour finishing. It was a bit ambitious, I finished at 31:22 (hours).

My body and my feet had a different goal. It ended up being moving slower than I wanted to, 18:05 min (per mile) first third, and 19:30 second third and then 18:30 final third. Noting it down for future planning, if I happen to reread it before my next Devil Dog.

So what happened? The usual. I could not run fast maybe due to lack of training or feet just not ready for the trail.

On the very first loop, I rolled my ankle on a flat section about halfway in maybe at mile 10 or 12. And it hurt. Silly me. I went limping to walk it off.

Then with maybe 3 miles left in the first loop, I slipped and landed on my butt because I was trying to look cool like everyone else running down a steep hill. The cooler 50k people people were passing me at the time. In my mind, I still got that cool light steps of flying down a hill and I wanted to be like them. Nope. Not any more. The back of my shoe slipped and down I went. Luckily, I sat on my butt and all the cool kids from behind started asking if I was okay. Embarrassing. Me an old man trying to run and fall. A fellow runner, Bruce, who is a bit older than me was right behind but did not comment. Then he ran off and I did not see him again until the last loop. Apparently he gained an hour on me by the third loop. That is quite impressive.

So my pace was not going well. I started slow on my first loop and ended up even slower in subsequent 4 loops.

It is a typical ultra thing. I was wishfully thinking I could do a reverse split. I proud that I did pull it through for a finish. No reverse split but did save the race. It took me all effort.

I ended up pushing harder to make the late cutoffs. It was never fun to chase cutoffs.

Overall, the race was peaceful. I have done it so many times and each time is a little different. Some years I was very excited. Last year was cold. This year was still cold with light snow covering the ground. But we are thankful the worst such as freezing rain that was forecasted a week out did not occur.

The temperature was 37F (the car reading) in early morning and it got to maybe low 50s. Overnight dropped again to high 20s and low 30s. Wind was calm. It was foggy at times.

It was not as cold as last year (17F). Still, it felt pretty cold without proper clothing.

I did prepared by dressing well though. Two layers, shirt underneath, and a long sleeve on the outside. I had a winter coat on while waiting for the start and ditched it once we got moving. Gloves, hat, bluffs, arm sleeves, and a windbreaker or light jacket too is almost a must. Note, the park is big so there are some places that feel cooler than in another. So from time to time, we either put on or pull off what we were wearing. I think Camp Gunny is a bit nippier than the rest of the course.

At night, I added a third layer, it was a thin thermo material, maybe wool on the outside and that did the trick for me. I threw on a fourth layer, a light windbreaker after midnight. Since I was moving (running) fast to chase (soft) cutoffs, I did not feel the cold. In the past years, I would put a hoodie or even a winter coat in the middle of the night because my pace was too slow to generate enough heat. Night time was near 20s, subfreezing temperature and many people quitted because of the cold.

Coming into the race with prior years’ experience, I told myself not to worry too much about the race, but I did.

I made a pace chart on a spreadsheet, searching things for my drop bags, packing them and delivering them to the race a day before, and messing with my nutrition plan. It was hectic trying to pick up bibs two days out. Then I went to the race site again the day before. Plus, I did couple training runs there a few weeks out.

I was rushing to get the right stuff into drop bags even up to the last minutes. I started purchasing my food and supplies couple weeks out! The best purchased I did was headlamps from Costco for $25. They served me well, maybe more on it later. I need another pack because it was such a good deal.

The race consisted of 5 loops of 20 miles. Well, technically the first loop is 23 miles and the rest then are 19 miles. In my mind though, I treated them as equal distance for easy math/splits in my head. Generally, I was aiming for 6-6:15 ish hours per loop. With 5 loops meaning 30 hour ish finishing time. The race allows for 32 hours but really one should aim for 31 hours due to the earlier than expected cutoff on the last loop. You have to start the last loop with more than 6.5 hours or else it is very tough to finish. I personally, recommending minimum 7 hours for the last loop. Start the last looo at 7 AM and will be fine. For the 100K, start the last loop by 6/6:30 PM. Otherwise, tricky. Yes, the 100 milers could go at the 100k pace (almost, maybe at the first or 2nd loop).

There are three aid stations on the course with 3 additional water only locations. However this year, I did not use any water-only station to save time. I might reconsider that in future race as part of my race strategy. It worked out well this year for not stopping for water at any station but the first one.

I drank only about 1L of water sometimes even less on an entire loop 20 mile loop.

I did have an extra 12-16 oz of gaterade or various other liquid that I would sip for time to time. I actually did not use my extra bottle until the third loop. I had extra liquid like Red Bull in my drop bags, but because I was short on time, I did not get to use my drop bags often. Later in the race, I just skipped by aid stations or drop bags due to lack of time.

Oh, I wasn’t going to carry the extra Gatorade bottle but someone forgot it in the dinning area before the start of the race and a volunteer thought it was mine and rushed out with it saying I’ve forgotten it, so I took it. It was unopened. It might have been someone’s race plan to run with a bottle of Gatorade. Sorry, but thank you for whoever left me the bottle in the dinning hall. I would complain that it was a zero calorie version, but free is free.

I started off slow at the back of the pack and met other people around my pace. My friend Bruce was there and I wanted to run with him and so was Scott and his son Brandon. Then there was Kevin. Charlie, John, Jeremy, Caleb and Ben we met and chatted before race but they were way far ahead. I met my idol Phil for the first time, who I only know through his race reports for Eastern States. I finally met him in person. I think it was awesome. As the race got going we settled into our own pace. I was mostly with Scott and Bruce on the first loop though later they too either took off or fell behind my pace by the second loop. Scott’s wife was kind enough to crew me too at various aid stations before Scott and son dropped out. I was pressing for time then and it was good to have someone to help the resupplying when I came in. She was back at the finish to cheer.

The course has a portion of out and back and so I got to see some faster runners. Jeremy and friends were 3 miles ahead of me by end of the first loop. I anchored in the rear as the unofficial sweeper I called myself. I came across Sisou too twice, end of the first loop and then third loop. We chatted and were happily reunited again.

First two loops I maintained an average pace of 18 min. I wished I could have gone out faster. I thought I was doing great too on the third loop but I realized by the end of it, I was slipping behind with my pace. I wanted to finish the third loop around 12:30 am but I did not come in until 1:15 am. This makes finishing the fourth loop by 7:30 am tough. I realized I would have to run for it to make the cutoff.

Volunteers were great. I arrived middle of the night at Gunny 2:45 am, and I was going to be quick. They brought me hot cider. I was going to skip the aid station table. I drank it while I swapped out my headlamp for a fresh one. Note, pro tip, don’t change the batteries but swap to a new/fresh lamp to save time.

I was wearing the new headlamp I just brought from Costco. They could last 7 hours on low and 3-4 hours on medium brightness and 2 hours on high. I had it for 5-6 hours and I felt safer to swap it out before it dies. They were available at Costco, 3 for $25. Sorry don’t know the brand. They were well worth the money spent. They work like a $100 headlamp with all the features such as using rechargeable as well as can be used with AAA batteries. I trusted plain AAA battery headlamps over rechargeable ones in the past because I know with new batteries they will last me through the night but with rechargeable ones, you can’t ever be certain.

I got to say it works out well. The downside with AAA headlamps is they are dim. Costco ones are bright and the battery life is good enough. It just a bit heavier in my opinion but about just slightly more than my normal AAA headlamps. I had heavier lamps in the past. Of course, some of those $100 ones are super light.

So I started chasing my self imposed cutoffs on the fourth loop. I wanted to be at Gunny (mile 66/67) by 3:15 am and I arrived by 2:42 am. That was really good. I surprised myself of able to move that fast this late stage in the race. I knew I did it in previous years but this time was a bit harder without a pacer to draw motivation from.

I wanted to arrived next at Toofy by no later than 5:25 am and I did it by 5:12 am. If any later, I would not make the first morning cutoff. Then I wanted to reach Camp Remi (mile 81) by 7:25 (7:30 is the first official hard cutoff), I arrived there at 7:12 am. I added some cushion to my cutoffs. It was not right up to the cutoff, but generally 10-15 minutes to spare.

I had an extra motivation because about 6 miles out from Remi (middle of the fourth loop), I met Alex, who is a godsends fellow runner, as I was passing people one after another and I thought he was struggling on his 4th loop and did not realize he was on his fifth and last loop. He was in pain at the time was stopping for some ibuprofen (note, not recommended for ultra runners to take but that seems to what everyone I know does). He said he promised his wife to be finishing around 7 AM. So he and I partnered up, though none of us was going to wait for each other. We spurred each other on to run our heart out and chatted on hill climbs when slowed down. I had to make my morning cutoff, but he had a faster pace than me and is a really good strong runner. So we ran and we made it. He made it in like at 7:05. I arrived at 7:12, just a bit after he did.

