Monday, August 2, 2021

Burning River 100 2021 - What will the Weather do?

Before the Start
This race is all about the weather and finishing under the 30-hour cut-off in order to get into the Western States 100 miler lottery for 2022.  Six weeks ago, I failed at the Kettle Moraine 100 miler in Wisconsin as the temperature soared to 94 degrees, and I dropped out after 63 miles.  Since then I have focused on getting as much heat acclimation as possible.  The average temperature for Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio for this time of year is 82 degrees.

July 24

The latest forecast is a high of 86 degrees, which ironically is the same forecasted high in Wisconsin six weeks ago.  What will the temperature climb to today?  On the plus side, it is starting out cool in the high 60s with low humidity as the dew point is 61 degrees.  At 4am, 344 of us crazy people start the 100 mile race in downtown Cuyahoga Falls.

Mile 5.5      1:03:41 (11:35 avg./mile) Memorial

Right from the start with overcast skies, there is some rain spitting.  By 5am, it starts a steady light rain.  This was a 30% possibility by the forecast and shouldn’t last very long.  The first few miles are on streets as we make our way out of downtown.  I settle into a very comfortable pace and do not mind the light rain at this point.  At this first aid station, crews are not allowed, and there are only fluids at this point.  I click my watch on my way through the aid station as the course leaves the pavement for a section of the Erie Canal tow path.

Mile 10.0    1:01:29 (13:40 avg./mile) North Hawkins

Under the umbrella at mile 10
Tow paths are always interesting to me as they are either gradually going uphill or
downhill.  I am not sure it really matters, and I start my timed walk breaks every 15 minutes.  In general, I will run for 10 minutes and walk for 5.  I get through two cycles before the course leaves the tow path.  The rain continues at a light to moderate rate so the dirt trail soon becomes a muddy, slippery track.  The runners who aren’t wearing trail shoes have a tough time with it, but my La Sportiva Raptors are doing great at this point.  However, about a half mile before the aid station, I catch my toe on a root and test the firmness of the ground.  I arrive at the aid station and get a towel from my excellent crew (my daughter Amy and her friend) to clean off my arm, leg, and shoulder.  I then drink some chocolate milk and take a small bag of pretzels with me.


Mile 13.7    48:43 (13:10 avg./mile) Mingo Shelter

I start a conversation with a lady next to me while we are running.  Come to find out, Rhonda is a VHTRC runner, although she currently lives in Dubai.  And, Alan and Pam Gowen are crewing for her today!  Rhonda has run Massanutten 100 miler a couple of times, but has not done any other 100 milers.  What is funny to me is that she is worrying about the cut-off since it is only 30 hours compared to Massanutten’s 36 hour cut-off.  I tell her I don’t think this is going to be a problem since this course is not very technical, and Massanutten is beyond technical.  This aid station is not manned on the outbound, but the timing device is setup and registers our progress.

Mile 15.4    21:36 (12:42 avg./mile) Botzum

Rhonda decides to let me go ahead as I have a little quicker pace than her at this point.  I am enjoying my nice smooth pace, and the rain isn’t dampening my spirits even if it is dampening the course quite a bit.  At this aid station, I get to see Amy and Ed, and I consume a wonderfully made egg, bacon, and cheese sandwich.  I eat about 75% of it while washing it down with chocolate milk.  My little bag of pretzels still has plenty in it, so I only trade out my Camelbak at this point.  I also remove the shirt as I think the rain will stop soon.

Mile 20.1    1:03:05 (13:25 avg./mile) O’Neill Woods

The rain does stop at some point during this section.  I test my right ankle on a curb as I am crossing a street at one point, but it is fine.  I also encounter my first real issue of the race—the insoles in my shoes are scrunching up due to them being waterlogged from all of the rain and water on the course.  At one point, I stop, sit down, and take each shoe off to straighten out the insole.  The rain lasted about four hours, and at some point I had the thought that the forecast might be completely wrong, and I hope it will stay lightly raining all day to keep the temperature down.  However, the forecast seems to have been wrong a little, and now it has stopped raining and is clearing off some.  This aid station is non-crew access, but they do have PB&J sandwich quarters so I gobble down two of them.

Mile 23.8    49:31 (13:23 avg./mile) Oakhill

Leaving Oakhill after taking off the shirt
Since the start of the race, I have been playing leap frog with several runners, two of
whom are two ladies from Ohio—Michelle and Vanessa.  They are running their first 100 mile race and as I repass them on this section, they ask if I am using a run/walk strategy.  Yes, I walk all of the uphill sections, and then try to do 10 minutes of running and 5 minutes of walking on the mostly flat sections.  The mostly flat sections aren’t very long, but my goal is about the same.  I have typically found that I can still manage a 15-minute per mile or better pace with this strategy.  At this aid station, Amy and Ed are ready for me with a change of shoes.  I would have preferred to not change out of my first pair this early in the race, but with the insole problem, I decide to make the change now.  Hopefully, I will be able to keep my feet dry for a while.  I take half a bagel from my crew and head down the trail.

