April
18
 |
| Looking dry before the start |
Another month brings another new race for me. Amy and I drove over to Atlanta yesterday
afternoon, picked up Nathan from Georgia Tech, and enjoyed some good pizza at
Rocky Mountain Pizza. It was a fun
evening catching up with Nathan and seeing Amy enjoy the company of her
brother. We stayed in a Days Inn in
Douglasville, and it was acceptable.
This morning went well. I ate a
bagel and drank a pint of chocolate milk.
Nathan and Amy tried the fruit loops that the motel offered with the
breakfast, but apparently they were a little stale. It is damp and a little rainy this
morning. It has been raining all week, but
it currently is not really raining at the start. I don’t know how many started, but I heard
that the race reached its capacity of 150.
Mile
1.4 17:55 (12:48 avg./mile) The
Bridge
The
first quarter of a mile is on paved road and then we get on the trail. It is a little slow at first as the trail is
wet and muddy, and the pack is not yet spread out. I feel okay this morning, but my legs don’t
feel overly fresh. I know it is going to
be wet and muddy, but so far the trail is okay.
Also, since it has rained so much the river crossing will be avoided
this year as the water is too high for safety.
I pass through this first aid station and keep on trucking.
Mile
5.2 51:03 (13:26 avg./mile) The
Apartments
The
trail down by the river has decent footing, and I feel like I am making good
time. I have been running near to a 65 year
old man who looks pretty strong. There
are two ladies behind me that are chatting away, and I vow to try and stay
ahead of them for as long as I can. At
this aid station, I grab a cup of water and a few potato chips.
Mile
9.5 49:31 (11:31 avg./mile) School
Leaving
the apartment aid station, the course entered an extended section of ankle deep
mud. Rick (the 65 year old) and I play
cat and mouse through the mud slop. It
is rather slow going, but my legs are still fresh so I make good time. After the mile or so of deep mud, the course
follows a gas line cut through. It is a
steep rolling section of hills with mud, of course. The last hill before exiting the gas line cut
is terribly steep. This race is getting
fun, and it continues all of the way to the aid station. Nearing the school, we traverse around the
outside fence up and down another muddy hill.
I am surprised that I am only at 9.5 miles. I grab another cup of water and a fist full
of potato chips.
Mile
12.9 39:34 (11:38 avg./mile) Jack’s
Hill
After getting away from the school, the mud abates
somewhat. Then the course follows a
power line for a brief section before returning to the trail beside the
river. This is some of the best footing
on the course, and I make good time even with the climb up Jack’s Hill to this
aid station. During this section, I
start running with the third place woman—Lauren—and we make good time.
Mile
15.4 31:52 (12:45 avg./mile) The Bridge
Lauren
hangs with me as we finish up the first loop and come back to the bridge. This is where the river crossing would have
been, but instead we get to run across a foot bridge to the east side of the
river.
Mile
18.2 24:20 (8:41 avg./mile) The Bridge
Lauren
and I hammer the trail hard until an uphill section, and then we introduce
ourselves to each other. This is her
first official ultra. Then she asks me how many ultras I have run, and then I
have to try to remember all of them.
Near the top of the climb, I start running again and leave Lauren
behind. Now there are only two women
ahead of me! I am starting to feel the
effect of the fast miles as my left hamstring starts to talk to me.
Mile
22.0 54:36 (14:22 avg./mile) The
Apartments
I
am feeling good as my hamstring seems to have calmed down. I figure I will be just fine if I stay ahead of
Lauren. However, halfway through this
section, two other ladies (Rebecca and Linell) come up behind me.
They get ahead of me briefly, but I am able to pass them back on a
stream crossing. Once again, I find
myself pushing the pace hard as I try to stay ahead of them. We come into the aid station together. Nathan and Amy are there, and I grab some
Conquest, gulping it down. I pass on the
bagel and get out of the aid station ahead of the ladies.
Mile
26.3 1:02:18 (14:29 avg./mile) School
After
the apartments is the worst mud section.
Rebecca comes by me, and I remark that I am surprised her side kick is
not with her. She says they just met
today and had a good time early on running together. The mud seems to be worse this second time
through, but our legs are also more tired.
After the mud, I continue to make good progress, but Linell still
catches up to me. As we near the aid
station, we see Rebecca coming towards us, and she tells Linell that she is 4th
place female. This excites Linell quite
a bit, and she wonders how far back the next female is. At the aid station, I two cups of Coke and
grab a handful of potato chips. I
quickly leave, encouraging Linell to follow quickly.
Mile
29.7 45:08 (13:16 avg./mile) Jack’s
Hill
 |
| Just after the finish |
Linell
hangs with me, and we mark the next female at 6 minutes behind. There is no time to spare, so I set a good
hard pace, and Linell matches it.
Whenever I open up a gap between us, she is quick to cover and close it
back down. We both make it down the
powerline slide without any trouble and make quick work of the last riverside
trail. We walk up Jack’s Hill to the aid
station. I grab another cup of Coke and
off we go.
Mile
31.2 19:51 (13:14 avg./mile) FINISH
This
last part is basically flat. We have one
guy come past us, but there are no women in sight behind us. My legs are heavy, but we push it all the way
to the finish, not stopping to walk at all.
Obviously, we aren’t running very fast, but it is fast enough.
Official
Finishing Time 6:36:07
21st
out of 85 finishers (150 signup starters)
This was a
neat little race. I think it runs like a
mini Bull Run Run, and it would be interesting to see how fast it runs when the
trail is drier. I am happy with my time,
and thrilled that I came in 21st place! I am the 4th 40-49 year old male
to finish. It is a great day, and I was
supported by my veteran crew of my two kids.
It is another flawless performance by them.
Now, it is
time to recover and begin the training for the Bighorn 100 miler in June. Until then…
Never stop
running,
Darin
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