I still had a final lap to go. There, Bruce asked if I am going out again or I asked him the same thing. I was suprised to see him still there. While I just got in so I needed fueling on water and stuff, he was ready to go. He waited for me a bit and that might be his undoing because he unfortunately missed a later cutoff by a few minutes. I believe he would have finished, if he got out the station ahead of me instead of waiting.

I knew the day time would warm up and I wanted to ditch my layers. I kept my gloves because my hands were freezing. That is another story of misplacing my gloves and head bluffs in my drop bags that I could not find them when I needed them. So my hands were cold to freezing the whole previous day until night fall when I realized I could use a spare set of socks as mitten and I wore my sock mittens. I finally found my gloves later on and had them on the whole final 6 hours of the race. Only regret was I did not took off my long pants in the morning. I could have ran with just shorts I had on underneath. The frictions and heat created chaeffing during the morning time.

Well, Bruce left first (not by much though) but I caught up in no time. We had to get to Gunny by 9:00. So I was running my heart out again and did not wait for Bruce, with the best hope of reaching it by 8:45. Running is a cruel sport. At any other time, I would have stopped to chat and walk with Bruce. I arrived at Gunny around 8:43. It gave me couple minutes of buffer for my next cutoff attempt.

The next cutoff at Toofy, which is mile 94 is at 11:30. I made some wrong mental math errors thinking I now have three hours to get there instead of 2 and half hours. So I wasted a bit of time with slow walking. I told myself, I pressed hard on the last loop and it took me 2.5 hours to get to Toofy, so if I realy want to make the cutoff, I should be running just as hard as the last loop regardless what the math says. So I started running all over again, pushing my pace at every opportunity. I got there by 11:20. The plan was to arrive before 11:25. I prayed hard as I ran, please don’t let me be cut with just a few minutes over. I was not sute how strict the aid station captain/timer was (the Bligans), though they are my friends. Rules are rules I told myself. I have to make a good effort to arrive on time.

From Toofy to Gunny, I knew I had enough time to finish. Another 2.5 hours but only 6 miles to go instead of 8.5 miles on my the last push. My pace slacked down a bit. I sat at every bench available whenever I saw one to rest my feet. The first two miles after Toofy was an eternity. Then I toughened up mentally because if I had continued at the current pace, I might not make it in by 2 pm. I must aim to reach the unmanned water station at midway (mile 97). I seriously believe I was the very last one on the course. So I again tried to go at a faster pace by brisk walking. I reached it around 12:30. I wanted to let Caroline know I had only 3 miles to go, but phone had no signal.

These last three miles are familiar to me. I tried to memorize every feature there is in my previous loops. I said there are two big hills to climb and three bridges to cross. And however many rock piles (1) to climb over. I was expecting every unusual tree and turn. I got to the final turn at 1:15. Caroline was waving at me near the top of the hill. Together, we climbed the rest of the way to the finish line.

Like every year, there was good finishing line food in the dinning hall. I got to wind down. Caught up on things. I avoided the DFL (known as dead last finishing) by finishing in 2nd from the last place. It was good enough. The whole time I thought I was the DFL.

Any lesson learned? The Goods: I finally have a good set of headlamps. When I have the chance, going to buy an extra pack for future races.

2nd: set short clear goals during the race. Reach for them. Thank you Jeremy for teaching me this at Grindstone when he paced me.

Bads: Have to train better next time, and not get caught behind the cutoffs. I had a pace chart written out but did not get to use it when I was rush for time. 3. Know where I put my stuff. I spent so much time packing my things (2 hours) but still could not find anything.

Nutrition/water was spot on. Clothing was almost perfect. I still packed too much in my drop bags, working on being more efficient, but it was better to overpack than underpack.

Thank you for friends, family, volunteers, race management team of making the race possible. Thank you Caroline, my love, for putting up with all my stresses and fusses in my preparation. Those who finished or did not finish, may God grant me another chance to come back and do it again and run with them.

2025-12-12
[691] Marine Corps Marathon (2025)

My first Marine Corps Marathon (MCM) was 2017. I had a big goal that year, that I would improve my time from my last race, and maybe even would run fast enough qualify for the Boston Marathon. Little did I know how hard that would be. To this day, BQ is still some distance dream. MCM reminds me of my once foolish attempt.

My focus since has slowly shifted away from running fast to running long. Some of my ultra friends have made it to Boston. So it is not totally impossible for me to try. Maybe one day. But whenever I run the MCM, there is a nagging thought, I must make the Boston. My friend Charlie ran a BQ time at the MCM this year!

I don’t run the MCM every year. My last time I ran was in 2023 (report). I generally prefer a longer distance, like a 50k. This year 50k was not an option due to the record number of runners signing up for its 50th anniversary, and they need all the resources for the normal event. I was not going to sign up but a few friends hyped me up for a chance to run with them. In the end due to the big crowd, I did not get a chance to see any of them either.

I was slower and still was recovering from a lot of hard races I did, the Eastern States from August, Grindstone 100 in mid September, and most recent the Virginia 100 a few weeks back during October. My legs were still stiff. The pain was gone unlike when I ran the Bluff in Connecticut. So I knew I was healing. Yet legs were still a bit sore. I was not expecting to run a fast time. Why am I even running you ask me? I’m dead. Fomo maybe.

MCM is Caroline’s special race. She has done it 100 times, she claimed it was her 25th, but she has couple of those she did that she did not count. 25th or 26th all the same to me. I used her time of last year to base off my pace chart for this year. I ran a 5 hour in 2017 and 2023 would still put me at around 5 hours. My feeling was I likely would get 6 hours.

Coming off from an ultra, where I generally set my pace at 16-17 min mile pace, checking the time required for the marathon was a shocker. It says minimal pace is 14 min. That is a 6 hour finishing time. A sub 24 in a Hundo. A very fast time. Wait, this is a marathon. I was thinking if could I pull that off.

My previous marathon race pace chart was made for a 4:30 finishing time. I am not going use that. So at the very last minute, in early morning hours before it was time to get up (we set our alarm at 4 am) and there I was at 3 am in bed furiously remaking my race pace chart on my phone to a 5:30:00 finishing time. Caroline ran a 5:30 last year, so it was good to base the time off that. They still had her splits on their webpage. It helped a lot. I felt better once that was done. Alarmed went off and up we went getting dress and to the race. I kind of hinted how much sleep I was getting. Near none because I was always too hyper before a race. Generally, I don’t sleep well.

We were fortunate to be able to park close to the start near Pentagon City Mall. I read later on the news that Metro was packed. More than packed, they called it crush load. I have seen photos and videos. Nowhere would I want to be near the crowd.

We walked to the Pentagon with thousands other people. Note, we knew we had to get there two hours before the start. Even then there were a ton of people already.  We did wait around at a Starbucks earlier when it was not crowded. Caroline had to use the rest room. Yes, best advice is to hang out in a Starbucks, have breakfast before joining the crowd.

The walk to the Pentagon was not too far. I did not know the way, but Caroline was familiar with area. So she led the way. I don’t remember which way we went. Maybe went down the Army Navy Drive. Somehow eventually Pentagon came into view. It was still dark. None of us brought headlamps. Once we in the Pentagon’s parking lot, it was just a big wave people all going to the same direction. We joined those who were exiting from the Metro. We arrived at the race entrance for security check to enter the runner village. Security check was brief. I had a hydration vest on and thought it might cause delay like at the Philly marathon. Nope, a soldier took a look at it and my drop bag and waved us through.

So glad to get through that and we were off to UPS trucks location to stove away my drop bag. The trucks were numbered 1-40. My truck was 35, which was the first two digits of the bib number. I did not know it at the time and went to the nearnest truck to me, thinking truck 14 was an easy number to remember. Glad I did not have remember my truck number. I would have forgotten it by end of the race. There I was redirected to end of the field where the truck 35 was parked.

After that it was a walk to the start. In total I believed we walked 2 miles already. I suspect from our wave to the start line was another mile. Not that it matter to me but be warn, that is a lot of walking before we even started running if anyone is planning to run the MCM in the future.

People were everywhere. Many were sitting and stretching in the parking lot. Of course long lines at the potty.