Mile 27.5    43:32 (11:46 avg./mile) Valley Picnic

With the rain stopped and still with relatively cool temperatures, I guess I got a little excited with the pace on this section.  That and I think it is mostly downhill.  I get into this non-crew access aid station and consume a couple more PB&J sandwich quarters before crossing yet another road.

Mile 31.1    45:38 (12:41 avg./mile) Robinson Field


My quicker pace lingers on a little as this is fast than I should be going at this point.  During this section, I strike up a conversation with Lyn, who is from Mars, Pennsylvania.  Since I went to school in Pittsburgh, I know that Mars is north of town and that there is an ice rink there as we practiced hockey there sometimes my freshman year before the ice rink opened in Monroeville.  She is a graduate of the University of Hawaii and her son was born at Tripler.  She refers to it as Crippler, and we trade our less than stellar experiences with Tripler.  My wife, Martha, is also a University of Hawaii graduate, and our son was also born at Tripler.  At this aid station, I grab two more PB&J sandwich quarters since crew cannot access this station either.

Mile 35.1    1:03:24 (15:51 avg./mile) Pine Hollow

At Pine Hollow

This section is mostly on single track trail with some relentless rolling hills.  Thus, my pace naturally slows.  Additionally, things are warming up with the clouds moving out of the way for the sun half the time.  I get into this aid station in good shape, and Amy and Ed have a grilled ham and cheese sandwich ready for me.  I eat most of the sandwich and wash it down with plenty of CR01.  I take a new bag of pretzels with me leaving this aid station.  I need to keep my salt intake high as I am definitely sweating profusely through the heat of the day.

Mile 40.9    1:30:23 (15:35 avg./mile) Kendall Lake

This section is probably the most challenging section of the course.  We run for about 45 minutes and then we can see the last aid station a couple hundred yards away.  That is unmotivating as the course essentially did a large loop without going anywhere.  This entire section has the largest hills on the course, and they are constant.  There are no easy flat sections of trail on this section.  So, I am glad to get into this aid station, which is another non-crew access point.  I eat a few dill pickle slices before eating another PB&J sandwich quarter.  I leave this aid station about the same time as Michelle and Vanessa, and Lyn is just ahead of me.

Mile 45.0    1:01:57 (15:07 avg./mile) Olde Route 8 (Tiki)

This section contains a portion of a tow path and a few hills, before the course dumps out on a paved fitness trail.  The pavement will take us all the way to the halfway turnaround point.  I leap frog again with Michelle and Vanessa, but Lyn has left us behind at this point.  On the pavement, I resume my run/walk strategy, although I am very tempted to increase the percentage of walking.  At this non-crew access aid station, I eat more PB&J sandwich quarters and then take a grape popsicle with me.

Mile 50.5    1:33:16 (16:57 avg./mile) Silver Springs

Approaching the halfway line
This fitness trail is mostly unshaded, and the temperature has risen into the mid-80s.  Initially, Michelle and Vanessa are ahead of me and one of them is playing Bon Jovi’s Living on a Prayer and belting out the line, “Woah, we’re halfway there…”  They are mostly walking so my run/walk rhythm quickly allows me to pass them.  I get to the halfway aid station, but first we have to traverse around three baseball fields.  I am not quite sure why we couldn’t go straight to the turnaround line, but someone wants this race to be more than a 100!  Just before the line, Amy and Ed are setup and waiting for me.  I change my shoes, putting on my last clean pair of trail shoes that I have with me.  I have one other pair, but they are road shoes, which I could use the last five miles, but shouldn’t before then.  They have also managed to dry out the pair of socks I wore for the first 23 miles.  I eat most of a grilled ham and cheese sandwich, washing it down with copious amounts of CR01.  I then head towards the porta johns, but there are temporary fences and the aid station blocking my way.  Eventually, an aid station worker tells me to just duck under the rope in the back of the aid station.  Fortunately, the porta john is not too hot as it is mostly in the shade.  Business complete, I head back around the three baseball fields and rejoin the paved fitness trail for the trip back to the finish.

Mile 55.9    1:20:05 (14:50 avg./mile) Olde Route 8 (Tiki)

After a couple of miles on the paved fitness trail, Scott Lee catches up to me.  I had seen him earlier with his VHTRC visor on, and he has seen me with my VHTRC shirt on for the first 10 miles.  We run/walk together into the aid station comparing notes on who we know really well in the club.  He is from Haymarket in northern Virginia and is doing the grand slam this year.  The Vermont 100 is canceled this year, so Burning River is one of the designated replacements.  So, he did Western States last month and will do Leadville next month and Wasatch Crest in September.  While enjoying the conversation, I am surprised to see the aid station so quickly.  I don’t grab much to eat at this aid station as my stomach is not feeling great, and I am sure my last sandwich is still being digested.

