April
6
It
has been four years since I have run this race.
I am running this race again because my son-in-law, Ben, is moving up to
the 50 mile distance having run a couple of 50k races. My daughter, Amy, is also coming with us to
crew for both of us. This was the plan
at our last race in February, but Ben ran so much faster than me, and Amy
wasn’t able to support us both late in the race. We fly up to Virginia this morning with a
fair bit of turbulence. We grab lunch at
Five Guys, check into the race, and then eat dinner at Carrabba’s. There is a fun little team competition, so
Ben and I team up with Gary and Keith Knipling.
It is mostly for fun with the fastest team getting some piece of swag of
some sort.
April
7
 |
| Waiting for the Start of the Race |
The
weather has been the main topic for this race for the past few days. The
forecast has varied from heavy rain turning to snow to now it seems there might not be any precipitation. When I get up, the temperature is 48 degrees, but an hour later as the race is about to begin, the temperature has dropped to 43 degrees. I start the race with short and long sleeve shirts, shorts, and a buff on my head. There was no rain overnight. It is overcast and blustery as the race begins.
forecast has varied from heavy rain turning to snow to now it seems there might not be any precipitation. When I get up, the temperature is 48 degrees, but an hour later as the race is about to begin, the temperature has dropped to 43 degrees. I start the race with short and long sleeve shirts, shorts, and a buff on my head. There was no rain overnight. It is overcast and blustery as the race begins.
Mile
7.2 1:17:10 (10:43 avg./mile) Centreville
Road (1st time)
At
the start, Ben is out in front of me and as we enter the single track trail, there
are a dozen or so runners between us. I
am running with Sophie Speidel, and the miles pass quickly as Sophie and I
catch up with each other. About 3-4
miles into the race, Sophie and I move past Ben. Sophie has a definite goal time today, and so
far, I am able to keep up with her. At
the aid station, Amy is ready with chocolate milk and a bagel. I grab half of a bagel and drink a small cup
of chocolate milk. Ben is less than a
minute behind me.
Mile
11.6 51:03 (11:36 avg./mile)
Centreville Road (2nd time)
The
course has been modified some to ensure the full 50 miles is run today. The turnaround is now a lollipop loop. The problem is that there is no one at the
junction of the lollipop and some of the people run it clock-wise and most of
us run it counter-clock-wise. On the
loop, I let Sophie go on ahead as I am deciding to run a little bit more
conservatively. As I approach the
junction on the loop again, Ben comes up behind me and joins me. We run together back to the aid station where
Amy is patiently waiting. I drink some
Conquest and take half of a bagel with me.
With the new lollipop loop, the race might be a little bit longer, but
it is less than an additional half mile at most.
Mile
16.6 1:01:32 (12:18 avg./mile) Hemlock
Overlook
I
leave the aid station a little ahead of Ben, but then he catches up to me
quickly. However, on the way back to
Hemlock, I open up a little gap on him.
I am working the downhills hard, utilizing my speed. The weather is remaining basically the
same. The temperature has settled around
40 degrees with blustery winds and occasionally, there is a stray flake of snow
that floats down. I come into the aid
station a couple of minutes before Ben.
I grab some potato chips at the aid station along with drinking more
chocolate milk.
Mile
21.1 54:26 (12:06 avg./mile) Bull Run
Marina
Leaving
Hemlock, Michele Harmon catches up to me.
I am surprised that she was behind me, but she says she is at peace with
her conservative pace. We catch up for a
mile or so, and then she presses on ahead.
Soon thereafter, Ben catches back up to me, and we run together into the
aid station. I grab some Pringles and
drink more chocolate milk. I am moving
well and feel fine. This isn’t going to
be my fastest time, but is there the opportunity to get under 10 hours?
Mile
26.1 59:18 (11:52 avg./mile) Wolf Run
Shoals
Ben
and I continue on together for this section.
We are making good time. We have
been playing leap frog with Mike Campbell.
It won’t be the last time we see him.
This aid station does not allow crews to visit, so I grab a couple of
PB&J sandwich quarters along with some water and more Pringles. Alex is the aid station captain, and he
informs me that the next section is longer than it has been. The trail has been re-cut and now is
longer. I think he said it was about 0.7
miles further and that the veterans were complaining about it.
Mile
28.1 42:53 (21:27 avg./mile) Fountainhead
In
the past, I have run this section in 25-30 minutes. Clearly, this section is now longer as Alex
indicated, but the question is how much longer is it? It appears that it could be as much as a mile
further. Thus, I am calling this an
extra Quattro mile or Q-mile for short in honor of the race director. At the aid station, Amy is ready for us as
Ben and I come in together. I drink some
more chocolate milk while stuffing my face with potato chips.