I was glad I did not need to use the potty. Caroline did and she held it until we were about to start, thinking she was going to duck under a tree or bush to do her business. Oh there were a lot of people going to the brushes in the dark. Gross, yes. There were enough toilets I think for everyone, but still some people prefer the tree of scrubs for their business. Unfortunately or fortunately, a female soldier caught her as she was stepping away from the crowd and pointed her to use the real potty not too far ahead. She agreed. So I waited for her, since we were not moving too fast, since the crowd was just too big, to get to the real start line (arch). We were still in our corral at the time.

I was told the race in time past started officially at 8 am. This year the time was moved up to 7:20. I hope no one was late. Some will always be late.

We lined up in our corral. There were three waves, one for the red bibs, the yellow bibs and the green bibs. I had the green bib. Caroline has some grayish olive gold color different from mine since she was going the challenge run, that is the series of doing the half marathon plus the full marathon (not on the same weekend), and I was not sure what corral she was to be in. She said blue or something. There was no blue wave. I think she has the privilege to be in any corral. We lined up with the 5:00-5:30 group.

At 7:20, the howitzer fired, signaling the start. The race was officially underway. Note, there are roads or walkways on either side for people to get to their corrals. So we saw runners running on either side to rush up to the front either to get to their corral or to look friends, while we stood with the mass in the middle waiting for our turn to get to move up. There were no movement or very slowly were we moving. A few runners decided not to wait and left the crowd to go out onto the road to move ahead. I waited along with many others. No point to start early. It was like 40 minutes later, at 8:03 when I officially crossed the start line.

Not writing out of frustration, but for those who wanted to start earlier, they could move to the either side of the road.

There was no rush for me, since I knew it would be chip timed anyway, there would be no rush to get to the front. From experience of my first MCM, I knew I would run into a walk of people even if I rush. The best strategy was to trust that the race organizer would space out different wave groups so as not bunch together too much. Indeed, this year experience was much better than my former years. Maybe my pace is slower and there were not that many of us in the back since many have rushed on ahead.

I joined the 5:30 pace group. They were doing walk-run, 1 min walk and 2 min run. Their run was like 10 min pace and the walk was brisk fast walk. Still the first few miles, they were slightly behind pace, according to my pace chart. We should be doing around a 13 min pace, but we were moving at a 14 min pace. I was a bit impatient. Caroline already ran off by herself. I could hear her somewhere over the noise of the crowd, hoohoo-ing as she ran.

Slowly but surely I got ahead of the 5:30 group as we crossed on the Key Bridge into Georgetown. The sun was beautiful over the Potomac. I remember during the 50k, the instructions were 50k goes left and marathon course goes to the right. Today, everyone would be turning right into Georgetown. The crowd was cheering as we reached Georgetown.

I carried my hydration pack so I did not need to stop for water. From Georgetown to Rock Creek. Seeing the 5k marker and then 10k. I did a bit of course study the night before so I knew the course, at least the important junctions, though I wish I knew every mile of it. The turn around at Rock Creek was at mile 7.5. That was a long way. My feet started get tired by mile 8. We saw the slack wagons (buses) that marked the tail end of the marathon, and they would pick up runners who decided to drop or who could not make the pace. We cheered runners who were at the very back.

I was happy once we got to the Kennedy Center and on our way to Haynes Point. Soon we reached the Blue mile where the halfway point is. Caroline just so happened to pop right up from behind. I passed her somewhere and did realize. It reminded me I caught up to her there in 2023 when I was running the 50k.

Another thing I looked toward at Haynes Point was someone set a table with adult beverages. I was hoping they would be there this year. And they were. Oh so lovely. They had OJ, Whiskey shot, and Miller Lite. I chose the W. That got me going and off I went.

We reached mile 15 and arrived at the DC gauntlet. A runner was struggling so hard. This was where people started bonking, aka, hitting the walk in marathon speak. I reassured him he will beat the Bridge, the checkpoint at mile 20 we need cross by 1:33. He has two hours and half, plenty of time. People around started asking how many more miles and such. I felt like an experienced runner on this course, and started giving out this and that stats.

At couple miles later an ultra friend called out. Wow who could find me in this sea of faces? It was Keith!  Then David at mile 19, and Mike at mile 20. My wheel came off at mile 20. I was out of water and I finished all my gummies. I have beat the Bridge, the 14 street bridge crossing over the Potomac into Crystal City. I have plenty of time to beat the Crystal City Gaunlet. But I was not running any more.

I had to start walking. Just like in ultras, when you can’t run any more, you fall back to trusty walking pace. There were sea of people. It was a joy to see so many runners. On the other bridge, I395, was bumper to bumper traffic, some cars would toot their horns at us and we waved back at them. What a long bridge! A mile! Good thing it was not very hot this year.

Once arrived on the other side, we ran around a big parking lot and entered into Crystal City. The crowd and the energy their was off the chart. People were crowding into the running lanes. Whole street was filled with people shouting and all. Note, we were not fast any more. I could hardly keep a foot in front of another as we stumbled down Crystal City Drive. It was a mile out and turn around. We had a few miles left.

I reached 40k at 5 hours.   Less than 2 miles to go. My legs failed me the second time at mile 25. I knew the last mile is always the longest. We just had to walk it out. Many were walking and some were pushing hard to finish it. It was humbling, as fast as I wanted to go, I had to walk it. Highway 110, there were no crowd here. Just a long road. We knew a hill at the end waiting for us. And soon enough the hill came into sight. Mustering all I had, we ran up and into the finishing chute. Time of 5:19.

It was a great finish. The time was way better than I had hoped for. This was a similar time as the Virginia Marathon I did in spring, but that one had way more hills. I felt I ran fast and I ran hard.

We slowly made our way out the finisher village. People were everywhere. I gathered my drop bag, changed my clothes, and had my meal. For those not from the area, there are plenty reataurants right in Rosslyn as runners exited out. I went to a Korean Carryout, Seoul Spice and had two bowls of bulgogi rice. Caroline finished 20 minutes after me. She met me up outside. All said and done it was 5 pm by the time we left. We went out for a real dinner to Yechong (in Annadale) to mark our successful run. I could always eat some more.

We did not use metro but had to walk couple miles back to Pentagon City. I later read Metro had serious issues that day. Many took a long time to get to where needed to get to and some couldn’t get to where needed since they closed Rosslyn station for couple hours due to crowding. The line for Metro was wrapping around the block. I was happy I did not have to rely on Metro like in did in other years.

Any take away from this race? It was a fun run to test truly what my recent speed is. I like it being short enough and hard enough, yes right at the tip between a hard ultra and a short run. Marathon is a good balance for me. I like hard long race, and a marathon just hits the spot. I know, a lot of friend would not consider a marathon as an easy run. I have done enough (on my personal tracking page, I reached 100 races of marathon or longer distances). Wohoo.

2025-11-04
[687] Grindstone 100

For some races I knew what I want to get out of it and and so would be very easy to do a race report.

However for Grindstone, I came in with no goals. The race kind of sneaked up on me. Obviously I wanted it done but also I did not want to disappoint myself for setting my hope too high. Main reason was my training was not anything to write about and after two years of not being able to get to the finish line, I knew how hard the race was befor doing it. I was not sure if I could finish it this year.

At the beginning of the race, the Race Director gave us his last bit of thoughts, he said to know your “Why” of why you are running. And Hold on to it when things get tough. It would get tough.  We needed to hold on to what keep us going.

Grindstone was a very tough course. It requires digging very deep to pull it through. Like any races, there will always be an easy way out. Also equally true is there’s no easy 100 mile. At another equally hard race earlier, The Eastern States, I chose to give up after mile 80 when things got hard. I told my pacer, I don’t need another finisher buckle, I just want the pain to end. Grindstone got to that point, that finishing was no longer a goal, ending the misery was at least that was the prior year. I suspected many went through the same thought processs, should I call it quit or should I stay in for more of it. However, the finish, when I did reach it was never more sweeter. Three years and after three attempts, finally crossed the finish line for the first time. It was not a pretty finish, but a struggle to the very end, and almost come in at the very last finisher, known as the DFL. Some said, I have grit but I think I was just lucky. I had to fight to the bitter end. So, the race was like that. A lot of slogging through the dark hours.

In a race, people will either remember you as the fastest guy or the slowest guy. There is no shame as being the last one, except it is equally hard to get it. It means being out on the course the longest, and suffering the longest too. I almost earned the DFL. I just finished 10 minutes ahead of the last guy.

My journey to Grindstone began several years ago and I had no memory why I wanted to run it. Probably just out of curiousity because it was near where I live and many runners have done it.

