It
is early Friday morning when Amy, Tim, and I fly up to Manassas. Who is Tim you ask? He is a co-worker who is from Chantilly. He is hitching a ride to see his parents for
the weekend. Amy, my daughter, is coming
to crew for me. We had to maneuver
around a few storm cells early in the flight, but otherwise, it was a nice
flight with a huge tailwind—up 40 knots pushing us! At the Manassas airport, Tim’s mom picks him
up; Amy and I hop in our rental car. We
grab lunch at Firehouse Subs and then pick up some groceries for the race
tomorrow. We check into our cabins at
Hemlock Overlook before eating dinner at Carrabba’s. I down some excellent Rigatoni while
consuming copious amounts of bread.
 |
| Before the start |
April
13
 |
| Gathering for the start |
In
the morning, I am ready quickly. I
consume a bowl of granola and chat with the other runners in my cabin. For one guy it is his first 50 miler. I hope he is able to finish, but I have my
serious doubts. It rained lightly
yesterday afternoon, and then there were a few showers overnight. How muddy will the trails be? We are about to find out. I start the race with just shorts and a
short-sleeve shirt. It is in the 60s and
humid.
Mile
7.2 1:20:54 (11:14 avg./mile)
Centreville Road (1st time)
This
first section is all about sorting ourselves out. I am fairly near the front so there isn’t too
much walking with the early congestion.
I will forever be amazed at some of the people that start out fast for
the first mile or two and then slow down to a walk. The mud isn’t too bad on this first section,
and I feel pretty good. Kevin Sayers is
at the bottom of the steps with his bull horn as usual. I meet Amy and down a good gulp of CR01 before
taking a chocolate chip roll with me. I
also lose the shirt at this point.
 |
| Coming into the Centreville Rd the 2nd time |
Mile
11.6 55:50 (12:41 avg./mile)
Centreville Road (2nd time)
This
lollipop section is a complete quagmire!
The name of the game is staying upright while trying to make good
forward progress. I do pretty well and
am even inspired by the adversity somewhat.
However, with a mile or so back to the aid station, I try to pass a
couple of people and end up slipping sideways and going down on my left hip.
The is no harm except to ego and the coat of mud on my left leg and hands. At the aid station, I gulp down some more
CR01 and take another chocolate chip roll.
My time so far is slower than last year, but I feel like I have been
pushing comfortably hard so far.
Mile
16.6 1:04:17 (12:51 avg./mile) Hemlock
Overlook
With
the large field it is surprising to find us very spread out at this point in
the race. It feels like I am not far
from the front given the number of runners I didn’t meet until coming back from
the lollipop loop. My feet are doing
okay given the mud, and I get them all cleaned off by the creek crossing, pylon
jumps, which are covered by the rising water.
I think I have only seen those pylons covered by water once before. As I know there is more good mud before the next
aid station, I make the strategic decision not to change my wet and muddy shoes
at this point. I drink some good
chocolate milk at the aid station and take yet another chocolate chip roll with
me.
Mile
21.1 57:50 (12:51 avg./mile) Bull Run
Marina
On
the way to the Marina, a guy decides to pace off me for a while. His name is James, and it is his first 50
miler. It is a wise decision to hold
back at this point in the race. We chat
most of the section before getting to the aid station. The muddy section after the soccer fields is
a quagmire as I expected. Surprisingly,
there are no active soccer games; I guess the fields are too wet. At the aid station, I change out my shoes and
socks and then drink a little chocolate milk before grabbing some potato chips
for the trail. My time is definitely
slower than last year, but I am not yet ready to concede an 11+ hour finish
yet.
Mile
26.1 58:41 (11:44 avg./mile) Wolf Run
Shoals
Finally,
I have a section that is slightly quicker than last year! That being said, it is less than a minute
faster. The trail is now fairly dry for
this part of the course, and I am still pushing it nicely. At the aid station, Alex greets me, and then
I hear a female voice behind me say, “Hello stranger.” I turn around and there is Adeline! I paced her at the Pinhoti 100 in November of
2017. I had seen her since, and it is
great to bump into her. She is working
the aid station and says she will be waiting on my return. I grab a couple of PB&J sandwich quarters
and head on down the trail.
Mile
28.1 37:52 (18:56 avg./mile)
Fountainhead
 |
| Coming into Fountainhead |
Shortly
after leaving the last aid station, two ladies pass me, and I decide to see if
I can hang with them. I am now really
pushing the pace while keeping up with them.
It is warming up, sun is out, and this might not be the best decision
ever. However, I feel good right now
with my legs still relatively fresh. My
time on this now long section is five minutes faster than last year! This section used to be two miles, but now is
advertised to be 2.6. After this stretch
though, I am certain that it is well over three miles! I think we were doing 10-minute miles, which
would make it more than 3.5 miles. By
the time I get to the aid station, I know I have pushed things too hard. I am hot, and my legs are starting to feel
sluggish. I chug some CR01 and get some
potato chips from the aid station. It is
now time to see how my body can recover while still moving forward.