Mile
32.5 1:01:10 (13:54 avg./mile) Do Loop
(start)
Going
out to the do loop, we get to do the white loop in addition to the trail that
goes straight to the do loop. This goes
by very quickly as Ben and I are talking away about some of my experiences in
the Marine Corps as a General’s Aide.
Before long we are heading straight to the do loop. We meet Keith Knipling heading the other way
and then Sophie Speidel a little later.
Finally, we make the left turn that takes us up to the do loop aid
station. Dave Yeakel, Jr. is here with
the aid station workers. I grab a couple
of sandwich quarters, and then Ben and I begin the do loop.
Mile
35.5 41:59 (14:00 avg./mile) Do Loop
(end)
The
do loop is actually a lollipop loop from the aid station and back to the aid
station. Ben has heard it is a rough
little piece of trail so after the first half mile he says that this isn’t that
bad. Of course, this is the easy part
and then when we get down to the water, we have to make our way back up with
many ups and downs along the way. At the
Nash Rambler there is a full-size picture of Gary Knipling. Both Ben and I take the opportunity to water
the Rambler. Early on the do loop, Mike
Campbell came back past us as he seems to be doing better with his ailing
knee. When we arrive back at the aid
station, Gary is just getting there.
This good for two reasons: we are
comfortably ahead of Gary, but more importantly it means that all of our
teammates are likely to finish.
Mile
37.9 34:59 (14:35 avg./mile)
Fountainhead
Ben
leads the way after the do loop, and I think he has picked up the pace. We are moving along nicely, and I start to do
some figuring in my head of when we might be able to finish. The numbers seem to suggest that we could
finish in about 10.5 hours. But for now
we will continue to press on. At the aid
station, Amy looks happy to see us, and one of the aid station workers tries to
put a lei around our necks. I decline
the offer as I have no intent to wear the thing for the next dozen miles. I grab some food while Ben checks his blood
sugar level.
Mile
39.9 41:42 (20:51 avg./mile) Wolf Run
Shoals
Ben’s
blood sugar level was a little low so he is now running with a bottle of
honey. He squirts some in his mouth
every so often and washes it down with water.
Not long after the aid station, two ladies pass us saying they aren’t in
a hurry, they are just cruising. So, Ben
and I from then on refer to them as the cruisers. This section is still overly long with the
obvious extra Q-mile. At the aid
station, I talk with Alex again while stuffing my face with potato chips. I also grab two small cups of Coke. It is time to start the push to the
finish. With his extra Q-mile, it is now
obvious that we will finish over 10.5 hours, but do we still have margin to
finish under 11 hours?
Mile
44.9 1:03:13 (12:39 avg./mile) Bull Run
Marina
At
some point, we got ahead of the cruisers, so after leaving the aid station,
they cruise back by us. Ben and I are
hanging on, but I am calculating miles and pace. Up and down we go; hiking the uphills and
trying to run quickly on the downhills.
As we get about a mile and a half from the Marina, we pass Mike Campbell
again. His knee is really giving him
problems now. With a mile to go until
the aid station, I pop a caffeine pill as I want to start my final surge before
I get to the aid station. Ben says he
probably needs a bathroom break at the aid station, so I walk on through
without stopping.
Mile
50.4 1:08:02 (12:22 avg./mile) FINISH!
My
final surge is gutsy, but not overly fast.
Andrew Sullivan rides on my coat tails the last three miles. I try to shake him, think he is going to pass
me, and eventually we end up finishing together. It was a good push at the end, but I don’t
have the speed that I want. Is it a
problem of getting older? I hope not.
 |
| Darin and Andrew finishing! |
Official
Finishing Time 10:57:27
109th
out of 272 starters (231 finishers)
Ben comes
across only seven minutes after me. He
ran a great race for his first 50 mile finish.
It was awesome running with him for most of the day. The weather ends up to not be a factor with
almost ideal weather for running hard.
The precipitation never arrives, and the trail is drier than I think I
have ever seen at this race.
Ben and I
quickly shower and change, and then we wait for our fourth teammate to
finish. It is a cold, blustery, raw day,
which was good for running, but not so much for spectating. We are pretty thoroughly chilled when Gary
finishes with Zeke Zucker—two 74 year olds, who finish in 12:39. Quite a race for some seasoned citizens. I am thinking about running the Kettle Moraine
100 miler in June. Until then…
Never stop
running,
Darin
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