I remembered I was very excited to receive the presale discounted price. The race had just been sold to UTMB. The old website was still available but the new website on a different address was also there. I signed up. Then I met some of people who were doing training run, Adrian, Mel, Scott (scott-n-stuff), and others. And I enjoyed those times. As previously alluded to it, I did not finish that year. So, as an ultra runner, you don’t just give up after a failed attempt. I signed up the following year and another year. Same result until this time around. There is no special formula of why this year is different. Well Maybe. I got to thank all the people who put up with me and helped me through. They are the reason why this year is different.

There are many reasons why I love running. Grindstone was just a race that scratched many of those itches. Mostly I was impressed or intrique by the challenge. Another reason was the people you get to meet and to be friends, and third the time spent on the course, and journey itself being alone in solitude was priceless.

I do love the Grindstone course. It uses part of the Twot loop (the Wild Oak Trail) which I have been on a lot of time. I did several camping trips there and love to hike and run there. Hone Quarry is also nearby. It is very beautiful. Reddish Knob is a well known lookout point. I love the race for such beauty. I love the remoteness but also knowing that towns are just only 30 minutes away.

About the people. In the past, it was about me. I go there to run. This year, the focus was really the cast around me. My community, several of my dearest friends came together and got me through the finish. They say it is the runner who runs, but I say without the various supports from friends and family, it would not have been possible for me to finish. I had two pacers who took turn between 10 to 12 hours each to cover over 22 hours. It is a luxury to have a pacer. Indeed, it increased my odds significantly.

As for race preparation, from last year report, I wrote I needed to have better rest on day before the race, monitor my nutrition, to eat at aid stations, know my pace, and stay awake at night.

A big focus is placed on resting before the race is because the race started in the evening at 6 pm, meaning for the slower people like me, we would be spending two nights out on the trail. Not having that extra rest would either make or break the race. Dealing with sleep deprivation is big for the second night. My previous race ar Eastern States did not end well because I was overcome by sleep and did not move as fast as I needed during the night (and that was only for one night, but at Grindstone, we deal with two nights). I really have no idea how I got through except with a lot of caffeine.

I usually don’t sleep well the night before a big race. It was no exception this time. I worried about my drop bags and spent whole evening packing them till late in the night. One thing I did do differently from last year was to take a day off on the race day. And use the extra time to drive to the course. It was only two hours away but we had the whole Friday morning set aside for traveling. It was a low stress day. Then I napped in the afternoon until the race start.

As for what I packed in my drop bags, I put a lot of food, drinks (sodas), canned coffee, Red Bull for energy. They did the trick! I did not pack caffeine pills but I got some from my pacer and they were very effective at 250ml each equivalent to a can of 16 oz coffee. I did not struggle with sleep walking/hallucination during the race. I was alert and perky even on the second night.

On food, it was very important for long race like this to eat regularly and eat well. Last year, I believed I ran out of energy due to not having enough food (calories) by mile 80, thus making the last 20 miles very hard. So this year, I have granola and cashew nuts in ziplock bags at every crewed station. I would go in stop and grab my food bag to take it with me out. I also had cans of chicken noodle soup to slurp down, Cambells or Progresso, and if I could not finish the can, I would tranfer the soup into a ziplock and take it with me on my way out. I think that work out really well. I had also crackers. I love pita bread I carried on me and nimbled at it from time to time.

It is especially true for Grindstone. Not to complain or anything, I think the food from the aid stations was not enough. Maybe because being a tail end runner, many aid stations already were out of food by the time I came by. So word to the wise, pack your own food. BYOD.

The play by play account of this race was not that exciting. It is a lot of grinding. We started in the evening. We ran a mile or so around the camp area. By the time we left the camp Natural Chimneys, it was half hour after the start. I saw Caroline, my g friend and pacer one last time before leaving. She would be sleeping at the campground. Since she would be pacing me the next morning, I did not want her to meet at the first crew stop at 4 am, mile 32.

Jeremy my other pacer made it to the campsite just in time to see me off. I thought I would miss him since he said he was not going to arrive until after 6:00. He was running a bit late. Originally, he was going to come on Saturday afternoon to pace me through the second evening. But the race required pacers to register at the start on Friday, so Jeremy rushed to get there. We said a brief hello as I ran by him. He was offering his hat if I needed. It was like a lucky sight to see all my pacers at the start of the race.

Stephanie, Scott Lee’s wife also waved excitingly and said hi when I ran by. At the time I did not recognize her but later in the race, I got to see her several times. She even crewed me when my friends arrived late.

We also came across another friend who crewed me and paced me at other races, Wayne. He would be pacing Dan, another fellow friend and runner this time. I was hoping during the race to stay with Wayne and Dan for company when my pacers were not around. It ended up, we did.

The race then headed to the first aid station at Lick Run at mile 5-6. The sunset of first night is always gorgeous. We went through the countryside. Some farmers sat in their barns waving at us as we passed by. It was a peaceful scene. This was a section I did with Caroline a week before. It was good to tread on familiar ground.

I started as one of the last three or four runners to cross the start line so, we were with a bunch of slower runners. No one really talked. I think because some runners were from overseas so they could not speak English. I met a guy from Kentucky. His name now escaped me. I think it could have been Dustin, but I am not sure. We were buddy buddy to Lick Run and then we climbed the first hill. There our pace started to differ. He went on ahead and later I caught up and passed him and he passed me back by the time we reached Wolf Ridge at mile 12-13. After that, I have no idea.

I was going at a much slower pace this year than before. We passed the first two aid stations with 30 mins margin before the cut. I knew, it probably hard to maintain the buffer after the next aid station at Reddish Knob. It was a 9 mile climb. I arrived by midnight there. I think they close at 12:30 or 1 am. I was glad I made it.

From there it is about 5 miles to Little Bald. The goal was to get there by 1 am so I would have plenty time to descend to North River Gap.

From Reddish Knob to Little Bald was not technical. We ran mostly on jeep or fire road. The footing was easy. I was tired by now, because we were at least 22 miles in. During this time, I came across a guy without a shirt. I came to know him as Dustin. He and I pretty much leapfrogged each other for the entire race.

The dude has no concept of distance, cutoffs, split time for the race and would ask me how far to the next station or how much time we have left. So I would tell him, we have to reach North River before 4 am. Dustin could run, so he would run ahead. I was much stronger at hill climbing, so I would caught up to Dustin whenever there was a hill.

Dustin later told me he got to North River Gap 10 mins before I arrived. I arrived at 3:50 am. I had just enough time to fill up my water and went out before its cutoff.

At this point, there were quite a few who dropped at North River. This is typical as I have seen year after year. The first 30 miles kind of hit runners hard. Also quite a few runners also left with me out of the station. Interestingly there were maybe 10 or so runners who got lost after leaving the North River Gap. The course turned right and hike a quarter mile on the road before making a left on the Wild Oak Trail to the swinging bridge. There was a sign on the road but no direction were given to turn left. So a bunch of runners continue running on the road for a mile or so before discovering they were off course and had to come back. They arrived back at the sign as I was about to turn left onto the trail. So I asked them, what does the sign say. One runner said, it was caution, slow down for runners — direction given to vehicles instead of us runners. They were mad, and they quickly passed me and climb the Lookout Mountain. I went at my own pace.

I hoped to arrive at Lookout Mountain station by 5:30. I was half hour late. Morning would be dawn soon. At Lookout mountain, I passed several runners, and some were not doing so good. At the aid station, one runner was having stommach issue. Dustin and I quickly left the station to press on to climb Hankey and then the descent to Dowells Draft, where our crew awaited.

Last year I arrived at Dowells draft at 7:45, and I hoped for a repeat. But last year, I was running at this portion since it was very runnable with slight uphill. Not this year. I walked most of the time until it was really on downhill. I passed maybe 5-6 runners including Dustin, thinking they might not make it. Dustin said he had enough and I thought he was going to call it quit once he reached Dowells Draft.

It took me 40 minutes to descend the two-ish miles. I knew according to my pace chart, I need to leave Dowells Draft by 8:30 to have a chance at finishing. I arrived at 8:15. Caroline who was going to pace me was not there. A woman came up to me said Caroline is not here. I assumed she must be someone I know. She said she is Scott Lee’s wife. And Scott just passed couple minutes ago. I ran with Scott in many races, so I definitely know Scott. Glad I finally got to meet his wife. Wayne left maybe 5 minutes, she told me. That was an important information. I might not be able catch Scott but I might be able to catch up to Wayne. She told me also to expect rain. I had nothing to do differently. We had to carry a jacket and rain poncho as part of the required gear. But I guess, mentally preparing for the rain was good, since before the race start, rain was not likely at all.   She then offered to help me to get food, got my drop bag, filled up my water and helped me empty my trash. Then off I go. The whole exchange was about 4-5 minutes fast, since I know I was kind of 10-15 minutes behind pace.