Mile
32.5 1:03:05 (14:20 avg./mile) Do Loop
(start)
I
leave Fountainhead with the idea of maintaining a slow, steady pace that will
allow me to recover some. I am
successful with the slow, steady pace, but the recovery is not coming to my
legs. Early in this section, I pass a
family out of a hike on this nice day, and the mom asks me if this is an ultra
or something. When I tell them this is a
50 miler, she says, “Told you!” The dad
just says, wow, 50 miles! At the aid
station, I get a popsicle and head into the do-loop.
Mile
35.5 43:50 (14:37 avg./mile) Do Loop
(end)
The
key to the do-loop is just to get through it and maintain any momentum. Once through the do-loop, it is a fairly
straight shot back to the Hemlock Overlook and the finish. I eat the popsicle on the first half mile of
this section and then settle into a good trot on the first half that is almost
all downhill. When the course bottoms
out and turns back uphill, I make a focused effort to power hike with
purpose. When I make the turn towards
the old Ford Fairlane, I notice something has been set up in front of it. Last year, there was a life-size picture of
Gary Knipling. This year, as I approach
I see a remembering friends display.
Eddie C. passed away just a week or so ago, and Bob Anderson passed away
last June. I ran many races with both of
these guys, and I remember them both very fondly. I stop at the display for a few minutes to
take it all in, and I am overwhelmed with emotions. All of the races and all of the years, come
back to me. I wish I could stay here and
reminisce all afternoon, but that wouldn’t get me to the finish. I pull myself together, and with heavy heart,
press on to the aid station. There I
find a couple of other runners that were with me early in the race, but now are
just getting ready to start the do-loop.
I grab a sandwich quarter and a couple of potato chips to eat and wash
it down with a small cup of Coke. Let’s
see if I have a rally in my hot and sluggish body.
Mile
37.9 36:08 (15:03 avg./mile)
Fountainhead
 |
| Fountainhead aid station |
There
is not much of a rally (if any), but I am able to maintain a steady pace. There are scores of runners still heading out
to the do-loop, so I feel pretty good about my position. My time, on the other hand, is not going
well. My legs are still very sluggish,
and it isn’t getting any cooler. I get
into the aid station and drink the last of my CR01. For some reason, I decided to only prepare a
quart of it and not bring more of the powder mix. Due to the heat, I don’t eat much of
anything, maybe just a few potato chips.
Mile
39.9 43:32 (21:46 avg./mile) Wolf Run
Shoals
This
section is still at least a mile+ too long, but it is good to see Adeline
again. A little girl is handing out 40
mile finisher medals, which I decline. I
drink some Coke and grab a sandwich quarter before heading out for the last 10
miles. While it is warm, it isn’t overly
hot. It is just warm enough to
discourage me from pushing the pace.
Mile
44.9 1:12:14 (14:27 avg./mile) Bull Run
Marina
I
slowly make my way to the last aid station.
Amy is waiting on me, and I promptly take a seat. She tries to encourage me, but finishing
ahead of any particular runner at this point is not motivating me. Then Mike Campbell comes into the aid
station, and I decide it is time to go.
How about a sandwich quarter or two?
Nope, they only have cheese and veggie—no meat to be found. Oh well, I only have 5.5 miles to go.
Mile
50.4 1:32:53 (16:53 avg./mile) FINISH!
 |
| Coming into the finish |
Mike,
Eric, and a few other runners leave me behind as I maintain my slow, but steady
slog to the finish. This isn’t going to
be pretty, but I will finish with plenty of time to spare on the 13-hour
cut-off. There are only a couple of
runners that pass me in the last few miles.
I actually managed to get ahead of one guy who cramped up as we were
crossing the soccer fields. Not to worry
though, he passed me back after he worked out the cramp. I do manage to look good running across the
finish line.
Official
Finishing Time 11:47:06
77th
out of 324 starters (159 finishers under 13 hours)
This was a PW
(personal worst) time today on this course.
However, the course is at least two miles (if not more) longer than it
used to be. This place is my highest
finish since I ran 9:46 in 2008. So,
while I thought I was suffering out there on the course, clearly most of the
field was suffering as much, if not more.
The finishing rate is less than 60%, which is terribly low for this race
as well as most 50-mile races.
On Sunday, we
fly back to Alabama, but not without a stop in Asheville, NC. There is a terrible line of storms moving
east. We press as far as we can and then
sit down for a couple of hours while the bulk of the storms pass. It is not the most pleasant flying
experience, and there is a 40-50 knot headwind for good measure. Just in flying time, the trip takes twice as
long as it did coming up on Friday.
My next race
is planned to be the Kettle Moraine 100-miler on June 1 in Wisconsin. Until then…
Never stop
running,
Darin
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