Mile 60.0    1:06:13 (16:09 avg./mile) Kendall Lake

Two more miles or so on the fitness trail and then back to off road stuff.  I continue my good pace, managing to get to mile 60 in decent shape.  I am trying to find the right food to make my stomach feel better, but I am still going to eat.  I grab two more PB&J sandwich quarters.  I am really happy getting to this aid station with it only being 6:12pm.  Now, I just have to navigate the next tough section to Pine Hollow.  At some point on this last section, Scott let me go ahead of him.

Mile 65.8    2:09:17 (22:17 avg./mile) Pine Hollow

I really struggle on this section, but it is the toughest section.  I refilled my Camelbak at Kendall Lake, but regardless, I still drain it before reaching my crew at Pine Hollow.  But, when it is empty, I think I am close to the aid station, but I cannot be sure.  Also, it is really warm out here and any breeze is not penetrating into the woods and the single track trail.  Finally, with no water left, I make it out of the woods and only have a simple climb up a field to the aid station.  I make it to my crew, sit down, and begin taking care of several items.  First up is changing my salt-crusted shorts.  I wrap a towel around and remove the shorts and then quickly put on the other pair.  Next, I put a shirt back on for the first time since early this morning.  It is now 8:20pm, so dusk is coming soon, and hopefully the temperature will begin dropping although it is only supposed to drop to 71 degrees tonight with the humidity so high.  Finally, I eat some of the Ramen that my crew has made for me, and then I wash it down with over a cup of chocolate milk.  I mention that my stomach isn’t feeling great so hopefully the chocolate milk will do the trick.  Before leaving my crew and this aid station, I strap on my headlamp and plug in my ear buds to my iPod.  I am ready to take on the night!

Mile 69.8    1:58:13 (29:33 avg./mile) Robinson Field

I leave Pine Hollow with good tunes and a little refreshed from the break.  This lasts about 10 minutes when I feel hot again.  It is near dusk, but the humidity is thick, and I realize that I am not going to be able to drop the hammer and take this one home.  Rather this is going to be a slug all the way to the finish.  I walk quite a bit, and I am looking for good places to sit down and cool off a little.  The fallen logs are plentiful, and when I do sit down, the next runner comes by and asks if I am okay.  Finally, I get to this non-crew access aid station and sit down.  The wonderful aid station worker brings me broth and then a Coke.  I didn’t think I sat too long in this aid station, but now I think I must have been there for at least 20 minutes.  My time split reflects this time sitting in the aid station, but I don’t worry about that.  It is all about finishing, no matter how slow as long as it is under 30 hours.

Mile 73.4    1:40:37 (27:57 avg./mile) Valley Picnic

With my unhappy stomach, I try various solutions.  I have eaten a few Tums, and so now I turn to ginger chews, which I have been told will cure any stomach issue.  It doesn’t really turn things around, but it doesn’t make it worse either.  When I stagger into the aid station, I make my way to the porta john.  I do my business and as I am finishing up, I realize that I am about to throw up.  I stagger out of the porta john, hit the dirt, and proceed to heave twice.  At this point, an aid station worker comes over to ask if I am okay.  Then she asks if I feel better because sometimes people feel better after they throw up.  When I tell her that I don’t feel any better, she helps me over to a cot in the aid station.  On this cot, I will lay for the next hour.  During this time, the aid station worker checks on me several times, and a thunderstorm starts pouring down the rain and lightning.  After an hour and not feeling any better, I make the decision to drop.  The nice aid station worker calls my crew, who are waiting at the next aid station, and they come and get me.

170 out of the 344 starters finish under the 30-hour cut-off

I get back to my hotel room around 2:30am.  After lying on the floor of my hotel room for 30 minutes or so, I then throw up again, heaving several times.  It is only then that I am able to take a quick shower, mostly sitting down, before I crawl into bed for a much needed rest.

It was a nice muggy day in the Midwest on this late July in 2021.  This finishing rate is very low for most 100 milers these days.  The heat obviously had something to do with it.  For me, I think it was definitely a factor, but basically I was unable to manage my electrolytes as well as I need to manage them.  I have been experimenting with different salt supplements, and for this race, I didn’t take any.  Instead I tried to eat enough salty food and that wasn’t enough given the conditions.

My next race isn’t really a race.  Rather it is the Grand Canyon, rim-to-rim-to-rim in one day.  Martha and I will be in Arizona in September, and if the weather cooperates, I plan to run this by myself on September 22nd.  Until then…

Never stop running,

Darin

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