From Dowells Draft to Dry Branch is a long climb up on Mt Crawford. It was like 4 miles up and 2 miles down. We had two hours to get to Dry Branch. It was at this section that first place and many other front runners would pass us on their way back, coming from the opposite direction.

As I was on my way to Crawford, my other pacer and friend Jeremy caught up to me. He said something about switching with Caroline, and he would pace me in the morning while Caroline would pace me at night and hope that I would not mind. Nope, not at all. I was going to go out by myself, but having a pacer was definitely many times better than not having one. Jeremy would pace me from mile 45 to 70. We had a good time, sharing many highs lows from 8:30 in the morning until 5:30 in the evening.   He would have gone on to pace me at night too if he didn’t have a 200 mile coming up in a few days.

We caught up to our mutual friend Wayne and Dan as we climbed up to Elliot Knob. Dan was not doing well. We passed Dan and ran our hardest on the crazy descent. This was a very rocky two miles like the Bird Knob of MMT. We passed whole slew of runners. They might have thought the two of us were crazy. I believe, here I might have passed another friend Mango from Carolina, but I did not know he was running in the race or expected him to be there and so I did not recognize him. I was focusing on my footwork at the time and did not look up. He is a youtuber, so I might find myself in his video.

We got to Cold Spring and greeted by volunteers and a lot of gnats. It was mile 61, 100K in. There were 5 miles on the fire road to Dry Branch. Time was running out. We had to be back by 3:30 pm. Jeremy and I set our goal to get back by 3 so I would have sufficient time to climb Crawford a second time to go back to Dowells. I would say, this was my hardest point on Saturday. I was sleepy. My feet started bothering me (a rock or something was scratching me) inside my right shoe, I was chafed in between my legs and other areas. Aid station had no more food left or very few selections (at least from what I could see). They said sweepers were coming and there were only a dozen or so runners left on the secrion we on. They were started check runners who needed a ride back (assuming runners wanting to drop). Jeremy told me to hurry get out the station. I did. He would catch up in couple minutes. Also, the sky was making rumbling noises, because an impending storm was about to come.

Off I went. Climbing Crawford was not fun. Our consolation was going back should be a shorter climb. 2 miles up and 4 miles down. Jeremy lended me one of his trekking poles and with that I made it back to Dowells by 5:20. We had until 6pm there.

Caroline, Stephanie (Scott’s Wife) and many others were there. Wayne and Dan arrived not long either. Wayne said don’t let him catch up to me. Stephanie said Scott just left. Caroline got my water and food. I had a concoction of Red Bull, iced tea, coffee, and chicken noodle soup, which was really a bad idea for my stommach started hurting. As for my granola, I grabbed the bag with too much force and everything spilled out all over the ground when the bag or zipper exploded. I was about to change sock too since my feet were killing me. I ended up just emptying whatever sand and grits inside my shoes and that was fine for the rest of the race. We did not have time to change. While it seemed fast with so many people helping me, this was the longest stop. We stayed maybe 15 minutes.

Caroline went out with me and paced me from mile 70 to the finish, mile 104. The course was longer than 100. I knew that but I tried not to think of it. We focused just the mile ahead or the hill ahead at the time. It was a very long night. Rain did come. We rushed down to Magic Moss aid station, it was only second time I actually ran fast in this race. I thought incorrectly that the cutoff at Magic Moss was 7:30 (instead of 8 pm) and we arrived there at 7:29 pm. Once, I cleared that aid station, we had until 9:30 to get to Camp Todd, which was 5 miles away. It was very doable to do 5 miles in two hours. Many people passed us on the road portion, including Dustin. It was my first time to realize Dustin did not drop. He was running strong. We saw him a few more times. He finished 15 minutes ahead of me.

We arrived at Camp Todd by 9:00. I wanted to go in and go out making a quick turn around. However, I was wet and cold so I decided to better change into dry clothes. That took 20 minutes. I had helps from a good volunteer, but I was cold and could not move much.

After Camp Todd, Caroline said I was on fire reaching Little Bald in about an hour. At the top, Dustin asked me how much time we had left. I told him, we had 3 hours to do the next six miles and we had to arrive before 1:45 am at North River Gap 2. This was plenty of time. I arrived there at 1:20. This was almost the same time as last year.

Wayne and Jeremy was there to greet us. As usual, I got my food. Dried off myself. They wished me luck. We had a little over 4 hours to do the last 13 miles, which was very doable.

There were like 20 runners coming into the aid station at North River, but only maybe 5-6 went back out. By the time I left there, I had an eerie feeling I was the last runner. That proves almost true. Three or four runners passed me on the road.

We made the mile climb up to Tower Trail. I had a deja vu of last year. We were at this place the same time and same place with the same struggle. My feet could barely lifted another step. The ground was wet and slick muddy. Eventually, we reached the Signal Tower. Even though, Caroline and I came out a week ahead to run this specific section, it was now very foreign to me. Caroline found the trail to turn off. I was doubting if that was correct, so I paused to double check the map on my phone. She was correct. Surprisingly it was quite a very long descent. I had expected it to be half a mile but it ended up a mile and half. Three times longer. Unlike last year though, strength started return on the descent and I started running again. We caught up to a runner. I believed he was the real DFL, final runner to finish.

Once we reached the Lick Run’s Jeep Trail, I knew, we got it down. This year would not be like last year. We climbed like 7 hills on Lick Run before hearing the welcome voice of the aid station people at mile 99. Costi, my friend was there doing the graveyard shift. I could not be happier. He snapped a selfie of us together and sent it off to the guys in our group chat. There was very little I needed at the final aid station. Only thing left was to make the push of the final 4.5 miles to the finish. Caroline said I finally was happy because my mood was very bad for the last twelve hours.

Caroline ran on ahead. She was excited to be on pavement. Not me though. Every step my feet hurt again due to some raw blisters. I preferred the earlier softer ground on the trail. I started running somewhat but at a very slow 18 min mile run. Eventually, the campground came into view. They hurried me to get it done. We went on a half mile trail around the camp to a big field. We crossed to the other side of the field where they have the barricade and fences up to formed the finish chute. We ran through. The announcer greeted us. I finished in 35:46. Scott and his wife who finished more than an hour ahead were there to greet us. We watched as the final runner came in. I avoided the DFL.

I did not have any special insight after finishing the race. It was a feeling of calm that this freaking devilish race is finally over. Reflecting more on it, the race helped me to focus on the fundamentals, that is, nutrition, water, rest, pacing, and the ultra spirit of one step at a time, keep moving and eventually the end will come.

Another, I was super grateful for friends who gave up their time and weekend to help me accomplish a personal goal. They didn’t get a buckle for their work. It is good to have friends, where your goal becomes theirs too.

It was not a thrilling finish, but was good enough. A finish is a finish. We all felt a sense of relieve that I don’t have to go to back to Grindstone for another year.

Finally finished

2025-09-29
[682] Vermont 100, 2nd time

I am happy that I finished this race the Vermont 100 a second time. A few of my friends have done it multiple times. This was my 2nd 100 this year, first finish of the year. It was not any harder than other 100s, but difficult enough. I had expected a faster finish, but had to struggle to almost to the final hour.

It was not easy. 15,000-17,000 ft of climbing is a lot. Imagine like running a marathon with 4000+ ft of elevation. Marine Corps Marathon has 699 ft gain, and people said that is a hard and hilly marathon. Richmond Marathon has 683 ft is a a hilly course. I was so happy when one volunteer told me she did that marathon last year when she recognize the shirt I was wearing. America toughest marathon, the Roanoke Blue Ridge Footleveler Marathon has 3564 ft of gain.

Those who run 100s don’t usually choose a flat course. I think 17,000 ft is a typical elevation gain. There are some 100s with more extreme climbing. And some with a flatter course. Grinstone 100, the one I will be doing in September has 21,000 ft of gain.

Vermont is a good beginner 100. It is challenging but doable for many first time attempt. During the prerace meeting, there were about 50% from a show of hands that this was their first 100 mile/100k run. 100k too is a good stepping stone before trying the 100 miler. 100k is 62 miles, just a bit over 50 mile. 50 milers are what people (or least I used) before attempting a 100 mile run.

A few friends from my area also were in the race and at time they were good motivators. We all started together. I was the second slowest in the group. I had a goal to catch up to them. I guess it was a friendly competition.

I knew I had to run my own race. As this was my second time doing it, I had last year result to aim for. This year body was different from last year. I felt being less trained. Result showed I was slower. I finished about 2 and half hour slower at 28:56. And very early on, I had to give up at running the last year’s pace.

Since I started from the back of the pack, I ran with people around me. There were at various time, I was joined by Tek, Roy, Dave to about Stage Road (mile 31). Later I passed them and was joined by Anuj and Carita to mile 62, they kept me going at time I was about to flame out. Later still Brian and Pete. Brian was pretty much kept with me to mile 90 before taking off. Roy passed me at Cowshed and at the time I was doubting if I could finish even though I was an hour ahead of the cutoff. Roy thought my math was way off.

I finished the race with Carita, Justin and Charlie. I met Carita earlier on in the race but forgot who she was after she ran off. She later told me she went the wrong way and was 3 miles off course. Similarily, Justin has gone off course for maybe a mile and caught back up to me around 3-4 am. We pretty much then powerhiked together the rest of the way. I was glad to finish together with them. I too gone off course, maybe a quarter mile. It was not due to markings though, I somehow assumed the turn was to the left when it was to the right because I saw people’s headlamps going left. It could all have been my imagination at the time.

I did not have a crew or pacer, but people around were like pacers to me. The best was Anuj, he and I chattered for a long time on the course, maybe 8 hours or more. I amost thought he could not make it but he did finish, just 10 minutes behind me. And he took a 45 minutes break at a aid station (Camp Ten Bear before midnight), meaning, he must have run to catch up in the morning. I said he passed a lot of people.

My report is pretty much echoing a fellow runner Eric’s report. It was a redemption run. I did not finish an earlier race this year, this race I did almost everything needed to get it done.

Nutrition, I watched my calorie intake, that is to Eat early and often. By afternoon, I did not want to eat. I switched to fluid, mixing Skratch with my water. A side effect was it made me super thirsty for 8 plus hours. There was nothing to cure the thirst, drinking water didn’t help, nor sodas nor more Skratch. So I stopped drinking Skratch and switched back to water and sodas. By 1-2 AM, Spirit 76 (mile 76), I was extremely hungry, the people at the aid station fed me and I was well.

Shoes: They say the course can be done with road shoes. I ran with my trusted trail Altra Lone Peak. I don’t know which series, probably 9. I did not have switched them out. I ran with just one pair all the way through. I did have a backup pair at Spirit 76 (mile 76), but I did not have to switch. The road was sandy and dusty, so from time to time, I did have to empty out the grits. Feet were healthy, no hot spots or blisters.

Simplified. So many races I worried about various things, like dropbags and equipment. I went light this time. I prepared two drop bags. Brought no extra food. First drop bag had my balms and lotions and sprays for curing various ailments. I placed that at mile 62. My second drop bag was my extra pair of shoes, I left it mile 76. I did not need to use either of them. It was good to know I would have them if needed.

I wore a hydration vest with a 1.5 L bladder. I carried a 20 oz bottle for filling with soda drink along the way (I like Ice, the sparking soda). I carried a zip lock bag to take extra food out the station.

I knew Aid stations are time killer if not careful. I wanted to minimize time needed to stop. There were 25 aid stations. Each of them, I stopped for about 5 minutes. People might think that is too long. Yes, indeed, but by the time of grabbing something to eat, filling up water, fixing shoes or what not, thanking volunteers, that 5 minutes were up. I did a race before (Old Dominion) where we only stopped only for 10 seconds at each station, because that time, I was running with pros good at time keeping (one was a former NFL level coach) who know every second count. Not stopping for too long at an aid station contributed toward a successful run.

The rest was just being “Chill.” My understanding was to enjoy the race and sight. Indeed, I had a peaceful run.

My personal entertainment during the race was trying to figure out the minimum pace I needed to maintain and still finish it. It is a harder problem than it seems especially in a race when your brain refuses to work. I had a spreadsheet setup on my phone, so at various point of the race, I could update it and it spits out my target time for the next aid station and so forth. I knew I was ahead of race pace for finishing under 30 hours at least by an hour.

It was an interesting “math” problem I did not solve it until the next evening after driving home. The problem goes like this. Like any runner, typically, our pace would start slowing down. At what point would our pace be too slow to finish? For Vermont 100, I knew I need to maintain above 17:50 pace (overall average pace, 18 min is needed for a 30 hour finish, but the last runner came in with 17:50 pace, so to be safe,we target 17:50 pace).

For example, if I arrive at mile 50 an hour ahead of the cutoff (and say the cutoff is set at 18:00 min pace, meaning closing at 15th hour). I arrive in 14 hours. What the slowest pace I could maintain if I am slowly slowing down. I’m an hour ahead. Solution, If I am halfway and I am an hour ahead, I only have 30 minutes leadway not an hour is the answer. If used up more than, 30 minutes, I would have to run at a faster pace to catch back up for remaining half. How I came up with 30 minutes? It is the ratio of mile already ran (50 miles) over total miles multiply by the total time I am ahead of the cutoff (60 minites). I was proud of myself to figure out using ratio instead of a traditional way.

Another way to solve it is more straight forward, You take the total amount time left divided by the total distance left to get the minimum pace to run. To find what time you need to be at the next aid station, you multiple the pace with the distance to the next aid station. To see how much lead time, You do the same with the current pace and multiple by the mileage to the next aid station. Then subtract both times. Sorry it is a lot of math and I lost all my readers. Anyway, those were the math I did repeatedly during my run. In the end it was just garble garble in the middle of the night. I relied heavily on my spreadsheet and a lot precaculated figures.

Running 100s is hard, especially with the math. I appreciated friends who came out and supported me. I am thankful for all the volunteers and neighbors. Other than the race, I had memorable experiences on the way up, the food I ate and the conversations I had.

Some notable places: Molly’s at Hanover – I had tacos. The Cappadocia Cafe in White River Junction – I had Pogaca. The Vermont Welcome Center in Guilford. Lombardi Rest Area on the Jersey Turnpike. Biden Rest Area in Delaware. Labanese food stop in Danbury. Korean BBQ afterward.

I wish I had taken more pictures but I got tired after 20 miles and so no more photos after that.

2025-07-24
[670] Hone Quarry 40

Dayton, Virginia.

It seems like a classic race in our area but this was only the third year. I have heard about it last year, when a friend recommended it to me as a good training run for the Western States, but due to scheduling conflict or possibly it was being sold out, I only got to run it this year.

I love it. It has some big climbs. Not just big but out of the world big, that I can only compare it to Wasatch or Grindstone level climb or maybe Massanutten kind of climbs. I almost fainted at one of the midway climbs.

I had gone expecting it to be easy because a few months ago, I have been there to scope out the trails. To me it was just a 50k with 10 miles (a lot) of road running added on. I was hoping to get it done in 10 hours.

The race allowed for 13.25 hours so I knew I had plenty of time.

We stayed in Harrisonburg overnight, so that we could arrive the next day early for the bib pickup. It was maybe 20 minutes away from the city. The race started at a normal hour of 7:00 am after lighted. We were advised to carry our headlamps but it was not really needed. I still carried mine just in case.

The first four miles were on the road. It gave a fast easy run to the Hone Quarry park/trailhead.

Runners gradually sorted out according to their respective paces. I was running with two new friends Scott from New York and a young man, I believe is from Richmond. Scott is a seasoned runner having done many tough course. He was preparing for a 350 miler. As for the young man, this was his second ultra. He has done the High Bridge 50k (or Night Train 100k) which was almost all flat. This would be a step up. It seemed he stayed back to feel the course first.

Once we entered the trail, my pace slowed down a lot. I was then left alone most of the day. A few stronger runners caught up and passed me. Then heard my friend from behind when we got to the first out and back where there a hole puncher to punch our bib. Some runner was fidgeting the thing to get it to punch to no avail. I tried too but was not able to get a hole to punch. Sissou, Caroline’s friend came up and punched all our bibs for us. She has a stronger grip than all of us.

The view was amazing.

Lover Leap rock: I took this to prove I have been to the out and back section since I was having a hard time with the hole puncher.

We continued on to the first aid station at mile 6. It was too early for a break. We had plenty of fluid. I was still full from my breakfast. In fact, I was too full. I felt I still had a pound of steak in my tummy from the night before and two pounds of Thai Druken Noodle I just ate few hours early. The noodle was not settling well. Every jump I hopped, I felt the stuff inside was bouncing along. I needed a big belch to relieve the tension. Eventually, it came. I was a happy camper. Looking back, the heavy meals were what I needed for this race. It ran more like a 50 miler.

After the aid station, we had 7 miles of climb (maybe 5 and 2 miles of descent). It seemed a lot but it was not too bad. It was steeper at the beginning then it began to ease out. We were still moving upward most of the time. Eventually, we reached a split in the trail. We turned right for Union Spring (aid station). The aid station was still a couple miles away, but this is another out and back, a lollipop section. I was able to see the faster people heading back already. I recognized many. Soon, we made another right, at the top of the lollipop loop. There was a sweet down hill section that I could really open up my strides.

I was glad to finally reached the aid station and also caught up to 4-5 other runners. I stayed here a bit to rest up and refilled my pack. I was only at mile 12.5 and I already finished 1.5L of water. I mixed 50-50 Tailwind and water to my pack. Grabbed some peanut butter and jelly squares and was ready to head off. The 4-5 runners ahead of me were already long gone. Sissou came up from the road, I waved and headed out.

We started climbing again, maybe about a mile long. The guys in front of me were slowly losing stream and I was able to catch up and passed them. Before the highest point of that section, I was able to catch up to Bruce and friend, who has done this course the prior year, whom I was not expecting to pass until maybe very end of the day since he did the course in 10 hours.

They were comparing their time at the summit. This year they did it 10 minutes faster reaching the second summit in 4 and half hours. This was my first year, so there was no standard for me to base off of. But catching up to Bruce was a good thing.

He along with others let me ran down the other side first and it was maybe 4-5 miles still to the 2nd aid station at mile 19.5. I was hoping to be there before noon.

After the down hill stretch, we had about a mile plus on the road to run once we left the trail for the HQ camp aid station. It was a boring stretch. It was hot in the middle of the day on a jeep road. A positive side was I could wave and say hi to those who were heading back out. They were from the middle of the pack. Many of them are about a mile or two ahead of me.

I reached the aid station at 12:35, an hour before closing. There were not many behind me. Bruce and I headed back out on the jeep road to get back on the trail for the biggest climb of the day. We came across Caroline as she was heading to the aid station. She had about 30 minutes before the cutoff. For us, we were heading to the waterfall for our second bib punch. I came across Kiran, Jamie and Jill, the happy bunch. Kiran and I shared many miles on the MMT course last year. It was a happy reunion. Jamie too, I met her at my first MMT, thinking I could out run her but in fact blew up my race. It is funny to me now looking back that one has to be extremely patient on the trail. They started on the hill maybe 15 mins ahead of me.

This hill was brutal. I believe I started climbing around 1 pm and the sun was out in full force. It was the hardest climb. Eventually I caught up to Kiran and Jamie and Jill. Kiran was having some leg cramp issue. I offered her my salty food, but she said she had some in her pack.

Eventually, we reached the top and followed along the jeep road to Flag Pole, mile 25. Jamie and Jill were then resting at one of the open areas, campsites or knobs. I thought they had quitted because Jamie was on her back on one of the big rocks, chilling. I stopped and chatted. They seemed alright. The aid station was literally maybe a thousand steps away. We were saved. I had ran out water again and was feeling a bit dizzy. A dude decided to drop there. I glad to see the young man I met earlier in the day. He was in good spirit and sprinted off. I saw him many times later.

Kiran too decided to head out but I still needed maybe another few more minutes. Jamie and Jill then arrived. They got what they needed and I headed out with them. However, their pace was too fast for me. I dropped back to my own walking pace while they ran and so soon they were out of my view.

From Flag Pole to Big Hollow Station was not too far, about 4-5 miles. I had hiked this section previously and the trails and the turns were familiar to me. It was mostly jeep road. A dude I was with earlier were sprinting down the road in big strides. I too decided to let gravity to do the work. This was also a short 0.7 mile of out and back and so I saw again familiar faces of friends who were ahead of me. They gave me a heads up that the aid station was just ahead.

I arrived at the aid station at 4 pm, mile 29. The aid station would close at 4:35 pm. I was wondering if my friend Caroline would make it in the next 30 minutes. This race was tougher than I tought. Next section would be the longest section, 8 miles, and I had 3 hours to reach it (by 7:05 pm).

Helen and I started off together heading back uphill on the road. It was a long road. I think we stayed on the jeep trail for the next 4-5 miles. The view was wonderful. Time ticking by, 4 pm, 5pm, 6 pm, and I was wondering how much farther to go. Helen asked me if 7 pm was the cutoff. I said yes. We needed to get there before 7. I was confident both of us could reach it. I checked the map, we should be still on the course. In my mind, last time I was on this, it only took an hour or so it seemed. We should be descending soon. Not today. I didn’t get lost, I was just tired. So I munched on food I brought out from the aid station.

The jeep road eventually turned into a single track. It became more technical and interesting with lots of ups and downs. We climbed maybe a dozen or so ups and downs but it was still always heading the same direction. Eventually, I saw the trail sign of Heart Break Trail with mileage (2 miles). Yippy, only two miles left. It was one last climb they say on one of the race signs. Actually there were like 4-5 climbs always going up, but I had my second wind so hills not were not an issue. I started passing couple more people.

Then I knew I reached the top.

Top of Heart Break hill

I don’t remember when I got to the last aid station, likely at 6:15 pm. I was out of water again and filled up maybe a cup since it was about a 5k to the finish (they said 4 miles, but I told myself, it was just a 5k on the road).

I saw couple more guys ahead of me, so I chased them. I caught up to another young man and he said he was cramping and he had tried everything. I offered him my gel but he said he still had plenty of those. So I asked if he wanted some gummies, tossing him my bag of gummies. He took them. I used my first gel of the day there for myself. I started off running leaving him behind.

Not long later, maybe 10 minutes or so, I heard fast footsteps approaching from behind. As courtesy, I was prepared to step aside to let the runner pass, but as I turned around, it was this dude, the young man I gave the gummies to. He was all happy and running fast. H*ll no, he is not passing me today. I pushed off harder. Really, there was no way I could keep up with his pace. I figured I must be moving at a 12 min pace, he was likely doing 10 min.

Later he told me he was doing a 9:30 pace, fastest mile in the whole race. We were grinning from ear to ear. He, of course, passed me and said something. I said, no matter our pace, we’d push to the gas station (since that is the end of the road, and a turn). I shouted after him, to go, go faster. I did not know how much farther to the finish but I knew we had to make it to the gas station.

I felt I had plenty of gas in my tank and pushed harder. Our gap got wider and wider and soon he was outside my voice range. I then saw the gas station ahead and I turned and looked there’s the church on the hill with a big cross. That was our finish line. The dude ahead of me already reached it. I gave myself a finish push and soon arrived there also a few minutes from behind. I finished at 7:08 pm, so it was 12:08 elapsed (hr:mm).

This was not even a big hill, but we had to climb many like this. Oh the misery.

The 15 foot waterfall or something, a little disappointed and there were many flies nearby. Proof I was at the hole puncher (dangling from a string).

yuck, don’t zoom in. flies crawling everywhere. They could be bees. My friend said she was stung

Conclusion: It was an amazing race. I had a good time. I did not like the jeep trails that much but it was also a blessing to have a faster run. The race had a mix of trails, big climbs, rolling down hills, and a good chunk of road portion. After such a difficult day, I did not mind having a fast run on the road at all. Will I do it again? Iffy, unless I am training for something that requires the big hills workouts.

2025-03-31
[669] Virginia Marathon

Things are getting busy for me, so I won’t be able to do a long post like I always want.

It has been a long time since I ran a marathon. Back in the days, I did like 4-5 every years. Last year, I only ran twice. This year, this was my first. I have been running a lot, and mostly ultras the past year. The marathon distance I love was but had to put away to focus on the 100 mile distance. Now finally, got to do it again.

Some stats: I ran a total 14 one-hundred-mile races up to now and last year, I did eight of them. In about the same time frame, I ran 15 (states) marathons. It showed a transition from going from marathons to ultras. (I haven’t counted up exactly how many marathons I have done, maybe guessing around 30).

In between, I ran 50k and other distances like recently a 40 mile, or a timed event such as 6 hours or 12 hours. In total I have done about 90 marathons and ultras combined (with a few dnfs, so the exact number of races finished is not certain). Yes, I likely with reach 100th race this year.

I love doing a marathon as much as running a 5k. I felt marathon is my thing. 50k, 50 mile, or a 100 mile, those distances are fun, but nothing is like running a marathon. I can get really fast at some early portion, then settling in a good pace, and then struggling to reach the finish line, and the relief once stepping across it.

We had an excellent spring weather. It was cool and chill in the morning. We arrived at a little after 6:30 in the morning (set 4 am alarm clock, with hitting the snooze button once, but finally got up at 4:30). It was about an hour drive for us.

I packed a can of chicken noodle soup. It was not enough and my friend shared with me her peanut butter banana sandwiches and apple slices. Still they were not enough, but oh well, I got to run with what was in me. I had a heavy dinner the night before too, but I also ran a half marathon (Annapolis Half, no write-up posted yet, and might not get around to it), so maybe, I was lacking some calories.

The course was beautiful but hilly. It had a total 3000 ft of elevation gain, a small mountain (Buck Hollow Trail, we did a week earlier, has a climb has 2600 ft, from parking to Summit, note for international audience, meter conversion ft, is about 1/3 of it), which is about 1000 meters.

early first mile

Our start time was 8 am. The sun just rose for not too long. The first mile was not easy. We immediately got some rolling hills. I just took it slow.

One hour in, we reached mile 4. I got into my pace. We had a segment of 6 miles (about 3 miles out and then 3 miles back). It was still rolling hills. I love the out and back because you get to see the runners that are ahead as they loop back and then we get to see the runners from behind.

They had sweepers! Often sweepers for marathons are done in a van or truck, but this race, they had couple volunterts at the last runner following.

I saw a few of my friends. Christine and Chris. We ran Stone Mill two years ago with her husband and she volunteered the last one. Caroline’s friend took a picture of me. I made new friends.

My other friend David was running in the 20 mile distance called a merikos. I have never heard of a merikos. He started half hour later. My goal was to catch up to him. It was likely impossible but I was like shooting the moon to try it anyway. David actually ran a minute per mile pace faster than me, so really no chance in that for me to catch up.

At mile 11 after the first out and back, we saw the half marathon people joined in. They took the righthand branch and we were heading for a left turn for another out and back with the merikos runners. Merikos runners were actually coming back so I saw David, thinking, I was maybe 30 minutes behind. In reality, I was closer to an hour behind by then. The going out portion was mostly uphill. It was another nearly 6 miles (3 miles out and 3 miles back). I reached the top around 10:45 at maybe mile 14-15.

On this portion, I met new friends, Joseph and MaryJane. They were like couple minutes behind me. I was able to chat with Joseph a bit. He came down from NYC and this was his second marathon and he will tackle a 50 miler in May. Quite a feat. It was like looking at my young self. He was so enthusiastic. MaryJane and I were ones who hooted loudly at every runner we saw, shouting “Good Job, your doing great!” and such. It was fun for me.

We got to mile 17. We joined back into the main crowd now with runners having red bibs (half marathoners), light blue bibs (merikos), and dark blue/black bibs (marathons). It was still another out and back but the climbing was less severe so felt fast for me. I think the out portion was mostly downhill. By noon, I reached the turn around point around mile19.5. Now only six miles to the finish. It was mostly uphill now. I was hoping to get back by one pm. Feet were heavy. I walked ocassionally. Then there were 3 miles left. Wanting to use the rest room, I stopped to do it, thinking, hey it might take me another hour to get back to the finish, better to stop now. After my brief break, I decided to try finishing before 1:30 pm. The time was 12:55. So I busted out running near a 10 minute pace. It felt fast. I crossed the mat at 1:25. My official net time was 05:25:50. It is one of my slower marathons, when in the past, my acceptable time was around 4:30.

Still, I think I had fun. It was a beautiful course. I met wonderful people and ran with my friends. We stayed around for chocolate ice cream, chocolate milk, and to see other people finishing. Anna and Yana came in. They were from the Virginia Happy Trail and said we will see each other again at the Bull Run in two weeks. I don’t remember seeing them before until at this race. We met some other 50 states people. A family/friends came down from NY and did the Annapolis Half the day before and then ran the Virginia half marathon. I said me too, I did that. They took our photos at the finish for us.

We waited for our last friend to come in. She did it. It was a waiting game because we don’t know if she had dropped but the course official said the sweepers were a mile away, so we knew it would not be too long. Then our friend showed up. Happy to see the appreciation. David probably waited for a long time for me too, so in the same way we waited for others.

That is the conclusion of my 2025 first marathon (and might be the only one). A look back at 2024 first marathon (in taipei, here). The Virginia Marathon also reminded me of Lake Hayden Marathon I did in 2023. It also reminds me the Gettysburg Marathon (2020). People asked me, which marathon is the best, I said all of them. This one is the best so far for this year 🙂

2025-03-24
[667] Seneca Creek Weekend (2025)
My finishing times at Seneca Creek
- 2025: 7:48
- 2024: 7:44
- 2023: 7:38
- 2022: (probably schedule conflict)
- 2021: 7:14
- 2020: 6:29
My finishing times through the years indicated I am getting slower.

It is fun to run fast but also fun not having to push the pace too hard.

What reasons why I am slower? Maybe I weight a bit heavier than before. I have not trained to run hard and fast. Also my foot hurt and not at 100%. I have been resting but I might have put too many dings on my left foot. 100 milers do make run slower. Also, I am not pushing the pace as hard as before. My competitiveness has gone a bit down.

Almost every year I run in the Seneca Creek 50k. I missed one year I think was due to scheduling conflict with the Newport-VA Marathon.

This year weather might have been one of the best compares to last year and 2022. There’s a rainy year and snow year and as far as I remember always cold. This year too. We started relatively warm in the 40s and later rised to mid 50s but I felt chilly and stayed in the car with the heat on until 5 minutes before the start. My friend and I arrived early by 6:15 to secure a parking spot with couple steps from the start. I was pampered. I remembered former years, I would be out there in the cold jumping around to warm up.

The race was uneventful. We started by running down maybe half a mile on the road and then entered the trail. And couple miles later we passed the Riffleford aid station on our way out. I knew we would not be back until at least 6 hours later.

Because I ran in the race a few times, everything was familiar. The first aid station was 7.5 miles away. One needs to be patient. I sat on my pace and actually slowed down to a walk. I think at 2.5 miles, I rolled my ankle (the weak one) not sure why. I don’t think I roll it but might have kicked a root and it started hurting. I could not put any weight on it. So I limped for couple miles and people passed me by. One even asked (I think was Dr. cooper) if I was okay. I was fine. I felt I could at least walk to first aid station and might have to call it the end there. However, after couple miles my pain went away and I started picking up speed. I arrived at Rt 28 aid station with My friends Robert and Caroline.

I knew I had to take it easy and Robert went out ahead of me. I went for the potty. After some rest, I went out.

The second Aid station at Berryville Road was also about 7 miles away. It was a long way. My goal was to get there by 11. The aid station closed at 12:45. I forgot my split time now but I remembered I was on pace compared the week before, maybe at around 10:35-10:45.

Then, I was hoping to get back to RT 28 aid station (5.5 miles) through the Seneca Creek Trail by noon. This was at mile 19. The week before, I was able to do 20 miles in 4.5 hours. So I was hoping the same this week. I think I arrived at 12:15. Not bad, a bit over my target. I did kind of stop to talk with Bruce, who will be going go to Western States this year. I was hoping to run with him today on the trail together but our pace did not match up, so he let me to run a few minutes ahead.

After the 2nd Rt aid station, the next one was at Riffleford Rd. It was about 7.5 miles using the Seneca Ridge Trail but I believe it must have been 8.5 or more. It took forever to get there. I arrived exhausted around 2:30 pm. We were an hour ahead of the cut off at the decision point. I was hoping to finish by 3 pm.

We had about 5 miles around the lake left. There I met my fellow friend Elliot from the Stone Mill and the Catoctin run. Elliot was moving strong and I was tailing him hoping to catch up. I finished a few minutes ahead of him but he started like 15 minutes late so he bested me by the bib time.

I came in a bit after 3:15 pm and I spent the rest of the afternoon cheering other runners as they finished. Bruce came in. Then Caroline came in. It was a great day. I was tired but satisfied. I stopped at Mc Donalds for some fries and chicken nuggies to celebrate, plus an shamrock shake. I have been wanting a good milk shake for a long time.

The next day, my friend Jeremy and I went back out or the lower portion at the Muddy Branch Trail and ran 10 miles out and back to the C&O Canal, to make a 20 miles day. It took us a little over 4.75 hours. The pace was a bit fast for me, but I glad I hung on (14.2 min pace).

Then on Sunday night, I added 5 more miles by walking around my neighborhood. I think I ran a total of 62 miles this week. It was quite an accomplishment and I haven’t run that much for a long time. I think usually I keep my weekly mileage to around 30-40 miles.
2025-03-10
[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).

2024-11-18
[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.

2024-11-11
[646] Blimbler 50k

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

The race is known for its characters.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

2024-10-22